The Aare Ona Kankanfo of Yoruba Land, Iba Gani Adams, has said that the South-West geopolitical zone and Nigeria generally would benefit economically from the successful implementation of Amotekun, the Western Nigeria Security Network.
He stated this Monday on the sidelines of a one-day public hearing on the implementation of Amotekun Corps in Lagos.
During the event, the Lagos State House of Assembly sought stakeholders’ input for “A Bill for a Law to Amend the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Corps Law 2019 to Establish Lagos Amotekun Corps”.
The Yoruba generalissimo noted that the successful implementation of Amotekun would lead to a secure South-West which would boost investors’ confidence and improve the economy of the zone and Nigeria.
“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 commonwealth will be shared to other regions,” Adams said.
He noted that the Amotekun Corps would help the police and other security agencies gather grassroots-based intelligence.
Amotekun is neither meant to harm any ethnic nationality nor is it an enemy of non-Yoruba people who had been residing in Lagos for more than 200 years.
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“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.
“I am telling you categorically, the fear of some people is that we are trying to create a state police, it is not,” Adams added.
He urged pessimists to come to terms with the benefits the establishment of Amotekun would bring to the nation.
The Aare Onakakanfo said South-West would remain focused and advised some groups such as Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association (MACBAN) to desist from making provocative statements about ‘Amotekun’.
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), adding that no group could do it alone.
He said: “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 OPC.”