By: Sunday.A. Enikanselu
AS Nigeria grapples with multidimensional security challenges, the South-West region, historically known as the Oduduwa land, stands out as a relatively secure and productive region renowned for its agricultural enterprise, cultural sophistication, and progressive governance. But today, it is at the mercy of a deepening and multidimensional crisis. The drums of insecurity are sounding louder by the day, reverberating ominously through our farmlands, forests, towns, and cities. The persistent and unrestrained invasion of Fulani herdsmen, the unchecked and unmitigated rise of kidnappers and gunmen, and the emergent threat posed by terrorist groups such as the Mahmuda network—reportedly encroaching through the Kwara axis—are alarming. There is a clear indication that the region is under siege. This security threat is far beyond a matter of speculation or isolated concern. It is an existential threat demanding decisive leadership, visionary remodelling, strategic coordination, and collective courage and effort. It demands a comprehensive approach to security sanctification and redemption. The time for platitudes and reactive governance is long past. This is not the time for complacency. The current situation demands visionary leadership that is deliberate, strategic, and coordinated. The governors, governments, and leaders of the South-West must, without dragging their feet, engage in comprehensive re-engineering of the region’s security infrastructure. The time has come to be initiative-taking—to revamp, reinforce, rejig, and rethink the entire security architecture of Oduduwa land.
Why this clarion call now? The gathering storm in South-West Nigeria manifests a clear and present danger. Intelligence reports, experiences and challenges faced by farmers, daily observations, and accounts from social and print media have clearly shown a horrendous and growing pattern of insecurity, such as: 1. Kidnapping for ransom along highways, rural roads, and even in homes, including state capitals. 2. Infiltration of forests and farmlands by armed Fulani herders. This development has paralysed—or rather, seriously limited—the agricultural growth and development of the region. Our diasporan people, who are interested in importing modern agriculture to their fatherland, have been discouraged by the activities of these villainous Fulani herdsmen tormenting farmers across the South-West region unabated. 3. Bandit incursions and gunmen attacks. These are strange incidents in the South-West. Our villages in the region were once Arcadian and idyllic, offering peaceful havens nestled in tranquil surroundings. No wonder most city dwellers looked forward to enjoying holidays and weekends in their villages. That was our Oduduwa land then. 4. The emergence of the Mahmuda terrorist group. Intelligence reports, which have gone viral on social media, signal a dangerous escalation in the security threat to the South-West—the existence of the Mahmuda terrorist group, which plans to exploit Kwara as a gateway to penetrate the region and operate within it. This is a dangerous development that must be investigated by crack investigators and detectives. If found true, the group must be smoked out at the embryonic stage before it builds networks in the South-West forests.
The horrendous insecurity picture painted above connotes catastrophic danger and systemic threats to the economy, culture, and smooth continuity of Yoruba civilisation and sophistication. Our Governors, our de facto Commanders-in-Chief of their respective states—over to you, Our Excellencies. The time for epideictic rhetoric, reactive security governance, and hollow pronouncements is long over. The six Omoluabi governors of the South-West must act now, not in isolation, but as a regional bloc with a shared destiny and unified security concerns and challenges. History will not forget prevarication, vagueness of purpose, or silence in the face of this pervasive assault on the territorial value and integrity of Oduduwa land. It is no longer right, conventional, reasonable, or acceptable to convene security meetings only after each attack or to issue routine condemnations. The time calls for strategic foresight, bold action, and results-oriented implementation efforts. Failure to act now will be tantamount to—and seen as—complicity by all sons and daughters of Oduduwa and lovers of peace and security. Future generations, both living and unborn, will remember your government and leadership for inaction, insensitivity, indolence, and irresponsibility at a critical time of external aggression against Yorubaland and the Yoruba race.
Strategic path to navigate now: As noted earlier, the time is not convenient for unreasonable foot-dragging. The region is currently blessed with the Amotekun Corps. The establishment of the Amotekun Corps was a visionary leap, thanks to the proactive leadership of the late Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Odunayo Akeredolu (SAN) of blessed memory, along with other South-West governors at the time. As a starting point in addressing the South-West’s scary security challenges, the Amotekun Corps must be immediately repositioned, re-equipped, restructured, and reconceptualised. It should be remodelled into a regional security command capable of interstate coordination, counter-insurgency operations, and intelligence-led interventions. To achieve this within record time, the governors must take swift action in the following time-specific directions: 1. Ensure legal and tactical upgrades for Amotekun.This demands legislative strengthening of the Amotekun Corps across the six South-West states. This is no mean responsibility This is not the time for complacency. The current situation demands visionary leadership that is deliberate, strategic, and coordinated..
