GIFT ROBERTS
Following the rising insecurity in Nigeria, Olu of Iwo land, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi, has called for peaceful co-existence between herders and farmers in the Southwest and other parts of the country.
Akanbi spoke during TVC programme on Wednesday, saying that leaders, more especially kings, have to learn to integrate with the people since they are the ones closer to people.
He said, “There are problems in the North and in the West. I condole with people that lost their lives everywhere in Nigeria. There are problems everywhere in Nigeria. But in Iwo, Osun State, we do manage it, there are many committees that had been put in place. Being my domain, any issue that is happening, they come to my palace, there are some other kings in the suburbs under me, they also resolve issues. Things they cannot resolve, they bring them to my palace and I will resolve them, but one thing is that leaders have to learn to integrate with the people. We kings are the ones closest to our people more, we should not just sit down in the palace, we should visit our subjects more.
The paramount ruler urged President Mohammed Buhari and his government to give kings constitutional powers to be able to resolve issues adequately.
He said, “Government has to help the kings by giving them constitutional powers to help them to resolve issues. We are the closest to our people but we have no power. We are like a ‘toothless dog’ and we can’t be like that forever.
“We are closer to our people more than even the local government chairman. Politicians are different from kingship, there must be some constitutional power given to the paramount rulers and I wish President Buhari and his government can do something like that. The kings are the only ones that can resolve problems in Nigeria now, and there must be synergy. We have to come together because there is a vacuum between the leaders and the masses.
“It is not that we don’t have issues in our communities, we do have issues most especially the farmers and herders’ issues but we resolve them. The only thing that I saw in that one is that we have neglected some people for too long. When you neglect people in the bushes when you don’t counsel them, what do you think they will become? They become animals.”