Stakeholders in the South West Wednesday advocated for the strengthening of ‘Amotekun’ in tackling insecurity in the region and facilitating development.
The Stakeholders who spoke at the National Conference of Egbe Amofin Oodua which held in Abeokuta noted that effective collaboration among states in the region would tackle threats posed by open grazing.
The conference has as its theme “Regional Justice, Security and Sustainable Development”.
The Egbe Amofin Oodua comprises legal practitioners from Ekiti, Oyo, Osun, Ogun, Lagos and Ondo States pushing for regional justice, security and sustainable development.
A former Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Akinlolu Olujinmi, in his keynote address, said that effective collaboration to strengthen Amotekun would tackle insecurity and facilitate development in the region.
Olujinmi noted that renewed collaborations among the South West states to reposition Amotekun would not only tackle the threats posed by open grazing but also other security challenges.
He also said that collaboration among the six states to increase the empowerment and capacity of the Amotekun across the region would ensure policing of the roads and communities.
“By so doing the states will be providing the necessary environment for regional justice, security, and sustainable development.
“The governments of the region should regularly engage closely with the people to appreciate their specific needs and provide for them, rather than embarking on programmes of development that are not of any immediate relevance to the needs of the communities.
“The region is blessed with fertile land and active human capital which can be harnessed for development,” he said.
The former attorney general and minister of justice added that governments of the six states also needed to tackle youth unemployment with a robust commitment.
According to him, all these are necessary for sustainable development in the region.
He therefore urged the members to be mindful that the success of the association was paramount.
He also advised the stakeholders to encourage the prosperity of one another by ensuring that their dealings conformed with the rule of law.
Similarly, A Senior Advocate of Nigeria ( SAN) , Dr Wahab Shittu in the paper he presented at the conference called for a ban on open grazing.
The paper was titled “Combating the Threats of Open Grazing, Terrorism and Need For State Police”
Shittu stressed that the region must promote ranching initiatives, encourage agreement between communities for herders and farmers to share land respectfully.
“According to him, we cannot simply lament that there is insecurity. We are the lawyers, the best people to interpret and reform laws for justice,” he said.
Meanwhile Human Rights Lawyer, Femi Falana, decried the falling standard of education in the region.
Falana noted that in spite of education being accessed by the majority, the few that accessed it were performing low.
