Why Amotekun will not succeed
OpenLife Nigeria reports that pa Ayo Opadokun, an elderstatesman and former General-Secretary, National Democratic Coalition, NADECO, has advanced reasons why Amotekun may not succeed as planned.
Amotekun is the Western Nigeria Security Network. It was flagged-off by the governors in the South West Zone on Thursday, January 9, 2020 in Ibadan.
During the commissioning, the governor stated that it would complement the mainstream security agencies in the country.
“Amotekun is a complement that will give our people confidence that they are being looked after by those they elected into office. So, we do not want this to create fear in the mind of anybody as we are not creating a regional police force and are fully aware of the steps we must take to have state police. We do not want anybody to misconstrue the concept of Amotekun,” the governors assured.
Since its formation, there have been operational breakthroughs by the local security agents across states in south west.
But the increasing level of insecurity in Nigeria, where police formations are being overwhelmed by bandits, has lowered the confidence citizens have on Amotekun as a force capable of providing the needed security for the region.
Besides these fears, the Afenifere leader stated that the structural make up of Nigeria is not designed to enable Amotekun function optimally.
He stressed that the acceptable and equitable solution to the national crisis for majority of Nigerians is to return to the federal constitutional arrangement upon which Nigeria secured its independence saying Nigerian witnessed its golden age in terms of progress and development and much more political collaboration when the federal constitutional governance was operating.
He lamented that he and others who struggled for democratic government thought that if they succeeded in getting the military to return to the barracks, there would be an opportunity to build a virile nation, and to transform the misfortune, which the military class and their collaborators brought on the country.
Specifically on Amotekun, the activist who fought gallantly for the actualisation of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, emphasized that “Because of the unitarized and centralized government structure, Amotekun will not be able to function as expected.
“The central Police is still there. They report to Abuja. Amotekun cannot prosecute. The governor cannot give order to the Commissioner of Police. The federal Police still dictate the pace. So, how do you expect Amotekun to work?. As far as Amotekun operates under the Police, nothing meaningful can be achieved,” he stated.
Speaking further on AIT, Opadokun found it funny that President Muhammadu Buhari is seeking AFRICOM for help saying that if the resources in the country is well managed, there would be no need to seek external help.
“It is unfortunate that we supported Buhari. We thought he was still the same Buhari who chased the Chadian rebels in 1982 as General Officer Commanding, 3rd Armoured Division, Jos. We thought he would be able to handle insecurity but he turns out a big disappointment,” he lamented.
About Author
