Natural rulers’ quest for democracy, good governance

Current resolve of traditional rulers to carry the message of peace and unity to the six-geo political zones in the country, starting with the Southeast’s Owerri Summit, has raised questions on how the natural leaders can help build and sustain healthy polity and good governance, reports Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu

THE gathering of most of the top traditional rulers in Nigeria in Owerri, the Imo State capital, last week, has revived the view that our natural rulers have some vital roles to play in the unity of the country and the promotion of democracy and good governance.

The meeting, a post-election peace summit, which held last week’s Thursday, merely days before the May 29 inauguration of the new administration, under the platform of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria, has been a subject of debate since then. While some stakeholders, like the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has dismissed it as Governor Rochas Okorocha’s scheme to lavish Imo State’s resources before quitting office, some other observers said the initiative of the natural rulers is not only timely but also necessary, considering the violence that trailed the just concluded general elections.

Peace and Unity

As if the royal fathers anticipated the controversy over their intentions, the Sultan of Sokoto said clearly at the summit that the unity of Nigeria was of paramount interest to them as royal fathers and that this was one of the primary reasons for the summit.

“We’re here today to mark the Southeast post-election and peace conference of the National Council of Traditional Rulers. The unity of Nigeria is of paramount interest to all of us, that is why we have gathered here,” he said.

Dr. Raymond Nkwocha, a political analyst in Lagos, supporting the initiative, told The Nation during the week that the voting pattern and some other issues that played out during the just concluded general elections exposed the depth of division and distrust in Nigeria, adding that “we can no longer pretend that all is well with the polity and the nation called Nigeria. Aside the issue of political distrust, which needs to be resolved, the level of insecurity, killings, violence and hatred in the land demand calculated intervention of the critical leaders and stakeholders in order to save the nation. It is in this context that I commend the initiative of traditional rulers to go round the country at this critical time to preach unity and peace. I do not see it as a political gimmick. To me, nothing could be more timely and necessary in our polity than this initiative,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari also believes the initiative for peace is commendable. He said that much at the Owerri summit. Represented by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, Buhari explained why traditional rulers are most suited to play key roles in the maintenance of peace in Nigeria when he said “the responsibility of ensuring peace rests squarely on the shoulders of the traditional rulers because they are closer to the people than the government.” The President acknowledged that without the unique fatherly roles the natural rulers played during and after the 2019 general elections, “the relative peace that existed could not have been possible.”

According to the SSG, one practical way of sustaining the vital role as the country prepares for the inauguration of the new administration is by taking the message to all the political zones in the country. Further emphasising the importance of the summit and the determination of the Federal Government to support it, Mustapha said “My Royal Highnesses and traditional rulers, the presidency has saddled my office with the very responsibility of overseeing the Post-Election Peace Conference/Summit in the six geo-political zones of our dear country.

Acknowledging that the quest for peace and unity constitute the major plank to the gathering of the traditional rulers, the  spokesman of the royal fathers, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, the Ojaja II, also said “the group was aware of the political tension in the country, hence its resolve to intervene in restoring stability in the polity.”

He explained that they were poised to join efforts with other segments of the nation in fostering unity and peaceful coexistence among the various tribes in the country, “regardless or our political, tribal or religious differences.” According to the royal father, “What we are known for, as traditional rulers, is to foster unity and peaceful co-existence across the entire country, Nigeria.

“We are aware of the political tension across the country and we are here to make a statement that we all belong to Nigeria and Nigeria is greater than all of us.”

Security at the grassroots

Even more than strict politics, both the government and other stakeholders are of the view today that natural rulers should take up the responsibility of fighting insecurity at the grassroots level if they desire unity and good governance for the people and country.

Buhari led this call at the Summit when he said: “But the most sterling issue about the whole matter is establishing peace, how to bring peace to Sokoto, to Adamawa and others. But we all understand that this responsibility rests rather more squarely on the shoulders of our traditional rulers who are closer to the people than the government.

