•President demands written suggestions from Royal fathers
PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday met behind closed-door with the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, over the various crises bedeviling the country including the renewed militancy spearheaded by the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) and the lingering Boko Haram insurgency in the north east.
In what looked like a new attempt at consulting with critical stakeholders in the country on the problems of the country, Buhari met with the Royal father in his office after which the Alaafin disclosed that the meeting was over the crises.
He has recently met with former Heads of State, General Yakubu Gowon and Abdulsalami Abubakar.
Speaking with State House correspondents, the Alaafin said that the president requested traditional rulers to provide him their suggestions in writing.
He said: “As a Nigerian and one of the topmost traditional rulers in the country, over the time, I sent a memorandum to the President which he acknowledged and he asked me to come and endorse those things I have written.
“I think it is time for me to use the proper channel to reach the President for suggestions and advice. Where he deserves commendation, I should also do that, especially as it concerns the multi-dimensional problems Nigeria is facing; the Avengers and the bombing of oil installations, MEND, Boko Haram insurgency in the North East.
“One major diplomatic point the President scored recently was the visit of the U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry. America does not usually send top officers for such visits if they have not used certain parameters to gauge the country’s performance.
“I have met with the President and offered some suggestions. We are losing huge resources to the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers.
“Coming close to that is the infiltration of the militants in Lagos and Ikorodu where in the last three weeks, 10 landlords were massacred.”
Speaking specifically on the infiltration, the Royal father noted that the Federal Government responded promptly to deal with the threat, saying that normalcy has since returned to Ikorodu and Arepo area.
The Alafin further stated: “If they had successfully spread their activities to the South West, there would have been more destruction. Lagos is the economic heartbeat of the nation.
“The President listened attentively and he has asked me to pass the information to other traditional rulers in my domain to assist the government by giving advice because he is a good listener but that such advice should be put in writing so that he can then relate it to the problems affecting Nigeria.”