Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams, on Wednesday, urged leaders and stakeholders across the South-West region to be vigilant in keeping terrorists at bay.
Aare Gani Adams gave the charge in Abeokuta, Ogun State at the second edition of Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) Dependable Security Team meeting held at ONTEC Event Centre.
While addressing members of the group in Ogun State, Iba Adams said the meeting is a strategic approach to combating terrorism in the South-West, saying the group gathered 100 members each from each of the 57 local governments in the state.
He added that the meeting was first initiated in Lagos to beef up the security and also strengthen the grassroots security network across the south west.
He maintained also that OPC’s structure is spread across the country, even as he said the dependable security team is made up of very strong members that cut across all the local governments in all the six states in the South-West region and beyond.
The Yoruba warrior, however, picked holes in the failing security situation in the country occasioned by various cases of killings, kidnapping, armed robbery, raping, killing and other threats, noting that the meeting wouldn’t have made any sense for the OPC, had the security situation in the country improved across the country.
“People often ask ‘What is Aare doing to address the various security challenges bedeviling 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 traditional role of the Aareonakakanfo to secure Yoruba land. It is our duty also as a group to complement the efforts of the South-West government to curb the challenges.
“So, I am ready to set the ball rolling whenever I am called upon by the South-West governors as well as 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 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 seemed to have been overwhelmed by the raging spate of insecurity in the country.
Adams reaffirmed the South-West of the group’s support in salvaging the region, maintaining that the group’s dependable force strategic meeting is an on-going programme that will spread across all the states in the region and beyond.
“The highest decision making organ of the Oodua People’s Congress, the National Executive Council (NEC) and National Coordinating Council (NCC) have concluded plans to build on the successes of the two previous editions of the programme both in Lagos and Ogun states respectively, to reaffirm the need for everybody to be vigilant and also be security conscious in whatever we do. That is the reason for this gathering”.
