President Muhmmadu Buhari, on Wednesday met, in separate closed-door meetings, with Governors of Oyo and Ondo States at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, in an apparent move to douse the raging ethnic and security crises in the Southwest region of the country.
The President held discussions with Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, and later his Ondo State counterpart, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, at the State House in Abuja, just as he had met Tuesday night with the Ooni of Ile-Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, Ojaja II.
Addressing State House Correspondents after his meeting with the President, the Oyo State Governor said he was at the State House to update his host with the facts and details of raging issues in the state.
He said: “There has been a lot of fake news all around and I wanted to be sure that Mr. President clearly has first-hand information from me, which I did. We also exchanged ideas on what we need to do better, some of the programmes we have put in place to ensure that this security issue is tackled. So, that’s basically why I came here.”
Disclosing parts of the issues discussed with the President, the Governor spoke on the cause of the crisis in the state, adding that rather than making it an ethical topic, the state government had decided to address the aspects touching on crimes and criminality.
“Well, we have a history of living together peacefully amongst all the ethnic groups that are present in Oyo State. For instance, what triggered all of this was that Dr. Aborede was brutally murdered, which is criminal, but on the other hand, Sarki, Alhaji Kabir has been staying in that same place for 40 years.
“So, quite frankly, the people we are after are criminals. They are the bandits, hoodlums, armed robbers, kidnappers. Those are the true enemies of the state and those are the people we will go after.
“The Constitution of Nigeria guarantees that you can live in any part of Nigeria, you just have to be law-abiding, obey the local laws in such areas. That is what we are pushing and will continue to push as a government”, he said.
Another Squadron
The Governor also revealed that he discussed some of the security needs of the state with the Nigerian leader, adding that he requested more security personnel.
“Well, one of the issues I discussed with Mr. President is that Oyo State landmass is quite big, Oyo State is close to 29,000 square kilometres. If you take all the states in the southeast geo-political zone of Nigeria, they are still not as big as Oyo State. And the state right now only has two Mobile Police Squadrons.
“So, I requested for more Mobile Police Squadrons to be deployed to Oyo State and also ask for support for the joint security outfit because the underlying issue here also has to do with limited opportunities.
“The tension will definitely go down if a lot of our youths are gainfully employed. So, I briefed the president on what we are doing in that regard,” he said.
The Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu refused to speak with journalists after his meeting with the President.
Monarch’s Visit
Meanwhile, the Ooni of Ile-Ife, Oba Ogunwusi, speaking to State House Correspondents after his meeting with the President Tuesday evening, said he was in the State House to confer with the President on the issue of security.
According to him, he appealed to the President not to allow the issue of insecurity in the country to be politicized, stressing that politics should be separated from insecurity in order not to jeopardize the lives of citizens.
“I am here particularly because of all the issues of security threat here and there and to get the blessing of Mr. President, it won’t turn out to be very political because political parties might probably want to hijack it.
“And to the glory of God as the co-chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers, it is our responsibility and our fiduciary duty to make sure that everything is right, all and sundry is in good shape.
“So, the take-home here is that the President has assured that it is not going to be a political thing because we all know the problem all over the country, we have a lot of bad eggs that mix across the entire country and we are having that issue again in the South West.
“I am here as the co-Chairman of National Council of Traditional Rulers to get the assurance of Mr. President that either of the parties won’t turn it to be a political funfair for us to just risk the lives of our people, our innocent citizens not only in the South West but the entire country.
“I am happy he has told me that I should assure other traditional rulers that we must work with them now. It is very important for us to work very closely with the government so that we can separate the good, the bad and the ugly”, the royal father said.
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While stressing the need to separate “the corn from the chaff,” he bemoaned the porosity of the nation’s borders, noting with delight, however, that the introduction of “e-border” would make policing the borders more efficient.
The Ooni further said: “Even our Governors and other political rulers in different states, Mr. President have assured that they must work with the traditional rulers so that we can actually separate the good from the bad and get the right society in proper perspective.
“So, here, the objective is politics shouldn’t be mixed with the safety and the security concerns of our people. Politics should be completely taken out of it and to the glory of God Mr. President said he is fully on board with us as traditional rulers.”
Service Chiefs
On the replacement of Service Chiefs, the Oba described the President’s action as positive as it would bring fresh ideas to the fight against insecurity.
He stated: “It is a very positive coincidence for me, it’s a good refreshment, there is new blood, a new intake, fresh ideas will come on board and we have actually given very positive encouragement to Mr. President that he should keep it up. It is a very courageous move for fresh minds.
“At least, there has been a lot of hue and cry of security issues in Nigeria now, we are not all safe but with what Mr. President has done and providentially I am experiencing it at the seat of power, it is a welcome development.
“Everybody in Nigeria will be very happy about it and we expect more refreshments within the confines of this government because it is a legacy that he is building for himself and we will continue to support that legacy for the betterment of our country. So, it is a good thing that Mr. President has done.”
Nnenna.O
