By Banji Ayoola
The pan Yoruba socio political group, Afenifere, has passionately appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to find an urgent solution to the problem of insecurity in the country and particularly in the South West.
It made the appeal in an emotion-laden atmosphere at the Akure, Ondo State home of its National Leader Chief Reuben Fasoranti, whose daughter, Mrs Funke Olakunrin, was killed by bandits on Friday. It condemned the killing.
It also rejected the statement credited to the Presidency which quoted the police in Ondo State as saying that Mrs Funke Olakunrin was killed by armed robbers.
The group spoke through Chief Ayo Adebanjo to a full house which was spilling over with numerous sympathisers including Governors Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, and Seyi Makinde of Ondo and Oyo States respectively; former Ondo State Governor, Dr Olusegun Mimiko; former Vice Chancellor, Oduduwa University, Prof Olu Aderounmu; Veteran labour leader, Pastor Oyekan Arije and several other Afenifere chieftains among others who had rushed to Akure from far and near to condole Fasoranti.
There were Chief Olu Falae, Basorun Seinde Arogbofa, Chief Segun Adegoke, Chief Korede Duyile, Chief Femi Aluko, Chief Ogidan, Prof Banji Akintoye, Dr Amos Akingba, Chief Supo Sonibare, Chief Pekun Awobona, Alhaji Adegbenga Kaka, Hon Oladipo Olaitan, Chief Sola Ebiseeni, Alhaji Sola Lawal, Basorun Akin Osuntokun, Hon Ebun Mabinuori, Dr Ebun Sonaya, Ven Nelson Fadoju, Mr. Remi Olayiwola and Capt Moshood Raji among numerous others.
It condemned the persistent attacks and killings of innocent Nigerians by bandits who were said to be from outside the country; as it deplored the prevailing security arrangement where governors, whom it described as “lame duck” and “chief security officers without authority,” have no control of security in their states.
It therefore restated the call for an urgent restructuring of the country into a true and balanced federation, saying that with a restructured Nigeria, the security of the country would be in people’s hands, while the governors as chief security officers would firmly be in control of security in their respective states.
According to Adebanjo: “If the security of the state had been under our own governor here, can you tell me that all the kidnappings that have been taking place between Akure and Ile Ife, security people won’t have combed the whole place? This heinous crime like this happened since yesterday, not a single arrest has been made; and all the crimes that have been happening in the country, in the south in particular, there has been no single arrest not to talk of prosecution.”
The elder-statesman noted that it was a pity that such tragedy could befall Fasoranti, whom he said had been in the forefront of the campaign for a better Nigeria.
He called on the governors to speak for their people who elected them and look up to them full of hope, saying that it was pointless to keep quiet or pay any lip service for anything saying: “we are being killed, our economy is being run to blazes, our education has run down.”
He said that Afenifere has been in the forefront of saying the constitution of the country must be changed, stressing that “if we must live together in peace, we must live under a constitution that is acceptable to everybody.”
Adebanjo noted that the bandits started with the Middle Belt in December 2018, when 800 Christians were killed from southern Kaduna.
Noting that the President was away then in Britain, and that though the Vice President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, ordered the military to come on the spot, yet unfortunately the following day, the thing happened again.
He said that thereafter, the bandits went to Agatu, Enugu, and have since been terrorising several other parts of the country under what he described as a systematic plot to overrun the Middle Belt to the South, then to the sea.
In his speech, Oyo State Governor, Mr. Seyi Makinde, said that the incident has underscored the need to double the efforts in the struggle for a true federation, noting that: “What has happened is something that is very serious because if it hasn’t happened to Papa’s daughter, if it had happened to somebody that is ordinary, we would never hear about it.”
Makinde noted that all the six South West Governors held a security summit only two weeks ago, saying: “We are not frivolous about it and we take this seriously. What has happened means we need to double up our efforts.
“Like my Papa (Adebanjo) has said, this is supposed to be a federation. It is supposed to be a federal system, and for a federal system, the state governments and Federal Government are coordinate governments. One is not subordinate to the other.
“We would continue to fight for true federalism. We would continue to fight for the opportunity to help our people because it is so fundamental that that has to be done.
“What I want to say to Papa and all the elders here present including my brother governor of Ondo State, is that this is the time to put together in unity to fight for our people.
“It is not the time to even look at ourselves as belonging to different ideological set ups, or political parties.
