*all hands must be on deck to curtal insecurity in Nigeria – Gov Makinde
By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan
Oyo State Governor, Engineer Seyi Makinde has disclosed that the insecurity situation in Nigeria deserves that all hands must be on deck to curtail it
Speaking at the weekend during a monthly security meeting with local government Chairmen, Vice Chairmen, heads of security agencies, traditional rulers and stakeholders held at House of Chiefs, Secretariat, in Ibadan, the governor said government cannot handle the insecurity alone.
Governor Makinde pointed out that already in Oyo State, he has approved the recruitment of additional 500 men for the Oyo State’s Western Nigeria Security Network (WNSN), codenamed Amotekun to enhance security of lives and properties in the State
” Security is everyone’s business and if we all play our parts well, we will have a safer and more secured environment, although security of lives and properties is paramount responsibility of government, but government cannot do it alone except with cooperation of the entire citizenry and as we can see from the report gotten all over the country,” he said.
Governor Makinde added, ” Oyo State is relatively peaceful, this was not achieved by the effort of government alone but with the efforts of the all stakeholders, most especially the security commanders.”.
” This meeting is aimed at getting the situation report from various quarters on security as well as to dialogue on what to do as stakeholders and fine tune necessary steps, this will help government to put necessary machinery in place for people in the state to sleep with their two eyes closed and as the operation of the Amotekun corps is concerned, we have perfected the process of employing 500 more hands to enhance their performance and further deepen the security architecture of our State.”
Commenting on whether to incorporate local vigilante members into the existing security team for the enhancement of security in the state, Governor Makinde charged that the time has come for all stakeholders and the general public to join hands with his administration in the effort in ensuring peaceful environment.
Appreciating security agencies in the state for their unrelenting support towards making peaceful co – existence among the people of the State possible, the governor charged the people of Oyo state to keep the pace up in order to allow for more influx of investments and commercial growth.
The Otun Olubadan and former Governor of Oyo State, High Chief Rashidi Ladoja while speaking during the meeting lauded Gov Makinde for being proactive in the area of security which has greatly helped the State, when compared to neighboring States, especially in the media reports of cases of insurgency .
High Chief Ladoja urged all stakeholders and members of the public to be vigilant an ensure safety of their lives.
The State Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Chief ‘Bayo Lawal in his welcome address assured that the meeting would provide solutions and necessary moves on the need to ensure security of lives and properties are sustained in the State and commended Governor Makinde on his continued efforts at ensuring people of the state sleep with peace of mind despite the security challenges facing the country.
