INSECURITY: Give Me Licence To Buy Ak-47s For Amotekun Corps – Makinde

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, paid a visit to the massacre site three days after roughly fifteen citizens of Igangan, Ibarapa North Local Government Area, were massacred.

Makinde, who bemoaned the level of devastation in the community, urged the Federal Government to allow governors in the South-West to arm the Amotekun Corps with sophisticated weapons such as the AK-47 in order to combat rising insecurity in the geopolitical zone, particularly banditry and kidnapping.

SaharaReporters previously reported that a group of roughly 100 gunmen, presumed to be Fulani herders, raided the Igangan community, killing people and torching homes.

Makinde made the announcement during the opening keynote presentation of the two-day 2021 Governor Seyi Makinde National Democracy Summit, which was hosted at the International Conference Centre, University of Ibadan, with the theme: ‘The Future of Democracy in Nigeria.’

The governor, who claimed responsibility for the incident, voiced his dissatisfaction with the difficulties faced by governors who are referred to as chief security officials of their states but lack the necessary authority.

He said: “With what happened at Igangan, the people can hold me responsible for letting them down and when I go there, I will take responsibility because those killings were really needless. Even though I continue to take responsibility for the security situation in Oyo State, we all know that, in reality, the Commissioner of Police has to wait for orders from ‘above’ before taking specific actions to benefit the local population. 

“So, looking at the federal security agencies here in Oyo State, they have to get clearance from the Federal government. We will continue to do our best. Here in the South West, we were able to kickstart Amotekun. But even with Amotekun, people ask how the killings happened. Were they not there? But we have several limitations to what Amotekun can do and even the firearms they can carry. 

“You have dane guns and you are faced with people carrying AK-47. If it is in terms of investment, if we are given the authority, I will also buy AK-47s for Amotekun, if given the licence.”

“State policing is a sure cure to our national development challenges. Anyone who has been involved in security at any level will tell you that policing is local. One of the reasons why the Western Nigeria Security Network, code-named Amotekun, is recording success is because members of the corps are drawn from the locality. They know the terrain and so can gather needed intelligence. Also, they can be held accountable by the local people because they know them. 

“So, when state governors become the actual chief security officers in charge of the security personnel in their states, they can quickly respond to security challenges.”

“We are the Federal Republic of Nigeria, but our federalism exists only in name,” Makinde continued, “Students of political history will tell you that what we have been practicing is, in fact, a unitary system of government – where more powers are concentrated in the central government, and another thing that our political theorists will tell you is that, by nature, a unitary system of government is a unitary system of government.”

“Nigeria is not a small country. So, you can easily identify why we are experiencing developmental challenges across the board. We are trying to fit a square peg into a round hole. For true federalism to thrive, the federating units should have more powers and autonomy. The government at the centre serves as a coordinator of assets but does not wield as much power.”