The youths of Ado-Awaye have condemned an attempt to distort fact and change the narrative by the political Head of Araromi Local Council Development Area of Oyo State.
The youths in a statement made available today to ODUDUWA NEWS by their President and Secretary respectively, Ajibola Abdulazeez and Olalekan Zainab as reproduced below:
ADO-AWAYE PROGRESSIVE YOUTH MOVEMENT (A.P.Y.M)
OUR HERITAGE, OUR PRIDE
REGISTRATION NO:- T.1845/92
RE: “HOODLUMS ATTACKED OPERATION BURST”, ADO-AWAYE POLITICAL HEAD AND HIS CRONIES USED BY ARMY TO LIE TO THE PUBLIC
Our Own Side Of Story As We Demand Apology For Derogatory Statement
The entire youths of Ado-awaye under the leadership of ADO-AWAYE PROGRESSIVE YOUTH MOVEMENT (A.P.Y.M) have condemned purported meeting held between the emissary sent by GOC II Division of Nigerian Army and Political Head of Ado-Awaye Local Development Council, Timothy Ogunleke
We wouldn’t have joined issue with the reckless statement made by the Political Head but for the sake of clarification to the public who he might have been misled with his statement, we have to say our own.
Recall, one of our brothers was shot by a trigger-happy soldier who acted against the rule of engagement when the youths expressed their displeasure on the rate of extortion, molestation and inhumane treatment usually melted on our people particularly the motorcycle riders.
This inhumane treatment was alien to us as the soldiers stationed at that place before their redeployment were civil and acted professionally.
This inhumane treatment was brought to the notice of Alado of Ado-Awaye, Oba Olugbile Makuledoye and was said to have acted on it but to our dismay these recalcitrant men of the Joint Security Taskforce of Oyo State codenamed as Operation Burst continued to act unprofessionally. Rather than curbing their excesses, they continually unleashed terror on us and we took it upon ourselves to express our displeasure peacefully.
This very day the incident occurred, one of our youths was coming from his place of work when these men of Taskforce descended on him and subjected to inhumane treatment before he was later shot. The person according to the latest report might be transferred to UCH for further treatment.
The so-called political head was aware of this inhumane treatment and never acted upon it. Rather than doing so, he took solace in the paraphernalia of his office and euphoria of being called political head without result.
It is very sad that an important peace meeting held without any noticeable stakeholder like Alado of Ado-Awaye, community elders, and particularly the representatives of the youth that was almost killed by the trigger-happy soldier who acted unprofessionally by shooting armless citizen.
The statement released and shared by the Political Head of Ado-Awaye after the meeting was intellectually lame and very embarrassing coming from someone who supposed to be the voice of the community and the oppressing youth folks. Rather than speaking truth to power, himself and his cronies chickened out as usual and allowed to be used as facehsaving agent of cover-up to change the narrative for the erring soldiers.
It baffles one’s sensible minds when it has become the work of the Secretary to Iseyin Local Government to be speaking as spokesman of Nigerian Army. Should this not be enough reason to conclude why the Araromi LCDA is having a stangant pilot with no direction of meaningful development.
We are by this statement distancing ourselves from the purported meeting held by the Secretary of Iseyin Local Government Council, Timothy Ogunleke who hurriedly did the hatchet job for the security men and attempted to change the culprits to victims after the said meeting.
To set the record straight, we are not hoodlums and ‘unscrupulous youths’ as claimed by the so-called political head who was politicizing human life that was almost taken by the security men. Suffice to say, the statement has been deleted since yesterday when the conscience as open wound disturbed them.
To the discerning public who may be interested in knowing the truth. This is the truth and nothing but the truth. Ado-Awaye youths are peace-loving even in amidst of maladministration from our LCDA, we would not sit idle while our people are being subjected to untold hardship, extortion and molestation in the hands of these security men when the supposed LCDA chairman who supposed to be overseeing the affairs of the community people has abdicated his duties.
This is the first time we are speaking up and we would not be kowtowed as we may consider all legal means to seek redress for the victim once he fully recovers.
On a final note, we are therefore demanding from the Political Head and his cronies who held the purported meeting with emisary of GOC Division II to withdraw the statement of tagging the youths of Ado-Awaye as “unscrupulous and hoodlums”. Nobody has heard our voice before on any issue as this is the first time we are speaking up having endured the excesses of the security men for a while and it is on just cause we are speaking now.
As it was Said by Martin Luther King “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.