Emiko: My selection as Olu-designate of Warri almost inevitable — despite earlier rejection

Tsola Emiko, the Olu-designate of Warri, says his selection came with a feeling that he was destined for the position.

The 37 year old was announced in April as a replacement for Ogiame Ikenwoli, who was reported to have died in December 2020 from COVID complications. 

In an interview with the BBC Pidgin on Friday, Emiko said despite concerns that he could be rejected again, based on an earlier controversy regarding Section 4 of the Statutory Declaration in 2015, he felt destined for the position.

“It was a slow build. My uncle passed in December and I was not formally presented until early April. Even before April, it was evident that it was going in a certain direction,” he said. 

“There was a heavy sense of destiny; it was almost like it was inevitable. But there was also the sense of ‘This is Nigeria; there could be something that truncates this at the last moment’.

“That’s not a personal bias. I think there are many people in Nigeria whom you can say certain things were meant for them. It was theirs; everybody knew it. But too often, something happens and it doesn’t happen.

“I think that has gone a long way in the Nigerian mindset, people feeling ‘hmm… let’s see how this goes’. I knew that leaned over me and I was also trying to guard my own heart. So, that’s what I meant by it being a slow build.

“When it became apparent, which was actually on my birthday, the chiefs confirmed in the presence of the oracle and everybody witnessed it that it is done.

“I think one has to look at the way things flow naturally. If you go back to 2015, there were valid or legitimate reasons to have us set aside. We took that in good faith and moved on with life. The same instrument that was used to set us aside is the same that has brought us back and with such overwhelming support.

“Yes, there were voices who, as I alluded to earlier, interpreted it a different way. That’s fine. The Bible says ‘woe if all men speak well of you’. So, I guess I’m in good company knowing well that not everybody is speaking well of me.” 

There have been reports that a crown went missing at the palace days before the coronation, but the Olu-designate said this will not stop the coronation from being held. 

The coronation is scheduled to hold on Saturday in Warri.