The homegrown security force now operating in most of the six states in the Southwest, Amotekun, would eventually transform into state police, the chairman of the Southwest Governors Forum and Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, has declared.
Already the State Security Network code-named Amotekun Corps is being strengthened to effectively check insecurity in the region.
He lamented that the robust promises of June 12 have generally been dashed, though he said he does not believe in agitation for secession being championed by some notable individuals.
The governor made the declarations in Akure, the state capital at the 2021 Democracy Day celebration where he regretted that there was no serious attempt to redesign the security architecture to respond to the demands of a nascent country as at the time of independence.
He insisted that every federating unit in the country should have its own police for effective security.
Besides, he stressed that local government could not be absolutely autonomous and that the Federal Government should have no control, whatsoever, on how a Local Government is run in a State of the Federation.
His words: “Let every state determine the number of local governments it wishes to have for effective administration. The civil service must respond to the current realities for relevance. Let the extent of wealth creation form the basis of establishing local administrations. It does not make any economic sense to create as many local governments as the politics of revenue sharing will permit.
“Governors must be Chief Executive Officers answerable only to the people indeed. The law must empower them to harness the resources in their respective States for the benefit of those who voted for them. They must not be subjected to any external control as equal partners in a federation unless when it is absolutely necessary.
“They must be able to mobilise the people for socio-economic activities with minimal interference from the government at the centre. This will enhance their ability to protect their people from rampaging marauders and other criminals who wreak their peace in perpetuity.
“The message which produced June 12, 1993 was “Farewell to Poverty ”. Our people looked forward to a better Nigeria where every citizen would be proud. The hope was dashed. We have been trying to rekindle the light of realistic expectations since 1999. The political journey proceeds in fits and starts. The ride has been bumpy, creating doubts and suspicion on the genuineness of intentions.
“The problems are, however, surmountable if all are sincere in finding lasting solutions to the existential issues confronting us. That should the lesson derivable from the June 12 annulment and the symbolic revalidation.”
A prominent rights activist, Barr. Femi Aborisade who delivered the Democracy Day lecture insisted that Nigeria is not broke.
