The recent Oriire school abductions have sparked fresh national outrage, including high-profile political interventions and renewed calls for reforming Nigeria’s security architecture.
Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, on Sunday, paid a solidarity visit to Ibadan, where he met with his Oyo State counterpart, Governor Seyi Makinde, at his private residence to commiserate with the people and government of the state over the disturbing kidnapping of teachers and pupils at Yawota and Esinele communities in Oriire Local Government Area.
Political Solidarity Amid the Oriire School Abductions
Governor Bala Mohammed’s visit was not merely a state-level courtesy call; it carried significant political weight. The Bauchi Governor was accompanied by key leaders of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), including the National Chairman, Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, and the party’s governorship candidate in Bauchi State, Dr Yakubu Adamu.
The delegation firmly backed the ongoing efforts to rescue the victims. While lauding the steps taken by Governor Makinde to ensure the safe return of the abductees, Mohammed expressed optimism that the release of the kidnapped teachers and pupils would soon be secured.
Speaking with journalists after meeting with his host, Governor Bala Mohammed said, “I am here with our leaders from the Allied People’s Movement to commiserate with our presidential candidate and the Governor of Oyo State, Engineer Seyi Makinde, about the travails that the people and government of Oyo State are going through as a result of the abduction of our school children and their teachers.
“It has been a lingering issue for some time, and we are really sharing with him the grief. We are here to encourage him that what he is doing to ensure their release is being noticed by the whole nation. And we join, on behalf of myself, the government and people of Bauchi State, to commiserate with him, and to encourage him, to ensure that these Nigerians are released.”
Rejigging the Oyo State Security Architecture
Beyond offering condolences, the state executives engaged in profound discussions regarding the broader national crisis. Commenting on the insecurity, the Bauchi State governor stated that the nation’s security framework required scrutiny to birth greater commitment and better synergy among security operatives as well as between the security agencies and the citizens. The crisis has once again highlighted the functionality of the local Oyo State security architecture.
Governor Mohammed, who expressed his readiness to assist the Oyo State Government in whatever way he could to ensure the early release of the abductees, added that the visit also provided him an opportunity to congratulate Makinde on his emergence as the APM’s presidential candidate, noting that:
“He is my jolly good friend, a young man with energy, determination and drive, that can do a lot to change the trajectory of leadership and good governance in Nigeria.”
Addressing Governance Failures and Citizen Action
The leaders linked the ongoing security breaches directly to systemic societal challenges. The Bauchi State Governor did not mince words when discussing the root causes of the criminal enterprise targeting schools.
He added, “The security situation is a manifestation of lack of good governance, poverty, and the challenges of life. Beyond that, I think the citizenry should sit up and make sure that they take their destinies into their hands.
“People need to take their destinies into their hands to make sure that they don’t allow themselves to be informants or to play along with criminal tendencies. And, of course, to make sure that they elect good people to lead them.
“Leadership is another function, and they must make sure that they bring some changes, and they know where the shoe pinches. I don’t have to talk too much. We don’t have to exonerate ourselves at any level of leadership, at the sub-national, national or local governments. But I think during the next election cycle, people should take their destinies into their hands.”
The Secretary to Oyo State Government, Professor Musibau Babatunde; the Commissioner for Public Works and Transport, Hon Abdulmojeed Mogbonjubola; and the Senior Executive Assistant on General Duties, Chief Bayo Lawal, among others, joined Governor Seyi Makinde, the APM presidential flagbearer, to receive Governor Bala Mohammed and his entourage.
