Hold South-West govs liable for poverty, insecurity in region —YCE

Governors in the southwest part of Nigeria should be held liable for the high rate of poverty and insecurity in the region, the chieftain of a group of elders in that part of the country said on Saturday.

He insisted that the governors were not doing enough to create jobs for the teeming youth population in the region hence, the resort to banditry, kidnapping and social vices as a means of survival.

Prof. Banji Akintoye, the Chairman of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), disclosed these in a keynote address at an Annual Distinguish Lecture organised by Ede Unique Club in Ede, Osun State.

He said no effort put together to tackle insecurity in the country would be successful if the government fails to reduce the level of poverty in the country.

Akintoye, who is an Emeritus Professor of History, said it was not possible for people to live in abject poverty and expect improved security in the country.

He said due to the high level of poverty in the country, many youths, especially from the South West, were risking their lives to search for a greener pasture abroad.

He said: “There is no doubt that there is massive poverty in the South West and in the country at large.

“And it is painful that our South West governors do not know how to handle poverty.

Read also: DSS vowed that I will not walk out of detention alive —Sowore

“Rather than creating job opportunities, we are enrolling our children in schools with no job prospects.

“Poverty is becoming unbearable in the region and as a result, many youths in the South West are engaging in drug abuse and other illegal activities.

“The economy is declining, many are losing their jobs, there is a high level of corruption in the land and people are living in abject poverty.

“There is no doubt that there is an urgent need for economic revival in the South West and in the country at large.”

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now