“This is why my office attends to everything pertaining to this matter with utter dispatch. Also, the team-spirit with which you have carried out your functions has not gone unnoticed.

The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, also spoke on this matter, even as he urged his fellow royal fathers to wake up from their slumber and help save Nigeria from the hands of violent terrorists and killers. As he puts it: “My fellow Traditional Rulers from across the various ethnic groups of Nigeria, I want us to bear in mind that the reason for this conference is the peace of this country.

“We cannot afford to be seated on our various thrones and see the people we are ruling scattered. So, the peace of Nigeria must cost us something worth sacrificing. All of us seated here have a duty to let our subjects know that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. Therefore, we must rise up to join our leaders to find lasting peace to our diverse political and cultural situations”.

Need for constitutional backing

While many agree that, as Buhari said, the responsibility of maintaining peace at the grassroots level rests greatly on the shoulders of the natural rulers, they said the monarchs currently lack the needed constitutional powers to effectively fight insecurity.

Mr. Rotimi Adeniji, a lawyer told The Nation that it amounts to wishful thinking to believe the natural rulers can truly fight insurgency today. They lack constitutional powers to police their communities and kingdoms. So, how do you expect them to confront the criminals? It’s all a joke. If you want them to do more than they are doing today, you will need to empower them constitutionally.”

The call for constitutional backing for traditional rulers in the task of maintaining peace did not begin today. It would be recalled that a similar meeting of royal fathers held in 2014 ahead of the 2015 General Elections, after the notorious kidnapping of the Chibok girls when the political atmosphere was equally charged and violence and bloodletting were being spread across the country leading to calls for traditional rulers to take the centre stage in the maintenance of peace at the grassroots level.

It was a two-day national conference on Culture, Peace and National Security held in Kaduna State.

The conference, with the theme: “Culture, Peace and National Security: Role of Traditional Rulers in Nigeria’s Democracy”, was organised by the National Institute for Cultural Orientation (NICO) in collaboration with UNESCO.

In that conference, one of the speakers, the paramount ruler of Oko Community in Orumba North Local Government Area of Anambra State, Igwe Laz Ekwueme, particularly identified insecurity and corruption as the bane of development in Nigeria. He therefore called for a legal backing for the Royal Fathers; arguing that “if constitutional responsibilities are assigned traditional rulers, they would be able to join hands with government to tackle the rising rate of bomb attacks by the Boko Haram terrorists since they were closer to the grassroots.”

Another Royal Father at the 2014 conference, the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Umar El-Kanemi, said “the current security challenges could only be surmounted if appropriate measures were taken through proper consultations.

“If the roles and welfare of traditional rulers are properly spelt out, such will enable them to effectively contribute their quota in national development,” he said.

The then Vice President, Namadi Sambo, who was represented at the occasion by the then Kaduna State Deputy Governor, Mr. Nuhu Bajoga, said: “While the present administration is committed to the promotion of peace and security in the country and to also ensure that the abducted Chibok school girls are rescued, there is the need for deliberate cultural re-engineering in order to restore the nation’s lost values and ethics.”

The current summit held at the palace of HRM Eze Samuel Ohiri, who is the Chairman of Imo State Council of Traditional Rulers, five years after, maintains the same position, that if the government truly empowers the natural rulers to help fight insecurity, peace and sustained political culture would be promoted.

Commenting on the current efforts, Adenijii said: “The quality of the traditional rulers and their statements of commitment suggest greater resolve to work together and with the government to ensure a peaceful political nation. So, it seems today that the ball is in the court of the government to ensure that natural rulers are legally empowered to help fight insecurity. They are vital to the nation’s quest for a peaceful polity.”

It would be recalled that apart from the Sultan and the Ooni, other first class traditional rulers present at the occasion include the Obi of Onitsha, His Royal Majesty, Prof. Alfred Achebe; Obong of Calabar, His Eminence Ediden Ekpo Okon Abasi; Etsu of Nupe, HRH Alhaji Valiya Abubakar.