A Yoruba organization, Yeye Dara Omoluabi Family, has called on Yoruba communities to support the recent appeal by Mr. Adeola Ajayi, Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), encouraging self-defense as insecurity worsens across Nigeria.
At a press conference held at the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) Press Centre in Iyaganku, Ibadan, the group’s President, Yeye Victoria Omodara, praised Mr. Ajayi for openly admitting that the country’s security forces are struggling to manage the growing threats. Speaking through Comrade Omosebi Kolawole, Yeye Omodara urged Yoruba people to rely on their ancestral heritage for strength and to protect their land from criminals.
The event brought together several Yoruba leaders from across the Southwest, including Dr. Tunde Hamzat, who represented Professor Banji Akintoye. In her address, Yeye Omodara emphasized the need for swift action to protect Yoruba lives, lands, and livelihoods. She encouraged the use of traditional community security methods, stressing that the time had come to organize local defense systems to reclaim forests, farms, and neighborhoods from terrorists and kidnappers.
She warned that frequent attacks on farmers and rural communities have disrupted food production, causing shortages and economic hardship across Yorubaland. According to her, taking responsibility for community safety is now a critical necessity.
Yeye Omodara strongly supported Mr. Ajayi’s remarks, noting that acknowledging the overwhelmed state of Nigeria’s security agencies was a brave and necessary move. She pointed out that self-defense is a practical and urgent solution, especially as cases of terrorism, banditry, robbery, and kidnapping continue to rise.
She further noted that other national leaders, including the Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa and retired General TY Danjuma, have also stressed the importance of citizens stepping up to assist in safeguarding their communities.
To show their commitment, Yeye Omodara announced that the Yeye Dara International Farm members are being mobilized to adopt self-defense strategies in line with the DSS Director’s advice. She explained that encouraging vigilance and preparedness at the community level would help create safer environments where farming and other economic activities could continue without fear.
Highlighting the serious security challenges posed by groups like Boko Haram, ISWAP, and the newly emerging Lakurawa faction, she warned that threats across Nigeria are growing more complex and dangerous. She added that the rising cases of banditry, kidnapping, and robbery have stretched security agencies thin, making citizen participation through organized community efforts more important than ever.
Yeye Omodara ended by stating that a successful fight against insecurity would require not just stronger military action but also active involvement from the people themselves, driven by innovative, community-based solutions.
