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By Lukman Olabiyi
Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, yesterday, urged leaders and stakeholders across the Southwest region to be vigilant in keeping terrorists at bay.
Adams gave the charge in Abeokuta, Ogun State, at the second edition of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) Dependable Security Team meeting, at ONTEC Event Centre.
While addressing members of the group in Ogun State, Adams said the meeting was a strategic approach to combating terrorism in the South West, adding that the group gathered 100 members from each of the 57 local governments in the state.
He said the meeting was first initiated in Lagos, in order to beef up the security and also strengthen the grassroots security network across the south west. He maintained that the OPC’s structure spreads across the country, even as he said the dependable security team was made up of very strong members which cut across all the local governments in all the six states in the South West region and beyond.
He, however, picked holes in the failing security situation in the country, occasioned by various cases of killings, kidnapping, armed robbery, raping and other security threats, noting that the meeting wouldn’t have made any sense for the OPC, had the security situation across the country improved.
“People often asked what is Aare doing to address the various security challenges bedevilling the region? This is the reason for this intervention move by our group, to address the security deficit across the region. We are here to raise our voices against terrorism in the South West. Today’s gathering is based on the need to beef up security across the region.
The security architecture has failed, and we can no longer live as if everything is normal. Nothing has changed. The North East, North West, North Central, and even the South East are not spared in the security conundrum.
“It is the traditional role of the Aare Onakakanfo to secure Yoruba land. It is our duty also as a group to complement the efforts of the south west government in curbing the challenges.
“So, I am ready to set the ball rolling whenever I am called upon by the south west governors as well as the traditional rulers in Yoruba land. OPC is always ready and the gathering is a big testimony of our structure, strength and resolve to solve the security challenges across the region.
“As far as the OPC is concerned, it is a call to duty, it is our strategic approach to defend ourselves and our region, since it is obvious that the security architecture has failed to protect us. We cannot leave our fate in the hands of security operatives and agencies that seem to have been overwhelmed by the raging spate of insecurity in the country.”
