South-West governors playing politics with security, claims ex-DMI chief

Brig.-Gen. Kunle Togun (retd.), a former Deputy Director-General of the State Security Service and ex-Chairman of the Oyo State Amotekun Corps, has issued a stark warning about the deteriorating security situation in Nigeria's South-West. Togun asserts that the region is facing significant threats from infiltrating terrorists and bandits, pointing to recent incidents like the abduction of teachers and students in Oyo State.

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You sit down, organise lectures, invite people to come and give you security analyses, but you are not taking action.

Drawing on his extensive training and experience, including his tenure as Director of Military Intelligence, Togun claims he foresaw these dangers as early as 2014. He expressed frustration that his warnings, delivered at security lectures and to relevant authorities, have largely gone unheeded. Togun specifically criticized the lack of action from regional leaders, suggesting they organize lectures but fail to implement necessary security measures.

Adding a layer of complexity to the security discourse, Togun raised concerns about ethnic identity and its implications for regional security. He recounted an instance where individuals from Kwara State denied Yoruba identity, linking this to broader challenges in defining regional affiliations and security responsibilities. Togun suggested that this ambiguity, coupled with a lack of cooperation from state governors, hinders effective security operations.

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Are there Yoruba in Kwara? The man was shocked. He said, “How can you say that?” I said yes, because you cannot tell me you are not aware of the fact that several top Kwara indigenes told the whole world that they were not Yoruba, that they were Northerners.

During his time as Chairman of Amotekun in Oyo State, Togun stated he provided a detailed threat analysis to the Commandant and Governor Seyi Makinde, identifying the Fulani as a primary threat to Yoruba land. However, he lamented the absence of cooperation, which he believes compromises the region's ability to counter these escalating security challenges.

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I told them the threats to Yoruba land are the Fulani. When people start mentioning the North, it is not the No