Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State has called on the people of the state to be vigilant against what he called the antics of those who are bent on returning the state to its inglorious violent past.
He thus called on the people to join hands with his administration and the security agencies in ensuring that peace continues to reign in the state.
The governor made the call in a statement issued in Ibadan on Wednesday by his Special Adviser on Media, Dr. Festus Adedayo.
While describing the security of lives and property in the state as a collective responsibility, Governor Ajimobi said it was only by ensuring this that the transformation agenda of his administration could be meaningful and the state moved forward.
He urged the people of the state to be wary of those he called enemies of progress who were all out to disrupt the peace currently being enjoyed in the state.
“Peace has been the greatest achievement of our administration and it has served as the foundation upon which the various successes so far recorded by government are built.
“We all should not lose sight of what Oyo State used to be before the advent of our administration. Oyo State then was like a state of nature where life was brutish, nasty and short. Our people could not sleep with their two eyes closed, while those walking on the street could not boast of getting to their home without any skirmish.
“Hoodlums were on the prowl, daily inflicting violence on innocent members of the public. However, now that such development has been successfully nipped in the bud, we should all take the issue of security as our collective responsibility.
“We should say No to agents of darkness and enemies of the people who are hell bent on taking Oyo State back to those dark days when our state was synonymous with violence, brigandage and thuggery,” he said.
Governor Ajimobi also called on politicians to stop heating up the polity unnecessarily, reminding them that they should not set the state on fire, all in the name of politics.
Rather, he said that they should engage in politics of development which his administration had successfully entrenched in the polity.