Former President Goodluck Jonathan Tuesday charged traditional rulers
\nacross the country not to shirk from their responsibility of working
\ntowards ensuring that peace reigns in their domains.<\/p>\n
Jonathan gave this charge in Oporoza, Delta State at the official
\npresentation of staff of office to His Royal Majesty, Oboro-Gbaran II,
\nAketekpe, the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom, just as the Delta State
\nGovernor, Sen. Ifeanyi Okowa described the former President as a man
\nof peace who left good lessons for all Nigerians.<\/p>\n
A statement issued by the former President\u2019s Media Adviser, Ikechukwu
\nEze, said that Jonathan also urged the Pere of Gbaramatu Kingdom and
\nother traditional rulers to galvanize their subjects for the social
\nand economic development of their kingdoms.<\/p>\n
The former President described traditional rulers as special beings
\nwho occupy positions higher than that of mere mortals, noting that as
\nsuch, they should play key roles in the development aspirations of the
\nnation.<\/p>\n
Jonathan said: \u201cAlthough we have here present, the governor, deputy
\ngovernor, members of the National and State Assemblies, as well as
\nother dignitaries holding positions in Government, at the traditional
\nlevel we have only two sets of citizens; the ordinary mortals to which
\nI also belong, and the superior mortals who are our traditional
\nrulers. They are superior mortals because of what they represent and
\nalso because we believe in them. And we believe that they have a lot
\nto do to stabilize their kingdoms.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe governor has made a case for peace and I don\u2019t want to belabour
\nthe point. But I always say that there can never be development
\nwithout peace. It is the duty of every traditional ruler to have peace
\nin his kingdom. They should also be able to mobilise their sons and
\ndaughters for the social and economic development of the people.<\/p>\n
Although he believes that the situation could be improved, Jonathan
\nfurther affirmed that there is relative peace in the region. \u201cIn most
\ncases, when we talk about the Niger Delta, those coming from outside
\nour region will always think that it is a place where people cannot
\ngather peacefully to handle this kind of ceremony. But here we are
\ngathered and conducting our affairs in a peaceful environment. That
\ngives me joy.\u201d<\/p>\n
He also urged Nigerians to lend their support to the effort to fully
\nharness the abundant potentials of our great nation, stressing that
\nNigeria will continue to be a leading country in Africa and the world.<\/p>\n
On the current hardship and economic difficulties in the land,
\nJonathan advised Nigerians to be peaceful, law abiding and optimistic,
\nadding that the country would soon get over its temporary challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that within this period there are challenges in the
\ncountry, there are challenges in the Niger Delta and Gbaramatu
\nKingdom, but all these are temporary. Surely, our society will get
\nover it. I believe Nigeria is still a great country and will continue
\nto go on. Nigeria will succeed, Niger Delta will succeed and Gbaramatu
\nKingdom will succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa who spoke earlier described
\nJonathan as a father figure in the Niger Delta who had done so much to
\nstabilize the region and country.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe (Jonathan) has done his best for this country. This country is
\nunited today because of the decisions that were taken for the best
\ninterest of our country. He is a man of peace and that is a lesson for
\nus to learn, those of us who are still in Government and even our
\nbrothers and sisters who are not in Government; that in a peaceful
\nsituation, there is always a lot that can be achieved.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former President Goodluck Jonathan Tuesday charged traditional rulers across the country not to shirk from their responsibility of working towards ensuring that peace reigns in their domains. Jonathan gave this…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":50838,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n