REUBEN ABATI
Something almost exactly divine in terms of naming and naming systems in Africa has just been seen in the metonymic correctness of what has just happened in Oriire Local Government in Oyo State of Nigeria. The phrase “Oriire” means goodluck or simply “lucky” in the Yoruba language. In the Oriire community in the Ogbomoso area of Oyo State, the name of a community just fulfilled its meaning, reinforcing the semiotic, signifying index of African words and meanings. In simpler non-teleological lingua, it can be said that the people of Oriire just got lucky. The people’s name has just re-discovered them, in a telling historic moment. The Yoruba in converting this into a greeting, with their accustomed manner of having a greeting for every occasion would capsulize it as: “eku oriire ni Oriire oh.” The figure of speech is at once synecdoche and metonymy depending on how you look at it. What is common from both angles is the element of “goodluck” and the correspondence between name, place and circumstance.
On May 15, 2026, Oriire Local Government experienced the very opposite of its name in a dramatic staging of the Nietzschean concept of duality and opposites when bad luck descended on the community as gun men in military fatigues riding motorcycles attacked three schools in Ahoro-Esinle and Yawota communities of Oriire Local Government namely: Baptist Nursery and Primary School, Community Grammar School and L.A. Primary School. It was early morning during what they call Assembly time, and as it turned out, 37 pupils, some of them as young as 4 or 5, or 6 years old, including a two-year-old toddler were abducted along with 8 teachers, including the Principal of the Secondary School. One of the teachers was killed during the raid, while all others were taken into captivity in a location said to be the abandoned Old Oyo National Park Forest. While in captivity, one of the teachers, Mr. Michael Oyedokun was beheaded by the abductors in a shocking video that was released to the public. This was meant to be a signal to the security agencies to keep away, otherwise the abductors were determined to shed more blood. They soon made demands: they wanted the release of two detained Boko Haram/Ansaru commanders: Mahmud Usman (Abu Bara’a) and his deputy, Abubakar Abba as a condition for the release of the victims. The government purportedly went into a long negotiation and waiting game with the kidnappers.
By the end of May, the streets were no longer smiling. Civil society groups took to the streets in Ogun, Oyo, Lagos states and elsewhere demanding the return of the students and teachers in peaceful solidarity rallies. The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) also declared an indefinite nationwide strike. Their agony was understandable, as government over the years has paid lip service to the safety of schools and the welfare of teachers. There is something called the “Safe Schools Initiative” introduced more than a decade ago by the Nigerian Government but schools are far from being safe. The learning environment is poor. The teachers do not get paid on time. Terrorists and bandits have since turned Nigerian schools into killing fields, notably in Borno, Kebbi, Niger, Kaduna, Kwara and Oyo states. On one occasion, they even raided the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) in Kaduna, killing two military officers and kidnapping another senior officer. It was therefore understandable when civil society groups and activists joined the protest for the release of the Oriire 45. On July 2, 2026, the NUT suspended its month-long strike relying on assurances that the Government was trying to find a way around the delicate balance of securing the release of the victims without any further loss of human lives. On July 10, Nigerians finally received the good news that all the persons – teachers and pupils had been rescued and taken to a military medical facility for examination and care. This was eight weeks after, and a total of 56 days in the Lion’s den. The streets broke out in jubilation. The Pastor-Monarch of Ogbomoso, the Soun, Oba Ghandi Olaoye, Orumogege III, was shown dancing in his palace giving thanks to God. The people of Ogbomoso trooped out, singing and dancing and thanking the security agencies. Across Oriire, the people remarked that they were indeed lucky and congratulated one another. Families of the newly freed persons organized prayer and praise worship sessions. Professor Wole Alamu, husband of the rescued Principal of Community High School, Ahoro-Esinle, Mrs. Rachael Alamu could not hide his joy as he sang “Hallelujah.” The couple apparently are soulmates. When the wife spoke, the first thing she asked was “How is my husband? Is he okay? Where is my car?” After 56 days in captivity, the thing on her mind was her husband! They missed each other to say the least. It is fit and proper to commend the various security agencies (the police, military and the Department of State Services – DSS -) as well as the Amotekun, vigilantes, and local hunters that worked in concert to secure the release of the victims. When there is meaningful inter-agency collaboration, our security agencies can produce satisfying results, and this is why they must learn to eschew rivalry and the obstructive ego of their commanders that often stands in the way.
