By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
The Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, has cautioned traditional rulers in Yorubaland against abandoning use of supernatural power for protecting themselves and their territories against bandits.
Ooni Ogunwusi gave the caution in Ile Ife on Thursday, while speaking at the maiden edition of Yoruba Security Summit held as a result of insecurity in the Southwest .
The Ooni declared that the caution necessary in view of the unfolding insecurity situation in Yorubaland in the recent time.
According to Ooni Ogunwusi, with the present insecurity situation, traditional rulers not interested in supernatural power should vacate the throne, saying, ” Any Oba who is disinterested in Yoruba culture and custom should abdicate his throne for anyone who is deeply versed and interested in Yoruba traditions,”
In a communique issued at the end of the summit, the security summit asked Yoruba people to ” take full control of their forests, homelands and farmlands” and that “Amotekun Corps should be strengthened in terms of motivation, finances, training and retraining of personnel and that those who are familiar with nooks and crannies of our forests should be recruited into the Amotekun Corps.”
The communique signed by the Ooni of Ife, alongside other monarchs, including Deji of Akure, Oba Aladetoyinbo Ogunlade; Owa-Ajero of Ijero Ekiti, Oba Joseph Adewole; Akarigbo of Remo, Oba Babatunde Adewale Ajayi, among others reads :
* Yoruba people should take full control of their forests, homelands and farmlands.
*Amotekun Corps should be strengthened in terms of motivation, finances, training and retraining of personnel and that those who are familiar with nooks and crannies of our forests should be recruited into the Amotekun Corps.
* The Yoruba, especially traditional rulers, should make recourse to their natural resources, including natural powers, to combat banditry and kidnapping; that Yoruba Obas should not jettison traditional values.
* The entire Obas in Yorubaland should work in unison to ward off the evils of banditry and kidnappings, as each of the states can only succeed in chasing the marauders to another state.
* Southwest governors should organize Regional Security Summit at the earliest practicable time, including all stakeholders to chart the way forward and give teeth to all the concerns raised at this summit.
* The security summit calls for strong support for the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the larger interest of Yoruba race.
* The security summit calls on Yoruba traditional rulers to return to the pristine Yoruba traditional, spiritual and cultural values.
* At all times, the traditional rulers should recognize that, in spite of whatever nature of religion they practice, they must recognize that the stool they preside over is traditional.
* The summit calls on local, state and federal governments to employ use of drones and other appropriate technology for the effective surveillance of Yoruba forests and roads.
* The summit agrees that the Yoruba security summit should be held on a quarterly basis so as to capture intervening and supervising variables in our polity.”
