I was discussing with a colleague when the news filtered in that two traditional rulers from Ekiti state had been killed by gunmen in the state.
The Onimojo of Imojo- Ekiti, Oba Olatunde Samuel Olusola,and the Elesun of Esun-Ekiti, Oba David Babatunde Ogunsola, were killed by people suspected to be kidnappers, on their way back from a security meeting.
That same week, the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), Mr. Phillip Aivoji, and a few others were kidnapped at Ogere, Ogun State, on Ibadan-Lagos Expressway on Thursday January 25, 2024, when returning to Lagos from Ibadan.
Sadly, another traumatic incident of that same week was when six students, three teachers, and a driver of the Apostolic Faith Nursery and Primary School in Emure-Ekiti were kidnapped while returning from Eporo.
The abduction took place in the evening, as the group travelled in a school bus. The good news was that the school children had also regained their freedom, the story of their abduction had remained one of the biggest puzzle for the Ekiti state government till date.
For those of us that thrive on news, the month of January had been a month with different stories of killings and kidnappings, most especially, in the south west.
The south west is presently boiling with high-profile cases of killings and kidnappings. And I wonder what will be going through the mind of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu as Nigerians are being slaughtered by unknown gunmen on a daily basis.
It was as if the gunmen had made up their minds to wreak untold havoc on Nigeria and Nigerians.
As the economic situation in the country is biting hard on the mass of the people, going from bad to worse, the security challenges are even worse.
How can we explain the rising spike in the numbers of kidnappings and killings in the last one month?
What is wrong with our intelligence gathering mechanism? How is the Federal Government trying to solve these problems? What is the way out?
These were some of the questions that have been begging for answers as the security challenges remained prevailing in the last couple of weeks.
However, disturbed by the ugly trend the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams raised a very important issue last week when he challenged the governors of the south west region to give him just six months to tackle the rising security scourge.
He urged the south west governors to give their nod for his involvement in tackling the spate of insecurity and assured that within six months, the rate of insecurity would reduce drastically.
Iba Adams made the disclosure in Ile-Ife during the celebration of this year’s edition of Oodua Festival.
The Yoruba generalissimo also expressed sadness at the recent killings of two prominent Obas in Ekiti state. He described the rising spike of insecurity as a challenge that needs urgent solution, stating also that insecurity has remained one of the greatest challenges that has really affected the economic growth and development of Nigeria as a nation.
Thumbs up for the generalissimo of Yoruba race. It was not just an arrogant boast of an OPC leader, but a big assurance that the issue of kidnapping and killings would be a thing of the past if he was given the opportunity.
As far as I am concerned, I think the governors of the south west region must look beyond the formality of the South West Security Network code named Amotekun and give Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams the rare opportunity to prove his mettle.
Adams was optimistic. He had the records to back his claim. He had the experiences. A good example of his involvement in curbing the security challenges in Lagos was when Baddo was the major security threat in Lagos and Ogun states, especially, in Ikorodu area of the state.
Baddo threat was a big problem for residents of Ikorodu then. But it took the intervention of Iba Gani Adams and his Oodua People’s Congress comrades for the Baddo problem to be resolved.
The former commissioner of police in Lagos state, Imohimi Edgar, could not forget in a hurry the role of the OPC in stamping out the Baddo puzzle in Ikorodu and its environs.
Also, the people of Ayete, Igangan and other communities in Ibarapa area of Oyo state had complete respite when the OPC caught the leader and most wanted Fulani killer herdsmen, Iskilu Wakili and handed him over to the police within three weeks.
Wakili’s story was still fresh in our memories. He is still on trial over his criminal activities in Ibarapa area of the state. Also in Ojo area of Lagos state; the OPC had also helped in reducing the kidnapping surge in the area.
More importantly, in 2015, it was the OPC under the leadership of Aare Gani Adams that helped in securing the pipelines against the vandals. It was a huge success for Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) then.
So, when Aare Gani Adams spoke about securing the south west; he was very serious and the records are there for a man that had his foot soldiers in 28 states in Nigeria and with over ten million men that are ready to secure their land.
In the same vein, the Fuji music legend, Wasiu Ayinde popularly known as K1, had also lent his voice on the continuous downturn of the Nigerian economy and the spate of insecurity across the country.
The Fuji king, who was a staunch supporter of Tinubu, spoke the minds of Nigerians when he told the president that Nigerians are hungry, adding that the people are also angry with his administration.
Ayinde pointed out that the present situation in the country calls for a drastic solution to the problem.
Both Aare Gani Adams and K1 are from the south west. They are Nigerians. And like every other Nigerian, they are worried that the situation in the country is becoming too unpredictable and lives are not that valuable in the country.
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So, it is not an hyperbole to say pointedly that Nigerians are truly not happy with this administration, and I think the time is now for Mr. President to listen to the voices of Nigerians and take drastic action towards ending the security and the economic impasse in the country. A word they say is enough for the wise.
Kehinde Aderemi writes from Lagos.