“It is the time to bring the agenda of the Yoruba land forward. It is a fact that something like this had to happen to nudge us in this direction. We would provide the leadership. We are not waiting to turn our back.
“I was talking to the former governor of Ondo state here. Under the constitution, it is not everything that would represent true federalism. All things that represent true federalism, let’s take it first and put it in our pocket, and then those ones that we know should put us in a position where we want to be, then we start fighting for it.
“So Baba, once again on behalf of the Government and People of Oyo State, we condole with you and we pray that eyii t’o ku ninu ojo aye yin, e o ni i fi ibanuje lo o mo.”
While rejecting the official stance that Mrs. Olakunrin was killed by armed robbers, Afenifere spokesman, Mr Yinka Odumakin, said: “We want to know the level of investigation they carried out within hours to make that kind of conclusion, and which conforms with what we have been saying that there is every attempt to excuse the crimes of a particular group in this country that cannot work, and this country cannot work under those attempts.
“Even yesterday evening Ondo State said that police PPRO said they could not link Funke Olakunri with Baba Fasoranti, and yet they know it was armed robbers that killed her. We reject that line. There were eyewitnesses, and we will not allow this to just go away like just any other crime.”
Odumakin told the gathering: “This is a very sad development. The delegation of Afenifere this afternoon is led by your dependable friend who has been with you for decades, Baba Chief Ayo Adebanjo. We also have with us foremost university lecturer Prof Banji Akintoye, Dr Amos Akingba, Chief Supo Sonibare, Chief Pekun Awobona, His Excellency Alhaji Adegbenga Kaka, Hon Oladipo Olaitan, Chief Sola Ebiseeni, Alhaji Sola Lawal, Basorun Akin Osuntokun, Hon Ebun Mabinuori, Dr Ebun Sonaya.
There were Ondo State Commissioner for Information, Mr Donald Ojogo; Peoples Democratic Party’s Governorship candidate in the last election, Mr Eyitayo Jegede, SAN; Chief Sanya Oyinsan; APC Ondo State chairman, Engnr Ade Adetimehin; Prince Olu Adegboro; Dr Tunji Abayomi; Chief of Staff to Akeredolu, Chief Olugbenga Ale; Dr Kola Ademujimi and Mr Eni Akinsola among others.
“We are here this afternoon Sir, with broken hearts. We recall that it was about four years ago that this type of incident happened, when Chief Olu Falae was kidnapped in Akure here, taken to a forest, came back with machete cuts, and we took it. We called for justice.
“We never imagined that some Yoruba boys would be on drugs and go and take Adamu Ciroma and take him to bush and machete him. Such thing can never happen. But this has continued on and on.
“A few weeks ago, we were embarrassed when our Governor (Akeredolu) announced that his convoy was almost ambushed. Now the turning point for us is the killing of our sister. We spoke four days ago.”
Responding on behalf of Fasoranti, Afenifere Secretary, Basorun Seinde Arogbofa said: “This is a very sad moment, not only for the Yoruba race, but for the country. We can understand the tempers that are rising. Tempers have to rise. We have to take them as challenges for the way forward.
“The governor of Ondo State has been here twice to show his own concern for the situation. We really appreciate our Governor from Oyo state. We hope that what has been said would be taken by our leaders that our governors will find time.
“They have been doing their best; but the point is that for those of us from the Yoruba race, your subjects, and like Baba Adebanjo has said, need protection.”
He said that the situation has strengthened the need to restructure the country where state governors would be in control of police commissioners under them, noting that it is unfortunate now that “a state governor cannot give instruction to the police commissioner under him.”
Arogbofa said: “The time has come to take that very seriously. Thank the governors and everybody here. It’s a very sad moment. You can imagine what we have been going through.
“We only pray that everyone of us whether governors or the governed, knows that really something terrible is happening in the land, and we should collectively fight it out. We thank our governors and everybody for being here, it’s kind of you.”
On the sidelines, The Radiance interviewed Aderounmu, Adegoke, Aluko, Duyile and Ogidan.
Segun Adegoke, a former Commissioner for Information in Ondo State, regretted that “It’s kidnappings here and there, killing here and there. Look at a vibrant, brilliant young lawyer. Just like that, and many of us cannot travel out. We are afraid. We cannot go to functions, anywhere.
