‘Why Miyyeti Allah’s request on Amotekun was ignored’

Hon. S.O.B Agunbiade is the Majority Leader of the Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA). He is also the Chairman of the Southwest Legislative Reform Implementation Committee (SLRIC) which worked together with other stakeholders to provide the much needed legal framework for the Amotekun security initiative conceived by the governors of the six southwest states. In this interview with ‘DARE ODUFOWOKAN, Assistant Editor, he spoke on the Amotekun initiative, explaining why the request by Miyyetti Allah Cattle Breeders’ Association, to be part of Amotekun, was ignored. He also provided insights into how the six Houses of Assembly worked together to ensure the success of the initiative. Excerpts

The Amotekun bill has been passed by most state assemblies in the Southwest. How will you describe these moves?

The move is a great one. It is a testimony to the responsiveness of the government in each of the states that comprise the Southwest of Nigeria. The move is a direct response to the yearnings and needs of the people of the states of Lagos, Ekiti, Ogun, Oyo, Ondo and Osun in the southwestern region of our dear country, Nigeria. The concept of Amotekun is the idea of governors of the six states in the Southwest of Nigeria.

They brought the Speakers of their respective state assemblies into the scheme when they needed legal framework to back the concept and the Speakers decided to work with their Majority Leaders in that direction. I want to commend the Speakers of the Southwest states for being magnanimous and in carrying the Majority Leaders along in the series of meetings held to consider and harmonise the draft bills that have now established the concept of Amotekun as security corps in each of the states of Southwest of Nigeria

What would you say were the challenges of that particular assignment for you as a lawmaker?

The major challenge is having to travel now and then for the series of meetings and having to blend this with the demands posed by the activities of the  Southwest Legislative Reform  Implementation Committee (SLRIC) and again, combining all that with my activities as the Majority Leader of the ever busy Lagos State House of Assembly. All of these were also alongside my responsibilities as a resident representative of my people who desire my attention every time. The period was really challenging for me, but I thank God it was a quality learning process and procedure.

And what qualities and or advantages would you say the exercise by SLRIC have added to the final outputs of the various bills passed by the assemblies?

Many heads and hands moulded and  berthed the legal framework of Amotekun; the governors, the speakers, the Attorneys-General, the Majority Leaders, in some cases, the Clerks of the Houses, the Chairmen of house committees in charge of  security in each of the states and of course other members of the houses and their secretariat. Each and every one of these people added values to the process that transformed the bills to a law. As members of SLRIC, we gave a good account of ourselves and lend support as much as we could

In Lagos, Amotekun will be a unit under the Neighborhood Corps according to the bill passed. Can you shed more light on this and why it has to be so?

This is so because Lagos State House of Assembly has been proactive to have created a state security outfit to complement the effort of the police to attend to security needs of Lagos State with all its diversity and dynamism. The Neighborhood Safety Corps Law of the state was earlier repealed and reenacted as the Neighborhood Watch Law. So, when the idea of creating Amotekun corps came, it shares similar provisions with our Neighborhood Safety Corps that has been satisfactorily tested in Lagos State.

We needed to buy into the agenda but we saw the need to avoid duplication of outfits but rather to adopt the concept and blend it with what is already working for us in Lagos. So, we adopted Amotekun as a special unit under our Neighborhood safety Corps with all the structures and objectives formulated for it.

Most of the ideas and contributions generated at the well-attended public hearing we organised to get input into the bill have been inculcated into the law passed. Most of the points raised were towards making Amotekun Corps very dynamic and functional. It is legally fortified to stand the test of time and structured in such a way that will save it from being hijacked for personal or political use.

There are opinions in some quarters that the passages of the bills in some states were too fast for proper scrutiny? Do you think so?

Every House of Assembly has a regulating rule for the legislative business and is constitutionally enabled to self-regulate its proceeding. There may be the need to abridge time for the different stages a bill must pass through before being passed. If such abridgement is provided for in the house rules, then I think it’s in order. What I think matter most is engaging members of the public in the lawmaking process through public hearing. I can say boldly that we complied with every step established to be complied with to get the bill passed into law.

In Osun, National I.D card and Omoluabi card are conditions for recruitment. We’re conditions for recruitment highlighted in Lagos; what are these if any and why these conditions?

Legislative drafting techniques do not allow that every details of a statute should be contained in the body of the law. So details have to be banished into regulations to be made pursuant to the law. Provisions bothering and conditions for recruitment are not contained in our law but to be highlighted in the regulation that will come upon the law. However, the law provides for the regulation to make providing for some details and guidelines such as insurance for members of the Amotekun corps. We need to realise however, that each House of Assembly is independent of another and as such at liberty to adopt a drafting technique that is pleasing to it.

Nearly all the assemblies ignored the request by Miyyetti Allah to be joined in the Amotekun initiative. Why is this so and are their fears about their intentions?

If Miyyetti Allah actually attended the public hearings in all the states of Southwest, then it is tempting to reason that such act cannot be a coincidence but rather founded upon a directive. There were discussions about this at the last stage of harmonisation and the general consensus is that as much as you need different interests to address the peculiarities of each state, caution should not be thrown to wind on security matters. Particularly so because the membership of the Amotekun Corps, is by individual approach and not by group of persons, under any colouration.

Are there provisions in the bill to deal with members of the initiative who may become high-handed, corrupt or criminal minded in future?

The issues of discipline of members of the corps will be captured in the regulation.  However, the law provides for the appointment and removal of the commander of the corps if his actions become inimical to the image and objectives of the corps. So, if the commander could be subject to disciplinary action, it is apparent that members will also necessarily be and such provisions will be captured in the regulations.

Of great concern to the people now is how the Amotekuns in the various states will work together. Kindly shed light on the plan for this.

Amotekun Corps in each state is for the security of the respective states. However, it is provided that Amotekun corps in each state can collaborate with similar corps in other states of the federation in particular in the Southwest states of Oyo, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti and Lagos. The law provides for the Amotekun Commanders in these states to meet at intervals to discuss progress and challenges in the respective states and how they could assist themselves as the case may arise

In Ondo and Osun states, the lawmakers refused to leave the appointment of the Amotekun Commander in the hands of the executive by putting clauses in the bill. Do we have something similar for Lagos?

The clause requiring the concurrence of the House of Assemblies of each state in the appointment and removal of the commander of Amotekun corps is to show how important and of what magnitude of interest of the people in the security of state. If the assembly is required to confirm the appointment of commissioners and by state laws, the head of some agencies, confirmation of the appointment of the Amotekun corps will not be out of order.

Concurrence of the Assembly for removal is to protect the commander for whimsical decision of the state executive and to ensure that the commander can only be removed for public and not personal reasons by the chief executive of the state. The provision is contained in the Lagos State law bothering on Amotekun

Some people, including Baba Aworo, the theatre doyen from Ekiti, have called for spiritual fortification for the Amotekun corps before, during and after take-off. Was this considered?

Some things are not befitting statutory provisions. So, such cannot be provided in the law. Practice can vary from one state to another. Major concern should be what Amotekun will do and how such functions will not conflict with constitutionally granted rights of the citizens.

I am very optimistic that the Amotekun initiative will succeed. It will achieve the desired result and improve with time because the people in each of the state will take ownership of the security outfit which they have been longing for and for which they have expressed a lot of genuine enthusiasm. We cannot afford to fail, going by the degree of controversy and opposition that trailed the declaration of the concept. We shall succeed and overcome our security challenges. Clearly, God is involved and the ancestors of our respective states are involved.