GANI Adams, the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland has expressed his displeasure on the security challenges the South West is facing, saying, he is ready to fight as Yoruba people are not to be killed like chickens by the herdsmen.
Gani said he has realised that there are some forces behind the herdsmen activities in the Southwest.
“We can no longer allow our people to be killed like chickens. We can’t keep quiet while Yoruba are being killed like fowls,” he said.
The Yoruba Generalissimo disclosed the information to journalists after a condolence visit to the 93-year-old Reuben Fasoranti who lost daughter last Friday to suspected herdsmen.
Fasoranti’s daughter, Olufunke Olakunri, was a 58-year-old mother with two girls. She had paid her father a visit in Akure, Ondo’s Capital but on her return journey to Lagos, she was killed between Kajola and Ore along Ondo-Ore road.
Outlining some forces responsible for the rampaging in the region, Gani mentioned “those who strike in the bush, those who issued statements to back them and those who are strategists and give instructions to those that strike” are all in business.
“How can ordinary Fulani herdsmen be holding AK 47? In our findings, the AK 47 rifle goes for about N1 million and with many bullets. So, we are looking beyond ordinary Fulani herdsmen,” he said.
He urged Yoruba people to stop “becoming a paper tiger”.
“Our problem in Yoruba land is that we do not prepare. We always react and when we tell our people to prepare, they employ a nonchalant attitude to it.”
He revealed that he had been meeting with stakeholders and various organisations to map out strategies that will complement efforts of the law enforcement agencies to protect Southwest.
“I can tell you authoritatively that we are meeting as a group and even as stakeholders to map out strategies that will help us to complement efforts of the law enforcement agencies. I have seen this signal. I have the information.
As he described it as a sensitive security situation, Gani said they operate within the ambits of the law. “That is one of the reasons we are being careful,” he added.
“We don’t want a situation we walk into their trap because we realize that this ugly incident is being coordinated beyond our own scene.”
Also, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, met with President Muhammadu Buhari over the issue of insecurity in the region, saying the challenge is real.
“In the remote and rural areas of the southwest, most of the bushes are now occupied by strange people. We, therefore, decided to work with the government to fish them out,” he said.
Ogunwusi called for more federal apparatus for defence. “We don’t want war and we want to work with the government to bring peace.”