The Sultan of Sokoto and Co-Chairman, National Council of Traditional Rulers, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, has urged the traditional rulers in the country to discharge their duties honorably and pleasantly whether the law backs them or not.
He spoke in Enugu, Thursday, at the opening ceremony of the Southsouth/Southsouth Traditional Rulers Retreat.
The Sultan said that the traditional rulers should continue to serve their people with or without security votes. Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu had called for security votes to be extended to traditional rulers.
“That is why we are so much delighted as traditional leaders to continue serving our people in different capacities with or without security votes,” the Sultan said.
“Having heard so much from so many people, I know that Chief Iwuanyanwu must have captured so much on what you are here for, even though as a politician, and you know we are not politicians but we are the fathers of the politicians.
For our politicians we must guide them aright. We must not allow them to derail and whatever we should do to bring peace and stability as traditional leaders, we must do so.
We must never shy away from talking to one another,” the Sultan who was accompanied to the event by the Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahya Abubakar among others adding that his presence at the opening ceremony of the South-east, South-south traditional rulers retreat was significant, indicating the extent of love that he and other traditional rulers in the North have for the traditional rulers and people of the South-east and South-south of Nigeria.
He said the traditional rulers in Nigeria had come to stay and that, “Whoever doesn’t like us, we will tell him to go and have rethink because there is nothing he can do about the institution.
This institution had been here long before Nigeria came into being like some people said. And so we must continue to respect that institution. Politicians come and go, the institutions will remain. Vanguard
