From Olanrewaju Lawal, Birnin Kebbi
The Emir of Gwandu and Chairman of Council of Chiefs in the State, Alhaji Muhammad Ilyasu-Bashar, has urged business community to stop exporting goods to other countries and help in the processes of reducing the high cost of goods and services being experienced by people of the country.
Traditional rulers, who made the appeal in Birnin Kebbi while addressing stakeholders during a meeting with business and traditional leaders on the hardship and high cost of living in the state at his palace, noted that they cannot be exporting goods to other countries while Nigerians are facing inadequate of food.
According to him, “the aim of this meeting is to discuss with you on how to resolve our challenges. Being the leaders of the people, we have the ability to reduce the hardship and inflation, especially on the high cost of food, prices in the state.
“I felt it is necessary to talk to ourselves because life should not go on like this.”
The royal enjoined the leaders of various organisations in the state to have fear of God in their daily business transactions with the general public, stressed that, another human being would not come from another planet to rescue the situation in the country.
He said: “Who is government? Are we not the government? We should not just be pointing fingers at the officials of the government and forget ourselves. We are the people and leaders in our own right. What have you done to alleviate the suffering of our people.
“Why do we allow our people to be transporting our food and resources out of the country, to neighboring countries, knowing fully well that these acts may throw our people into hardship and high cost of living as well as soaring food prices.
“We are the ones putting ourselves into suffering and hardship that we are experiencing now,” he said.
The emir urged the leaders to seek for devine intervention by praying to God and by showing love to one another as exemplified by the teaching of Islam.