Author: oduduwanews

The Oyo State Post Primary School Teaching Commission TESCOM has signified its readiness for the distribution of appointment letters to successful teaching applicants.

This was made known today in a statement released by the Permanent Secretary of the Commission, Mrs. Grace Oderinde which reads in part:

“Further to the recruitment exercise embarked upon by TESCOM, we are glad to inform you that the management of TESCOM has successfully completed recruitment of all teaching positions and based on the executive approval of His Excellency, Governor Seyi Makinde, we are set to release the appointment letters of five thousand (5000) teaching professionals.

“The collection of the letters will commence from Monday, February 1, 2021 at our zonal offices corresponding to your local government area.
Please find details of our Zonal offices and local Government areas below:
ZONE
LGA

Ibadan Zone 1
Ibadan SE
lbadan NE

Ibadan Zone 2
Ibadan North
lbadan North East lbadan North West

Ibadan Zone 3
Egbeda
Ona-Ara
Oluyole

Ibadan Zone 4
Lagelu
Akinyele

Ogbomoso Zone
Ogbomoso North
Ogbomoso South
Ogo -Oluwa
Surulere

OYO Zone

Afijio
Atiba
Oyo West
Oyo East

ERUWA Zone

Ibarapa
Central, lbarapa East
lbarapa North
ldo

ISEYIN ZONE

Itesiwaju
lwojowa
Kayola.

SAKI ZONE

Atisbo
Saki East
Saki West

KISHI ZONE

Irepo
Olorunsogo
Orelope

“Successful candidates are hereby advised to collect their appointment letters from above TESCOM zonal offices of their respective local government areas.
Looking forward to welcoming you to our school(s)”.

By Senator Babafemi Ojudu

It was in 2009. The Appeal Court sitting in Ilorin ordered a rerun in a number of polling units in the election between Segun Oni of PDP and Dr Kayode Fayemi of ACN.

Oni had in the main election and the election petition tribunal that followed been declared winner of the gubernatorial contest. Our party , ACN contested this , hence the declaration of a rerun.

The election which came three months after the Appeal Court judgement was like war. The PDP ruling at the Federal level did not want to lose Ekiti while the opposition ACN led and financed by Bola Ahmed Tinubu wanted to take Ekiti by all means.

A few days to the election,we got an intelligence report that the PDP big wigs had perfected a plan to unleash thugs recruited from across Yoruba land on Ekiti. The plan was to kill and maim as many as possible, snatch ballot boxes and win by any means possible.

Tinubu summoned me to Lagos and said Femi,”I have conducted a scientific opinion poll. You people can win this election. The only snag however is they are deploying state security as well as thugs against you. State security men we can handle ( and he did creatively handled them ) but how do you handle thugs?”

I then suggested we dissuade them by engagement and inducements. After all they are in the business only for the money and not for ideological reasons.

We reached out to both Ade Basket in Akure and Fada Geri in Ondo. Both were dreaded in political circles. We had a series of meetings with them and were able to squeeze an agreement with them that they will not make themselves available to PDP for hire. I got them to even sign documents for me that they were going to stay off Ekiti elections.

The biggest headache for us then was Sunday Igboho who we learnt has been hired and paid by a Senator from Osun to come and cause mayhem in Ekiti. Tinubu instructed we must get him at all cost.

Six days to the election we began our search for him. Eventually we met someone who had his number. I put a call through to him and he agreed to meet with me in Ibadan. We scheduled an appointment and had a meeting at a small hotel not far from Premier Hotel.

Tinubu , I told him , has sent me to him that he will like to have a meeting with him. He said he will love to meet him as he has heard a lot of good things about him too. The problem he said is he is PDP and not ACN. I said that precisely is the reason why he wanted to meet with him. He asked if I could keep this a secret, I said why not . Papa Adedibu , and our Osun Senator , he said must not learn about his meeting Tinubu. I told him there is no way they will know except it leaks from his side.

