Your Excellency,
Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello,
The Executive Governor of Kogi State,
Insecurity: A Menace Bedeviling Okunland
I am forced to write this open letter to you. I chose to make it an open letter because the issue in discourse is very worrisome to all concerned Nigerians, natives and residents of Okunland vaguely. Since the issue in discourse is of great concern to all well-meaning and right-thinking Nigerians, Kogites and ‘Omo Okun rere’, it must be of great concern to you, and collective action is the best way of finding an appropriate and adequate solution to the problem.
Borrowing from the words of President Olusegun Obasanjo, “the contents of this letter, therefore, should be available to all those who can help in proffering effective solutions for the problem of insecurity in the land.”
It is no longer news how the territories of Okunland has in recent years become home to what has continually been termed “unknown gunmen.” This reality has come to be a tolerated phenomenon among natives of the land as we all live in fear of losing our lives at the pull of a trigger by these unscrupulous elements who ought to have been flushed out through a collective effort by the government whose primary assignment is the protection of lives and properties of citizens, and indigenous people of Okun nation.
The spate of insecurity has metamorphosed from bad to worse that even government officials are not excluded from attacks by these dreaded criminal elements who are hell bent on taking over our space as a people by unleashing terror on us. Insecurity in Okunland can no longer be ignored, treated with nonchalance, swept under the carpet or treated with cuddling glove.
It is on this note that I, being a major stakeholder in Okunland, call the attention of the state government to the security threat that has been a barrier to the relevant peace we used to enjoy as a people. The primary objective of any government is the protection of lives and property of its citizenry. If a government reaches a point where it can no longer fulfill this responsibility, the result will be anarchy and a return to the Hobbesian state. Because, when an individual or a people feels their existence can no longer be guaranteed by the government, they take up arm or anything that will guarantee their safety. By so doing, anarchy becomes inevitable.
Since the inception of your administration in the first tenure, you have proven to be a detribalized leader who effectively and efficiently managed and equally harnessed the diversity in Kogi state and also, as against what is inherent at the national level, bridged the gap between farmers and herders and government and the people. This alone takes us a step towards preferring a lasting solution to the issue of insecurity in Kogi state.
Sir, I must say, at this juncture, a security summit of every concerned individual is expedient. Through this summit, factors militating against relevant peace will be identified and vehemently crashed.
Above all, I will be unreasonable to not commend your leadership qualities which has caused a new wave of youth consciousness in politics and the political and also your scores in the area of security of lives and properties of your people. Like your second tenure campaign slogan, “Let’s do more,” you can do more to surpass the record you created in terms of security in Kogi state which was formerly home to criminal elements and now, has become a safe haven and a reckoning point in the north central and Nigeria at large. I hope Nigerians see this ahead of the fast approaching electoral year.
Signed:
Comrade Adeyemi Babarinde Sunday,
National President, National Association of Okun Students (NAOS).
Friday, December 3, 2021.
