The Oyo State Amotekun: The Paradox Of Being -By Segun Adebowale

The Oyo State Amotekun Corps commandant the King Pharaoh of a Pacesetter State, let there be Amotekun personnel Certification that would led to restructuring which will brings about discipline among the Amotekun corps officers so as to facilitate easy administration in the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun).

The age-old saying that “girls and women should be seen and not to be heard” reflects its importance on the Oyo State House of Assembly Members, the Governor of Oyo State Engineer Seyi Makinde, the Oyo State Ministry of Justice, the Oyo State Amotekun Board of governing members, the Board Chairman, the Board Secretary with other two seconded principal directors from the Oyo State Civil Service Commission, the lettered Oyo State Amotekun corps and the Oyo State citizens as the 3in1 Amotekun State Commandant Col. (rtd) Olayinka technically and figuratively tapped everybody’s mouth for him (Col. (rtd) Olayinka) to successfully turns and mar the progress of Oyo State. You don’t seem to understand what I mean? Olayinka has put all mechanisms in place to discourage and devalue Education in Oyo State and to rule in the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) without ready to respect and obey anybody opinion, knowledge, ideas, contribution relevant or supersede his own sallow understanding and knowledge. Even His Excellency Engineer Seyi Makinde dare not call the 3 in 1 Oyo State Amotekun Commandant Col. Olayinka to order, despite the unrestricted executive power given to him (Governor) by the Oyo State citizens.

In Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) the more lettered you are the less significant you be. The Amotekun corps that can neither read nor write are given leadership position in the Oyo State Security Agency (Amotekun).The personnel that read more are giving lesser post of subservience under personnel who are less or not lettered at all. The Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) under the auspices of Major General Kunle Togun, is making educational qualification worthless through the Amotekun commandant’s vested interest. And the pencil and paper activities documented by lettered personnel are using for daily administrative work. What an ironic and metaphoric situation the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) is operating with. It is ironically and metaphoric in nature the lettered skill of Oyo State Amotekun operatives are need by the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) the Certificate that qualifies them to be lettered is not useful in the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amoteku). The Agency only recognized what is written and keeps all these as record to forward to the Oyo State Government as Security report from the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) no recognition for the certificate and operative behind the drawing board. In the Oyo State Amotekun SLVRWLF documentary watched, is another evidence of ironic and metaphoric representation of the Letter Amotekun Operative as the Agency contradict itself, few select graduates were seen telling the general public the NCE, HND, and Degree Certificate holding without being giving their rightful designation of leadership in the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun).

The Oyo State Government prefers using crude methods that cannot be used to detect crimes, apprehend and tenable at court of law during prosecution as against the refined methods that is effective in crime detection, apprehending and valid for a successful prosecution.

It is the very nature of being that where a thing stands, something else in life must stand beside it for comparison, for contrast and for balance. The Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) gives itself for comparison with Ondo State, Ekiti State and Ogun State Security Network Agency with crystal clear differences that the Oyo State Security Network Agency is far behind in personnel development and legal back up for prosecution.

It is highly absurd to know through the Amotekun Commandant Col. (rtd) Olayinka that election is being used to select who to lead in the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun). The Oyo State Government newly establishment which suppose to follow the existing standard procedures of appointing leadership without any manipulation is now using according to Col. Olayinka voting system (thought the commandant is laying no election took place in November, 2021 he just handpicked OPCs) to be coordinators, operational leaders and 2ics. Was his (Olayinka) appointment based on election? I am very sure he was appointed as commandant by His Excellency Governor Seyi Makinde based on criteria set out under Oyo State Amotekun’s Law 2020 Section 15 which the Commandant refused to use the section meant for personnel development according to how it (law) was used for his (Olayinka) appointment.

(1)There shall be appointed by the Governor, a Corps Commander for the Agency, who shall be a retired Law Enforcement Officer or Military Officer not below the rank of a Colonel or its equivalent in other security services.
(2) The Corps Commander shall-
(a) be a person with at least 10 years cognate experience in
security matters;
(c) hold meetings with his counterparts in other states,particularly Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, Osun and Ekiti States on a quarterly basis or as may be collectively determined by the Corps Commanders in those States;
(e) draw up programmes of training for members of the Amotekun Corps for effectiveness and efficiency in the performance of their functions under this Law.

Colonel Olayinka, were you not appointed based on ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION which you are rendering valueless in the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun)?

That colonel RANK you attained through your academic qualification while in Nigeria Army, why did you deny the Oyo State Amotekun corps the RANK? Or you obtained your COLONEL RANK from Bodija Market?