He agreed to a meeting on Thursday preceding the election. I reported back to Tinubu who then relocated from his base in Lagos to Sunview Hotel in Akure. Igboho drove down alone at about 10.00 pm. I and Tinubu had a dialogue with him.

“Igboho,”!Tinubu said, “ I have heard a lot about your bravery . The Ekiti people have suffered too long under the rule of PDP. They are looking for change. I learnt you have been hired to make this impossible. I have invited you to plead with you to allow the poll to be conducted peacefully. If after that the PDP wins fine. If the ACN wins, all well and good”.

Tinubu went on and on lecturing him on the beauty of democracy and unencumbered electoral process. By the time Tinubu finished with him, he became sober and contrite. “ Baba”, he said, “ I have heard you and I am pleased with what you have said. Whatever you want me to do I will do even though I have collected money from the other side” .

This was the extent Tinubu went to secure Ekiti for his party, ACN. Most of this the candidate, Fayemi , himself was not even aware of.

Tinubu then beckoned me to follow him to the bedroom of the suit he occupied in the hotel. “ Femi this guy appear sincere. It does appear we have dissuaded him.“

“Thank you Baba” Igboho said with a smile across his face as soon as he received a golden handshake for agreeing not to destroy in Ekiti as they had planned.

He then said that he will be in Ekiti on the eve of the election but when it is 2.00 am I should put a call through to him. He will put his phone on speaker and I should tell him I am a police AIG and that the police has discovered his presence in Ekiti and will be raiding in 30 minutes time. With that call he will tell his minders he can no longer stay. He will pack his boys and their lethal weapons and leave town.

Tinubu ordered food and drink for him. He will touch neither. He however overtime became comfortable in our midst and regaled us with several anecdotes from his career as a political enforcer. One particular anecdote stayed locked up in my memory till today because it was so funny.

According to Igboho he went through the tutelage of Chief Adedibu, the strong man of Ibadan politics. He said he was one of his most reliable and trusted thugs. At a point in their relationship, Adedibu , he said began to suspect he was getting too powerful and independent. Adedibu , he narrated, then invited him to a meeting and told him he will like him to run for the chairmanship of a local government.

He said he knew this was an attempt by Adedibu to bench him and he therefore told Adedibu that he was not educated , not able to speak English and could therefore not be chairman of a local government.

Adedibu , he said , looked at him and barked an order STAND UP! He stood up. “SIT DOWN!” He sat down. Adedibu then said “and you claim not to be educated. Whatever is left we shall add it unto you”.

A week before the election, we had reserved and paid for all the rooms in all the hotels in Ekiti. The money ran into several millions. Tinubu, as usual, paid for this. The strategy was to ensure no thug or any undesirable element had a place to stay in the state. Security men and INEC officials had to appeal to me, sometimes through Tinubu, to release some rooms to them to stay. With this we knew who was staying where. And we closely monitored them and their activities.

Thus,when Igboho and his band of 50 thugs arrived Ado Ekiti that Friday we were able to monitor them till they were taken to be accommodated over night in government house due to lack of hotel accommodation in the state.

This was the situation when at 2:00 am I did exactly what Igboho instructed me to do and he and his men fled town. Two hours after leaving I got a call from him. They did a head count and found out two of their men were missing. Interestingly,they found out the two had gone to town in search of women. Igboho pleaded with me to help retrieve them and get them out of town the following morning.

At about 5.00 am that morning I picked them up in front of the Fire Station at Fajuyi Park , took them to my house and by 6.00 am got a driver to take them out of town.
We had the re-run elections. It wasn’t entirely peaceful. But thuggery and violence was largely reduced.

This was my encounter with Sunday Adeyemo alias Sunday Igboho , lately crowned a hero in Yoruba land , by the reign of terror by herders and bandits.

