It was not a court decision, neither was it by divinity, but through political maneuvering and a little support from the people that Chief Noble Eshemitan was crowned as the Orefe ll, the Ovie of Oghara kingdom. According to Dafe Idisi, the decision to crown Chief Noble Eshemitan as the new Ovie of Oghara kingdom was to give peace a chance, not that Chief Etsemitan was more qualified and popular than Chief Erejitoma, a co contender, who was a better and more popular candidate for the throne, he said.
One thing which almost worked against Chief Noble Eshemitan walk to the throne, was that he was accused of being related to Itsekiri, a claim he refuted even though his name reflects Itsekiri. Etsemitan means resistance in Itsekiri. However, in the case of Chief Nobles’, the spelling is different from the Itsekiri Etsemitan.
It will be recalled that on the demise of the late Oreki, two contestants had laid claim to the Oghara kingship throne. Chief Erejitoma and Chief Noble Eshemitan were both of Ovade where the kingship was zoned to. With what was described as equal supporters’ strength on the side of both contestants, the stage was set for the ‘clash of the Titans’. It took the timely intervention of the state government to restore peace at Oghara at the time of the kingship dispute.
No doubt, Chief Noble Eshemitan was wealthier and more connected than Chief Erejitoma. But, the latter was more grounded in the customs and tradition of the Urhobos of Oghara, and it was said that the people loved him and wished he was made king.
The crisis, this magazine was informed, metamorphosed into the two constestants being crowned separately as king. While Chief Ibori, uncle to the former governor Jame Ibori and the reigning Unugbrogodo of Ogharefe and his supporters crowned Chief Noble Etsemitan as king in his palatial home at Ogharefe, Chief Agbakayan, also the Unugbrogodo of Oghareki and his supporters crowned Chief Erejitoma as the new Orefe of Oghara. The ceremony, according to an eyewitness account, led to a bloody clash between supporters of bothChief Ibori and Chief Agbakayan.
It was also reported that Dr Uduaghan who was the state governor at the time of the internecine war over who between Chief Eshemitan and Chief Erejitoma was crowned king had to visit Oghara to douse the tension-soaked Oghara. But some indigenes of Oghara, particularly supporters of Chief Erejitoma and Agbakayan were reported to have booed and embarrassed the governor because of his intimacy with Chief Noble Etsemitan and Chief Ibori and perceived partiality in the dispute. The Agbakayan camp, it was gathered, had earlier entertained the fear that Dr. Uduaghan was not coming into the dispute as an impartial umpire rather, he was coming into the matter, armed with the instrumentality of government power to railroad his friend and business associate into the throne, this source fumed.
Investigations revealed that the relationship between Chief Etsemitan and Dr. Uduaghan started during the time Chief James Ibori was the governor of the state. Chief Noble Etsemitan, a “big time” businessman was a contractor to the Delta state government, and the reason it was alleged that Dr. Uduaghan was biased and had his mind made to hand twist Erejitoma group into ceding the throne for Chief Noble Etsemitan and had the latter crowned as Ovie of Oghara.
At last, Chief Erejitoma and his group gave up to pressure from the state government to give peace a chance. The intervention of the state governor through series of meetings between it and all the stakeholders was the outcome of the latest peace and consensus decision of the elites of Oghara kingdom that Chief Noble Etsemitan was crowned as Orefe ll, the new Ovie of Oghara kingdom, even the hands of the state governor at the time in question could not be mistaken in the maneuvering .
A couple of reasons were disclosed to this magazine why Chief Eshemitan was able to beat Chief Erejitoma to the throne. First was that Chief Noble Eshemitan was considered far richer than Chief Erejitoma who was referred to as an “ordinary Principal ” of a secondary school. Because of the affluence and importance attached to the Ovie throne, he was not a preferred choice.
Again, it was revealed that the closeness of Chief Noble Eshemitan to those at the corridor of power both at the state and federal levels would be an added advantage for Chief Noble Eshemitan on becoming king. This, the source also said, was capable of attracting development to Oghara.
Chief Noble Eshemitan, a one-time Secretary-General of Urhobo Progressive Union (UPU), hails from Ovade in Oghara. Ovade is one of the villages which make up the Oghara kingdom. Well educated, chief Noble Eshemitan, an hotelier and general contractor, has businesses and properties dotting major towns of the state. The king is in his 10th year on the throne.
