‘Babalawos’ battle Makinde for refusing to invite them to peace meeting

Members of the Traditional Worshippers Association of Nigeria, Oyo State Chapter, have protested the exclusion of the group from a peace meeting called by Oyo State government to discuss issues relating to maintenance of peace in the state.

Key stakeholders, like traditional rulers, religious leaders, security agents, artisans, market women and men, students’ body, among others, were invited to the Agodi Secretariat in Ibadan this week, but the traditional religion adherents were not among those invited for the meeting.

The group, in a statement signed by its Secretary, Dr Fayemi Fatunde Fakayode, and made available to Vanguard, after an emergency meeting in Ibadan, said it was not the first time the third leg of the religion adherents were neglected and omitted from core issues that affect the state.

The group, used the medium to commiserate with the police authority in the state over the loss of officers to the last violent protests in the state as well as the destruction of police stations and facilities.

Fakayode hinted that: “We would not have been bulged by the attitude of this administration to we traditional worshippers in the state, other issues of equal importance have been discussed here in Ibadan with the inclusion of our brothers and sisters in the Christianity and Islam faiths, but on the issue of peace and security, one would think it supposed to be all-inclusive.”

“The governor has continued to treat us like we are aliens in our own land just because of our belief, we need to remind him that we hold the same stake in the affairs of this state, we will keep reminding him.”

“We are using this medium to also commiserate with the police authority in the State for the loss of their officers to the last violent protests in major areas of the state as well as loss of equipments and facilities and vandalization of police stations that happened in many areas, it is disheartening.”

“We call on the federal, state and local government authorities to urgently commence renovation work on these facilities across the state.”

In another development, the group, however, commended Governor Makinde for the announcement made by him on that he had signed a document for the immediate recruitment of 1,500 officers to kickstart the Southwest Security Network codenamed – “Amotekun” corps in the state.

They said the Amotekun corps would supplement the efforts of the regular police officers to enforce law and order especially in the rural communities.