BY GABRIEL OMONHINMIN
Eight days, after the August 21, 2021, coronation of Prince Tsola Emiko as Ogiame Atuwatse III and the 21st Olu of Warri Kingdom, trusted chiefs of the new monarch and members of his inner cabinet led by Mene Brown, met on August 29, 2021.
At the end of their parley, far reaching decisions were taking to refocus the activities of the Iteskiri Kingdom during the reign of the new king.
One of the decisions reached was for the new monarch to immediately dissolve the Warri council of chiefs, committees and sub-committees previously constituted by the late Ogiame Ikonwoli, so as to make way for the revalidation or confirmation of chieftaincy titles held by chiefs in kingdom. This, it was learnt, was one of the moves and opportunities to separate the wheat from the chaff. It was, therefore, not a surprise when Ogiame Atuwatse III, issued a public notice to this effect on September 1, 2021.
In the public notice, reference number 009012021/001, entitled ‘The Dissolution of all Traditional Councils, Committees, Sub-Committees and Revalidation/Confirmation of Chieftaincy titles in Warri Kingdom, which the monarch personally signed, he said as follows:- “Pursuant to Itsekiri custom and tradition regarding the powers conferred on me as the Olu of Warri and by virtue of the provisions of section 25 of the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Council and Chiefs Law, CAP T.2 Laws of Delta State of Nigeria, 2008, I, Ogiame Atunwatse III, the Olu of Warri hereby announce, for the information of the general public, the Delta State government and particularly, the traditional rulers and chiefs committees; the dissolution of all traditional councils, committees, sub-committees and the scheduled exercise of revalidation/confirmation of chieftaincy titles effective from the 2nd day of September, 2021.
“For the avoidance of doubts, the Warri Council of Chiefs, the Olu Advisory Council (Ojoye Ojisan) – the five king makers, the Olu in Council, all standing, ad-hoc and sub-committees are dissolved forthwith, the mandatory revalidation/confirmation of chieftaincy titles shall commence on the 2nd day of September, 2021.
“The timetable for the revalidation and confirmation exercise shall be made available at the palace secretariat from the 1st day of September, 2021 and the process of registration of all chieftaincy titles with the prescribed authority in accordance with the provisions of section 25 of the Delta State Traditional Rulers, Council and Chiefs Law, (supra) shall follow immediately after the revalidation and confirmation exercise.”
A day before Ogiame’s public notice, and immediately after the meeting of August 29, 2021, members of the new Olu of Warri inner circles of chiefs made up of Johnson Amatseleghe, Iyatsere of Warri Kingdom, Chairman, Warri Council of Chiefs and Eugene Abidemi Ikomi, Olulaye of Warri Kingdom, Secretary, Warri Council of Chiefs, jointly signed a three-page letter addressed to Ogiame Atuwatse III.
In their letter entitled ‘List of Chiefs for Reaffirmation’, Amatseleghe and Ikomi, wrote:- “Further to your instruction during our meeting of Sunday 29th August, 2021, please find listed below names of chiefs for reaffirmation and the dates assigned for same. Subject to their availability, these dates can be adjusted within the frame assigned by your majesty.”
Inner-circle of chiefs
Consequently, the revalidation exercise was divided into seven segments. The first segment was made up of all the staunch supporters of the new Olu of Warri.
The revalidation of the core members of the inner-circle of chiefs took place on September 2, 2021 and it comprised of 14 key members out of the over 70 chiefs in the Olu of Warri palace.
Number one on the list was Johnson Amatseleghe, Iyatsere of Warri Kingdom. He was the man who fought Ayiri Emami, the suspended Ologbotsere to a standstill.
Another chief who had his title revalidated was Gabriel Awala, Uwangue of Warri Kingdom. He was the man in-charge of the Olu of Warri’s wardrobe, and it was he that crowned the new Olu of Warri on August 21, 2021.
Others were R. I. Oritsejafor – Ogwa of Warri Kingdom; C. D. Ikomi, Ero of Warri Kingdom. He was a strong advocate of the new Olu of Warri; sadly he died about two weeks ago; Edwin Olley – Agbarame of Warri Kingdom; Omolubi Newumumi, Omatamudieyin of Warri Kingdom; Clement Maleghemi, Udefi of Warri Kingdom; Solomon Arenyeka, Eson of Warri kingdom; Robinson Ariyo, Egogo of Warri Kingdom. He is one of the leading advocates that is fighting the Olu of Warri cases in and out of court; Billy Besigiwa, Osolo of Warri Kingdom; Roli Oritsejafor, Iyelomaete of Warri Kingdom; Kofi Kartey, Abolujiyan of Warri Kingdom; Brown Mene, Ogwaolusan of Warri Kingdom. He was one of the close confidants and ally of the late Ogiame Atuwase II, father of the current monarch. He served the late Olu of Warri for 28 years during his reign; Eugene Ikomi, Olulaye of Warri Kingdom, and present secretary of the Warri Council of Chiefs.
