By Desmond Amanoritsewo

Sacrilege has almost taken over our cherished traditional/ customary norms to the extent that matters reserved for God and our Ancestors are now being expounded in the public domain by journalists, pseudo newsmen/photographers and uncredited social media miscreants in our society enhanced by the special grace of the various media platforms.

Truly, the world has gone global, such that all manner of information are dished out for public consumption without regards to the ethics guiding the journalism practice that insist on verification of any piece of information before publication, so very unfortunate and sad, to say the least.

That all appears not too well with the Itsekiri nation currently is no longer a secret, but for some individuals and groups to drag the matter to the public domain untimely is an act of unpatriotic shenanigans of great concern to all discerning minds and the height of customary sabotage.

Now that the obvious has become the in-thing and debate raging on fiercely among various interest groups on various social platforms, it has become germane for one to make ones opinion known in this vex issue that concerns all bonafide and well-meaning Itsekiri persons.

For all we know, a Regent has emerged in the person of a scion of Nigeria’s First Republic Finance Minister, Mr. Emma Okotie-Eboh after some other persons declined the offer. One thing is certain in this situation and that is, whoever emerged must have those in opposition against his emergence, and that is normal. But the ship must sail on.

After all said and done in this jigsaw matrix of complex quagmire in the kingdom there would be a process of nomination, selection and eventual ascendance to the pristine throne, which is the climax of the matter. This process sometimes pitches us against ourselves, to our collective detriment. It is however pertinent to mention that at every of such point in our history as a people, no matter the level of our disagreements, even after an interregnum as in the past, a king must surely emerge. My prayer is that the Itsekiri nation do not get into any unpleasant situation. Never again.

We read of the alleged interest of some of our Princes to occupy the exalted throne. Indeed the names of the son of our late flamboyant and charismatic Royal father, Atuwatse 11-Prince Shola Emiko who was disqualified in 2015 for having a Yoruba mother and that of His Majesty Ikenwoli-Prince Oyowoli Emiko alleged to be into drugs and cannot speak Itsekiri have been mentioned. So also are the names of some sibblings of the demised Royal fathers, all sons of HRM Erejuwa II Ogiame Wilson Gbesimi Emiko.

My concern here is not whether these Princes are qualified or not. What agitates my mind is the fact that the name of one other very qualified Prince is never in reckoning. Why?

What happens to the much relatively unspoken about and obscured Prince Samuel Gbesimi Emiko, the last son of our very revered Erejuwa 11, His Royal Majesty Ogiame Wilson Gbesimi Emiko, and father to both Atuwatse 11 and Ikenwoli?

Lifting from his recent profile on a social media platform, Prince Samuel Gbesimi Emiko is tucked away somewhere in one of the Niger Delta states and living his humble life quietly.

According to the platform, Prince Samuel Gbesimi Emiko (named Otwigherejewa-meaning he came from foreign land) is said to be grounded in all areas. This 42-years old graduate of Geology and Mining (the only Science and Engineering graduate among Erejuwa’s children) from the Enugu State University of Science and Technology is married with two children and is currently an Information Technology (IT) and Media Consultant tucked away not too far from the Kingdom. His pedigree should be of interest to the kingmakers of Iwereland.

strong and stable character, independent minded and humble as a person. He is worthy of traditional investigation for possible nomination, selection and possible enthronement, barring any manipulation from the powers that be.

For sake of emphasis, this young man needs to be fished out, investigated customarily and all other needful matters properly looked into for us to avoid the alleged mistakes of the past.