Soyinka: Amotekun is a ‘pleasant new year gift’

Nobel Laureate Professor Wole Soyinka has declared his support for the Western Nigeria Security Network, popularly known as ‘Amotekun’. He described the security outfit as a pleasant New Year gift, saying it has shown that the yearnings of Nigerians prevailed.

Professor Soyinka stated this while addressing some elder statesmen and prominent Nigerians at an event held on Monday at the Muson Centre in Lagos. The event tagged ‘Never Again’, was organised to discuss the way forward, 50 years after the Nigerian civil war.

It was also aimed at reminiscing on the woes of the war which ended in January 1970 and adjudged as one of the worst scenarios of civil rife across the world. It was well attended by a number of eminent Nigerians such as Professor Anya Anya, Professor Banji Akintoye, Professor Pat Utomi, Major General Obi Umahi (rtd), and the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, among others.

Professor Soyinka’s remarks came four days after the governors of the south-west region met in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital to launch the Western Nigeria Security Network. Codenamed ‘Amotekun’, the unveiling of the outfit was to reinforce the existing security architecture of the region.

Some of the governors present at the event which held on Thursday last week include Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), and Seyi Makinde (Oyo).

They took turns to explain the rationale behind the decision which they said was aimed at ending the spate of banditry, armed robbery, kidnapping, herdsmen invasion, and other threats to the security of lives and properties, as well as the economic advancement of the region.

More than 130 patrol vans and hundreds of motorbikes were commissioned for use to kick start the project.
The launch of ‘Amotekun’ was also attended by the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi, as well as the leader of the Yoruba World Congress, Professor Banji Akintoye. However, the unveiling of the security network has sparked a debate in some parts of the country.