Amotekun Operatives Need More Motivated To Protect Citizens Than Better-paid Nigeria Policemen — Governor, Fayemi

Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and the Governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi has justified the need for the creation of the Western Nigeria Security Network, Amotekun.

The governor while speaking in Ibadan, Oyo State noted that there was the need for a security system that is localised and knowledgeable about the culture and security situation of a particular community.

He spoke on the theme: “Security and National Unity in Difficult Times,” stressing that the challenge of insecurity in Nigeria has become frightening.

Fayemi said the Nigerian government must be prepared to declare bandits, terrorists and kidnappers as criminals regardless of their geographical location.

According to him, it has become imperative to amend the constitution to empower the various security initiatives to be able to respond to the current challenges in the country.

He said: “The challenge of insecurity in Nigeria is frightening and is getting all of us concerned. At the dawn of the current democratic dispensation in 1999, the major concern of security experts was the staccato of ethnic and religious violence that was common then, that was before the dawn of the Niger-Delta militancy which took almost a decade.

“A new phenomenon in insecurity however waded in with the violent campaign of Boko Haram activities in many parts of the North.

“In fact, the creation of Amotekun can only be a precursor to this. We need a security system that is localised, knowledgeable about the culture and security situation of a particular community.

“But we need to amend the constitution to empower the various security initiatives to be able to respond to the current challenges.

“For example, despite not possessing Ak-47 which the bandits possess, Amotekun operatives have been courageous to confront them in the forest and have successfully rescued victims of kidnapping and arrested the criminals in some instances.

“Yet, these people are at best, volunteer corps with encouragement stipend paid to them. They don’t earn as much as the conventional police, yet they are better motivated to throw themselves to the protection of the community where they have their wives, children and families.”
 
“By available statistics, we need a minimum of 200,000 personnel to boost the fighting power of our men. This number is very large and a potential financial and logistic nightmare, yet we cannot delay any further. The ungoverned spaces need to be closed up quickly by motivated men with the singular objective to save the nation."