Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
As the county prepares for the 2019 general elections, the Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, has tasked the nation’s politicians on the need to think less of themselves and think more of ways to impact good governance on the electorate.
He also called for tolerance among the contending political parties and insisted that well-being of Nigerians should be paramount to them.
Alake, made these known on Monday at a press briefing heralding his 75th birthday, held at the Ake Palace, Abeokuta, Ogun State capital.
READ ALSO: Osita Okechukwu vows to retire Ekweremadu from Senate
The monarch, who said electorate have always bore the brunt of bad representation, remarked that if politicians have not been selfish, the country would have made a remarkable progress.
“Politicians should think about the masses not things that will benefit them (politicians). We should tolerate ourselves. It should be jaw, jaw and not war, war”, Oba Gbadebo stated.
The monarch, however, lamented low patronage of locally made products, which according to him, has impacted negatively on the country’s economy.
Alake, who disclosed that his greatest challenge in his 13 years on the throne, remained his inability to convince his subjects to patronize locally made products such as Adire fabric and local rice popular known as Ofada, also lamented lack of adequate promotion of local culture.
He, therefore, revealed that his greatest achievement is his ability to foster unity and peace among the people of Egbaland, noting “the unity among the Egbas is their strength”.
While reeling out activities to mark the 75th birthday of the monarch, the Seriki of Egbaland, Tosin Fadare said, the monarch will kick start the celebration with visit to some less privileged homes in and around Abeokuta on Wednesday, and rounded off on Friday with Islamic prayer at Ake Palace and a church thanksgiving service at the Cathedral of St. Peter, Ake, Abeokuta.
