Mass migration of northern youths causes tension in Southwest, residents on red alert  

The mass exodus of youths from northern Nigeria into the southwest and certain intelligence being collated on their activities has sparked off serious concerns of security threat to the indigenes and residents of the zone.

Some concered citizens in the southwest have drawn the attention of the people to some observations which they said precipitate the need for all to be vigilant and strictly commenced surveillance in the communities and environments.

The people have noticed the daily increase or the proliferation and influx of Northern youths (Hausa/Fulani) being conveyed into notable cities in the southwest which include Ibadan, Oyo State; Ikeja, Lagos State, among others. They were said to be encroaching on the Yoruba territory of the Southwest in uncountable trailers, stimulating a migration trend under the guise of running away from the terrorism in the North.

The Yoruba stakeholders expressed that their greatest surprise is the rate at which the youths are being brought in and are immediately engaged in some trades/businesses within short period of their arrival at the different cities.

The stakeholders recalled that the military, through their investigations, discovered that Boko Haram members have their informants among the people on the street many of whom are shoemakers, fruits sellers, beggars, okada riders, etc.

The security threat deepens as  the northern youths who dominate street hawking in fruits selling, mobile tailors, shoe menders, water merchants, including okada and keke operators and may guards at residence,  moving freely from one place to another into the interior communities are, indeed, genuine Nigerians, and not the Boko Haram terrorists or the killer Fulani herdsmen. The suspicion has been generating tension and mobilization for collective security apparatus.

There are indications that some of the migrants are nationals of Chad, Niger, Mali, etc., encroaching into the interior territory of Yoruba land.

The rapid influx of the northern youths has generated concerns over where they come from; who invited them; who is harbouring them or providing them places to stay or sleep at night; where did they get the money to start their emergency  businesses; do they actually and really rely on their trades for survival or do they have other sinister motives; why do they hide their phones from the public glare at day time yet they use these same phones in the evening when they gather together with their colleagues; why is it that the male youths are migrating to the south;  where are their wives, children and other family members; why do they converge at designated points in the evening while their okada riders refuse to carry passengers during that period?

These some of the perturbing questions asked by the people.

Invariably, the people have been admonished to be vigilant, and alert at all times, watch what is happening around their environment day and night.

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