Nigeria: The land where Royalty is not Royal

by Tosin Adesina

Proper Life action is guided by morality and conscience and any action that doesn’t fulfil positivity of these two criteria is in its negative state.

The decision of the Sultan of Sokoto to accept the seven hundred million Naira Abuja palace has called to question the role royal fathers are playing in undermining the development of our dear country Nigeria.

Traditional institutions were initially designed to be a liaison office between the community and the government during the colonial era but with the advent of democracy in 1999, the palace has assumed a political status where acts that shouldn’t be found in the palace take place.

Royal fathers are now more preoccupied with getting contracts from government rather than championing the developmental course of their community. They now dedicate more time to paying individuals that are lesser vassals “courtesy visit” all in a bid to sort for favours ranging from contracts to house, cars and some have taken it so personal that they are now spokesmen of Political parties as displayed by the Oba of Lagos in the build up to 2015 Gubernatorial elections in Lagos.

The failure of the local government system today can be partly attributed to royal father’s as they feast on the meagre allocations going to the councils. As a result, the development at the grassroots level is stunted. Local government now spend tax Payers money to buy cars, construct palace, pay for medicals and Travel ticket of royal father’s including recharge cards among other anomalies at the detriment of Education, health care and Infrastructural development.

The Lagos State House of Assembly is now on the verge of reviewing the chieftaincy law of Lagos to increase the amount being paid to royal father’s and Baale’s – an action that will further deplete the council funds.

To show the level of rot in the Traditional system in Nigeria some Royal Father’s also double as land grabbers, wife snatchers and some even fake their kidnap to extort money from the unsuspecting Public as seen in the case of the dethroned Baale of Shangisha.

The practice where royal fathers accept gift, contracts and also join Political parties have limited their level of respect and influence and it’s denigrating the traditional institution.

The Sultan of sokoto should reject the Abuja palace as its a sharp contrast to the level of poverty existing in his emirate and also a great moral burden to his anti-corruption stance. The poverty and illiteracy in sokoto should be addressed with that seven hundred million Naira before it births sokoto’s worst nightmare.

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