RismadarVoice Reporters
September 24, 2026
The Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria has called for stronger collaboration with traditional rulers to drive enterprise development, food security and wealth creation at the grassroots.
SMEDAN Director-General and Chief Executive Officer Charles Odii said government intervention programmes would achieve greater impact when traditional institutions and communities were involved from the planning stage rather than brought in after policies had been developed.
Odii spoke on Wednesday at the 2026 Ulefunta Annual Lecture in Akure, Ondo State, where he delivered a keynote address titled, “Food Security, Wealth Creation and National Development: Building Strategic Partnerships Between Traditional Institutions and Intervention Agencies.”
“We cannot sit in Abuja and make policies for people at the rural and community level. For these policies to work, we must first involve community owners, community leaders and stakeholders in the design,” he said.
According to Odii, traditional rulers and community leaders possess extensive knowledge of local customs, land use, economic opportunities and challenges that could help government agencies design interventions suited to individual communities.
He identified community participation, transparency, impact assessment, inclusion and sustainability as important elements in delivering effective intervention programmes.
Odii disclosed that SMEDAN had introduced its Community Enterprise Development Programme to strengthen the participation of traditional rulers and community leaders in enterprise development.
He said the initiative was structured to involve traditional institutions throughout the development process rather than consulting them only after major decisions had been taken.
According to him, traditional institutions could help government agencies mobilise farmers, artisans, women and young people, identify viable economic opportunities and strengthen community ownership of development programmes.
The SMEDAN chief also called for a transition from subsistence agriculture towards an integrated agricultural value chain encompassing production, processing, packaging, logistics, technology and marketing.
The Deji of Akure Kingdom, Oba Aladetoyinbo Aladelusi, said closer cooperation between traditional institutions and government intervention agencies could improve access to funding and development opportunities for rural residents, farmers and young entrepreneurs.
He said traditional institutions could provide an effective link between intervention agencies and grassroots communities, adding that farmers’ associations, community leaders and traditional chiefs had been mobilised to disseminate information about available opportunities.
The monarch also described the Ulefunta Festival as an annual socio-cultural gathering incorporating tourism and cultural activities.
Earlier, Chairman of the 2026 Ulefunta Festival Committee, Olu Adekunle Ajanaku, said the colloquium was organised to sensitise rural residents, farmers and young entrepreneurs to government funding and other development opportunities.
Ajanaku said the festival had continued to attract wider attention through its emphasis on inclusiveness and the promotion of the cultural values, social life and aspirations of the people.
He expressed optimism that growing cooperation among the three Akure-speaking local government areas could eventually result in the establishment of the Akure People’s Central Council and the Akure Traditional Council.
