By Anastacia Eluwa, Asaba
Governor of Delta State and Vice-Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP)Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa on Monday said Nigeria needs men and women that could unite the various parts of the country as one nation.
He said that the nation was in dire need of leaders who would see the strength in the nation’s diversity rather than using it to divide the country.
Okowa stated this when the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, and His Majesty, Dr. Benjamin Ikenchukwu, Keagborekuzi I, the Dein of Agbor Kingdom visited him in Asaba.
He said the visit of the Kano monarch to Delta was the kind of relationship that would help unite and bring peace to the nation and called on Nigerians to see themselves as brothers irrespective of the diversity.
He called for the harnessing of the experience and wisdom of traditional rulers in the country by creating statutory roles for them in view of their contributions to the growth and development of society.
Okowa expressed belief in the unity of the nation, saying “Nigeria is stronger together and I do believe that when we learn to love ourselves and work together in the best interest of each and everyone of us, then it would be better for us”.
“So, it is our hope that we work together with our royal fathers to provide the solutions to these problems. I believe that these problems can be addressed. It may take time but Nigerians must all agree that we must collectively work together.
“As we look forward to that, we believe that collective governance and the need to devolve power to the sub-national government like the state and also find prominent roles for the traditional institutions to play in the course of governance, proper management of resources; would all help to rebuild the cracks we have in Nigeria today”, he posited.
He further expressed concern over the continued ASUU strike saying that it portends grave danger for the educational development of the country.
Earlier, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, said his visit to the state was to cement the age-long relationship between Kano and Delta State.
“The talks of disunity in our nation today is something we can sit down and talk about because we have done it before and we succeeded.
“As a traditional institution, we believe that the government cannot be blamed for everything because everyone has a role to play and I believe that with the right leadership, things will get better,” the Emir of Kano said.
On 2023 campaigns, the monarch urged politicians to encourage their followers to be of good behaviour while urging the people to go for what is good in the interest of the nation.
