From Priscilla Ediare, Ado-Ekiti
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State, Engr Kayode Ojo, has suggested ways to tackle kidnapping, banditry and other heinous crimes in the state.
The former governorship aspirant in the last election in the state made this known while condemning the killings of two traditional rulers and the abduction of some school children and teachers last week in the state.
Ojo who condemned the killings when he paid condolence visits to the affected communities called for concerted efforts to forestall future recurrence in the state.
The party chieftain who visited the palaces of the late monarchs, the Onimojo of Imojo-Ekiti and the Elesun of Esun- Ekiti commiserated with the people of the communities and the bereaved families over the unfortunate incident.
At Imojo-Ekiti, Ojo’s team was received by the town’s chiefs and the Chairman of Ifesowapo Local Council Development Area, Hon Muyiwa Ajibola who is also an indigene of the town.
The LCDA boss said he was in the forest with a security team in search of a driver of a community leader in the LCDA earlier abducted when he received the tragic news of the gruesome killings of the monarchs.
Ajibola who alleged the involvement of some locals in the frequent kidnapping activities in the State said revelations from the driver who recently regained his freedom from the kidnappers’ den suggested internal collaboration.
He therefore called for support for the communities, most especially the immediate family of the late Omonijo and the four daughters he left behind.
The LCDA boss explained that two of his children are in the University while the other two are in secondary and primary schools .
In his remarks, Ojo described the late monarchs as his fathers and close associates. He recalled with nostalgia, how he used to relate with the monarchs whenever they visited Lagos with other colleagues traditional rulers in Ekiti.
Paying tributes to the slain monarchs, Ojo described their killings as great loss to their communities and Ekiti State,.praying God to give their families the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss .
He also prayed God to expose the criminal elements in the state and their collaborators.
While calling on government and communities to be proactive on the issue concerning security, Ojo maintained that only collaborative efforts can defeat kidnappings and banditry in our society.
He urged government to invest more in technology and address the challenges of unemployment and injustices in the land, stressing that the nation is in a complex situation.
“That’s really a complex situation now. For the joblessness we are talking about, over the years, politics has taken over everything, especially in Ekiti, people now see politics as the fastest means to accumulate wealth, which you and I know that in this context that it is true .Many of our youths don’t want to go to farm or engage in any profitable venture. All they are interested in is to get one political office or the other and get their National cake as previous leaders have shown. Until our youths stop seeing dignity in other people’s labour, these menace may not end.”
Speaking further he said, “Anywhere, you are having recurrent insecurity, that means there is the need for scanning(Aerial surveillance ).You have the infantry troops on ground to flush out the criminals from their hideouts. Then, you also have the “Holding Troops” that would stay behind after you must have cleared the surrounding bushes.There are a couple of activities that can be done to forestall further kidnappings and killings in Ekiti .I am not the government, I can only give advice .Again, security is not cheap, the government must spend more .because security is expensive.
“I know that most communities now live at the mercy of these marauders and criminal elements because they have high grade weapons. They are even more equipped than some of our security operatives. I have seen videos where some of these criminal elements even use General Purpose Machine Guns and the communities are not licensed to carry weapons. So, they are at the mercy of these hoodlums.”
Giving specific advice, Ojo said, “My advice to each community in Ekiti is to have a security Committee, so that they can have outposts.Those manning these outposts would raise alarm whenever they see any suspicious movement or strange faces in the neighbourhood. It is part of my mantra on Security that, if you see something; say something .We need to educate and enlighten our people to always do that . And the information will be sent to all relevant security agencies.With that, I think we can nip a few of these issues in the bud before they rear their ugly heads. So, these are things I feel they could do now since the communities do not have their Army or Police.”