Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, has urged governors of the six states in the South West, including Kwara and Kogi states as well as the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, not to treat the rising spate of kidnapping and banditry with kid-glove but to passionately rise against the ravaging trend of insecurity in the land.
Iba Adams expressed this concern in a letter, titled: “Yorubaland Is Troubled, Darkness Looms,” which was also copied to the States Council of Obas, giving detailed analysis of the prevailing security challenges in the region, against the backdrop of recent distardly killing of three Yoruba monarchs by gunmen in Ekiti and Kwara states, besides other attrocities perpetrated in the land by those he called blood-thirsty maniacs.
The Yoruba generalissimo, who had raised similar issues recently, noted in the letter that “evil had entered Yorubaland,” insisting that more than 60 million Yoruba living in the South West, parts of South South and North Central of Nigeria were troubled.
He further noted that never in the history of Yoruba were three Obas shot dead in a spate of four days, urging that the “evil in our land” must not be appeased, but “be dealt with immediately and decisively” with all powers at the race’s disposal as done by “our progenitors.”
“On November 26, 2020, a first-class traditional ruler in Ondo State, the Olufon of Ifon, Oba Israel Adeusi, who just left the Governor’s Office, Akure after a security meeting with the then Governor, the late Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, (may his soul rest in peace), was shot dead by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Akure-Owo Highway. All hell was let loose. Imagine the insult on the Yoruba race.
“The Yoruba, home and abroad, saw this as an unprecedented sacrilege.
Youths in Ondo State immediately threatened to take up arms but the then President Muhammadu Buhari pacified the Yoruba, saying the killers would be apprehended, but till today, the killers have not been apprehended,” Adams sadly recalled.
“We thought we had seen the last of that sacrilege. But now, ‘Eemo ti Wolu’ (there is evil in the land).
“Even during the Kiriji War, I don’t think what happened a few days ago ever happened in Yorubaland.
“From Ekiti to Kwara states, three traditional rulers were shot dead by these blood-thirsty maniacs.
“The Alara of Ara, who escaped in Ekiti, narrated what happened and revealed the people who perpetrated this heinous crime.
“Never in the history of Yoruba were three Obas shot dead in a spate of four days. So, obviously, evil has entered Yorubaland.
“And as our progenitors did, we must not appease this evil in our land. It must be dealt with immediately and decisively.
“But, that decisive action requires speed.The evil gradually creeping into Yorubaland is a monster which must be fought with all powers at our disposal.
“This scourge of foreign banditry is similar to the scorched-earth policy of the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, during the Second World War, it requires an intentional course of military and para-military action that was drastic, maximum and ruinous,” he added.
The Yoruba generalissimo, while urging the governors and other stakeholders to act fast on the present danger, further noted that the matter had become so serious now that some Yoruba were being abducted on the highway, adding: “If our people are afraid of going to their farms and travelling on the highway, danger looms.”
Adams said the situation which termed “this cancer” was now spreading like wild fire because the perpetrators got high financial returns with less risk, unlike armed robbery which involves a lot of risk and high uncertainty, pointing out that such was due to the fact that the menace was “not given an urgent and decisive operation when it started.”
According to him, the situation is such that if an intending victim escapes, the kidnappers will go for the wife and if she escapes, they will go for the children, saying that family members would be forced to look for money by all means to pay these evil doers since nobody wants to lose a loved one.
“And the vicious circle continues. Aside making money from this evil venture, these killers and their sponsors want to destroy the economy of Yorubaland. That is why they must be stopped now.
“Kidnapping for ransom is already creating fear in Yorubaland and if our people can no longer go to farms or travel through the highways, our economy will be affected.
“We must wage war against kidnapping and the time for that fight is now,” he vowed.
Iba Adams, however, while seeking to have an urgent meeting with the governors on the security threat, describing the task at hand as “our collective existence,” reiterated his readiness to flush out all the undesirable elements in the land, but quickly added that he needed the permission of the governors to make this possible.
He assured that aside the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) which had solid network in all the wards, villages, towns and cities in Yorubaland, he also controlled 13 other groups working with the OPC.
“They are the South West Security Stakeholders Group (SSSG) and this group includes the Agbekoya, the Professional Hunters, Vigilante Groups of Nigeria, Vigilante Jahun, Agbekoya Peace Movement, Agbekoya Farmers Society, COMSAIC and Isokan Ile Oodua, among others.
“We already have the troops and logistics to flush out undesirable elements in the land but for this war to be fought effectively, it is no doubt that coordination is central.
“And as the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, I have my strategy and I am ready to give you my maximum support as the Chief Security Officer of your state.
“I can assure you that within six months, insecurity will reduce drastically across South West.
“This is not the time to be liaising with some groups in isolation (majority of them are members of South West Security Stakeholders Group and they are under my leadership as the convener of the group and as the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland) to wage this battle against the marauders,” he assured.