Were you not attending meetings with your counterparts in other states as contained in the section of Amotekun Law cited above? If you do, tell the Oyo State Government and the citizens of Oyo sate if your personnel management / development are in line with your counterparts’ state. And if not, recommend to the Oyo State Government ways to strike balancing with those states mentioned.

Mr. Colonel Commandant Olayinka, how many training programmes have you and the Agency drawn for effectiveness and efficiency of Oyo State Amotekun corps as contained in subsection (e) apart from a day IPO training of December 20th, 2021 which according to my investigation was organized for the Agency by ZOE Empowerment Foundation freely which you and the Agency failed to put to effectiveness at both Local Government offices and Amotekun’s headquarter, perhaps because OPC members are not among those trained.

Rhe more the progressive ideas you learn or ought to have emulate from the meetings of WNSN commandants you are constitutional mandated to attend in section 15 (c) of Oyo State Amotekun established law 2020, the less you are, even worse implemented in the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun). What a disillusioned myopic and parody WNSN joint commandants meeting result Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) is experiencing? Two facts cross my mind on this quarterly joint meetings of Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Lagos, Ogun and Oyo States Amotekun corps commandants, is either you have not been attending the meetings regularly and when attended you display your rigidity in adapting to progressive and developmental ideas so moved and adopted by your counterparts commandants. Or your obsessive interest and love for OPCs agenda beclouded you to see reasons to step up and work on the same progressive and developmental progress for the development of all the Oyo State Amotekun Corps personnel (OPC members inclusive).

It is highly parody, Metaphoric and ironic to hear that Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) is having right people with appropriate profession like Major General (rtd) Kunle Togun; the Board Chairman, Barrister (Mrs) Akinbowale; the Board Sectary and Legal Adviser, Colonel (rtd) Olayinka; the State Amotekun corps Commandant, CP (rtd) Owoseni Special Adviser to the Governor on Security matters and board member, and other eminent personalities that constitute board members all working collaboratively with the Oyo State Ministry of Justice headed by the attorney General Professor Oyelowo Oyewo (SAN) the Commissioner for Justice, all are influenced by Col (rtd) Olayinka to work amateurishly / unprofessionally in the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun). The Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) under the Oyo State Ministry of Justice is without standard justification for leadership selection for the Amotekun corps. No any justification for Amotekun corps personnel not to get appointment letter from the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) in which terms and conditions of the service would make known to the Amortekun corps personnel. No operational manual and code of conduct to guide the operations and behavior of Oyo State Amotekun Corps Operatives. The commandant and his team at helms of affairs in the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) are just overseeing the affairs of the Agency unjustly.

It is also parody, metaphoric and ironic that the Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) is established with a standard written Law but the Agency is operating outside the content and the mandate of the law. The Executive power of Governor Seyi Makinde and Legislative power set Amotekun Law 2020 on motion with immediate effect but the ordinary appointment power of Oyo State Amotekun Corps Commandant; Colonel Olayinka slow down the motion to rubbish the Law 2020 signed by the Governor of a whole state by postponing one of the significant part of the Amotekun law meant for personnel development indefinitely. Colonel Olayinka are you sure you have not bite the fingers that feed you?

Another irony in Oyo State Security Network Agency that baffled me lessmore is the person that suppose to dismiss from the office on the ground of Amotekun’s Law 2020 provision of section 15 sub 4 (a,b,c)

(4) The Amotekun Corps Commander may be removed from office by the Governor subject to the resolution of two-thirds majority of the members of the House of Assembly on the ground of-
(a) abuse of office or willful violation of the fundamental human right of any person as contained in chapter 4 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic 1999 (as amended)
(b) misconduct or misbehavior that he has conducted himself in a manner which brings or is likely to bring the Amotekun Corps into hatred, ridicule, contempt, disrepute or that he has dishonestly done any act or omission which is prejudicial or inimical to the security of the State; or
(c) physical or mental incapacity.

The Commandant is just dismissing the Amotekun corps Operatives on the account of violating laws and order that is neither written nor signed by any authority. It is highly ironic!!!

I Segun Adebowale beseech His Excellency Governor Seyi Makinde, The Honurable members Oyo State House of Assembly, Oyo State Attorney General Professor Oyelowo Oyewo (SAN), The Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance and other concerned citizens of Oyo State to put check on Colonel (rtd) Olayinka the Oyo State Amotekun Commandant before messing up the Oyo State Amotekun corps situation beyond repair. Until educational qualification / Amotekun corps professionalism is giving the appropriate attention deserves, this explicit write up shall not stop.
The Oyo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun) and the mechanisms the Agency adopts for its administration are nothing but paradox of being.