Traditional Rulers: Nigeria’s Structural Foundation Deficient, Flawed
Osinbajo canvasses monarchs’ partnership with government
Omololu Ogunmade Nigerian traditional rulers under the auspices of the National Development Summit of Traditional Rulers yesterday in Abuja said Nigeria’s corporate existence was under threat because it was built on deficient structural foundation.
Delivering a welcome address at the 10th summit of the traditional rulers in Maitama, the Chairman of the Governing Council of Traditional Rulers, His Royal Majesty, Dr. Emmanuel Sideso Abe, said whereas Nigeria was endowed with huge natural resources, its existence was devoid of principles of equity, fairness and justice.
According to him, equity, fairness and justice are the features that make notable countries like the United States great, and advocated the need to rebuild Nigeria on the foundation of equity, justice and high moral standards.
Abe, who is the Uvwie of Uvwie Kingdom in Delta State, noted with dismay that various constitutional reviews embarked upon by the National Assembly had failed to address Nigeria’s structural flaws.
He also lamented that the federal government had failed to adopt resolutions of several national conferences, which he said had the potentials to reposition the country for progress.
The monarch said Nigeria was in dire need of a good leader who would address the country’s unemployment crisis and build bridges, disclosing that most traditional rulers were unable to attend the summit, which he said took off with over 400 members upon its inauguration by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua in 2008 because of insecurity.
He said: “Here is a country born with incredible potentials, established on goodness and trust, with uncommon ideals and dreams that could make her soar into high altitudes of greatness. Like the eagles, Nigeria was born with powerful wings, in the form of enormous natural endowments. Nigeria was never meant to crawl or stagnate.
“Whatever we may say or do, the fact remains that our foundation as a nation as designed by our founding fathers has been visibly deficient and threatening. Administrations come and go but none has been courageous enough to address conclusively the issue of structural flaws.
“We cannot do anything against the truth. The only way the eagle will fly is for it to realize that it is gifted with better wings than other birds and make a decision to use the wings effectively.
“We must resolve to build a new nation on a foundation of equity, justice, fairness, labour and high moral standards. This is what makes the United States of America and other advanced economies to tick.
“It is amazing how constitutional review has remained inclusive for over a decade at the National Assembly in spite of the exigency of the matter. It is equally disheartening that the resolutions of all recent national conferences were never considered for adoption in the interest of national survival and progress, the huge funds sunk in these projects notwithstanding.”
Also speaking at the summit, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo commended traditional rulers on their roles in curtailing the threats posed to the country in the past by the Niger Delta militants and secession advocates under the aegis of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).