The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has related what President Bola Tinubu told select monarchs on Thursday at the Villa ahead of the planned nationwide protest against hardship from August 1-10.
The President has held series of talks with stakeholders in a bid to make aggrieved Nigerians see reasons why the protest should not go ahead as planned.
Led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar Saad and Ooni, Tinubu met with a select group of monarchs across the country.
Speaking with newsmen after the meeting, Oba Ogunwusi mentioned what the President told them saying, “The President has said, ‘any leader that you don’t like, wait (until 2027) and vote him out.’ He is open to dialogue. We know that Nigeria faces many challenges. But are we going to destroy our nation by ourselves? Is that what we are all after?
“It is very difficult to build, but it is the easiest to destroy. We are all stakeholders in this country and are stronger as a nation than individually.”
Speaking further: “We should talk to ourselves. We need to know that today; it’s a completely different spin. The government, ably led by the President, is willing to engage and dialogue and bring governance very close to the people.
“People that are out there to protest, it is their civic right. But let them put a face to it and don’t let it be hijacked by people that have ulterior motives. That is our stand.
“We the traditional rulers are not in support of people, especially youths, coming out to loot and break down law and order. We condemn such acts fully. We are parents, we are traditional rulers, and we are closer to them (youths). We are going to go back home and continue to engage them.”
