*Text of a speech by the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, during a press conference in Lagos to address insecurity in Yorubaland and Nigeria.
These are perilous times in Yorubaland.
From Kogi to Kwara, Ekiti, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, parts of Edo and Delta states, the ominous signs are there.
Merchants of death have surrounded the more than 60 million inhabitants of this geographical space. The blood-thirsty maniacs don’t have good intentions for the peace-loving people of our area.
Rather, they are waiting for the signal from their foreign sponsors to invade this land, kill mercilessly, and take over people’s ancestral inheritance.
More than a year ago, I raised the alarm through a letter I wrote and sent to our Governors to immediately partner with us to flush out all these undesirable elements from our forests. Pitiably, there was no response from them.
Now, the danger is staring at everybody in the face.
If care is not taken urgently, this clear, present, serious, and immediate danger has the capability to change the topography, landscape and history of peace-loving Yoruba people.
This insecurity gradually creeping into Yorubaland is a monster that must be fought with all powers at our disposal.
A first class monarch who was the Olukoro of Koro in Kwara State, Major General Segun Aremu (rtd), was shot dead in his palace. His wife was abducted.
Another first class monarch, who was the traditional ruler of Ifon, Ondo State, Oba Israel Adeusi, was also killed by these monsters. Council chairmen, clerics, and businessmen have been abducted.
Women have been raped. Farmers have been deprived of their possessions. Travellers are no longer sure of their safety on highways.
This evil is gradually creeping into Yorubaland, and the hydra-headed monster is already constituting a serious security threat.
Due to the fact that this ‘cancer’ was not given an urgent and decisive operation when I raised the alarm,
it is now spreading like wild fire because the perpetrators get high financial returns with less risk through kidnapping and abduction.
We have a situation on our hands now in which, through our intelligence gathering, these terrorists are already mobilising to leave forests and invade our towns and cities.
It is high time we stopped this cancer that is spreading its virus across Yorubaland.
Aside from making money from this evil venture, these enemies of progress want to destroy the economy of Yorubaland. That is why they must be stopped now.
We must treat this cankerworm with the urgent attention it deserves because for any development to take place in any polity, evil must not be appeased. It must be decisively dealt with and fought from all angles like the monster that it is.
That was why I proposed the convocation of a Southwest Security Summit to be held in one of the state capitals in Yorubaland.
The meeting will involve, among others, traditional rulers, religious and opinion leaders, farmers, businessmen, herders
and security agents in the region. Unfortunately, no serious attention has been given to this proposal by those in government.
The fundamental duty of government, anywhere in the world, is the protection of lives and property. With the information at our disposal, these elements, most of whom are from neighbouring countries, have inflitrated our forests.
In August 2025, there was a security breach in Babanla, Kwara State, where armed criminals attacked residence, and about 20 villages were displaced. 36 persons were killed in the ugly incident.
Also, yesterday in Kebbi State, government college comprehensive secondary school, Maga, Danko/Wasagu local government area of the state, wherein, Hassan Makuku believed to be the vice principal was shot dead and 25 female students were abducted by the terrorists.
The middle belt that has always been known as the food basket state for farmers has been turned to war theatre by the herders and bandits.
More than 300 villages have been displaced vis a vis Benue, Plateau, Niger, Nasarawa, and Taraba States.
Consequently, all our national forests have become an abode for criminals terrorists to perpetrate their criminal acts.
Most of the aforementioned locations have lucrative solid minerals resources where they are mining and looting the country resources to acquire sophisticated weapons to continue with their evil act.
What can be more embarrassing than that.
This is the time for all Yoruba to be vigilant and be on the alert. This should be done effectively through our local intelligence gathering mechanism because this monster must be fought by all.
That’s why we welcome the proposal by the 47th American President, Donald Trump, to flush out these terrorists killing Christians and Muslims in Nigeria.
I still don’t understand why some people are against this military intervention to deal with these bandits.
If our governors are powerless or, for political reasons, refuse to deal with the situation, it is better for American soldiers to help this land.
Donald Trump has not told anybody he wants to set up a military base in Nigeria. What he simply said was that enough killings in Nigeria. So, what is wrong with that?
You will remember an incident that happened in 2020 when an American was abducted and taken to one of the towns in the North.
United States (U.S.) Marines stormed the place, killed six of the kidnappers, and rescued the American. This is exactly what we are saying, and if Nigerian security apparatus has been compromised, then Western powers should intervene to restore peace and order in the land. Enough of killings in this country.
A few days ago, the British Government warned its citizens not to go to about 20 states in Nigeria because of insecurity.
What can be more embarrassing than that.
This is the time for all Yoruba to be vigilant and be on the alert. This should be done effectively through our local intelligence gathering mechanism because this monster must be fought by all.
It is a no-brainer that if these terrorists are treated with kid gloves, they will go on the rampage soon. This must be nipped in the bud immediately.
Therefore, the sense of urgency to tackle this insecurity promptly must be our urgent guiding principle.
This existential threat must be tackled immediately. We must wage intelligent war against kidnapping, and the time for that fight is now.
The principal task of security agencies is to defend the state against threats to its national security. Any threat to the economic growth of a country is also a threat to national security.
Since those threats could be covertly organised, Yoruba people and all Nigerians need intelligence to counter these agents of darkness.
This is the time for us to act before the situation becomes unbearable.
Oodua a gbe wa o.
Ile Yoruba ko ni baje o.
Thank you.
Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams
Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland
