BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Residents of Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, are worried that efforts by security agencies and the state government to stop cult wars, hooliganism and other growing crimes in the second-largest city in Africa, after Cairo, appear to be failing.
From Beere to Oja Oba, Molete to Bode, Oje to Opo Yiosa, Soka to Iwo Road, area boys and other social miscreants cause a stir by striking violently during gang wars even as robbery suspects are on the loose.
The latest tales of bloodletting were the reported attacks on some supporters of Chief Sunday Adeyemo, a.k.a Sunday Igboho by suspected members of the Park Managers System at Soka area of Ibadan and the bullion van at Idi Ape area of Ibadan where some security personnel lost their lives to daredevil armed robbery gangs.
Stakeholders expressed shock that despite the huge resources being invested into security by the Seyi Makinde administration in the state, violence and criminality remained prevalent in Ibadan with residents living with bated breath.
In June last year, five people were killed as OPC members clashed in Ibadan. Several other cases, including the bloody clash in Iwo Road area of Ibadan, shook the residents of the city.
Time and again, the Ibadan family heads known as Magajis met with the government to address the menace. After one of their meetings with some of the hoodlums, they fed the governor back and discussed ways forward.
As part of steps towards addressing bloody clashes in Ibadan, the family heads in Ibadan North East and Ibadan South East local governments mediated between the government and the hoodlums among whom were Dada Oto called Packaging; SOJ, 350 boys, Kabiru Ojuyobo, Baba Ele, 420 boys, Alhaja Sakiratu Tinko, and Iya Gbogbo Awon Boys.
Mogaji Wale Oladoja, the spokesperson of the Mogajis Committee inaugurated by the governor of the state to mediate between the state government and the hoodlums, once said that the hoodlums had agreed to a ceasefire.
Previous initiatives had failed as a statement, last year, by the Ibadan Mogajis read that “Following our meeting with some of our family members who are engaging in some violence activities in Ibadan land, we have talked to them as our younger ones and they have agreed to a ceasefire. We, therefore, give the foreigners in the bush ultimatum to leave Oyo State.”
Governor Makinde had once blamed the security challenges, especially on population increase. According to him, population growth comes with challenges and opportunities.
To tackle insecurity, the state government once distributed 100 Kia Rio vehicles equipped with modern security communication gadgets, procured walkie-talkies with servers and monitors, made operational the citizens’ emergency toll-free line (615), refurbished 8 security vans and inaugurated the Oyo State Security Network Agency Bill 2019 which was signed into law March 10, 2020, and also enacted the Open Rearing and Grazing Regulation Bill, 2019 which was signed into law October 31, 2019, among others.
“The State Executive Council is aware of the activities of cultists and cult groups in the state. We hope to hold a meeting with them. Oyo State Government, under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde, is determined to put a stop to this clash among cult groups and area boys”
A public affairs commentator based in Ibadan, Seye Eyitayo, wrote, “At the inauguration of the Amotekun Governing Board, Governor Makinde again reiterated that announcements will be made in the nearest future regarding adjustments in the security architecture. The people of Oyo State wait and hope that these adjustments will create an even more peaceful atmosphere for trade and commerce to thrive.”
Last week, the state government indicated that it would, again, engage in talks with area boys and cult groups in the state in the interest of peace.
The Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Wasiu Olatunbosun, on Thursday, disclosed after a closed-door meeting with representatives of Agbekoya, Odua People’s Congress, Vigilante Group of Nigeria, among others in Ibadan that the state government, in collaboration with other stakeholders, would proffer solutions to the clashes between area boys and cult groups.
Expressing the government’s determination to end violence in the state, Olatunbosun said that the meeting was aimed at solving the problem from the root.
According to him, the state government would work in concert with security agencies and leaders of the militant groups, to meet with the cult sects for mediation between warring parties.
He said that “The State Executive Council is aware of the activities of cultists and cult groups in the state. We hope to hold a meeting with them. Oyo State Government, under the leadership of Governor Seyi Makinde, is determined to put a stop to this clash among cult groups and area boys.
“To this end, we, in collaboration with all the Militant groups in the state, are taking the message of peace to the den of these cultists. We will try to convince them to be disarmed and return to their homes peacefully. Afterward, there will be a clampdown on activities of area boys and cult groups who fail to cooperate with us.”
Olatunbosun, who stated that through the help of some of the militant groups, the state government would contact members of each cult group, assured that things would change. He said that the state government had shown sincerity in ending the fights among the warring groups.
The commissioner admonished the area boys and rival cult groups to sheath their swords and pursue peace, stressing that after the peace talks, there would be a clampdown on cultists and cult activities in the state. He also appealed to parents and guardians to caution their children and wards against cultism.
A concerned resident of the state, Sunday Oyewale, said that “While it is a known fact that you cannot totally eliminate crime from any society, you can manage the situation and ensure that criminals are brought to book when they perpetrate criminal acts.
“Governors are helpless as they do not have control over security apparatuses in their states. If governors are not Chief Security Officers in their states, why do they get security votes? The answer is that Nigeria is an aberration. Our constitution often does not follow logic. Getting security votes does not translate to controlling the security apparatus. All security agencies are controlled by the Federal Government. This is sad. The current situation should be reviewed otherwise, we would continue to talk without making Amy meaningful progress.”
