From Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Former vice chairman of the Senate Committee on National Planning, Olufemi Lanlehin, yesterday, counselled Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State on how to handle the insecurity to get desired positive results.
Lanlehin, who represented Oyo South in the National Assembly from 2011 to 2015, gave the counsel in a statement he personally endorsed in Ibadan.
“I have observed, with deep concern, the rising wave of insecurity in Oyo State, advertised in the increasing cases of murder, armed robberies, kidnappings and all sorts of criminal activities, that have now become almost a daily occurrence. It appears Oyo State is descending into the Hobbesian state of nature where life is ‘nasty, brutish and short’.
“From Ibadan to Oyo, Ogbomoso to Oke-Ogun, and then Ibarapa, no where can be labelled safe and peaceful, presently. More baffling, is Governor Makinde’s inept handling of the entire situation, particularly his laid-back, reactive and indecisive approach to tackling the most basic of challenges his administration can ever face.
“The recent incident, whereby Sunday Adeyemo, also known as Sunday Igboho, gave an ultimatum to the Seriki Fulani in Igangan, is a case in point. With available information, one cannot but criticise Governor Makinde, for his hasty, hollow and one-sided statewide broadcast on the incident, and his biased upbraiding of Igboho, without as much as showing empathy with the victims of the rape, kidnappings, murder, farmland destruction and other heinous crimes allegedly perpetrated by some criminal elements within the herders community, under the guise of working as herdsmen.
“Let me advise Governor Makinde not to be carried away, neither by the euphoria of office, nor the allure of power, but instead, be guided by deep introspection, wise counsel and an abiding devotion to the protection of the lives and property of the people, which he swore to, on inauguration, about two years ago.
“It is important to remind him that at the end of his tenure, he would be judged, not entirely on the number of infrastructure he claims to have emplaced, or salaries he has paid, but largely on the security of the environment, lives and property, he has guaranteed and strengthened, which will then provide the right pedestal upon which every developmental stride can lean on.”
In a response, Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to Governor Makinde, Taiwo Adisa, accused opposition figures of a deliberate plot to chase away investors and slow down the state’s economy.
Adisa, who was reacting to Lanlehin’s statement, said the opposition leaders’ penchant to raise the alarm around issue of insecurity and exaggerate the same beyond the realm of reality is a ploy to create fear in the minds of residents and slow down its thriving economy.
The CPS, who wondered whether Lanlehin has just woken from sleep to issuing a statement attacking Makinde over a matter that is already being handled by the governor and the appropriate security agencies, counselled against trying to profit unduly from a sensitive matter as security.
He said: “The whole nation applauded Governor Makinde for leading the state’s economy out of the difficult situation he met it in 2019.
“Rather than allow the economy stagnate, verified statistics indicated that the governor grew Oyo State economy by as much as 26 percent last year despite the spiral effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“And that is besides the landmark developmental projects that all can see across the state. But it is obvious that the opposition is unhappy with the developmental strides of the Makinde-led administration and that they will do anything to drag attention to pockets of insecurity situation, which the administration is striving daily to bring under control,” he said in the statement.
“Rather than join hands with the governor to find lasting solutions to the incidences of crime and criminality occasioned by the general failure of the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led Federal Government to secure Nigerian borders and stop the influx of bandits and criminal elements, leaders of the APC have been gloating over such instances,” he said in the statement.