Nwodo says social security will reduce insecurity in Nigeria
Chief Charles Nwodo, the National Chairman of the defunct Progressive Action Congress (PAC), has identified social security as one of the ways to reduce insurgency in Nigeria.
Nwodo made the observation in a telephone interview in Abuja on Tuesday.
He said that the insecurity in the country could not be divorced from frustration and poverty among the less-privileged Nigerians.
According to him, the less-privileged Nigerians need social security as succour or rather a palliative measure against widespread hunger and disillusionment induced by abject poverty.
Nwodo said the huge amount of money being voted for security had failed to yield any significant result because the symptoms were being tackled instead of the root cause.
He said that insurgency, kidnapping, pipeline vandalism and armed robbery pervading the country could not be tackled by military strategy alone.
According to him, the anger among the people stems from the pang of hunger among the jobless, school drop-outs and even graduates
`` If people have food to eat, roof over their heads, education and good health, they will have no reason to be violent.
`` This is because no one in a comfortable condition will think of engaging in violence, knowing full well that he or she may end up in prison custody,” he said.
Nwodo said if the Federal Government provided stipends to the unemployed, it would ease tension in the land and bring sanity to the youths who got converted easily as tools for violence.
He commended the Federal Government for monitoring the Internet with a view to check cyber crimes.
Nwodo said it was a welcome development in as much as it did not interfere in people's privacy.
`` The amount voted for the project should be approved by the National Assembly in order not to talk of solving one security challenge and creating another problem that will cause insecurity in the future.
``This is a very critical moment where those who engage in violent crimes have devised means of hiding behind technology to perfect their nefarious acts,” he said.
He, however, urged the Federal Government to ensure that the proposed Internet monitoring was done in accordance with the provisions contained in the amended 1999 Constitution.
He advised the relevant agencies handling the installation of the Closed Circuit Televisions (CCTVs) in Abuja and other places to ensure their functionality.
`` The Boston shooting, for example, the USA security agents were able to apprehend the perpetrators within 48 hours with the aid of CCTV mounted in those areas.
`` This is the type of scenario we want in this country and not just voting huge amount of money into security for its sake,” Nwodo said
He also urged the government to give priority attention to education, agriculture and health among others as it would go a long way to tackle the security challenge facing the country.
He observed that with good education, availability of healthcare facilities and well-paid jobs, people would have no business in engaging in violence and crimes.
No comments:
Post a Comment