The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has raised the alarm over the soon-to-be-launched security outfit in the South-West geopolitical zone codenamed “Operation Amotekun”.
Amotekun is the Yoruba name for the leopard.
The Yoruba generalissimo, who is the Convener of the South-West Stakeholders Security Group (SSSG), said he should not be blamed if “Operation Amotekun” fails.
He said that the outfit, whose launching is scheduled for January 9, might fail because the South-West governors were not coordinating with him on appointments into the outfit.
“We haven’t heard anything from the governors and I am saying that on the matter of security of the South-West, the governors should know the appropriate quarters to contact for the recruitment.
“If they had not mentioned our name in the operation, that could have been another issue. We have been reading about this publication since last year and we realise that the issue is becoming deeper than we think.
“We decided to hold our first meeting as South-West Security Stakeholders Security Group (SSGS) but when we realise that the date for the kick-off of the operation is becoming close and many Nigerians, especially the Yoruba people have been calling us that are we battle ready to complement the efforts of security agencies?
“But we have no answer to give to them because there has been no contact from the governors. I spoke with Governor Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti state five days ago and he told me that the Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN Commission will liaise with us. I then called the Director-General of the DAWN Commission, Seye Oyeleye but he also told me that the issue of recruitment is not in their hands.
“He added that the state governors are the ones handling that. We now realise that if we don’t clear our name in public opinion and for the sake of history, if this operation fails, people will be putting the blame on the Aare Ona Kakanfo and saying things like ‘So, you are not even capable to function in your office as the Yoruba generalissimo? So, you are incapable in complementing the efforts of the security agencies to secure the South-West?
“When this incident happened, the impression they gave me as the Aare Ona Kakanfo based on the history of this position traditionally is even more than that of the governors.
“So, I am alerting the whole world on this issue because we have no knowledge about the recruitment of members of the Amotekun operation.
“From information made available to us, we heard that Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state has even called some vigilante groups that are unknown to us and has recruited 430 people from these groups.
“Many of these are the political errand boys in the Government House but a lot of people will think OPC members and other members of the alliance that we formed in July 2019 are involved.
“If this operation fails, then it would have failed our history based on our antecedents on private security in Nigeria,” Adams told Independent.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo warned the governors against politicising the issue of security.
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