By Ayodele Oni
Royal Fathers that seem to have been abandoned by the Nigeria’s constitution, which refused to assign any role for them, have told President Bola Tinubu areas where they can be useful.
The Monarchs, under National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, (NCTRN) who are on courtesy visit to the president in Abuja, said they will be useful in the area of security.
Both the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar, asked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make use of traditional rulers, being the closest to the people, to tackle the issue of insecurity bedeviling the country.
Ooni, who is also the co-chair of traditional rulers of Nigeria, said “There are areas we will like to work with you, one of which is security.
“It is time to use us the more, we are not saying we are idle…but to make your work easier use us.
“The foundation of this country today are the traditional rulers. We are here to pledge our loyalty and support.
“We want to work with you to ensure you leave a legacy.
“Don’t underestimate what traditional rulers can do.”
Earlier, Sultan of Sokoto and co-chairman said the visit is a normal tradition by the monarchs whenever there’s a change in leadership of the country.
According to him, monarchs are people of different professions from the military to judiciary and businessmen, who have what it takes to contribute to the betterment of the society, saying, “whenever you reach out to us, we will be here.”
The Sultan, who said the monarchs do not envy President Tinubu at this time with the numerous challenges facing the country, expressed confidence that with the combination of himself and Vice President, Kashim Shettima, they will deliver.
“We thank God for the smooth way the elections took place. Many negative people thought this country will collapse but we are still here.
“We are here for you, for our people and our country. If you don’t reach out to us, we will reach out to you. We wish you the most successful tenure in good health.”
