The Awujale and paramount ruler of Ijebuland, Oba Sikiru
Adetona, has told President Goodluck Jonathan, that it is not
proper in Ijebuland or Yorubaland for an Oba to canvass for
votes for any candidates seeking elective posts.
Rather, monarchs in Yorubaland only encourage their subjects
to make their informed choices.
The monarch said this when President Goodluck Jonathan
paid a private visit to him in his palace in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun
State.
President Jonathan, who arrived the palace around 11.15am
in a convoy, was accompanied by the National Chairman of
the Peoples Democratic Party, Adamu Mu’azu; a former
governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel; Governors of
Bayelsa and Ondo states, Seriake Dickson and Olusegun
Mimiko respectively, among others.
The royal father said any Oba canvassing for votes for any
political party’s candidate would be courting trouble. He said
rather than engaging monarchs for campaign, each candidate
must go out and sell his or manifesto to the electorate.
He said, “In Ijebu here, it is not possible for any Oba, not even
only in Ijebu, in Yorubaland, to go out and say vote for this,
vote for that; that person is looking for trouble.
“But give them the opportunity to present their programmes
so that people can make up their minds on what to do. I think
this is a very sound democratic principle and that is what I
have decided to do, to give you the opportunity of meeting
with the people.”
Oba Adetona noted that it was when the candidate would
have presented the manifesto that the voters would decide
whether or not to vote for him or her.
He said, “One, they see you as a person. Whether to engage
with you or not to listen to you and see if there are areas
where we can meet is a question for individual reason. As a
result, everybody congregating belong to different groups.They
are members of the PDP, the All Progressives Congress, All
Progressives Grand Alliance. They belong to various interests,
and when they come, they get to the gate, they shed their
togas.
“The PDP will remove their PDP, the APC will remove their
own. They will remove their own. They are going to the palace
to meet their ruler, their paramount ruler; to receive that
important august visitor who is coming to their land and give
him all honour that is entitled to him.”
He, however, advised the electorates to vote for those that
had the fear of God and integrity and not those who would
mortgage their future, after offering them gifts.
He said, “Each time I have cause to talk to our people, I have
always told them, in the churches and mosques that when
you’re going to vote, make sure you back your sons and
daughters who will give something back to you; not the
‘Ojelus’ (looters).
“Those who will be honest with you, who know the way of
God; those are the people you should vote for; not those who
will give you two, three spoons and mortgage your future. It is
not right.”
The monarch, who prayed to God to guide the country right,
acknowledged that he had never seen any election that was
full of tension in the last 55 years like the current one coming
up in less than two weeks.
President Jonathan had earlier in his speech highlighted his
achievements to the monarch, which he said, cut across
party, ethnic and religious lines in the last four years.
He said, “In the road infrastructure, we have tried. Railway is
back, we are trying to improve our terminal buildings and
security environment in our airports.
“The Health sector, we have tried both in the tertiary level, or
what we call health tourism. Some of our hospitals are now
open for kidney transplant and at the primary level we are
able to eradicate guinea worm and we are on the way of
eradicating polio completely from this country.”
President Jonathan explained that his administration’s focal
activities when re-elected would be the implementation of the
report of the National Confab as well as facilitate the
construction of four deep sea port projects which include the
Olokola in Ijebuland, that of Badagry, Akwa Ibom and the Age
in Bayelsa State.
Speaking earlier on behalf of Ijebu Traditional Council, the
Dagburewe of Idowa, Oba Yinusa Adekoya, had drawn the
attention of the President to the non-appointment of indigenes
of Ijebuland to any prominent position at the federal level.
President Jonathan who promised to correct this if re-elected,
described Ijebuland “as a great land and there’s no
government that will neglect the people of Ijebuland, I have to
take that very very seriously.”

www.punchng.com/news/obas-dont-campaign-for-politicians-awujale-tells-jonathan/