TGCG rallies regional support to tackle insecurity in South West
Omeiza Bilal
TGCG Director-General Alhaji Bolaji Raji has urged people in Nigeria’s Southwest to unite and address the region’s rising insecurity.
The TGCG Director-General made the call when a delegation of the Oduduwa Development and Integrity Organisation (ODIO) led by its Director-General, Otunba Olusola Orelaja, paid a courtesy visit to the TGCG corporate office last Saturday in Abuja. ODIO is a coalition of groups from Yorubaland in Lagos, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Kwara, Oyo, and Kogi states. The organisation advocates for the Yoruba people and promotes their cultural heritage.
Alhaji Raji who has just been appointed the Grand Patron of the Yoruba group, admitted that it was about time the Yorubas put an end to the increasing spate of abductions and killings going on in the region.
There have been a series of killings and abductions in the South West regions since the beginning of the year, and the latest was the incident in Ogbomosho, Oyo state, during which 40 to 48 students were kidnapped and a mathematics teacher, Michael Oyedokun, was beheaded in captivity.
Oyedokun was abducted alongside dozens of students and other staff members during a coordinated raid by armed assailants on Community High School and Yawota Baptist School in Oriire, Ogbomoso. During the initial invasion, the attackers also shot and killed an assistant headmaster, Joel Adesiyan, as he attempted to escape, as well as a passing commercial motorcyclist.
In Kwara, gunmen abducted at least 222 people, including 176 in a single February attack, and there were cases in Ogun state where the representatives from the Cocoa Farmers Association of Nigeria were abducted while submitting seedlings.
While describing the spate of killings and abductions in the region as a sad development, Alhaji Raji said the leaders would do their best to ensure that the situation does not engulf the region.
He said: “This is a sad development that affects the entire country, not just one tribe. As a Yoruba leader, I will do my best to prevent insecurity from spreading throughout Yorubaland. We will work to curtail and stop it permanently. Yorubas are never afraid to face the reality of the spread of whatever name they call themselves. We are ready, and we are going to tackle it. And by His grace, we know that we are going to conquer this.”
On his part, Director-General of Oduduwa Development and Integrity Organisation (ODIO), Otunba Orelaja, said the security situation in the South West was precarious, noting that lives are being lost just as farming, which is a source of livelihood for many families, is under threat from rampaging herdsmen and terrorists.
“We observe their movements with their cattle, recognising Nigeria as our shared home. However, our tolerance ends when our safety is compromised. Therefore, we, the Oduduwa Group, stand firm against this menace and will defend ourselves.
“Recall that the late governor of Ondo state, Rotimi Akeredolu, foresaw what is happening now and moved the formation of Amotekun to tackle the problem. Tackling it now will prevent future difficulties.
“We are actively engaging with state governors in the region to combat this evil, as we cannot idly witness the killing of our people.
Otunba Orelaja urged the governors of the South West to come together to address the menace before it gets out of hand, saying that it was high time they came together “to bring down this evil act committed by the terrorists because we don’t believe that the governors have to sit down there and see their people being killed. We won’t stand this killing from these people.”
