ITSEKIRI: WHERE ARE WE AND WHICH WAY?

/10/2026

HIS MAJESTY,

OGIAME,

ATUWATSE III

THE OLU OF WARRI,

Your Majesty,

                                  ITSEKIRI: WHERE ARE WE AND WHICH WAY?

I have observed in hindsight events happening in and around the kingdom and affecting Warri Kingdom and as a son of the soil, I have become worried and troubled like every other reasonable sons and daughters of the soil. 

Keeping quiet at a time like this will mean consenting to the anomalies ravaging the kingdom in which case, I might be counted by upcoming generation as one of those that sold our heritage for port of porridge, hence I summon the courage to speak up to Your Majesty but make public because, I have had one on one discussion with Your Majesty but has yielded no result(s). 

Your Majesty, it is no longer secrete that since Your Majesty mounted the throne, it has been from one trouble to the other or it is better with the phrase “one week, one trouble” to describe the state of affairs of Warri Kingdom as presently constituted. There is no gainsaying that Your Majesty’s reign in the past five years has brought us more pains than the Itsekiris could have imagined.

A case in point is the conflict associated with Supreme Court ordered Warri Federal Constituency ward delineation exercise which almost consumed the entire Warri Kingdom. 

Your Majesty, while tension mounted, so much so that our neighbors were going to consume us in their usual expansionist agenda, Your Majesty was busy negotiating us out for self aggrandizement, even without any iota of consultation or recourse to those staking their neck into the struggle for the kingdom. If I may asked Your Majesty; What has become of all the so called peace bridges built by Your Majesty?, where are we now, your Majesty?

Recall that Chief Thomas Ereyitomi and Hon. Godwin Ebosa in company of two non Itsekiris met with Your Majesty in Abuja to solicit your Majesty’s consent to engage our neighbors in similar manner the infamous Warri crisis was resolved, but Your majesty turned them down stating that your Majesty was on top of the game in which case non of our neighbors should be discussed with, Your Majesty retorted. Before long, it was apparent that Your Majesty who in one breath forbids his subjects from discussing with our neighbors went in another breath behind the curtains to discuss with the same neighbors Your Majesty forbids us discussing with. 

The only reason I can fathom out as the possible reason why Your Majesty did not want any other person to discuss with our neighbors is because, Your Majesty want to be the political, social, spiritual, economic, cultural etc leader as proclaimed by your Majesty on the day your Majesty was crowned. There is no gainsaying that your Majesty has seen himself as the “Solomon” of the world in which case, he needs no advice from anyone hence I crave your Majesty’s indulgence to ask; where are we now and which way for Itsekiri? 

As it is today, the Itsekiris is the only tribe in Nigeria without a Local Government to themselves whereas, there are Itsekiris in some other local government of the state such as Sapele, Ethiope, Uvwie etc and Your Majesty have never deem it wise to negotiate the control of such local government by the Itsekiris in such local government. Where are we, Your Majesty?

Again, recall, Your Majesty’s promises to the Itsekiri people, inter alia; to recover all that the Itsekiris have lost before Your Majesty’s ascension to throne. It was on the basis of these promises that some Itsekiris rally round Your Majesty. May I asked Your Majesty; what is the position today? Is this the way Your Majesty wants to recover what we have lost? Where is the Warri Kingdom that was left behind for Your Majesty by His Majesty, Ogiame, Ikenwoli? Where has the train we were told was moving during the succession period of Your Majesty landed? May I use this medium to notify Your Majesty that the much talked about 99.9% of Itsekiri that are behind Your Majesty during the succession era are now biting their fingers at the quiet of their time, for supporting Your Majesty’s emergence. It is now very safe for anyone to say that Atuwatse II is vindicated for leaving the declaration made pursuant to the 1979 edict intact. That is, not amending the declaration by Atuwatse II was the handiworks of the gods.