“It’s not only in Ondo, in all the South West major towns. To be dead is better than that, for you to live incommunicado, not to move outside your towns. We have been asking one question all along. Who armed them? Have you ever seen one of them tried, caught? You see some stupid Yoruba men, some greedy, avaricious, self centred, selfish ones going abroad to say it is exaggerated. It is not true. It is not surprising.”
He said: “It is apparent, clear that they want to instill fear, death, panic into all of us. It is very sad that some Yoruba people, the so called Yoruba leaders in APC are not seeing it that way. They see it that they want to be president in 2023; they want to be ministers, president of the Senate. Instead of sitting down to look at this in the true perspective, they are busy struggling for political office.”
He said: “My reaction to the incident is sad, depressing, devastating. It is the worst thing that can happen anywhere.”
Also, Ogidan asked the Yoruba race to wake up and support their leaders who have been in the forefront of their emancipation.
On his own, Femi Aluko, also a former commissioner for Information in Ondo State said: “My reaction simply is that God will take control over the security in this country because it is beyond human endeavour now. As far as I am concerned now, He will take control. We appeal for His intervention.”
Also, Korede Duyile, also a former commissioner in Ondo State and now chairman of Ondo State chapter of Social Democratic Party, SDP, described the killing as condemnable and shocking.
He said: “When we look back, you see a storyline, the day they started this problem about four years ago, they kidnapped Chief Falae. We made a lot of noise then. But the government did not really care, not a word of commiseration came from government. There is full circle now. Since then it has been everywhere.
“They started gradually. They have covered the whole country, particularly Yoruba land. It is time. Enough is enough. This is time for the Yoruba to rise up and defend their land. They have no choice. Otherwise they become slaves in their own country.”
Duyile said: “If they could now get to the position of killing a daughter of the National Leader of Afenifere, Chief R. O. Fasoranti, it is a message to all of us that nobody is safe. And we need to rise up and defend ourselves. This is not a partisan matter at all.
“Those in government who think they have to defend the government against their own lies, when the bandits come they would not ask to which party you belong. The plan is to take over this country, take our resources and take over. So the Yoruba need to do something.
“In fact the whole country if we want to remain a country together, then everybody must rise up. Otherwise each zone would have to defend itself and then it would be goodbye to Nigeria as a country. My summary is that we must all get ready to defend ourselves. We must. It is imperative for the government to stop this madness. Otherwise the consequences may be too much to bear.”
On his own, Prof Olu Aderounmu, former Vice Chancellor of Oduduwa University, also said in an interview on the sidelines that: “It is a sad development for this nation.
“Baba Fasoranti has contributed a lot to the development of this country, more than any other average Nigerian known to me. I am over 70 and I know what I am saying.”
He said that the happenings are threatening the future existence of Nigeria as a nation, noting that in the 60s, 70s, Christians and Moslems lived together as brothers and sisters.
Aderounmu’s words: “But in the last few years, we have seen a different picture about Nigeria; and I hope that those at the helms of affairs in this country would do something quickly before the disintegration of Nigeria.
“It is the saddest day in the history of Akure, Ondo State and I want to believe, in the history of Nigeria. If a person like Baba Fasoranti, leader of Afenifere, who has contributed a lot, who worked with Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Jakandes and Ajasins of this world, could be treated inconsequentially, it is a sad day for this country.”
Ekiti state Governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi had earlier visited and stayed for hours with Fasoranti, condoling the Afenifere leader; likewise the Deji of Akure, Oba aladetoyinbo Aladelusi.
Others who had also visited earlier included Ondo Speaker, Mr Bamidele Oleyelogun, former Deputy Governor, Ambassador Omolade Oluwateru; Senator Boluwaji Kunlere; Senator Olorunnimbe Farukanmi; PDP National Vice Chairman, South West, Olorogun Eddy Olafeso; PDP Ondo State Chairman, Engnr Clement Faboyede; Chief S. K. Babalola; Akure High Chiefs; Chief Luyi Rotimi; Bishop Simeon Borokini; Lisa of Ondo; Ondo State coordinators and members of Yoruba Youth Council; Prof Akin Ojo; Mrs Bola Balogun; Chief Ayo Adeniyi; Chief Femi Otokiti; High Chief S. O Oguntimeyin; Mr Dayo Adedeji; Prince Dayo Fasaye; Diro Adegbamigbe; Mr Alabi; Chief Mrs Sola Adegbonmire; Mrs F.F. Ige; Mrs C. A. Borokini; Bishop Mike Omojajimi; and Mr Sam Ogunsari among others.
