The Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yoruba Land, Gani Adams, has said that the successful implementation of ‘Amotekun’ would attract more investments to the South-West.
Speaking on the sideline of a one-day Stakeholders’ Forum on “A Bill for a Law to Amend the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps Law 2019 to Establish Lagos Amotekun Corps,” Adams noted that Amotekun would also send a message to criminals that it won’t be business as usual in Yoruba land.
The Aare Ona Kankanfo restated that Amotekun is not out to harm any ethnic nationality or is it an enemy of non-Yoruba people resident in Lagos.
He also allayed the fear in some quarters that Amotekun is a state police, insisting it is not.
He said: “Amotekun is welcome development; psychologically it will send signal to the criminals that Yoruba people are ready to maintain law and order, and complement the efforts of security agencies in Nigeria.
“As a matter of fact, if South-West is well secured, investors will come into the zone and it will be an advantage to the economy of Nigeria.
“If the economy of the country is booming, it is not only the South-West that will benefit from it. The common wealth will be shared to other regions.
“We are not tribalistic and we believe in justice and fair play. We believe that irrespective of where you come from, you are a Lagosians, you are a Westerner in as much that you are not a criminal.
“When you are a criminal, you are an enemy of Amotekun; you are enemy of Yoruba land. But if you are living and believing in law and order, there won’t be a problem.
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“I am telling you categorically, the fear of some people is that we are trying to create a state police, it is not.”
According to Adams the outfit would help secure people in various communities as well as gather intelligence for security organisations and other government agencies.
He commended Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu and Lagos State House of Assembly for holding the public hearing on the outfit, saying it was for the good of the Yoruba race.
Adams said that the outfit would feature members of OPC, hunters, vigilante, Agbekoya, Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps (LNSC), pointing out that no group could do it alone.
“This is a conventional way of empowering the Amotekun to face the hardened criminals. This is not just about watching, giving intelligence reports to police.
“This is also about confronting hardened criminals who want to destroy, kill and cause nuisance to our region.
“All the groups that are good about security issues should be employed into the outfit. It is not about OOPC, he stated.
Also speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Tunde Braimoh, said the security of lives and property in Yoruba land was non negotiable and a priority for the Assembly.
The lawmaker commended groups like religious organisations, civil society groups, and opposition parties like Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for participating at the public hearing and their brilliant and thought provoking’ contributions.
