Edo leading lights were on hand for the unveiling of the BCF. Greatness once resided in Benin. By December of 2024, noble sons and daughters of the land gathered to cut symbolic ribbons and swing the garlands not only to keep the already attained greatness but to take it to higher heights.

The BCF is indeed a socio-cultural platform envisioned to unite, inspire, and empower the Benins so that the people may not, figuratively speaking, become like glorified children enveloped in plumes of lead dust. This being that most of the reverses of the Benin nation have been as a result of unforced errors.

It is a banner raised to be a non-partisan assemblage of right-thinking Edo sons and daughters (in Edo state, Nigeria and worldwide) who are sufficiently occupied with how to advance the fortunes of the Benin nation in our contemporary world.

Apart from providing an active framework for the expression and protection of Benin interest and identity, its founders have said that the BCF’s overall mission is to strengthen worthy Benin causes by enhancing the social, political, economic and educational advancement of its people. This makes it a RALLYING POINT!

It is also in this context that the BCF founding president, former Inspector-General of Police Dr. Solomon Arase, said at the birth of the forum: “Today is a defining moment for the Benin people. The BCF is more than an organization. It is a movement—a rallying cry for unity, empowerment, and collective progress. Our mission is simple but profound, to provide a platform for the expression of our shared identity, to empower the Benin people, and to promote our social, political, economic, and cultural causes. Our membership includes Benins at home and abroad, and for whom integrity, excellence, amity, and justice are irreducible values”

According to Arase, the broad vision of the BCF is to see a united Benin people, thriving in every sphere of life and contributing meaningfully to society and nicely contained by the well-known African proverb which says “Broom-sticks in a bundle are unbreakable.”

The BCF is a handshake held out to all!

By O. A. Obayuwana