There is an urgent need for professional operation and academic qualification in the service of the Oyo State Amotekun Corps.
The office of the Head of Service of Oyo State Civil Service Commission might have known or may not be aware that the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps, since its commencement of operation in the State in November, 2020, has being administering unprofessionally when compared with the Standard operation existing in the Civil Service Commission of Oyo State, whereas, the Oyo State Security Network Agency Law 2020, section 39 (3) round-up thus “Until such regulations are made, extant regulations applicable in the Civil Service of the State shall continue to apply to the officers and operatives of the Agency.”
The regulation operating in the Oyo State Civil Service Commission, honestly speaking, is one of the best in the South West region; even it has no equal in the Country. In the sense that the Oyo State Civil Service Regulation catered for all that may bring about favoritism, Nepotism, Gender and religious bias, injustice and subjection of its Staffs to unfavorable and dangerous working conditions.
The office of the Oyo State Civil service Commission should know that there are a lot of needs and benefits to introduce and apply the professional standard regulations operating in the Civil Service Commission of Oyo State to the administration of the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps, since the application of this standard regulation of the Oyo State Civil Service Commission is recommended in the section 39 (3) of the Oyo State Security Network Agency Law, 2020.
First and foremost, on several occasions, the Oyo State Government had engage the security out-fit Amotekun corps to completely shut down the Amotekun office in the Local Government on different dates as scheduled by the Amotekun Corps Hq, without minding the security needs that may arise in the shut-down Local Government offices. The purpose of these shut-down is nothing to write home about, but the recent shut-down is on the collection of health insurance identification cards, without considering the risk of lives on the Nigerian’s terrible roads, the distance of Oyo State Amotekun operatives from far Local Government of the State (Ogbomoso, Ibarapa and Oke-Ogun areas) were not even considered. The collection of the health insurance identity card by the Oyo State Amotekun operatives, with or without administrative zones/offices does not warrant the unprofessional order of total shut-down of security out-fit of the whole State.
This unprofessional total shut-down of the Oyo State Local Government offices subjected the Oyo State Amotekun operatives to a fatal accident. The unfortunate incident happened to Orire LG, one of the remote Local governments Amotekun offices in Oyo State on early morning of Monday 19th September, 2022. Thank God no live was lost; wishing those involve a quick recovery.
More so, professionalism and education qualification shall give the Oyo State Amotekun corps the opportunity of using modern security equipments, which is reliable and effective in tracking, detecting of crime activities and also to arrest and prosecute criminals whenever it occurs in Oyo State. The educated among the Oyo State Amotekun operatives, with their level of education, will operate more effectively some security gadget which are computer oriented, to apprehend criminals and prevention of crimes activities in our society. Even, the “juju” (if effectiveness is sure) can be packaged in a modern ways with this 21st century technological security equipment by some Scientists among the Oyo State Amotekun operatives, if given the chance. As the educated Amotekun corps would proffer workable and lasting solutions with new innovation to tackle security challenges confronting our society. With professionalism and Academic qualification, the Oyo State Amotekun operatives shall be a better ambassador of Oyo State when gathering of the Western Nigeria Security Network is required. The Oyo State Amotekun corps representatives or delegates will not be weighed down with inferiority complex in the midst of other Southwest Amotekun operatives, who will be represented by educated and enlightened Amotekun operatives, especially Ondo State Amotekun operatives.
Also, the position exiting in the standard military and para-military like the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps would be better determined by professional and academic qualification, as it being done in the Military and para-military.
According to the Oyo State Corps Commandant; Col. Olayinka Olayanju which the Board of Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance consent to silently, the leadership among the Oyo State Amotekun corps is being selected through election (thought is a diplomatic administrative lies, base on my investigation), this election is gender bias, religious bias, full of favoritism and other sentiment that can bring about ineffectiveness in the performance and improper remunerations of good work of the Oyo State Amotekun operatives.
This system of leadership selection (election) gives chance to the Oyo State Amotekun Commandant; Col. Olayanju Olayinka and his 2ic Akinro to select the Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) members among the Oyo State Amotekun corps as either Coordinator or operation leaders (favoritism).
Had it been that the numbers of Odua Peoples Congress (OPC) among the Oyo State Amotekun Corps were holding a reasonable Academic qualification, Education qualifications would have been embraced by the Oyo State Security Network Agency administrators and personnel development and other programs would have been followed, but none of the OPC members in the Oyo State Amotekun corps are educationally qualified. In Oyo State there is preferential treatment in attending to the Amotekun’s corps needs and the needs of each Local Government Councils.
