Afenifere stalwart and gubernatorial aspirant under the aegis of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ekiti State, Prince Adedayo Adeyeye has thrown his support behind President Goodluck Jonathan over the recent declaration of state of emergency in Adamawa, Yobe and Borno states.
According to him, “this is a measure long overdue but for President Jonathan being a democrat that will always want to weigh the pros and cons of issues and also engage in wide consultations before taking decisions.”
Adeyeye noted that declaring the state of emergency becomes a sine-qua-non in view of the total breakdown of law, order and wanton destruction of human lives and property by members of the Boko Haram sect in the three states.
He condemned those opposing the move on legal note, stressing that the emergency rule is the only option in the prevailing state of lawlessness in the affected states where lives are being lost in droves with property destroyed almost on daily basis.
“ The decision of Mr. President is borne out of the growing frustration in the northern part of the country and its attendant socio-economic crises; a zone where life is being made to be as worthless as a cockroach on the sidewalk, where people die like ants and where the reigning socio-political situation is fast degenerating into hobbesian state of nature where life is short, brutish and sad.
“The president, as the helmsman cannot be expected to fold his arms and allow the ship of state to hit the rocks. He cannot allow the zealots to compromise the territorial integrity of the country,” he said.
The Afenifere chieftain said it took the wisdom of a real leader to have waited this long before declaring the emergency rule in view of glaring fact that the original intent of those causing havoc in the troubled states is to cripple the incumbent administration and bring it into its kneels.
“When a group of people go all out to cause this level of killings and wanton destruction of property, you are bound to ask what their mission is. We have never been told what the Boko Haram really wants. All we see is killings and attacks on churches and even mosques alike. Their attacks are brazen and unimaginable. And when issues get to this point, the only option left is to jettison protocol and face the situation head long.
“It is apt to state for the understanding of those that are mis-informing the public over the legality of the action that the military has both internal and external responsibility for the security of nation. The duty of the military is not only to fight external adversaries but also to engage and subdue external enemies of the state.
Adeyeye however called on the presidency to ensure that the activities of the military in the affected states are closely monitored to curtail excesses that are sometimes inevitable in this kind of situation.
