A prominent indigene of Ibarapaland and businessman, Dr Olusola Ayandele, has called on the Federal Government and the government of Oyo State to go beyond rhetoric and take decisive measures in tackling what he called the incessant “coordinated” attacks on the people of the Ibarapa axis of the state.
Ayandele made the call in a reaction to last weekend’s reported invasion of Igangan in Ibarapa North Local Government Area of the state by gunmen who killed about 20 persons and destroyed property worth millions of naira.
The attacks were said to have been carried out by bandits who have been terrorising the whole of Ibarapaland and parts of Oke-Ogun in recent time.
Dr Ayandele, in a statement on Monday in Ibadan by his media aide, Mr Sola Adeleke, said the frequency of such grisly attacks on the communities and the relative ease with which the invaders carry out their nefarious activities with virtually no resistance from any quarters indicated that government at all levels had failed the Ibarapa people.
He said: “One cannot but query the federal government over the abandonment of hapless residents in these communities. With little or nothing coming their way in terms of social amenities and dividends of democracy, our people in the whole of Ibarapaland remained calm and peaceful all this while. Painful enough, the reward for their patience and calmness is now massacre at the hands of bandits suspected to be Fulani herdsmen.
“The primary responsibility of any government is to protect the lives and property of the people. Governor Seyi Makinde must change his tactics and go all out to put a final stop to these incessant attacks and invasion of all the affected communities as a matter of urgency. The trend has continued unabated for about 18 months now.
“What is now playing out in Igangan is a declaration of war and governments owe our people a duty to unmask the attackers, stop them from wreaking further havoc and return absolute peace to the affected communities. It is only when this is done that the confidence which the residents had in both the federal and state governments would be restored.
“Last weekend’s incident was one attack too many as it subjected many families to gnashing of teeth on account of the losses of their loved ones as well as valuable property which were destroyed through arson and other means.
“The attackers also performed a sacrilegious act as they set fire to the palace of the traditional ruler of the sleepy town after killing more than 20 people. This unfortunate incident and the ones before it stand condemned and we call for a thorough investigation to unravel the identities of the criminals and their sponsors.
“We are making a passionate appeal to President Muhammadu Buhari, Governor Seyi Makinde, the Inspector General of Police as well as every other concerned stakeholder to rise up to the challenge and come up with lasting solutions to the challenges of insecurity bedevilling Igangan, Tapa, Ayete, Idere, Igbo-Ora, among other communities in Ibarapaland, before things get out of hand completely.”
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