… Cautioned youths against social media rascality.
By Musa Aliyu Nasidi
The Ohimege Igu Koton-Karfe kingdom, HRM, Alhaji Saidu Akawu Salihu says he want to live every day of his life on the throne promoting the unity of the people, irrespective of tribe, religion.
The Traditional Ruler made the pledge while speaking with Newsmen in his palace, extended his hands of fellowship to everybody, including his nephew who got deposed.
The Royal Father urged the people of Igu Kingdom to strive for unity, cautioned the Youths against social media rascality, pointing out that it has dragged the name of the Kingdom in the mud.
” Praises be to Almighty Allah. I give gratitude to God. It’s been so nice so far since my assumption. The reception that greeted this enthronement is better than I imagined. People are ecstatic about it”.
“People are happy about it because the right thing has been done. I give first the gratitude to Almighty. I want to also show my gratitude to the people for the reception and the continued prayers for the peace, progress and unity of our Kingdom. I have promised to solely, between me and God, committed to the unity of our people”.
“I want to live every day of my life on this throne to promote the unity of our people, irrespective of tribe, religion and familyhood. We are all people of faith. We are all people that believe in the omnipotence of Almighty Allah. What has happened couldn’t have happened without the knowledge of Almighty Allah”.
“The journey started from 2012. Of course, you are all living witnesses of what transpired. And I took solace in the Fact that God gives. I committed myself to the progress of the kingdom. I brought myself down. Submitted myself to the Tranditional Authority until this happened. What I expect is loyalty from everybody. I know it’s going to be hard, especially for people who feel hurt now”.
“But I extend my hands of fellowship to everybody, including my nephew who got deposed. And, of course, the entire Odaki ruling family, the entire eight ruling houses of Odaki, the entire people of this kingdom. I submit myself in totality to promoting the unity, progress and development of our people”.
“By the grace of God, I commit to be fair to everybody. By the grace of God, I intend to try as much as is practically possible to be honest and be fair in the discharge of my duty, In the fear of Almighty Allah”.
As to whether he has new plans from from what he set for himself since 2012, the Traditional Ruler said nothing has changed, except for the magnitude of the problem which he explained is naturally expected to be more.
” So much has happened, particularly in the area of uniting our people. What I’m talking about is not going to be a 100 meters dash. But I will do everything humanly possible to work towards the unity of our people “.
“It is not going to be easy because certain things have happened that have hardened positions of pain and hatred. But we pray to God to grant us that wisdom, that enablement to bring back the peace of our people. Certainly, some people will be hurt and naturally so. But in all this, I call all of them to come on board”.
” The call is not only call by mere pronouncement, I will do the work. I will try my best to reach out to everybody, every segment of our people. To see that we come together and promote the progress of this kingdom. So it’s going to be a little bit more difficult because a lot of disruptions have happened. A lot of pains have come along the way. So we need to heal. And I think the healing process has even come. I’ve been reaching out”.
“I will even get across to accomplished citizens of this kingdom to come and let’s reach out to everybody”.
On the economic development of Igu Kingdom, the Traditional Ruler said he is looking beyond government, promised to look outside the box.
“We are a people with very accomplished citizens. And one of the things I intend to use this throne to do is to harness the human resources here. Certainly, government cannot do it alone. In fact, it’s even proven practically now that government is finding it difficult to do a lot of things”.
“You can see a lot of community platforms for development. That I intend to promote. I will reach out to all our citizens to use all their connections to bring investments here. To create economic empowerment programs for our people. So that we can mitigate and elevate this state of poverty that is in the land. And we can only do this in an atmosphere of harmony. In an atmosphere of amity. In an atmosphere of friendliness”.
On his plans for the youth of the kingdom who many a times are always faulted for the negative things the Traditional Ruler said, “We always preach morality. We always preach that we should take our religion very seriously. Because anybody that takes religion seriously will not misbehave. Because as Muslims and Christians, in all the books, there is no religion that promotes rascality. There is no religion that promotes rudeness”.
“There is no religion that will ever permit youths to stray away into vices. So, as people of faith, we will beseech Allah to touch the hearts of these youths. As much as we do the talking, we leave everything in the hands of the Almighty Allah. Sadly, sadly, because of the situation we find ourselves in the country, with mass unemployment and poverty, a lot of youths have strayed. And with the advent of social media, it has worsened. If you look at our area here, and I’m talking about this region, from Umasha, Toto and even Lokoja, to a very, very considerable degree, the social media rascality in Igu Kingdom has worsened. In Lokoja, we see a measure of respect for elders. In Toto, we see a measure of respect for elders”.
But here in Igu Kingdom, they’ve taken this liberty of social media freedom to really, really tear down society. And that is one area we have to look at. I will Call all the chiefs, call all the title holders and our people. We must put some measures here. Even by way of making bylaws, to control this unmitigated rascality in the media. It can’t continue. People develop pseudonyms and start tearing others apart. Setting leaders’ heads together”.
“This should not be allowed to continue. I intend to use this to promote an action, a considered action against that. And I pray that God will help us to source it”.
