Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams on Tuesday, February 13, wrote a pressing letter to governors of the six states in the southwest, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi and governors of Kwara and Kogi states.

The letter, titled. “Yorubaland Is “Troubled, Darkness Looms,” was also sent to the state council of Obas giving a detailed analysis of the prevailing security challenges in the region, even as he also proffered possible solutions to the problem.

Adams, who had raised similar issues recently said in the letter that ‘evil had entered Yorubaland’, insisting that more than 60 million Yoruba living in the Southwest, parts of South-South and North-Central of Nigeria are troubled.

The letter reads in part: “On November 26, 2020, a first-class traditional ruler in Ondo State, the Olufon of Ifon, Oba Israel Adeusi, who just left the Governor’s Office, Akure after a security meeting with the then Governor, the late Arakunrin Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, SAN, (may his soul rest in peace), was shot dead by suspected Fulani herdsmen on Akure-Owo Highway. All hell was let loose. Imagine the insult to the Yoruba race.

“The Yoruba, at home and abroad, saw this as an unprecedented sacrilege. Youths in Ondo state immediately threatened to take up arms but the then President Muhammadu Buhari pacified the Yoruba, saying the killers would be apprehended, but till today, the killers have not been apprehended.

“We thought we had seen the last of that sacrilege. But now, ‘Eemo ti Wolu’ (there is evil in the land). Even during the Kiriji War, I don’t think what happened a few days ago ever happened in Yorubaland.

“From Ekiti to Kwara states, three traditional rulers were shot dead by these blood-thirsty maniacs. The Alara of Ara who escaped in Ekiti narrated what happened and the people who perpetrated this heinous crime.

“Never in the history of Yoruba were three Obas shot dead in a spate of four days. So, obviously, evil has entered Yorubaland. And as our progenitors did, we must not appease this evil in our land. It must be dealt with immediately and decisively.

“But, that decisive action requires speed. The evil gradually creeping into Yorubaland is a monster that must be fought with all powers at our disposal. This scourge of foreign banditry is similar to the scorched-earth policy of the Fuhrer, Adolf Hitler, during the Second World War, an intentional course of military and para-military action that was drastic, maximum, and ruinous,” he added.

While urging the governors and other stakeholders to act fast on the present danger, he stated further that, “the clear and present danger’ is to behave as if this hydra-headed monster does not already constitute a problem.

“The matter is so serious now that some Yoruba are being abducted on the highway. If our people are afraid of going to their farms and travelling on the highway, danger looms.

“Due to the fact that this ‘cancer’ was not given an urgent and decisive operation when it started, it is now spreading like wildfire because the perpetrators get high financial returns with less risk, unlike armed robbery which involves a lot of risk and high uncertainty.

“We have a situation on our hands now in which if an intending victim escapes, the kidnappers will go for the wife. If she escapes, they will go for the children. Since nobody wants to lose a loved one, family members look for money by all means to pay these evil doers. And the vicious circle continues.

“Aside from making money from this evil venture, these killers and their sponsors want to destroy the economy of Yorubaland. That is why they must be stopped now. Kidnapping for ransom is already creating fear in Yorubaland and if our people can no longer go to farms or travel through the highways, our economy will be affected. We must wage war against kidnapping and the time for that fight is now,” he added.

Aare Adams maintained also that he was ready to flush out all the undesirable elements in the land, but added that he needed the permission of the governors to make this possible.

“Now, we are in the 21st Century. Elected governors are the Chief Security Officers of their respective states. For me to move against the enemies of Yoruba in this land, I will need your permission and cooperation.

“Aside from the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) which has a solid network in all the wards, villages, towns, and cities in Yorubaland, I also control 13 other groups working with the OPC.

“They are the South West Security Stakeholders Group (SSSG) and this group includes the Agbekoya, the Professional Hunters, Vigilante Groups of Nigeria, Vigilante Jahun, Agbekoya Peace Movement, Agbekoya Farmers Society, COMSAIC and Isokan Ile Oodua among others.

“We already have the troops and logistics to flush out undesirable elements in the land but for this war to be fought effectively, it is no doubt that coordination is central. And as the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland, I have my strategy and I am ready to give you my maximum support as the Chief Security Officer of your state.

“I can assure you that within six months, insecurity will reduce drastically across the southwest.

“This is not the time to be liaising with some groups in isolation, (the majority of them are members of South West Security Stakeholders Group and they are under my leadership as the convener of the group and as the Aareonakakanfo of Yorubaland) to wage this battle against the marauders,” the letter stated.

Aare Adams, however, sought to have an urgent meeting with the governors on the security threat to “our collective existence.” (The Nation)

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