Apex socio-cultural and political organization in the South West, Afenifere has berated the national leader of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu over his alleged vague statement on the recently established security outfit in the region. Tinubu in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday bared his mind on Amotekun, after many leaders across the country queried his deafening silence on the matter.
He had lauded the establishment of the security outfit, but noted that the outfit needed some operational and conceptual modifications. He blamed the South West Governors for failing to consult the Attorney General of the Federation before the establishment of the outfit. He also blamed the Attorney General of the Federation for roundly declaring the outfit illegal, stressing that dialogue was needed for the controversy surrounding the outfit to be resolved.
Reacting to Tinubu's statement on Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Yinka Odumakin, in an interview with The PUNCH dismissed the statement by the former Lagos State governor, saying it lacked substance.
He said Tinubu spoke in a forked tongue, adding that his statement failed to defend the decision taken by his kinsmen to defend themselves against marauders.
He recalled how the President, Muhammadu Buhari, visited the then Oyo State Governor, Lam Adesina, to protest the alleged killing of his kinsmen.
According to him “Maybe, he (Tinubu) should have kept quiet. This is not the time to speak in a forked tongue. What is the reason? You are afraid of Buhari?
“In 2001, when there was a crisis between herdsmen and farmers, what did Buhari do? He went to Ibadan and told Governor Lam Adesina ‘your people are killing my people.’
“In 2013, what did Buhari do? He told President Goodluck Jonathan you can’t declare amnesty for Niger Delta militants while killing Boko Haram. Attack against Boko Haram is an attack against the North.
“We are being killed for months, our women are being raped. Now, our governors are taking a token measure to secure our people. At this point, if you can’t speak for the people, it is better to keep quiet. We are not impressed.”
Also, an Afenifere leader, Adebanjo, said Tinubu only came out to react because of his aspiration to be President in 2023.
Adebanjo, who obviously disagreed with Tinubu’s position, said the APC National Leader would not say anything that would contradict the position of Buhari.
