July 28, (THEWILL) – Among the dignitaries on the coronation of Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, on August 21, 2021 was former president of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. Ooni of Ile Ife Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi 11 a first-class traditional ruler was in attendance as well. Apart from a few wizened, greying men in the royal chambers, Obasanjo was one of the oldest august visitors around that day in August.
Then at 84, OBJ was almost half a century older than the just-proclaimed 38-year-old Olu of Warri Kingdom. It was no surprise, then, that the elder statesman played a paternal role deserving of one in typical African tradition. He prayed for the young royalty as an avuncular figure would a younger relative: “May I never see another Olu in my lifetime,” OBJ declared.
The inference was not lost on those present on that special day. It was OBJ’s way of saying, as people are wont to during investitures of such importance, “long may you live and long may your reign be.”
Barely two years as monarch of the entire Itsekiri kingdom and Olu of Warri to boot, the former president’s solemn supplication is being put to the test not by the general-turned politician but, surprisingly, by the monarch himself. In other words, all is not well in the ancient kingdom founded by Ginuwa, a prince from the royal house of Benin way, way back in the 15th century.
If feelers from the coastal kingdom are anything to go by, then Ogiame Atuwatse 111 may just be undoing his monarchy bit by excruciating bit because of the lingering crisis before and during his reign, prompting close observers to now conclude that his reign may be coming to a premature end unless…
Next month will make it exactly two years when a freshly-minted monarch in the person of Ogiame Utieyinoritsola (Tsola) Emiko ascended the throne as Olu of Warri. To honour his late father, Ogiame Atuwatse 11, Prince Emiko chose Ogiame Atuwatse 111 as the titular name he will be known by. Like his father, also, the new king let it be known he will espouse his Christian faith side by side with his traditional obligations. Thus, on the day of coronation, after performing the traditional rites expected of him, the king himself led the praise and worship session soon after investiture.
Prior to the coronation of Tsola Emiko as Olu of Warri, the royal house was divided. Some of them rooted for one of his cousins as successor to the throne, pointing out that Emiko’s mother was neither Itsekiri nor Edo as one of the conditions for ascending the throne. Leading this faction was the Ologbotsere of Warri kingdom, Chief Ayiri Emami. And so strong was his dissension that he stayed off the coronation proper. Also missing was the 400-year-old crown generations of Olus have won, further deepening the stand-off between Tsola Emiko and Emami.
But as they say, old things are passed away. It was exactly so for Ogiame Atuwatse III and the most important titled chief in his kingdom, Ologbotsere. According to sources in the know, palace officials resolved the differences between king and his prime minister and it has been going swimmingly for them ever since – until recently.
A very visible royalty on social media, Ogiame Atuwatse III has been accused of not being traditional enough as the Itsekiris would have preferred. Worse still is that one of his strong backers to his ascension is now solidly against him, admitting the errors he and some the palace officials made in the past.
Quoted by Sola O’Neil in an exhaustive report in The Nation of July 23, 2023, an uncle to the king, Prince Yemi Emiko, has now made some explosive revelations about the emergence of his nephew as king, claiming that he and others who were against Emami installed Tsola Emiko even though they knew he was not qualified.
“I am not saying that everything we did at that time (2021) was correct or legal because we have a law that governs succession,” Yemi said. “We took certain actions with the hope that when the Olu emerges, Itsekiris would sit down and look at the provision of that law (edict), and see how best we can tinker with it to be in compliance.”
“Ayiri did not commit any crime against anybody in this land. All he did was stand by the law; he was not the one who wrote the law. I called the elders and said, “Let’s find a way to put him (monarch) on the throne and after that, we can sit down and amend the law.”
Continuing, O’Neil wrote that “while many are wondering why it took Yemi two years to become repentant, intense criticism has greeted his disclosure, especially by supporters of the monarch, and Chief Brown Mene, the Ogwa Olusan of the kingdom, who said, “Whatever Prince Yemi Emiko said, he has no locus as far as chieftaincy is concerned. They (princes) do not have a voice to determine who is a chief or not.”
“While the kingdom was reeling from the bombshell, various groups, including the Itsekiri Consultant Forum, are warning that the kingdom is drifting dangerously towards the rock. The Itsekiri Leaders of Thought had also in the past tried to calm the storm, but seems to have given up. But ICF, in a 7-page letter to the monarch, reeled out a litany of his perceived failings and wondered who was advising him.
“One of the many problems that have refused to die is the palace’s handling of the dethronement of Emami as Ologbotsere, and speedily replacing him with Chief Oma Eyewuoma. The Ologbotsere Descendants have dared the monarch by not only rejecting his pick but insisting on the former.
“The drama began just days before Atuwatse III’s 39th birthday, and two years after his selection as Omoba (Olu-elect). The monarch had surprised many by sending for the beleaguered Emami. He reportedly told his confidants of his mysterious dream encounter with his late father. Following the dream, he paid an unscheduled visit to the Ogbowuru deity, one of the most sacred in the nation, at Ode-Itsekiri (Big Warri). But he also riled traditionalists by visiting the shrine with a pastor and copious bottles of ‘anointing oil’.
According to O’Neil who met and spoke with Emami, the PM said he was “suspicious of the invitation because I also had a dream, and I suspected that something sinister was afoot,” adding that he was sure that “the monarch was not sincere in his call for reconciliation.”
