A first-class monarch of the ancient Agbor Kingdom in Ika South LGA in Delta State, HRM Benjamin Ikenchukwu Gbenoba, Keagborekuzi 1, the Dein of Agbor, said Nigeria’s problem is that public office holders are too used to illegality in the country.
The erudite traditional ruler disclosed this at his royal palace in Agbor when members of the Indigenous Correspondents Chapel Asaba of Nigeria Union of Journalists, Delta State Council paid him a courtesy visit.
According to the Dein of Agbor, Nigeria is not poor because God has blessed the nation with numerous mineral resources beyond oil but the country needs to tackle corruption undivided.
He said “I want to know what’s happening with our gold, I want all our resources brought to the Federal books. We are heavily indebted but we are rich in minerals. The West knows how important Nigeria is to Africa. They are not coming here to teach you their languages and their food but because they know the importance of Nigeria to the world.
“We are too used to illegality in this country and that’s our problem. The money belongs to all Nigerians and it needs to be shared accordingly.
“I’m beginning to think if we can copy from the rest of the world their harsh punishments to public officials caught stealing, Nigeria as a country should consider harsh penalties like a death sentence for corrupt public officeholders to help reduce the unending issue of corruption happening in our nation, we need to tackle corruption.
The monarch also said he is looking forward to the efficacy of subsidy removal, according to him “I hear we’ve saved over N400bn in just a month of removal of fuel subsidy if so far we have saved such amount then I’m looking forward to what we are going to do with it.
“Other countries have various forms of subsidy from health care to education amongst others and it’s not an issue there because of the absence of corruption but ours in this country is corruption among politicians.
The Dein of Agbor kingdom who also speak about coexistence expressed that we shouldn’t judge other people negatively because of our beliefs or culture, but learn to continue to coexist as one as non of our beliefs are above each other.
“We only have differences which is the unique part of it. We should learn to respect these differences that exist amongst our cultures.”
He called on Journalists to be tactful in their responsibilities by shading out bad stories to developmental stories
“As Journalists I want you to be diplomatic and very careful when we say certain things, for in, a stance it’s the criminal elements of the Fulani herdsmen that are committing these crimes not all Fulani herdsmen, its crucial to state the difference”
On the issue of governance in the state he hinted that “whether you like Okowa or not, he did well, he made his mistakes but he’s human, and yes the new Governor Sheriff Oborevwori, is a good man very approachable but I advise him to get the right people around him. You could be a good leader with the bad advisers and not be productive.” He added.
Responding on behalf of the journalists, the Chairman of ICC, Comrade Kenneth Orusi thought highly of the first-class monarch for his time and privilege given to the ICC members.
Orusi stated that “as Journalists, we ensure that we move from community to community to see the level of government presence, analyze and ensure onward reportage to the corridors of government till the needful is done”
He applauded the Delta monarch on his giant strides towards securing the Agbor forests and environs but expressed concerns at the slow pace of development in Agbor.
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