Tackle Insecurity In Ekiti Or Resign Within The Next One Month — Yoruba Group Charges Oyebanji

Yoruba Emancipation Union Worldwide has told the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, to tackle insecurity in the state or resign “within the next one month”.

The group gave this charge in an open letter to the Ekiti State governor, on Thursday, February 1, 2024, signed by the Director General, Prof. EFG Ajayi, and General Secretary, Pastor Agbebi Joel Adebola. It maintained that it is the “mandatory” responsibility of the government “to provide a peaceful and conducive environment for the citizens under it.”

“The most important and sacred duty of governance, is security of lives and properties.

“Indeed, it is the duty and mandatory responsibility of the government, not only to protect, strengthen and uphold this sacred duty, but to provide a peaceful and conducive environment for the citizens under it. Government provides order and clear laws, rules and regulations which must be obeyed by all citizens, irrespective of their status in the society. The essence of which is to bring about peaceful conduct of citizens, under the government.

“Government thus must establish, control and manage security institutions which enforce the laws, rules and regulations of the society, so as to maintain order, peace and good conduct in the society. This is the most important and non-negotiable duty of governance,” Yoruba Emancipation Union Worldwide wrote.

The group further said that while there will always be “enemies of the state and peace” who co-exist with law abiding citizens, the government must ensure to “put the right institutions in place, to protect, strengthen and uphold the rule of law” failing which could lead to “catastrophic proportions” and “very unimaginable calamities, which could ultimately devour the society.”

The letter continued: “It is expected that not all citizens would obey the laws and regulations of the land. It is also true from time immemorial, there have been criminals, unstable characters, malcontents, lawbreakers, recalcitrant, irredeemable haters, murderers, thieves, kidnappers, bandits, dangerous land grabbers, smugglers, etc.

“The above groups of people have long been classified as enemies of the state and peace, and the legal profession calls them ‘law breakers’ while Sociologists call them ‘anti-social elements’.

“Thomas Hobbes succinctly described the society where these anti-social elements have their way in very unpalatable terms as ‘wicked, brutish, and short lifespan.’ In other words, we have a society where the good and law abiding and the law breakers, co-exist.

“Any government that fails to realize this bitter truth, and put the right institutions in place, to protect, strengthen and uphold the rule of law, for the orderly and peaceful conduct of such a society, must definitely face the consequences of such phenomenal failures. It could result to very catastrophic proportions. Very unimaginable calamities, which could ultimately devour the society. Thus, Thomas Hobbe’s Theory of self-inflicted pains of political anarchy, and self – inflicted destructions, shall eventually come into manifestation. That is the bitter truth.”

The group, while reacting to the recent kidnappings and killing in Ekiti, described the present state security engineering under, governor Oyebanji, as “a mockery and a caricature.”

The letter continued: “Having said all the foregoing, the stories making rounds from our communities especially, from Ekiti State recently, have given a diametrically opposed situation, to what is expected of Ekiti State Governor. Ekiti state has been turned into the enclave of Fulani criminalities.

“Under the nose of Governor Oyebanji, innocent school children were horribly kidnapped along with their teachers, and as if that were not enough, comes the very pathetic news of the killings of two traditional rulers in Ekiti state, while the third monarch, managed to escape from the assailants, suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.

“This sad news, leaves very sour taste in the mouth, the unfortunate development suggests not only a colossal failure of security intelligence gathering, but also that of unprecedented breach of security architecture.

“As the Chief Security Officer of the state, what is the Governor Oyebanji doing? In particular, how has Governor Oyebanji been spending the huge security vote constitutionally awarded to him? There are no security gadgets, no CCTV camera etc. The security engineering presently in Ekiti state, is a mockery and a caricature, otherwise, how would a discerning mind, account for the endless spate of heinous criminalities permeating all the nooks and crannies of the state?

“Where were the police and civil defence? Where were the Amotekun, OPC, and the local hunters and vigilantes – who were the bedrocks of security in Yorubaland?”

“The group further described the position of traditional rulers in Yorubaland as “representatives of the Most-High, respected, feared and worshiped”, adding that the brutal murder of two of Ekiti ‘s traditional rulers is both abnormal and “bad history.”

“We wish to emphatically state that the brutal murder of His Royal Highness David Babatunde Ogunsakin and His Royal Highness Samuel Olatunde Olushola is a rude shock that is very anomalous in our history, as Yoruba people. The position of traditional monarchs in our culture and tradition, is that they are representatives of the Most-High, they are respected, feared and worshipped.

“It is unthinkably unimaginable to now see, that a new and patiently bad history has been written in Ekiti State. Is it possible for any group in Yoruba land, no matter their name or status, to be so audacious and attempt mere assault, let alone murder an Emir in Northern Nigeria for whatever reason(s)? Our answer is in the negative, and affirmatively so”, the group wrote.

Consequently, the group charged Oyebanji to find the murderers and bring them to book or “resign immediately from office so as to allow a competent hand to do the needful.”

“We of Yoruba Emancipation Group hereby state that Governor Oyebanji, is under invariable obligation to fish out the marauders who brutally murdered our monarchs, and bring them to book. We accept nothing short of that humble request, and if same is not done timeously, then Governor Oyebanji would have no choice than to resign immediately from office so as to allow, a competent hand to do the needful.

“We also wish to state unequivocally, that ‘enough is enough of these carnage, kidnappings, bombings and wanton destructions of valuable properties’.

“We can no longer tolerate a development where innocent and illustrious sons and daughters of Yoruba extraction, are horribly kidnapped for ransom or murdered in cold blood by a group of primitive people, who do not value human lives. The lives of all our Yoruba citizenry are very important and sacred, therefore, cannot just be wasted anyhow.

“Any Governor in Yorubaland, who cannot protect our people, and guarantee their wellbeing to go about their lawful duties peacefully, should tender his resignation letter, within the next ONE MONTH,” the group wrote.