The Olu of Warri, His Majesty ÒgíamẲ̀ Atúwàtse III, has cleared up the idea that the traditional thrones and Christendom are at odds with each other.
The king said this when he met the Soun of Ogbomoso Land, Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye, Orumogege III, at his palace in Warri Kingdom, Delta State. He said that the two institutions were not always at odds with each other.
He also disproved the idea that traditional institutions were the same as fetishism and worshiping things that people made with their minds.
He did say, though, that the two institutions could work together to help the country grow and progress.
When the sun visited, the olu said he was thrilled. He also said that the new Ogbomoso monarch’s choice of Warri kingdom as his first stop was divinely guided, just like his choice for the throne.
In this fast-changing technological world, he told them that they owed it to God to lead in a way that would help their people.
The king of Warri said, “We have a divine obligation to lead in righteousness, justice, fairness, and equity. These are not just words; they are strong ideals.”
“Only when these ideals are at the center of our lives can we lead our people to clear, useful progress in their physical, mental, and spiritual well-being.”
He said that the traditional thrones of Warri and Ogbomoso in Oyo State were linked by custom and should work together to help their people in areas that were of interest to both.
In his earlier speech, the Soun of Ogbomoso pushed for the use of “Cultural Diplomacy for Development” to help Nigeria’s traditional institutions become useful partners in the country’s efforts to grow and develop more quickly for the people.
“Your Majesty ÒgíamẲ̀ and I are going to be the leaders in using what I’ve called “Cultural Diplomacy for Development” to turn our traditional institutions into useful partners in our work to speed up growth and development for our people.”
It is clear in our country and around the world that Your Majesty did a great job as the cultural ambassador of the Iwere people.
“Those of us who understand this virtue can see how it will bring your people the much-needed economic progress they need.”
Seeing these good feelings during Your Majesty’s reign is what led us to choose the Great Kingdom of Warri as our first stop on our journey to make friends and business partners as we start our holy job to lead the people of Ogbomoso Land, he said.
Oba Jimoh Oyewumi, the previous Soun, passed away on December 12, 2021, and the new Soun took his place on September 8, 2023.
Before he was called to the throne, he was the senior leader of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Washington, DC.
Warri and Ogbomoso both have a long and interesting past that goes back hundreds of years.
Rear Admiral Jacob Ajani (retd), Prof. Shola Adepoju, Air Vice Marshall Bolaji Adigun (retd), who is also the Akogun of Ogbomoso Land, and Pastor Agu Irukwu were with the Soun during the visit.
During the visit, Oba Olaoye announced that 10 children from Warri Kingdom in Ogbomoso would be given scholarships to go to junior and senior secondary schools starting with the next school year. There are six girls and four boys.
“Your Majesty, I’d like to start this new era by asking you to send 10 children (4 boys and 6 girls) to Ogbomoso on our full scholarship to attend junior and senior secondary school (JSS and SSS) starting with the next school year.” We really hope that Your Majesty will do the same for us so that we can start the educational exchange and make this the first step in our friendship.
“Once more, I want to express my gratitude for the extraordinarily kind welcome we received today.” “Your Majesty ÒgíamẲ̀, we are very excited to have you as a special guest in Ogbomoso for the events of our official coronation,” the Soun of Ogbomoso said.