The attempt to politicize the rescue is however unfortunate and deplorable. Governor Seyi Makinde in whose jurisdiction the criminal act was committed has been quoted as saying: “For seven years, we didn’t witness anything like this in Oyo state. I declared to run for the Presidency of Nigeria at 4 pm, and by 9 am, the following morning, children were abducted in Oyo” What is he trying to suggest? That the Presidency or President Tinubu organized the abduction as a response to his declared Presidential ambition? After eight years as the Governor of Oyo state, Governor Makinde is as good as a statesman. He should not be seen to be making such provocative statements that could give the wrong impression of things. It is delusional for him to think that his Presidential ambition is more important than the lives of those Oriire teachers and their pupils. What if the timing that he cited was just a mere coincidence? The Governor and the President belong to opposing parties and there has been quite a dispute between Oyo State and the centre over an intervention, Bodija Bomb explosion, relief fund running into about N50 billion, with the former claiming that it is still being owed N20 billion. Whatever the differences may be, the focus should be on the security of lives and property. This is a matter that involves human beings. Those lives should be more important than anyone’s political ambition. Gov. Makinde has since thanked the President and the security agencies for rescuing the victims, and he has received all the persons affected in audience, but the same Gov. Makinde has called on the United Nations and other international accountability bodies to investigate the abduction, and organize an independent scrutiny of the Nigerian situation. How many times in the past 58 days did President Tinubu and Gov. Seyi Makinde talk together to find a joint solution to the menace of insecurity in Oyo State? Our expectation is that the Governors and the President will always work together in the interest of the people, especially now that there is an emerging consensus on the matter of State Police. Ambitions will come to an end, but the people and their expectations should always matter. Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Presidential Spokesperson, has since berated former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, now Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for keeping silent and saying nothing many hours after, about the rescue of the teachers and pupils of Oriire. Candidly, was that necessary? If opposition leaders talk, you attack them, if they keep quiet, you abuse them and ask them to say something by force. Creating friction with the opposition by design should not be part of the work of spokespersons.
But the more concerning politicization of the incident was the statement by the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and the Northern Elders Forum (NEF) as well as other civil society groups that the Federal Government should show similar enthusiasm and a sense of urgency in rescuing kidnapped persons in other parts of the country particularly in Borno, Niger, Kaduna, Kwara and Kaduna states. Their point is that the lives of other Nigerians are just as important and that rescue operations must not be dictated by ethnic bias. The point to be stressed is that every life in this environment called Nigeria is important. No one, king or plebeian, should have their right to human dignity eroded by criminals. The testimony of the rescued victims, their stories of humiliation, suffering and exposure to inhumanity, is enough cause for instant palpitation. Two months before the attack on Oriire Local Government Area in Oyo state, on February 3, 2026, about 176 women and children had been kidnapped from a town called Woro in the Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara state. They are still in captivity in the deep forests near the Kainji National Park, more than 150 days later. Their abductors have threatened to kill them if their demands are not met. On the same May 15, 2026 when the Oyo state incident occurred, about 42 persons – teachers and pupils – were similarly abducted, just about the same time from a school in Mussa Village, Askira-Uba Local Government in Borno State. They are yet to be released. Borno residents have had cause to express their outrage over the government’s seeming silence. The grouse up North, is that the Federal Government seems to be more interested in responding to a similar situation in Oyo State. But the charge of ethnic bias cannot stand. The rescue operation in Oyo State was in fact led by an Igbo military officer. We should learn not to play politics with insecurity.
There are subtle distinctions and lessons to be learnt. In the Oyo State case, the affected communities and the people never got tired of putting pressure on the government at all levels. The rescue operation became a whole of society approach. Those who took food and other supplies to the kidnappers in the deep forest availed the security agencies with useful information about the location of the kidnappers and the situation of the victims. This made it easy for the security agencies to plan a rescue strategy. Without the community’s co-operation it would have been difficult to rescue anyone. The situation in parts of the North is largely different, for as it were many communities and persons in the North end up identifying with their tormentors. The Northern elite are mostly indifferent. This Stockholm syndrome makes it difficult for them to co-operate with the Nigerian security agencies. The missing thread is trust. Most Nigerians do not trust the country’s uniformed officers. They have had to learn their lessons the very hard way. It is known that when in the past, civilians went to the police with information about criminal activities, they ended up being attacked by the same criminals whom they reported. They were betrayed by the same police that they saw as their friend. It didn’t take long before the people turned their back on Nigeria’s uninformed personnel. The major lesson is that trust is essential, especially now that the country is contemplating the introduction of state police. A state police system will require a bottom-up approach in which the people will be willing to make the work of the security personnel easier by assisting them with information. The proposed state police must be people-centred and people-driven for it to achieve its objectives.
It will take a while for the rescued victims of Oriire to re-adjust fully to normal living. They have been bruised and brutalized. They need every assistance that can enable them and for their scars to heal properly. Many of the children involved may not understand the weight of the burden that they have just shouldered but as they grow up and come to terms with the reality of their early childhood exposure to the brutal side of Nigeria, they will also need counselling and guidance. We can only hope that by then, Nigeria will be a much safer country to live in. The safety of lives and property should not be a matter of luck or chance. There should be a memorial in honour of Mr. Michael Oyedokun, the martyr of the saga, who was beheaded to send a message of seriousness to the Nigerian government.