Yoruba Elders are wondering why Bola Ahmed Tinubu has gone silent over Operation Amotekun debate

A socio-cultural organisation, the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), yesterday called on the National Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to stop playing the ostrich and speak up now on controversies surrounding the new security initiative, Operation Amotekun, recently launched by the Southwest governments.
 
The Federal Government (through the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation), Abubakar Malami had declared the initiative illegal, while southwest governors and major stakeholders in the region insist they have carried major stakeholders in the Federal Government along since the idea was first muted in July 2019.

Tinubu, who is the leader of the southwest APC that currently controls five out of the six states in the zone, has remained tight-lipped, and the YCE, Yoruba socio-cultural organisation, Afenifere, as well as Yoruba Ronu are deeply troubled by his failure to speak.

The Secretary-General of YCE, Dr. Kunle Olajide, told The Guardian, yesterday, that Tinubu’s silence on Amotekun is worrisome and gives the impression that he has abandoned the governors, who took the laudable initiative, amidst the rising wave of insecurity across Yoruba land at the mercy of the “almighty federal authority.”
 
According to Olajide: “One would have expected Tinubu to speak up. His silence is not inspiring to most of us because it is incumbent on every reasonable Yoruba person to speak on insecurity confronting us since APC came into power in 2015. YCE is not particularly happy about his silence.”
 
Olajide urged the media to approach Tinubu to speak up on the issue because his voice as the political leader of the zone in the APC is important. “The entire Yoruba nation supports what the governors have done in setting up Operation Amotekun, but the Federal Government just came up to declare it illegal. Tinubu’s silence is absolutely worrisome.”
 
Afenifere, through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin said Tinubu’s voice is irrelevant in this situation since the governors and the entire Yoruba nation have taken a position on how to provide security for their lives and property. 
 
According to Afenifere: “Anybody who speaks up or not on this issue does so for his/her sake, and the Yoruba future. Operation Amotekun transcends party affiliation because Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State, who is deeply involved is a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), while Governors Kayode Fayemi and Rotimi Akeredolu of Ekiti and Ondo states spearheading it are of APC. And most other dignitaries backing Amotekun have no political leanings.”