Nationwide protest: What Tinubu told Traditional Rulers – Ooni of Ife

• The meeting was not unconnected to the imminent nationwide protest over the widespread hardship in the country

Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, has revealed the details of the meeting between traditional rulers and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. 

Recall that Tinubu held an emergency meeting with Traditional Rulers led by the Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III on Thursday.

The meeting was not unconnected to the imminent nationwide protest over the widespread hardship in the country. The protest is slated for August 1-10, 2024, on Thursday.

Speaking after the meeting, the monarch said Tinubu asked Nigerians who are dissatisfied with his administration to express their dissatisfaction at the polls and vote him out in the 2027 presidential election.

Ooni of Ife noted that Tinubu called for dialogue while reiterating his resolve to end the country’s economic hardship.

“The President has said, ‘Any leader that you don’t like, wait (until 2027) and vote him out.’ He is open to dialogue. We know that Nigeria faces many challenges. But are we going to destroy our nation by ourselves? Is that what we are all after?

“It is very difficult to build, but it is the easiest to destroy. We are all stakeholders in this country and are stronger as a nation than individually,” the Ooni of Ife said.

Tinubu had earlier said the sponsors of the protest are enemies of Nigeria, adding that his government is doing everything to address the challenges faced by Nigerians.

He also said Nigeria’s economy is on the path of recovery and gave assurance of better days.

This comes amid rising dissatisfaction among Nigerians on the state of the economy as core and food inflation stood at 34.19 percent and 40.87 percent, respectively.