Re: When will Olu of Warri, Ayiri Sheath their Sword?

Right of Reply

We do not expect the Palace of His Majesty, the Olu of Warri, Ogiame  Atuwatse III, to respond to the condescending innuendos contained in an article penned by Adebayo Adeoye, on Page 29 of your newspaper dated Sunday, April 23, 2023, as doing so will amount to the palace nobilitating the infra dig the offensive article represents.

However, as responsible subjects of the Olu of Warri, we at the Itsekiri Renaissance Group (IRG) feel the need to defend the dignity of the throne as true sons and daughters of Iwere Land.

First of all, we are mystified as to how any person can attempt to pit the gravitas of a former chief against the Majesty of a Sovereign. From the writer’s name, it is obvious that he is a Yoruba man, also the fact that both his names make reference to crowns (Ade) suggests that he must come from a lineage familiar with royalty.

In the Yoruba culture, the King is referred to as “Ka bi o osi” (Kabiyesi), meaning “The one who can not be questioned.” This is similar to how we the Itsekiri refer to our king as “Aformasin” meaning “ The one who speaks, and it is so.”

For someone who nominally parades credentials of an affiliation to royalty going by the writer’s name and given the cultural nuance of his ethnicity, we are appalled that such a vexatious piece could be penned by him.

Most revolting was the last line of his piece, where he stated as follows: “Tongues were wagging over the imbroglio between the two eminent citizens of the kingdom.” The writer ought to know that Ogiame Atuwatse III, can never and in deed should never be referred to as a citizen of the kingdom he is sovereign over.

•Patrick H. Doyle is the Chairman Media Committee, Itsekiri Renaissance Group