Prince Oduwa who later became Oba Olua was the second son of Oba Ewuare at first refused the Obaship Crown. He told the Uzama Nobles that he was horrified by the intents of his brother, Okpame. If Okpame could heartlessly murder Owere, his own blood brother’s son, then there is no one that he could kill for the throne. He, therefore, suggested that his Elder sister, princess Edeleyo be crowned as Oba

His sister princess Edeleyo was then asks to ascend the throne. Princess Edeleyo was the eldest daughter of Oba Ewuare and eldest sister to prince Oduwa who later became Oba Olua. Edeleyo was the most famous Princess in Benin kingdom: she was very wealth and popular among the people. The decision taken by the Uzama Nobles in 1473 A.D to crown her as Oba was unusual. This was because no woman has ever been chosen for the crown of Benin kingdom. She became the first woman to be chosen for the position of Oba in Benin history. Although some historians have claimed that women had ruled as Ogiso during the first period of Benin Kingdom, it has already been stated that this assertion was a mistaken identity. Edeleyo was the closest woman to the throne of ancient Benin; she is the first and last woman to be made Ediaken (heir apparent) and was also prepared for coronation. However, this plan or arrangement was truncated by the nature of a woman.
It is cogent to comprehend that unusual things happen to unusual people. Princess Edeleyo was an extra-ordinary woman, she was not the first princess to ever live in Benin, but she stood out in her activities and influence in the empire. She was very brave and industrious that she was almost as powerful as an Oba. Thus, her personality was what gave the Nobles the impression that she would be a good ruler. Like the saying goes, ‘what a man can do a woman can do better’. Edeleyo’s early life was a peculiar one; she was born and brought up at Ozigono by a Bini woman who was domiciled in Ozigono. Edeleyo was one of the numerous children Prince Ogun had during his exile escape. When Ewuare settled in Edoland and, he called for his child and the mother came with her, but when he finally settled at the palace he handed her over to Eson Ugiagbe who took care of her thereafter

The nobles would not have agreed to this unusual arrangement of crowning a woman if not that they knew she was capable, they only agreed based on the capability of Edeleyo. The Uzama came to understand that some women could be very useful to the society if given the right opportunity. Though they had never crowned a woman before, they decided to start by crowning Edeleyo. They started by installing her as Ediaken by making her one of the Uzama nobles and as they proceeded for the final coronation, the unusual happened. According to O.S.B. Omorehes the nature of a woman made it impossible for her to attain such a position as that of an ‘Oba’ in Benin kingdom. Tradition has it that her menstrual circle started on that day of her final coronation, but Ryder claimed she contracted an incurable disease after accepting the position of Ediaken. The incurable disease as posited by Ryder might also be the same as the menstruation because the traditions on the fact that it was menstruation are more viable in Benin tradition.

Be that as it may, a Bini woman in her red day is not even allowed to cook for her husband, nor allowed to perform any rituals to her own deity, not to talk about the family deity The Oba of Benin is supposed to, be a mediator between the people and their gods; the throne was very sacred with a lot of ritualistic activities surrounding it. The coronation of an Oba also entails the performance of so many ritual activities. These rituals could not be performed on a woman who was on her menstruation. Thus, the coronation was, cancelled. The uzama, therefore, enacted a law that no woman should be allowed to reign as Oba in future. This is because a woman’s menstruation was a great taboo to the people; they could not imagine a ruler who could not access the gods at a particular time in every month of the year. For Benin, a society suffused with male ethos, this attribute of a female ruler was unacceptable. It is said that the bleeding of the Princess lasted for so many years after the supposed coronation, she was said to have turned to her mother at Ozighono where she lived for the rest of her days. The important point is that Edeleyo, though a woman was found worthy to be crowned as an Oba. She was bold when her own brother had a chicken heart, if not for the unusual that happened she would have also ruled as an Oba. The spot where the incident took place now called ogbe Edeleyo, has become a sacred shrine to worship the spirit of princess Edeleyo. Every Ediaken is supposed to visit this spot on his way to Uselu and perform a ceremony in the sacred shrine to the spirit of princess Edeleyo .

