2019: Don’t sell your votes to moneybags, Ooni tasks Nigerians

AS political activities gather momentum ahead 2019 general elections, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi (Ojaja II), on Thursday charged Nigerians, most especially the eligible voters, to desist from selling their votes to moneybag politicians, contending that the battle to save Nigeria had gone beyond pecuniary gains.

The monarch, who observed that there is a big problem in the country emphasised the need to change the way Nigeria as a corporate nation is being governed, saying selling of votes to politicians would prevent the people from asking political leadership critical questions that were germane to the social and economic growth of the nation.

Oba Ogunwusi, who spoke at the annual empowerment programme for women in Ile-Ife and other communities in the South West sponsored by him maintained that “when they (politicians) come to campaign, don’t sell your votes to them. Tell them to go and donate the money to charity. Leaders are public servants. We voted for them. It is about time to ask them questions. Let us change the way we govern ourselves in this country.”

Commenting on the multiplier effects of creating an enabling environment for small and medium scale industries and local products, he stated that “it is about time we ask our leaders that are they making the food we are eating in this country. Some of our leaders don’t want to eat the food we produce in this country.

“We need to know the countries where the textile they used in making their dress,” adding that effective markets for a local product will be enhanced if our leaders patronise made in Nigerian goods and items.

While contending that effective solutions to myriad of problems, confronting the country lies in the promotion of Small Scale and Medium Enterprise (SMS), Oba Ogunwusi asserted that “women are critical to nation’s development.

“We need to take our women to the next level. If you empower women, you have empowered a nation. They are the pillars and custodians of our homes. If you empower them, it would be easier to empower the youth.”

He, however, expressed joy over the empowerment initiative, pointing out that “I am happy about this initiative. This is not a talk show. There are many talk shows in Nigeria.”

Earlier in her remark, the Chief Executive Officer of ABUAD Ventures, Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, Yeye Aare Modupe Babalola lamented “those young girls, who are prospective women in Nigeria and other developing countries, were facing socio-economic challenges of exploitation, violence and abuse, stressing that “they also face rape, discrimination and harmful traditional practices such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).”