Religious and gender biasness could have been satisfactorily and better addressed, if an academic qualification is being used as criteria for recruitment and leadership attainment. The regulation of the Oyo State Civil service Commission has perfectly and adequately catered for process and procedure of recruitment of staffs and appointment of leaders in Oyo State Civil Service Commission. The Oyo State Civil Service Commission should, as matter of urgency, proactively apply the regulation operating in the commission to the administration of the Oyo State Amotekun corps, so as not to gives chance for a more disastrous administrative measure for future Oyo State Amotekun Corps Commandant and the Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance.
More so, professionalism in the operation of the Oyo State Amotekun corps shall go a long way in curtailing indiscipline act experiencing among the Oyo State Amotekun operatives / officers. These law enforcement officers see nothing wrong in selling and buying of India hemps (igbo) some of them, ranging from coordinators, use the Oyo State Amotekun uniform and operation Vans to smuggle marijuana and other illicit goods. Indiscriminating smoking of marijuana, cigarettes and others unlawful drugs at various Local Councils offices, even at the Oyo State Amotekun’s headquarters. Attending to civil cases as if it were criminal case, use of indecent languages while in Amotekun’s uniform, violation of human rights, just to mention but a few, all awkward behavior would defiantly be checked and corrected by a functional code of conduct and operation manual for the Oyo State Amotekun corps. These operation manual and code of conduct will also inform the Oyo State Amotekun corps what is expected of them and what is not, thereby check the excessive use of power by the Oyo State Amotekun corps commandant by dismissing the Amotekun corps for offences that are punishable under the Regulation of the Oyo State Civil Service Commission.
The extant regulations of the Oyo State Civil Service Commission gives room for work-shops, seminars, in-service training and other programs that can bring about staff / personnel development and effectiveness in discharging the expected duty as civil servants, which all these programs are not forbidding in professional practice of military and para-military . The Oyo State Security Network Management team and the Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance, since its inception have not considered it necessary to train properly and retrain it personnel, apart from the three weeks recruitment training in November, 2020 which was not even extensive for law enforcement agents.
The presumed factor responsible for this training and retraining program is who to choose among the Oyo State Amotekun corps for the training and retraining, because the training and retraining program would be based on grade level or rank of the personnel, and the Oyo State Amotekun operatives are not graded nor ranked. If the proper training and retraining programs should be organized for the Oyo State Amotekun Corps, they have tendency of performing excellently.
The mal-function administrative systems above shall not be raised without given workable and applicable solutions, which if applied to the administration of the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun corps by the Oyo State Government through the intervention of the Oyo State Civil Service Commission, emphatically, the Oyo State Amotekun shall perform greatly securing lives and properties of Oyo State citizens and among the South West Security Network Agency.
Since the Oyo State Security Network Agency Law 2020, section 39 (3) stated that
“Until such regulations are made, extant regulations applicable in the Civil Service of Oyo State shall continue to apply to the officers and operatives of the Agency.” And the fact that the Oyo State Amotekun Board of Governance could not, for almost two years, make a regulations (as contain in section 39 of the Oyo State Security Network Agency Law 2020) that can bring about personnel development and good working conditions for Oyo Amotekun operatives and officers in the Agency, which shall give Oyo State good image.
It is now pertinent for the Office of the Head of Civil Service Commission of Oyo State, whose function includes “providing leadership and direction for the Civil Service by maintaining high morale spirit-de-corps and good image of the service and fostering professionalism among Civil Servants, which other related Ministerial responsibilities of the Office of the Head of Civil Service is not left out, as covered by the Public Service Commission Law 26 of the Western States of 1963 which was created under the Establishment of Public Service Commission Act 62 in Chapter VI of Western Region of Nigeria, under the Fourth Schedule of Section 2 of the Constitution of the Sovereign Nation of Nigeria, 1960 stating other numerous duties of the Office of the Oyo State Head of Service. And also Section 158 of the 1999 Constitution as amended states in part that “In exercising its power to make appointment or to exercise disciplinary control over persons, the Commissions shall not be subject to the direction or subject of any other authority or person”.
Therefore, the Office of the Oyo State Head of Service is implored to kindly take up the administration of the Oyo State Security Network Agency and Amotekun Corps.
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