5,000 women plan protest against Olu of Warri
No
fewer than 5,000 women are expected to storm the palace of the Olu of
warri, Ogiame Atuwase II, on Tuesday (today) to protest the monarch’s
decision to abolish some of the ancient Itshekiri cultural practices.
Our correspondent learnt that the women would be dressed in symbolic red attire as a sign of danger for the monarch.
Atunwase II had last Wednesday declared
in a document titled, “The New Order of Iwere Kingdom,” that the
“Ogiame” title which had been in existence for over 500 years would
cease to exist following the recent consecration of the kingdom to God.
“Ogiame” means “King of the River,” according to the history behind the Itsekiri throne.
He said, “I also repent for the name and
title of “Ogiame” that my ancestors and I have borne, as it connotes
our allegiance to Umalokun (goddess of the river) and other deities of
the sea, all of which are false gods.
“Today, I renounce our allegiance to
Umalokun and other gods of the sea, land and sky. On behalf of the royal
bloodline, the throne, the people of Iwere land, I publicly enter into a
new covenant with God.”
But, a former Commissioner in Delta
State, Dr. Alex Ideh, urged the monarch “to rescind and recant
immediately his declaration or abdicate the throne.” He added that the
monarch did not consult the Itsekiri Traditional Council of Chiefs and
Ruling Houses before his decision to denounce the title of Ogiame.
“Any action otherwise will make him
(monarch) face the wrath of the Itsekiri people. The issue of religion
being canvassed in the monarch’s declaration are his personal views. He
could not railroad the nation to accept those views or obliterate the
history of the people,” he said.
Also, Itsekiri Leaders of Thought in a
statement by its leaders, J.O.S Ayomike, Chief I.O Jemide (Secretary)
and eight others stated, “The part of the (Olu’s) statement which
alleges that the Itsekiri religion is fetish and that the Itsekiris are
non-Christians is a misrepresentation of the well-known documented
historical fact that Christianity actually started in Warri/Benin region
in the early 16th Century and about eight of the 19 Olus got baptised
as Christians.
“Itsekiri as a nation cannot be said to
have covenant with Umalokun. There may be pockets of Itsekiri people who
do. Everyone has freedom of worship as it is done everywhere. Religion
is a personal matter.”
September 10, 2013 by Sodiq Oyeleke with agency report
http://www.punchng.com/news/5000-women-plan-protest-against-olu-of-warri/
Written by NEWSTRAWL ONLINE UPDATE
Sodiq Oyeleke is a Media, Human Resources, Project Management and Public Relations Practitioner
0 comments:
Post a Comment