The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has warned organisers of the planned national protest scheduled for August 1 to 10, due to current hardship in the country, to ensure that miscreants do not hijack it.
Naija News reports that Ooni, while speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting between President Bola Tinubu and the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, said it is the civic right of people to protest.
According to him, traditional rulers will not condone acts of looting and breaking down of law and order, noting that President Tinubu is open to dialogue and aware of the current economic challenges.
He said, “People that are out there to protest, it’s their civic right, but let them put a face to it and don’t let it be hijacked by people that have ulterior motives. That is our stand.
“We condemn such acts fully, we traditional rulers are not engaged in people, especially the youth, coming out to start looting, to start breaking down law and order. We are parents, we are traditional rulers, we are closer to them, we are going to go back home and continue to engage them.
“It is very difficult to build, but it is the easiest to destroy. We are all stakeholders of this country, we should be stronger as a nation together, than stronger individually.
“The President has said it and he will continue to say it, any leader that you don’t like, wait and vote him out. He is open to dialogue. We know that challenges are so many in Nigeria, we know that, but are we going to destroy our nation by ourselves? Is that what we’re all after?
“We should talk to ourselves. It’s important for us to know that today, it’s a completely different spin. The government, ably led by the President, is willing to engage and dialogue and bring governance very close to the people.”
Asked about the details of the meeting with the President, Ooni applauded Tinubu for giving the royal fathers a sense of belonging by bringing them together to the seat of power.
He said, “Today (Thursday), it’s a new twist and a new spin from the political leadership of our dear country. For the very first time, the traditional rulers were properly engaged in terms of the plans of government and governance, their achievements so far, and where they’re having challenges.
“This is long awaited. We’ve been waiting for it, but today we’re very excited because we’re closer to our people and we can bring those feedbacks back home.
“Stewardship from the Federal Executive Council, directly to the traditional rulers, it has never happened in our nation before, never. This is the first time we’re all experiencing it. We have traditional rulers that have been on the throne for 40, 50 years.
“Today is the very first time we will be addressed properly by the Federal Executive Council. So there is a proper bridge and close of governance from the governed and the people that are in charge of government
“So it’s a very beautiful take home for us because we don’t lock our palaces, we are more exposed to the people that we actually rule over. So it’s a different twist and spin from our dear President and I want to use this is medium, on behalf of all traditional rulers, to appreciate him, no leader in Nigeria has ever done it. So for us, it’s all encompassing.”
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