TOWARDS ensuring safe border communities and inter-state travels between Ogun and Oyo states, Governor Dapo Abiodun and his counterpart in Oyo State, Seyi Makinde, on Wednesday resolved to collaborate on security matters to engender enduring peace and socio-economic development.
The governors at the inaugural security meeting held at the Presidential Lodge, Ibara GRA, Abeokuta, said the joint collaboration became imperative in view of the critical issues bordering on security matters as it affects the two states.
Abiodun in his remarks said the meeting would further strengthen the bond that exists between the two states.
He hinted that Ogun is strategically located for sharing borders with four other states in the South-West which are Lagos, Oyo, Osun and Ondo, hence the need to enhance its security architecture.
“The borders in the state have made the state witness recurring security challenges. We have resolved to put an end to this, hence the need for this collaboration.
“The nexus between the two states on security matters will help in reducing the crime rate in both Oyo and Ogun,” he added.
Speaking at the meeting, Governor Makinde, who maintained that he is a believer in structural reform in the security, politics and economy of the nation, commended Abiodun for the infrastructural drive that is connecting cities with the state.
He noted, however, that the two states and the SouthWest zone must begin to think about how to connect major cities across all the states so that the zone could become a corridor of development.
He said, “When I was coming and drove on that 44km road, the interchange, I told my brother that, yes, we are connecting cities within our state but we must now think beyond that. “We must start thinking of how to connect major cities within our states so that when we look at the South-West zone, we see it as a corridor for development. He agreed with me 100 per cent because we have seen it in other places.
“I saw the estate midway between the interchange and here and people have already been moving in there. So, if one can stay there and work in Lagos or Ibadan or Abeokuta, that is how we create a development corridor.
“And then, there is a lot of nexus between crime and criminality and economic development. That is what we need to do, because a lot of youths will…That is the only way we can see a drop in criminal activities.
“I believe in state police but we are not able to get that at this point in time because of the constitutional hurdles we have to pass through. We all aligned to get the Amotekun in all the states in South-West and I am glad that Ogun State is now operationalising it.
“I am happy that this is not about partisan politics. My brother is from the All Progressives Congress (APC) and I am from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). We are having security issues along our common borders.
“We have had two PDP governors in this state and I did not see anywhere where they had this kind of collaboration. Again, two APC governors were in both states and could not achieve anything. Today, we have APC and PDP governors and we are here to collaborate, and at the end of this technical session, what we hope to achieve is a long-lasting solution that will benefit the good people of both states.
“We won’t be able to do it without everyone that is in this room including the traditional rulers because in Oyo State, we did involuntary policing. We involved vigilantes, traditional institutions and that has helped us. So, we are here to share those ideas and I believe that we will come up with a communiqué, give our commitments to it and the entire generality of our people should be involved in it at the end of the day.
“These are two out of the 36 states in the country. When the two states become more peaceful, the other 34 states can take a cue from us.”
A communiqué issued at the end of the joint security meeting and signed by the duo of Makinde and Abiodun indicated that the joint security was at the instance of the two governors and that it was convened to discuss common issues affecting the safety of lives and properties in the neighbouring states.
The communiqué read in part: “Whilst noting and commending existing measures put in place by the two governors to eradicate or at least minimise crimes and ensure peace and safety of lives and property in their respective states, the meeting noted that the shared objective of ensuring peace and security is being undermined by the criminal activities in the communities along the common boundaries of Ogun and Oyo states.
“The meeting agreed to implement the following initiatives in the short term. They are threat assessment and analysis along the border corridors, deployment of CCTV on the interstate highways, harmonisation and mainstreaming of voluntary police and informal security outfits, and diligent prosecution of criminals to signify the resolve of the governments of both states to clamp down on criminality.”
The meeting, which commended the duo of Governors Makinde and Abiodun for the historic initiative and commitment, lauded the Ogun State governor and the Ogun State government for successfully hosting the inaugural meeting, while it also adjourned to convene in Oyo State at a later date.
Top functionaries from the Oyo State government who attended the joint security meeting with Governor Makinde were the Chief of Staff, Honourable Segun Ogunwuyi, Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Professor Oyelowo Oyewo, Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Matters, Chief Bayo Lawal and the Special Adviser to Governor Makinde on Security, Retired CP Fatai Owoseni, among others.
