Bola Tinubu, National Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Wednesday revealed why he has been “silent” on the establishment of Southwest security outfit, Amotekun by governors of the region.
The APC leader in a statement signed by his spokesperson, Tunde Rahman,explained that he deliberately took a studied silence since the establishment of Amotekun.
Tinubu said those who have been reacting never did out of love for Amotekun but did so knowing this had become a delicate and emotional issue for many.
The statement reads partly: “Seeking to fulfill their mandates by helping protect their people, the governors of the Southwest collectively established a program to buttress existing security mechanisms. Seeking to protect the constitution as best he could, the Attorney-General offered his opinion on what he believed the governors have sought to do. No one can blame either party for seeking to fulfill what they genuinely see as their public duty.
“Until now, I have deliberately maintained a studied silence regarding Amotekun. Many have tried to goad my swift public reaction. Those who have taken this road did so not because they care about Amotekun or even the people it intends to help protect. They did so knowing this had become a delicate and emotional issue for many. These cynics did so with the adversarial hope that, in haste, I might misspeak or misstep in a manner they could twist to their political advantage.
“Such people are possessed of a mercenary aspect that permits them to sacrifice almost anything, even jeopardize the very foundations of our political unity, if they might exact personal gain from the upheaval. In that they know no nobler purpose than their own appetites, we should feel sorry for them. However, we must not allow our sympathies for their barren condition to persuade us that there is worth in their destructive misconduct. They must be left to the consequences of their own devices.”
Recall that the governors of the Southwest had set up the Operation Amotekun majorly for the purpose of curbing the menace of herdsmen killings and destruction of farmlands in the region.
