In a bid to resolve the issues of insecurity ravaging the country, South West Governors came together last year to set up a security outfit called Amotekun. According to them Amotekun will serve as security officials for the region and also complement the works of the Nigeria Police Force. This is also to ensure that activities of bandits, kidnapping and other crimes that have been associated with the northern part of the country does not find its way into the region.
Meanwhile, the federal government has come out to say that it is introducing community policing and will take over control of Amotekun but the southwest governors have kicked against this saying that they set it up and will definitely be in charge of its running. Governor Seyi Makinde speaking on this said that from where we are here the biggest challenge so far is in the area of security, the federal government cannot control Amotekun as it will be solely owned, managed and controlled by the state government.
Speaking on this on the Liberating Nigeria online weekly show organized by Liberating Nigeria leading online political forum in Nigeria, Debo Onifade started by applauding the federal government’s initiative to introduce community policing, but said the discussion from the beginning has not been that the state will pay for an FG initiative, no state government will agree with that and if the FG wants to start community policing it is great but it should be independent of what the state is working o.
He added that he is fully in support of Amotekun and the state taking full control of the outfit. Community policing and Amotekun should rather complement each other by working together, he said the went further to suggest that community policing can focus on intelligence gathering while Amotekun focuses on operations and not one taking over another like the federal government is planning.
The issue of god-fatherism in Lagos is no longer news as it is believed that Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the godfather who rules the political community in Lagos, however, there’s been a controversy taking rounds since last year when during the elections a video went viral online of bullion vans going into the compound of the man also known as Jagaban.
Following this happening, there’s been calls from people asking the EFCC to investigate this event, the latest in this development is the fact that over 16,000 people have signed a petition put up by Reno Omokri, Former Aide to ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan demanding the probe of Jagaban by the EFCC.
On this onifade said he doesn’t understand Omokri’s motive and the call seems to be part of the anti-tinubu moves. He described the situation as not being a good example and not substantial as bullion van visiting other places apart from a bank is not inappropriate, as banks have made provisions of going to a customer’s house either to receive or deliver cash.
He said if he had committed corruption then the call would have been a good one and a good time to accuse him. Tinubu being rich or having money doesn’t make him automatically a thief; anyone who wants him to be probed should come up with specific cases of crimes that he has committed. I support people being called out but we should be more specific and reasonable when we call people out Onifade added.
Meanwhile, Former Nigerian Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode has been all over the news for a video that went viral of him verbally assaulting and calling a journalist stupid for asking him who is bankrolling his tour with other journalists seen apologising to the former minister. He felt insulted by the question and described it as an insult on his personality. Fani-kayode who is also known as FFK has been on tour of some Southern states and this is believed to have prompted the question from the journalist.
Following the release of the video, critics of his actions flooded social media with the Nigerian Union of Journalist releasing a statement as well as the media organization the journalist works for which has also been trolling the former minister since the incident. Old videos of him insulting and shouting at other people also surfaced online and this made people conclude that FFK is generally a person of short fuse. Also, according to reports, journalists have resorted to boycott his press conferences as retaliation for his action.
Femi Fani-kayode has however come out to withdraw his use of the word stupid, in a tweet he made on twitter FFK said, I hereby withdraw the word “stupid” which I used in my encounter with a journalist in Calabar… For the last 30 years I have defended & worked with journalists & fought for the right of freedom of expression. I am also very close to many in that profession. I would be the last to seek to disparage those that are honourable and noble within its ranks…”
Although many have rejected this statement on grounds that it is not an apology and doesn’t seem like one but rather a mere statement.
Onifade described him as one of the elites that have been the problem of the country, he said as much as he is knowledgeable he doesn’t see him as an authority for the Yorubas but rather as a PDP which is the reason why he has been on tour of only PDP states, Cross-River for example. He said he believes he is been sponsored and that the journalist which asked the question knows what is happening which is one of the reasons he asked the question.
FFk is a politician and that could be why his language is acceptable as it is common amongst them, he then said he is just like El-rufai and is not an example new breed politicians should follow to avoid encountering political issues.
Liberating is Nigeria’s leading online political forum with vision to influence 5m first time voters in 2023 and 20m by 2027. Please send your articles for the Liberating Nigeria platform to liberatingnigeria@gmail.com, you do not have to bother about your writing expertise, all we require is your passion for the revival of our country Nigeria.
By Deborah Yusuf