By Jimitota Onoyume &
Chancel Bomadi SundayHRM (Dr) John Oweiagbe Ekio-emi, Gbesa I is the Ebenana-owei (Paramount Ruler) of Operemor Kingdom in Burutu local government area of Delta State. In this interview, the monarch shares his experiences before, during and after his ascension to the throne.
Among others, the soft-spoken monarch of the oil-rich Operemor Kingdom says top on his life aspiration was to be a Reverend Father, a professor, or at most an ambassador representing his country. He also says it never crossed his mind that he would one day be a traditional ruler. Excerpts:
How does it look ascending the throne?
Well, life is different on the throne,
I have become a different person from the day I ascended the throne. I had never dreamt of becoming a king neither was I told by a prophet. It was a divine direction from God who appoints kings. The journey started when my predecessor passed on. I was a chief but not in my kingdom. In 2017, I was called by the paramount rulers of Southern Ijaw local government area in Bayelsa State, saying they wanted to make me a chief. I was surprised because I never applied for it. I went further to ask some persons to know why they wanted me to be a chief since I never dreamt of it. Let me digress a little; in my school days, I only desired to become an academic doctor or a professor or my country’s ambassador. I never thought of being a chief or king. Well, back to my story. After I sought opinions from others on the chieftaincy offer, I was advised to accept it, that it was a deserving honour to me, particularly since I did not apply for it. In December 2020, I communicated back to the Paramount Rulers Council of Southern Ijaw local government that I had accepted the offer. On February 6 2021, the paramount rulers conferred on me the chieftaincy title, Ebiferewene-owei I of Southern Ijaw, translated to mean ‘The man that does good things for the people of Southern Ijaw local government area’ and it’s the first time they gave it to anybody. I became an automatic member of their council, attending their meetings and all that.
King joining ancestors
The king of my kingdom passed on February 8, 2021, two days after I was made a chief in Bayelsa State. I was touched by his passage because I was told he was never sick. Being a chief, I joined them to ensure the proper burial rites were done. I never knew what was waiting ahead. After the burial rites were completed, the selection for a new king began and we were about six persons chosen, I was the youngest and the least to show interest. My ascending the throne was divine as I said earlier. The process was a tough one but it was easy for me, I never struggled for it. On May 19 2020, I was selected as the king and the customs and processes commenced. After all had been done, I was crowned a king. From that day, my life changed, status, way of life, movement all changed.
Let us hear the things that have changed so far in your way life
As a king, I must wear a crown or royal cap, which before I never liked. I started wearing the royal cap from when the processes to becoming a king started. Before, I could eat in public but now I cannot. Anywhere I go there must be a cap on my head because it’s the demand of tradition. The head of a monarch is not to be seen in public. More so, no one sees the king when he is eating. But sometimes you still wish to go and do what you were doing but you would always remember the restrictions.
Tell us about your beliefs
Before I became a king and now as a king, I am a Catholic. I was a mass servant as a young man, serving white priests, lived with them for years. I was in St Bernard Parish, Bomadi Diocese. Then, I started loving the life of becoming a priest. After a while, I moved to Warri and was at Our Rosary Catholic Parish, Ebrumede in Warri Diocese. All my life has this priestly touch and I desired to apply for priesthood but was limited.
A strange dream I had before becoming king
There was a night I dreamt that my friends and I were ordained as priests but the garment I wore was different. They wore white but I had a coloured garment on. This was long before I even became a chief. It was when the journey for me to become king started that I remembered that dream and the meaning dawned on me.
Matrimony
I have one wife, the Queen and I am contented with this number, though traditionally we are at liberty to have more than one.
What are some major challenges of your kingdom?
Operemor is an oil producing kingdom. It is one of the kingdoms that contribute to the revenue of Delta and federal governments. We have the Beniseide Flowstation in Ojobo community. Oil was discovered in 1969 there and exploration started in 1971. We also have the Osuopele Oilfield in Ojobo community. We are not seeing positive impacts from the rich oil deposit in my kingdom. We need internal roads to connect all the communities in my kingdom, we need a police station and we call on the Nigerian Drug Law Agency, NDLEA to organize a periodic sensitization of our youths against drug abuse and juvenile deliquency in my kingdom. We have the building facility for the police station, as well as accommodation for officers. Their presence is highly needed in my kingdom. However, I want to assure government workers posted to Operemor Kingdom of our love and hospitality as Ijaw people, we are very receptive to non-indigenes. My kingdom is safe for all to come in and add value to our development drive. We need development and we call on government to respond to our call.
Operemor as oil producing kingdom. Do you have any crisis or fear over the PIA?
There is no fear over the PIA because structures have been put in place before the PIA even came up. I thank the Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, it was like it saw the PIA coming and planned ahead. Before this PIA, SPDC had Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with communities and then later stepped it up to Global Memorandum of Understanding, GMOU. The GMOU clustered communities, some along clans and others along local government areas. They brought out format for cluster communities to develop themselves and set up a team to manage and run the GMoU. So, we have the Ojobo Cluster made up of five communities and it worked well. When the PIA came on board, it automatically captures the five communities as trust.
What’s your position on Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori’s 100 days in office in terms of performance?
Looking at Gov. Sheriff Oborevwori’s one hundred days in office, the programmes and projects he has embarked upon so far, he is doing great. It’s marvelous seeing the award of contracts for three flyovers in Warri and Uvwie, it’s a job well done and we see great things coming. Let me use this medium to appeal to the Gov. Oborevwori-led government to remember the Ijaws in the coastal lines. My local government, Burutu, is the largest local government area in the state and the country at large, as well as the largest oil producing area. But, we don’t have a road leading to Burutu, the local government headquarters and other towns and villages, we go by speedboats. We need roads, hospitals, potable water in our communities.
However, these basic necessities of life are in dire need in Operemor, my kingdom. I also use this medium to call on the state government to complete the Ayakoromor bridge project which will link Burutu to other parts of the state. Ojobo, the seat of power in my kingdom, has a general hospital but it’s almost in a state of abandonment. The hospital serves the people of my kingdom and that of Ekeremor local government area in Bayelsa state because we share boundaries. I call on the state government to revisit the hospital, which was established in the 1970s. Moreover, we need teachers in Gbesa Grammar School, Ojobo and I call on the government to post teachers to the school.
What are your expectations from the President Bola Armed Tinubu-led Federal Government?
Looking at President Bola Armed Tinubu’s administration, I’m sure he has good economic policies that will benefit our country. I believe Nigerians will smile and our expectations are high. However, I urge the Tinubu-led federal government to revisit the East-West Road project, the Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs (MNDA) should consider the East-West road as a priority project and ensure its completion. It is however appalling that our resources in Niger Delta are used to develop other areas, the Federal Government should adequately fund the MNDA and the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC to develop the region. Tinubu should equally appoint more Ijaws into his cabinet being the fourth largest ethnic nationality in the country. I call on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure traditional rulers are assigned constitutional roles, which I believe will strengthen the traditional institutions in the country. When you give traditional rulers constitutional functions, it will strengthen their voice as it has been the case in some other countries. In such countries, traditional rulers relate with the government on daily basis which brings sanity and orderliness in the system. President Tinubu should carry traditional rulers along in the scheme of things in governance.
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