The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has accused South-West governors of ignoring his repeated warnings and calls for collaboration on worsening insecurity in the region, following the recent mass abduction of teachers and pupils in Oyo State, saying no fewer than 40 local governments of the South West are under terror threat.
Adams made the allegation on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday while reacting to the attack on Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where armed terrorists abducted dozens of students and teachers and later killed one of the kidnapped teachers.
“What happened in Oriire Local Government Area in Oyo State a few days ago is very sad and highly condemnable,” Adams said.
“We have 137 local government areas in the South-West, and we spotted not remnants of terrorists, but a lot of terrorists in no fewer than 40 local governments. We have many terrorists who have infiltrated those local government areas.”
“We have had a series of kidnappings in different states, but we have not witnessed mass kidnapping in Yorubaland, and that shows that the Yoruba race in the South-West must prepare for this issue of insecurity.”
The Yoruba leader disclosed that he had written several letters to governors in the South-West over the past two years, warning them about the growing infiltration of criminal elements into the region, but claimed none of the governors responded.
“I had written to the South-West governors that there is a need for collaboration on the issue of security; all hands must be on deck on these issues. But for the past two years, they have not replied to me,” Adams said.
According to him, he had specifically identified Ondo, Ekiti, Osun and Oyo states as vulnerable to attacks by criminal groups as far back as November last year.
“Precisely, November last year, I mentioned four states that these criminals had infiltrated. I mentioned Ondo State, Ekiti State, Osun State and Oyo State,” he stated.
Adams added that he also raised concerns about security threats in Ogun State, stressing that he lacked the constitutional authority to directly coordinate regional security operations despite his traditional title.
“As the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, I have limited power to be involved in the security architecture of the country, especially Yorubaland,” he said.
The Yoruba leader revealed that he had publicly raised the issue on several media platforms and organised a world press conference about five months ago to advocate stronger collaboration between traditional institutions, regional groups and governments.
According to him, the proposed security partnership was expected to involve the Aare-in-Council and about 14 different organisations, including the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC.
“We held a world press conference on this issue about five months ago that there is a need for the Aare Ona Kakanfo, through the Aare-in-Council and 14 different organisations, not only the Oodua People’s Congress, to collaborate with the government,” Adams said.
He expressed frustration that despite the warnings, some people still blamed him for the worsening insecurity in the South-West.
“I don’t know why they refused, and then people continue to put blame on me. Some thought, ‘Where is the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland? He refused to do something on the issue of insecurity,’” he lamented.
The comments followed the attack on Esiele community in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State last Friday, where gunmen invaded Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and L.A. Primary School, abducting teachers, pupils and students.
Governor Seyi Makinde later confirmed that one of the abducted teachers had been killed by the terrorists, while rescue operations remained ongoing.
President Bola Tinubu also condemned the killing and assured Nigerians that security agencies were working to rescue the remaining victims and bring the attackers to justice.
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