He has that occasional conscience you can appeal to. Let those who can rein in the herders do so and make the forests and highways safe again. Let farmers be able to carry out their occupation without fear of kidnap , murder and rape. Let us find a modern and permanent solution to this issue of itinerant herding that pitches a group of Nigerians against the other. Let us not ethnicize criminality. A criminal is a criminal and a crime is a crime whether perpetrated by Fulani, Yoruba , Igbo, Ijaw , Junkun, Bachama or Ibariba.

We should do everything possible to stave off this crisis and stop beating the drums of war before it reaches a crescendo.

The General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleman, is under probe ordered by the the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, for allegedly sleeping with the wife of Pastor Mike Davids, threatening his life and denying him access to his children.

Pastor Faith Edeko is the lady Apostle Suleman is accused of sleeping.

Edeko oversees the Abuja branch of Omega Fire Ministries in Utako, while her husband, Pastor Davids, has left the church.

Adamu conveyed the order in a letter addressed to the Deputy Inspector-General of Police, Force Intelligence Bureau, Garki, dated January 5, 2021.

The letter, with reference number CB:7000/IGP.SEC/ABJ/Vol.515/561, was signed by the Principal Staff Officer II to the Inspector-General of Police, ACP Iliya Doma.

The letter is sequel to a petition written by V.C Ezenagu & Associates on behalf of the aggrieved Pastor Davids who accused Apostle Suleman of threat to life and preventing him from seeing his three children.

The police letter is titled, ‘Re: Criminal Petition Against Apostle Johnson Suleman for Enticement of a Married Woman; Adultery; Unlawful Criminal Restraint to Access Children and Threat to Life’.

The letter reads in part, “I attach herewith a copy of a letter dated December 30, 2020 with its attachments received from V.C Ezenagu & Associates on the above underlined subject. The Inspector-General of Police directs that you treat. Accept the assurances of my esteemed regards please.”

In the petition he sent to the IG, Davids said he met Apostle Suleman in 2003 while he was in school. He said they became very close and he was eventually ordained a pastor of Omega Fire Ministries on June 9, 2006 by Apostle Suleman and served the church for over 15 years before his exit in 2019. He attached his pastoral certificate with licence number 125 to the petition.

In three videos posted on Instagram on Sunday, the aggrieved pastor accused Suleman of sleeping with his wife and destroying his marriage.

The Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, and the Leader of Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) Iba Gani Abiodun Ige Adams on Sunday described the Arewa Consultative Forum,(ACF) and the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) as jokers.

Speaking against the backdrop of the threats by the Northern group, and the Herders Association to attack the southwest in a reprisal mission, Aare Adams declared that any attempt by the north against the southwest will fail.

Adams in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Aderemi, expressed concern about the security situation in the region,stating that threats of attack on the southwest can fuel further crisis in Ibarapa,Oyo and Ondo and will certainly affect the entire nation.

Adams stated further that the situation in the two states truly justified the huge security challenges perpetrated by herders, that had on several occasions kidnapped and killed many Yoruba in their various communities, adding that Yoruba are too well aware of the looming crisis in the country.

The Yoruba generalissimo, however, maintained that he would not be stampeded into falling into a pre-arranged trap by the political elites.

“The apex organization in the North and the herders Association should watch their statements or face the wrath of the Yoruba nation”

“By their inciting statements, the north are beating war drums. But we will resist any attempt by the north to turn our region to war zones and no amount of threat will stop us from securing our region from killer herdsmen”.

“From my findings, what is playing out in the last three days,(especially in the social media) it is evident that there are some enemies and political elements both within and outside our region are now using the bravery of Sunday Igboho as a coordinated attempt to soil my name, and also put my efforts in the past 28 years in the struggle to test”.

“My silence in the last three days doesn’t portray me as a coward, but by virtue of my position as the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, I am bounded by my conscience and conviction to act accordingly when the time is right. And I must also consult widely before taking any action”

“What Igboho said was not even as damaging to the sanctity of the nation than the call for civil war by the ACF and the Miyetti Allah put together.The killer herdsmen are the major problem, but sadly the Federal Government remains silent”

“There are reports that the Fulani herdsmen have, in the past five years, killed over 300 Yoruba people from different communities while several other people have been kidnapped with abductors paying several billions as ransom”.

