Different reactions have continued to trail the stance of the All Progressives Congress National Leader, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, on the South West security network “Operation Amotekun”.
Reading through the statement released by Tinubu, one cannot but agree that the APC leader obviously took a position that would neither portray him as a ‘bad leader’ to the Yorubas nor as a ‘bad party leader’ to members of the All Progressives Congress across Nigeria.
In an earlier post, I expressed how ‘Operation Amotekun’ has been given so much of tribal colouration that it could, if not properly manged, lead us to a menacing ‘God-forbid’ situation. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has however avoided towing the same line by ‘veiling’ the real message in his statement.
Before looking at Tinubu’s stance in details, it should be noted that not even a political toddler would believe that the birth of ‘Operation Amotekun’ is conceived behind Tinubu. Believe that he is not aware or not in support, then you have not been conceived into the Nigerian state.
Tinubu’s statement is meant to pass across an objective view as claimed by him although objectivity begets subjectivity. The statement deceives on the surface but a reading between the line could unmask the real message.
S/W Governors VS AGF Malami
One of the major issues raised by the APC leader is the differing opinions of the South West Governors and that of the Attorney General of the Federation. While Tinubu tried to blame the South West Governors for not consulting the AGF before launching the outfit, he made a silent vocal point on this. Tinubu compared the Amotekun outfit to that of the Neighbourhood Watch his administration launched. Tinubu’s unspoken message is that the federal Government need not contend the setting up of Amotekun. To back this up, he brought back an old adversary, ex President Olusegun Obasanjo, to the table. He aptly said “Even the overreaching Obasanjo government did not contend against Neighbourhood Watch.” If the Overreaching Obasanjo did not contend with his ‘own Amotekun’ why should the ‘fair’ Buhari-led FG contend the outfit. To simply put, AGF Malami like some Yoruba elders have stated is ‘overreaching’ his boundry.
Is Amotekun Legal As Against Malami’s Claim?
To Bola Ahmed Tinubu, this is a strong YES. Although this was not expressed directly. The former Lagos governor rather focused on the reasons for setting up the outfit. To not sound like a ‘regionalist’ however, Tinubu slammed the Governors for lack of proper planning. Many have been highlighted by various analysts and the ex Lagos Governor easily reinforced all that have been said. Starting from how the outfit should operate to how it should appear among the people. Tinubu’s criticism of equiping Amotekun officers with ‘showy paraphernalia’ echoes what most have talked about- The use of uniforms among other things that could make them appear too different from the people.
NO REGIONAL AMOTEKUN?
Yes! You heard that well, Tinubu was vocal of his criticisms for a regional security network. Each states should have their headquarters. The surface interpretation of Tinubu’s stance is that each states in the South West should conduct their ‘Amotekun’ affairs separately. The unspoken message is that this is however quite impossible. And Tinubu knows that. The Oodua Peoples Congress, Local Hunters and others that are to be parts of the outfit have unions or better still associations. Gani Adams would not relieve his role to any other OPC leader in other states. Even if he does that on paper, all OPC members would still report to him. Tinubu’s tact in apparently expressing full support for the Amotekun security network and fully backing the Federal Government should be commended. But that is just the best thing to do when you have an ambition that would require the support of ALL.
