The Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde has urged the residents of the State to use their areas of influence to support the government in the fight against all forms of insecurity in the State.
The Governor made the call on Sunday when the State held a church service to commemorate the 2021 Armed Forces and Remembrance Day in Ibadan, the State capital.
The Governor, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Mrs Olubamiwo Adeosun, stated that “As we celebrate this year, I think it gives us an opportunity to reflect on the security situation in our country. And I know it is very easy and most convenient for us all the time to continue to point fingers but my message to all of us today is that, whatever it is that we can do in our various areas of influence, let us do it. If we have dark elements in our areas, in our compounds, in our estates, etc., point them out.”
He charged the people to, as a matter of necessity, make information in their domains available in order to help the government arrest the insecurity in the State and insisted that the people should sustain the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic by complying with the given protocols.
“I would also like to use this opportunity to remind all of us that COVID-19 is real. And what the Oyo State Government is saying is that we must all own our action, which means whatever it is that we have been told to do or advised to do, to protect ourselves, please let’s do it. Not only for ourselves but for the love of our family, neighbours and loved ones,” Makinde noted.
“Wear your mask, observe social distancing, wash your hands or use hand sanitisers, avoid large gatherings, especially in closed places and if the gathering is large, observe social distancing,” he admonished.
Earlier, in his sermon, the Provost, Cathedral of St Peters, Aremo, Ibadan, Very Reverend Wale Adebiyi, who spoke on the theme: “Lack of Patriotism, the bane of Nigerian Development” with text from Esther 9:27-28, maintained that until Nigerians become more patriotic to the nation than their regions or tribes, development would remain a challenge for the country.
He said: “I want to believe personally that the Armed Forces Remembrance Day is a memorial that we keep every year. It is to remember those who fought for the peace of the world and to remember those who fought for the peace of this nation. Therefore the issue of Armed Forces Remembrance Day celebration is pointing to one thing, and for me, it is pointing to patriotism and nation-building.”
Adebiyi affirmed that the problem of the country is foundational, accusing the colonial masters of administering different parts of the country with different systems, such as different educational systems and different judicial systems that gave them different world views after it was put together, saying up till date, the North and South find it difficult to understand one another because they have different world views.
Personalities who attended the service included the General Officer Commanding 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Major-General A.B. Omozoje; Commander, 2 Division, Garrison Nigerian Army, Brigadier-General T. A. Ogunsugba, Chairman Nigerian Legion, Oyo State Command, Mr Micheal Fajimi, military officers, members of paramilitary organisations and many top government officials.
Nnenna.O
