Our community no longer safe, Iwo youths lament

Shina Abubakar, Osogbo

Some youths in Iwo, Osun state yesterday said the town is no longer safe as the monarch, Oba Abdulrosheed Akanbi extends a blanket invitation to herdsmen into the community.

The youths further stated that the rate of influx of herdsmen into the community is worrisome, hence the decision to alert the public.

Addressing a Press Conference under the aegis of Iwoland Concerned Youths, its President, Taiwo Ewonda disclosed that there is an influx of unknown herdsmen into the community since the blanket invitation by the monarch and urged the state government to take urgent steps to halt the trend.

Oba Akanbi had in a statement on Friday, February 19 disclosed that Iwo is ready to host more Fulanis herdsmen and urged repentant herdsmen to relocate to the town.

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But Ewonda said the invite has led to an unexpected influx of unknown herdsmen into the community, making Iwo a security threat.

It reads, “While it is expressly agreed that the operational Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is magnanimous enough to have allowed the freedom of movement and domiciliary in any part of the country by the indigenes of this nation, such constitutional liberty should, however, not be a licence for visitors to be burdensome in another land.

“We are genuinely worried by the unexpected and injurious recent pronouncements of some leaders and traditional rulers of our community which are tilting towards threatening of the subsisting peace in our community.

“Equally worrisome was the recent open invitation needlessly extended to the Fulanis by a revered traditional ruler in our community which has formed the pedestal for the influx of Fulani herdsmen into our constituency of recent like never before.
“It is our observation that this intended royal tact of extension of a blanket invitation to Fulani herdsmen is less thoughtful which is capable of rocking the subsisting peace of Iwoland.

“While it is expressly agreed that the operational Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is magnanimous enough to have allowed the freedom of movement and domiciliary in any part of the country by the indigenes of this nation, such constitutional liberty should, however, not be a licence for visitors to be burdensome in another land.

“As focused youths who are not ready to compromise the existence of peace in Iwoland, we want to dissociate ourselves from such royal blanket invitation of the Fulani herdsmen and to also enjoin the state government to take decisive action against the development in the interest of overall peace in our land.

“Our cursory observation since the expression of the most dangerous royal invitation to the herdsmen has shown that the influx of the Fulani herdsmen has become a daily occurrence in our land.

“It is our absolute care and concern for the continuous safety of our people in their various homes which spurred our proactive approach to give the unsavoury development the required and needed solution in a jiffy as tomorrow may be too late.

“We won’t fail to pledge our continuous support for the administration of Governor Oyetola in his re-election bid because of the beautiful jobs he has been doing to develop the state. We also like to remind the whole world that the governorship slot of Iwoland should be a done deal after Oyetola’s two terms in the interest of justice, equity, fair play and good conscience.

“May our Iwoland not have a course to be turned to a theatre of war. May perpetual peace continue to reign in our ancestral home where Governor Oyetola has been miraculously performing wonders by extending developmental projects across the nooks and crannies of the state”.

Vanguard News Nigeria 

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