BAYO AGBOOLA from Ibadan writes that the governor of Oyo state, Engineer Seyi Makinde, recently, to boost the efficiency and effectiveness of the South West Security outfit known as Operation Amotekun in the state, inaugurated and 12-man board with the aim of ensuring sustained political stability in the state
Reason for boosting corps’ activities
The Oyo state government Monday August 14, 2023, took a step further to empower and boost the state security network agency, codenamed Amotekun Corps, with the inauguration of a 12-man governing board for the security outfit.
This, according to the state government, was to make it work more effectively and efficiently for the continuation of political stability as well as economic growth being experienced in the state since its establishment few years ago.
There is no doubt has that the security outfit has become an household name in the entire Southwestern part of Nigeria especially, when it comes to community security in the hinter lands and villages.
Origin and mandate of board
It is on record that Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN) or Operation Amotekun came into existence on January 9 in Ibadan, Oyo state, Nigeria as the first regional security outfit initiated by a geopolitical zone in Nigeria with the purpose of assisting police, other security agencies and traditional rulers in combating terrorism, banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping and also help in settling herdsmen and farmers contentions in the region.
In the words of Governor Seyi Makinde, “the new Board has the right set of people that will continue to lead Oyo Amotekun on the path of sustainable development and on the path of cooperation with other security agencies within the state.”
According to him, AIG Sikiru Akande (rtd)-led 12 man board was set up in conformity with the law and that its core mandate and primary responsibility is to make policy and administrative guidelines for the agency to perform optimally for development of the state.
Benefits as expressed by Makinde
At the inauguration of the board, the governor declared that Amotekun Corps contributed to the huge success of his first term administration, as they worked tirelessly with other operations other scurity agencies to make the state secure, especially, in the rural communities,
He stressed, “We know that security is strongly linked to the development of any community. In fact, one of the core reasons why we witnessed accelerated development under Omituntun 1.0 is because Oyo Amotekun worked along with other security agencies to keep our state secure”.
“The Amotekun policing meant that they are often the first necessity of defence for our rural communities. If we go through Amotekun’s accomplishments under Omituntun 1.0, we will see that they are a strong reason why our farmers in rural communities are able to return to their farms without fear of attack.
“They recorded huge successes in stopping kidnappings, motor-bike snatching, burglaries, illegal mining and fraud. We have a record of 10 kidnapping rescues that were carried out by the Amotekun Corps between June 2021 and May 2022”.
“When we started, the police being the leading agency for internal security in Nigeria were also apprehensive, saying who are these people and what is the state government trying to achieve? But, today, I am happy to say that the relationship between the Nigerian Police and Amotekun has become so cordial that they go out together to perform joint operations
Prospects
Applauding Amotekun Corps Commandant, Colonel Olayinka Olayanju (rtd) for what the Corps members have been doing, Governor Makinde stressed that his administration would further equip and support the Corps to achieve greater successes under Omituntun 2.0.
“You will recall that just at the twilight of Omituntun 1.0, we increased the number of Corps members by 500. So, we now have about 2,000 Amotekun Corps members, and they are equally involved in community intelligence gathering. Still under 1.0, we supported the Amotekun Corps with a fleet of over 104,000 vehicles and 400 motorbikes”.
“I must say I am proud of what the Commandant of the Corps is doing, and we will continue to provide the corps with support in the form of training. I know we procured life insurance for members of the corps, in addition to providing specialist medical support, because we are aware of the sacrifices they continue to make for us.
“Our promise is to further equip you and support Oyo Amotekun under Omituntun 2.0. We know that the more we support the Corps, the greater their ability to perform. And with the Board firmly in place, they can serve as the link between government and the Oyo Amotekun Corps, and they can also set the right agenda with the involvement of the lead agencies – the Police, NSCDC, DSS.”
The governor maintained: “We have nothing to hide but just trying to collaborate with federal agencies to keep our state safe and secure, and we have seen the demonstration of this on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Some have said once they get to the Ibadan border from Lagos, they are safe.
“So, we want to keep that up. As you already know, we have expanded the sectors that we will use to grow our economy. Under Omituntun 1.0, we focused mainly on the development of our infrastructure and agribusiness. But now, we have added tourism into the mix, which means we want people to keep coming to our state and they must be safe and secure.
“We also added solid minerals development. We know the challenges in that sector; the issue of illegal miners, people throwing dynamite every now and then to blast rock and all of that. So, the Corps will be challenged further as it will even be stretched.
“If I add the current issues that we are grappling with, which is the removal of subsidy on PMS and you have to drive around to cover the whole Oyo State, you need more. So, we need you to work even more so that our economy continues to grow faster than it did under Omituntun 1.0,” .
Chairman of the 12 man Amotekun Board, AIG Akande (rtd), while speaking on behalf of other members of the Board assured the people of the state that the newly inaugurated Board will not fail in its mandate.
To the people of Oyo state, it is expected that the inauguration of the Amotekun board will go a long way in reshaping the Corps as well as to enable it meet up with the modern day technology in the security arena with the increasing wave of security challenges globally.
