Soun’s Visit To Olu Of Warri: Read Full Speeches By The Two Paramount Kings (plus PHOTOS)

Image caption: Soun of Ogbomoso (left) with Olu of Warri

Soun’s Visit To Olu Of Warri: Read Full Speeches By The Two Paramount Kings (plus PHOTOS)

Yinka ADETUNJI

It is no more news that the newly installed King of Ogbomosoland, the Soun, His Imperial Majesty Oba Ghandi Afolabi Olaoye Orumogege III at the weekend made a royal visit to the paramount king of the Itsekris, the Olu of Warri in Delta state of Nigeria His Royal Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III.

The Soun, a Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, had in his entourage Mr. Tunji Olaniyi, Professor Adeshola Adepoju (immediate past Director General of Forestry Research Institute of Nigeria, FRIN, Ibadan), Air Vice Marshal Bolaji Adigun (rtd) who is Akogun of Ogbomosoland, Pastor Agu Irukwu and Rear Admiral Jacob Ajani (rtd).

ogbomosoinsightonline.com brings for the record, the addresses by the two monarchs during the historical, memorable visit.

First the address by the Soun of Ogbomosoland:

Your Majesty Ogiame Atuwatse III, CFR – the Olu of Warri, the Chairman and members of the Warri Council of Chiefs, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen.

We bring you fraternal greetings from the Kingmakers, the good people of Ogbomoso Land.

I would like to start by expressing my entourage’s profound gratitude for the beautiful, warm reception extended to us since we arrived in this beautiful kingdom.

Today’s visit to Your Majesty in the beautiful royal court of the Warri kingdom holds powerful significance on several levels.

It is no coincidence that our emergence on the respective thrones of our ancestors has happened in the same decade that is seeing game-changing developments for people and cultures worldwide. This means we are bound to have shared experiences as peculiar to the times as we are in.

We are convinced that Almighty God has called both of us to lead our people as a light to the world. Matthew 5:15 says No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, lighting everyone in the house. Your Majesty Ogiame, this is our call to lead!

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We have a divine obligation to lead in righteousness, justice, and fairness. Equity, justice, and fairness are not empty abstractions but compelling ideals. Only when driven by a singular commitment to these ideals can we lead our people into visible, functional development – materially, mentally and spiritually.

The challenges may be daunting, but Almighty God has brought us to our respective thrones at this time to use what He has endowed us with to usher in a better life for our people. That is why I am not fazed at all by what lies ahead.

Your Majesty Ògíame and I are destined to lead in using what I have termed Cultural Diplomacy for Development to transform our traditional institutions into impactful partners in the quest for accelerated growth and development for our people.

Your Majesty’s masterful play as the lead Cultural Ambassador of the Iwere people is evident today in our country and around the globe. We and others who discern this virtue can see how it will attract ever-needed economic progress to your people.

Our observation of these noble sentiments in Your Majesty’s reign is the motivating choice of the great kingdom of Warri as our first port of call in our gesture to reach out and make friends and partners as we commence our sacred duty to lead the people of Ogbomoso Land.

Your Majesty, I would like to kick-start this new reality by inviting you to send 10 Itsekirì children (4 boys and 6 girls) to Ogbomoso on our full scholarship through Junior and Senior Secondary School – JSS and SSS – beginning next academic session. We fervently hope that this gesture will be reciprocated by Your Majesty, thus enabling the educational exchange to start and seal this relationship between us – as a first step!

Once again, thank you for the immense goodwill demonstrated by the exceptional warmth we have received today. Your Majesty Ògíame, we very much look forward to welcoming you as a Special Guest in Ogbomoso for the ceremonies of our formal coronation.

May Almighty God bless us, all the people of our kingdoms and our country Nigeria.

The welcome address by the Olu of Warri:

Your Imperial Majesty, let us warmly congratulate you on your historic ascension to the throne of your illustrious ancestors.

The Crown and the people of Warri kingdom heartily welcome you and your entourage on this highly momentous and significantly symbolic visit.

The significance of Your Majesty’s visit to us today is that this is your first formal outing since your installation as the Soun of Ogbomoso Kingdom three weeks ago. For this, we feel highly honoured. We recognise that your choice as Soun was divinely ordained, and your choice of Warri kingdom as your first port of call was also divinely directed.

The significance further lies in the fact that it offers us both, as practicing Christian monarchs, the opportunity to demonstrate to the world that our traditional institutions and Christendom are not necessarily antithetical; neither is tradition necessarily synonymous with superstition and the worship of creations made by human hands and reasoning.

Your Imperial Majesty profoundly reminded us that no one lights a lamp and puts it under a basket; instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, giving everyone in the house light. What Almighty God has called us to is a challenge for us to lead with courage as we work together to leverage our cultures of progressive thinking to motivate our people and bring them prosperity in today’s fast- changing, technology-driven world.

We enthusiastically receive your embrace as an invitation to journey together in friendship, to frame cooperation along lines that will unfold as we work together. Thanks to the apt depiction, it is a new day in Cultural Diplomacy for Development, guided by our thrones. We are confident that, with God’s guidance, unending grace, and favour, we shall face up squarely to the challenge and succeed in changing the narrative on Nigeria’s traditional institutions forever.

We thank Your Imperial Majesty for the scholarship to 10 of our children; we will send you our best as Ambassadors of Warri Kingdom. This is a good beginning!