The day of the renegades
On September 4, 2021, the second batch of the exercise was a day of great tension and anxiety, because the chiefs were scheduled to appear before the king in his palace in Ode-Itsekiri. The 11 chiefs in this group included Ayiri Emami, the suspended Ologbotsere of Warri Kingdom, and Isaac Jemide, Otsodin or Oshodi of Warri Kingdom.
The octogenarian, who is said to be extremely principled, was one of the two king makers who pitched their tents with the Ologbotsere while the chieftaincy tussle lasted.
As was expected, Emami bluntly refused to show up for the title revalidation exercise. He also refused to give any formal reason(s) for his refusal to show up at the venue. Surprisingly, while the revalidation exercise was holding in the Olu of Warri palace in Ode-Itsekiri on that day, Emami was sighted in one of the major river banks in Warri appeasing the Oloku, the water goddess in a ritual.
Jemide, who was also one of the pioneer members of the Itsekiri Leaders of Thoughts, who opposed Ogaime Atuwatse II, almost throughout his reign as the Olu of Warri, was said to have boycotted the Olu of Warri Palace for 28 years that Ogiame Atuwase II was on the throne.
He was alleged to have given very stringent conditions to the Warri palace which must be met, if he must ever appear for the title revalidation exercise.
“This is an exercise deliberately designed to silent or stifles the opposition in the Itsekiri Kingdom. From time immemorial, once a new king is installed in Itsekiri Kingdom, chiefs in the kingdom traditionally go to pay their homage to the new Olu of Warri without any prompting. They go to the Olu of Warri palace to pray that he reigns on the throne for a very long time
“
Jemide was said to have demanded among other things, that as an old man in his 80s, that he will not travel to Ode-Itsekiri (Small Warri) by boat for the title revalidation exercise and as such his revalidation exercise instead, should be performed in Warri.
Another condition was that a vehicle had to be sent from the Olu of Warri palace to convey him to and from his residence in Warri to the venue of the exercise. Since all his grandchildren are already grown up, the palace should make arrangement to provide him with the young man, who will bear his sword during the title revalidation exercise in Warri; and that the Warri palace should make sure, his personal pictures did not appear on the internet or captured anywhere, before, during and after the exercise.
All these conditions were said to have been met by the Warri palace before Jemide showed up for the exercise.
There were palpable tensions when Richmond ]Macgrey appeared in Ode-Itsekiri for the title revalidation exercise, in company of one of his daughters and two of his sisters. It took just 11 minutes 48 seconds for Ogiame Atuwatse III to revalidate his title of Oritseboluwo of Warri Kingdom.
A very reliable source told The Point that Macgrey’s title revalidation exercise was made very easy by the relentless pleading on his behalf by his son in-law, Emmanuel Uduaghan (not the former governor of Delta State).
The source said Macgrey also helped matters when he promptly complied with all the instructions given to him before the title revalidation exercise.
The third batch of the revalidation exercise took place on September 6, 2021 at Ode-Itsekiri, and there was nothing significant to be reported on that day.
The fourth batch of the title revalidation exercise which took place on September 7, 2021 in Ode-Itsekiri saw seven persons appearing before Ogiame Atuwatse III.
They were Caroline Ajuyah, Olu-Nuranran of Warri Kingdom; Joseph Otumara, Obaisuwa of Warri Kingdom; Francis Maku, Iken-Lorire of Warri Kingdom; Lucky Ereku, Atseti-Olu of Warri Kingdom; Alex Omaghomi, Imaran of Warri Kingdom; Michael Odeli, Olorogun of Warri Kingdom and Winifred Egbejule, Oyeifo of Warri Kingdom.
Why Odeli failed revalidation exercise
It was gathered that out of these numbers of chiefs, Ogiame Atuwatse III revalidated the titles of six chiefs on that day. The monarch who usually speaks with each chief that appeared before him, on a personal note, in very low tune, was quoted as telling Odeli to go and reflect deeply over all the incidences that happened during the chieftaincy tussle for two more weeks, before he can represent himself and be reconsidered for the title revalidation exercise.
