Re: Operation Awatse

Two Sundays ago, I shared the following thoughts:

“Lagos and Ogun states have been subjected to series of brazen attacks by so-called militants in the past couple of weeks. Communities have been attacked and ransacked for no just cause, with scores of people killed, women raped and several families rendered homeless. Indeed the lawlessness was so sudden that one could rightly say that the two states were caught napping. Residents were kidnapped with reckless abandon including a traditional ruler and a pastor.

It was thus a welcome relief last Thursday when the military bombarded the base of suspected militants in the Arepo area of Ogun State and some parts of Lagos State in a joint military operation, which lasted for more than one hour and which left some of the “militants” dead.

The way I see it, these people have nothing legitimate for which they are fighting; they simply want to continue their brigandage, which has been seriously curtailed in the delta region and which has also been curtailed by the sudden availability of fuel; a situation that has effectively truncated oil bunkering. Thus, they are into other “lucrative” businesses as abductions and armed robbery.

Many people have wondered how these non-Yoruba speaking vandals got to the South-West and how they were able to penetrate their host communities to the extent that they have become so powerful and so dangerous to these communities. One should not forget that our constitution allows free movement; and also allows bona fide Nigerians to reside wherever they wished. Apart from this, generations of non-Yoruba-speaking Nigerians have always lived amicably with the Yoruba. These ones are just strange ones and could easily have come from any of the many ethnic groups that make up Nigeria.”

BELOW ARE READERS’ COMMENTS ON THE ABOVE THOUGHTS

If the militants could invade the South-West the way they did, may God help us from Boko Haram. We should look inwards for the solutions and possibly hostile hosts who are informants of the militants. Our elders say, “It is impossible for a stranger to identify the grave of an albino except he (the stranger) has an insider as his informant.”

Dayo Oladeji, Saki, Oke Ogun 08027278748

The various militia groups and avengers should embrace dialogue with the Federal Government of President Muhammadu Buhari who has shown enough commitment. They should embrace dialogue and lay down their arms; they should not fail to realise that no wise, responsible and serious minded investors would invest his or her business or money on projects, which would be destroyed in the wake of hostilities. Those that are presently here will give up or withdraw if the trouble and insecurity continues. The trouble makers should know that history and posterity would not forgive them for denying the country the gains investors would have brought to the country.

Femi Dada, Abuja 08183920427

I can say it buoyantly that the most peaceful geo-political zone in Nigeria is the South-West but it appears like the saboteurs and the sycophants are combat-ready to throw the area into trauma and tatters and destroy the very fabric that holds the region together. An adage says, “If a certain society is witnessing no peace, we must blame the elderly people in that society or community for the unsavoury situation.” Where are the elderly people of the South-West? Where are the movers and shakers in this region who wield power and authority as governors, senators and Federal ministers? Where are the security agents? Are these people in the country or on exile?

All hands must be on deck to curb the activities of these enemies of progress before their activities result in everything finally falling apart in the country. I am appealing to the incumbent administration of President Buhari to ensure that these people (the militants and the terrorists) are completely immobilised and uprooted so that they wouldn’t have further foothold. President Buhari should remember that democracy without adequate security is like a tree without the roots.

Taiwo Sangotikun Iseyin, Oyo State 08056309372

The civil wartime slogan “to keep Nigeria one is a task that must be done” should be paramount in the mind of the average Nigerian. It is unfortunate that the government is not paying the needed attention to the issue of security. Otherwise, prompt and appropriate action would have been taken against the perpetrators of the ill-wind of violence and threats of secession blowing across the country. At the risk of repeating the obvious, the on-going atrocity, with the attendant destruction of life and properties is to say the least, most unwelcome. It is a development that we don’t need with the current economic travails facing everybody. The Federal Government should not just savour the temporary success of dislodging the pipeline vandals in Lagos and Ogun states. There should be concerted efforts to ensure that they are permanently incapacitated. This issue should be urgently addressed before it gets out of hand.

Lekan Oladeji, Ilora 08053049443.