Creation of Amotekun Shows That Restructuring Is Inevitable ― Bakare

General Overseer, the Citadel Global Community Church, Pastor Tunde Bakare on Sundays, says the newly instituted Western Nigeria Security Network, code-named “Operation Amotekun,” has clearly shown that restructuring of Nigeria into true federalism is inevitable.

The popular cleric stated this in Lagos during a church service.

Speaking further, Bakare, who was a former Vice Presidential Candidate with President Buhari in the 2011 election, pointed that the trend towards regional security outfits is an indication that Nigeria needs to revisit its national foundations and renegotiate them.

READ: Tinubu Breaks Silence on Amotekun, Calls for Dialogue

To have a perfect union, Bakare argued that Nigeria should candidly address its growing contentious national questions of constitutionalism and nationhood at the table of brotherhood rather than continue to sweep them under the carpet.

While noting that the proponents of Amotekun justified the move by referencing the Sharia police or Hisbah as a northern version of regional policing, Bakare said, on the other hand, said that people from the North are expressing fears of possible regional political motivations.

“These are clear indications that the issues we swept under the carpet in past decades are still staring us in the face. We cannot continue to hide under the umbrella of one finger. It is time to address the underlying issues of nationhood and reset Nigeria on the path to predictable progress.”

“The way forward for these recurring questions of federalism, including that of regional or state policing is to travel downwards to revisit the constitutional foundations while looking upwards with unwavering faith in our divinely ordained destiny as one strong, united nation, with a strong federal government and strong federating units; a nation in which government as an entity is close enough to serve the people and strong enough to protect them.

While cautioning that the proponent of Amotekun must not lose sight of the main issue of the debate, which is the insecurity challenges bedeviling the country, Bakare said there is is an urgent need to focus attention on youth unemployment and restiveness.

“As good as the Amotekun Security outfit and similar initiatives across the nation are, we will have fewer security challenges when the government at all levels focuses urgent attention on job creation for the massive army of jobless youths in our nation.

“Youth joblessness is the breeding ground for the various forms of crime that have bedeviled our land. Evidently, idle hands are the devil’s workshop. Even our present constitution, flawed as it is, stipulates that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government.

“Consequently, we cannot prioritise the security of the citizens above the welfare of the citizens; the two must go hand in hand. When that happens, the crime rate will drastically drop as our youths across the length and breadth of the federation are gainfully employed or helped to become job creators themselves.”