The fast growing Ode Itsekiri and by extension, the entire kingdom inherited by Your Majesty has become shadows of themselves. I doubt if Your Majesty need be told that anonymous once told us and I quote; “the name of the Olu whose enthronement witnessed withered coral is known same way the one whose enthronement witnessed bountiful coral is known.” It is apparent that the only thing Your Majesty knows and is interested in is to assemble gullible Itsekiris to dance galore in the name of Ghigho Aghofen just to divert attention by keeping them busy with singing and dancing. Where are we now, and which way for Itsekiri, Your Majesty?

Another mind bugling issue is; associating the throne with the running of pipeline surveillance contract that is neither owned by the throne nor the throne having majority shares in the contract. This has brought disgrace and or disrepute to the Itsekiri people. As if this is not bad enough, Your Majesty has positioned one Collins Edema without any customary relevance as the spokesman of Itsekiri under the Itsekiri emblem. The emblem of the Kingdom has become the letterhead paper for the defense of a pipe line surveillance under the signature of the said Edema Collins.

Your Majesty need not be told that the Olu is forbidden from engaging in any paid employment, so, the situation where His Majesty has become an “employee” of the said surveillance company; Pipeline Infrastructure Nigeria ltd., (PINL) in which case, the so called “sole Representative of the Olu to NNPCL” in the name of one Collins Edema with no customary roles and functions in the Kingdom but has become the mouthpiece of the Kingdom is nothing but shameful. 

Inasmuch as I am not against anyone including Collins Edema working for any organization, however, such person must do so stricto sensu in that capacity. Such must be distinct from the throne. This is however, not to say that the Itsekiri people are unaware of Your Majesty’s involvement in the said surveillance contract with fantastic and robust US Dollar pay with nothing to show for in the interest of Itsekiri. Where are we now, Your Majesty?            

Your Majesty will recall that the Governor of the State, Honorable Sheriff Oborevwori was in the Your Majesty’s Palace twice where the Governor praised Your Majesty to high heaven but rained insult on the Chiefs of the Kingdom. I remember having one on one discussion with your Majesty on this matter, in the presence of some other Itsekiri sons both in Warri and Abuja. I remember making it clear to Your Majesty that I doubt if the present Government of delta State is friendly to the Itsekiri people owing to the facts that there is no one Itsekiri that is a member of the kitchen cabinet of the Governor, so, the Governor’s “Greek praises” should be a source of concern to your Majesty. But will Your majesty give good reasoning a chance? Where are we now?

Again, that it is only at the Place of the Warri Monarch amongst all the palaces the Governor has visited that the Governor rained insults on the Chiefs, and to my mind, it was the picture painted by the Monarch himself that the Governor leveraged on to rain such insults otherwise, how do one explain the temerity of a visitor to rain abuses and insult on the wives of his host right under the host’s nose? Where are we now, Your Majesty?

Inasmuch as I appreciate the youth for expressing their displeasure over the INEC uploaded wards and unit delineation, I however, want to make clear that as it is today, Your majesty is the only political leader we have in the kingdom, and this is evidenced in Your Majesty’s visit to the Governor of Delta state in recent past whereat Your Majesty “dictated” to the Governor who should be House of Assembly member, House of Representative, Local Government Chairman, etc flag bearers and the hosting of a political party (APC) rally inside the palace. Again, recall that I had one on one discussion with your Majesty over Your Majesty’s statement to the Authorities in Abuja to the effect that there are Ijaws in Warri south Local government as against the reality on ground in which case Your Majesty owned up. So it is not out of place to hold Your Majesty accountable for any political mistake. Where are we, Your Majesty?

Your Majesty, inasmuch as I agree that there has always been pockets of trouble here and there, however, we have always manage ourselves without selling the Itsekiri heritage for a port of porridge as against this new order of “a sole representative.” I therefore, wish to put your Majesty on notice that Your Majesty is on his own with this so called sole representative regime while at the same time, I urge to Your Majesty to brood over the question; Where are we now and which way for Itsekiri?

Emiko Oghomieno

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