QUOTES FROM THE NATIONAL SUMMIT ON SECURITY AND (IN) SECURITY IN NIGERIA: THE ROLE OF TRADITIONAL INSTITUTION
GOVERNOR, STATE OF OSUN, MR. ADEGBOYEGA OYETOLA
“At moments of peace and at all times, it is the function of the traditional rulers to teach and encourage their subjects, including parents, guardians, youths and children to embrace and promote our cherished values of peace, good neighbourliness, love, tolerance, honesty and hard work in the interest of communal and national peace.
In situations of insecurity, traditional rulers must collaborate with the security agencies, sensitise and encourage their subjects to provide intelligence, expose the criminals in their domains, have dossiers on their residents, educate the people on government policies and programmes, and broker peaceful coexistence among ethnic and religious groups under their domains.”
PRINCE OLAGUNSOYE OYINLOLA:
“Our traditional rulers and their chiefs have always been the most effective intelligence and security officers in their respective domains. Nothing escapes their ears and eyes. In Yorubaland, we say they are Abetiilujara bi ajere – that is, he who has ears all over his body. You abuse them in their absence, they hear. You do things secretly behind them, they see you. You are ahead of them, they know every detail of what you are doing. The CBCIU feels that this is the time to harness the intelligence gathering and conflict resolution abilities of our monarchs for the safety of Nigerians and the stability of Nigeria.”
SULTAN MUHAMMAD SA’AD ABUBAKAR
(SULTAN OF SOKOTO)
“The Traditional Rulers Club is the most important club in the world and we need to step in to help our political leaders because Allah will ask us what we did to solve Nigeria’ s security problem.”
OBA ADEYEYE ENITAN OGUNWUSI OJAJA II
(THE OONI OF IFE)
“We are the true fathers and custodians of our domains. Government should give us a chance to do things the way our forebears secured their domains. Enough of just talking about our problems. Let me say it here, Amotekun has come to stay and it will not break Nigeria.”
