The determination of the people of Osun to protect themselves against attempted incursions is critical to all other efforts being put in place to stave off criminality in the state.
A former Special Adviser on Information and Strategy under the administration of former Governor Rauf Aregbesola, Semiu Okanlawon, stated this on Sunday.
Okanlawon in a statement issued on Sunday spoke against the backdrop of moves by the government to rid the state off criminals.
Recent cases of crimes such as kidnapping for ransoms, Okanlawon stated, were alien to the state.
He noted that the people themselves must be ready to provide adequate information and be vigilant over happenings in their localities to be able to stave off crimes.
The former Special Adviser said the mechanism for state security which began and fully fortified the state since the administration of Aregbesola were still intact and well managed by the Gboyega Oyetola administration.
He said the incursion of some criminal elements in recent times required full cooperation of the residents to ensure no part of the state was allowed to harbour criminal elements.
While commending the swift move by Governor Gboyega Oyetola to seek helps from the appropriate security agencies including the Army, Okanlawon said local communities stood in good stead to identify suspicious moves and persons whose activities might be constituting threats to the collective peace of the state.
“Residents have the duty to be vigilant and now be more security conscious. Under a situation such as this, the police, army and other forms of security apparatus put in place by the government would carry out their duties but the onus is on the communities themselves to ensure that there is no hiding place for criminals to either plot or launch their wicked plans,” Okanlawon stated.
He also called on associations of non-indigenes who had been resident in the state for decades and engaged in legitimate businesses to be more proactive in order avert people with criminal motives to jeopardize their legitimate businesses.
His words: “This state has been home to so many Nigerians from other parts of the country who have found this place to be their homes. The leaderships of those associations of non-indigenes have the responsibility to ensure that their kinsmen don’t harbor people of doubtful characters and intentions.”
Okanlawon reminded the residents that the Gboyega Oyetola administration was a continuation of the Rauf Aregbesola era, adding that nothing had changed in the overall security apparatus that ensured safety of lives and property before now.
“People should remember that with the profile of Osun being the safest state in Nigeria, the impact of this was not lost on the economic outlook of the state.
“More businesses grew, many people relocated to the state and commerce thrived. All these put together made life more meaningful with high hopes of better tomorrow. These are the reasons Osun residents cannot afford to look up only to the government in making the state impregnable to crimes. They have roles to play. And those roles are critical,” he concluded.
