Tony Osauzo, Benin
The Oba of Benin has called for prayers over the security situation in the country, even as he tasked the Federal Government to listen to the cries of Nigerians and tackle the menace decisively.
He regretted that the nation’s military over the years, had been engaged in fighting internal insurgency as against its main primary purpose of protecting the territorial integrity of the nation.
The Oba, who stated this when he hosted the General Officer Commanding (GOC), 2 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major-General Anthony Omozoje, in his palace, lauded the efforts of the Nigeria military, which he said, had lost their men in the battle against insurgency, especially in the North East of the country.
The monarch, while paying condolence to soldiers who lost their lives in the fight against insurgency, commended the army for waging war against Boko Haram.
“Please accept our condolences for the loss of lives going on in Nigeria. We feel sad anytime we hear this. It is not an external war, where we had to engage external aggressors; it is a pity that we still have so much insecurity in the country. We have made representation on many occasions. I had personally addressed the issue in the country when I was residing in Uselu.
“On some other occasions, I had to speak on the insecurity in the country. I was even invited to the National Defence Academy on security meeting in Abuja to deliver a lecture and have had the opportunity to highlight the role of traditional rulers in peace keeping, conflict resolution and how to solve the issue of insecurity.
“Those of us that are prayerful should keep praying hard for Nigeria and when it is beyond us, we leave it in the hands of God almighty and our ancestors.
“I want to appeal to our leaders to keep on listening to the cries of our people, and hope that our leaders will not ignore the yearnings, complaints, and constructive criticism of our people. When I was in Abuja on a visit to the President, I also had the opportunity to highlight the matter at hand and urged him to be a listening President, so that things could be much better for Nigerians.” Major General Omozoje had earlier told the monarch that he was at the palace on a courtesy visit and to seek for his royal blessing.