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Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
A new era began in the South West on Tuesday June 25, 2019. It was one day eminent Yoruba leaders dropped their political and religious differences and brainstormed on how to ensure adequate security of lives and property in the region. They want a change in the security architecture of the region.
The occasion was security summit for Western Nigeria stakeholders, held at Theophilus Ogunlesi Hall, opposite the main gate of University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State capital. It was organised by Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission.
At the summit, the governors highlighted the security challenges in the region and how the people have been living in fear, saying state policing should be the major panacea to the security menace.
All the six governors from the region personally attended the summit. They are: Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo).
Traditional rulers across Yoruba land also graced the occasion. They include Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Aladesanmi; Olugbo of Ugboland, Oba Obateru Akintuntan; and Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi; Elemure of Emure Ekiti, Saki Arigidi of Akoko in Ondo State, Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti, and host of others.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Muhammed Adamu, was represented by a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Taiwo Lakanu. The Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 11, comprising Oyo, Osun and Ondo States, Mr. Leye Oyebade, presented a paper on the occasion.
First professor of criminology in Nigeria and member of the Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption (PACAC), Femi Odekunle also delivered a paper on “Human Security for Sustainable Peace and Development.”
A professor of History and Head, Department of History, University of Ibadan, Tayo Adesina, also made a presentation on the topic: “Western Nigeria and the Illusion of Motion.”
To Adesina, majority of children of the contemporary days do not value hard work, especially in agriculture. He advocated amendment of the curricula in schools to inculcate values of hard work in Nigerians, right from childhood. He said the quest for quick-rich syndrome has been luring children into criminal activities, such as cybercrime, and kidnapping. Serious efforts, he said, must be put in place to compel young Nigerians to value hard work.
The security issues
The major issues that compelled DAWN Commission to organise the security summit bordered on the rampant kidnapping, banditry and armed robbery cases in many states in the South West, especially on Ibadan-Ilesha-Akure Road. Incessant clashes between local farmers and herdsmen also formed part of the causative factors. Those that have been victims of kidnapping allegedly by herdsmen in recent times in the region include: former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Chief Olu Falae; an Ibadan-based lawyer, Mr. Musibau Adetunmbi, who was abducted at Iwaraja in Osun State on Ilesha-Akure Road in April, this year; a professor of orthopedic surgery and traumatology, Adeyinka Adegbehingbe, of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, kidnapped between Asejire and Ikire towns while travelling from Lagos to Ile-Ife in May this year; as well as Adedayo Adewole, son of former Minister of Health, Professor Isaac Adewole.
As alleged, ransom were taken before many of the victims were released. But some victims were unlucky, as they lost their lives to the menace.
Submission of South West governors
The governors highlighted the security challenges in the region and how people have been living in fear, saying state and local policing should be a major panacea to the security menace.
The host governor, Seyi Makinde, was the first to speak.
He said a regional approach to security in the South West is important, adding that the “South West is interlinked. So, the challenges of one state can easily become the challenges of the entire region. Some of our states are also close to international borders, increasing the threat that we all collectively face.
“As a group on this side of the Niger, we have always had more things that unite us than those that divide us. We have always held our doors open and been welcoming of strangers. We want things to continue exactly like this because the diversity in our states is an ingredient for economic development. We shall not allow the actions of miscreants and enemies of unity to make us change who we are.
“As governors, it is our responsibility to ensure that everyone in our midst, indigene or alien resident is assured of security of their life and property. We also know that there are barriers preventing us from carrying out this constitutional responsibility to the fullest measure. One of those barriers is the fact that we do not control the security apparatuses in our states. We are grateful that the Federal Government is finally giving due consideration to the creation of state police. You will agree with me that the advantages of community policing far outweigh whatever fears people may be expressing against it. We have reached that point in our national consciousness where we can no longer tarry; the time to act is now!” the governor declared.
Makinde also noted that there could be no development without a secure environment, saying the minimum requirement for the South West region is to be able to work, live and play in a secure environment.
He further stated that the fifth pillar of the DAWN Commission, which centres on “Security and Law Enforcement” of the commission’s strategy roadmap, lists key action steps “we should work towards which I agree with. They include: strengthening of community policing and neighbourhood watch capacity in the South West states. Furthermore, the key action steps, state that the monitoring of neighbourhood watch and community policing initiative should be a role for local government/councilors and traditional rulers in the new security architecture.
“A few days ago, I talked about the importance of the role of traditional rulers in engaging all stakeholders at the community level in the area of security. This must be vigorously pursued,” the governor added.
Ekiti State governor, Fayemi, who is the Chairman of Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), urged security agencies to rid the land of crimes, saying security of people should not be politicised. He also warned against demonising any ethnic group.
