Reclaiming Praxis: Reviving Amotekun’s Community Roots By Sola Ajisafe, Esq
Reclaiming Praxis: Reviving Amotekun’s Community Roots
By Sola Ajisafe, Esq
Ondo State, a frontier State with multiple entry points and shared boundaries, faces escalating security challenges. Kidnappings, killings, and terror grip communities. Government actions under Aiyedatiwa seem reactive, contradictory, and unfocused. As Chief Security Officer, the governor needs synergy with security agencies like the Artillery Brigade, the Police, the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps and others. But does he have the capacity and strategic resolve to helm these organisations together effectively? I do not think so.
Amidst this crisis, Amotekun, the local security outfit, has lost its way. Created to address community specific concerns, Amotekun shifted focus under the current administration leaving residents vulnerable. Its metamorphosis to a metropolitan force diluted effectiveness, disconnecting it from communities and emboldening criminals. Patrols now focus on urban areas, neglecting rural communities. Salaries not paid on time this has made motivation and morale very low. Local intelligence, crucial for prevention, is no longer prioritized.
The praxis gap is clear: deviating from Amotekun’s original goals worsened security outcomes. Incidents like Iluabo kidnappings, farmer protests with corpses at the Governor’s office, and killings highlight this disconnect. Compromises, like releasing arrested invaders and elite complicity with herders, fuel the crisis.
Reclaiming praxis means returning to community driven security. Engage locals, traditional leaders, and stakeholders to improve intelligence and response. Revive Amotekun’s roots. Let Aiyedatiwa shape up.
Before I close, let me warn Mr. Governor that he is about to concede the last vestige of our security to our enemies if he accedes to their request of forming vigilante groups in our State. This is an anomaly that is fraught with greater danger. That was what they did in the North Central and is causing an existential threat to their existence today. The same people will hide under vigilante group and invade our communities and farms on the guise of been vigilantes. Also, the talk about grazing routes is another misnomer by the governor in that meeting. Legally and socially there is no grazing routes here. It was a Fulani contraption which Aketi opposed vehemently. The governor should seek better information about certain issues before discussing it.
Also, the constant meetings with the Miyetti Allah has never yielded good result and may never do. They are masters of soft diplomacy laced with evil content in protection of their herds. The governor’s threat against his own people is uncalled for. This types of talks strengthens the hands of the adversity. It is clear that, the Miyetti Allah are interested in negotiating the release of their members or showing group solidarity rather than helping to solve the problem confronting us.
Aiyedatiwa must show the same concern for our security and well being. He must be sincere, be deliberate and intentional like Aketi in this war. He must be seen to be above board and stop the ritual of mouthing rhetoric like he did during the Media Chat some days ago. Ondo State people deserve better from Aiyedatiwa. That’s why he got the fairy 18.0 and the so called largest vote by any governor in Ondo State. Let him justify our sacrifices and stop the rhetoric “like a tale… full of sound and fury signifying nothing”.
_Sola Ajisafe, a Scion of Olukoro Family of Oraa Ikanmu Oka-Akoko. First of his Name, Seventh of his Generation.
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