Prince Oduwa  was eventually crowned the Oba of Benin about 1473AD, took the title Oba Olua after much persuasion from the Benin elders. On the assumption of the Obaship  Olua sent one of his sons  prince Ohon to Ehor, [a town outside Benin City] to keep an eye on the movement of prince Okpame who was  threatening an attack on Benin. Olua’s son eventually became the Enogie of Ehor.

Concerned about his unpopular hot blooded and self-willed first son Prince Iginua (Iginuwa) who he well loved but disliked by the chiefs was impatient of the taboos and traditional conventions of the times.

And not willing to wait for his time as an Oba to come before doing away with those which he considered as wrong, he paraded gangs of fellow hot heads and began a frequent terrorization of the chiefs and their supporters.

As a result of this, the provoked chiefs who already harboured a dislike for him converged secretly and the meeting was presided by the chief minister (Iyase). A consensus would be reached; the young Prince Iginua (Iginuwa) and his associates would be terminated.

Traditionally, it is the custom of the Benin kingdom for the son who was chosen Edaiken (crowned prince) to live outside the capital among the hereditary chiefs to whose ranks he belonged. This was the reason that made it possible for the young Prince to carry out his crusade without the curtailment of his father- Oba Olua. And likewise, the decision of the chiefs.

However, upon hearing the secret conclusion of what was likely to happen to his son, Oba Olua decided to create another kingdom inside Benin Empire for him near the coast. It is this kingdom which is popularly called warri today Igiua (Igiuwa) gladly took the offer knowing that the possibility of him succeeding his father as the Oba of Benin kingdom was very slim.

Oba Olua consulted his chief priest ( Ogiefa ) as to what must be done to save the life of his boy. "An innovative way of smuggling the prince out of the kingdom as soon as possible," was the counsel the priest gave the king after consulting the oracle.

And without further hesitation, Oba Olua ordered an ‘ark of iroko wood’ to be hastily constructed. An ark big enough to convey not only the prince but also the eldest sons of the seventy chiefs of Bini.

With this intention, a meeting of the central council was summoned when the ark was completed. Oba Olua informed the chiefs that he was sending his son Prince Iginuwa to perform desirable rites to the river goddess- Olokun. And to accompany him, he demanded from them their first sons.

The king has spoken, and from the council, no objection was made.
So, it happened that when the appointed day came, except for the Oba, the chief priest, and the palace attendant who birthed the escape plan, every other person including the chiefs didn't know that Prince Iginuwa and his entourage- their sons were embarking on a voyage they would never again return.

And, In their ignorance, they joined the Oba in wishing the prince safety and good luck on his journey in Edo language by saying "OKHIENWERE O..."
Thereupon, the ark was carried by slaves through the dense forest which spans across the present route of Sapele for days. And upon arrival at the banks of river Ethiope, the iroko ark was lowered; there prince Iginuwa came out, adorned himself with the regalia of kingship, and assumed the role of one.

The rugged Prince has made himself a king without a kingdom.
However, after a long wait, the Benin chiefs got to realize that they've been deluded by their king. And their next line of action was to dispatch soldiers to bring Prince Iginua (Iginuwa) and their sons back to the Kingdom. Somehow information would reach the prince that an onslaught for him was on; upon hearing this he ordered a quick evacuation as he instructed them to board the ark.

And from Ugharegin where it is believed the Prince and his retinue had first settled, they sailed to Efurokpe. But not being satisfied with the safety of the new place of settlement, the prince king launched another voyage.

But, this time, the voyage would be long; tedious, and difficult.

History has refused to tell us, precisely, how long it took the prince and his royal entourage to sail through the high waves of the Forcados River. And we in return are in no position to question why. However, it came to be that their sail led them to the small settlement of Amatu, where they squatted for a prolonged while.

It is said that Amatu was a place of beauty and wonder. Its glittering white sand was bed to crocodiles and alligators. The sun beam was soothing to the skin, and the air a pleasure to exhale. But these sojourners were not tourists.Food to them was far more important than the splendor of Nature. Amatu with all its wonders was unproductive.