Speaking on the need for state police, he stated “Our advocacy for state policing or local policing is not tantamount to the removal of federal police. That is not what we are asking for. Federal police can exist side by side with state police and local police.”
Fayemi said it is the practice in almost everywhere there is federal system, saying the insinuation that South West does not want the federal police to exist is untrue. He added that there would be definition of duties such as cases that federal police should handle, and local cases the state police should handle.
He also advocated effective coordination among commands within a security agency as well as effective coordination of inter-agency collaborations.
Ondo State governor, Akeredolu, who is the chairman of South West Governors’ Forum, said: “The South Western states must ensure that their strategies are harmonised to achieve a common purpose. We cannot afford to work in isolation at this momentous time. Our ultimate aim must be the socio-economic integration of the region, which reflects our collective aspirations for a peaceful and prosperous environment.
“As we seek to collaborate to combat a common challenge, it should also not be tasking for those of us in the saddle to begin to think of the socio-economic benefits accruable from working together to make our region less dependent, almost solely, on external sources for survival.
“Our collective goal should be the security of our space and safety of our people in all ramifications. On this, there should be no compromise. We must, consequently, be proactive in tackling the current security issues. The adoption of scientific approach towards the resolution of the current crisis will bear far-reaching effects.”
Osun State governor, Oyetola, noted that for the South West to achieve its goal of security delivery, the states in the region “must collaborate and share information to collectively secure our people. Our security chiefs also need to share information among themselves while also doing same with their contemporaries across the states. Technology is at the heart of modern security delivery. We must invest heavily in technology to be ahead and to win the war.
“As we are all aware, security wars are fought and won on the altars of intelligence gathering, planning and implementation. I urge us all to be strong in these critical areas so that, together, we can deliver peace, security and prosperity to our people.
“The nation is grossly under-policed and the Police Force is sorely underfunded. Contrary to the United Nations’ ratio requirement of one police man to 400 citizens, the Nigeria Police has less than 400, 000 officers to cover 180 million people. The force said it needs 155,000 more men to police the nation’s population. The implication of the above is that we need to recognise this situation as an emergency and treat it as such. The police should be adequately funded and provided with enough personnel and other logistics support to do their job.
“Perhaps on account of the security challenges that we face today, there might be no better time to revisit the call for state police as local officers are better suited to secure our communities.
However, the security agents are squarely battling the current security breaches. But given better support, they can do more. We must sensitise our people through our traditional and community leaders to live in peace with herdsmen and other settlers,” the Osun governor said.
Lagos State governor, Sanwo-Olu, called for engagement of teachers, parents, and community leaders to ensure that community policing becomes one of the very strong bedrocks that could be used to set issues around security.
“For us as South West governors, we believe that community policing is the way to go, neighbourhood policing is one of the critical points that we need to have, and it can work side by side with federal police,” he said.
Ogun State governor, Abiodun, who said each of the states in the region has peculiarities in the area of security, advocated a clear roadmap to the security of the region and the nation, as well as periodic reviews to evaluate achievements.
Political implications of the security summit
Some Nigerians have also taken a look at the political implications of the security summit, and said politics should not be played with the security of lives and property of people in the region.
Secretary General, Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Dr. Kunle Olajide, told Daily Sun that the security summit would, to a large extent, fuse the political tension in the zone “because the followers, the brigades, seeing the governors interact in such a friendly mode, discussing the welfare of the people, will make a lot of them appreciate the fact that politics is not warfare.
“In other words, you can belong to different political ideologies, but the common interests that bind you – security, and welfare of the people, should remain paramount.
“So, for me, it is a positive development for the Yoruba nation, and for Nigeria. Other parts of Nigeria must learn from it, especially since all the governors have now said that they are going to ensure integration and cooperation. So, for me I think it is a positive development,” Olajide said.
He stated further that he was very much at peace with the submissions of the governors, adding that the governors “have lifted us from the state of hopelessness to a level of hope that, at least, something is being done, and that they are concerned, either to some of us that have been seriously worried about what we thought was their inertia, the lack of really positive reaction to the urgency of the situation, but we didn’t know they were doing this much in the background. So, I am excited now, at least one becomes more hopeful that sooner than later, this terrible trend will be arrested.”
In the same vein, the convener of Yoruba Koya Group, Otunba Deji Osibogun, in a brief interview with Daily Sun, described the unity among the six governors to fight insecurity as a good development.
“Frankly, what I have seen is a unification of all forces in Yoruba land, to tackle this issue of security. I think it has gone beyond party politics. The governors have said it that it has gone beyond party politics. It is now practical. Everybody now wants to be practical about security. Security doesn’t know your party; it doesn’t know your tribe, and your religion. As far as we are concerned, for the first time, all of them want to work together.
