By joshua
THE THRONE MUST NEVER BECOME A POLITICAL PLATFORM
There comes a time in the life of every society when silence becomes a betrayal of the very values that have sustained it for generations. This is one of those moments.
To our revered royal fathers across Okunland, this is not a criticism born out of disrespect. It is an earnest appeal born out of profound respect for an institution that has remained the moral compass of our people long before political parties existed and long after today’s politicians will be forgotten.
The strength of the traditional institution has never rested on political influence. It has rested on its neutrality, its wisdom and its ability to stand above the passions of partisan contests. Our fathers are kings to APC members, PDP members, NDC members, ADC members, Labour Party members and indeed every son and daughter of Okunland. The palace is the one place where political colours disappear and communal identity prevails.
This is why any attempt real or perceived to assemble our traditional rulers for the purpose of taking a collective position against a political office holder should concern every lover of Okunland, regardless of party affiliation.
Today it may be Senator Sunday Karimi. Tomorrow it may be another son of Okunland from another political party. The issue is not the individual. The issue is the institution.
If there are political disagreements with any elected official, our democracy already provides the appropriate channels. Elections exist. Public debates exist. Civil society exists. Political parties exist. The traditional institution was never created to become an extension of political competition.
One question deserves an honest answer. Why is such an approach seemingly reserved for Okunland?
Why are similar gatherings not being convened among the royal fathers of Kogi Central to collectively reject their senator? Why are the traditional rulers of Kogi East not being assembled to pronounce political judgments on their representatives? Why should Okunland become the testing ground for a dangerous precedent that other parts of the state have wisely avoided?
We must be careful not to establish today what future generations will regret tomorrow.
Our royal fathers receive every aspirant seeking their blessings before elections. They pray for them. They encourage peace. They admonish them to serve with integrity. They do not ask for party cards before offering fatherly counsel, because fathers do not choose children based on political affiliation.
That impartiality is the source of their moral authority.
The moment the throne is perceived as aligning with one political interest against another, it ceases to be the meeting point of all sons and daughters of Okunland. It risks becoming another arena of political contest and that is a burden the traditional institution should never be made to bear.
The history of great kingdoms teaches us that kingdoms endure because their thrones remain above transient political battles. Governments come and go. Senators come and go. Governors come and go. Political parties rise and fall. But the throne remains. Its dignity must never be exchanged for temporary political advantage.
This appeal is therefore not about defending one politician. It is about defending an institution that belongs to every Okun son and daughter.
If Senator Sunday Karimi has served well, history and the electorate will judge him. If he has fallen short, the people possess the democratic power to hold him accountable. That responsibility belongs to the electorate not to our revered traditional institution.
We respectfully urge every royal father in Okunland to resist every invitation, every persuasion and every pressure that could draw the throne into partisan political conflict. The palace must remain what it has always been a sanctuary of unity, wisdom, reconciliation and hope.
Our greatest inheritance is not merely our language or our culture. It is the credibility of our traditional institution.
Let politicians fight political battles.
Let the people decide electoral outcomes.
And let our royal fathers remain exactly what they have always been, the fathers of all, the conscience of our people and the enduring symbol of the unity of Okunland.
KOGI TITAN