Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
The Stakeholders’ Security Summit, organised to tackle the rising insecurity in the South West, has begun in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The summit is taking place at Theophilus Ogunlesi Multipurpose Hall, opposite the main gate of University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State capital.
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Governors Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Dapo Abiodun (Ogun), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Gboyega Oyetola (Osun), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo), all arrived the venue at 11:45 a.m.
Also in attendance are the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams; and National Coordinator of Agbekoya, Alhaji Ahmed Olasunkanmi.
Traditional rulers across the Yorubaland graced the occasion. They include Ewi of Ado-Ekiti, Oba Rufus Aladesanmi; Olugbo of Ugboland, Oba Obateru Akintuntan; and Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi; Elemure of Emure Ekiti, Saki Arigidi of Akoko in Ondo State, Ogoga of Ikere-Ekiti, and so on.
The Inspector General of Police (IGP), Muhammed Adamu, was represented by a Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Taiwo Lakanu.
The host governor, Makinde, in his address, it is the responsibility of governors “to ensure that everyone in our midst, indigene or alien resident is assured of security of their life and property. We also know that there are barriers preventing us from carrying out this constitutional responsibility to the fullest measure. One of those barriers is the fact that we do not control the security apparatuses in our states.
“We are grateful that the Federal Government is finally giving due consideration to the creation of state police. You will agree with me that the advantages of community policing far outweigh whatever fears people may be expressing against it. We have reached that point in our national consciousness where we can no longer tarry, the time to act is now!
“There can be no development without a secure environment. The minimum requirement for the South West Region is to be able to work, live and play in a secure environment.”
Director General of Development Agenda for Western Nigeria (DAWN) Commission, Mr. Seye Oyeleye, is his welcome address, said South West has been the safest region in Nigeria, and everything would be done within the ambit of the law to ensure the region is safe.
Ondo State governor, and Chairman of Western Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Rotimi Akeredolu, who declared the summit open, said his keynote address, that the security summit was very imperative, adding that the socio-economic integration of the South West would remain a mirage without adequate security.
The summit was convened to address the spate of kidnappings, armed robbery, drug abuse, cultism, herder-farmer clashes and ritual killings that have become rife in large swathes the country, and how they are affecting the region in particular.