Oduduwa News

Eight months after the invasion of Igangan town in Ibarapaland by suspected herders and armed bandits , the Oyo State House of Assembly has appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde to fulfill his promise to the victims of the ill-fated attack.

The appeal was contained in a motion brought to the House on Tuesday by Hon. Peter Ojedokun representing Ibarapa North/Central State Constituency.

Hon Ojedokun in the motion recalled that aside from the series of attacks experienced by Igangan last year, the town was invaded on the 5th of June, 2021 leaving many deaths and houses, shops, filling stations and vehicles including lorries loaded with goods razed completely.

The Palace of the Asigangan of Iganganland was also burnt down in the wake of the attacks.

The House in the resolution appreciated Governor Makinde for his prompt intervention through the deployment of security agencies to the town, the free treatment giving to those injured in the attack as well as the presentation of cash to the families of the Amotekun Commander and four others killed in the attack.

The motion read in part ” The severity of the attack and the magnitude of the damage and destruction has no doubt brought untold hardship to the victims and their families and has negatively affected their businesses and means of livelihood hence the need for Governor Makinde to put measures in place to compile the list of victims of the attack and provide succor and assistance for them in line with his promise”

The House also urged the Oyo State Government to make credit and loan facilities available through the Ministries of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Trade , Investment, Cooperatives and Industry to businessmen and women as well as other individuals who lost their goods and properties during the attack.

The lawmakers equally appealed to the Oyo State Government to work through the Ministry of Public Works and Transport as well as Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters towards rebuilding the palace of the Asigangan burnt by the assailants.

The Oyo State House of Assembly called for all round security surveillance especially in areas already identified as flashpoints in Iganganland to nib any of such future attacks in the bud while also commending the Nigeria Police Force, Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) and other security Agencies for making the town and indeed the whole of Ibarapaland safe again.

Shina Peller, a member of the house of representatives, says for “desirable change” to take place in Nigeria, the country must change its style of politics.

The lawmaker said political godfatherism and imposition of candidates “should be discouraged and jettisoned”.

Speaking at the launch of the ‘We2geda Movement’ on Saturday in Lagos, Peller said there is a need for a new system of politics.

The lawmaker, who is the national coordinator of the movement, said godfatherism and the imposition of candidates on the people must be discouraged in order to build institutions.

“Our lamentation about the lack of good leadership in Nigeria has been going on for a very long time with no desirable change,” he said.

“What we must take note of is that we can’t achieve the change that we so desire by fighting the present reality, we must build a new system that will make the present system obsolete.

“You may want to ask, how do we achieve this? Yes, we can address and achieve this by changing our style of politics of anointing and imposing candidates on the electorates. We are now in a century where political godfatherism and imposition should be discouraged and jettisoned.

“It is high time we focused on building strong institutions that will last forever rather than powerful individuals who have turned themselves to gods on earth.

“This is exactly what We2geda Movement aims to achieve, and though we know it is a very difficult, we are very optimistic that with the continued support and cooperation of great minds that make up the movement, we’ll achieve it.

“Fellow young vibrant Nigerians, it is very important that we are very strategic in our approaches, actions and activities if truly we want to make a positive change.”

Kashin Ibrahim-Imam, chairman of the board of trustees (BoT) of the movement, said future generations would benefit from the move to reform the country’s political system.

“Money politics have done great disservice to us. We need more hands to solve this problem. The founding fathers were not thinking of creating Nigeria for Nigerians but for Africans,” he said.

“This is an opportunity presented to us; hence, If you think this is about us you are missing it. It is not about us but our unborn generation.”

Linus Okorie, a former house of representatives member, 2baba Idibia, Kenny Blaq and Broda Shaggy were some of the notable people present at the event.