“But it now behoves on the central government, which is controlled by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to succumb to the wishes of the gentlemen, what the governors have said. The people of Yoruba land are thinking unity, and we are having unity on ground already.”
Osibogun also took a cursory look at the attendance at the summit, saying “basically, the attendance was fair. All the governors attended the summit. But the private sector is missing.
“Some kings were at the summit and some were not. The notice was rather short. So, that could be the reason some did not attend.”
To Muyiwa Ige, former Commissioner for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development in Osun State, who is also the son of late former Minister of Justice, Chief Bola Ige (SAN), the most important thing is that all hands must be on deck to ensure adequate security in the South West beyond politics.
“All the states in the South West have come to realise that there must be strict collaboration and integration to fight this menace. The political implication is, if not well managed, it could really affect everybody. But the most important thing is the socio-economic implication that is huge, which will also affect the political. At least all the governors are speaking with one language now, and there should be greater collaboration. Also we must commend DAWN Commission for putting this programme together, and bringing all the stakeholders together to begin to discuss.
“I think one thing that will come of this is strong intelligence. Presently, everybody is doing their own independently. But what is important is that they must share information, share knowledge, and share best practices, and flush out these criminals. I am privileged to a lot of these things that are happening, particularly in my local government. On Saturday June 22, 2019, between Imesi-Ile and Otan (Osun State), these Bororo/Fulani decided to attack farmers. Fortunately, there was intervention of local hunters, vigilance and the police. They caught two of them and six got away. What one needs to express is the impunity for which these guys perpetrate their actions. It is incredible. But we will all be the better for it. We must all lose our sleep so that we can have safe place to live.”
Ige also noted that the attendance at the summit was “pretty good,” saying “this was a precursor to further deliberations that will occur, whereby critical actionable solutions will be proffered. I am very sure that would be very good for us in the South West. South West can move on within and outside Nigeria.”
The Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom in Ondo State, Oba Frederick Akintuntan, also spoke to Daily Sun on his perception of the summit. But he refused to answer question advanced to him on the political implication of the summit, saying: “Why can’t you ask me about what is going on here? I am not a politician.”
On the summit, he, however, said: “I am overwhelmed that the governors could come together to perform their duties. That is what we expected from them. The insecurity in the six states in the South West is enormous. We don’t even know how to handle it. The only people that can handle it are the South West governors, and they have spoken about what they would do. The only advice I want to give them is to use the monarchs and take care of them because we know everything in our communities. When these people have kidnapped and they are going, we can use our local people to trail them. But the finance aspect of it is what we don’t have; let them help us. If they can help us, within some few months, we will capture them.”
Asked whether he’s comfortable with the submissions of the governors, he responded “I am very comfortable with what they said. Their submissions are very okay. I have advised them to be proactive. If they can use the local security, and surveillance, and I assure them again, they will round them up.”
Chairman of Miyetti Allah in the South West, Alhaji Muhammad Labaru, who is the Sarkin Fulani of Abeokuta in Ogun State, also said that the summit was a very good one, and that it came at the right time.
“These are blueprints that would bring a lasting solution to the whole country’s problem on security. I know South West as far as being a member of South West is concerned. It’s a very good cause, and beginning of lasting solutions to all the security challenges we are having in the country.
“I am happy for the governors’ statements. Most of them said the challenges we are facing is not issue of ethnicity or religion or that any other group is trying to work against security of our people in the country.
“Like I use to hear from the media and other places, security challenges, kidnapping issues are linked to the Fulani communities. It is easy to indict them in the sense that mostly all these evil perpetrators or these actors of crime, when they commit their crimes, they run into all these wild areas, where our people live and if security are to chase them, definitely they will come across these Fulani herdsmen that are rearing their cattle and are innocent, and it is easy for them to be indicted. But it is high time we speak the truth. We should vomit out what is inside us, how we are being indicted, how we are also affected as well, at the same time. Like every other Nigerian, Fulani is affected, even much more affected than any other Nigerian.”
Fielding questions on the stand of South West governors for state police, he said “I am not opposing community policing. It is a very good development. I think policing our community is what will drive the good information from the real source. So, we are there. We are available. If they call us to be part, fine. We will contribute our own quota because we are all human beings. We want to live and sustain our lives. We want to do our legitimate business, so that we will promote the ideal of this country.”
On the efforts he has been making to arrest those people that have been incriminating original Fulani, Labaru said “Good. We have good relationship with the police. We have good relationship with the vigilance. We are also providing our own men on ground to make sure they relate, and give first class information to the police, and other security agencies, so that anywhere and at anytime a crime is perpetrated, we will give first hand information and the police will be there, and our own security too will be there, so that we can help ourselves in nipping the crime in the bud, and getting the right people that commit the crime arrested.”
