The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams has lamented series of killings and kidnappings across the South-West region of Nigeria, calling on the governors of the region to grant him permission to crush killers, kidnappers and other criminals that have invaded the zone.
According Adams, the leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress, a Yoruba nationalist, regionalist and vigilante organisation in Nigeria, evil has entered Yorubaland and that the over 60 million inhabitants of the region have been seriously troubled owing to pockets of killings, kidnappings and other onslaughts by marauders.
Adams, in separate letters he wrote to the six governors in the Southwestern states and titled: “Yorubaland is Troubled, Darkness Looms,” bemoaned spate of atrocities in the region and asked the governors, being the Chief Security Officers of their respective states to allow him wage war against the murderers before more arms are done.
One of the letters Adams addressed to Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State, a copy of which was made available to The Point on Tuesday by the state chairman of OPC, Yemi Aboderin, disclosed that the OPC has the strategy to flush out criminals from the region if governors permit it to strike.
“Evil has entered Yorubaland. The more than 60 million Yoruba living in the South-West, parts of South-South and North-Central of Nigeria, are troubled.
“On November 26, 2020, a first class traditional ruler in Ondo State, the Olufon of Ifon, Oba Israel Adeusi, who just left the Governor’s Office, Akure after a security meeting with the then Governor, the late Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, (may his soul rest in peace), was shot dead by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Akure-Owo Highway.
“All hell was let loose. Imagine the insult on the Yoruba race.
“The Yoruba, home and abroad, saw this as an unprecedented sacrilege.
“Youths in Ondo State immediately threatened to take up arms but the then President Muhammadu Buhari pacified the Yoruba, saying the killers would be apprehended.
“Till today, the killers have not been apprehended.
“We thought we had seen the last of that sacrilege. But now, ‘Eemo ti Wolu’ (there is evil in the land). Even during the Kiriji War, I don’t think what happened a few days ago ever happened in Yorubaland.
“From Ekiti to Kwara States, three traditional rulers were shot dead by these blood-thirsty maniacs.
“The Alara of Ara who escaped in Ekiti narrated what happened and the people who perpetrated this heinous crime.
“Never in the history of Yoruba were three Obas shot dead in a spate of four days. So, obviously, evil has entered Yorubaland.
“And as our progenitors did, we must not appease this evil in our land. It must be dealt with immediately and decisively.
“But, that decisive action requires speed. The evil gradually creeping into Yorubaland is a monster which must be fought with all powers at our disposal.
“This scourge of foreign banditry is similar to the scorched-earth policy of the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, during the Second World War, an intentional course of military and para-military action that was drastic, maximum and ruinous,” Adams said.
Addressing Adeleke, the OPC leader wrote, “Your Excellency, the ‘clear and present danger’ is to behave as if this hydra-headed monster is not already constituting a problem.
“The matter is so serious now that some Yoruba are being abducted on the highway. If our people are afraid of going to their farms and travelling on the highway, danger looms.
“Due to the fact that this ‘cancer’ was not given an urgent and decisive operation when it started, it is now spreading like wild fire because the perpetrators get high financial returns with less risk, unlike armed robbery which involves a lot of risk and high uncertainty.
“We have a situation on our hands now in which if an intending victim escapes, the kidnappers will go for the wife. If she escapes, they will go for the children.
“Since nobody wants to lose a loved one, family members look for money by all means to pay these evil doers. And the vicious circle continues.
“Aside from making money from this evil venture, these killers and their sponsors want to destroy the economy of Yorubaland. That is why they must be stopped now.
“Kidnapping for ransom is already creating fear in Yorubaland and if our people can no longer go to farms or travel through the highways, our economy will be affected.
“We must wage war against kidnapping and the time for that fight is now.
“When I was installed as the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland by His Imperial Majesty, Iku Baba Yeye and Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III, on January 13, 2018, I vowed, before the distinguished audience, that I would do everything to project the image and protect the name of Yorubaland.
“I also said the first fundamental right of a Yoruba and a Nigerian is the ‘Right to Life’.
Sadly, my zeal to protect Yorubaland, and the will of millions of Yoruba to defend their fatherland, are being tested with the invasion of some parts of our land by these killers.
“I find it difficult to comprehend this open insult that some murderers, whose kinsmen live in our villages, towns and cities, will invade Yorubaland at will and plunder by force.
“The insecurity in the land is reaching an alarming peak. Our people can no longer go to their farms.
“I ask, if we allow killings of innocent farmers and destruction of farmlands in any part of Yorubaland to continue, where is our determination to defend the Yoruba society, values, culture and territory?
“Obviously, our silence is being misconstrued for foolishness.
“Elementary law of nature has taught us, for centuries, that you don’t appease evil. You crush it.
“Invaders of our land must not be given any breathing space. I still don’t know why anybody will choose to live in forests in Yorubaland and some external forces will defend such a barbaric action.
“We will not accept this open hostility. I believe the time to check this madness is now.
“Since the killing of the three traditional rulers, I have received several calls, especially from outside Nigeria, from prominent Yoruba professionals who are afraid of what the future holds for us in the country.
“I told them that as the Aare Ona Kakanfo, I have the capacity and the network to deal with enemies of Yorubaland.
“But, I reminded them that even in the days of yore, the Aare Ona Kakanfo must get permission from the Alaafin of Oyo before embarking on any conquest.
“Now, we are in the 21st Century. Elected governors are the Chief Security Officers of their respective states. For me to move against enemies of Yoruba in this land, I will need their permission and cooperation.
“Aside the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) which has solid network in all the wards, villages, towns and cities in Yorubaland, I also control 13 other groups working with the OPC.
“They are the South West Security Stakeholders Group (SSSG) and this group includes the Agbekoya,the Professional Hunters, Vigilante Groups of Nigeria, Vigilante Jahun, Agbekoya Peace Movement, Agbekoya Farmers Society, COMSAIC and Isokan Ile Oodua among others.
“We already have the troops and logistics to flush out undesirable elements in the land but I need the permission of our governors.
“Your Excellency sir, for this war to be fought effectively, coordination is central.
“And as the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, I have my strategy and I am ready to give you my maximum support as the Chief Security Officer of your state.
“I can assure you that within six months, insecurity will reduce drastically across southwest.
“This is not the time to be liaising with some groups in isolation, (majority of them are members of South West Security Stakeholders Group and they are under my leadership as the convener of the group and as the (Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland) to wage this battle against the marauders.
“I write to have an urgent meeting with Your Excellency and other governors on this threat to our collective existence.
“Obviously, the agenda will centre on security in Yorubaland.
“All the governors will also decide the date, venue and time for the meeting.
It is high time we stopped this cancer that is spreading its virus across Yorubaland. We must act now before the situation becomes unbearable.”
