Oke-Ogun Council Of Elders Raises Alarm Over Insecurity In Area

*Crave for Guber, Senatorial seats in 2027

By; BAYO AKAMO, Ibadan

Oke Ogun Council of Elders in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo state on Friday, raised alarm over the present security situation in the area.

The Elders raised the alarm in a communique issued at the end of meeting at a meeting held in Ibadan at the residence of the former Minister of State for Agriculture and President of Oke-Ogun Council of Elders (O.C.E.), Otunba Bamidele Dada.

In the communique signed by Comrade Jare Ajayi and Prince Remi Adegbola, the Elders noted that the security situation in the area is giving them a lot of concern.

“The kidnapping incidents in the North-west local government areas of Kwara State and parts of Ogun State are affecting the people of Oke Ogun”, it said

Oke Ogun Council of Elders added, ” The federal government, security agencies and governments of Oyo, Kwara and Ogun States should take pro-active steps to put an end to the insecurity situation”.

Calling for concerted actions to check the alleged incessant incursion of Fulani herders into the farms of Oke-Ogun people, the Elders maintained that four of the
steps suggested in this regard included the immediate enforcement of the Anti-Open Grazing Law that was passed in Oyo State about five years ago, strengthening of security agencies, empowerment of local security/vigilante groups as well as the deployment of modern technology for security purposes.

The Elders emphasized that the insecurity situation and paucity of incentives are adversely affecting agricultural practices and called on the government to provide better incentives to farmers besides strengthening security.

On 2027, the Elders advocated for an Oke-Ogun person as the next governor of Oyo State come 2027 stressing that there is the need for the rotation of the gubernatorial position in Oyo State among the seven geo-political zones in the state viz: Oke-ogun Zones 1 & II, Oyo, Ogbomoso, Ibarapa and Ibadan (City and Less City).

“No person of Oke-ogun extraction has served as Governor of the entity to which the area belongs right from Nigeria’s Independence. As such, deliberate efforts must be made to remedy this situation

The communique noted “The Council wants the rotational arrangement to begin from the forthcoming elections in 2027 with Oke-Ogun taking the first shot.”

Reiterating its earlier advocacy for the re-delimitation of the present Oyo North Senatorial District in such a way that the ten local government areas of Oke Ogun would form a Senatorial District,
the Elders said an Oke-Ogun indigene should be the Senator that will represent the people of Oyo North in the next dispensation beginning from 2027.

Lauding Gov Seyi Makinde for employing teachers for schools in the state last year, the Elders said in spite of the employment of new hands, most of the primary and secondary schools in Oke ogun still suffer from inadequate staffing and that the government should remedy this situation by employing indigenes of the area to teach in their schools as soon as possible.

While commending the government for some of the roads it is working on in the area, they drew its attention to some other inter and intra town roads in Oke-Ogun, “many of which are in a very deplorable state”.

The Elders also hailed the President Tinubu-led federal government for releasing money to facilitate the construction of Badagry-Oke-Ogun-Sokoto Highway and called for an accelerated action so that the project can be completed as soon as possible.

Oke Ogun Council of Elders then expressed profound appreciation to the President for approving the establishment of Federal University of Agriculture and Technology recently sited in Okeho, Kajola local government area of Oke-Ogun.