Royal Fathers Across Nigeria, Fed Govt Meet On Peace, Security, National Development

Leading royal fathers from all parts of Nigeria opened a National discourse in the Federal Capital territory, Abuja yesterday to brainstorm on issues germane to unity and development of the country.
The two-day conference; Tuesday –Wednesday, October 15-16, 2019 coming under the auspices of the 11th National Development Summit of Traditional Rulers is co- hosted by the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and Traditional Rulers Development and Welfare initiative.
The forum has the HRM, Dr. Emmanuel Sideso, Abe l, JP , OON, Ovie of Uvwie Kingdom, Delta State, Chairman, Summit Governing Council and H.R.H. Igwe Prof. Laz .N. Ekwueme 1V, NNOM,OON, Eze Ijikala 11, Oko, Anambra State as Secretary General.
The summit with the theme, “Bolstering Peace and Security for National Development; the Role of Traditional Rulers held at the Yar’Adua Center, Abuja, has over 200 traditional rulers participating.
The special guest of honour at the opening session, His Excellency, The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osibanjo, SAN, was represented by the Minister of the Nigeria Delta Affairs, his Excellency, Senator Godswill Akpabio, CON.
Prof Osibanjo, SAN, was happy that the royal fathers have come together to discuss how we can work together for the peace, unity and development of our great nation, assuring the traditional rulers of the commitment President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure the stability, unity, peace, progress and development of the country and called for concerted effort from the royal fathers.
He said, “Therefore, you represent a longstanding nexus between the traditional and the modern, immune to the transience and upheaval of each four-year political term. This is to say that this gathering is of particular importance because as a collective of leaders, you are all uniquely positioned to uphold the stability of our nation. You are custodians of tradition and the first line of our defence against the forces of anarchy.
“At the local level especially, you are central to any hopes of peace and stability and the bridging of some of our nation’s deepest social cleavages such as class, religion, ethnicity and language. This is largely because as locals, you are much more familiar with your immediate environs than we can be as a federal government from our relatively remote perch. This is why it is essential that as a collective of royal fathers, and in tandem with those of us in the federal government, we complement each other in our efforts to achieve common national goals, particularly those of peace and security? he said.
The Vice President added that that “Any hope of achieving peace and security depends on how much we can work together. As traditional rulers, you are in a position to provide intelligence regarding criminal activity in your communities and help us implement government policy at the local level. According to him, traditional rulers, “are best-placed to help us localize the policy solutions we offer and ensure that we meet your communities at their specific points of need.”
“The hindrances we face on our path to peace and security are complex and multidimensional, and as our society develops, these hindrances only become increasingly so. Therefore, our approaches to these solutions must also constantly adapt, and these summits are useful for us to continue to engage in dialogue about the best ways to strengthen our efforts to provide solutions. Security is a necessary prerequisite for the implementation of any government programme and I would like to highlight a few ways in which we believe that you can help us achieve peace, security and stability,” he added.
The co-host of the conference, Dr. Garba Abari, Director General, National Orientation Agency (NOA) in stating the rationale behind the summit, quoted Lyndon B. Johnson the 36th USA President who said that “Yesterday is not ours to recover, but tomorrow is ours to win or lose.”
Dr. Abari said as matter of top priority, Nigerians need to resolve to forgive themselves, reunite, reawaken their potentials, rediscover their best brains and re-strategize to overcome the nation’s ostensibly terrible economic adversity and the heightening insecurity.
He maintained that the Summit is a non-political forum of traditional rulers inaugurated in 2008 by late President Musa Yar’adua to foster friendship among traditional rulers and boost national peace, unity and development. Scores of delegates attend annually from various states and Local Govt. Areas.
The Oku Ibom Ibibio and Chairman of the Akwa Ibom State Council of Chiefs, His Eminence, Nteyin Solomon Daniel, JP, who led the delegation of traditional rulers from Akwa Ibom State to the confab, said in his speech at the well-attended event that the Federal Government must deepen unity amongst the various people of Nigeria through robust policies and programmes that give a sense of belongings to all, irrespective of tribe, or religion.
“We have to be truthful with the realities of the moment. We must urge the Federal government to treat all sections of the country equally in terms of appointments, projects distribution, programmes and policies that directly touch the interest of all of us,” the chairman remarked.
The conference ends today with a communique expected to convey the positions of the royal fathers on national issues.