Criminality is not a political football. It is a scourge that demands action, not excuses. The duty of any government is clear: protect lives and property. Everything else—roads, schools, hospitals—hinges on that foundation. When security cracks, society trembles. Yet, in South-West Nigeria, the cracks are widening, and Oyo State has become the epicenter of a creeping crisis.
This is not a distant threat from the North-East or North-West anymore. It is here, in a region once celebrated for its calm. As a scholar who has tracked insecurity from Senegal to the Horn of Africa, I have seen the patterns. Isolated incidents become a tide. What seems unconnected reveals a deeper rot. We warned about the Oke Ogun axis, the porous borders with Benin Republic, and the steady advance of extremist groups. Geography does not forgive complacency.
The signs are impossible to ignore. The Ibadan explosion exposed governance failures—funds meant for relief sat in fixed deposits while victims waited. Attacks near Old Oyo National Park, terrorist-linked incidents in Ogbomoso, and a kidnapping in the heart of Ibadan itself show no place is safe. Then came the Abidagcha meth lab discovery, a drug trafficking hub emerging alongside abductions in Oyo. These are not coincidences. Drug money fuels violence; violent groups need logistics. When criminal ecosystems overlap, responsible leaders act.
But what do we see? Excuses. Political spin. Some governors dismiss security incidents as election-season noise. That is lazy and dangerous. It obscures the real problem and erodes trust. At moments like this, we remember the late Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu. He faced down federal resistance to establish Amotekun, the South-West’s community policing force. He did not retreat. He showed courage, conviction, and strategic clarity.
Today, the region needs that same fire. Governors must strengthen intelligence, coordinate security agencies, invest in border surveillance, and evolve Amotekun into a smarter, more capable institution. They must tackle the criminal economies—drugs, kidnappings, extortion—that feed violence. This is not the time for denial or partisan games. It is the time for leadership.
The people of South-West Nigeria deserve governors who rise above politics, embrace their constitutional duty, and act with urgency. Akeredolu showed the way. The question is: who will follow?
