Engage traditional rulers in grassroots governance, monarchs urge govt

Some traditional rulers from communities in the South-West and North Central Nigeria, Yoruba Obas Forum, have called on the government at all levels, to engage traditional rulers in grassroot governance and fight against illegal mining.

The Forum, consisting of royal fathers from Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Kwara and Kogi States, on Wednesday, made the call in a release through its President, the Molokun of Atijere in Ondo State, Oba Samuel Adeoye, while consoling monarch of the city, the state government and its citizens over the explosion that rocked the city on Tuesday.

Recall that on Tuesday night, panic gripped Ibadan residents over an explosion that occurred at Dejo Oyelese Street in the Bodija area of the city.

Adeoye noted that “it is very painful to lose lives in a tragic explosion that happened especially at this time the country is striving to revive the economy.”

The forum reiterates its call on the government to engage traditional rulers in grassroots governance, stating that, “It is now time for the government to work with traditional rulers and monarchs to mitigate against the rising trend of illegal mining of natural resources going on daily in our localities.”

Adeoye expressed, “We, therefore, urge the government to heed to our calls and engage the services of traditional rulers as the custodian of peoples’ heritage and commonwealth to fight this evil act, and bring sanity to the society.”

He added that lives lost are irreplaceable,
and commiserates with the families of those injured and those who lost their lives.

He, however, hailed Governor Seyi Makinde’s effort for his quick intervention to save more lives from the crisis and urged the state government not to relent in fishing out perpetrators of the explosion.