A pan-Yoruba socio-cultural and political group, Coalition of Oodua Self Determination Group (COSEG), has described the south-west regional security arrangement, Amotekun, as a redefinition of the zone’s path to nationhood, saying, “it was informed by the fallout of rickety political structure.”
The group, in a statement jointly signed by its Convener, Comrade Razaq Olokoba and Comrade Wale Balogun, Political Secretary said that, “the most fundamental responsibility of governments all over the world is the protection of lives and property,” admitting that, “Nigeria is not an exception as attested to by the flawed 1999 constitution.”
The group however regretted that the present administration under President Muhammadu Buhari appears to be overwhelmed by the Boko Haram terrorists group and activities of other bandits who it said have turned Nigeria into a slaughter slab.
The rate at which criminal activities like kidnapping, ritual killings, cult clashes, youth restiveness and violence has become the order of the day in the country, according to the group, is alarming, worrisome and frightening, lamenting that, the Federal Government appeared helpless and needed assistance.
The statement reads further thus:
“It is against this backdrop that the Yoruba, in an attempt at saving the citizenry from the state of anomie that has engulfed the lopsided Nigerian stat , that we have no other plausible alternative than to take our destiny into our hands with the birth of AMOTEKUN. The initiative is to save our people and our land from the killer gangs that appear to have taken over Nigeria.
“Our people say when a goat is pushed to the wall, it will surely defend itself with whatever means possible within its disposal. Hence, the birth of Amotekun because the security situation in Nigeria today, most especially in Yoruba nation, has called for the need to individually and collectively develop a holistic defensive strategy to overcome the threat from rampaging bandits killing our people, raping our women, pillaging and ravaging our farm steads. So, Amotekun is the path to save our endangered people and our land, and we have no apology to offer anybody or group of people both in low or high places.
“To this end we urge all Yoruba irrespective of their locations or residences to get themselves prepared against all eventualities as we can no longer tolerate the intolerable situation that Nigeria has brought down on us and the threat it constitutes to our national development.
“For several years, we have clamoured and appealed to other nationalities to see the need to restructure the pseudo Federal Union as the minimum way forward, without success. And we can no longer fold our arms while our people continually agonise their sorry state in the British contraption.
“It is either we restructure the polity now or the different nationalities should be ready to march differently. The Yoruba nation can no longer allow any group of people to hold us back in our steady march to development, progress and prosperity.”
The COSEG also reminded that, even, the Emir of Kano Sanusi Lamido and some Eminem northern elites have also expressed fears on number of occasions on how the country is run on the present structure and concluded that there is no guarantee of progress for Nigeria if the structures are not re-engineered.
“We therefore commend the efforts of all the six South-west Governors, The State Parliaments, Self Determination Groups, Afenifere Renewal Group, Afenifere, The Development Agenda for western Nigeria and all the Yoruba people in Nigeria and all over the world towards the realization of the Amotekun initiative. We hereby also have to assure that Amotekun will defend Yorubaland and everybody living in Yorubaland.
“We want to encourage all other regions of the Country to put on ground and legislate the people’s based security network like the Civilian JTF to acquire a legal backing particularly the North-east Nigeria, Birni Gwari and the abandoned sections of the South-east as a result of kidnappings. In a nutshell, the persecution of innocent Nigerians must be put to an end by any means necessary,” COSEG concluded.
