I think the new Alaafin of Oyo should get off to a flying start by putting together a set of proposals that look like this and presenting them to the South West Governors Forum

Ayo Akinfe

[1] These six governors have to get their Amotekun initiative fully functional. This means getting it operating like a regional police service, kind of similar to the Los Angeles Police Department, New York Police Department, Chicago Police Department, etc in the US

[2] Amotekun must not be dependent on handouts from state governments for its funding. It should have a commercial orientation similar to European football clubs, which should include selling memorabilia like key rings, jerseys, underwear, coats, bags, shoes, caps, hats, towels, scarfs, suitcases, pens, bedsheets, blankets, curtains, swimwear, etc.

[3] The South West Governors Forum should launch a new Odua Group of Companies. Maybe call it Obafemi Awolowo Enterprises and give it a mandate to manufacture and mass market all forms of Yoruba culture. For instance, it should sell millions of units of ankara, aso oke, guinea brocade, lace, etc annually

[4] Obafemi Awolowo Enterprises should also open an Amotekun factory located in somewhere like Oyo, to produce leopard skin fabrics and other products. I would go for Oyo because of the historical significance of the city as the capital of old Oyo Empire

[5] This factory should also produce other household items including head ties, agbada, kaftans, cooking pots, mortars & pestles, etc. I would even like to see Amotekun-branded moi-moi, Amotekun bread, Amotekun palm wine, Amotekun hybrid cocoa seedlings, Amotekun kolanuts and Amotekun bottled water

[6] Obafemi Awolowo Enterprises should enter into deal with global fashion chains like Gucci and Lui Vuitton to supply them with goods too. This is what countries like Pakistan and India are currently doing very successfully. Maybe a dedicated leather plant could be opened in somewhere like Ado-Ekiti, a canning plant at Owo, a water distilling factory at Ijebu Ode, a seed processing plant at Ede and then a mechanical factory in Lagos

[7] Ultimately, Amotekun has to become a global brand name, kind of like Toyota, Mercedes, Phillips, GlaxoSmithKline, Bayer, Ford, Coca Cola, etc. We should not place limits on what it can achieve

[8] Our new Alaafin should even dream of the day we will have an Obafemi Awolowo Enterprises that manufactures a unique Nigerian car. Maybe a four by four version of say the Volkswagen Beetle. A car that can compete on the global market with other players

[9] Given that Amotekun was set up for security, this Obafemi Awolowo Enterprises should also be looking at manufacturing its own unique battle tanks, helicopter gunships and fighter jets at some stage in the future

[10] By 2030, the aim should be to have Oya State (The Yorubas of Kwara and Kogi) merged to the southwest and by Oct 1 that all, all seven states should jointly refuse to receive federal allocation any more. If we are to return to federalism, the component parts of Nigeria need to force the issue

Ayoakinfe@gmail.com