Adams, however, warned the North to stay away from any attempt to cause mayhem in the southwest, hence, the situation could degenerate into further chaos that might affect the entire nation.

“The Fulani, in their conqueror agenda since 1818 had caused alot of damages to the southwest. And it is clear that the south is their target, that is why anybody going against the the Fulani herdsmen automatically becomes their enemy”

Adams, however, urged the traditional rulers, the political establishment, the investors,and other sectors to be conscious and be well coordinated because it is now obvious that the southwest has been infiltrated pointing So that our case will not be like that of Rwanda.

Oduduwa News has just gathered that a fuel-laden tanker fell early hours of Monday around Orogun, along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Ibadan. It was learnt that several buildings were affected in the inferno and men of Fire Fighting Agency have been stationed in the axis. Details later.

ODUDUWA NEWS has gathered that the Southwest governors and the leadership of Miyetti Allah are set to meet on Monday over Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu’s order to herdsmen to vacate forest reserves.

Akeredolu had last Monday issued a seven-day ultimatum to herdsmen in the forest reserves to leave the area as part of measures to curb kidnappings and banditry.

The national leadership of the Miyetti Allah, The Nation learnt on Sunday, was already in Akure, the state capital, ahead of the meeting.

A source said it was the Presidency that directed the leadership of Miyetti Allah to hold the meeting with governors of the region.

A media aide to one of the Southwest governors, who preferred anonymity, told reporters in Akure that his boss would attend the meeting.

According to him, “The whole thing was about the misconception. We all know the Presidency misinterpreted the Ondo State government’s directive. They took it to mean a total action which intended to clear the state of all herders.

“And while admitting that the spokesman to Mr President acted hastily and without proper authorisation, they (Presidency) have reached out to other governors to facilitate a meeting where the leadership of Miyyetti Allah would likely plead for time to comply with the directive.

“My principal is involved and very concerned too because this is a Yoruba matter and not a personal issue between Aketi and the herders. So we are coming to Akure for the meeting tomorrow at 12. We need to give the honour to our chairman, the governor of Ondo State who is even leading the fight against insecurity in the region”.

Ondo Commissioner for Information and Orientation Donald Ojogo said meetings were not unusual.

“Well, meetings of that nature, if true, are not unusual. We are all in it together. No ethnic group or a particular trade is the target of the government order. So it will be a welcome development if the meeting is holding. There is nothing too unusual about it,” he said.

…51 suspects on trial for kidnapping, other offences in Oke-Ogun, Ibarapa areas – Owoseni

