The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde says he would not sit down and watch enemies of peace ignite an ethnic war under his watch as the chief security officer of the state. This was made known through the Chief Press Secretary of the governor, Taiwo Adisa, yesterday shortly after the governor finished having a security meeting with security agencies in the Ibarapa area of the state.
Ibarapa came under the limelight when activities of Kidnapping, farmer/ herder clash escalated in the last few weeks. The incident that leads a youth leader, Sunday Igboho, to issued a seven-day eviction notice to Fulani herders in the area while blaming them for the insecurity that has engulfed the area.
During the meeting, Governor Makinde sympathizes with the people who lost their loved ones, promising them that his government is fine-tuning how to settle the matter.
In his statement, Makinde said, “I decided to spend the night in Ibarapaland, so as to let you know that if my people in this place cannot sleep with two eyes closed, I cannot also sleep with my two eyes closed in Ibadan. We are turning the heat on the criminal elements and we will surely get them,”
He explained that “What happened in Rwanda will not be our portion. If anyone wants to ignite war in Nigeria, it won’t be from here and won’t be under my own watch. We will find a solution to the challenges facing us because we know there are challenges.”
The Governor also promised to provide succor to the families of those who suffered casualties, while promising that his government is already taking action on mediating between the parties involved including the security agencies through a security committee to ensure that it does not happen again.
Though he said he is not a coward governor who is afraid of speaking out for the very people he swore to protect, he was quoted out of context earlier.
He revealed he has approved the deployment of 200 more Amotekun operatives to the Ibarapa community, while intelligence gathering is intensified in the area.
The Governor said, “Some of the problems are perennial. It is not all Fulani people that are criminals, I must tell you. Some of those caught after a robbery operation at Okeho were Igbira from Kogi state,”.
He added “So, we must strive and do the work that can keep our environment safe. There are a few things the government has promised to do and the central part of it, which we think will help our situation, is identity management. We want to know who is where”.
Meanwhile, he warns mischief makers who would want to thrive on the incident to turn it political to stay clear.