The Governor of Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, has declared that the state will never experience the fate of Chibok, promising that the pupils and teachers abducted in the Oriire Local Government Area of the state will be rescued safely. The governor stated this on Tuesday while addressing demonstrators led by social media activist Martins Vincent Otse, popularly known as VeryDarkMan, who staged a mass protest over the rising wave of insecurity and kidnappings in the state. The protesters gathered at the private residence of the governor in Ikolaba, Ibadan, demanding urgent intervention from the state government to secure the freedom of the captives and improve the security architecture across the state.
Addressing the crowd, Makinde struck an emotional tone, emphasizing the determination of his administration to ensure that the abducted children do not suffer the long-term captivity experienced by the Chibok schoolgirls. He stated, “Let me make it very, very clear: Oyo State is not Chibok and we will not be Chibok. We have lost men, even soldiers and officers, and I can confirm to you that a lieutenant in the Nigerian Army was killed a few days ago. If you ask me, can I sacrifice myself for those children to come out? I will do it. I have lived a good life, I’m almost 60 and it doesn’t matter. Our children will never be in the same situation as Chibok children,“ The governor acknowledged the severe dangers surrounding the ongoing rescue operations, noting that a teacher had already been killed, but maintained that every measure is being taken to minimize further casualties. He added, “We’ve lost a teacher already. If we can avoid losing more, we will avoid losing more, but if we get to the point that certain people have to be sacrificed, including myself, we will do it,”
The governor expressed his solidarity with the agitators, admitting that he would have participated in the demonstration if he were not holding public office. He remarked, “I will tell the truth and nothing but the truth. If I am not in government, I will be you; I’ll be protesting with you.“ He further stated, “I do not have anything against what you are doing. To have a society where leaders are accountable and inclusive sometimes requires agitation, sometimes it requires protest, and sometimes it requires people getting up from their comfort zones to do something like this,“ While accepting full responsibility as the governor, Makinde pointed out the constitutional limitations hampering state executives in managing national security apparatuses. He stated, “I will not shift blame. Our reality is that the state government is not in charge of all the security agencies.“ He explained that while he can meet with the Commissioner of Police, he lacks the legal powers to deploy him or military personnel without clearance from federal authorities, adding, “As governor, I can call the Commissioner of Police and we can meet, but I cannot deploy him. If I say go to a particular place, he will need approval from the Inspector-General of Police. The same thing applies to the military,“
Makinde noted that security has remained a major pillar of his administration since assuming office, which informed the creation of the Oyo State Security Network Agency, popularly known as the Amotekun Corps. He said, “When I came in, security was one of the cardinal principles of this administration. That is why we set up Amotekun. Amotekun has not been armed adequately, but that is our reality,” Expressing deep personal distress over the incident, which has now lasted for over a month, the governor revealed that the operation requires delicate handling because the victims are nursery and primary school pupils. He stated, “I am also distressed because I have children of my own. I am distressed about what has happened to our children. It has been one month and one day already.“ He assured that none of the remaining children or teachers have died, adding, “Because of the nature of the security operation involved, I cannot divulge a lot of information, but I can tell you that there is no information that any of those children or their teachers have died,“
Describing the abduction as unprecedented because of the young age of the victims, Makinde stated, “This is the first time anywhere in Nigeria that people have kidnapped nursery and primary school children. These are children that cannot even run or do anything for themselves. So the operation to rescue them is a special type of operation if we do not want to lose any of those children,” He revealed that the government is communicating with the abductors, stating, “I give you the assurance that I, as the Governor of Oyo State, will bring out those our children. They are talking to us. It is not something that we normally do. If government starts negotiating with bandits, it means we are surrendering sovereignty to the bandits, but in this special situation, if we want those children alive, we have to bend backwards,“ The governor promised that systemic lessons would be learned to prevent future occurrences, stating, “Once the children are out, I give you the assurance that it will not occur again in Oyo State.“ He lamented the impact of insecurity on local development, noting, “Nigeria does not deserve this. In an atmosphere of insecurity, hardly can you do anything. Schools have been shut, farmers have left their farms, and we are talking about food security,“ He praised the demonstrators for keeping the peace, saying, “We have been monitoring you since you started this morning. You have not destroyed anything. You have gone about the protest in a civilised manner. Please let us maintain it that way,“
Earlier, the leader of the protest, VeryDarkMan, explained that the mass action was organized to demand concrete answers and accelerate the rescue operations for the victims. He criticized the prolonged delay and the communication gap surrounding the welfare of the captives. He stated, “We are here to also commit ourselves. If the governor does not amend, we are ready to volunteer ourselves. Yes, to go into the bushes with the police, army, air force and any security operatives that are ready to go into the bush,“ Expressing grief over the state of the victims, he noted that over 45 persons were moved into the forest and one teacher had been killed. He asked, “As of now, we do not even know the condition of the children. We do not know if the children are still alive. Over 45 of them were taken into the bush with their teachers, and one of the teachers has been beheaded. It is quite unfortunate,“ He concluded by demanding a clear timeline from the government, asking, “We want to tell the governor, what is the plan and when are we going to see the children?”
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