 Consequently, Ewuare created the Okao title (traditional head) and installed the first Okao in Benin land at Unuame to protect his Empire and restrict the Ovia/Osse river access at Unuame.Subsequently, Ikao ("plural of Okao") were established in other Ovia/Osse river-bounded communities such as Ogbese, Iyera, Ugbihiehie, Ite, Ikoro and Gele-Gele, among others, who administered the affairs of their community on behalf of the Oba and prevented the Empire from invasions through the Ovia River.Elders recalled how passionate Ewuare was about Unuame, among other villages, as he occasionally refers to it in some of his famous adages.