The Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Engineer Abimbola Akeem Owoade 1, has called on politicians to eschew primordial sentiments but be more pragmatic
on finding solutions to myriads of problems confronting the country.
He said national growth and development depend largely on the good ense of justice, moral worth and responsibility, conscientiousness, devotion to duty, selflessness, probity and honesty exhibited by the leaders and the led.
He also called for maximization of the benefits of diversity so as to save the country
from the precipice of disintegration .
In a message through his Director of Media and Publicity, Bode Durojaiye, to commemorate the country’s 65th independence anniversary, Oba Owoade said as a people, we must also judge our fellow Nigerians not by their ethnic origins but by the content of their characters.
He noted that politicians must close ranks, logically brainstorm, and arriving at an in-depth and coherent understanding of the
contending state-building issues in the country which he identified as
the fear of the predominance of one state over another, over-concentration of powers, lack of consensus politics and government based on a community of interests, absence of truly integrative national political parties, non establishment of the principle of public accountability for office holders; and inequitable
system of revenue allocation.
The monarch stated that these issues are not new but immutably
metamorphosed and taken different and violent character in today’s
national live, adding that the ultimate consequences are that they
still pose serious threats to peace and national security.
‘’As constant variables in our national consciousness, there should be
genuine and concerted efforts towards addressing these challenges to
peace and security. Nigeria’s ethnic, sectional and religious
diversities ought to serve as source of national unity, cohesion and
integration but unfortunately this has over the years constituted
serious threat to peace, security and national development because the
political elites have always tended to manipulate these identities
for their parochial interests’’.
He went further, ‘’politically, the amalgamation of the Southern and
northern protectorates in 1914 brought together peoples of diverse
historical and cultural background into one political space to chart a
new future. Despite this obvious challenge of diversity, the commitment of the colonial government towards ensuring the unity was demonstrated in a number of policies aimed at fostering cultural, political, social and economic ties among the various groups in the new nation.
‘’Thus, from the time of amalgamation of the two protectorates with
the colony of Lagos, till the period of regional administrations,
Nigeria became committed to a united federation. Its commitment arose
from its acceptance of federalism as a particular kind of function
arrangement between diverse communities for living together and
working together nationally whilst preserving a measure of separately
entity.
“” The quantum of unification and the quality of unity achieved were
obvious. Education, solid infrastructures, gainful employment, social
welfare programmes and sound heath care delivery were successfully
accomplished by our leaders of blessed memory, Chief Obafemi Awolowo,
Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, and the Sardauna of Sokoto who fought for the
country’s independence’’.
Alaafin further stressed that ‘’it is assumed that a nation’s value system is sacred and could extend beyond that nation’s boundaries. All nations are supposed to be proud of their value systems, just as a person is proud of his or her upbringing and character and would try to impress that behaviour and beliefs on others. Basic values are traditional and historic, reflecting aspects of the experience that each nation went through since its inception as a national
‘’Where were those legacies today? Why are things falling apart today?
Why is it that public funds spent for successful running of regional
governments by our founding fathers were sourced internally without
any external borrowings? Why is it that despite whooping amount of
money being borrowed externally by the present day governments, lives
of citizens are still miserable? Where did we get it wrong? Are our
problems, including insecurity and socio economic doldrums defied
solutions?’’
The Paramount Ruler who asserted that the Old Oyo Empire was the
first longest reigning Empire to operate cabinet system of government,
noted that different sub-ethnic groups and religious groups co-existed
peacefully and where ethnic and religious sentiments were subsumed
under societal interests.
‘’If we are honest with ourselves, we would mostly agree that all is not well with our nation and that the values we once held dearly had gone into oblivion. Where are values like honesty, integrity, good
neighbourliness, religious tolerance and so on that once defined our
society?‘’
Alaafin’ stated that as people we must be wary of those who are the greedy,
selfish political class, and who has continued to exploit our
differences to plunder our resources.
”This is the reason we must always see the good in ourselves. It is the reason we must ignore ethnic chauvinism and primordial
sentiments among us.
The Royal Father charged parents to always inculcate in their wards
an enduring lesson in the inherent goodness of ordinary Nigerians.
Oba Owoade also advised the present generation of youths not to lose grip on
the link that ties them firmly with their tradition and custom.
He said a nation or tribe without custom is as good as a horde of
gorillas ravaging the deep forests.
