NOBEL Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka and Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu have reacted to the suspension of the South-west regional outfit, Amotekun by the Federal Government on Tuesday.
Soyinka said the initiative should have been embraced by the government, as it often takes non-proactive actions on safety of the citizenry while Akeredolu chastised the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami for declaring the scheme illegal.
Akeredolu said the Southwest governors would soon meet on the mater.
“We have not met. When we meet, we will react appropriately, but one thing is clear, laws are not made in the office of the AGF. He is only meant to interpret the law,” he stated in a report by the Punch.
Also, speaking at a briefing in Lagos, Soyinka said the decision to establish the regional security group was borne from commitments of the state administrators to proffer lasting solutions to the regional security crisis.
“Our responsibility as a citizen is to take actions against events, a phenomenon which militates against our existence, security, productivity and dignity as human beings,” Soyinka said.
His words: “This has been a result of collective consciousness by people of this region. These governors met and they came up with this solution, Amotekun. Now, some people who have been sleeping all this time, taking belated actions in many directions, who watched the citizens of this nation decimated, villages wiped out, farmers chased off their land. They are now coming out to tell us that this initiative is illegal, unconstitutional. I think they should go back to sleep.
“I prefer to believe that the government itself has not spoken. I refuse to believe that any serious government will raise any objection to this kind of initiative. Amotekun has come to stay.”
However, the professor tasked the South West state governors to deliberate beyond Amotekun but seek other creative ways to reduce poverty among the people.
According to him, Amotekun should not be the sole solution to insecurity in the region.
“Amotekun is only a part of the story…we should start thinking in terms of how to feed our own people.”
Olugbenga heads the Investigations Desk at The ICIR. Do you have a scoop? Shoot him an email at [email protected]. Twitter Handle: @OluAdanikin