Olori Atunwase III: The first lady of Warri Kingdom

BY AKINWUNMI IBRAHIM

When you talk of class and elegance, the beautiful queen and the first lady of Olu of Warri Kingdom, Olori Atuwatse the III, should be best ascribed with that qualification.

No doubt, she’s the queen consort of the Iwere kingdom in Warri, Delta state. Given her majestical status, she commands respect and honour both at home and abroad as her symbol of authority. The story of her exquisite womanhood resonates with a pleasant appeal to all and sundry. She glitters far beyond the sparkle of polished diamonds. With the accolades of royalty and splendour, one can never be disappointed with her dress sense which showcases her decent upbringing.

It has been barely two years since her husband, the Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III ascended the throne to lead his people. Since then, the queen has been engaging in a lot of life-changing laudable projects and organising programs both home and abroad to better the lives of their subjects- stretched across the eight communities that made up the riverine state.

Given the technological era of the 21st century during which her darling husband was crowned the 21st Olu of Warri Kingdom, her majesty has significantly matched up with the challenges and required development by exploring it to better use for the advancement of Iwere sons and daughters.

As the queen mother of the Iwere people, one cannot be mincing words by saying that what matters more to her now is the well-being of their subjects. What a remarkable queen of the source!

She is a beauty to behold! The beauty bellies in her heart and looks as she oozes and replicates kindness in all human dealings. This can be attested to with a lot of testaments from people who might have had one or two encounters with her person. She illuminates her world with the bliss and charm of royalty.

She is a trailblazer, a change maker and an amazon with a heart of gold. These stand her out as a woman who always gives meaning to life through her untiring benevolence in uplifting women, children and the girl child.

One of the many projects she supervises, the Royal Iwere Foundation- the brainchild of the monarch, recently collaborated with experts from Ronald the 7th Beauty Lounge to train the shortlisted 45 candidates who are to participate in the Warri skill acquisition programme on equipping and empowering beauty artists and educators. The program is powered by Providus bank, which started on March 1 and ends on March 14.

A few weeks ago, she was named one of the 100 Most Influential Businesswomen in the world by Pleasures Magazine – a bi-monthly Pan-African Entrepreneurship and Lifestyles Magazine affiliated with Bloomberg, Yahoo Finance, Jerusalem times, New York Times, over 2,000 news media across Africa, America, Middle East, Asia and Europe.

Just on Wednesday, March 8, to commemorate the annual International Women’s Day, celebrated across the globe. She was tipped as a special guest of honour and a keynote speaker to advocate on the topic: ‘Embrace Equality’ at an interactive dinner and networking organised by Dotmount Communications in the Well Carlton Hotel, Asokoro in Abuja.

According to the organisers: “Her impact, running many businesses and foundation. Yet, graciously plays her role as Queen Consort of the Warri kingdom”.

A lawyer and an entrepreneur by profession. This great African Queen has distinguished herself as a multi-talented queen whose ascendancy to the topmost of many striving business conglomerates has remained unstoppable in her quest to add value to the multi-billion-dollar business fortune she overlooks. One could wonder less about where she got the business traits from. Many also opined that she must have learnt it from her consummated and self-effacing philanthropist father, Captain Hosa Okunbo, of the blessed memory.

Little wondered that her efforts in emancipating and uplifting women and children were recently applauded and attracted the attention of President Muhammadu Buhari and she was appointed to serve as a member of the high-level advisory committee (HLAC) on Women Economic Empowerment and Gender in Nigeria.

She is a member of the CIARB Nigeria and has certifications from the Nigerian Chambers of Commerce and Chambers of Maritime.

She sits on the boards of the Wells Property Development Company, the Wells Carlton, and Wells Bakehouse, and is constantly on the lookout for opportunities to create value through enterprise.

She is also the founder of the Captain Idahosa Wells Okunbo STEM and Innovation Lab – another initiative by the queen in partnership with Clever Minds Educational Foundation among other critical sectors.

Her foundation also provides disaster relief packages to all the communities within the kingdom prone to flooding and other critical situations.

She is the board chairperson of Wells Property Development Company, The Wells Carlton and Wells Bake House, Founder, Abba’s Jewels, president of RIG Africa, and founder of Wuwu Ore, among a few to be mentioned.

Akinwunmi Ibrahim, a photojournalist, writes from Lagos.