•Olori Atuwatse conceives new, daring ideas for women, culture, human capital development at Olu of Warri’s fifth anniversary
From Ben Dunno, Warri
Olori Atuwatse III, Queen Consort, Warri Kingdom, Delta State, has said the last five years of her tenure alongside her husband, Ogiame Atuwatse III, Olu of Warri, have been devoted to building human capacity, empowering women, preserving Itsekiri culture and creating stronger connections among Itsekiri at home and in the Diaspora. She said the progress recorded in the kingdom’s women empowerment programmes had become one of the most gratifying aspects of her royal responsibilities.
She spoke with newsmen in Warri to mark Olu’s fifth anniversary: “Seeing how the women in the kingdom have become more naturally elevated, I always give the stories of how the chiefs’ wives have now become more esteemed in many ways and more recognised. Moe women ae increasingly moving beyond seeking permission to participate in community affairs to becoming active owners of their voices and initiatives. I really love the esteem of women in the kingdom, and I’m really thankful for that.”
Reflecting on the challenges and lessons of her five-year journey: “Leadership has taught me to enlarge my heart. I would rather describe the experience as a period of learning than as a series of challenges.
“I think it would be what I used to learn leadership. It is understanding the dynamics of human nature and the differences in different people and just learning how to enlarge my heart to love every person and pick out the strengths from people and discard the weaknesses.
“My position has provided me with a platform to convert privilege into service, particularly through initiatives targeted at women, education, skills development and access to opportunities.
“I’m a mother more than any queen. My approach to service is built around two key principles — agency and access. The first objective is to help people, especially women, regain control over their lives and overcome learned sense of helplessness.
“The second is to provide access to skills, networks, finance and other resources required to transform aspirations into sustainable livelihoods. The philosophy underpins programmes such as Women Aligning Women, operated under Elevate Africa, and Establish Her, operated under the Royal Iwere Foundation.”
The Olori disclosed that findings from engagements with women in the community showed that women constituted a significant proportion of household breadwinners, particularly among women aged between 18 and 35: “About eight out of 10 women engaged through the initiative are breadwinners supporting several dependants.
“That meant we have to begin to see how we can establish our women by working with the whole woman, not just giving her skills or access to finance, but actually looking to raise the whole woman.
“The programme therefore begins with developing the mindset of participants, helping them understand leadership, identify their leadership styles and build confidence before introducing business and entrepreneurship components. The women are subsequently supported with business skills and encouraged to register and formalise their businesses.
“The impact has been remarkable, with beneficiaries not only improving their own lives but going on to empower other women. I can sit here and tell you stories on stories about how our women have come through the programme and then gone on to establish other women.
“While empowering beneficiaries to become mentors is not initially part of the curriculum, it has become a natural consequence of the programme. It wasn’t in the curriculum, but it’s what happens when you empower a woman. She goes on and empowers her community naturally. Investment in women is our most strategic move to advancing human capital development in our community.
“We Itsekiri, we’re a micro minority. So inside the minority, we are a minority. And so it’s important to preserve our culture, to preserve our language. The rapid erosion of indigenous languages across communities, including among larger ethnic groups, makes the preservation of Itsekiri language an urgent responsibility.
“A language competition was introduced around the period of the Olu’s coronation anniversary to encourage children from communities in the kingdom and those in the Diaspora to learn and speak Itsekiri.
“The response has been particularly encouraging, with children from riverine communities who initially could not speak the language reportedly becoming fluent by the end of the competition. The testimony has been amazing. Our goal is to revive the language and to pass it down to our next generation.”
On her relationship with the Olu and how they manage the demands of royal duties, public expectations and family life: “We are first husband and wife. The strength of our family remains the foundation of everything we do. We regard our relationship as a partnership that requires deliberate nurturing.
“That is our foundation — the strong family unit behind the closed door is our primary foundation. We are first husband and wife. We are first a strong unit together, and we take those duties very seriously. We take our bond and our connection very seriously.
“Our relationship and responsibilities are also firmly anchored in our faith. Everything is embedded under God. God is our third cord, and then we take it from there. Whether we are performing our responsibilities as parents or as king and queen, we seek to approach our duties first in union with God and then with each other.
“I hope young African women can be proud of your culture and you can wear elegantly, and culture isn’t something that is outdated. I hope that in embodying my truest self as being an African monarch, an African queen, I’m able to let the next generation know that you should embrace the fullness of our beautiful African attire and African style without it being outdated.
“I’m really thankful for the last five years. It’s been like five years that has felt like 50 years, but at the same time felt like five months. But I know that we are just getting started.
“’I Am Itsekiri’ mobile app is to become digital village. Itsekiri can now be found in the United Kingdom, United States, Germany, Japan, Australia and others. We want them to connect to the palace, so they know when the palace is coming to their city; they know what’s happening, also, to connect to their communities.
“The application will also provide information on development activities in communities and create opportunities for people in the Diaspora to participate in projects in their ancestral communities.”
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(The Sun)