The National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), on Thursday, called for dialogue between the Federal Government and youths planning to embark on protest.
Ooni of Ife and Co-Chairman of the Council, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, made the call while addressing State House correspondents, after a meeting with President Bola Tinubu.
He said that the Federal Executive Council briefed the traditional rulers properly on the plans of government and governance, achievements so far, and challenges, which had never happened before.
“As you know, we are closer to the people and know where they are having challenges.
“So, there is a proper bridging and closing of governance gaps between the governed and the people that are in charge of government.
“People that are out there to protest, it’s their civic right, but let them put a face to it and don’t let it be hijacked by people that have ulterior motives. That is our stand,” he said.
He said traditional rulers would not encourage people, especially the youth, to engage in wanton looting and to cause a breakdown of law and order.
“We are parents, we are traditional rulers, we are closer to them, we are going to go back home to continue to engage them.
“It is very difficult to build, but it is the easiest to destroy. We are all stakeholders of this country, we should be stronger as a nation together, than stronger individually.
“The President has said it and he will continue to say it, any leader that you don’t like, wait and vote him out. He is open to dialogue,” Adeyeye said.
He said that the traditional rulers were aware of the challenges confronting Nigerians.
“We know that, but are we going to destroy our nation by ourselves? Is that what we’re all after? We should talk to ourselves.
“The government, ably led by the President, is willing to engage and dialogue and bring governance very close to the people,” he said.
The Dein of Agbor, Benjamin Keagborekuzi, said the take home message,after hearing from the President directly, was that the government understood youths were the future of the country.
He said the government officials demonstrated that they had the youth in mind, and that they were the power and strength of the country.
“We feel your pain, I’m a young person myself. It’s been 24 years I’ve been back and it’s been 24 years that I’ve started seeing the nation going in a very unpalatable direction.
“Let us not destroy our own country. I’ll ask you, think of Libya. Libya was a beautiful country, what has happened to Libya, we don’t want it to happen here.
“Let’s go home, let’s continue to strive for the best that we can and continue to work with the government to see if we can proffer some solutions,” he said.
Igwe Samuel Ikechukwu Asadu, Chairman South East Traditional Rulers Council and Chairman, Enugu State Traditional Rulers Council, commended President Tinubu and the Federal Executive Council for grating audience to the traditional rulers.
He said the President was passionate about the youth and was doing everything possible to bring succour to them in the face of the current harsh economic reality.
He stated that the President demonstrated clearly to the traditional rulers that the unity and peace of the country was uppermost in his heart, and was willing to engage the youth in dialogue.
He said the government had taken steps to address the concerns of the youth with a new minimum wage for workers, distribution of food items, autonomy to local governments to take governance closer to the people, amongst several other measures.
“In particular, the signing into law the South-East Development Commission Bill will is a demonstration of the willingness of the President to bring development to the zone and other parts of the country.
“We acknowledge that the passage of this bill is only the beginning. We pledge our continued support and collaboration in implementing the goals and aspirations enshrined in the South East Development Council Bill,” Asadu said.