The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to carry traditional rulers along, especially in tackling insecurity.

Ooni gave the charge in his congratulatory message to the president through his spokesperson, Moses Olafare, on Monday in Ile-Ife.

“The traditional rulers in this country are the closest to the people as there is nobody in Nigeria who is not a subject of a particular traditional ruler,” Mr Ogunwusi said.

He added, “This is why it is important for the government to empower us with more strategic constitutional roles, especially in the area of security management and conflict resolutions.”

The Ife monarch also urged Mr Tinubu to engage capable youths in his administration, noting that Nigerians trust the new president to leverage his wealth of experience in unifying Nigeria.

The Ooni, who doubles as co-chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), admonished Mr Tinubu to partner progressive African leaders and friends of Africa across the globe like President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio LULA da Silva.

“As truly the giant of Africa, Nigeria must, first of all, be great for Nigerians and Nigeria must provide progressive leadership of unity and peace for the greatness of Africa under your watch,” stated Mr Ogunwusi. “I expect the presidency of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who himself is a Pan-Africanist, to take advantage of this for the greatness of Africa.”

He also advised the president to create an economic blueprint to liberate Nigerians from poverty and insecurity.

(NAN)