The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has hailed the leadership qualities of presidential aspirant and Minister of Transportation, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi.
The Ooni who commended Amaechi when he paid the oba a consultation visit at his Palace, in Ile-Ife, prayed for God’s guidance and blessings upon him, as he seeks the highest office in Nigeria.
“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, for 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, have 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, 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 to now, by the special grace of God, God will take you there. We are praying for you from the throne of Oduduwa.
“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 interests”, the Oba said.
In his remarks, the Minister of Transportation promised to proposed a review of legislation to give more relevance to the traditional institution if given the opportunity to serve as Nigeria’s President.
“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 stated.
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.
