In order to ensure the safety of primary school pupils and secondary school students in Oyo state, the state government has concluded plans to engage the services of men of Man O’ War to secure of primary and secondary schools in the state.
The state Governor, Seyi Makinde, made this known in Ibadan while receiving members of the national executive body of the organisation who paid a courtesy visit to him in his office recently.
Governor Makinde decried the recent trend of kidnapping of students in several parts of the country by bandits, a development which he said was worrisome.
Makinde urged the Man O’ War to step up its efforts at the grassroots level in order to contribute its quota to the stemming of the tide of insecurity in the country.
“The man o’ war, as an organisation, is trying its best”, the governor said, adding that ”I can testify to the role man o’ war played during the elections that I participated in as governorship candidate in 2015 and 2019; so, I will renew my commitment in Man O ’War.
“This is a period that man o’ war will need to double its efforts and look at programmes at the grassroots level, where we can project more on the issue of citizenship and leadership for our country.’’
The governor said that there had been discussions with state’s commissioner for education on how to beef up security in some of the schools that are not properly fenced”.
“The ministry recently submitted a proposal on fencing and having demarcations for all of the schools, but this idea of deployment of man o’ war for security and surveillance is a welcome idea.
“We will look at the proposal and we should be engaging either the national or state command team to ensure that this can see the light of day.
“ i think it is something that we will do,’’ Makinde said.
He further assured the Man O’ War officials that he would resume his sponsorship of the organisation in his personal capacity.
The governor used the occasion to announce the donation of two utility vehicles to the Oyo state Command of Man O’war and one to the national command of the organisation.
Earlier, the deputy National Commandant Of Man O’ War, Gbenga Adedamola, called for the re-awakening of the culture of joining voluntary organisations like the Man O’ War among Nigerian youths.
According to him, such effort will rekindle the spirit of patriotism. He requested for assistance to Man O’ war rom the governor in order to make the organisation function better.
