Yoruba elders urge Buhari to sack service chiefs over insecurity

Elders in the South-West, under the aegis of Coalition of Oduduwa Elders (COE), have urged President Muhammadu Buhari to take proactive steps to curb insecurity in the country.

In a statement in Abuja, yesterday, by its National Co-ordinator, Dr. Tunde Aremu, the elders alleged that suspected terrorist elements in the mould of foreign herders were infiltrating the South-West region without molestation.

The elders, who accused the Armed Forces of failing in its primary duty of defending the nation’s territorial integrity against external aggression, sued for peaceful co-existence between Yoruba, as well as residents, saying that violence remains antithetical to meaningful development.

The statement reads in part: “As stakeholders in Yorubaland and the Nigerian project as a whole, we have watched with keen interest the unfolding events in the country, especially as they relate to the South-West region, and we wish to advise President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently take steps that will restore public confidence in the nation.

“We say that failure to take action may well be an invitation to another civil war, the end of which we cannot predict.

“Our country is sitting on a keg of gunpowder, and if nothing is done urgently, we may face another civil unrest, as the citizens are tired of the actions and inactions of the President in the area of security of lives and property.

“Restructuring must begin with the sack of the service chiefs and replacement with young and more competent officers.”