22/08/2026
THE 5TH CORONATION ANNIVERSARY SPEECH
Itsekiri dede mo kin Aghan,
Ẹnẹ mu uyiri biri uranran, gb’Oritse, ni uṣẹ́ to owinọ ṣé gb’ẹnẹ ni odon tò boghọ.
Ò ṣé aninọ ẹnẹ,
Ò ṣ’ọgbara,
Ò ṣ’ayẹ,
Omi, è boghọ-ẹnẹ,
Alẹ, è gb’ẹnẹ fẹ́ mi,
Afẹrẹ ori fi, è kwa-ẹnẹ,
kẹnikẹ dẹ, Oritse to mu Itsekiri kpé ẹnẹ, ò yọ ẹnẹ kuri urun’ghan wé dede,
Onuwé, inọ mi kon biri ọyọ,
Kẹnikẹ dẹ, ọfọ mi è wa yé.
Protocols.
We are deeply inspired by the kindness that God has shown us which calls for all of us to reunite, rally around the crown and the greater purpose we have been entrusted with.
These moves have been laudable and must continue to lay the right foundations that will stand the test of time; sure foundations that can serve future generations.
The journey before us is noble yet demanding, one that requires not only goodwill and enthusiasm but also the wisdom, capacity, commitment and collective strength to fulfill the God-given responsibilities before us.
We cannot allow past distances to prevent future unity; we must rightly build bridges where necessary and not walls. Our strength is not found in the numbers we exclude, but rather in the multitude that can be inspired, empowered and brought together for a common purpose. It is in unity that we embrace one another and move forward together courageously. The crown is not merely an ornament, it is a carried responsibility to be stewarded, a legacy to be protected and a purpose to be fulfilled together. Let us remain united and rally around the crown.
MINDSET CHANGE
Throughout this week, we have displayed our rich and diverse cultures founded on strong traditions and believes. CULTURE is the WAY we do things.
Looking at time like a river; when a river is stretched, we can locate where it starts, the process of its growth and where it ends.
Therefore, our way of doing things, when viewed in the light of the past, the present and the future, our culture takes on a whole new meaning. It is not merely an outward expression, but it must be anchored on eternal principles that help us evolve as a people in this ever-changing world. We are who we are because of what we believe, what we accept and what we celebrate.
The way our ancestors did things in the past is what has become our TRADITION. And these TRADITIONS from the past have become our history, which is now behind us. Our present way of doing things is what determines our future.
The time is now for us to properly examine our present circumstances and make decisions we believe will result in a better and brighter future for our people. This generation inherited traditions, history and a legacy of a proud rich heritage. God, in His omniscience, does not allow any man to go back into time to make amends.
This means, we cannot change the facts from our history, we cannot change past traditions or rewrite our past. While we cannot change our past or deny the reality of the present; it is this same God who gives us the power to shape the future in the way we want it.
If our future will to be different from our past or even our present, then the way we DO things must be different from the way we DID things.
If our future will be different from our past, our TRADITIONS must evolve into a culture that helps us create our future.
If the future we want for our children will be different from the history of our forefathers,
then we as a people must evolve our tradition into a culture that will better serve us and our children in the future.
We appreciate the efforts of our ancestors for the way they did things, as that was relevant then and has brought us thus far. However, if we want to go further into a future that is aligned to our destiny, then we must do things in a different way from how we did things in the past.
Achieving this will require boldness to challenge ourselves in truth without sentiment and to evaluate our traditions to see where our culture needs improvement and evolution. To effectively do this will require boldness still, humility and dogged determination.
We love and value our traditions, however, tradition is not the same as purpose, it is an aid to purpose.
Purpose has to do with DIRECTION. Purpose helps us keep in focus our actions, aims
and targets. Purpose is what causes us to commit to daily plans, and our long-term
goals which are supported by our traditions.
If we accord more sentiment on tradition and not enough focus on purpose, we will keep producing the same result of old. We risk preserving the past at the expense of
the future. To move forward, purpose must lead where sentiment and tradition cannot,
towards a desired direction.
We are at a pivotal point in our existence, where bold decisions must be made, and brave steps taken, so we change the course of our trajectory. We must be alive to our responsibilities when God has clearly shown us the direction in which we must go.
I admonish all of you my children, to honor and respect those that have come before us and the traditions they have left for us. However, let our focus be on our PURPOSE and how we can quickly attain said purpose.
We must develop new habits that focus more on creating and less of complaining. Complaining and comparison does not create the solutions we need. Instead, this keeps us stuck.
May our hearts be soft for the things that are good for us, and may God continue to
bless us all.
Aja mo ki Aghan ó!
