The pan-Yoruba sociopolitical organisation, Afenifere, has called on the federal government to immediately permit the establishment of state police to address the rising insecurity in Nigeria’s South-West geopolitical zone.
The group also recommended increasing the personnel in the regional security outfit, Amotekun, and urged the incorporation of modern technology, such as drones and trackers, to combat insecurity in Yoruba-speaking states, including Kwara and Kogi.
In a communiqué issued after a caucus meeting held at the home of the group’s national leader, Reuben Fasoranti, Afenifere stressed the importance of security and urged the Federal Government and security agencies to overhaul the country’s security architecture to effectively address its root causes.
Afenifere also called on the National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu, to collaborate with state governors to urgently develop strategies to tackle the security challenges and bring them under control.
The group emphasised the importance of fiscal independence for local governments, as upheld by the Supreme Court’s ruling on local government autonomy, and called on state governors to work with the federal government to ensure that local government allocations are implemented immediately.
Additionally, Afenifere highlighted the need to increase the use of the Yoruba language. It urged governments in Yoruba-speaking states to adopt Yoruba as the language of instruction at the elementary education level, including kindergarten, nursery, primary, and junior secondary schools.
The group further called on legislatures in Yoruba-speaking states to prioritise using Yoruba in their legislative proceedings.
