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•Says moves should salvage country, reset it

Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

Pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, has commended President Bola Tinubu on the recent changes being effected in the agencies of government responsible for security in Nigeria.

The organisation has described the move by the president as a step in the right direction that would salvage and reset the country adroitly.

Afenfere’s position was contained in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Jare Ajayi.

Afenifere decried the damage caused to the nation by insecurity, which he said presented the nation as one at war.

“This war is not only physical; it is also psychological and attitudinal. It has resulted in millions of Nigerians living in a condition that is not only debilitating but elicits pity,” it stated.

Afenifere asserted that the undesirable situation was well-captured by President Tinubu while hosting the 36 state governors in his maiden meeting with them on June 7, 2023 in Abuja, stating that poverty was written boldly on the faces of Nigerians, which propelled the president to challenge the governors and declared that, “Our position is to eliminate poverty.”

Drawing a relationship between change in the leadership of security agencies and poverty, Ajayi submitted that the spate of insecurity has led to the untimely deaths of thousands, imperiled hundreds of thousands of lives and destroyed businesses running into billions if not trillions of naira, and thus aggravating the poverty indices in the country.

“Incidentally, the president actually said poverty and insecurity were priority areas for his administration and he would do all that is required to address them. He gave this assurance while having a conversation with European Council President, Mr. Charles Michel on June 7, Wednesday, 2023,” it said.

Afenifere recalled that circa 2024/2025, three states namely Borno, Yobe and Adamawa, were under siege. Many others such as Niger, Sokoto, Nassarawa, Benue, Plateau, Katsina also came under serious attacks in subsequent years leading to the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people who were forced to be living in what is called Internally Displaced Peoples’ camps, and became refugees in their own country with a future that was uncertain.

The Yoruba group recounted how banditry, terrorism, kidnapping, cattle rustling and attacks of herders on farmers as well as killings by what was termed UGM (unknown gunmen) became the order of the day, adding that, in due course, killing for rituals especially in the southern part of the country was soon to be added to the despicable bargain.

“Several efforts were made and resources running into trillions spent, yet the menace ‘refused’ to go away. The expectation that the coming of former President Muhammadu Buhari, a retired army general, would stem the tide on taking over from former President Goodluck Jonathan turned to be an unmet expectation as security breaches got worsened under him (Buhari).

“Calls on him to rejig the security architecture went on deaf ears. Feeble efforts made and a few changes in personnel were too little to make desirable impacts,” it said.

Afenifere admitted that change of personnel was not enough to see  a dramatic turnaround in the country’s architecture, was however emphatic that “doing so was a critical step in order to effect fundamental changes in what is presently operating.”