The Yoruba socio- cultural organization, Afenifere has called on the Federal government to halt its plan to launch’ Operation Crocodile Smile ‘in the south west of the country.
The operation comes in the wake of Python Dance in the south east.
The group said such operation would encourage military takeover.
It has also appealed to governors of Ondo and Osun to resolve brewing crisis between their supporters, insisting it doesn’t want war between two Yoruba states.
Briefing newsmen at the end of the group’s meeting, spokesman for the group, Yinka Odubakin said although government has claimed the Crocodile Smile is to confront menace of badoo, Afenifere’s position is that the gang had been decimated by police and Oodua People’s Congress.
“We insist that the military has no duty in going after badoo even if it comes back. We want the federal government to becareful at the spate at which they deployed solders all over the country,” he noted.
“The other day, the Speaker of the House of Representative lamented that 28 out of 36 states of the country are under one military operation or the other. The South west has been adjudged the most peaceful area of the country. To now bring military here is to say that the entire country is not safe. They are sending a wrong signal to foreign investors and more importantly, the federal government should be reminded before the coup of 1966, this is was how Balewa government started to transfer civil duty to military and the military now said they can take themselves
“The government should be careful. We urged the federal government to tell the military not to bring any operation to South west and to end the Operation Python Dance in the South East and allow the police to do their duty and not crate militarisation across the country.
Also on the Olubadan issue , the group said it receive with sadness the desecration of the palace of Okinawan of Ibadan land by hoodlums who invaded his palace and perpetrated violence during the installation of Mogajis in Ibadan.
“This is not direct attack on Olubadan but attack on the sacred institution in Yoruba land, the value and our culture. It is not acceptable, it so condemnable. We called on the government of Oyo state and the governor to immediately lead the effort to get the hoodlums and ensure that they are punished so that it will be a deterrent to others.
They also called on the Federal government to do the needful to ensure that it actualize the call for restructuring of the country.
“However the meeting frowned at the comments credited to some elders in the North who said they do not oppose devolution of powers, but the North would not easily give up over their advantages in Nigeria.
“This is an unfortunate statement. We are not in apartheid South Africa where a section of the country will be talking about the advantages it holds over another section of the country. We wish that no sincere Nigerians should have made such statement. However, we want to say that our reason for restructuring is that we want a society where no section of the country would hold any advantage over another section rather every section of the country will have equal opportunity to use their resources which we know that are abundant in Nigeria ,to develop on their own pace and develop their people and tolled the develop paradigm as obtained in Nigeria before the 1966 coup.”
