A member of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Osun State and a former gubernatorial aspirant on the platform of the party in the state of Osun, and National Coordinator, Nigerian for Buhari Again, Engr. Dr. Olayinka Taofeek Ayinde, has added his voice to the growing clamour for the sustenance of the newly-created Operation Amotekun in the Southwest, saying there was no reason for any objection in the first instance.
According to Ayinde, the security outfit is long overdue considering the rise in crime rate in Nigeria and the Southwest in particular. He stated that security of lives and properties in the region is not for the Yoruba alone but for everyone living in the area irrespective of ethnicity or place of origin.
He said: “The fact is that the Yorubas are not the only ethnic tribe living in the Southwest, so also in other parts of the country. We have Hausas and Igbos here as well as foreigners. Now, the question is everybody needs security, so if Amotekun is here to safeguard us, then what is the objection about it, or why the controversy in the first instance?
“I don’t think anybody should contemplate scuttling a wise decision taken by the governors to provide extra security to complement the existing security apparatus now in place. What we need now is a concerted effort to ensure that the security outfit takes off smoothly and to avoid unruly behaviour among the operatives so that it won’t become counterproductive now or in the future.”
He said he was appalled by the pockets of dissenting voices especially from the side of the Federal Government, adding that he was sure the Southwest governors consulted the right offices before instituting the outfit.
Ayinde also recalled his participation in the 2019 governorship contest in Osun State, saying the most popular candidate won the election, but that it is his belief that his ambition to govern the state would one day materialise and that he is not resting on his oars in his quest to govern Osun State.