Oba Rashidi Ladoja, the Olubadan of Ibadanland, has described the warning by United States President Donald Trump on alleged Christian genocide in Nigeria as a call for Nigerians to close ranks against terrorism.
Ladoja spoke when Francis Wale Oke, president of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), visited him at the Olubadan Palace in Oke Aremo, Ibadan, over the weekend.
He said Nigeria has been battling terrorism for over a decade, noting that the crisis has led to the loss of lives, destruction of property and the displacement of families.
He added that successive administrations, from Goodluck Jonathan to Muhammadu Buhari and the current government of President Bola Tinubu, have invested heavily in the fight against insecurity.
He said: “Many people have been killed and property worth inestimable amounts of money destroyed.
“Multitudes of families, particularly women and children, have been displaced. Former President Jonathan has tried. Former President Muhammadu Buhari has tried. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is trying.
“But I want to caution that terrorists don’t know the difference between Muslims and Christians. They see everybody as prey.”
The monarch urged religious leaders to help calm aggrieved groups, stressing that terrorism affects all Nigerians regardless of faith.
He said communities in the south-west have maintained cordial relationships among adherents of different religions and expressed concern that such harmony remains strained in some other regions.
Ladoja cautioned against direct foreign involvement in Nigeria’s security affairs, saying cooperation rather than external control should guide any partnership.
Earlier, Wale Oke congratulated Ladoja on his emergence as the 44th Olubadan and prayed for wisdom and strength for his reign.