From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
President Muhammadu Buhari and Oyo State governor, Seyi Makinde, have been called upon to investigate the last Friday clash between Yoruba and Hausa in Shasha community, a suburb of Ibadan in Akinyele Local Government.
Police confirmed that the clash was triggered by the death of one person, Sakirundeen Adeola. The deceased was a cobbler, and he tried to broker peace between one Hausa man and a Yoruba pregnant woman, when he was reportedly given a blow, which sent the cobbler to his early grave on Thursday evening.
The call for Investigation was made by the O’odua Peoples Congress(OPC) via a statement issued at the weekend, by its Publicity Secretary, Yinka Oguntimehin, a legal practitioner, and made available to journalists in Ibadan on Sunday.
Governor Seyi Makinde on Saturday closed down the popular Shasha Market and also imposed a 13-hour curfew from 6pm to 7a.m., on the Shasha community and its environs towards restoring peace to the affected area, where multi-million naira property were destroyed in the wake of the clash.
Oguntimehin, however, expressed concern that a minor misunderstanding between a pregnant woman and an Hausa man later degenerated into tribal crisis, leading to death and destruction of property in the community. He lamented that such crisis could have been avoided, even as he maintained that Yoruba are a very peaceful and accommodating people.
His words: “It is unfortunate that a short misunderstanding between two traders eventually led to killing and destruction. Yoruba are everywhere in Nigeria, especially, in the North, mostly in Kano and Kaduna, however, it is on record that no Yoruba native has ever instigated any crisis in the north.
“Therefore, I am using this opportunity to call on President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the circumstances surrounding the ugly incident, so as to bring the culprits to book and also forestall further crisis.”
The OPC also expressed dismay at the report of a Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Ile-Igbon Division, Surulere Local Government Area of Ogbomoso in Oyo State, Adepoju Ayodeji, for shooting an operative of Amotekun Corps for arresting Fulani herdsmen that allegedly destroyed a cassava farm.
“The police officer should be made to face the music for shooting an Amotekun corp. No matter who was involved and the circumstances surrounding the incident, the police boss should be professional enough to know when to pull the trigger.
“It is a grave error of judgment for such a senior officer of the police to shoot an Amotekun operative, knowing full well that the South West Security Outfit is backed by the law.
“So, for a police officer to have shot such a corp is not only a disgrace to the police hierarchy, but a sad reminder of the systemic failure of an institution that is supposed to protect the citizens, maintain law and order, now becoming the law breaker and a threat to the peace of the society.”