The National Coordinator of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams on Monday said his men may not be able provide enough security for Yorubas as the fulani’herdsmen attacks persist in the south west states.
Adams said that Yoruba people must be prepared to defend themselves against the attack of herdsmen which has continued unabated.
The OPC leader spoke at the lecture organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) Ondo state chapter to commemorate the 2016 Democracy Day with the theme, “Herdsmen/ Fulani clashes : what implication for inter- Ethnic relations/ Nigerian Economy.
Adams who was the guest lecturer at the event said Yoruba people’s negative comments over the activities of the OPC has demoralized the group.
He said the group particularly lost the zeal to protect the people because it has been branded tout, thugs and terrorist by the same Yoruba race.
He added that they were only recognised during elections but shot their doors against them after they might have won.
Adams lamented that it was painful that some traditional rulers do not encourage OPC in their communities.
According to him, “religion has taken away traditional means of protection from the people in Yourba land.
“When one is too fanatic in religious, it brings shame, religion is good, but when it becomes fanatic, it brings ridicule
“If we are being moderate in our religions in Yoruba land, be it Christian, muslim or traditional, who dares bring attack into our communities
“But Yoruba people are being hypocritical about traditional protections” Adam said.
He urged the people to use whatever traditional object they have to protect themselves and thier communities, saying the first law in heaven is “Self Defence”.
Also, the OPC chieftains bemoaned the President over his comment that the 2014 National Conference report would be kept in Archive, saying such statement is insulting.
Adams insisted that only the implementation of Confab report would bring lasting solutions to the crisis facing the country.
He said “before you think that I am exaggerating, consider this: between 2010 and 2013, according to a report, Fulani herdsmen killed about 80 people. However, by 2014, they had slaughtered 1,229 people.
“When you consider the Global Terrorism Index, you discover that Fulani herdsmen are not Number Four on the list of the deadliest terror groups in the world.
“Boko Haram, of course, takes the first position. As noted by a recent report, over 2,000 people were killed in conflicts between the herdsmen and different host communities in 2015 alone.
“In comparison, the regular Boko Haram kills 2,500 people annually.
“In a situation where a group of supposed herdsmen carry sophisticated weapons and wipe out entire communities, the unity of the Nigerian nation is indeed threatened”
“Those of us who attended the 2014 National Conference know that Nigeria cannot make any progress without implementing the report of that conference.
“For instance, the report deals extensively with how to eradicate the herdsmen/farmers’ clashes. Other recommendations of the Confab that require urgent implementation include the introduction of State Police, control of Solid Mineral by states where they are domicile, control of the Supreme Court by States, adoption of the French Presidential system of government , voluntary merger of states that so desire, Creation of Zonal Constitution, creation of more local government by states , federating units to participate in resource extraction and reduction of items on exclusive list.
“More fundamentally, it points the way forward for Nigeria. And that way forward is federalism. Let us go back to what we had in the First Republic, a system whereby the component units of this country would control their own resources and determine how to live their lives and what form of government to operate.
“If we do this, we will have a decisive framework for dealing with issues such as the one addressed in this brief lecture.
“Until the report is implemented, we will just be going round in circles and life in Nigeria will continue to be nasty, short and brutish. The time to change our path is now”.
Isaac Nobenz
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