The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has hailed the leadership qualities of Presidential Aspirant, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, and prayed for God’s guidance and blessings upon him as he seeks the highest office in Nigeria.
The Ooni made the commendation and prayers when the Amaechi paid him a consultation visit at his Palace in Ile Ife, Monday.
He said, “With the roll out of your resume, how many of you like that in Nigeria? Very few. For the last 23 years of this Republic, you have been relevant. Power belongs to God, it’s not by your might, it’s not by your power, nor by your doing. In terms of leadership, it is God that gives power, and if you look at your history, in the last 23 years, you have actually gone through the rank and file. You are not the only one in this country, but God has actually found in you favour, and by the very special grace of God, has the interest of this country at heart. It is very important. I know you are a fervent and hard believer of God Almighty, anything you do, you pray to God. Don’t relent, do not relent, and keep praying to God.
“Leadership is stewardship. You’ve been to different leadership positions from different strata. In terms of governance, you’ve seen it all. But the one that you’re trying to aspire now, by the very special grace of God, it’s God who will take you there. We are paying for you from the throne of Oduduwa. On this throne of our ancestors God will continue to guide you, God will continue to see you through, God will continue to favour you, honour you and put you through in everything you do. God will continue to honour you in your words, in your thoughts, in your actions. Everything you lay your hand upon will continue to prosper. God will guide you, guard you and see you through. You will never regret why you came out to show selfless service for this country.
“God will guide you right. Please remember this country for good, remember the goodness that can come out of this country, remember that you will continue to serve for good, not for your own interests. By virtue of how God has shown you mercy, give mercy back to the public, show mercy back to Nigerians. You have to be selfless, give your best, even if it’s going to cost you everything that you are, keep doing what you’re supposed to do.”
The Ooni also commended the entourage of Amaechi, saying it a very good blend of what Nigeria. He appreciated the women in the group and urged the presidential aspirant to continue in his inclusion of women in the affairs of the country.
He said: “We can see a proper blend all the way from the western part of our country, to the south- south, all the way to the Northern part, even the royalties are there.” To the Minister: “Believe in women, give them more roles, they see what we cannot see, and they are very detailed and very courageous. Please continue to give them opportunity. I want to see more around you. May God almighty continue to bless you, guide and protect you.”
On his part, the Presidential Aspirant and Minister of Transportation proposed a review of legislation to give more relevance to the traditional institution if given the opportunity to serve as Nigeria’s president.
“Your imperial majesty, one of the critical issues that I’ll want this country to look at is the relevance of the traditional institution. If elected as president of the country, I will sit down with the National Assembly to address the relevance of the traditional institution, because a lot of things are getting out of hand.
“You cannot be a president in Abuja and know what is happening in Ife, you cannot be a governor in Osogbo and know what is happening in Ife. There must be somebody in Ife to talk to. There must be somebody who encapsulates the entire Ife Kingdom that you can take his views, see how much contributions he can make in the administration of the state and that of the country, for us to move forward. So for me, there is need to consult the traditional institutions in the governance of this country.
“Most of the heads of the traditional institutions are educated and very exposed, they see things for themselves, they see what is going on and it is important that they are involved in the governance of the country,” he said.
Amaechi also stated that his precedence and performance in governance, his physical and mental fitness qualifies him to be able to manage the country. He also promised to address every sector necessary to improve the economic realities of Nigerians.
He said: “If you look at my history, among all of us in APC, including PDP, with all due respect to them, I happen to be one with more precedence; eight years as Speaker, eight years as Governor, seven years as Minister, the first Director General of a campaign to lead a fight of the removal of a government in power. With that experience comes the fact that the greatest and the most difficult thing for anybody in government is to lead among equals. If you don’t lead properly, they’ll remove you. I’ve led my equals twice, as Chairman of the Conference of Speakers and as Chairman of Governors Forum, which was very turbulent when there was a sharp disagreement between the governors and the then president. So I’m experienced enough to manage the country at this difficult time.
“Age will not be an issue. I am like a bridge between the young and the old. People have asked me why I ran round the stadium, I was checking to see how fit I am, so I had to run round the stadium to confirm to myself that I’m strong enough to carry the problems of the country, whether it is mentally or physically, because you need both mental capacity and physical fitness to manage this country. You have to be physically strong and have the mental capacity to make decisions on behalf of the country.
“I promise you that if given the opportunity to govern this country, both the rich and the poor will have a space, because I come from the two sides. There were times I was timing my friends to know when there’s food at home. I’m not ashamed to say it. Those friends who didn’t even know they were feeding me, are still my friends today. So I’ve also known what it is to be on the other side of the divide.
“So if given this opportunity, we’ll give opportunity to most Nigerians to see how they can climb the ladder and be as important as they wish. And how did I get it? I prayed, but I also studied. It’s time to look at our education system; it’s time to look at our electricity; it’s time to look at our industrial system, everything that provides opportunity to everybody to pursue their economic realities. We’ll look at it and face it.
“We also ought to thank the President. One of the key things the president has done is his contribution to transportation. I’m sure some of you have used our railway, I’m sure some of you have passed through the terminal at Ebute-metta, I’m sure some of you felt proud to be called Nigerians. We are replicating all that across the country, we’re continuing the pursuit of the railways all over the country,” Amaechi said.
