•Govs must hasten up with Amotekun

By Ola Ajayi

THE Yoruba Council of Elders, YCE, yesterday, expressed worry over the rise in armed robberies and kidnappings in the South West urging the governors of the zone to ensure the Western Nigeria Security Network code name Operation Amotekun begins operations.

Speaking on behalf of other elders of the forum, former President of the YCE, Col. Ade Agbede, retd, maintained that if the Amotekun outfit had begun operations, the renewed robbery and kidnap activities in the zone, would have been effectively curtailed.

Calling on South West governors to expedite action on making Amotekun  project functional, the forum said: “Whatever may be the bottleneck must have been done with by now. Even, those in Abuja expressing misgivings about the project must have been dazed by the reality of the moment.

“That our people had to resolve to self-help was a glaring indication that our police lacks both the manpower and equipment to adequately police the country. That’s the reason the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, must not see the security outfit as a rival group, but a complementing arm to ensure the safety of lives and property.”

On the COVID-19 pandemic and the efforts being made to curtail its spread in the Southwest, the forum acknowledged the various steps being taken by the state governors, saying, “the only sure way of halting the spread of the contagious disease is to discourage gatherings of people which the stay at home order is addressing. But, for how long can the government lock up the people at home without adequate provision for what they would eat?

That’s the reason why the governments in our states must up their game and come up with a sustainable plan that can make the stay at home order enforceable.”

Vanguard