Olu of Warri, His Majesty Atuwatse III, has commended his Queen, Olori Aiyivierhuemwin- oya Atuwatse III , for her efforts at ensuring that children in rural communities have their births properly registered and issued certificates.
The Monarch gave the commendation at Koko community in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State while giving out 600 birth certificates on the Day 3 as part of activities marking the first anniversary of his Coronation as the 21st Olu of Warri.
While congratulating recipients, the Itsekiri King who expressed joy Congratulated all the children who have gotten their first piece of identification in going forward in life.
” I pray that beyond this piece of paper, it will serve you well to give you opportunities that will go beyond Delta State and Nigeria.
The revered monarch who also used the occasion to sue for peace among the people noted that any society devoid of peace cannot attract the needed development.
In his words, “There are so much social amenities and development coming to the community and Itsekiri, adding bitterness and anger will only thwart such plans.
“I want to see progress. We are still monitoring the preparation, so have your hearts and your minds open to peaceful reconciliation.
“You are my first and second set of favorite children and I’m happy that we are all peacefully arranged today. As the chairman said, I want you to know that there will be many more similar health-related and even beyond health initiatives.
“There would be social initiatives as well that are aimed at improving the well-being of all. We would be looking to constantly give out light, that shining example for all Deltans and all Nigerians. And we welcome all our neighbours to come and partner with us because it is really for the best interest of the entire Niger Delta, Delta State and Nigeria that our children enjoy the best that can be made available to them,” he said.
On her part, the Queen of Warri kingdom, Olori Aiyivierhuemwin-oya Atuwatse III, expressed delight that, as a Queen, she is following her passion of ensuring better life for women and children especially those living in the rural areas because of the dearth of health care facilities available to them .
“I’m using my office as Olori to promote wellness and wellbeing especially in the riverine areas where healthcare is not so accessible to our people; and so we see many government officials and even aspirants in our midst today , and it gladdens me that you’re here to witness the third edition of “Wuwu Ore” .
“We want to use the platform to challenge the government to really begin to look into healthcare for the children of the Itsekiri communities . When we decided to do this in celebration of our king, in commemoration of his first year Coronation anniversary, we thought it important that we do it with a bit of a difference.
“It came to my knowledge that most of the children born don’t have an identity. Internationally, it is actually part of a child rights to have an identification.
“What do I mean by not having an identity? The children are born, there’s no birth certificate lodged to correspond with the necessary officials to say that they were born, the dates they were born and their names, there’s nothing like that, that’s given.
“And so, I felt it is very important that we make amends for that. So, I believe today, we will be giving out 600 birth certificates to children in Koko community as part of “Wuwu Ore Initiative” .
“We would make sure we have that in all the communities that we visit. Because when you have that identification,(the certificate) your child has a future, your child is more likely to have a passport, to have a job, and apply for things they could not have applied for otherwise,
“As a mother of the great Itsekiri people, I believe this is the first step in ensuring that Itsekiri has a future, in ensuring that Itsekiri has a voice.
“And so, in honour of our great leader and king ,the Ogiame Atuwatse III, I just want to encourage you that we are here to promote the future of Itsekiri which is our children,” she added