…traditional rulers demand justice, peaceful coexistence

A delegation of Oyo State Government officials and the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mrs. Ngozi Onadeko, on Sunday, toured the trouble spots of Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun areas of the state where they conducted on-the-spot assessment of the tenson-soaked communities.
The Commissioner of Police, who led senior Police officers including Deputy Commissioners of Police and Mobile Police Commanders on a tour of Igangan, Tede and Ago Are communities sued for peace, while also declaring the readiness of the Police to embark on a thorough investigation to ensure justice for victims of kidnapping, armed robbery, rape and other crimes.
The Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Security, Commissioner of Police Fatai Owoseni (rtd), who led the government’s delegation also appealed to community leaders, youths and Hausa-Fulani residents to eschew violence and live in peace.
A statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr. Taiwo Adisa, added that Owoseni told the people to be vigilant and ensure they identify the criminal elements among them for prosecution by the Police, declaring that no one should take laws into their hands.
He also debunked insinuations that the government of Governor Makinde has abandoned the people to their fate, adding that at least 51 suspected perpetrators of kidnapping, rape and banditry are currently in police net from Oke Ogun axes.
He said that government would ensure that justice prevails in the cases involving the arrested lot, adding, however, that the people must remain vigilant.
“If you see something, say something,” Owoseni counseled residents of the visited communities.
The delegation also visited the razed home of the Seriki Fulani in Igangan, where it assessed the extent of damage and promised thorough investigation.
Secretary of Igangan Development Advocates, Lawal Akeem, who spoke in Igangan, said that the people were tired of the antics of the Seriki Fulani, Alhaji Saliu Abdukadir, whom he accused of complicity in different cases.
He also said that the community has been forced to pay about N50 million in ransom for different cases of kidnapping, while also accusing Fulani herders of regularly vandalising farms and raping women of the community.
Another youth in the town, Taiwo Adeagbo, said that no fewer than 15 women have been raped in recent weeks.
A member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Peter Ojedokun, also told the delegation that Ibarapaland had been peaceful all the while but that the peace was affected recently when Fulani herders started attacking members of the community on their farms, kidnapping persons and committing crimes.
Two Fulani leaders, the Seriki Fulani of Igbo Ora, Alhaji Idris Abubakar, and the Seriki Fulani of Eruwa, Alhaji Sule Mohammed, asked for forgiveness from those offended, adding that they are ready to facilitate a peaceful coexistence in Ibarapaland.
The Caretaker Chairman of Ibarapa North-West Local Council Development Area, Hon. Okediji Samuel Olusegun, also corroborated the allegations leveled against the Seriki Fulani of Igangan, saying that the Seriki has been fingered in the series of security challenges in the area many times.
Addressing the gathering of traditional rulers, government officials and Fulani leaders in Igangan, the Commissioner of Police, Onadeko said: “We have come to assess and listen to you over the incident that happened. I want to appeal to everyone of us to be calm and ensure there is peace. If there is no peace in the community, there won’t be growth and development.
“I want to appeal to the youth. We have listened and they have interpreted all your complaints and I want to say you should not spoil your case by using force. We are a new team. Bring out all the cases you have, put them in an orderly manner and we will make sure that justice is done.
“So, I want to enjoin all of you to be peaceful and live with one another in a peaceful manner. If we live in peace in this community, we should be able to identify kidnappers, robbers, and rapists. It does not matter where you come from – whether you are from Igbo, Yoruba or Hausa. Actually, we have the good and bad ones. Criminality is not only ascribed to a particular ethnic group, it cuts across all the ethnic groups.
“So, if we don’t come together with one voice, how are we going to fish out all these people?
“Please, be calm. Cooperate with the Police, law enforcement agencies and we will make this place secure for everyone, irrespective of where you come from.
“I want to assure you that all the cases you brought up, a thorough investigation will be done on them and you will see that justice will be delivered. We will be having more of this interactive session and consultative gathering so that we will be able to sit down, talk and iron things out together without resorting to violence, which does not pay.
“Please, don’t take laws into your hands. Just tell us. Let us have peace and everything, by the grace of God, will be okay for all of us.”
While also speaking at Igangan, retired Commissioner of Police, Owoseni, said that the government of the day in Oyo State has been working closely with the Police to fish out criminal elements, adding that 51 suspected criminals linked to kidnapping and other crimes committed in Oke Ogun and Ibarapa areas are already in Police net.
He said some are already charged to court, while others would soon have their days in court.
He said: “Let us put sentiment and politics aside, from what we heard, it is not as if the Ibarapa community is against one ethnic group. What they are claiming and the allegation they have made is that a particular person, who they are now seeing to symbolise an entire ethnic group, has been misbehaving. It is just like what the governor has been saying; that there is trust-deficit between the people and the government, mistrust between the people and law enforcement agencies.
“If you look at the catalogue of what has been said, they feel they have not been given justice and they feel that someone has been stalling justice.
“They feel that someone has been dropping names in order to oppress the community. I believe that with the steps that have been taken to mend all these gaps and with the assurance that the Commissioner of Police has given that they will look at all the cases again, there will be a change.”
Speaking specifically on investigations and arrests, the retired Police Commissioner said: “There are a lot of narratives that have not been given out. “Everybody believes that kidnapping, assasination had taken place in Igangan and it seems the government was not doing anything.
“Truth is, 51 suspects have been in detention for various offences that bother on this kidnapping.
“Arrests were made. Some have been arraigned in court. Some are awaiting trial. For some, investigation are still ongoing, which we made them know. “Everyone will learn lessons, especially the police officer that was accused of complicity in some of these cases. “The CP has given that assurance that every victim will get justice and all the allegations they have made as to the Seriki colluding with criminals, will be looked into.”
The delegation, which also visited Ago Are and Tede communities, which got engulfed in communal clashes over the weekend, held peace parleys at the Ago Are town hall and the palace of the Onitede of Tede, Oba Rauf Oladoyin.
The Commissioner of Police, Onadeko appealed for peace between the two communities, promising to host a peace meeting in her office before the end of the week.
Owoseni, who addressed newsmen at the palace, said that it was wrong for anyone to take laws into his hands, adding that the people must learn to trust security agencies to achieve peace in their areas.
He said of the communal clash between Tede and Ago Are: “This is an evidence of what the governor is doing on the security situation in the state. While the crisis in Igangan was brewing, that was when we heard that these two communities – Tede and Ago-Are – were also at war.
“The purpose of coming here today is to nip in the bud this communal fight. There is an immediate and remote cause but in order to quickly make it not to fester, we are here.”
The Olugbon of Orile Igbon, Oba Francis Olusola Alao, who is also the Deputy Chairman of Oyo State Council of Traditional Rulers, who was in Igangan, Tede and Ago Are, also appealed for peace, insisting that the state can only develop in an atmosphere of peaceful coexistence.
He appealed to the youths to always report their cases to the security agencies, adding that self-help cannot help anyone at the end of the day.
Other monarchs at the Igangan peace parley held at the Igangan Town Hall include the Asigangan of Igangan, a representative of the Eleruwa, the Olu of Igbo Ora, and monarchs from adjoining communities in Ibarapaland.

