Why I joined forces against bandits in Oke-Ogun —Sunday Igboho

Few weeks ago, Ibadan-based businessman and Yoruba culture enthusiast, Sunday Adeyemo, popularly known as Sunday Igboho, decided to complement the Oyo State government’s efforts targeted at tackling banditry in the state by joining a team of Nigerian Army, the Police and the NSCDC to comb a forest very close to Kishi, in Oke-Ogun area of the state where bandits use as hideouts to perpetrate crime. He tells NURUDEEN ALIMI, in this interview, reasons behind his actions.

Recently, you alongside some vigilante groups as well as some law enforcement agents in Oyo State, went to a forest very close to Kishi in the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State, where some bandits have been making life difficult for people around the area, particularly farmers who have been prevented from going to their farms. What prompted your involvement?

What prompted the move was when I heard that bandits and kidnappers had taken over Kishi and some neigbouring towns in Oke-Ogun, and that the people there could no longer sleep with their eyes closed. I later discovered that men of the Nigerian Army had invaded the place making efforts in collaboration with local vigilance groups to put an end to the menace of the bandits. That was why I took it upon myself to use the little power given to me by God to complement the effort of the Nigerian Army in the bid to restore normalcy in the area.

I felt the need to stop the raping of our women, destruction of farm produce and all sorts. If you see the place most especially the farms, you will see rotten tomatoes in large quantities and other farm produce that have been wasted due to the fact that these crop of bandits did not allow the farmers to go to the farm to take care of their produce. There is no way one would get to that place and would not be sad on the sight of the havoc being wrecked by the wicked people.

The unfortunate thing about the whole scenairo is that most of these farmers borrow money to cultivate, so after borrowing and some people now feel what they should do is to prevent them from monitoring the progress of the crops in their farms or kidnap them and ask them to bring huge amount of money as ransom, then there is the need for us to do something drastic to halt such wicked act.

During your trip to that forest, what were the challenges you encountered?

Though they are too numerous to mention, yet I would try to reel out some of them. If you watch the footage aired by some TV stations, you would see the big and deep rivers that we passed through; is it the repeated falling in the bush or the bruises on our bodies? See, if somebody is not strong enough, he dared not embark on such journey. I want to also thank the Nigerian Army for the great job done to put the bandits at bay, I thank the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) as well as the Nigeria Police for their efforts. I also want to pray for the governor of Oyo State, Mr Seyi Makinde that God would grant him the strength and wisdom to make the state attain enviable heights.

I want to use this medium to urge all indigenes of Oyo State to please try as much as possible to always back the government at all time, as governance requires massive support from the people so that peace and harmony can reign supreme in our dear state. We should ensure we do the right thing at the right time so that our environment would be as peaceful as it ought to be.

With what you have done, would you say that the people of Kishi and its environs are free from the claws of bandits?

As we speak, there is peace in that area, even farmers are gradually returning to the farms. But this does not suggest that we should be complacent. The government should continue to support people over there so that they would continue to enjoy the peace that has returned. Because, what is happening there has been happening for a very long time, since the era of past administrations in the state, but the steps taken by this present administration under the leadership of governor Seyi Makinde is tremendous and quite commendable. If the past administration had toed that path, we would not have been witnessing all these unfortunate incidents.