The Modakeke community in Osun State has called on President Bola Tinubu and Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, to step in and halt a series of attacks allegedly carried out by hoodlums in the town.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, the President of the Modakeke Progressive Union, MPU, Prof. Peter Olawuni, stressed the urgent need for intervention by both the federal and the state governments.
He explained that tensions in the area escalated after a signpost welcoming visitors to the town, located in the Urban Day Area, was destroyed by suspected hoodlums.
The most recent attack, occurred early on Tuesday when a group of about 17 individuals, reportedly coming from the Mayfair area of Ile-Ife, tore down the signpost at the entry point into Modakeke town.
Olawuni, who condemned the act as a provocation, revealed that he had reported the incident to Chief Oyeyemi Oriowo, the traditional Chief of Staff to the Ooni of Ife, as well as the Osun State Police Command in an effort to prevent further unrest.
Olawuni said, “I called the DPO and he said he has informed the Area Commander. I came here to inspect what happened and I called the Area Commander too. We were told to handle the whole situation with intelligence and moderation; that was why we called a meeting at the palace yesterday.
“The demand of the Modakeke community is to let peace reign in the community. I think it is becoming too much for us and we have experienced so many incidents in Modakeke.
“We have visited Governor Adeleke two times over the issue of security in both Ife and Modakeke. There was even a time we visited the deputy governor in his office and we declared that what they are doing here is provocative.
“The community is seeking immediate intervention of Governor Adeleke and President Tinubu.”
Speaking on the development, the Secretary of the Ife Development Board, Lawrence Omidiora, stressed that dialogue remained the only option available to manage the situation.
Omidiora, who said violence should be avoided at all costs, insisted that it would be inappropriate to immediately conclude that the perpetrators of the act were from Ile-Ife.
In his words, “I think if the incident is true, I want to believe that some people are looking for a fight between the two communities.
“It would be very wrong for anyone to assume that the people who did it were from Ife. If someone harbours that kind of thought, it is because of the acrimony that existed in the past and perhaps suspicion.
“The truth of the matter is that we need to look for means to resolve the issue because fighting will not cause any positive development in both communities. The situation will take care of itself if we allow development to take place.
“We will sit down together to sort our differences in that regard because there are routes belonging to both communities. We are looking at how to ensure that there is peace all the time.”
