Warri Palace Chiefs Set the Record Straight on Emami’s Title Removal

Vanessa Obioha presents the submission of a team from the Palace of the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III on the raging controversy over the removal of socialite and businessman, Ayiri Emami from the exalted office of Ologbotsere of Warri

The Ogwa Olusan of Warri Kingdom Chief Brown Mene accompanied by the noble Prince of Iwere Land, Toju Emiko and a prominent businessman, Mr. Oti Ikomi were in Lagos yesterday to clear the air on the removal of socialite and businessman, Ayiri Emami as the title holder of Ologbotsere of Warri by the recently crowned Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III.

Last October, the Olu dethroned Emami from the Ologbotsere office following a fallout between the two. Emami, whose title made him the first among equals, has rejected the Olu’s pronouncement, claiming that he doesn’t recognise the new king nor did the king emerge through the traditional process.

Establishing the facts, Mene said that the King had the ultimate power to confer and remove any chief. He also clarified that the Ologbotsere title is not synonymous with a Prime Minister role.
“He is just a first among the equals and his role is to preside over the Olu Advisory Council made up of seven chiefs.”
He added that Emami deliberately delayed the crowning of the new King because he wanted to occupy the throne.
“His belief was that without an Olu, he could function as one and he conducted himself that way.”

Mene explained further that right from the onset, Emami’s emergence was not embraced. According to him, the people protested his emergence due to his controversial mien.

“Before he even got there, that was why there was a protest because they knew the kind of person he is. Knowing him to be who he is, if you let him get there, he will not do anything constructive. He is going to use it, it will go into his head and he will use it to destabilise and of course, as soon as he got there, this is the way he has been behaving. This is not the first time we saw this misdemeanour on his part, but it has come to the point where his cup is full and overflowing.

He debunked claims that the King reduced the Ologbotsere title.

“That’s wrong. It’s a narrative that has been falsely put out by Ayiri, sponsoring someone to spew that out because that will read wrong to many people. The Olu said it categorically. The title was not abolished, even though he has the power to do so. But he did not. As a matter of fact, he said the appellation of the title will be answered, for now, by the most senior person in the family. If it was abolished, he wouldn’t do that. So it’s not abolished.”

In the history of the Warri Kingdom, there has only been four Ologbotsere title holders. The Ologbotsere title is a lifelong one but the King has the power to withdraw the title if the chief does nor conduct himself well.

“If such a person is playing a role to an extent that he is doing more damage than holding things together, the Olu reserves the right to put him aside and stop him from being the chief. We have many circumstances.”

Again, he emphasized that all titles that are family-based were made so by the pronouncement of the Olu of Warri.

“To be sure, Mr. Emami has ceased to be an Itsekiri chief and certainly has no claims to the retention of the title of Ologbotsere that in reality belongs to the King and was merely concessioned to the Ologbotsere family which incidentally, I am a member of.”

He also stated categorically that the new King’s name was tabled before the oracle and they got a response before they proceeded.

Emiko added that prominent persons like the former governor of the state Emmanuel Uduaghan made efforts to resolve the issue but to no avail.

“He was playing politics because he felt he could create a situation where there could be a stalemate so he can be acting with the misconception that he is the traditional Prime Minister. The Itsekiri customs and tradition does not recognise the Prime Minister. The Itsekiri government is just like a tripod, the Olu is at the top. There is no assistant or deputy, nothing like that.

“Reasonable efforts were made but they were just stalling and they decided to go to court. Anybody can go to court. There’s no stress about that. We are meeting them there. We are not afraid of court. Courts are meant for human beings and not animals. We are meeting them there”

Lending his voice to the matter, Ikomi said that they want to move away from the distractions and focus on the development of the kingdom. He said as the Chairman of Itsekiri Renaissance Group, made up of “vibrant professionals, executives and dedicated Itsekiri men and women who seek to execute high impact projects,” the renaissance is focused on “massive development in tourism, environment, infrastructure, among others to bring equitable advancement of our people in jobs and qualified national positions.”