Boko Haram threat: Afenifere calls traditional institutions to alert

By Afenifere Renewal Group

Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) calls the attention of all residents of Southwest, Nigeria, especially the traditional institutions, to the claim by Boko Haram in the latest video released to AFP to the effect that, "we are in your city and you don't know where we are".

In the video, the sect's assumed leader, Abubakar Shekau, claimed responsibility for the Nyanya Bombing and threatened 'more imminent attacks' across the country.

ARG is calling on all the residents in the South West of Nigeria to take this threat very seriously, and be vigilant. We call on the residents to report to security agencies, monarchs, traditional leaders and the offices of the governors any suspicious movement of men and materials that come to their notice.

ARG wishes to alert the traditional institutions, from the highly revered monarchs to the Baales (the village heads) and Mogajis (Clan Heads), to their responsibility towards their subjects in this dire time.

All the leaders of our people at every level would have no reason, through acts of omission or commission, to allow total strangers over-run their domains. The time for the traditional institutions to become active and responsive as the guardian of our values is now. The kings and village heads should be ready to accept responsibility for any security failure in their domain, and we dare say that being urban should be no excuse.

Overall, ARG would like to warn that being visited with a terror attack would amount to a declaration of war on the peace loving people of Yorubaland, in as much as the Yoruba people have always been peaceful and are not, whether directly or indirectly, complicit in the collapse of development and security - factors which have been labelled as responsible for the rise of terrorism. We need to add that the Yoruba people will neither fold their arms if attacked and will be forced to respond in whatever shape or form deemed fit.

Signed
Hon. Olawale Oshun
National Chairman
Afenifere Renewal Group