A Yoruba activist, Sunday Adeyemo Igboho who gave quit notice to the Hausa-Fulani in Igangan, Oke Ogun area of Oyo State, led indigenes of the area to attack the Hausa-Fulani community on Friday, 22nd January, 2021. The incident allegedly resulted in the destruction of houses and vehicles. In its reaction to the incident, the Nigerian Islamic human rights organization, Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for dialogue and wider consultation. MURIC advised the Federal Government to apply caution in handling the fragile situation.

This was contained in a statement issued by the director of the organization, Professor Ishaq Akintola on Sunday, 24 th January, 2021.
According to MURIC, “The Igangan incident must be condemned by all lovers of peace. But at the same time, we cannot close our eyes to the pain and suffering of farmers and indigenes of the area whom criminals see as soft targets for kidnapping, armed robbery, etc. It is however crystal clear that it is not a religious matter, though some have been misled into labeling it an Hausa-Fulani affair. Our focus must be the criminals, not any tribe.

“While we do not endorse violence, we opine that people whose farms have been destroyed have the right to express indignation. In the same manner, those whose relations or friends have fallen victims to criminal activities like kidnapping and armed robbery are justified to speak up. The only difference here is that no single tribe should be held responsible for all the crimes.

“This is because criminals abound in all faiths and tribes everywhere in the world, not only in Nigeria. We should therefore address crime and criminals. We should target kidnappers and armed robbers, not any particular ethnicity. Those who make the mistake of profiling people of certain tribes will end up hurting decent elements within that tribe and this is against the law of natural justice.

“With particular reference to the Oyo and Ondo State incidents and the quit notices, MURIC reminds people of the South West that the crisis cuts across ethnicities. The same herdsmen are involved in several states. Benue, Kaduna, Adamawa, Taraba, Enugu, Onitsha, PortHarcourt, etc, are facing the same problem of herdsmen versus farmers. In essence, the phenomenon is general and not targeted at the Yoruba per se.

