Razaq Bamidele
As protests for far reaching police reforms in Nigeria reach fever pitch, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Saliu Akanmu Adetunji, Aje Ogungunniso 1 has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to speak to Nigerians to douse tension.
The first class monarch while describing the experience of the Nigerian people over the past two weeks as “very tough” and “most unbearable,” believes that only a democratically elected President the country has the capacity to address the demands of the protesters and possibly put paid to prolonged protest.
Oba Adetunji in a statement signed by his spokesman, Mr. Adeola Oloko in Ibadan Wednesday contended that any other individual other than the President would only be scratching the matter on the surface.
His words: “As the father of the nation with avowed commitment to protect lives and properties, including recovering economy, it has become imperative for the President to speak to Nigerians especially, the protesting youths.”
Olubadan regretted that thugs and hoodlums who do not understand the significance of the protests are taking undue advantage to cause mayhem and extortion.
The Oba also urged the youths to embrace dialogue as experience has shown that jaw-jaw is better than war-war. According to him, people in government are not living in gilded cage and therefore could not have been irresponsive to the yearnings and aspirations of the people, as speculated in some quarters.
Oba Adetunji noted that, part of the solution lies in reopening of all the universities shut in the wake of ASUU strike over the past six months.
While commending the Federal Government for introducing different empowerment programmes like SURE-P, You-Win, N-Power and SPW, Oba Adetunji urged governments at all levels to “focus more on training and retraining of our youths to become useful and fit for purpose as our institutions curricular have fallen short of employers’ expectations!”
The monarch therefore prayed to God to give “our youths the grace to become what God wants them to be despite all odds.”
