By Yusuf Adua
An unenviable record was set over the weekend when some unidentified suspected herdsmen dipped the people of Igangan community of the Oyo South Senatorial District into gloom and agony.
As at the time of filing this report, the exact number of casualties was yet to be disclosed but there’s no hiding in the fact that over 20 people have either lost their lives or have been severely injured as the police had hinted that casualty figure would be known upon the completion of ongoing comprehensive investigations.
The Oyo State Police Command has cleared their lines as expected, through its PRO when it said that the unscrupulous elements were repelled by a combination of Police Operational and tactical assets in concert with local hunters and vigilante and that normalcy had since returned with an on-the-spot assessment in process. The primary function of maintaining law and order has been ascertained through that statement. Therefore, it is safe to say that “the men in black ” have done their bit.
Quoting the PPRO, “On Saturday at about 2310hrs, a yet to be ascertained number of unknown assailants invaded Igangan Town with dangerous weapons in a bid to create unrest in the town”.
You wouldn’t slay the Nigerian Police any time they conclude with” the situation is being closely monitored and comprehensive investigations are ongoing to apprehend the perpetrators,” they have done the same this time by using that to find an escape route.
Then, who is behind this massacre?
The Oke Ogun and Ibarapa axis of the state have been strapped with inhumane destruction of lives and properties in recent months. An attempt to actuate the number of victims will provide a basketball score. Not only that, the thought of pinning the recent attacks of farmers and their farmlands on certain ethnic groups had been knocked back by His Excellency himself, Governor Seyi Makinde, and some elites.
It should be recalled that the Fulani families and their leader, Abdulkadir Salihu, an Igangan resident, were forcibly exiled from the town in January by an aggrieved indigenous Yoruba population inspired by Sunday ‘Igboho’ Adeyemo, a self-acclaimed Yoruba warlord.
News Live Nigeria waited for the reaction of Mr. Igboho on this new unfortunate development which didn’t come till this moment. This is the first time he would be activating a “silent mode” since these misdemeanors took the central stage, this worries and at the same time surprises every observer. But to be honest, Mr. Sunday Igbhoho might have been fancying his chances to guard and defend the peasants in these suburbs for any hidden agenda best known to him but the bitter truth is that he is not the CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER of the pacesetter state, therefore, his hands are tied.
What has the Oyo state government done to this ill?
Reacting to the incident, a community leader and secretary of the farmers’ association in the area, Taiwo Adeagbo, said state support was slow to come as police and Amotekun lines were off.
This is a below-par reactionary framework in a state where the head of the Amotekun operatives in the person of General Togun had earlier prognosticated that the herders chased out of the southwest were plotting reprisal attempts.
Though Mr. Adeagbbo confirmed that help later came from agro rangers, police, and hunters, he said as at least five of the assailants were killed but no fact supersedes the assumption that these sadists took the town by surprise and wreaked damning havocs.
Except for a condolence message posted on the official handle of the Governor’s now estranged Twitter handle, nothing concrete or assuring has come from the state house’s camp as we speak. This is worrisome from a man of the moment who just increased NYSC ‘s allowance to 15,000 naira in his state.
Governor Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde is the Chief Executive Officer, the Commander in chief, Chief Security Officer, and the custodian of the never-failing security votes of Oyo state. For all the stakes, he is the first person to be queried when or if something goes wrong in the state security-wise.
His docile approach to combatting these security threats will not only tell on his performance as the Number One citizen, but it will also reduce the output of the agricultural epicentre of the state.
The governor and his handlers are expected not to be quasi-political in their security models. Even if they had hidden mindsets in the past, it should change now that every concerned individual seems to have taken steps back.