“A very reliable source confided in our reporter that prior to those ‘dreams’, the Olu had approached Prince Michael Diden, and appealed to him to lead a peace shuttle to resolve all issues surrounding his kingship, Ologbotsere, and the crisis in the kingdom in general. The purpose of the meeting was to ensure the withdrawal of all pending court cases for internal settlement.
“But Diden (alias Ejele) reportedly turned down the offer, insisting that his opposition to the monarch’s coronation was well documented. He had openly denounced the Olu and insisted on Emami as the rightful Ologbotsere of the kingdom. Ejele said he would not be objective as head of the committee, and advised a neutral and generally acceptable person. The former President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) , Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, was then chosen. The monarch’s nominees into the peace committee included chiefs Brown Mene and Robinson Ariyo, while other interest groups such as the Itsekiri Leaders of Thought brought in its secretary, Mr. Amorighoye Mene. Members of the ruling and princes sent in Yemi Emiko and others, with Chief Thomas Ereyitomi, Richard Omare, Michael Diden, Wilkie, Mrs. Edema, and others also listed.
“It was against this backdrop that the monarch’s invitation of Chief Emami for their first face-to-face meeting generated excitement and raised hope that the crisis would be laid to rest. Yet, the man in the centre of the storm, Chief Emami, was not excited. He told our reporter afterward that he was not convinced. He said he consulted his ancestors and “I knew that there is something insincere about the sudden change in the king’s stance.”
“However, Pastor Oritsejafor, a respected Itsekiri pastor, and other members worked hard and gave their words that it was the way to go. Oritsejafor also dragged in Emami’s wife, Asba, a member of his flock, to convince her husband to accept the monarch’s olive branch in the “interest of Itsekiri nation” and peace. Emami said he felt locked between a rock and a hard place: “If I didn’t attend, I would be seen as the one who does not want peace or the kingdom’s progress. I had my doubts, yet I had to go to satisfy my supporters and respected leaders who I cannot say ‘No’ to.”
“The day was also set out for the revalidation of his title and the formalisation of the peace in the kingdom. Revalidation is done by chiefs whenever there is a new Olu. The process involves the return of all paraphernalia of titleholders’ office, to allow the new monarch to bless and return them to signify ‘reappointment’. Emami had refused to perform the ceremony because of the insistence that the process that brought in the king was illegal.
“On that day, in the presence of all Itsekiri leaders who gathered at the palace, the king urged Emami to step forward, but rather than revalidate the Ologbotsere, after retrieving his bead, uda (sword), he whispered to him to accept a downgraded from Ologbotsere to Eyee’ku Akulagba (Ajuwaoyiboyemi) of Warri kingdom, which was the title he inherited from his late father.
“The shocked chief refused, telling the monarch that it was not part of the plan. Yet the king went ahead to announce that he had been stripped of his position as Ologbotsere. He also immediately announced Chief Oma Eyewuoma as the new holder of the title, much to the angst and surprise of the family and shocked members of the Itsekiri Peace Committee. Ayiri staged a walk out, leaving Oritsejafor and his team red-faced
“Pa Higson Oporokun, the nonagenarian head of Ologbotsere descendants said, “We leaders and elders of the family thought they had gone there to settle the matter, and to our greatest surprise, another person was installed right there. This has never been done. They disgraced the Ologbotsere family (who honoured the king’s invitation) to the event.”
“Pastor Oritsejafor and his peace committee members were shell-shocked. The pastor hurriedly gathered his cassocks and left the venue, shortly after Ayiri had stormed out. Sources quoted Oritsejafor as saying, “If the devil had known that crucifying Jesus would make him more popular, they probably would have had to rethink.”
The recent face-off between Ogiame Atuwatse III and Emami has had the Ooni of Ife wading in, trying to find a peaceful resolution to the matter. As it is, more supporters are now lining up behind Emami after the mid-April meeting.
“Aggrieved members of the committee are now mostly sympathetic to him, O’Neil insists “Diden has on many occasions denounced the monarch and insisted that he recognise Emami as the Ologbotsere. The peace committee did not only collapse but has not held a meeting since the incident.”
Even the Ooni of Ife Oba, Enitan Ogunwusi II, has also waded into the matter hoping for a peaceful resolution. There seems to be no headway either in that direction. The feeling among members of the royal house in Itsekiri is very much echoed by Ogiame Atuwatse III’s uncle, Prince Yemi Emiko. “I was taken aback by the invitation of Ologbotsere to the palace. He (Olu) spoke about forgiveness. Asked Ayiri to come and revalidate, I was with Papa Oritsejafor and other respected Itsekiri people. Unfortunately, we came and he (monarch) did what he did and the rest is now history…The current leadership in Itsekiri is focused on aesthetics, the beauty of it all, freshness, yanga (fashion) part. People are hailing, (but) you (monarch) forget the ethics, the main object for which you were made a leader.”
Another anti-monarchist told the journalist that “Tsola and his handlers used the avenue to exact their vengeance on Ayiri and to prove that he is a powerful king and to satisfy his coterie who had personal grievances with the man. This is not a mafia novel where you ‘teach enemies lessons’ by humiliating them; leadership is about the value of your words and reliability. Has the Olu displayed that? He should be a man whose words count. We saw on April 16 a king playing for applause while forgetting that the value of his words has greatly diminished. In the future when he speaks or makes promises to people as he did to Oritsejafor, Itsekiri leaders, and stakeholders.”
About the Author
Michael Jimoh is a Nigerian journalist with many years experience in print media. He is currently a Special Correspondent with THEWILL.
