The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Gani Adams, has accused South-West governors of ignoring his repeated warnings and proposals on regional security.
He lamented that despite growing threats of kidnapping and banditry across the region, governors in the southwest have refused to take action.
Adams made the remarks on Tuesday while reacting to the recent attack on schools in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State, where gunmen abducted pupils, students and teachers, with one teacher later reportedly killed.
Speaking during an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily, the Yoruba leader described the incident as tragic and a signal that the South-West could no longer treat insecurity with complacency.
“What happened in Oriire Local Government Area in Oyo State a few days ago is very sad and highly condemnable,” he said.
According to him, although cases of kidnapping had been recorded in parts of the region, the latest mass abduction showed that criminal groups were becoming more daring in the South-West.
“We have had a series of kidnappings in different states, but we have not witnessed mass kidnapping in Yorubaland, and that shows that the Yoruba race in the South-West must prepare for this issue of insecurity,” Adams stated.
The Aare Ona Kakanfo said he had consistently alerted authorities about the activities of criminal elements operating within the region, stressing that some states had already been infiltrated.
“Precisely, in November last year, I mentioned four states that these criminals had infiltrated. I mentioned Ondo State, Ekiti State, Osun State and Oyo State,” he said.
Adams also disclosed that he had formally written to South-West governors, urging closer collaboration with traditional and socio-cultural groups to strengthen the region’s security architecture, but claimed his appeals were ignored.
“I had written to the South-West governors that there is a need for collaboration on the issue of security; all hands must be on deck on these issues. But for the past two years, they have not replied to me,” he said.
He explained that beyond the Oodua People’s Congress, other Yoruba organisations were willing to work with governments to tackle insecurity across the region.
“We held a world press conference on this issue about five months ago, that there is a need for the Aare Ona Kakanfo, through the Aare-in-Council and 14 different organisations, not only the Oodua People’s Congress, to collaborate with the government,” Adams added.
The Yoruba leader further questioned why many stakeholders had remained silent amid increasing security threats, lamenting that some people still blamed him for the worsening situation, even though he had no constitutional control over the security agencies.
Gunmen had invaded the Esiele community in Oriire Local Government Area of Oyo State last Friday, abducting staff and pupils from Community Grammar School, Baptist Nursery and Primary School, and LGEA Primary School.