Release of Igbonla students: A call for synergy between states

The release of the six abducted Igbonla Model School students after 64 days in the den of their abductors has no doubt brought joy to their parents, federal and state governments and other stakeholders involved.

The students – Isiaq Rahmon, Adebayo George, Peter Jonah,Pelumi Philips, Farouq Yusuf and Judah Agbuasi who were forcefully taken from the premises of their school in Epe, Lagos state on May 25, 2017 were released in Ajakpa community of Ese-Odo Local Government Area of Ondo State on July 28, 2017.

They were released after a ransom of 37 million naira was reportedly paid in about three tranches to the abductors. The effort of the government cannot be downplayed. The Federal Government, the Lagos, Ogun, Ondo and Delta states as well as the co-operation of parents of the abducted pupils and security forces contributed to their release.

Each time the parents made payment, expectations of the children’s release were high. As it has been revealed, the students were released after the last tranche was paid to the abductors in Odi-Omi, a river-rine community in Ogun State.

While it may be hard to ascertain at this point whether the payment of the ransom was the main reason the students were released or whether it was in line with Joseph Klapper’s Reinforcement Theory of mass communication, the ransom paid was just a nexus of mediating factors. What remains certain is that the efforts of the Federal Government, the Lagos, Ogun,Ondo and Delta states are highly commendable.

“We are happy to note the release of the six kidnapped students of Igbonla Model School, Epe, Lagos State as a result of the determined and conscientious efforts of the Acting President, the governments of Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Delta states and the security agencies, including the police, the Department of State Services and the military,” a statement from the Chief Press Secretary to the Ondo State Governor, Mr. Segun Ajiboye said.

A major lesson from this kidnap and many more is that no state can win the war against crime and even abduction on its own. This is the time for states and their governors to set aside their differences especially as it relates to boundary disputes and political differences.

This is also why the revival of the governors’ forum in the western hemisphere of Nigeria now known as Western Nigeria Governors Forum must be lauded.

The forum which comprises of governors of Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, Osun and Oyo of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as well as the governor of Ekiti,  Ayodele Fayose who is of the main opposition party in the country, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was hosted by governor Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State in Abeokuta a few days before the pupils were released.

Wale Osunbiyi, Kajola, Obafemi Owode, Ogun State.