• Two years on, Ogiamme Atuwatse III forges ahead
From Ben Dunno, Warri
There is no denying the fact that the influence and stronghold of the 21st Olu of Warri, Ogiamme Atuwatse III, over his people have gone beyond rhetoric, but firmly established in the last 24 months, precisely on Saturday, August 21, 2021, the very day he ascended the throne of his forebears.
On his accession to the throne at age 37 at Ode-Itsekiri, the ancestral home of the Iwere Kingdom, the monarch picked the sword with inscription of same traditional title; Ogiamme Atuwatse III, with that his late father, Olu Atuwatse II, making it very unique.
In his candour, he held everyone spell bound with his speech, where he canvassed peaceful coexistence among his subjects and reversed the curse placed on the land by his great grandfather, Olu Erejuwa II, in a prophetic manner.
His two-year reign may not have come without its challenges. One of such bothers on the intrigues, manoeuvring and power play by the various ruling houses and interest groups that preceded his selection kept rearing its ugly head in the affairs of the Itsekiri.
The suspension and later demotion of Chief Ayiri Emami, as Ologbotsere and Chairman, Olu Advisory Council, (more like the second in command to Olu) to a palace ceremonial title of Akulagba, (a title he had earlier inherited from his late father), against the recommendation of the Peace Committee set up to reconcile all aggrieved parties involved in the selection process crisis and its attendant court cases, remains an issue.
Regardless, the Olu continued to enjoy wide acceptance from the vast majority of Iwere sons and daughters both at home and in the Diaspora. They have come to see and accept him as the rightful person to have been enthroned.
To the youths, he remains their idol. He combined intellect and high fashion taste. And to the elders, his wisdom in a short period of time, especially in the area of taking the kingdom to a new level in terms of socio-cultural and infrastructural development speaks well of him.
In addition, many see the monarch’s wife, Olori “Ivie” Emiko-Atuwatse, known as Olori Atuwatse III, as a potential asset to the throne, as demonstrated in her passionate for improved educational and health standards for every child of Iwere land, irrespective of the status or financial standing of the parents of such a child.
The Egogo (Mouthpiece) of Warri, Chief Robinson Ariyo, said: “If we are to assess the past two years of the reign of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, it would be most certainly be within the compass of the very high expectations particularly bearing in mind the enormous challenges confronting the Itsekiri people and the perception that he is a person of exceptional pedigree, influence and exposure.
“It is on record that the Olu initiated and consolidated a very good amount of social capital by way of developing working relationship with leaders at the local, state, national and international levels. He travelled to Canada a few months ago and secured very promising business and tourism deals expected to consummate very soon.
“Importantly, there is the very cordial and progressive working relationship between the palace and the local government councils, state government and the Federal Government.
“The private sector has not been left out. He was the first to hold an interactive session on the implementation of Petroleum Industry Act with the level of participation and awareness of the people in the new petroleum management regime being at the top compared to anywhere in the country.
“In Olu’s first year in office, he established a state-of-the-art conflict mediation panel comprising of experts in the field to tackle the plethora of disputes in the communities ensure the benefits accruing from mediation as a means of resolving conflict as opposed to litigation which is no longer a global currency. This again places Warri Kingdom on the global map of trailblazers of best practices. “He has succeeded in resolving many of the intra and inter-communal conflicts that he inherited with the promise of resolving more in the near future. For example, Omadino community, arguably the richest oil producing community in Delta State was immersed in a 20-year conflict. But with the efforts of Olu, same has been resolved and the community has started flourishing once again.
“He has been able to effectively wade into and resolve picketing issues involving community youths and oil exploration companies, thereby leading to increased confidence between the companies and their host communities and improved ease of doing business.”
Egogo referred to one of the favourite quotes Chief Obafemi Awolowo: “After rain comes sunshine. After darkness comes the glorious dawn.”
Chairman Ugborodo Community Trust, Augustine Nonen Oboroegbeyi, said: “Two years of Ogiame Atuwatse III had been very eventful. He introduced the Ghigho Aghofen, meaning, Palace Watch, in which communities in the kingdom take turn every three months to watch over the palace, starting with the five aboriginal communities.
“This new awareness and enlightenment programme designed and deployed for communities to exhibit their respective cultural and historic wealth. It has been most successful and educating besides being a unique tool of social bonding. This has been very successful.
“Ogiame Atuwatse III has been reaching out to Itsekiri including those in the Diaspora and, of course, corporate bodies for the development of the kingdom.
There are other known activities including provision of medicals, etc. for Itsekiri and others for all irrespective of tribe or political affiliation.”
