The All Progressive Congress stalwart, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has laid bare intimate relationship he shared with slain Mrs. Funke Olakunri, daughter of Pa Reuben Fasoranti, the national leader of the Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere.5
58-year-old Olakunri was murdered in cold blood last Friday by suspected marauding Fulani herdsmen along Benin-Ore expressway on her way to Lagos from Akure, the Ondo State capital.
Her killing triggered outrage with many in the southern part of the country hitting out at the generality of the herdsmen.
But Tinubu expressed his discountenance with the sweeping generalization about the herdsmen and touched on his relationship with the deceased in an interview with newsmen in Akure when he paid a condolence visit to the bereaved Pa Fasoranti on Sunday.
He said, “I am extremely concerned about security; I don’t want a stigma, I can go through history of kidnapping in Nigeria and we know how and where it all started; there are a lot of copycats.
“How many years ago have we faced the insecurity in the country? There are cases of kidnapping. Is Evans who was arrested and made disclosures also a herdsman?.
“I don’t want to be political, but I will ask, where are the cows? I am a nationalist and the security concern and challenge must be faced squarely throughout Nigeria.
“The incident that affected one member of our family, Mrs Olakunrin, is seriously saddening, and unacceptable but nobody can return her alive, she has answered the call of her Creator.
“We must not use this incident to divide ourselves but we must use it as a cure to the security problem. Additional police, additional patrols, and additional security reinforcement along Ore road and various flash points across the country are necessary and I have discussed this with the various authorities. The Ondo State governor is eminently aware and being proactive about this.
“The security challenges are numerous across this country and to fight it, more policemen are being recruited and it takes time to train and deploy them to various areas, nobody prepares more than necessary for this. “But if you look at Zamfara, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti and all areas, then we need to fight poverty, unemployment and the causes that might lead people to crime.
“Equally, we must create opportunity to convert this tragedy to prosperity. Funke was very close to me and she died a premature death. Only four or five days ago, we chatted and I know what she discussed with me and about Baba’s health conditions. We just pray that this will not happen again.”