Unity of purpose and stakeholders’ collaboration can end insecurity and mindless destruction of lives and property, especially in the Southwest, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, has said.
He said such unity will eradicate gaps in intelligence gathering and sharing, as well as response time to incidences of insecurity.
“There has been weak coordination among security actors occasioned by poor collaboration between government security agencies, local vigilantes, traditional institutions, and civil society,” he noted.
He called on leaders at all levels, including governors, local governments chairpersons, traditional rulers and community heads, to come together in the quest to decisively put an end to the insecurity challenge.
He made the call at a virtual International Conference, titled, ‘The importance of unity in strengthening security and preventing genocide in Yorubaland,’ organized by Yoruba One Voice (YOV) Worldwide.
“Unity is the bedrock upon which peace and security are built. In Yorubaland, our strength lies in our ability to come together as one people, transcending differences of origin, religion, or language.
“When we unite, we create a formidable force that can effectively safeguard our communities against threats and violence. The principle of unity is such that rallies people for regional cohesion and integration, and foster loyalty to Yorubaland above sectional loyalties,” he said.
Adams commended the southwest governors on the planned security fund, saying that the development was a direct answer to the kind of unity and collaboration he and other stakeholders have been calling for among the governors.
“With joint security fund that has been approved, it will greatly help to raise the huge resources required for the fight against the terrorists.
“Our governors should assist the Yoruba speaking communities in Kogi and Kwara States. They should invite all traditional rulers and community leaders in those areas for a meeting so as to collectively design the best approach to stop the kidnappings and mindless killings of our people.”
Adams stressed that stakeholders cannot afford to allow the terrorists to create immense collateral damage in the southwest region.
“To be sure, about 50 to 60 per cent of national investments and monuments are domiciled in the southwest. If we do not defend the investments, the coming generation would blame us.
“For instance, part of the information I received was that Fulani herders are bent on exterminating the Yoruba people from Kwara State. They also want to do a similar thing to Yoruba speaking people in Kogi State. You will observe that the assailants are not attacking the Igala and Ebira people in Okene,” he added.
On his part, the Parakoyi Aare Ona Kakanfo, Prof Kolawole Raheem, called for collective action against the bandits who he noted were bent on displacing Yoruba people and dispossessing them of their lands and resources.
The guest speaker, Prof. Adetayo Olurotimi Ogunlewe, bemoaned what he described as systematic targeting of Yorubaland given the patterns of attacks, kidnappings and displacement.
He said that, if unaddressed, the situation could escalate into widespread atrocities or genocide against Yoruba communities.
Ogunlewe, who was a former lecturer at Lagos State University (LASU) and also the Secretary, Lagos Literary Society, therefore called on security stakeholders to launch out viciously against the bandits and terrorists with a view to clearing and exterminating them from their hideouts.
Earlier in his welcome address, Secretary General, YOV, Prince Adedokun Ademiluyi, noted that the grim picture of growing insecurity ravaging Yorubaland and South West Nigeria had reached an alarming level that demanded strategic urgent action.
Ademiluyi said it was in recognition of the severity of the challenge and the urgent need to mitigate the violence and general insecurity occasioned by the invasions, that YOV organised the conference.
Another participant in the conference, who is a prominent member of YOV, Iyalode Abike Ade from the United Kingdom (UK), called for increased campaign and advocacy locally and internationally to raise awareness about all actions against Yoruba communities that can encourage and lead to genocide.
She also canvasses for support for grassroots initiatives to strengthen traditional security structures within legal and human-rights-compliant frameworks.
At the end of the conference, some of the recommendations given by participants included the need to establish a Yoruba Security Coordination Framework to create mechanisms for improved cooperation among local vigilantes, state security agencies, traditional rulers, and community networks for more coordinated intelligence-gathering and rapid response; and a need for regular security stakeholder meeting and conference to cross-fertilize ideas on ways to decisively tackle the challenge of insecurity in Yorubaland.
Other recommendations included creating a joint intelligence-sharing system as part of new measures to confront worsening insecurity in the region; and the urgent adoption of community policing to facilitate the deployment of local and community -security networks to address security challenges.
