Follow Us on Google
Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Fred Itua, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has stressed the need for traditional rulers to support his administration’s determination to address the demands of the youths.
He said his Chief of Staff, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, would lead senior government officials to various parts of the country “and directly engage with you as part of this process. He will be reporting back to me on your various perspectives.”
Buhari made the disclosure at a meeting with a delegation of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, in Abuja, yesterday.
The Presidential Panel on the Reform of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) last month okayed the five point demands of protesters.
It had described the demands and the EndSARS movement as genuine concerns that will be addressed by the Government.
Their demands include immediate release of all arrested protesters; justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their families; setting up of an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all reports of police misconduct (within 10 days); psychological evaluation and retraining (to be confirmed by an independent body) of all disbanded SARS before they can redeployed and increase police salary.
“We have heard the loud cries of our youth and children, and we are attending to their concerns,” President Buhari reiterated at the meeting with the monarchs.
According to a statement by Special Adviser to the President Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, Buhari, however, stressed that “to succeed in all of this, we would require your support and voice to help amplify the message. Your proximity to the people places you in a unique position to communicate and ensure that our response is targeted and impactful.”
Describing their role as guardians of our traditional values and culture as most critical, he urged them not to compromise their neutrality “because this is what significantly confers on you, your moral authority and legitimacy.
“I want to once again thank you for the role you all have played to calm down our youth with wisdom and authority. By instilling hope and keeping the peace, you have rendered the country great service.”
While warning that “we cannot allow anybody or group to threaten the peace or sabotage these efforts,” the president restated that strong, transparent efforts were underway to address those rogue elements of the Nigerian Police Force.
“Simultaneously, the Nigerian Police Force will also undergo much needed reform that covers welfare, working conditions, and code of conduct. That will usher in a more professional workforce.”
President Buhari had earlier drawn the attention of the eminent delegation to the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic on the world.
“We find ourselves in very turbulent times, with a global health pandemic that has been incredibly challenging. Economies have been crippled as the response to the pandemic has forced businesses to shut down or devise new means of transacting. For a country like ours, with a large informal economy, our citizens have been particularly hit.”
He noted, however, that his administration has designed various schemes and taken many measures to soften the impact, despite our own revenue struggles as government, while recoging that more needs to be done to cater to our fellow citizens, not just those in the urban areas but also those in rural areas.
Remarks were made by the Sultan of Sokoto and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, Ojaja II, while two foremost traditional rulers representing each geo-political zone also attended the meeting.
FCTA begins’ compensation
Weeks after the EndSARS protest in many parts of the country, including Abuja, the
Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), on Thursday, inaugurated a ministerial committee to identify and recommend appropriate compensation for victims.
FCT Minister, Muhammad Bello, charged the 18-man committee to identify families of those who were killed during the violence and also assess the damages both on public and private properties.
Bello, who said the ministerial assignment was sacrosanct to his Administration, also noted that the committee must turn in its report within two weeks.
He further urged members of the committee, headed by the Director-General of FCT Emergency Management Agency, Idris Abbas, to deploy its expertise and recommend strategies to forestall future occurrences of such violence.
FCT Permanent Secretary, Olusade Adesola, who decried the number of people who were reportedly killed during the violence, called on members of the committee to see the assignment as a national service.
