By James Orji
Gripped by fear that members of the Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC may embark on reprisal attacks over recent killings in Igagan, Ibarapa, Oyo state, Pan-Northern Socio-cultural organization under the aegis of Coalition of Northern Groups, CNG, on Tuesday, cautioned the Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Otunba Gani Adams, against the killing of Northerners in the South-West.
No fewer than 20 people were killed by suspected Fulani herdsmen who invaded the agrarian town on Saturday night, burning houses and farm produce.
Many Nigerians, including the six South West governors have condemned the dastardly act.
The Governor of the state, Seyi Makinde has sued for calm urging the people of Igangan not to take laws into their hands, as the government was doing everythingb to ensure that those behind the massacre are unmasked and punished.
Reacting to the killing, Adams who is the Generalisimo of Yoruba people, described the action of the hoodlums as a declaration of war on the people of south west.
Adams said “This is one killing too many, I will not fold my arms seeing the blood of innocent people being shed like it is in Igangan. Now that the North had declared war on the South-West, we will never keep silent or compromise on the homicide going on in the South-West.”
But the Arewa group did not take the threat lightly. In a statement on Tuesday, by its spokesman, Abdul-Azeez Suleiman, the CNG warned that any attack on Hausa/ Fulani community in the region will be unacceptable.
According to Suleiman “Any attack against Northerners in any part of the South for the only reason that they are Northerners living as minorities in other communities would not be acceptable.”
Suleiman said the CNG found it surprising that Adams had not yet weaned himself of militancy despite his esteemed position in Yoruba land and shocked that the OPC leader “would still be unable to overcome his former militant tendencies and conform to the rules of decency required by his title.”
He said “We find it outrageous for Adams to so readily attribute the attacks to the North whereas the actual attackers have not yet been officially identified.
“For Adams to just jump to such a conclusion that the attacks were carried out by the North and even call it a declaration of war speaks volumes of the mindset of the typical Southerner against the entire Northern region,” Suleiman said.
Suleiman described as contradictory that Adams who was quick to beat drums of war against the North was the same leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress that allegedly cheered recent attacks and killings of non-Yoruba residents of the same Igangan by Yoruba gangs under Sunday Ighoho which, the CNG claimed, was downplayed by the southern media.
Meanwhile, Governor Makinde told the people of the town during his visit on Tuesday, that the government has failed them. He, however, assured them that the situation will never repeat itself.
The magazine had reported that the state’s helmsman pleaded with the federal government to allow Amotekun, the south west security body set up in the region to tackle kidnapping and arm banditry, to bear AK-47 other sophisticated weapons to enable them confront the menace of insecurity.
