Why Insecurity May Continue In Nigeria – Alaafin

The Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, has said that peace may be elusive in Nigeria except traditional rulers are given specific roles to play in the administration of their territories.

The monarch said the practice of hurriedly inviting monarchs whenever there are security challenges will not restore lasting peace in any troubled community.

The monarch said this in Osogbo on Thursday at a lecture to mark the 70th birthday of the Oloba of Oba Ile, Osun State, Oba Adekunle Asamu.

The foremost traditional ruler frown on what he described as the continuous disregard of monarchs in the administration of their territories.

The Alaafin said the abolishment of the roles of traditional rulers and influence from the 1999 Constitution may cause peace to elude Nigeria.

He said, ” The fire brigade approach of inviting traditional rulers to resolve a crisis which was not created by them only works temporarily and it is not the way to go. The need for the constitutional role for traditional rulers in the country should not be downplayed. Their knowledge of the nooks and crannies of their communities make it indispensable in ensuring the security of lives and property of the people and also to endear development to their localities.

“With the situation in Nigeria today, there is no way you can relegate traditional rulers to the background. They have developed an administrative system that it would be impossible to relegate them to the background, especially in Yorubaland. Any attempt to whittle down the authority or influence of traditional rulers could lead to disaster.

“In the 1999 Constitution, roles of traditional rulers in governance was completely abolished. Councillors or chairmen, who were not part of the establishment of the community were given roles at the detriment of traditional institutions. There would hardly be peace in the land if traditional rulers were not accorded roles in the development of their domains.

“Inviting traditional rulers to resolve the crisis that was not their fault is not the solution to our problems, it is temporary but monarchs should be given constitutional roles to endear development.”

The guest lecturer, Bode Adediji, had earlier said during the lecture that development must come from the grassroots.

Adedijin said, “Development must come from the grassroots. When a policy favours only the children of the rich it will later fail until it favours the poor and the rich then development is non-negotiable. Either we breakup or restructure if the challenges of leadership are not addressed we are going to face the same problem in the small colony we created.”

The Chairman of the Organising Committee, Chief Sunday Akere, who is a former Commissioner for Information in Osun State said the topic was chosen to celebrate role models among traditional rulers in the state.

He said the Oloba’s rise to stardom was made possible by resilience and determination.