The governors must be audacious and tenacious to ensure this is done swiftly, deploying all available resources within the region to actualise it through coordinated legislation across the Houses of Assembly of the six South-West states. 2. Equip operatives with operational tools, surveillance equipment, mobility assets, and communication infrastructure. 3. Train operatives in the use of modern operational technology, tools, and equipment. 4. Ensure structured collaboration with private-sector security intelligence outfits. 5. Perfect a well-networked collaboration with federal government security agencies, without relying solely on them for survival and resilience. 6. Ensure structured and sustained integration with local vigilantes, hunters, and traditional security frameworks.
As part of the operational framework of the regional corps, there must be a joint command structure spanning all six South-West states. Our security threat is regional, and therefore, our counter-efforts and operations must be regionally managed. Once the Amotekun Corps has been restructured on a regional command basis and adequately equipped—legally, materially, and technologically—to perform optimally in providing upfront and remedial security services to the region through the untiring efforts of our Omoluabi governors, the next stage in fortifying the security landscape of Oduduwa is the convocation of a South-West Security Summit (SWSS).** The SWSS should serve three critical purposes: 1. Strategic coordination of security efforts within the region. The summit should align all security activities across the six South-West states into a well-networked regional security strategy. 2. To create a platform where state governors present detailed reports on actions taken, challenges encountered, and results achieved—enhancing transparency and accountability in the security system. 3. To involve a broad array of experts and actors in building a long-term, inclusive, intelligence-driven security framework.
To guarantee an all-inclusive, operationally effective, credible, and professionally constituted summit, membership should include the following tiers of stakeholders: Strategic Leadership: The six governors of Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, and Ekiti, with their deputies as alternative representatives. The chairman of the South-West Governors’ Forum should serve as the chairperson and convener of the summit. Existing Regional Security and Intelligence Agencies: Commanders of the regional Amotekun Corps, commissioners of police for each South-West state, zonal and state directors of the Department of State Services (DSS), military heads overseeing South-West jurisdiction (Army, Navy, Air Force), NSCDC zonal commanders, and regional coordinators of Customs, Immigration, and NDLEA.Select first-class Obas and kings, chairmen of state councils of traditional rulers across the six South-West states, and custodians of sacred forests and historical lands. Coordinators of well-structured local vigilante groups, indigenous forest hunters’ associations, and leaders of farmers’ unions and associations. Intelligence and technology experts, security consultants, ex-military strategists, and security technology experts. Civil society representatives, human rights lawyers, legal scholars, and communication professionals to build public trust and enhance citizen engagement.
ALSO READ FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE: Ogbomoso joins Ibadan, rejects Alaafin as permanent chair of Obas council
Expected Deliverables from the Summit: 1. A harmonised security roadmap for the South-West, possibly spanning 10 years (2025–2035), subject to review. 2. Establishment of surveillance and intelligence networks across the region. 3. Creation of the South-West Security Trust Fund (SWSTF). 4. Development of key performance metrics (KPMs) for security delivery at local, state, and regional levels. 5. Development and rollout of citizen engagement frameworks**, such as real-time security alert apps and toll-free numbers.
Let me conclude by emphasising that the enemies of peace and security in the South-West are becoming bolder, more organised, craftier, more daring, and increasingly destructive. This is a defining moment in the history of the Yoruba nation. It is a test of our leadership, a measure of our unity, and a reflection of our values. Let our response to this challenge be stronger, swifter, and smarter. This is not the time for political manoeuvring, power play, party politics, or cynical politicking. Let it not be said that when danger knocked, we were too divided or too distracted to respond. Let it be remembered—let it be recorded in history—that in the hour of peril, the leadership of the South-West and the sons and daughters of Oduduwa rose with one voice, one will, and one mission to defend their land, their people, and their future.
•Professor Enikanselu writes in from Lagos.
