Ayodele Olalere
South West monarchs, on Sunday, blamed politicians for the protest and destruction witnessed in the region in the last three weeks.
They spoke during the ongoing South West Governors Forum meeting at the State House, Lagos.
The monarchs expressed their disappointment at the manner politicians has turned politics into money induced venture at the expense of the interest of the youths. They opined that high rate of unemployment among youths caused the agitation in the EndSARS protest.
They also lamented the level of destruction in Lagos adding the state was worst hit among other states.
“The governors have taken the right steps with this meeting. However, they have been far away from we monarchs. You should not wait till election days before you reach out to us. This type of meeting should come regularly. We know the good and the bad in our communities but we are under-utilised,”.said Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Ogunwusi.
In his reaction, the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi said the destruction has put the region in a complex situation.
“It is a complex and complicated matter. Our children are jobless and many are hungry. The problems are too much for the states. The states are not independent. The structure we run in Nigeria cannot allow state governors to do much for their states,” he said.
The Oluigbo of Ugbo, Oba Akinruntan Obateru urged the Inspector General of Police to conduct detailed investigation into the incident and fish out those behind the protest.
“What happened is beyond EndSars protest. We have some clergy behind them. Find out who are the people behind them. This is the time to reach out to the monarchs. If you don’t treat this matter well, the youths will come out again.”
The Oba of Lagos, Oba Rilwan Akiolu said:” The truth is very bitter. Majority of the problems are caused by politicians. The power with the federal government is too much. The security architecture of the country needs to be restructured. The problem we have in Lagos is security and unemployment. The youths have to be looked after. What happened is pure case of security breach. The entire system needs Reformation.”