The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has raised the alarm on the southward movement of gangs of terrorists to compound the spate of insecurity in the country, saying Nigeria is already sleepwalking into a collapse.
In a statement he signed personally, and made available by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Kehinde Aderemi, the Yoruba generalissimo declared that the somnambulation was caused by a criminal overdose of chronic pain inflicted on the country by the inaction and connivance of those in authority with terrorists and undesirable elements in the polity.
He also said that from the economy to security, the country is already heading for a decline which, he stressed, will affect sub-Saharan Africa and the Black World.
Calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly stop the drift into destruction, the Aare Ona Kakanfo said a series of serious security breaches in the country in the last few months means that all is not well with the security architecture of Nigeria.
“On the economic front, it is another sad story. A dollar is now more than N700. This is an administration that met dollars at less than N200 in 2015. Economically, if this is not scary enough, we wonder what is it. We now have a situation in which family members are being forced to raise N100 million naira to pay as ransom.
“The money is delivered to these terrorists to buy more weapons and the government is merely watching. After every abduction, the President will summon Service Chiefs to a meeting, a statement will be issued and that is the end of it. What we will hear next is another abduction or series of kidnappings.
“The insecurity situation has reached its peak with the threat by these terrorists to kidnap the President, governors and lawmakers. The presidential advance team was attacked in Katsina and even soldiers guarding the president were attacked in Abuja. Some of them were killed. It looks as if this administration has decided to force Nigerians to seek self-help,” he said.
Adams added, “The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives declared that he read more than 40 security reports from the DSS, warning of an impending attack on Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
“The attack did not only happen which led to killings but pitiably, nobody has been punished for dereliction of duty. Painfully, Nigeria is going down because it looks as if there is no government in the country. Millions of Nigerians are in pain, they are suffering.
“In the Abuja-Kaduna train passengers video released by the terrorists, it is heart-breaking to watch fathers, mothers, and children being flogged, tortured and humiliated. The terrorists must have data to be able to send the video out. So, what is the job of Nigerian Communications Commissions and intelligence units of security agencies?”
He lamented the situation where it amounts to a crime to move from one place to the other due to fear of abductions which, he insisted, go on everyday without victims being rescued unless a ransom is paid.
“The horrendous humiliation of Nigerians in their country by these terrorists should stop immediately. President Buhari can use his executive powers to allow the immediate establishment of state police with a mandate to flush out all the terrorists stationed in strategic places in the country.
“Nigerians’ silence is being misconstrued for foolishness. By the time President Buhari and other government officials realise that Nigerians can rise like Sri Lankans, it will be too late for them,” he noted.
Adams noted again that the President has about 10 months left in office and called him to redeem his image before Nigerians who are of the belief that without high-level conspiracy with terrorists, they wouldn’t have been that repressive.
He warned, ”Somnambulation and hate actions from the government against Nigerians must stop now. Now that Abuja has seemingly lost the battle to terrorists, the southwest region has been the next target of these destroyers of hope.
“But, we will never allow them to destroy our land. Therefore, we urge the six governors in the southwest states to hold an urgent emergency security meeting with stakeholders across the region so as to address the impending implosion.”
The Aare Ona Kakanfo declared that he is not unaware of the terrorists’ plans to strike in Lagos, Ibadan, and Abeokuta, charging South-west governors to recruit local security service structures in their various local governments.
“At least,150 people in each local government. This local security architecture would be given stipends as salaries as their job is to assist and complement the efforts of operation Amotekun that had been existing in five out of the six states in the region.
“However, it must also be said that in case the governors need my help or any kind of assistance or that of Southwest Security Stakeholders’ Group (SSSG) in strengthening our region’s security,I am ready to offer the assistance. Nothing guarantees safety in any country or region other than the synergy and cooperation among all the stakeholders.
He also urged the public with intelligence reports to tell the traditional rulers, leaders in their respective locality “or even me for us to intervene and report same to the right quarters.”
“For instance, the information reaching me today is that the terrorists are in-between Osu forest and Ile Ife, Osun State, fully armed with various ammunition and they are present in the forest between Abeokuta and Ibadan planning to attack us in the South-west. This is one piece of information that we need to act on in order to avoid a possible calamity.
“Yoruba aren’t cowards. So, Let everybody in the South-west be vigilant and be watchful in checking this insecurity scourge that is already stiff-necking Nigeria and could not let the nation breathe,” Adams said.
