It would be inconsiderate and unduly partisan to ignore the work that Governor Seyi Makinde has put into securing the lives and properties of residents of Oyo State. One cannot argue his commitment to ensuring that Oyo State is safe. Things were indeed in a bad state when he ran for governor, which necessitated his presenting “Security” as one of the four pillars of his ‘Roadmap to Accelerated Development in Oyo State.’
Since coming into office, Governor Makinde has spared no cost in equipping the police and building on the state security infrastructure. He has donated vehicles, security equipment and communication gadgets, overseen the expansion and equipping of the Oyo State Security Control Room and ensured the setting up of a new Police Mobile Squadron Unit in Ago-Are, Oke-Ogun zone.
Also, the establishment of the Amotekun Corps was primarily due to the resilience of the Oyo State Governor. The state hosted several meetings to ensure that the security outfit kicks off. Recently, the governor approved the sum of N59.7million as takeoff funds for the security outfit.
However, despite his best efforts, insecurity seems to be on the rise.
To be fair, Nigeria’s brand of federalism which puts policing in the exclusive list makes it impossible for state governors to have direct oversight of the police. State Commissioners of Police answer to the Inspector General of Police, who in turn reports to the President. Nevertheless, Governors can work with law enforcement to get them to do more.
Perhaps, it is time for Governor Seyi Makinde to rethink his strategies. The recent shooting of a middle-aged man, just a short distance away from the first lady’s office leaves a lot to be desired. It is a failure of security for robbers to so easily penetrate and operate in a reserved government area which is supposed to be the most secured in Oyo State.
We appreciate His Excellency’s approach to the economy and allowing citizens to fend for themselves and his openness to letting commercial cyclists work freely in the state. It must be noted that certain areas must be reserved. Up until four months ago, commercial motorcyclists were not allowed to ply this route. What changed?
High-security areas must be identified and treated as such. If the security agencies need to be given ‘marching orders’ to do their jobs, then so be it. Something must be done about securing areas around banks and ATMs in Oyo State. The security architecture provided should be put to effective use not just in solving crime, but more importantly, in preventing criminal activities.
We cannot bring back those who have died from the recent breaches of security in Oyo State, but we can make ‘the living’ feel safer. Also, we can honour the dead by bringing the perpetrators of these crimes to justice.
We must give kudos to Governor Makinde for working with the police to place a bounty on the Akinyele killings alleged mastermind, who had escaped from custody. We have no doubts that the N500,000 reward played a role in his rearrest.
Judging from the account of the suspect, people watched him escape from custody but did not raise the alarm. Oyo Affairs believes that a campaign getting citizens involved in the security process would play a huge role in slowing down the crime rate. There should be a deliberate endeavour to educate the citizenry so that when they see something, they can say something.
The 615-emergency contact number should be given greater prominence. Furthermore, the police should prioritise such calls. Although it has been reported that some people make prank calls to that number, the authorities cannot afford to ignore any calls. Instead, legislation should be put in place to deal with pranksters.
We need not remind Governor Seyi Makinde that given the economic direction of his administration, Oyo State cannot afford to become a hotbed of insecurity. We want the governor who took actions to end the menace of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in the early weeks of his assumption of office to stand up and act now.
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