Gani Adams, the Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yoruba land, stated that the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) could tackle the insecurity in Nigeria in just six months if they were allowed to do so by the authorities.
Adams said this during an interview with the Daily Sun, which was published today.
His words: ”We have more than six million OPC members, both active and inactive; those who are waiting for a time they would be given an assignment.
‘It was so sad and devastating that three traditional rulers from Yoruba land were killed. Two were killed in Ekiti State and one in Kwara State. The one in Kwara, his community, shares a boundary with Ekiti. He was a retired Brigadier-General; his wife was killed before him.
”In Ekiti, the three of them were returning from a security meeting; one escaped while the two were killed. The one killed in Kwara always synergized with other Obas in Ekiti on security.”
Adams requested government assistance and organization to help the OPC address issues more efficiently.
He said: ”As the Aare Onakakanfo of Yoruba land, I have limited powers to get involved in the security of a state or a local government without having approval from the governor or the local government.
”If I get involved, people will just say, Aare Onakakanfo is a chieftaincy title and is not an integral part of the government.
”If it was an integral part of the government, it would have been given a role in the constitution to be part and parcel of the security architecture of the state or the federal government.
”It is a chieftaincy title to represent Yoruba in terms of unity, promoting culture and bringing resources for people to move Yoruba forward, not about going into security issue without the approval of the governor.
”The governor is the chief security officer of the state and you cannot jump into his security architecture without having approval from him. If you did that, you would be turned to a criminal.
”I have said it at different forums: Let me, with my own structure, complement the government’s efforts. If you allow me to complement your efforts, the issue of insecurity will come down drastically within six months.”
