Abiodun Onafuye/Abeokuta

Oba Gbadebo: Buhari is a deep person

The Alake and Paramount Ruler of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, said  Nigerians would beg President Muhammadu Buhari to seek re-election for a second term of office in 2019.

The monarch stated this during a press conference which will herald his 10th coronation anniversary.  The press conference was  held at the Ake Palace, Ake, Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital

Oba Gbadebo  urged the President’s critics to exercise patience.

The traditional ruler ‎appealed to Nigerians, who are impatient about the current pace of the Buhari’s administration, to give the President more time to deliver dividends of democracy and fulfil his electoral promises.

 “Buhari is a deep person who is not given to frivolities but always meticulous about his activities. When a person is deep, it means he’s not given to frivolities. You can talk from morning till night, he would not smile, he would not say one word but he’s listening to everything you are saying.

“When a person is deep, he does not quickly make mistakes and run back again because that would mean that he didn’t think well about that thing before he stepped out. You must think before you leap, not leap first and start thinking.

“I would plead with those who are impatient to please exercise patience. When they exercise patience with the new president, they would beg him to stay another four years. I can assure you of that because he would have turned this place into a Nigeria of your dream.”

Oba Gbadebo reminded  Nigerians that  the resources available to the nation’s government have drastically gone down. He however  expressed optimism that the Buhari administration would fix the  socio-economic challenges in the country.

Oba Gbadebo retired from the military as a colonel in the 80s, having served as principal officer to Major General Tunde Idiagbon, the chief of staff to President Buhari as military head of state between January 1984 and August 1985.

He called on the Federal Government to upgrade the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Idi-Aba, Abeokuta into a teaching hospital, stressing that something of such nature happened ‎in Benue State, North  Central region of the country.

While recounting his experience in the last ten years on the throne of his forefathers, the monarch said his greatest test was his encounter with the former governor of the state, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

According to him, “My comment on the state of roads during Daniel’s tenure was misconstrued by the then government officials who marked me for dethronement.

” I survived the dethronement plot since a subsisting judgment of a high court had pronounced that no governor has the power to dethrone any Oba

“When you are serving your own people, you can be easily misrepresented. So, you need to have courage. You must also believe in God. Anybody who believes in God cannot also have fear.

“Fear and faith don’t go together‎. If you have faith in God, you will not fear any human being. So, that was my greatest test – the encounter with the Daniel government,” he added.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the 10th Coronation Anniversary Planning Committee, Navy Captain Rasheed Raji (retd.), disclosed that the reign of the present monarch had brought tremendous improvement to the Egba kingdom.

The former military administrator in both Bauchi and Sokoto states explained  that ‎several programmes have been carefully designed to celebrate the paramount ruler.

Parts of the lined up programmes include thanksgiving services at church and mosque‎, games fiesta such as golf and squash, and conferment of chieftaincy titles to sons and daughters of Egbaland,who have distinguished themselves in their chosen careers.