Ahead of next month’s general elections in the country, the Obaro of Kabba and the Chairman, Okun Area Traditional Council, Oba (Dr) Solomon Dele Owoniyi has urged voters in Okunland to vote for only candidates who would serve the interest of the people when they get into the various offices they are seeking. Oba Owoniyi, who made the call in his New Year message to the people advised that money should not be the exclusive yardstick for determining the suitability of candidates in the polls but merit, integrity, compassion and love for the homeland. He called on parents and guardians to warn their children and wards to shun the temptation to be drawn into any form of violence before, during and after the elections. He also enjoined the security agencies to brace up to their duties and prevent any form of coercion of voters so that the electorates would be able to freely pick candidates of their choice. Harping on the need to improve on the current state of security in Okunland, Oba Owoniyi called on the operators of the traditional security outfits in the area to work with the police and other security agencies to flush out miscreants, bandits, kidnappers and farm destroyers from Okunland. He also enjoined the people to share with community leaders or the security agencies, vital information on perceived security threats around them. Oba Owoniyi expressed concern over the prevalent exploitation of minerals in various parts of Okunland by strangers, many of who could be insurgents and other undesirable elements and urged the people to promptly report such illegal activities to the security agencies.
Recalling that education used to be the major industry of Okunland, Oba Owoniyi expressed regret that many youths in the area had dropped out of school and had taken to odd jobs such as operating commercial motorcycles as well as alcoholism and drug abuse.
He also condemned the recourse to begging by youngsters in the various communities and called on those involved to return to school in line with the long standing tradition of education being the industry of the Okun people.
The monarch appealed to well heeled indigenes of Okunland at home and abroad to set up viable businesses which could absorb the teeming population of jobless youths in the area.
While praising the state government for the construction of roads and schools across Okunland, facilitating the establishment of a squadron of the Police Mobile Force (MOPOL 70) in the area and for proposing to erect a befitting palace in Kabba, he urged the people to continue to support the administration of Governor Yahaya Bello so that more development projects could get to the area.
Oba Owoniyi felicitated with traditional rulers and the people of Okunland on the occasion of the New Year celebrations and prayed that the area would experience abundant peace, progress and prosperity in 2023.