When the late Nigerian literary icon, Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike, wrote The Bottled Leopard in 1985, he did not envisage that the beast would one day dominate the nation’s security discourse to the extent that it would lead to avoidable splitting of hairs. This article is not about Ike’s The Bottled Leopard or the beast generally. It is about Amotekun (Leopard), the recently launched security outfit by the governors of the South-West region of Nigeria to ostensibly arrest the deteriorating security situation in the region. 

Those behind the formation of Amotekun including the Ekiti State governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, the chairman of the Nigerian Governors Forum, might have discussed the security outfit with Abuja well ahead of its launching. As a top ranking member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and a visible face at Aso Rock Villa, the seat of the central government, Fayemi, who was also instrumental to the formation of APC from leading opposition parties and its coming to power, would have gotten the nod of Abuja before Amotekun was midwife by him and other South West governors.

Even before the official launching of the security outfit in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital and the capital of the defunct Western Region, Fayemi was a guest of the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, at least to iron out the grey areas before the take off of the Leopard. But immediately the security outfit was launched, differing altercations started streaming from various quarters, with the majority of them hailing the advent of the Leopard while a few, especially from the central government and some Northern elite, lampooned Amotekun and went ahead to demonize it.

They even banned it or attempted to declare it illegal. They quoted some laws to denounce Amotekun. Since then Amotekun, a word hitherto unknown to many Nigerians has become a major theme of our usual combative political discourse. Amotekun has entered our contentious political lexicon in the same fashion that monkey, baboon, lion and jackal were forced into it some time ago. Leopard, like other animals that have enjoyed prominence in our national discourse lately, belongs to the jungle.

Whenever it is let loose, human beings, normally its victims will be afraid. But the Amotekun in contention is only the name of the South West security outfit; it is not about the deadly beast. The security outfit will be peopled by human beings, who as explained by Governor Fayemi, will complement the efforts of the Nigeria Police in watching over the region. Apart from the rumoured third term agenda of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Supreme Court’s ruling in Imo gubernatorial poll, no issue has dominated the Nigerian media space in recent times more than Amotekun.

Those championing it have defended it with their souls and blood. Their defence was boisterous, combative and very engaging. Though Amotekun was a South West invention, it found tacit support from the South East, South South and even North Central regions. It has support from every Nigerian who loathes the creeping insecurity and the killing of Nigerians, especially Christians, in the North East region by terrorists.

Irrespective of divergent views over the coming of Amotekun, the fact remains that the security outfit underscores the failure of the present policing system in the country. Amotekun, Bakassi Boys, Hisbah and other states’ security outfits would not have arisen if there is effective policing in Nigeria. Amotekun is the answer to the failure of the police to protect lives and property in the South West region. It is the South West’s definitive response to the apparent collapse of security in the region, where kidnapping for ransom, raping, killing and maiming of people have been on the increase.

Instead of demonizing Amotekun and describing it in unprintable epithets, the Federal Government of Nigeria should even commend the governors of the South West region for coming up with such a brilliant idea on how to tackle the menacing state of insecurity in the region. Perhaps Amotekun security outfit is the first of its kind in the country. Politicians should be blamed for the politicization of Amotekun in the first place. Those politicizing Amotekun should realize that insecurity does not know any tribe, religion or gender. They should realize that all of us are potential victims of insecurity if the rampaging monster is not tamed.

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The general insecurity in almost all parts of the country cannot be contained with the extant strategies. It will also not be degraded or defeated with the current centralized policing system. While the introduction of Amotekun is welcome, it is still one step towards state policing that most Nigerians have clamoured for many years. State policing appears to be the best in tackling the prevailing insecurity in spite of fears of abuse by state governors.

This is one reality that even those in APC have tried to run away from. The time has indeed come for us to confront our reality. We cannot solve a problem simply by running away from it or postponing the doom’s day. The centralized policing as we have at present cannot guarantee security in a country as diverse as Nigeria. With about 300,000 police personnel, most of whom serve politicians, there is no way such a police force can ensure security for over 200 million Nigerians.

The Nigerian police as presently constituted, structured and overstretched cannot give all of us adequate security. The contradiction of the current policing is that while the political elite and affluent Nigerians move all over the place with contingent of security, the soft spots populated by the wretched of the earth, the masses, are left unprotected. Amotekun is being put in place to ensure that the poor are also protected. Amotekun will ensure that the farms, the forests, the hills and valleys are protected.

The time has really come for the political elite to swallow their vain pride and allow state policing to be. There is a general belief that state policing will accommodate members of Amotekun, Hisbah, Bakassi Boys and others in the pipeline and ensure that they are given adequate police training. In fact, they should be regarded as police and ought to be adequately remunerated. Amotekun and other state or regional security network must be regulated.

Having many Nigerians armed with guns in the name of security outfit outside police control and regulation may unleash terror in the polity. The sad experience of the Bakassi Boys in Anambra State is a case in point. Since the numerical strength of the Nigeria police at below 400,000 is nothing to write home about, it is better to merge the police with the Federal Road Safety Commission, and the civil defence.

It is quite needless to have so many people in uniform performing almost the same functions as the police while insecurity is stalking all of us in the face. Amotekun is good but it must be under state policing arrangement to avoid abuses by those in power. Security is a serious issue and those entrusted with such onerous duty must, of necessity, be adequately trained, remunerated and regulated.

Paying pittance to Amotekun or something below the N30,000 minimum wage, as currently being mooted in some quarters, will lead to extortion of the populace and other abuses. It will also defeat the aim of its existence.