.highlight need for intelligence gathering as Security Stakeholders Summit holds in Lagos
By Our Reporter
Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, Pro. Anthony Kila, former Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Barr. Joki Lasisi and Mr. Abiodun Ramon Oseni, a United States Army Veteran and security analyst, have reiterated call for establishment of State Police for effective policing of all the nooks and crannies of the country.
They made the call, while speaking at the Conference on Security in Yorubaland, tagged: "Security Stakeholders Summit," which held on Monday in Lagos and attended by prominent Yoruba leaders, traditional rulers and groups, including Bishop Ayo Ladigbolu, Senator Anthony Adefuye, Prof. Femi Obayomi, Hon. Shina Pella, Engnr. Isa Aremu Olaniyan, Comrade Amitolu Shittu, Chief Gani Kola Balogun, High Chief Kolawole Raheem, Imam Ibrahim Tijani, among others.
Tradition rulers in attendance included Oba Oladipo Olaitan, Oba Sikiru Ebudola, Oba Titus Ajibola, Oba Kazeem Adio, Oba Isa Olaleye, among others, while groups in attendance were Afenifere, Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Yoruba Unity Forum (YUF), Oodua People's Congress (OPC), Oodua Progressive Union (OPU), Yoruba One Voice (YOV), Oodua Youth Movement, Vigilante Groups of Nigeria, Agbekoya Peace Movement, Professional Hunters, Omo Oodua United, among others.
The Yoruba generalissimo and others, while making the call, said that the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) as at today was overwhelmed, overstressed and overused, pointing out that State Police is communal based and intelligence gathering will be the focal point of its mandate and more effective if established.
This was just as Iba Adams, who expressed grave concerns about high level of insecurity in the Southwest, especially at "the borders of Ekiti, Ondo, Oyo, and Kogi states, where he said things were "becoming too hot for indigenes as many people have been kidnapped and killed," pointed out that Yoruba had enough hunters, traditionalists, farmers and ancestral security outfits to commence the maximum protection of the region and, therefore, "cannot continue to expose the flanks of Yoruba societies and communities to incursions and attacks."
"We cannot continue to expose the flanks of Yoruba societies and communities to incursions and attacks because we have enough hunters, traditionalists, farmers and ancestral security outfits to commence the maximum protection of all parts of Yorubaland," he said.
According to him, it was on record that marauders, arsonists and murderous gangs failed in the past, and would continue to fail, to conquer Yorubaland, vowing that the day will never come when Yoruba men, women, adults and infants can no longer move freely in their fatherland.
"According to our history, marauders, arsonists and murderous gangs failed in the past, and will continue to fail, to conquer Yorubaland.
"The first fundamental right of a Nigerian is the 'Right to Life'.
"The day will never come when Yoruba men, women, adults and infants can no longer move freely in their fatherland.
"Time to check this madness is now.
"This is also the time for us to act before the situation becomes unbearable," he said.
On the State Police, Adams, who recalled his installation as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo in 2018, where he took an oath to protect the Yoruba people and had spent the last seven years partnering with leaders to improve security but with little cooperation, argued that establishment of such security oufit would improve intelligence gathering, empower locals who understand their terrain and drastically reduce banditry, terrorism and kidnapping.
He referenced the 2014 National Conference where the proposal for State Police was widely supported but never implemented.
While commending Amotekun for its efforts in the Southwest, Iba Adams noted that the outfit lacked the full operational powers and resources of a State Police system.
“Security in the modern world can only be done through local intelligence. State Police will detect strange faces in any community within minutes. A policeman transferred from Zamfara to Lagos cannot know Lagos better than the locals," he stressed.
The Yoruba generalissimo, however, warned that failure to act urgently could embolden terrorists now infiltrating Southwest forests and urged leaders to prioritise the safety of citizens above political considerations.
A guest speaker, Prof. Kila, in his remark, said security is a fundamental issues that defined essence of community, warning that the whole nation would be in trouble if not properly addressed.
Kila said there was need to prioritize the localization of security system in the country, pointing out that community policing must be taken around the communities in Yoruba land.
"We must make sure in Yoruba land that policing is decentralized, centralizing policing cannot work.
"Moving forward, we need to go to the President and our governors and tell them that community policing must be strengthened and funded to secure the country properly," he said.
Another speaker, Mr. Oseni, also threw support for State Police to secure communities across Yoruba land, saying this became imperative because those that would be recruited into the system would understand the language and the terrain, making it an ideal approach to address insecurity in the region.
Besides, Oseni further urged the government at all levels to address corruption and the economy by creating opportunities for youths to secure employment, just as he equally called on the Yoruba to unite, saying that there was need for such at this very moment of nation's history.
Also speaking, former Assistant Commissioner of Police, Mr. Lasisi, also highlighted the need for intelligence gathering, describing it as crucial.
Lasisi recalled that it was through intelligence gathering embarked upon then by Moremi that led to the conquest of the marauders who had wanted to sneak into Ile-Ife, adding that same intelligence gathering was what was applied to secure Oyo and Ogbomoso.
The former police commissioner commended Iba Adams, describing him as the most prepared Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland for the battle ahead.
He, however, urged Yoruba to come together and impressed on the government to give a role to the traditional rulers in addressing security issues in the country, saying that all crimes are local.
"All crimes are local. All the criminal elements that are coming, infiltrating our villages and these communities are under our traditional rulers. Now the traditional rulers are being made to serve under local government chairmen.
"I served in the police, any police officer that did not take into reckoning the place of traditional rulers cannot succeed.
"Traditional institution must be given an ample space in our constitution and be made to serve a role in security management of their communities," he stated.
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