By Egena Sunday Ode
Traditional leaders in the country have called on aggrieved Nigerians to refrain from the planned protest scheduled for August 1.
Led by Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, Ooni of Ife, Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi and His Royal Majesty, Tor Tiv, Prof James Ortese Ayatse amongst others, the monarchs arrived the Forecourt of the State House in a bus which conveyed them for the meeting which was held closed door in the President’s office.
The monarchs declared after the meeting that Nigeria will bounce back despite the present challenges, including hunger and insecurity, among others faced by the people.
They had met with Tinubu at his instance to, ostensibly, thaw the grievances by Nigerians over the sundry challenges facing them.
Fielding questions from newsmen after the meeting, the Emir of Zazzau, Nuhu Bamali called for calm, just as he assured of ongoing efforts by the administration to bring succour to all citizens.
His words: “The President has given us the blueprint of what he has been doing over time and we are hopeful that by God’s grace it will be alright.
“Though we have made it very clear to him, the main problem in this country, especially the north is insecurity.
“If the security situation is addressed certainly people will go back to their farms and the issue of hunger will drastically reduce and disappear.”
He said, the monarchs are as worried as the citizens given the prevailing circumstances, hence the appeal for restraint by all as government will soon proffer solutions.
“Nobody that will not be worried about the protest, in any place in the world and we have seen what is happened in other climes and governments were brought down.
“As an ex diplomat, I have seen what happened in other climes and that is why I am in the position to say what happen in other places. So we are calling on our people exercise patience and to listen to the words of wisdom. We are very optimistic Nigeria will bounce back to its former position as the leading country in Africa,” he said.
Similarly, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Ogunwusi called on aggrieved citizens to exercise restraints and not engage in activities capable to bring down the country.
“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.
“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.
The Ooni of Ife also stated that he was not adverse to protests, but urged Nigerians to wait for an appropriate time to do so.
“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, 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 peopIe.”
He commended President Tinubu leadership style of engaging the monarchs at a critical time such as the current situation so as to come up with solutions to the myriad of challenges faced by the people.
“Today 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.
“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.”
Recall that ahead of the August 1 hunger protests in Nigeria, the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) had initiated consultations and instructed its 104 affiliated youth organisations to be on standby.
