From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The Oba of Benin Omo N’oba Ewuare ll has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to come to the aid of Edo State in tackling insecurity in the state as the governor, Godwin Obaseki is clearly overwhelmed.
He also called on the relevant authorities to reflect on the roles played by the traditional institution in the Nigerian constitution
The Benin monarch who made his position known on Thursday when he called on President Buhari at the Aso Rock villa in Abuja, said it is sad that the role of traditional rulers who play a stabilizing and developmental role particularly at the grassroots is not captured in the country’s law books.
In an address made available to newsmen after a private meeting with the president, the Oba of Benin said the traditional institution in Nigeria is ready to offer support to efforts by government to strengthen the unity and development of the nation.
The Benin monarch also seized the opportunity of the visit to draw the attention of the President to some development issues that need urgent attention in Edo State.
He called for the completion of the Benin -Auchi road dualization project, provision of tight security as well as curtailing human trafficking activities in Edo State.
The monarch said, “Mr. President, what you are yet to do for us includes the areas of more infrastructural development, security, human trafficking and to complete Benin-Auchi road dualization.
Human trafficking incidents are not reducing and what NGOs are doing is merely palliative and at best scratching the surface. Some NGOs may even be in business for themselves. Federal government needs to assist Edo state to develop low to medium scale cluster industries or establish factories in each LGAs to reduce unemployment and prompt urban to rural migration in order to decongest the centre for a very holistic development in Edo state.”
The monarch commended President Buhari’s effort in tackling insecurity in the country.
According to him, “In Edo state, security issues seemed to be multidimensional. In addition to the prevailing criminal activities of cultist killings, kidnappings etc, the activities of the so-called community development associations are crippling the economy of our state even much more.
“The Benin traditional authority has been relentlessly tackling the menace of community development associations that earned for themselves the disreputable name of community destructive associations. These networks of groups attack and are systematically destroying the normative and value system of our society and heritage. Their evil practices scare investors away.
“Our governor and the people of Edo state need more support from the federal government to effectively and decisively tackle the security challenges in our state. May I use this opportunity to appeal to your Excellency to kindly assist our state governor in dealing with the security challenges in the state.
“Finally, traditional rulers in the country play stabilising and developmental roles in the country particularly when there is crisis brewing at the grassroots. It is sad that the role of traditional rulers is yet to be reflected in the constitution of the country. Nigeria is a country strongly rooted in cultural blues and norms. May I use this opportunity to reassure government that traditional institutions will be used to strengthen the unity and development of Nigeria.