Olu of Warri
| Warri | |
|---|---|
| Traditional state | |
 Warri
|
|
| Coordinates: 5°31′N 5°45′E / 5.517°N 5.750°E | |
| Country |
 Nigeria
|
| State | Delta State |
| Government | |
| • Olu | Ogiame ikenwoli 1 |
The Kingdom of Warri is a traditional state based on the town of Warri in Delta State, Nigeria. Warri is an inland port on one of the Niger River channels in the Niger Delta. The Olu (king) of Warri is the head of the Itsekiri people.
According to Bini and Itsekiri histories Ginuwa, a prince of Benin founded the Iwerre (Warri) Kingdom about 1480. In the 15th century Warri was visited by Portuguese missionaries. At the beginning of the 17th century, a son of the reigning Olu was sent to Portugal and returned with a Portuguese wife. Their son Antonio Domingo was Olu of Warri in the 1640s. Olu Erejuwa, who reigned from about 1720 to 1800, expanded Warri politically and commercially, using the Portuguese to further Warri's independence of Benin and to establish control over a wider area.
Later Warri served as the base for Portuguese and Dutch slave traders. Warri became a more important port city during the late 19th century, when it became a centre for the palm oil trade and other major items such as rubber, palm products, cocoa, groundnuts, hides, and skins. Warri was established as a provincial headquarters by the British in the early 20th century.
In 1997, The Federal Government under General Sani Abacha created a Warri South-West Local Government Council, with headquarters at Ogbe-Ijoh, an Ijaw settlement near Warri. Due to political pressure by the Itsekiri, the headquarters was then relocated to Ogidigben, an Itsekiri town. Riots ensued, hundreds died, and six Shell Nigeria installations were taken over by youths. The crisis is known as the "Warri Crisis".
The Kingdom of Warri has remained predominantly Christian since the coronation of its first Christian King Oba Atorongboye also known as King Sebastian I in 1570, within a century of the foundation of the Iwerre Kingdom. Below is a list of the rulers of the Warri Kingdom from inception. Note that written records began with the coronation of Olu Atorongboye Sebastian I in 1570.
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Wikipedia