The Olubadan of Ibadanland, Oba Rasheed Ladoja, has called on President Bola Tinubu to intensify efforts to address food security, healthcare, and rising insecurity, describing them as the country’s most pressing challenges.
Oba Ladoja made the appeal on Friday during a courtesy visit to the President at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, primarily to thank him for attending his coronation in September 2025.
Speaking to journalists, the former Oyo State governor said, “We expect the government to work more on food and health. We should have standard hospitals where we can treat our people. But the major problem we really have now is insecurity. Farmers find it difficult to go to their farms, and it is already spreading to the South.”
He noted that fear has disrupted farming and daily economic activities nationwide but expressed confidence that the challenge could be overcome.
“I don’t think it is insurmountable. By and large, we believe that the President is tackling it correctly now,” Ladoja said.
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The monarch also commended President Tinubu’s leadership, acknowledging the complexities of governing Nigeria compared with Lagos State.
“I have been trying to come since September 26 to thank him for finding the time to attend my coronation. I was in Abuja for the Daily Trust Dialogue, so it became an opportunity to come and thank him and also to tell him that we are very happy with what is happening in the country,” he added.
On the President’s style of governance, Ladoja said Tinubu’s experience as Lagos State governor has informed his approach to national leadership.
“If you know where he’s coming from, you know that he knows what he’s doing. He was able to guide Lagos from where it was to where he left it. Nigeria, however, is more complex than a state because not all of us have the same notion of what we want as a country,” the monarch observed.
Ladoja further noted that states now have greater financial resources, enabling them to meet obligations more effectively, and expressed optimism that the President’s economic reforms would deliver lasting results.
“By and large, the economy has to be fixed, and it is being fixed. We hope that by the time he is leaving office in 2031, Nigeria will be in a position that all of us will be proud of,” he said.
