Things Fall Apart In Oyo State Amotekun Corps -By Segun Adebowale

Things fall apart, no longer at ease. This is real situation in the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps administration.

The wind has blown, the fowl anus exposed. The wind of state police exposed the in-depth of catastrophies that the unprofessional practices in the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps has caused on the Oyo State Amotekun operatives and that the Agency is not ready at all for State Police.

It is no more incredible that a retired colonel of Nigeria Army and other experienced individuals who are the management team of the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps cannot establish and maintain the professional practice that made them attainted various position in their chosen career. What a shame!!!

As the game changer is trying to bring in professional practice to the administration the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps, the king pharaoh of the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps is also trying to maintain and protect the unprofessional practices that has been operating in the Agency. He is continually hardening his heart that the Oyo State Amotekun operatives shall not have career progression and other benefits expected.

Without hesitation, there is need to reiterate, for the sake of those reading this for the first time and are in position to help the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps the reasons why the practice of the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps administration is characterized by unprofessional practices.

1. No code of conduct and operational guide line for the operatives, despite the efforts of His Excellency Engineer Oluseyi Abiodun Makinde and the impact of the Oyo State House of Assembly in provision of the Oyo State Security Network Law 2020. Though the law is being discarded by the Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance and the Management team, so as to carry out their corrupt practices.

2. Disposing of the Oyo State Security Network Law 2020 by the Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance and the Management team denied the Agency the opportunity of establishing various functional departments as contain in Section 4 (i-vi) of the Oyo State Security Network Law 2020. Which invariably give the Oyo State Board of Governance and the Management team opportunity of avoiding one of their responsibilities of grading the Oyo State Amotekun operatives as stated in section 8 (e) of the Oyo State Security Network Law 2020.

3. No proper Security Training for the Oyo State Amotekun Corps and the Board of Governance and the management team woefully failed for over 3 years of establishment, to organize a training and retraining exercise for the Oyo State Amotekun operatives as contained in section 8 (d) and 15 (2e) of the Oyo State Security Network Law 2020.

4. All the Oyo State Amotekun operatives are placed on the same salary, even, the coordinators are not given and emolument / allowance and no monthly grant to any of the 33 Local Government of Oyo State.

5. 95% of the Local Government Coordinators can neither read nor write, which make them to reveal and handle some confidential documents carelessly.

6. Moreover, the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps failed to recognize Academic Certificate of selected few Oyo State Amotekun operatives who from time to time helped the Agency and the Oyo State Amotekun commandant to present files and papers to the Oyo State Government on the activities of the Agency, despite the fact that the Board of Governance and the Management team are claiming that the Oyo State Amotekun operatives are being recruited on juju power, as this claim is contrary to the criteria provided in the Oyo State Security Network Agency Law 2020 in appointing the Board of Governance, the Commandant and the Seconded Civil Servants.

7. Likewise, the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps Board of Governance with the Management team has no standard for recruitment exercise as mapped out in section 39 (a) of the Oyo State Security Network Agency Law 2020, as this is evidence in first and second phase of the Agency recruitment.

8. The Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance and the management team fail in implementation of section 17 (2) of the Oyo State Security Network Agency Law 2020, this enable them to practice unprofessional administration of total closure of security office at the Local Government several occasions, for ordered the Amotekun operative to risk their lives in collection of document like I.D card, OYSHIA card, which, if in a professional administration might be sent to the Zonal offices for proper documentation and delivery.

9. The Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance and the Management team for almost three years of its existence have not deem it fit to give letter of appointment and confirmation, stating the terms and condition of service to the Oyo State Amotekun operatives.

10. The recent unprofessional decision of the Oyo State Board of Governance and the Management team on the 12th April dismissed 25 Oyo State Amotekun operatives, whose some of their offence, if it were under the professional administration of the Oyo State Civil Service Commission, would first of all issued query letter, if the response is not justified enough, may be summon to disciplinary panel, which after investigated and find guilty of the offence stated in the code of conduct, may be due for punishment or in a severe and repeated offence (s) may be dismissed as recommended in the code of conduct which is grossly lacking in the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps. Some of the dismissed Amotekun operatives have never received a query letter nor summon to Oyo State Amotekun disciplinary Committee (which is not even constituted) before they were unlawfully and maliciously dismissed.

11. The administration of the Oyo State Security Network is being gender bias, religious bias, academic qualification bias, Oyo State zonal bias ( quota system is not considered, it is only Ibadan Amotekun operatives that are being recognized as active Amotekun operative). The Oyo State Amotekun operatives are working under unmotivated working condition.

12. Violation of the Oyo State Amotekun corps human right through a forceful traditional oath taken with a threat that any operatives that fail to take the traditional oath shall loss his / her job, which most is not ready to loss because of the job scarcity in the country. This is contrary the expected functions of the Agency in Section 6 (2) of the Oyo State Security Network Agency Law 2020.

The Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps is confronting with unrelated numerous administrative problems which emanate from the unprofessional administration employed by the Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance and the Management team.

The main secret behind this unprofessional administration is that the Oyo State Amotekun commandant has being wrongly chosen and most of the Oyo State Amotekun Board of governance members and the seconded civil servants are being cajoled by the Oyo State Amotekun commandant that the Oyo State Amotekun operatives are “Egbeji” he (commandant) can handle them and their “juju”, therefore, all of them are griped with fears. This is simple fallacy using to put the Oyo State Amotekun Board of governance and the management team under the control of the Oyo State Amotekun corps commandant.
In conclusion, the unprofessional practices above is now a big issue in the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps, making the management not to know the next step to take in correcting abnormality in the administration of the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps.

And as matter of urgency, the Oyo State government and the Oyo State Amotekun board of governance should take a bold step to professionalize the administration of the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps, so that the Oyo State Amotekun operatives will have better working condition that shall make them discharge their civic duties as expected.