Aareonakakanfo of Yoruba land, Iba Gani Adams, on Wednesday, urged leaders and stakeholders across the South west to be vigilant in keeping terrorists at bay.
Gani Adams said this at the second edition of Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, Dependable Security Team meeting held at ONTEC Event Centre, Abeokuta in Ogun State.
While addressing members of the group in Ogun state, he said the meeting is a strategic approach to combating terrorism in the south west,saying the group gathered 100 members each from each of the 57 local governments in the state.
He added that the meeting was first initiated in Lagos, to beef up the security and also strengthen the grassroots security network across the south west.
The Yoruba generallissimo said: “People often asked What is Aare doing to address the various security challenges bedeviling the region? This is the reason for this intervention move by our group to address the security deficit across the region.
“We are here to raise our voices against terrorism in the South West.Today’s gathering is based on the need to beef up security across the region.
“The security architecture has failed,and we can no longer live as if everything is normal.Nothing has changed.The North East,North West, North Central,and even the South East are not spared in the security conundrum.
“It is traditional role of the Aareonakakanfo to secure Yoruba land.It is our duty also as a group to complement the efforts of the south west government in curb the challenges
“So, I am ready to set the ball rolling whenever I am called upon by the south west governors as well as the traditional rulers in Yoruba land.
“OPC is always ready and the gathering is a big testimony of our structure, strength and resolve to solve the security challenges across the region.
“As far as the OPC is concerned, it is a call to duty,it is our strategic approach to defend ourselves and our region since it is obvious that the security architecture has failed to protect us.
“We cannot leave our fate in the hands of security operatives and agencies that seemed to have been overwhelmed by the raging spate of insecurity in the country.”
Adams reaffirmed the group’s support in salvaging the region, maintaining that the group’s dependable force strategic meeting is an on-going programme that will spread across all the states in the region and beyond.
He said: “The highest decision making organ of the Oodua People’s Congress,the National Executive Council (NEC) and National Coordinating Council (NCC) have concluded plans to build on the successes of the two previous editions of the programme both in Lagos and Ogun states respectively, to reaffirm the need for everybody to be vigilant and also be security conscious in whatever we do.That is the reason for this gathering.”