The Point reliably gathered that a visibly shaken and depressed Odeli was said to have left the venue with all the people that accompanied him, very sad and disappointed. He was asked to go with all the drinks and food he brought to the venue for the occasion.
Omamuli didn’t show up
The fifth batch of the title revalidation exercise took place on September 8, 2021, and had six persons on the list. Edwin Ekpoko, the Tolureju of Warri Kingdom led this group. It was on this very day that Jolomi Omamuli, the Akulagba of Warri Kingdom, a known ally of Emami and one of the strong opponents to the Ogiame Atuwatse III camp during the chieftaincy tussle was to appear before the monarch. As expected, he was said to have relocated from Benin City where he resides, to Warri with his two wives, for the occasion.
He was said to have informed Emami about his intention before showing up for the exercise. Emami was said to have told Omamuli not to waste his precious time attending the title revalidation exercise, as he should know, or would have realized, that he was one of the persons targeted to be disgraced during the exercise. Omamuli was said to have ignored Emami’s counsel. The truth however dawned on him, when he was told about the drama that took place when Odeli’s title was put on hold by the king. The Akulagba of Warri Kingdom immediately beat a retreat, went back to Benin City with members of his family. He did not show up for the exercise again.
The sixth batch of the exercise took place on September 9, 2021, and there were nine persons on the list which included Daisy Danjuma, the Agura-Iwere of Warri Kingdom, and this group was led by Yahya Pessu, the Ojomo of Warri Kingdom, one of the three kingmakers who was in Emami’s camp as Ologbotsere during the tussle. His title revalidation however went on smoothly.
The seventh and final batch of the exercise was made up of 10 chiefs who were either temporary or permanently resident outside Nigeria. Their titles were said to have been revalidated, via any means suitable to the king.
Exercise designed to silent opposition
Commenting on the entire exercise, a prominent Itsekiri chief who pleaded for anonymity, said, “It is not in doubt that the current Olu of Warri is very popular among most Itsekiri youths, as the present Olu of Warri can never do any wrong.
He, however, expressed his disgust over the way and manner the present title revalidation exercise was done.
He stressed further, “This is an exercise deliberately designed to silent or stifle the opposition in the Itsekiri Kingdom. From time immemorial once a new king is installed in Itsekiri Kingdom, chiefs in the kingdom, traditionally go to pay their homage to the new Olu of Warri without any prompting. They go to the Olu of Warri palace to pray that he reigns on the throne for a very long time.
“This exercise was always done without any fanfare and no time-table drawn up for it, as chiefs at their own leisure arrange to visit the Olu of Warri’s Palace to pay their traditional homage.
“This revalidation of a thing got to a ridiculous extent in 1978 after the Rewanes and Beghos went against all odds, to help install the late Ogiame Atuwatse II the father of the current Olu of Warri as the 19th Olu of Warri Kingdom.”
He explained that almost immediately after the king ascended the throne, there was a huge disagreement between the late Olu of Warri and some of his hitherto strong allies, the Itsekiri chiefs who helped in his emergence as the Olu of Warri Kingdom.
He said it was against this backdrop and to ascertain the loyalty of some of these chiefs that the late Ogiame Atuwatse II made the traditional homage of the Itsekiri chiefs formal and a big issue.
“In the process, most of the chiefs then, who were alienated from the scheme of things in the kingdom later formed the bulk of the ‘Itsekiri Leaders of Thoughts,’ (ILT) who acted like a pressure group throughout the reign of the late Ogiame Atuwatse II for the 28 years, that he was on the throne as the Olu of Warri.
“In 2015 when the immediate past Olu of Warri Ogiame Ikonwoli, was crowned the 20th Olu of Warri Kingdom, he relaxed this process, and did not give too much importance to this title revalidation exercise. There was no formal announcement to this effect, and there was also no date set for the exercise to be conducted. Ogiame Ikonwoli allowed chiefs to come to the palace and pay him their homage as it pleases them.
“Our new Olu of Warri and his kitchen cabinet who now see themselves as “conquerors” of the Warri Kingdom, have moved the bar a step further, by introducing the issuance of certificates to the chiefs who have had their titles revalidated,” he noted.
The chief concluded by saying “there are already signs that the Itsekiri ancestors are not too pleased with the way and manner things went. My only advice is that people, who should know, must learn to tread softly in the general interest of peace and tranquility of the Istekiri people and kingdom.”
Meanwhile, The Point learnt that Emami and his lawyers were in court in Warri on Tuesday, seeking the removal of Ogiame Atuwatse III.
The court was said to have awarded a cost of N100, 000.00 against the Ginuwa 1 ruling house, for seeking to withdraw from the court case.
