On Saturday December 12, 2015, history will be
made as the good people of Itsekiri will be
having their 20th Monarch, who incidentally is
the 3rd university graduate to ascend the
pristine Itsekiri royal stool. Apparently excited
by the peaceful completion of a usual pre-
coronation traditional ritual circle which every
new Olu of Warri is made to undergo before
taking full charge of the palace, many
commentators are presently of the view that an
honorable man with a clear vision to restore the
dignity and aspiration of the people of Warri in
their transition from a commerce oriented
people to the promise of intellectual beacon
that the city has evolved to become in modern
times. As I post these comments, many worthy
Itsekiri sons and daughters, home and in the
diaspora have undertaken to throw a civic
reception ceremony in honor of the 20th Olu of
Warri.
The singular event will have all the trappings of
a state function, an array of royal fathers,
bureaucrats, technocrats, brass-hat politicians,
religious leaders, and the moguls in the other
professions and businesses as the Executive
Governor of Delta State, His Excellency, Senator
Ifeanyi Okowa leads the state entourage to this
epoch making occasion.
Omoba Ikenwoli Godfrey Emiko, who had gone
through a thorough royal tutelage for 90days, is
a graduate of Business Administration from the
University of Benin, Edo State and reputed to
have mentored a number of Itsekiri sons and
daughters on the path to stardom. This
thorough-bred prince, who will be the 20th Olu
of Warri Kingdom, is married and blessed with
three children.
A man of many parts, Omoba Ikenwoli is a
religious, community, professional and business
leader. He was chairman, HOSTCOM, Delta State
Chapter, and was credited with the legendary
achievement of agitating and securing judicious
use of the 13% Derivation accruable to the Oil
and Gas Producing Communities.
In profession and business, Omoba Ikenwoli also
distinguished himself. He led his colleagues while
in the world class oil services firm, Slumberger
Nigeria Limited and also held other professional
and administrative positions.
As a family man, Omoba Ikenwoli is a caring
husband to his regal spouse and a devoted
father to his princely children who are fast
growing to adulthood. While his affection for his
biological children is boundlessly, it is even more
noteworthy for his extension of this love to
many other children, many of whose parents he
does not necessarily even know. He is also a
unifying factor within the Emiko Royal family. He
was earmarked for the stool at a very tender
age, and ascending the throne at this critical
point in Itsekiri history, certainly calls for
celebration. Specifically, Omoba Ikenwoli is
noted for honesty, commitment, compassion,
and listening ability. He is knowledgeable and
philosophical as many of his utterances relieve
the past, pattern the present and define the
future. He is a patriotic, conscientious and
insightful leader, very selfless and undoubtedly
forthright. An outstanding grassroots mobilizer
and a very reliable farther-strategist with a
knack for courage, perseverance and uncanny
analysis, who is loved by all and greatly admired
for his transparent and detribalized nature,
Omoba Ikenwole remains an epitome of goodwill
to all regardless of tribe, age, gender, ethnicity
or status in the society.
As Omoba Ikenwoli, dons his royal regalia,
supported by his Olori and waxes his horsetail
this week weekend, shots of dane guns by the
community hunters will be heard and the
chanting of the eulogy of Ogiame by the ageless
traditional drummers will rent the air, conveying
the joyful mindset of the people of Itsekiri who
are happy to have a new Monarch. As is the
Itsekiri tradition on such civil occasions, Chiefs,
Princes, the Olu’s blood relations, brothers and
sons, and title holders, will line the route to
honor the new Monarch and publicly
demonstrate their allegiance, as he makes his
way to his high seat.
Most appropriately, his first civic outing on his
coronation day, will showcase the ideal
opportunity for the new Olu of Warri to publicly
articulate and present to the Itsekiris, national
and international communities, his gratitude to
his father and long list of ancestor Olus, his
vision for the Itsekiri Monarchy; its mission and
place in the lives of all Itsekiri people, his view
and policy thrusts towards the Nigerian polity,
allegiance to the Federal/State Governments,
and his message of good neighborliness,
friendship and peace.
There cannot be any dull moment. A grand
parade of gorgeous apparels by the society
crème de la crème is expected on Saturday as
the Itsekiri ethnic nationality plays host to the
MNOCs and those in the vanguard of moving the
State and Nation forward.
As goodwill messages continue to pour in, I am
overjoyed that our incoming Olu holds the
promise for peace and unity, and as such all
Itsekiri sons and daughters must do well to be
more cohesive in this new era. They would do
better to concentrate on deepening already
existing ties with our fellow Deltans while
building new bridges to those we may not
necessarily be very close to as of now. While
fiercely and unyieldingly protecting Itsekiri
interests, we must remain committed to
fostering inter-ethnic harmony with our Urhobo,
and Ijaw brothers and sisters thus helping the
government of the day to engender peace and
tranquility needed for the advancement of the
state and the nation.
Ogiame Suo!
…Tidi, is the eldest son of Oritsetimeyin Tidi and
the late Princess Roli Emiko of the Royal House
of Emiko.

Ogiame suo