Controversy Over Troop Deployment In Lagos Continues

The deployment of soldiers to Lagos State after the fuel subsidy protest has continued to generate controversy because of the alleged hide and seek game between Governor Babatunde Fashola and the federal government.

The state government has said that it was not part of the arrangement to deploy soldiers to the streets of Lagos.

But, the army headquarters on the other hand had said that the soldiers on Lagos streets were part of the joint military/police task force deployed to the state at the behest of Governor Fashola to tackle the incidence of armed robbery and other vices.

The army spokesman, Col. Mohammed Yerima, maintained that the task force code named OPMESA has been in the state since 2009 to maintain peace. Governor Fashola in his state broadcast on the issue stated that the presence of soldiers was unwarranted because the state was not at war.

The governor also went a step further by saying that the federal government should not clamp down on the citizens for protesting the astronomical increment in the petrol pump price because the elected officials once danced before the same crowd, adding that they (elected officials) should also tolerate them when they protest any policy that affects them.

The Lagos State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria has also described the continued presence of soldiers in the state as a “hidden agenda by the Peoples Democratic Party to take over Lagos by hook or crook.”

The state’s Chairman, Chief Henry Ajomale, in a statement; however, advised the PDP-led federal government to remove the soldiers. He said the peace and harmony that existed should not be disturbed for clandestine objectives.

Ajomale wondered why the federal government would want to provoke a democratically elected government in the state by deploying troops without its consent.

“Only some months ago, the president came to Lagos State to solicit votes. Is this the type of payback that Lagos State deserves for her hospitality? Lagos State has a duly elected governor who came into office by popular votes, and who is the chief security officer of the state. He had unshaken confidence in the police formation on the ground in Lagos, and was not consulted as required by diplomatic decency and official decorum”, he stated.

But many Lagosians are of the opinion that there is no way troops would be deployed to Lagos without Fashola being in the know. They are of the view that Fashola was merely informed and his opinions not sought whether it was the right thing to do or not. But for him to remain in the good book of Lagosians, he has to openly deny knowledge of the deployment and aligned himself with the people