Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare has advised Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde to be more proactive in tackling insecurity.
Dare, an indigene of the state, said: “For several months, residents have watched with concern as the security situation in our beloved state degenerated. Troubling accounts about killings, kidnappings and herdsmen/ farmers conflicts abound.
“Like the people of Oyo State, I expected Governor Makinde to act prudently but with reasonable dispatch to quell the insecurity before it got out of hands.
“We all waited for proactive steps and responses from the state authority, but the waiting has certainly been in vain. Yet, Oyo State, with its population and strategic location in the Southwest political and economic equation, should not be allowed to fall into a deadly security malaise, for trouble will not be limited to the state alone because it can spread to other states given our strategic importance and position.”
The minister added: “Governor Makinde seems to be paralysed by fear regarding this important security situation. This is the first serious test of his leadership of the state. Instead of tackling it, he has retreated. His policy has not been proactive enough to resolve the issues so that security of lives and property will be guaranteed and our people will be spared the mourning over dead ones. Instead, his policy has been to act as if nothing was happening in forlorn hope that all would simply go away as if it were a bad dream.
“The worsening developments in the state in the area of security are a direct result of a temporising fiddling leader. The governor has paid more lip service to the issue of security instead of offering solution or taking proactive steps to stem the attacks and chart the path of resolution; for this is a complex issue that requires political courage and vision to resolve.”
Dare said: “States and non-state actors could have been brought into the arena to design a way out. Now, the governor is flailing about and reacting out of fear that his political status is being damaged, instead of crafting a solution that gives justice, peace and meaningful livelihood to all affected, including the citizens and in particular farmers and herders alike. His incoherence in this situation has placed Oyo and its citizens in the direct path of danger.”
On the reaction his statement would generate, he said: “I know I will get my share of abuse and criticism for making this statement. I will take it because when it comes to security of our people, I stand firm. There is no room for partisanship on this essential point. Oyo citizens from Ibadan to Ibarapa to Ogbomoso to Oke Ogun to Oyo deserve better. Better security and better responses to the issue of protecting them.”
