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Ooni of Ife urges Nigerians not to
rush political leaders on development

Posted: Saturday, September 4, 2010

Oba Okunade Sijuwade, the Ooni of Ife, has urged Nigerians not to rush their political leaders as they strive to ensure development of the country. He stated this in Ile-Ife when the Nigeria Governors‘ Forum (NGF) secretariat peer review team paid him a courtesy visit in the course of their monitoring of government projects and peer review exercise in the state.
“Our political system and infrastructural development is just not right to ensure automatic development, we need to be patient with our political leaders and with time our democracy will work and we will get there.
“We have to be patient as we make our democracy, certain things have to be done to make our system right, electricity and water situation in the country has to be improved upon,’’ the Ooni said.
He said democracy in Nigeria at present could be described as analogue while that of the U.S. which, he noted, had been on for several decades was digital as it had everything running following years of development.
“America‘s democracy is over 200 years old and that they are where they are today is because they had endured and had put things right. All that we need in this country is patience and time.
“With the present state of our infrastructures and social amenities President Barack Obama though may be succeeding as the president of the U.S. will fail if he becomes president in this country,’’ the Ooni said.
He, however, urged the NGF secretariat and the peer review team to go beyond monitoring and inspection of government developmental projects to providing the government with the advice and suggestions that would boost development.
The Ooni, who also took the team through the history of the Yoruba traditional heritage, told them that the Ife Traditional Council of Chiefs would be willing to offer any assistance to it if required. He commended the NGF peer review ,which, he said, would put governors of the 36 states of the federation on their toes to drive development.
The Ooni expressed the need for the Federal Government to increase the revenue base of Osun to ensure effective development of the state as her present revenue allocation was insufficient.
Earlier, Mr Asishana Okauru, NGF director general and leader of the team, told the Ooni that the group seized the opportunity of being in the state to visit him as the custodian of the Yoruba traditional heritage.
He said that the peer review exercise which began in 2009 was an initiative of the 36 states serving governors and the National Economic Council, aimed at deepening democracy and good governance, and  encouraging healthy competition among the governors for equal development.
The team is expected to identify best practices in areas of agriculture, health, education, water, budgeting and other developmental issues.  The identified best practices, according to Okauru, will be made available to states where they are lacking for replication at the end of the exercise.