Osun State Field Commander of Amotekun, Chief Amitolu Shittu, speaks on the operations of the security outfit and other sundry national issues in this interview with Mudiaga Affe

Why is insecurity increasing despite government’s effort?
A nation without ideology will never get it right politically. Be it United States, Germany, United Kingdom, or France, they have an ideology and driving force that is why they keep referring to their founding fathers. But here in Nigeria, we have thrown away the efforts of our founding fathers, their dreams are never appreciated and that is why we have not got it right in the area of economy and security.

When the military took over in 1983, a few of them came up with the ideology of instilling discipline into our lives, which was alien to us at that time. They foresaw that indiscipline was breeding corruption at that time. They saw that indiscipline will ruin the educational system and vandalise our heritage. Any nation that encourages indiscipline will collapse.

We were beginning to get it right step by step before the unwarranted coup d’ etat staged by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (retd.). When that government came into power, there was no ideology on how best to run a government and that was when corruption became officialised. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Nigeria was in good stead to development, so, we needed a leader whose focus should have been driven by ideology. Leaders whose idea would promote education, healthcare, epileptic power supply, economy, and all other sectors.

The result of what we are witnessing today is part of the failure of the Babangida administration. I can tell you that the bulk of those engaging in robbery, kidnapping, cattle rustling, and banditry was born during that administration. They were born without a proper plan for their future. The few that got it right due to the efforts of their parents are the ones struggling to travel out of the country for greener pastures.

Why have you singled out the Babangida administration as being responsible for the woes of the nation?

If you go through the statistics, you will agree with me that those who are into these criminalities are mainly between the ages of 30 and 36. Before that administration took over power, the level of criminality had reduced drastically, but it was after he ruled the country for eight years that the country derailed in the areas of politics, economy, security, and education.

It is over one year that Amotekun took off, are you satisfied with its operations in the state?

Osun was the first to inaugurate Amotekun in the south-west. It has not been easy. The culture of killing, stealing, and kidnapping is all alien to the Yoruba culture. They have come to us as a result of the misgovernance that we have faced in the past. However, if governors like Gboyega Oyetola can deem it fit to correct the wrongs, I think we must give kudos to him. In the area of community policing, it has not been easy. I must state that we have faced a lot of challenges but because we have passion for it, we have persevered.

Sometimes I wonder if those who engage in these criminal acts have any religious ties. I do not think they ever believe that there is God.

The Bible, Quran, and even our African traditional religion make us believe that you must account for what you have done on earth when you die. How can you justify ritual killings? Where are you taking the money to when you die? Unfortunately, those who are caught tend to hand it on the neck of unemployment, but everybody cannot be employed by the government. Unemployment should not be an excuse for criminality. Many youths are not interested in the development of the country. What they are after is amassing wealth and this is what the military introduced to them.

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Their interest these days is how to accumulate wealth through any means such as internet fraud and ritual, Unfortunately, people now celebrate these mediocre persons. If these things are not properly put in check, there will be a huge crisis in the country in the next 25 years or more against Nigeria and Nigerians.

That is why outfits like Amotekun should be encouraged to check these things. The reason why Amotekun seems to be making headway is that it has not been politicised. The moment it is politicised, it will be brought down. So, I want to advise the south-west governors not to allow any element of politics to override what will come to outlive them. No law enforcement agency can be a friend to criminals. Unfortunately, these criminals will always want to hide under the human rights violation laws. Remember what they did during the #EndSARS protest. We must not allow criminals to destroy our security outfits.

As D-G of Amotekun, you said you would use Yoruba magical powers (Yoruba science) to tackle criminality, has that been brought to use?

Yes, it is one of the best tools that we are using today. This is the first time I will be divulging this information to the public. Some time ago in Osun, some persons were kidnapped and we searched for over 24 hours, there was no clue as to where the criminals had taken the persons to. I talked to my people and we got in contact with the families of the victims. We experimented on something and it worked out. The victims were voluntarily released.

It was African science which may be in form of prayer in our traditional way. The victims were released, the kidnappers gave them back their phones and every other item they took from them. When they were released, we went to their various homes to find out what transpired and they told us that the kidnappers told them that they (victims) were using people from outside who have supernatural powers that were conflicting with theirs.

Specifically, they told the victims that their link with Amotekun was affecting their operations. That was how they were released. Since then, we have been improving on our mode of operation.

Was it a one-off thing or you continued with the African science stuff?

We have succeeded in applying the same method when other people were kidnapped. This time, they were travellers coming from Ekiti. They were kidnapped along Illa road. These victims were also released voluntarily. It is the Lord’s doing. We have had several interventions in this regard. We are building on the mechanism to ensure those kidnap victims are released freely without parting with ransoms.

To what extent have Amotekun in Osun been able to synergise with others in the south-west to achieve results?
The bulk of our operatives, for now, are operating on ad-hoc capacity. By May this year when we would have had our well-trained corps members in their thousands graduating, such synergy can be sustained. The Osun State governor is also ensuring that other security agencies like the Department of State Services (DSS), Nigerian Army Regiment in Ede, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) cooperate with us to tackle insecurity in the state. However, some other sister security organisations see us as competitors, which ought not to be.

There are cases of some Amotekun operatives overstepping their bounds, how have you been able to manage this?

I do not think it is exactly the case. We have some security operatives whose past actions are chasing them. They are no longer respected by the public because some of them smoke cannabis with criminals and they drink with them in public bars and that is why they have lost their respect. We have ensured that our operatives do not share the same table with criminals. Our responsibility is to arrest suspects and hand them over to the police for prosecution.

We, however, need encouragement from some of these agencies. Those who encourage us like DSS and NSCDC do so because they do not see us as rivals. The DSS do engage us sometimes and they commend us for the outcome. The Amotekun is not in existence to expose the inefficiency of any security agency but we believe that the business of security should be done with absolute loyalty to the country. If the Nigeria Police Force can do it alone, there would have not been the need for the establishment of the NSCDC. They should understand that security is a wide sector that needs collaboration.

How well is Amotekun funded by the state government?

Security is broad. In terms of finance, the state has a lean purse, but the governor is doing the much he can to encourage us, financially. I pray for all the other states in the south-west to get it right by funding Amotekun. The governors too should recognise the efforts of those who have put in their best in the discharge of their duties as this will be a morale booster for them.

I appeal to the governors to give awards to any Amotekun operative that did well- this will motivate them. If the federal government has been doing this to the police, it would have changed the narratives. Such awards should be given to those who risked their lives for the country and not for political purposes.