AMOTEKUN – I had heard the word many a time before the Southwest governors chose it as the codename for a security network to combat armed robbery, kidnapping and some other vices, which the region has been battling for years.
Before the name became the symbol of hope, deaths were recorded, injuries were sustained, husbands became widowers, wives became widows, children became fatherless, farmlands were ruined and traditional rulers were treated with disdain.
The marauders became too powerful for the police to handle. They had weapons that rivalled the police’s armoury. They were ruthless with their weapons. Their reign made travelling on the Benin-Ore Road a suicide mission. Our great colleague, Dr Onukaba Adinoyi-Ojo, died on this road. The daughter of Yoruba leader, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, was killed in this axis of evil. So many others without popular faces and names went down with the madness in Southwest’s axis of evil.
So, when Amotekun was brought, I thought respite had come. I am happy the Amotekun army will not bear arms. I am happy they will concentrate more on intelligence gathering. I am happy the governors are committed to it. I am happy tools will be provided for them to work with. I am also happy it will help create jobs in the six Southwest states.
But I was also sad at a point. I became sad when Abubakar Malami, our Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, decided to fight Amotekun. He waited for the process to have been concluded, with resources already deployed, before waking up from his deep sleep to yearn gibberish.
His statement denouncing ‘the saviour’ reads: “Federal Republic of Nigeria is a sovereign entity and is governed by laws meant to sustain its corporate existence as a constitutional democracy. It is a Federation of states, but with the Federal Government superintending over matters of national interests.
“The division of executive and legislative authority between the Federal and State Governments has been clearly defined by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended). It is against the same background that matters relating to the peace, order and good government of the Federation and in particular, the defence of the country, are enshrined in the Exclusive Legislative List.
“The Second Schedule in Item 17 deals with defence. This is a matter that is within the exclusive operational competence of the Federal of Government of Nigeria. No other authority at the state level, whether the executive or legislature, has the legal authority over defence.
“The setting up of the paramilitary organization called ‘Amotekun’ is illegal and runs contrary to the provisions of the Nigerian law. The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) has established the Army, Navy and Air Force, including the police and other numerous paramilitary organisations, for the purpose of the defence of Nigeria.
“As a consequence of this, no State Government, whether singly or in a group, has the legal right and competence to establish any form of organisation or agency for the defence of Nigeria or any of its constituent parts. This is sanctioned by the provision of Item 45 of the Second Schedule of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) authorising the Police and other Federal government security services established by law to maintain law and order.
“The law will take its natural course in relation to excesses associated with organisation, administration and participation in ‘Amotekun’ or continuous association with it as an association.
“Finally, it is important to put on record that the Office of the Attorney General and Minister of Justice was not consulted on the matter. If it had, proper information and guidance would have been offered to ensure that Nigeria’s defence and corporate entity are preserved at all times.”
On Thursday, he restated his controversial stand via a radio show. This was the same day Southwest governors and Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo met and agreed that a legal framework should be worked out for the security outfit.
Malami obviously does not know that Amotekun is an idea whose time has come. Amotekun, the one the English call leopard; its exploits in the jungle recommend it to help save the jungle that marauders have turned the Yoruba nation to. Amotekun is simply community policing at a more organised level. Malami is not the custodian of our law. More experienced senior advocates have faulted his position and I align myself with them, and this is why I believe the onslaught against it looks more about politics than law.
The Amotekun is not a competitor with the Police, Army, Navy or Air Force. It is to complement them in areas of ‘neighbourhood watch, information and intelligence gathering, detection of early warning signs and in giving intelligence response in a proactive manner, apart from acting as a liaison between the conventional security outfits and the local population’ as Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi said.
The Yoruba nation cannot be left to the police. It is clear this is beyond them. Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu spoke with both sides of his mouth. He was consulted by the Southwest governors and he gave them the impression that he was in support. He later sounded like a broken record. He cannot fight Amotekun.
The Amotekun is too big for those fighting it.
The Southwest is a land of many firsts: the first television station in Africa, the first tallest multi-storey building in the whole of Nigeria and so many other firsts. It is the land of the great late Obafemi Awolowo, the land of the living legend called Wole Soyinka, the land of the irrepressible late Moshood Kashimawo Olawale Abiola and home to Africa’s richest man Aliko Dangote.
Southwest is home to great sons of Igboland who are doing exploits in Ibadan, Lagos, Akure and other parts of the region. The Arewa communities in the Southwest feel at home and Amotekun will make them sleep with their eyes closed. It is too important to be left to the police whose hands are tied.
I know that kidnappings also go on in the North; the Southeast and Southsouth also have their fair share of the challenge. They should be free to address the challenge within the ambit of the law, like the governors of the Southwest have done. It is absolutely wrong to deny a people their fundamental right to protect themselves when the conventional security agencies have failed to provide such protection. No serious central government should deny a people the right to travel, do businesses, travel in peace and sleep with eyes closed, which the Amotekun promises to guarantee.
It is not in the country’s interest to stop Amotekun. There is nothing illegal about it. The section of the constitution being bandied around to justify the onslaught against Amotekun is not relevant to the situation at hand. Let Amotekun be, please!
As Prof. Soyinka noted, if President Muhammadu Buhari ‘takes a wrong action on this matter, he will wake up to find that he is the force that tore the country apart’.