Yomi Obaditan 

“There is nothing more powerful than an idea whose time has come”

– Victor Hugo

Chief Obafemi Awolowo described Nigeria as a mere geographical expression and not a nation. Abubarka Malami outburst exposed the hypocrisy of Nigerian leaders. It also confirmed the Afenifere fear that the present FGN pay mere lipservice to the insecurities in the Western Nigeria. 

It also brought back the attitude and memory  of the late Prime minister Abubakar Tafawa Balewa who aligned with a side in the Western Nigeria political crisis against all the facts available to him but preferred that the Wild,Wild West go down in “wetie “ sending Awolowo to jail with 37 others. But on the long run Nigeria went up in flames of civil war and major political actors died in the process.

Shall we say that Isbah Sharia police and Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF )  in Borno, Yobe, Kaduna Katsina etc are different from what Amotekun is set up to accomplish?

Section10 (e) of the Kano State Hisbah  Board Law 2003 provides that ,any Hisbah  can invite, arrest or detain any person suspected to have committed an offence, and within reasonable  time, report to the appropriate authorities,  while Section 10(1) empowers them to carry non-offensive wrapons.

Amotekun is legal constitutional, and needful. The problem is that the  “king that sitted in the throne of judgement  scattered away  all evil with his eyes. Proverb 20 v 8. Our political leaders must let law and order prevail all over Nigeria if evil must be eradicated.

But what Malami is saying is” omo eni ki buru ka fi fekun pa je”. Miyetti Allah are now a voice against the peace of a whole race. Yet they want to bottle the leopard “kole work!

International Law since jurists from Bartolome de las Casas ,Francisco de Victoria  and Hugo Grotius to Alberico Gentili and Emerich  de Vattel  taught us that communities  that face existential threat to their survival reserve a right and duty to defend themselves“.

Amotekun is not for secessionist. It’s targets are: hoodlums, marauding herdsmen, kidnappers, ritualists and other criminals. What is operation Amotekun all about?

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1. A regional security outfits design to complement the conventional security apparatus. 2. It is to be headed by Security Adviser to the Governors. 3. Training will be done by established security agencies  like the police and the army. 4. They are to use dane guns. 5. They will gather intelligence  and make them available to the police. Each generation must out of relative obscurity discover its missions, fulfil it or betrayed it“ – Franz Fanon.

Amotekun is not for secessionist: Seyi Makinde the Governor of Oyo State is of the People’s Democratic Party  (PDP ) will Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State plan secession with him? Never! The issue at hand is about the security of lives and properties that Section 14 (2) of 1999 compells governments be it Federal or state even to the local government to make security of lives and properties as well as the welfare of the people a priority.

Section 176 (2) stated “The Governor of a State shall be the  Chief  Executive of that State. If is so if we combine section 14 with this the states in Old Western Region are constitutionality right to have set up the Operation Amotekun.

The Attorney General of the Federation Abubakar Malami wrong interpretation of the Constitution have been corrected by eminent legal luminaries like: Femi Falana, Olisa Agbakoba, Chief Afe Babalola  and a Professor of law Itse Sagay  who is pro-Buhari, and a diehard APC members.

A large number of people have agreed that Operation Amotekun is a response to community policing that even the President Muhammadu Buhari once declared that the reality of the security situation in Nigeria is calling for state police and many newspapers reported it and we were waiting when the Constitution will be amended to accommodate the state police.

It must be noted that the Amotekun will let be headed by the police and as long as such serving police is involved the Federal government need not fear act of rebellions against the state. What we must caution the outfit to avoid is becoming tools of political repression by state governors against their perceived political opponents. Afterwards,  the conventional security apparatus have been used in similar ways by government at the centre in Nigeria time without number.

We must therefore welcome Amotekun in the Western part of Nigeria while urging other security agents to collaborate efforts in reducing insecurity in our midst. If Civilian Joint Task Force can carry gun in the North East of Nigeria and they performed gallantly,  we believe given the opportunity the Amotekun outfit will do the same if not even better

We the Yorubas must not be offended over the oppositions to operation Amotekun.  This is because it is not only one ethnic group that lives in this part of Nigeria. The commercial and economic headquarters is in Lagos whatever insecurity that affect Lagos will and can touch any tribes in Nigeria.

No matter our political differences,  when there is death and kidnapping here and there no one can claim he is sure of his or her safety. That explains why from street to street, villages to villages, we easily find and use local vigilante  to supervise our night and watch over our properties and lives. If we so doing let therefore wholeheartedly welcome operation Amotekun without any biase against their good intentions and purposes.

Conclusively,  Amotekun is legal constitutional useful. Those who are of contrary view are free to go to court. Security is a joint task and we must ensure all hands are on deck.

Obaditan writes from Osogbo