Yoruba diaspora group expresses worry over insecurity in Nigeria

Foremost Yoruba Diaspora Organisation, Yoruba One Voice (YOV), has expressed serious concern over the raging spate of insecurity in Yoruba land and Nigeria in general, saying that the country had become vulnerable to threats emanating from kidnapping and killings and, therefore, the need for restructuring.

The organisation made this known during the International Conference held at the weekend via Zoom, with 300 participants spreading across 5,000 online platforms in all six continents of the world.

Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, who is the Grand Patron of the organisation, expressed the concern of YOV in his remarks, saying that members across the world were worried about the protracted cases of insecurity in the country, most especially in Yorubaland, with many, including three traditional rulers, being victims of the growing scourge.

This was just as the Yoruba generalissimo restated that the parliamentary system of government remained the best solution to solving the structural imbalances in the country.

Iba Adams pointed out that the conference was a timely intervention to address the various challenges in the country, adding that there was an urgent need to get the country out of the woods as, according to him, the issue of security remains fundamental to the growth and development of every nation.

“This conference is a wake-up call to everybody that is involved in the management of our region.

“The issue of security is fundamental to the growth and development of every nation. However, we can not continue to pretend as if nothing is wrong.

“As far as I am concerned, I think there is a need for another security conference to address the pressing demand for restructuring. The first security conference was the one that led to the establishment of Amotekun. And there is a need to enhance the operation of Amotekun as well as the security architecture of the southwest.

“It could have been worse, but the series of letters I wrote to the international communities and my interventions on security in the South West have been worthwhile in the past few years,” the Yoruba generalissimo stated.

Iba Adams noted that the problem currently facing the country had to do with the structure of the government, saying that he had been advocating restructuring as the best solution to the structural imbalances in Nigeria.

He argued that with the Parliamentary System of Government in place, every region would be at liberty to address its political and socio-economic problems, while the Central would still be vibrant.

According to him, with regional government put in place across the six geopolitical zones, Nigeria would explore the beauty of “our diversity, and there will be effective competition and healthy rivalries among the various regions.”

“So, whatever problem we face today has to do with the structure of our government. I have been advocating restructuring as the best solution to the structural imbalances in Nigeria.

“With the Parliamentary System of Government, every region will be at liberty to address its political and socio-economic problems, and the central region will be vibrant.

“With regional government across the six geopolitical zones, Nigeria will explore the beauty of our diversity, and there will be effective competition and healthy rivalries among the various regions.

“Each region would develop at its own pace. The federating units will have their own policing structure that will take care of safety in the region,” Adams said.

The guest lecturer, Prof. Olufemi Otubanjo, a professor of Political Science at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), who spoke on the topic entitled “Yorubaland bleeding on the scourge of types of kidnappers: “Providing solutions to security threats,” highlighted the need to be proactive in securing the South West, adding that there was a need to identify the possible threats in the zone’s various environments.

The university, while identifying the seven types of threats, which he said were all internal and external threats and “existential to human nature,” noted that it was reasonable to measure the various threats and their impact on the lives of the people.

Ogunbanjo affirmed that Yorubaland was no doubt bleeding, saying that the best that could be done “now is to be proactive by being conscious of the threats and also plan against those threats by looking at possible solutions to combating the scourge of kidnappings across Yorubaland.”

He urged for what he termed “a mitigation strategy that can help in reducing the kidnapping scourge across the South West, pointing out that every society was responsible for the kind of threats it was experiencing, even as he equally demanded community policing where people would be conscious of how to secure themselves as well as the people of their community.

“For instance, the prevailing security challenges across the country were a result of our failed society.

“The kidnapping scourge in Yoruba does not occur in isolation. It is the byproduct of a failed Nigerian society, and there is a need for urgent responses.

“There is a need for community policing where people are conscious of how to secure themselves as well as the people of their community,” Ogunbanjo said.

Also speaking, Mr. Debo Adekoya, while analysing the economic history of Nigeria, went down memory lane, concerning Nigeria’s economic situation since independence, lamenting the current situation at hand.

According to him, former President Muhammadu Buhari left the country on May 29, 2023, with an external debt of $47 billion.

YOV General Secretary, Prince Adedokun Ademiluyi, however, assured that the Yoruba organisation would continue to pursue the ideology of a true, fair, and just society where all Yoruba would be liberated, saying that the body would never relent in its “efforts to seek good government across Yorubaland because that is the ideal of our organisation.”

This was just as the conference moderator, Prince Adesegun Dosumu, reaffirmed the fact that YOV would continue to use international conferences to address pressing issues in the country.

Another speaker, Iyalode Abike Ade, in her own remark, urged the Federal Government to address the economic situation of the country, saying Nigerians abroad were feeling the heat.

She maintained that the current hardship in the country had also dealt a deep blow to them, with the economic situation of their families back home being affected.

According to her, the feeling abroad was that the safety of Nigerians cannot be guaranteed and that the current hardship has affected the entire country.

“There is a need for the federal government to look inward and see how it can salvage the situation. Nigeria is going through a lot of challenges. The security deficit is affecting us, as well as the poor economy, and nobody is spared,” she urged.

Other YOV members that were present at the conference include: Prof. Kolawole Raheem, Chief Victor Adewale and Alhaji Gani Wahab, who both spoke from Sweden, Mr. Mark Oyetunde (Germany), Akogun TNT (Malaysia), Chief Mrs. Alice Eniola (USA), Otunba Agbeke Ade (Canada), Mr.Gbenga Onasanya, Yeye Atinuke Junaid (Ireland); and Prince Ladigbo (Qatar)

The rest are: Mrs. Modupe Shodimu (USA), Chief Larry Aderoju, Yeye Oodua (UK), Christana Bamidele and Mr. Segun Ogunpitan (Senegal), Asiwaju Kayode Idowu (Mali), Olori Adenike Adedipe (Canada), Prince Adedapo Adesanmi (South Africa), and Mr. Tayo Oguntayo (South Africa), among others.