Amotekun: ‘Malami Acted Hastily’ – Five Other Takeaways From Tinubu’s Intervention

The national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Ahmed Tinubu,  finally broke his silence on the controversy trialing Operation Amotekun – a security outfit recently launched by South West governors but that was declared “illegal” by the federal government.

Tinubu, who had been under intense pressure to state his position on Amotekun, explained that he deliberately maintained silence so as not to serve the purpose of those who wanted him to “misspeak or misstep” by issuing a statement in haste.

He said one of the qualities of good leaders is to not have “the luxury of hasty, ill-conceived utterances” that could spark the passions of others and create hostility among the people.

The APC leader, in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday, did not take sides with the South West governors that initiated Amotekun nor the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, who issued a statement on behalf of the federal government declaring the outfit illegal.

Here are six takeaways from Tinubu’s statement on Amotekun:

Amotekun Not Threat To National Security

Tinubu said he doesn’t subscribe to the notion in some quarters that Amotekun could constitute a threat to national security.

He noted that there were bound to be disagreements in a nation with over 200 million population with everyone seeking to make their own democratic expression.

“The fabric of the Republic has not been put at stake by Amotekun. However, that fabric could be torn by the dangerous rhetoric of those who should know better. Those claiming that this limited, inoffensive addition to security threatens the Republic have taken themselves upon a madcap excursion. Those claiming that the Federal Government seeks to terribly suppress the Southwest have also lost their compass. Those who occupy these two extremes have sunken into the dark recesses of fear and political paranoia that can undo a nation if such sentiments are allowed to gestate.

Amotekun Misunderstood

The APC leader held that lack of proper understanding and ignorance were responsible for the conflict between those supporting Amotekun and others opposing it.

“Question those in favour of Amotekun. Most have but the vaguest notion about it. They know few details yet vigorously attribute to its opponents the most negative intentions. Ask those who oppose Amotekun. They are equally ignorant of its provisions. They oppose the initiative not on its merits but merely because it was proposed by their political opponents or because they don’t see an avenue for personal gain from it.”

He noted that the controversy surrounding Amotekun had been mishandled as proponents and those opposing it have spent time “distorting this issue” this issue in instead of seeking a resolution that supports local enhancement of security in the South West region.

Opportunity To Clearly Define Our Federalism

According to Tinubu, the controversy trailing Amoketun offers an opportunity for Nigerian leaders all levels to clearly define “our federalism” in order to address recurrent disagreements between the federal and state governments in terms of division of power.

“Shorn of the overly dramatic language, what lies before us is but a step in the evolution of our federalism. This is an opportunity to more clearly define that federalism; but one cannot attain this better, more functional definition through overblown, emotional language.”

He said the South West governors and the Attorney-General have in no way shown a “malign intent” in the way they handled matter as

“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,” he said.

– FG, South West Governors Must Reach Consensus –

Tinubu stressed that there was need for the South West governors and the Attorney-General to meet and have private discussion on how Amotekun can be implemented to help improve security in the region.

“This matter cannot be resolved on the pages of newspapers or by attributing negative motives to either side. The best way to resolve this is still for the two sides to enter private discussions. Either the governors should seek an official but private meeting with the Attorney-General or the Attorney-General can initiate the contact. Since Amotekun is their initiative, the governors bear the greater onus in seeking the meeting.

“The meeting will initiate further discussion on how to resolve what appears to be a misunderstanding caused by an unfortunate lack of communication. Remedy the gap in communication and the misunderstanding will begin to disappear.

Governors Erred, But Malami Acted Hastily

The APC leader did not take sides with the South West governors nor AGF Malami. Instead, he apportioned equal blame to both parties for the controversy and tension Amotekun has generated.

Tinubu faulted the governors for not consulting with the AGF before setting up Amotekun, but also criticized the AGF for failing to reach out to the governors before declaring the outfit illegal.

He said, “The governors state that they consulted regularly with the police and security agencies. This was the right thing to do. However, their failure to include the office of the Attorney-General in these discussions is the fount of the current public uproar. This was an unfortunate omission the governors should regret and seek to remedy. However, the conceptual merits and positive functional aspects of Amotekun should not be tainted by this procedural defect.

“While the Attorney-General is a conscientious public servant, he is also human. Not having been consulted, he was suddenly faced with an unexpected public announcement regarding a matter within his official ambit. He likely feared the failure to consult him meant that federal prerogatives were being encroached. To blame him for this conclusion would be to blame human nature itself. Though his negative reaction was understandable it was also unhelpful.

“The Attorney-General acted hastily in rendering a public statement that was more inaccurate than it should have been. Amotekun was never proposed as a “defence” agency; the Attorney-General erred in using this description. The use of uniforms and brightly coloured vehicles may not be the best ideas but they do not render Amotekun a defence agency or paramilitary group any more than a designated school van carrying uniformed students constitutes a paramilitary deployment.

“Believing the governors had crossed the line, the Attorney-General should have reached out to them. Before going public, he should have sought a private meeting so that he could have a better factual understanding of Amotekun. This would have enabled him to give the governors any specific constitutional or other objectives he might have. In this way, the two sides would have engaged in private consultations to reach agreement on the way forward. This cooperative process might have helped to correct some of the organisational lapses above identified. Such a diplomatic and wise step also would have prevented the current public acrimony now surrounding the issue.”

Amotekun In Conflict With Buhari’s Policy

Tinubu noted that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration had approved a community and grassroots policing policy that would result in the recruitment of additional officers from all 774 local government areas in the country, thereby leading to greater decentralisation of policing in the nation.

He wondered how Amotekun will complement the police force when it is leaning in the opposite way as a regional outfit.

“Amotekun should have focused on grassroots local organisation at the state level without a regional command hierarchy. The regional approach may undermine efficiency. There is no compelling logic why the same personnel providing security & informational assistance in Ado-Ekiti should be under the same functional and operational leadership as those providing assistance in Lekki or Akure. This will not lead to optimal performance.”

Tinubu noted that before Amotekun becomes operational, the South West governors must address the grey areas or else “it will not live up to expectations.”