A Senior Advicate of Nigeria, Kunle Adegoke (SAN) has suggested that the traditional institutions be assigned the role of resident registration to check insecurity in the country.
He canvassed the position in Osogbo yesterday in a lecture titled, “The Role of Traditional Rulers in Constitutional Democracy in Nigeria” as part of activities marking the 15th coronation anniversary of Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, Larooye II, the Ataoja of Osogbo.
The legal luminary contended that traditional rulers were closest to the people. Their proximity enabled accurate tracking of migrants and strangers, providing real-time intelligence to law enforcement and reducing anonymous criminal activities.
Besides, Adegoke, a.k.a. KRAD, called for speedy amendment of the nation’s constitution to recognise traditional rulers and create roles for them, adding that the National Assembly should conclude the ongoing reforms to establish the National Council of Traditional Rulers.
He added that such a Council at the national level should be saddled with the responsibility of advising the president and the State Council of Chiefs on contributing to peace building and customary law. At the same time, the Chiefs contribute to peacebuilding and customary law. At the same time, the Local Government Traditional Council would support grassroots development and community security.
Adegoke also sought to incorporate traditional rulers into the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism, adding that the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 constitution, item 34 of Part 1 of the Second Schedule, provides industrial arbitration as an exclusive legislative item reserved for the National Assembly.
His words: “If we are serious about preserving our culture, then the constitution must walk the talk, a people who lose touch with their culture are like a tree uprooted-still green for a while, but inevitably destined to wither” Adegoke posited.
