Shasha: Fani Kayode cautions Lawan over comments on S/W govs

Former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode has cautioned the President of the Senate, Dr Ahmed Lawan, against accusing the South west governors of being responsible for the recent killings in Shasha area of Ibadan.

The former minister in a statement released weekend in response to a statement purportedly credited to Senator Lawan frowned at his submission on the efforts of the South west governors on the Shasha crisis.

He stated that, contrary to the allegation, “the proactive steps taken by the South west governors and Oyo state governor, Mr Seyi Makinde in particular, helped at preventing the crisis from being worse than what it was.

“I was in Ibadan when the Shasha killings started and I went on tour of the affected area. Let me assure you that people were killed on both sides of the ethnic divide and had it not been for the efforts of the governor of Oyo state and the tacit support and encouragement he got from the other South west governors in terms of appealing to the people of Ibadan to show restraint, what happened in Oyo would have been a hundred times worse,” he said.

Fani Kayode added that: “The decisive actions of the South west governors over the last few months actually saved lives and their words and utterances actually reflected the will of the people.

“If for example, Governor Akeredolu had not banned herdsmen from the forests of Ondo state, after some time, the local population would have gone there themselves to throw them out violently.

The former minister stated that “quite apart from that, I need to ask this question. Why does the Senate President not complain about the violence that northerners are inflicting on Middle Belters and southerners in the north itself?

“Again why does he not complain about the barbaric attacks and killing of our people in the South west and other parts of the South and Middle Belt by killer Fulani herdsmen who are carrying arms, raping our women, occupying our land and terrorising out people?

“How come he does not complain about that? Is Northern blood more precious than Southern blood? It appears that he is only concerned about retaliatory attacks by the local Yoruba population who have been brutalised and traumatised by the terrorists. He has not complained about what those terrorists are doing to our people and he has exhibited no empathy with the victims simply because they are southerners.”

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