The Olu of Warri, Ogiame Atuwatse III, was recently a guest on Channels TV where he speaks on insecurity in Nigeria and how to tackle unemployment among the youths. Excerpts:
Are you worried about the general security situation?
The short answer is yes, and I think every Nigerian is concerned with their own security as well as general security. We have seen the numbers for many years that this country is underpoliced. There are not enough service men and we know the Federal Government always does its best to ensure the safety of lives and properties.
Sometimes, the situation gets a bit too tense and the security personnel may be a bit overwhelmed, and that may mean many people naturally feel a gap and how to breach the gap. And, honestly, we should always cooperate with the government to ensure that there isn’t a total breakdown of law and order.
Given where we are now in terms of our security challenge, should we go back to giving constitutional roles to traditional rulers?
I think there’s serious consideration being given to that. But, I think a lot has to be considered with an open mind. I believe constitutions should be living and breathing documents in terms of when it is glaring to all; no one should be left with the doubt that changes need to be made. I think everybody should come together to deliberate on how to improve on what was
Read Also:Buhari Directs Revitalisation Of Agric Extension Services In Nigeria
previously existing. I would encourage a constitution that officially recognises the role of traditional rulers and I think it is gradually going back in that direction. Because we are only here for the benefits, betterment, and improvement of this nation.
What do you think should be done to tackle unemployment among the youths?
I don’t even know if calling it a ticking time bomb is appropriate anymore because it’s getting too close. The unemployment rate right now is over 30 percent and we have a very young population. These young men and women have energy and time. And, if they are not using their energy and time in a productive direction, then you can be sure it is going to be in a counter-productive direction. It’s not a situation unique to Nigeria. We have to embrace any creative measure within a legal framework that engages these young men and women. If we think we have a problem now, what will happen when it is 40 percent?
So, I think open-mindedness is something that should be encouraged right now by the government and the private sector. Many people are suggesting that we should go back to the farm; that’s fine.
Going to the farm is not like going from Lagos to Abuja, it involves going to your hometown, not everybody is quick to say they want to rush back to the farm. For some reason, how can I go back to the farm/hometown where there’s no light or security after spending all that money on education? And that is the thing that doesn’t make agriculture so attractive in the first place. If Lagos was like Abuja surrounded by soft land, trust me, everybody would love to go to the farm, but the prospect of going to the farm in Osogbo, one would want to think twice about it.
Talking about marketing traditional institutions as a point of attraction, what do you have in plan for the Warri Kingdom in terms of bringing out its uniqueness?
We already have an innovative tradition, which started in December last year. It is not just simply watching one community come in and another one goes out. In doing so, we are also opening ourselves up to the over 200 communities that comprise this kingdom, letting them know that they are part and parcel of this palace. And also when those who are in the community and those who haven’t been in it for a long time hear that there’s an opportunity to come and dance for the monarch, they will fly from all over to participate in it. That’s good. But I want it to get to a point where, out of curiosity, this part of Warri where the palace is shut down for a couple of hours because people want to come and take a look at the palace.
And that is once again showing you the potential of coming up with innovative ideas. Instead of just waiting every year for when something is happening in the palace. Doing something that’s educative, informative, and entertaining, this will be happening every quarter of the year throughout this reign.
It is something that will avail everything that will be introduced. Everything that comes up will only get better by those who come up after me to improve on it and I will tie that to the first question you asked about being modern.
How will you handle those with scepticisms, who would want things to remain the way they’ve been in the past 500 years?
Now, let me repeat that these things are expected. If it were a cakewalk, everybody will do it. Traditions are good, make no mistake about it, but I’m sure there is a meeting point. There’s always room for maneuvering and what comes to my mind now is the great grand carnival in America. It is magnificent, powerful, tradition and before such comes into place, it takes time and it adds to the majesty of the beauty of the Grand Carnival. So, I see myself as that driver. It is not going to come just one time. It will come, come, then come again. All that will add beauty to the ancient throne. It won’t cause war. There’s the idea of a temple and there’s the idea of a tabernacle. Temples are permanent. From the temporary tabernacles, they’d always return to the temple. So, it’s always about letting go and letting the new experiences happen and about trusting that everything will come full circle. When it does, you beautify and improve. And I just hope that those who want to resist and see themselves as a temple, fine we would occupy the temple in a full circle.
Is it a policy to say that traditional institutions should stay away from politics?
It depends on how you want to magnify that statement. I believe human beings are born political animals. The thing about politics is that if you are not careful, it can consume you. The idea that we don’t want a throne – an establishment like this-to be consumed is a good idea. It must be protected, because if you’re on the wrong end of the development, the victor could decide let me demonstrate power. So, I understand that is where that statement comes from. I have no problems with that. However, what I support is non-partisan politics. We should not openly identify and embrace one party.
So, it is about encouraging your people to be political, to engage and participate in partisan politics, hoping that when they go there, they influence what is determined in those political parties. That’s fair and I’ll encourage that. Even if I’m not a monarch, I would still maintain that stand, because there’s this expression that, ‘if you did not vote, you should not complain.’
Many would say today, our generation and the older generation learned to speak their languages long before the English language but now, the native language is not being learned, what do you think of that?
I’m a victim of that too. We see the way we were raised in the 80s because education was such a priority and the impression was that Western education was what was going to sustain the children that they were raising and not a Nigerian education. And that was where the investment was pushed on. Western education is not bad, but unfortunately, it has severe consequences. When you look at Japan, India, Thailand, and I will like to focus more on Japan and Thailand, because these are places with a monarchy. These are two places that are so technologically advanced, especially Japan. What fascinates me about the Japanese is that they are more technically advanced than the United States and for all that technological advancement, the Japanese man speaks his language. For everything they do, their instructions are in Japanese because they’ve decided to hold their own. Though Yoruba and Hausa are widely spoken in Nigeria, I’m saying we need to do better as Africans. Even when we want to embrace technology and education, we should hold our own. And I am a terrible victim of this. I can’t deny that.
On a good day, it takes some protocols to reach a monarch like you, especially in those days. But today, your subjects can reach you via your telephone – by text messages, WhatsApp and the like with their challenges. Is that a good thing by you?
I think it’s a magnified version of filing mails in the 70s where people send messages to the president and there’s a department in charge of sorting them out in order of importance. Now it’s a bit more intrusive through your phone. For everything invented, there’s the good and the bad side. And so we have to be creative with it. Have a small team that answers messages sent to Ogiame’s phone. I have a small team that answers every message that is not personal sent to me and they respond to them.
Have you ever thought of being caught off guard by your people?
Historically, it’s a big issue. You read accounts of the Roman emperors and even some European monarchs who crawled out in the night to escape from their palaces and stand by the fire disguised just to hear what people would say about him. Like you said, in these modern days, it’s more difficult to do. Those days monarchs’ faces were hardly seen so that you passed them by not noticing them. But nowadays, your face is on billboards, TVs, social media, newspapers. So even if you want to dress down, you cannot. I think God seeing your heart’s desires to do right with your people, the truth will find its way to you.
