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The Ooni of Ife, His Majesty Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi on Thursday said the greatest concern facing the traditional institution is the possibility of unscrupulous persons hijacking the proposed protest to foment crisis.<\/p>\n

Recall that President Tinubu first met with governors elected under the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC, before having another closed-door meeting with the Council of Traditional Rulers.<\/p>\n

Their discussions also centred on the prevailing challenges which the country has been facing since Tinubu assumed office and the need for Nigerians to understand where the government stands in trying to make amends for the woes.<\/p>\n

Recall that since some unidentified Nigerians gave a notice to stage a protest on August 1 over economic hardship in the country, there has been a series of criticism over the move.<\/p>\n

The Ooni said, \u201cPeople that are planning to go out there to protest, it\u2019s their civic right, but let them put a face to it and don\u2019t let it be hijacked by people that have ulterior motives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is our stand. We condemn such acts fully, we the traditional rulers are more engaged with the 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\u201d.<\/p>\n

Speaking further, the Ooni said today it\u2019s 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 were having challenges. This is long-awaited. We\u2019ve been waiting for it, but today we\u2019re very excited because we\u2019re closer to our people and we can bring that feedback back home.<\/p>\n

\u201cStewardship from the Federal Executive Council, directly to the traditional rulers has never happened in our nation before, never. This is the first time we\u2019re all experiencing it. We have traditional rulers that have been on the throne for 40, or 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 closure of governance from the governed and the people that are in charge of government.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it\u2019s a very beautiful take home for us because we don\u2019t lock our palaces, we are more exposed to the people that we actually rule over. So it\u2019s a different twist and spin from our dear President and I want to use this medium, on behalf of all traditional rulers, to appreciate him, no leader in Nigeria has ever done it. So for us, it\u2019s all-encompassing\u201d<\/p>\n

The Ooni also cautioned those planning to embark on the protest saying it is very difficult to build, but easy to destroy. We are all stakeholders of this country, we should be stronger as a nation together, than stronger individually.<\/p>\n

He continued, \u201cThe President has said it and he will continue to say it, any leader that you don\u2019t 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\u2019re all after?<\/p>\n

\u201cWe should talk to ourselves. It\u2019s important for us to know that today, it\u2019s 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\u201d.<\/p>\n

Corroborating the Ooni of Ife, the Dein of Agbor, HRM Benjamin Ikenchuku Gbenoba said the government at the centre was finally coming to terms with the reality of governance in the country.<\/p>\n

Asked what his take-home from the meeting at the presidency, he responded, \u201cThe take-home message for me, hearing from Mr. President directly, I can see the passion.
\nBut at the same time, I think the government is finally understanding we are at the precipice. Our youths are our future and I think today we\u2019ve demonstrated that the government, with the officials, we do have the hearts of the nation in our minds, we will listen to our youths because they lead the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe power, the strength of Nigeria is certainly with the young people. We feel your pain, I\u2019m a young person myself. It\u2019s been 24 years I\u2019ve been back and it\u2019s been 24 years that I\u2019ve started seeing the nation going in a very unpalatable direction, but by God\u2019s grace, I think if you give us the chance, this protest, I know that it\u2019s catching very high in your neck, but if you give us the chance, let us not destroy our own country.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll ask you to think of Libya. Libya was a beautiful country, what has happened to Libya, we don\u2019t want it to happen here. Let\u2019s go home, let\u2019s continue to strive the best that we can and continue to work with the government to see if we can proffer some solutions. I think that that would be best rather than to destroy property or injure ourselves\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hardship protest may be hijacked by people with ulterior motives \u2013 Ooni of Ife warns<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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