Local government chairmen now more powerful than monarchs – Ooni of Ife
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II, has said the powers of traditional rulers have been curtailed, saying a constitutional review is needed to give more powers to monarchs in Nigeria.
According to Ooni, a situation where even a local government chairman is more powerful than traditional rulers is not good for Nigeria.
The traditional ruler, represented by the Onifegunwa of Ifegunwa in Ile-Ife, Oba Adedire Adewole Solomon, declared this in Abuja during the 8th anniversary of the Nigeria Most Influential Awards (NMIA) organized by VGlamour Magazine.
“What we need, as traditional rulers, is for the constitution to be reviewed. We have a constitution under which the government has complete power over the traditional ruler. There is a clause in the constitution that makes the king less powerful, in that even a local government president has power over a monarch. It’s not done, there should be a review,” he said.
Outlining the N27.5 trillion budget for the 2024 fiscal year presented to the National Assembly by President Tinubu, he said;
“The budget is promising, and I want everyone to know that many things have happened in the future, that things are so bad, and that it is not easy for you to bring out good things. It's a gradual process. The President we have now is doing this gradually. The Ooni is closest to the President, advising him and with what we are seeing now, as time passes and by this time next year, we would all smile. The President is neither a magician nor a messiah. We all know it's not easy. If you want to be great, you will be punished, but you need to stay focused,”
The Onifegunwa described the Ooni as a monarch who has the interests of the people in mind.
He said: “Position is good, but personality is important. Ooni is very simple. He has his feet on the ground. With this, he knows what people and communities need. His position doesn't matter, but how close are you to the bases? The other time, the Ooni were telling the National Assembly members that they live in wealth and luxury, but how many of them can go to their cities and villages for a week? We kings do this.
“This is to tell you that the Ooni does these things. He is the man who gives to people and helps the less fortunate. He spends no less than N10 million a day. Many people come to him for help and he sponsors them a lot. In Ifé, he has a foundation where people from all over the country come to train and he pays for it out of his own pocket. He is also ensuring that our cultures are revived despite him being young and well educated.”
Source: www.lindaikejisblog.com