“Almost all the northern states face the herdsmen versus farmers conflict, banditry and kidnapping. People of the South West must consider the fate of thousands of their kinsmen from Ogbomosho, Offa, Iwo, Ibadan, etc who have resided in the North for more than a hundred years before insisting on a general expulsion of Northerners.

“Truth is bitter, but the earlier we say it the better. Herdsmen have no right to destroy crops. This is where people have genuine grievances against herdsmen. But indigenes should not label all herdsmen as kidnappers because there are law abiding citizens among them. Yet the most disturbing thing is that many of the criminals are foreigners. Our suggestion is that it is these criminals and foreigners that the security agencies (including amotekun) should go after.

“Instead of applying the big stick, MURIC advises the Federal Government to consult widely with elders from all the states of the federation concerning the issue of herdsmen versus farmers with a view to finding a comprehensive solution. FG should also seek advice from other African countries where the same crisis has been on the front burner at one time or the other since this conflict is not restricted to Nigeria alone. It is national, continental and universal in dimension.

“To douse tension immediately, both FG and the Oyo State government should undertake to speedily and adequately compensate victims of the latest conflict in Igangan, Oyo State. FG in particular should take greater responsibility because it is the nationwide lacuna in security matters that has been responsible for the breakdown in law and order.

“Instead of issuing threats and counter-threats, we appeal to the various ethnicities in the country to understand the nature of the conflict. Herders and farmers crisis is not a Nigerian problem alone, it is universal. Nigeria needs to seek an enduring panacea to its own peculiar problems instead of aggravating the conflict. We must learn from the war in Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, etc and the attendant humanitarian disasters. This is still avoidable in Nigeria.

“MURIC’s avowed motto is ‘Dialogue, Not Violence’. We therefore advocate wide scale dialogue in the present circumstances. MURIC advises the FG to apply caution in handling the fragile situation. FG should take responsibility, compensate victims of the attack in Oyo State and engage all stakeholders in dialogue. We call on governors in affected states to consult traditional rulers on the best solution to the crisis. All forms of confrontation and muscle-flexing should stop in the interest of peace.”

Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)

For soldiers to escort murderous Fulani herdsmen back to a community in Ogun state from which they were earlier evicted and then to publicly whip members of that community for evicting them simply beggars belief.

Have the people of the South West now become slaves in their fathers land? Have we finally been conquered and occupied?

It is utterly mind-blowing. It is wicked. It is evil. It is unacceptable. How much more bloodshed, carnage, violence, insults and humiliation are the people of the South West expected to take? Soldiers are whipping our people like dogs in the street in order to reinstate those that are killing, raping and maiming them?

Is our Army a Nigerian Army or a Fulani Army? Are the Fulanis superior to all others? Are they above the law? Is the Presidency a Nigerian Presidency or a Fulani Presidency? Why do they always speak out in defence of killer herdsmen and never for their victims?

It is only when you have met someone whose whole family has been raped and butchered by Fulani herdsmen that you will know or appreciate what is going on in the South West. It has become a daily occurrence.

They have kidnapped, maimed and slaughtered traditional rulers, businessmen, politicians, elder-statesmen, farmers, artesans, lecturers, teachers, students, artists, pure-water sellers, market women, hairdressers, the rich, the poor, women, children and so many others including the beautiful daughter of Baba Reuben Fasoranti, the leader of Afenifere.

For Miyetti Allah, the ACF, the NEF or anyone else to say that the Fulani “own all the land in Nigeria” and that we are “being provocative”, “beating the drums of war” and “asking for a second civil war” by calling for the arrest and eviction of the killer herdsmen and murderous thugs from our land is insulting and provocative.

Only the ignorant, cowardly and uninformed talk like that. Only those that are secretly behind the carnage, that profit from it and that sent the herdsmen to unleash terror on us can say such things.

