The Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, Aare Gani Adams, on Thursday said though the Yoruba nation will not go to war over the spate of kidnapping, armed robbery, herdsmen invasion and banditry in the South-West region, yet, it would no longer allow its people to be killed like chickens.

Adams who stated this in Akure, Ondo State capital, during a visit to condole with the leader of the Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Chief Reuben Fasoranti, in Akure over the murder of his daughter, Mrs Funke Olakunrin, urged Yoruba leaders to guide against being frustrated and turning them to rebels over the activities of the marauders in the region.

Adams who said the time has come to put a stop to the rampaging activities of those disturbing the peace of Yorubaland, however, said, “It is very important that we have to react to this issue but we will not overreact.

“We are being cautious so that we won’t be setup. And the law is there that we have to operate within the ambit of the law. That is one of the reasons we are being careful.

“But I can tell you authoritatively that we are meeting as a group and as stakeholders to map out strategies to complement the efforts of the law enforcement agencies.”

He said further: “My own Aare Ona Kakanfo is a modern one. It is not that of the olden days where the Alaafin and some Yoruba Obas with the Oyo Meesi will declare war and you can go to war. We have the structure of security on the ground, the entire security apparatus.

“We can no longer allow our people to be killed like chickens. We can’t keep quiet while Yorubas are being killed like fowls.

“But we have to be careful not to fall into their trap. We have to be careful. It is good you see me in circulation to walk with you. We don’t want a situation we will walk into their trap because we realise that this ugly incident is being coordinated beyond our own scene. There are some forces behind them.”

The Yorubaland Generalissimo who queried the source of the weapons being carried by the Fulani herdsmen fingered some forces behind their activities.

He said: “How can ordinary Fulani herdsmen be holding AK 47. In our findings, the AK 47 rifle goes for about N1 million and with many bullets. So, we are looking beyond ordinary Fulani herdsmen.

“We realised that there are some forces behind them in three phases. Those who strike in the bush, those who issued statements to back them up and those who are strategists who give instructions to those who strike and those who issue statements.”

He lamented that the Yoruba nation had relaxed and took things for granted, saying, “Our problem in Yorubaland is that we don’t prepare, we always react. When we tell our people to prepare, but they will employ a nonchalant attitude to it.

“I have seen this signal, I have the information. Last year, I wrote our governors and a summit on security was held three weeks ago, just within three hours we couldn’t conclude that summit before they left that venue.”

He, however, said he has been having different meetings with different organisations to strategise on how to protect the nation against the Fulani herdsmen.

He called on the governors of the six states in the South-West region to work on a joint positive security summit to proffer collective solution to what is happening in the region.

He disclosed that he will be meeting with the state governors in the region on how to protect the Yoruba nation, saying, “We are having different meetings on different organizations and we are planning to have a synergy with our state government in the South-West.

“Don’t forget, that the governors are the chief security officers of their states and in a sensitive security situation like this we have to be very careful not to jump the gun.

Now we don’t have option, we have to work with them. They are the chief security officers of their states and anything that happens within their state is an embarrassment to them.

Don’t forget that they are the ones collecting all the security votes. As the Aare Ona Kankafo, I only use my personal fund. We are talking about someone that is ready to sacrifice anything for his own race and not reading political meaning to all that is happening.

“I’ve been notified that the IGP has arranged a special squad to work on that dangerous spot of the South-West due to the letter I wrote to the IGP four weeks ago. (Nigerian Tribune)

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