Fight insecurity with job creation, Daniel tells FG

Former Governor of Ogun State, Otunba Gbenga Daniel, yesterday advised the Federal Government to provide employment opportunities for the youths to overcome the mirage insecurity challenges confronting it. Daniel spoke at the public presentation of a book, titled, “Wisdom Nuggets for Daily Living” in Abeokuta, the state capital.

The book is authored by the Special to Governor Dapo Abiodun on Public Communications, Remmy Hazzan.According to Daniel, the first thing a reasonable government must do to fight insecurity is to ensure that the youths are gainfully employed, adding that unemployment remains the biggest threat to Nigeria’s security.

The former Ogun State governor insisted the country had not done enough to fight insecurity, adding that fighting insecurity goes beyond the use of force.

He said: “The biggest challenge we have, people talk about insecurity, but it’s information. What has happened today is conglomeration of information people. And I am particularly happy to join them.

“We need to continually educate our people, give them quality information because where information is missing, all sort of mischief happens and the nation can be destroyed.

“I think clearly we have not done enough in trying to secure our environment. The way I look at it, security is more than getting ammunition and chasing ourselves.

“People must be given employment. The first thing is to make sure that people are employed. It is after that you will be able to see who constitute security risk. So, for me, providing employment for our people is the first thing we need to do to tackle security issues.”

Hazzan, a former Deputy Speaker of the state House of Assembly, who spoke on the reason for writing the book, said the book was written to inspire readers, especially the youths, to live a purposeful life.

He advocated community policing to tackle insecurity, saying: “Part of the wisdom that we need is to ensure that we police a locality with those who know that locality.

“Thank God that reason is beginning to prevail now that we are now beginning to embrace community policing which means you rely on those who are from that terrain to actually gather the intelligence that will help police to work.” He said that policemen must have adequate knowledge of the terrain they are policing.