Why we didn’t declare curfew over #ENDSARS – Gov Makinde

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State recently engaged newsmen on a number of issues in the wake of the #ENDSARS campaign and the attendant violence, including why he did not declare curfew. He spoke on the need for concerted efforts to grow the economy, distribution of COVID-19 palliatives and the ongoing recruitment in the state, […]

Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State recently engaged newsmen on a number of issues in the wake of the #ENDSARS campaign and the attendant violence, including why he did not declare curfew.

He spoke on the need for concerted efforts to grow the economy, distribution of COVID-19 palliatives and the ongoing recruitment in the state, among other issues. Abiodun Alade was there for Daily Trust on Sunday.

The first major flashpoint in the #ENDSARS issue was Ogbomoso, where Isiaka Jimoh and two others were said to have lost their lives.  The palace of the Soun of Ogbomoso was also targeted by angry youths.  That set the stage for other crises. How did you manage through all that?

I had to make a statewide broadcast on Monday, October 19, 2020, to appeal for calm and lay out our position on the protests. I made it clear that I was for peaceful protest.

On Tuesday, I visited the palace of the Soun of Ogbomoso, Oba Oladunni Oyewumi Ajagungbade III. I did not expect the level of destruction we witnessed there.

I accept the fact that peaceful protest is legitimate. It is guaranteed under our constitution, but the type of destruction at the palace should not have happened at all. This is because the state government is not in control of SARS. Although they say the governor is the chief security officer of the state, I always say that we are not in control of the commissioners of police in our various states. As a governor, I am not in control of who they will post here as commissioner. We just work with whoever we meet along the way.

We made commitments to support the renovation of the palace and the repairs or replacement of the vehicles that were damaged. Some of the vehicles are beyond repair.

I also visited the families of the deceased and told them that there’s no amount of money we can give that can pacify the irreplaceable loss of their children. But I assured them that the government will assist.  We put up a team to meet with the families and explore ways of assistance on a sustainable basis, beyond cash provision.

When I returned from Ogbomoso later that evening, I addressed the protesters at Secretariat here in Ibadan.

Someone had suggested that we use force, but I said no because I went to these youths when I was looking for votes. And I must say that the approach we employed, which dwelt more on reasonable engagement rather than the use of force, has paid off greatly. This dovetailed into our decision not to impose a curfew. We came to the informed conclusion that imposing a curfew at a period that tensions were high would only result into rebellion. And to check rebellion you may want to exert pressure or force, which in the end will lead to whatever you wanted to avoid.

Instead of imposing a curfew, we closed schools within Ibadan, the state capital. That was on Wednesday. I made it clear that it would be reviewed on Friday, October 23, 2020. We did and our pupils and students resumed last Monday.

I reminded the protesters that they organised themselves and voted for me and it was time for me to listen to them and ensure that whatever they wanted, we would find a means to do it. And we have stayed on that course.

There was a problem at Iwo road penultimate Thursday. We learnt that some policemen lost their lives in the mayhem and the youths were hell-bent on torching police stations, especially the testing ground.

That was very unfortunate; but we thank God that quick intervention prevented further loss of lives that day.

I had a serious exchange with the Commissioner of Police. They were losing men and police stations and they needed to act. But I said we had to act with caution. It was difficult to understand what I was trying to say in the heat of things, but they understood in the end and we agreed and proceeded with caution. That is why the situation did not really go beyond what we saw.

We deployed men of the Operation Burst (a state-backed security outfit comprising soldiers, men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Police) as a result of the new dimension the #EndSARS protest was taking. We discovered that hoodlums had started taking advantage of the protests to harass citizens, perpetrate uncivil acts and disturb residents from carrying out their legitimate businesses.

The outfit was also charged to take the responsibility of protecting peaceful protesters, while the police were told to step back from protest venues. When we heard that there were disturbances around Idi-Ape/Iwo Road axis, I had to go there myself.

When we got there I first called for calm because the scene was very riotous. I told them that since they installed this government, we would always do what is necessary for them. I told them that I wanted them to trust me because whatever affects them also affects me. I urged them to be peaceful because I didn’t want it to escalate beyond that point. I admonished them not to destroy anybody’s property. We needed to engage them at that point because I didn’t want anybody’s life to be wasted; my life is not worth more than any of theirs. I didn’t want anybody’s life to be wasted. I also asked my people to collect the list of those who were affected; those whose houses were burnt, those whose properties were destroyed, including those whose cars were set ablaze, and we promised to attend to their issues.

Our people should know that we feel their pain and must attend to those needs.

I want to reassure the good people of Oyo State that all criminal elements that took part in the destruction of properties will be dealt with because killing, arson and destruction of means of livelihood are not part of us.

But a lot of people were of the view that you should have imposed a curfew like your colleagues in other South-West states. Does your refusal to toe that line have anything to with the fact that you are the only Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor in that region?

The issue of curfew is a delicate. Something similar happened during the very dark days of COVID-19. At that time, most states were on lockdown, but we didn’t fully lock our state down. We imposed a curfew, which we later relaxed from 10pm to 4am because of our farmers who needed to go out early to their farms, especially in the rural areas. I am sure you all saw what happened to the states where total lockdown was imposed.

We looked at the situation and decided that since this was a government of the people for the people and by the people, and since these same people voted for us massively, we needed to create a balance between public and economic health of our people through a creative and sustainable process that would cause minimal crisis and disruption to their lives. Those who imposed curfew meant well, but look at how it turned out. Yes, God has been good to us and we thank him for his grace.

How do you see the looting of COVIV-19 palliatives in some states?

In Oyo State, our COVID-19 task force is made up of seasoned scientists, medical practitioners, administrators and persons of tested intellect.  If you noticed, most of the decisions we took as a task force appeared strange to many, but after a while, those decisions became the national benchmark as they were adopted in some other quarters.  Our decisions were based on sound data, science and logic.

It was based on these same parameters that the state has been able to achieve a mileage in terms of the distribution of palliatives. We have already distributed four rounds of palliatives to our people.

I believe we took care of the vulnerable within our environment.

We run a transparent government.  And if you followed the steps of the state’s task force, you would notice that all donations in cash and kind have been published on the state government’s website. The website is updated from time to time, so whatever anyone has given Oyo State since COVID-19 started is captured and published. Anyone can access the website and confirm. So, I don’t think anyone can accuse us of hoarding palliatives.

How do you plan to sustain the peace we see now?

We have already met with different people within our space.  We want peace that will endure in Oyo State and every one of us must contribute. We needed to work together to bring the police back to the streets to perform their functions. We also need to bring the Amotekun in. I believe that in the days and weeks to come, they would come and study how we are ensuring peace in Oyo State. It is a collective enterprise and all hands must be on deck.