The village head of Gwarzo Ward in Gwarzo local government area of Kano State, Abdullahi Halliru-Gwarzo has described the poor participation of traditional rulers in governance due to the lack of constitutional role to play.
He made the statement during a panel discussion at an anti-corruption town hall meeting on strengthening the moral institutions in building a corrupt society, organized by Peering Advocacy and Advancement Centre at Horizon Hotel in Kano.
According to the traditional ruler, traditional institutions cannot hold government accountable.
“We have nothing to do other than to draw the attention of leaders, when we do that, there is nothing we can do to compel them in doing the needful.
“If we will keep pressure on them, they will threat us, we are not politicians. We have to use the option of using the influencers of the community to hold leaders accountable,” Mr Halliru-Gwarzo.
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On his part, the secretary of Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in Kano Rev. Adeyemi stated that the failure of traditional institutions to represent the interest of their people was the reason many government officials disrespect them.
“As a leader, you have to put the interest of your people first, but we, unfortunately, put our personal interest first. Why would they not disrespect us”? he queried.
“Therefore, traditional institutions must look for a role to play in strengthening a corrupt-free society by holding leaders accountable and drawing their attention on where they went wrong,” the clergy stressed.
DAILY NIGERIAN reports that the town hall meeting was attended by representatives of the Economic Financial and Crimes Commission, EFCC, Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, and the state director of the National Orientation Agency, NOA, as well as traditional rulers from the 44 local governments of the state.
