November 02, (THEWILL) – Governor Dapo Abiodun of Ogun state on Tuesday appealed to the federal government to create more jobs and youth empowerment programmes to reduce insecurity in the country.
Abiodun disclosed this at the 2021 Capacity Building Workshop for security agencies in Lagos and Ogun states, organised by the Nigeria Police Force, Zone II Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos.
The theme of the event is “Internal Security Operations in a Democratic Dispensation”.
The governor said the FG needs to organise more intervention programmes to reduce unemployment rates, adding that the state under his watch has been tackling insecurity for the safety of investors and residents.
According to him, his administration has been able to create a job portal meant to aggregate the unemployed or under-employed, and match them with employers, and launched the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, FADAMA GUYS, among others.
He noted that local vigilantes, community development associations and Amotekun have been mainstreamed into the state security architecture to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in policing the state, to ensure the welfare, wellbeing, and security of lives and property.
Abiodun, who said that there is a nexus between poverty, literacy and insecurity, said his government reconstituted and inaugurated the State Security Trust Fund and made it private-sector driven to provide logistic and equipment support for security agencies in the state.
He stressed that the workshop would also allow all arms of security apparatus in Ogun and Lagos States to keep abreast with modern policing techniques as well as chart a course that would enable them work together as a team
“The current insecurity in the country could be reduce to the barest minimum if more jobs are created and more youth empowered”
“Insecurity is not just arming the police and the military. There is a nexus between insecurity, poverty, education, drug abuse and all other socio-economics indices.
“As much as it is good to equip the police as we have done in Ogun State through the creation of the State Security Trust Fund, it is important to ensure that we look at the various interventions on how to reduce unemployment.
“We have done that in Ogun State by creating the Job Portal, we have launched the Anchor Borrowers’ Scheme of the Central Bank of Nigeria and we have the FADAMA GUYS. The more people you have employed, you see a direct proportion in decrease of insecurity,” he said.
Speaking, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folasade Jaji, stressed the need for cooperation between the people and civilians.
Sanwo-Olu said that this would lead to the first Lagos Police/ Youth Dialogue geared towards strengthening the mutual relationship between the people and security agencies.
He urged the participants to bring ideas that would change the narrative in the society, adding that “the people need the police just as the police need the people”.
Earlier, the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali Baba, opined that the police could not surmount security challenges without the support of other agencies including the media, saying enforcement agencies must develop capacity to achieve their constitutional mandates.
The IGP admonished security officers to imbibe effective policing which includes human rights and due process, charging the participants to sharpen their knowledge, saying “they can not give what they do not have”.
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