Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde has a blunt message: “Oyo State is not Chibok and we will not be Chibok.” He vowed the pupils and teachers abducted in Oriire Local Government Area will be rescued safely, as social media activist Martins Vincent Otse — VeryDarkMan (VDM) — led a protest over rising kidnappings.
The demonstrators demanded urgent action. Makinde met them at his Ikolaba private residence in Ibadan on Tuesday, speaking with visible emotion and promising his administration would spare no effort.
“Let me make it very, very clear: Oyo State is not Chibok and we will not be Chibok. We have lost men, even soldiers and officers, and I can confirm to you that a lieutenant in the Nigerian Army was killed a few days ago.
“If you ask me, can I sacrifice myself for those children to come out? I will do it. I have lived a good life, I’m almost 60 and it doesn’t matter. Our children will never be in the same situation as Chibok children,“ the governor said.
He warned of risks in the rescue, noting losses so far. “We’ve lost a teacher already. If we can avoid losing more, we will avoid losing more, but if we get to the point that certain people have to be sacrificed, including myself, we will do it,” he said.
Makinde said he would likely have joined the protest if not in office: “I will tell the truth and nothing but the truth. If I am not in government, I will be you; I’ll be protesting with you.“
He explained limits on state powers: “I will not shift blame. Our reality is that the state government is not in charge of all the security agencies.“ and warned about negotiating with bandits while promising to bring the children back alive.
VDM urged clarity and action: “We are here to also commit ourselves. If the governor does not amend, we are ready to volunteer ourselves. Yes, to go into the bushes with the police, army, air force and any security operatives that are ready to go into the bush,“ he said, adding, “As of now, we do not even know the condition of the children. We do not know if the children are still alive. Over 45 of them were taken into the bush with their teachers, and one of the teachers has been beheaded. It is quite unfortunate,“ he said.
“We want to tell the governor, what is the plan and when are we going to see the children?”
