Amotekun, A Political Creation, Will Not Outlive Oyetola’s Tenure – Yaa Salam

 

By Solomon Odeniyi

The State Of Osun Commander-General of
​the Harmonized Vigilante Group, Alhaji
​Ridwan Hussein, has said the Western Nigerian Security Network, codenamed Operation Amotekun, might go into extinction after the expiration of the tenures of incumbent governors in the geopolitical zone.

Hussein, who spoke during an exclusive interview with OSUN DEFENDER yesterday, stated that three security outfits had been established in the past, but were short-lived, saying that Amotekun was destined for a short life span.

According to Hussein, Amotekun is a political initiative and would end like other political security outfit creations in the past.

Hussein, popularly called Yaa Salam, said Amotekun has few years more to spend in Osun, saying that it will cease to exist after Governor Adegboyega Oyetola’s tenure.  

He said: “Amotekun is a political initiative. We have done it before and we failed woefully. We started something like this in 1959 and it did not end well. What ended Agbekoya group?

“When Chief MKO Abiola was incarcerated and later killed, Otunba Durojaye, Ishola Osoba and Fredrick Faseun were the ones who went to Senator Bola Tinubu and said they wanted to form a militia group to curb the attack of the northerners on Yorubas and that was how Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC) came into being.

“OPC has been outlawed now. Amotekun will end at expiration of tenure of the South-West Governors. In Osun State, the outfit has three more years to live.  I am not saying this because I have anything against the outfit but that is the fact.”

Hussein said the harmonized vigilante group is not part of the Amotekun corps against people’s believe.

“The corps is said to be made up of the Agbekoya and OPC. You cannot find Agbekoya in Ede or Ondo state while OPC has been outlawed. They don’t have a future. The harmonized Vigilante is not and can never be part of that”, he said.

Reacting to Hussein’s statement, Alhaji Lateef Agboola, the Media Consultant to the Director General of the Amotekun Corps, Comrade Amitolu Shitu said the security outfit is an initiative of sincere and committed stakeholders in the south-west region to curb crimes.

Agboola described Hussein’s statement as baseless and a reflection of his bitterness on the appointment of head of the Amotekun corps.

He said: “Yaa Salam is finding it difficult to appreciate the Amotekun corps because he lost out in the struggle to head the agency. He lobbied to head the agency but he lost. That is why he is making such baseless statement.”