By Samuel Fasua
A Christian leader in the Ado-Odo Otta/Ifo zone of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Ogun State, Apostle Gbenga Awosanmi, yesterday described as unsettling, the drama created by members of the Oyo State House of Assembly, who stormed their plenary session in native traditional juju regalia.
The lawmakers had last week displayed the show when they gathered to pass the bill legalizing the Southwest Security Network, otherwise known as Amotekun, in Ibadan.
Some of the Assembly members had their regalia laced with native charms and amulets.
But condemning the approach, Awosanmi, who is General Overseer of C&S Church, Ogo Ireti unit, Iju-Aga in Ifo Local Government area of Ogun State, said the action could only send a wrong signal that the Amotekun security outfit is ether premised on native religious practices or one designed to terrify the public with voodoo excesses.
“I was alarmed when it was beamed on prime TV; I saw the Oyo lawmakers sitting in native juju dresses to pass the Amotekun bill and I screamed wow!
“What legacy are we then leaving behind for our generaions unborn? Nigeria, as we all know it, is a secular state and Amotekun should not be attached to any religious leaning.
“What they did could only send a wrong signal that the Amotekun security outfit is ether premised on native religious practices or one designed to terrify the public with voodoo excesses
“All the lawmakers needed do was to sit in their chambers in civil and responsible dresses to pass the Amotekun bill, since it is a security outfit designed to protect all residents of the Southwest, who include Christians, Muslims, traditional religious practitioners and even, atheists,” he explained.
Awosanmi said with the action of the Oyo lawmakers, and recent happenings about the security outfit, it shows our governments have openly endorsed and showed that they belong to the traditional religion in Nigeria.
While asking the Oyo lawmakers, whom he described as “possibly acting under the influence of youthful exuberance” to tender unreserved apologies for their action, the cleric tasked the Southwest governors to ensure that the Amotekun outfit live up to expectation.
“The outfit, as we all know, was conceptualised following the failure of the regular police and other security agencies to arrest the worsening state of insecurity in the Southwest region.
“Things got so bad that people were being kidnapped for ransom on daily basis and armed robberies at a stage became a way of life.
“As a result, the Amotekun group must be properly trained and given the needed orientation, incentives, and tools to perform up to public expectation”, the cleric counselled.
