Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State has said that his main grouse with a Yoruba social crusader, Sunday Igboho was his fiat order on all Fulani herdsmen to vacate the State, whereas the nation’s constitution guarantees them the freedom to live wherever they chose.
Answering questions from news men today, January 27 shortly after a private audience with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential villa, Abuja, Governor Makinde said: “we have a history of living together peacefully amongst all the ethnic groups that are presently in Oyo State.
“For instance, what triggered all of this (clash between herdsmen and Igboho side) was that Dr. Aborede was brutally murdered. That is criminal. But on the other hand, Seriki (chief of Fulani) Alhaji Kabir has been staying in that same place for 40 years.
“So quite frankly, the people we are after are criminals. They are the bandits, hoodlums, armed robbers, kidnappers. Those are the true enemies of the state and those are the people we will go after.
“The constitution of Nigeria guarantees that you can live in any part of Nigeria; you just have to be law abiding, obey the local laws in such areas. That is what we are pushing and will continue to push as a government.”
Governor Makinde appealed to President Buhari for more Mobile Police Squadrons to be deployed to Oyo State and also ask for support for the joint security outfit.
According to him, Oyo State land mass is quite big, saying that it is close to 29,000 square kilometers.
“If you take all the states in the southeast geo-political zone of Nigeria, they are still not as big as Oyo State. And the state right now only has two Mobile Police Squadrons.”
Governor Makinde stressed that the underlying issue in the security situation has to do with limited opportunities.
He said that the tension will go down if a lot of youths are gainfully employed, adding: “so, I briefed the president on what we are doing in that regard.”
