By Felix Ekwu
Mosogar Kingdom in Ethiope West Local Government Area, Delta State was agog on Friday as HRM Sunday Odogun Okpurhe, Uduaka 1 was crowned king.
Okpurhe, a retired Assistant Comptroller-General of Customs and Exercise was on Saturday, June 18, 2022, formally declared the Ovie-Elect of Mosogar Kingdom at a meeting of the Ovie-In-Council led by the Otota of the Kingdom, Chief Ighoyota Amori, after the Uduaka ruling house and the selection committee presented their various reports which affirmed him as the winner.
Hundreds of indigenes of the kingdom both home and in the diaspora converged at the Oguedion Council of Chiefs and Elders’ Hall, where the “Okaorho” oldest man of the kingdom, Chief Samson Sunday Ogbakpah, performed the crowning of the new Ovie.
The crowning took place hours after the Delta State Executive Council on Thursday, August 4, 2022, gave the approval for the kingdom to perform the ceremony in line with the gazette establishing the kingdom.
With profound cheers and excitement after the crowning, a large crowd of the subjects of the new Ovie of Mosogar Kingdom escorted him on foot through a major road in the community that leads to his residence where a reception was held.
Among principal chiefs of the kingdom who were part of the crowning exercise were, Chief Ighoyota Amori, who is the Otota of Mosogar Kingdom, Chief Abel Ogbakpah (Unuevworo of Mosogar Kingdom), Chief Emmanuel Ogbakpah (Senior Inohwa of Uduaka), Chief Freeborn Nana (Senior Inohwa of Udurhie), Chief Akpeni Daniel Edafeghara, Chief Vincent Okporua, Chief Oghenedoro America, Chief Glory Efemini and Chief Ediga Oyibo.
Speaking to journalists at the reception ground, the new crowned Ovie of Mosogar Kingdom, Uduaka 1, said, “I am the happiest man on earth today and I give all the glory to God. The expectation is very, very high, the responsibility very heavy. Mosogar is an agrarian society, a developing place with a lot of challenges and I want to handle them head-on with the cooperation of my people.
“We have the issue of light. It is very paramount now and I am giving my people the assurance that we will do everything possible to restore the light. Secondly, another problem they have is not being able to go to the farm occasioned by the herdsmen that are disturbing them. We will work in collaboration with the government to put an end to it so that people can farm.
“Like said earlier, it is an agrarian society and if you cannot farm you cannot feed yourself. So, that is one of my priorities. What I expect from my people is cooperation and listening to me. Cooperation so that we can work together.
“If they cooperate with me it will make the place peaceful for development. When there is peace, there can be progress. When there is no peace, there is no progress.”
The elated Otota of Mosogar Kingdom, Chief Ighoyota Amori noted that with the successful crowning of the new Ovie, “History is not just being made, history ordained by God has been made today. You can see the atmosphere, you can see the joy in everybody and you can access the entire Mosogar Kingdom.
“I think today is one of our happiest days. The success story of today is something that one will say we give thanks to God for what God has done for this kingdom”.
On whether there are exist any discordant tone from some persons in the kingdom regarding the selection of the new king, Chief Amori said, “Kingship issues are always controversial and filled with a lot of intrigues but God has ordained the one of Mosogar. It has been seamless and highly successful from the beginning to till now.
“Today God has crowned all our effort with huge success by the crowning of our king. What we have done today is in keeping with our gazette. In all the stages from the burial of the late king through the transition till now, it has been seamless.
“In this social media time, you hear all sort of things but here are we. I read a lot of things but they have not affected the smooth transition to the installation of a new king”.
The new Ovie of Mosogar Kingdom, Uduaka 1, a Sociology graduate of the University of Lagos, according to Amori is someone who was born and grew up in the kingdom.
“He is a man of peace that is why till today he has always preached peace. And today he repeated it again. he has all it takes to be king and rule over his people. He will be presiding over so many things and he is ready.
“He understands the community very well. he is not a diaspora man. he is one of the early rich and accessible people you can think of in this kingdom,” Amori noted.
For his part, the immediate past Commissioner for Environment in Delta State and the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, for Ethiope West Constituency to the State Legislature in the 2023 general elections, Chief Christian Onogba said, “Kings are made by God but selected by men. So, the process has been a seamless one. As far as we are concerned every step involved in the process of selecting a new king was carefully followed. We didn’t miss one of the steps at all.
“The new king has a very peaceful disposition. from what I see in him, he is someone who loves peace so much. They say you don’t give what you don’t have.
“He believes that whatever happens, we can always sit down to resolve all the issues. That his peaceful disposition will bring peace into Mosogar Kingdom. And once there is peace development can only thrive.
“I have been watching him very closely and I can put my hand on my chest to say, yes, we selected one of the best. One of the finest in Mosogar is what we have selected. It will be to the benefit and development of Mosogar Kingdom”.
The Otota of Mosogar Kingdom, Chief Ighoyota Amori, on Saturday, December 18, 2021, broke the news of the demise of HRM, Samson Okirhioboh Imoyin-Omene, Udurhie 1, who was crowned (coronated) as the kingdom’s first king immediately after the creation of the kingdom in 2006.
He was subsequently presented Staff of Office in 2007 by the then governor of the state, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, who was ably represented by his Deputy, Chief Benjamin Elue.
