Buhari a good listener but he wants advice in writing, says Alaafin

Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, the Alaafin of Oyo, says President Muhammadu Buhari is a good listener but he wants monarchs to always put their advice in writing so he can relate them to the problems of the country.

Speaking with journalists on Thursday after the meeting with Buhari, Adeyemi said he was at the state house to endorse a memo he had earlier sent to the president on issues affecting the country.

“He has asked me to pass the information to other traditional rulers in my domain to assist the government by giving advice because he is a good listener, but that such advice should be put in writing so that he can then relate them to the problems affecting Nigeria,” he said.

“As a Nigerian and one of the topmost traditional rulers in the country, over the time, I sent a memorandum to the president which he acknowledged and he asked me to come and endorse those things I have written.

“I think it is time for me to use the proper channel to reach the president for suggestions and advice. Where he deserves commendation, I should also do that, especially as it concerns the multi-dimensional problems facing Nigeria: the Avengers and the bombing of oil installations, MEND, Boko Haram insurgency in the north-east.”

The traditional ruler said he offered the president suggestions on how to tackle the country’s problems.

“We are losing huge resources to the activities of the Niger Delta Avengers,” he lamented, adding that the militants who infiltrated parts of Lagos in the last 10 weeks had massacred 10 landlords in Ikorodu.

He further said that the United States would not support John Kerry’s visit if Nigeria was not a performing country.

“America does not usually send top officers for such visits if they have not used certain parameters to gauge the country’s performance,” he said.