Godwin Udoh
The Osewo (Kingmaker) of Irri Kingdom in Isoko South Local Government area of Delta state, Omoneje Goodluck have said that anyone laying claim to the kingship of the kingdom must fulfill all traditional right as well as swearing before 11 gods in the land.
His declaration is coming on the heels of a halted installation of a new king in the land.
The clan has scheduled 19th July, 2023 for the installation of one Elohor Jacko as the new Odion-Ologbo (Monarch) of the Kingdom after he was said to have been selected by the gods and completed all traditional rights but had to suspend the process following alleged threat to peace in the community.
Omoneje who briefed newsmen on the current position of things in the process of installing a new king for the kingdom, warned that the Odion-Ologbo stool was not a political office but a traditional one, insisting that all traditional rights must be observed and complied with by anyone who wants to lay claim to the stool as against the person already selected through the traditional process.
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He said, “Last month we held a meeting and I was ordered to go and find out by way of tradition by doing Oracle, who is the right person, which I did. After doing that, I summoned a meeting with my family and after everything it boiled down to Chief Jacko Elohor, who have fulfilled all the traditional rights. I was to crowning him this early morning, and because of the power tussle, I decided to go to the Area Command at Ozoro to get security to maintain peace.
“To my greatest surprise, I was called by the Area Commander that he has received a report from the President General that there will be blood shed if I go ahead with the coronation, that it should be suspended. So I called a meeting of all stakeholders and my family members, and as God will have it, they all declared and resolved that, we should avoid going to court, we should avoid going to the police, that it is a traditional thing and should be treated traditionally. One thing I know is that, if they crown you and you are not the right person, you will not last and you the Osewo, which is myself will also not last, I will have problems, then the community will not be at peace, they will have issues upon issues.
“This is not a political thing but a traditional thing which need to be observed with every respect for the tradition of the land. Now what we have decided to do, is that, we are going to swear before the gods of the land, we have about 11 of them that are very active in the land. Whoever claims he’s the right person and wants to be the king will swear before the gods. Whoever absent himself from the ritual is automatically disqualified from the contest. If you stand and swear whatever happens to you is your business. So that is where we are now.
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“The truth is that the issue of who is to be the next Odion-Ologbo of Irri kingdom have been jeopardized and bastardized by some unscrupulous elements who wants to steal power by all means because they have ulterior motives. Why I am saying it is that, they don’t want to follow the rightful way, or the traditional way of doing things.
“This has lingered for some time and it has put the community in jeopardy. At a time a got angry and put injunction on some certain things that happened negatively. However now we have resolved to do the needful traditionally by electing and crowning the right person.
“The right procedure constitutionally and traditionally is that, first you have to be chosen by the ruling houses in the community, we have some ruling houses, then, there is what we call Okpor, the Okpor will be given to you, it is what empowers you as a representative of that ruling family once you are chosen. After that, there are two other stages before you emerge. The final stage is that you must be brought to the council of chiefs who will now bring you to me for crowning. And you must be the most senior chief that first complete the traditional process, who must also be presented by the most Senior Odion (Chief) in council.
“Ordinarily we have five members from the list and out of the five, three persons are vying for the position, when you are vying you cannot vote for yourself. And of the three, we have one old man who is sick and aged, which have been removed from the list because of his condition.”
Also speaking an elder in the kingmaker’s family, Pastor Houghton Hitler observed that but for trouble makers, a monarch has already emerged for the kingdom, pointing that Jacko Elohor was already selected by God and will be crowned accordingly.