The Constitution does not grant the Fulani or anyone else the right to commit murder in Nigeria or to turn the South West into their killing fields. The Constitution does not regard Yoruba blood as being cheaper than others and neither does it prescribe that the Yoruba people are to be treated like sacrificial lambs and killed at will.

Some Yoruba leaders want to be President or Vice President in 2023 and are therefore prepared to keep quiet and tolerate this rubbish that is being done to our people. I am not one of those leaders. Nothing in this world can make me trade in the blood and lives of my people. Nothing will make me turn a blind eye to their sufferings or betray them.

For me my people come first and politics or political expediency comes a distant second. I will speak the truth no matter the consequences, no matter what it costs me and no matter whose ox is gored.

And the truth is that Chief Sunday Igboho, Governor Akeredolu, Afenifere, Professor Akintoye, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, SOKAPU, the Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) and all the other individuals and bodies that have spoken out against the murderous activities of the herdsmen in the South West and elsewhere are right.

And those that have supported or attempted to rationalise the criminal behaviour of the killers in the name of political correctness or political expediency are treacherous, shameless and irresponsible.

If you are a Yoruba man and you want to be President or Vice President I wonder whose affairs will you be presiding over and who will you lead or represent at the national level if all your Yoruba people have already been killed?

Soon we shall start calling the collaborators and coward’s out by name. You betray your own just for support, acceptance and promotion from northerners whereas no northerner worth his salt will ever sell his own people out for you? Nothing could be more reprehensible than that.

Shakespeare wrote ‘cowards die many times before their death’ and Soyinka wrote “the man dies in him who remains silent in the face of tyranny and injustice”. They were both right.

The man has died in too many of our leaders today and the time to speak out is now. We all need to take a cue from Sunday Igboho.

Enough is enough. Too much blood has been shed and too many lives have been taken by these herdsmen in the South West and elsewhere. They kill in the North, the Middle Belt, the South South, the South East and everywhere else and they do it without remorse and with total impunity.

Peace-loving and law-abiding Fulanis are welcome in the South West but those that kill, steal, rape and destroy must leave and they must be brought to justice by the authorities. If this does not happen expect many more Sunday Igbohos to rise up.

The worst culprits in all this are the Buhari administration who are complicit in these crimes and in this ethnic cleansing, mass murder and genocide. I say they are complicit because they have refused to disarm the perpetrators, arrest them or bring them to justice despite the fact that it is their constitutional duty to do so.

They have failed to maintain law and order and to protect the lives and property of the Nigerian people and they continue to pamper and encourage the killer herdsmen.

The Presidency no longer speaks for the Nigerian people but only for Miyetti Allah and the Fulani herdsmen. This is a tragedy of monumental proportions and no matter what they say they will never change.

Oduduwa News has gathered that the National Association of Nigerian Students, the South West (Zone D) under the leadership of Comr. Kappo Olawale Samuel expressed the shock and sadness caused by the crushing to death of students of Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko, Ondo state.

The coordinator in his statement called it a colossal lost to the students’ community. His full statement reads:

“ONDO ACCIDENT: A COLOSSAL LOST TO THE STUDENTS COMMUNITY

We received with great shock the news of a ghastly accident involving a Dangote trailer which occurred in the evening of Saturday 23rd January, 2021, which claimed the lives of some of our students.

The leadership of NANS Southwest commiserates with the families of the victims, AAUA Community and the Akungba community in general on the sad incident.

The death is really a collosal lost to the students community such that it was a black Saturday for us as an association yesterday.

In this view, we demand that the government through its agency should look into this unfortunate incident and devise all working solutions to prevent a reoccurrence. We can’t afford another loss to death. The safety of our subject worths more than gold to us as an association.

One again, the leadership of NANS Southwest sympathize with the families and friends of the victims and we pray that God grant them fortitude to bear the lost.

May the souls of the victims rest in perfect peace. We love you and will miss you.”