There were, however, more fertile headlands inhabited by the Ijohs (Ijaws). Oruselemo was one of them. The accommodating spirits of the Ijohs birthed a cordial relationship with the royal entourage. And with time, Oruselemo did not only become their home, Prince Iginua (Iginuwa) also married an Ijoh woman named Derumo.

Incidentally, after several years at Oruselemo, a dispute arose between the migrants and the Ijaws of Gulani (Ogulagha) on the account of the woman Derumo. The hot-tempered prince had killed her. No doubt that cordiality would be replaced with coldness, as variance would have taken the place of togetherness. It is as a result of this that the prince king in his wisdom thought it more reasonable to move again.

Hence, another voyage was embarked as the ark was launched. They sailed passed the present site of Forcados and Burutu, as the Ark steered north into the Warri River. It is said that the days of this particular quest were not only filled with strain and misery, depression and gloominess also thought it fit to take comfort in their souls.

Yet, after days of hardship, Prince Iginua (Iginuwa) and his entourage finally landed at a virgin land that would be later known as Ijala. And as at now, he had become the father of two fine boys. Prince Ijijen (Ijiyem) and Prince Irame.
They would raise a mini town and settle here.

But, not long have they dwelt before news of their whereabouts reached Benin; and as expected, an Army was sent to bring back the running prince. It should be emphasized here that this was the era when men were more spiritually inclined; and due to this, messages will always find ways to deliver themselves.

The information had come to them at Ijala, and without hesitation, the mobile kingdom started making preparations for another evacuation. But then exertion has made weary the soul of their commander. King Iginua (Iginuwa) would not make it out of Ijala. He joined his ancestors amidst the preparations. And there, he was buried.

It is for this reason that Ijala had become the only burial place of Olus (Itsekiri kings) since 1500 AD till date. Certainly, there was no time for exaggerated mourning. Danger was fast approaching. Primogeniture would help pave the way for Prince Ijijen to take up the royal command. And without objection, the honour of a king was duly accorded him. Thus, the planned movement from Ijala was, therefore, executed by Prince Ijijen with the aid of an Idibie (medicine man or a diviner) who threw a magical spear (Egan or Etsoro) that was believed to have landed at a location called Okotomu, now Ode-itsekiri (Big Warri).

The tracing of that spear by Prince Ijijen and his people, with the help of the Idibie piloting, finally brought them to the spear’s location.

In a book titled "HISTORY OF THE ITSEKIRI" written by a renowned Itsekiri historian, William A. Moore, gave more revelations. He wrote, "Prior to the advent of the Benin Prince Iginuwa, the territory now known as the Kingdom of ITSEKIRI or IWERE, was inhabited by three tribes, namely, Ijaws, Sobos(Urhobos) and the Mahims."

Also, according to another school of thought, during the time when the struggle for kingdom carving was at its peak, various communities in the Yoruba kingdom were engaged in inter-communal war. As a result of this, streams of migration flowed in from Ijebu-Ode, Akure, and Owo.
They found their way into the kingdom, which then was not a kingdom, to settle in various parts; including Ureji and Ugborodo. This should explain the mystic affinity between the Itsekiri language and Ijebu. It is also said that groups from Igala in Nupe country, came in through the creek.
It was during the days this exodus, that one Fifan Wandobo and his brother- Itsekiri migrated along others from Kerenmu to Ijalosan. They would later move from Ijalosan to Okoyitemi (Okolomu). Itsekiri was the one who led that migration.

He was thus head of the settlement when Prince Ijijen's led ark arrived. Several of Itsekiri’s compatriots fled at the sight of the iroko ark, but Itsekiri with the other inhabitants of Okorotom quarter remained. They submitted to the superiority of royalty, and dwelt with Prince Ijijen as his subjects.

This was the beginning of a kingdom whose birth was divinely orchestrated by the unseen hand of fate.  

Historical account says Oba Olua was kind and generous.

At the demise of Oba Olua a republican period which lasted for only three years, was set up. The city was pillaged by the neighbouring villages and aliens from other places The confusion led to the recall of prince Okpame to defend the ancestral throne.