Elites Responsible for Lawlessness in Nigeria, Says Former Lawmaker

James Sowole in Akure

A former member of the House of Representatives, Hon Joseph Akinlaja, has blamed the current insecurity and lawlessness in the nation on the elite’s flare for breaking the law of the land.

Akinlaja noted that the masses were encouraged by the elite to also break the law as they take cue from them. The renowned activist and former Deputy Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), stated this at a public lecture and media nite organised by the Correspondents’ Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, Ondo State Council, in Akure at the weekend.Delivering the public lecture entitled: “Insecurity: Roles of The Society And The Media”, Akinlaja stated that there are enough laws in the country guiding against all forms of crimes, but some people, particularly the elite, broke the laws at will.He said: “Take for instance, the BRT Lane is meant for BRT buses, but some elites would decide to drive through the lane and Danfo drivers would follow.
“When the elite escape from the punitive measures, then the laws would become ineffective.”

The ex-lawmaker also attributed the current rate of banditry and insurgence in the country to the nonchalant attitude of some parents towards taking care of their children.

The current Chairman of Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) held that those who gave birth to children without plan for their upkeep provided free of charge armies for insurgents who recruited them to pursue their nefarious ambitions.

He said: “It’s a clear to all of us that those who give birth to many children without caring for them are producing armies for insurgents who go out to recruit them to prosecute their nefarious ambitions.

“These children are easily recruited because they don’t have any means of livelihood and they will embrace anything that provides for their survival.”

He charged the organisers and all their counterparts across the nation to educate the populace on the way to ensure peace and unity in the country.

The lawmaker noted that those who were being hood winked by the insurgents to strap bombs on their body and sent on suicide mission should be educated to ask questions why the master sending them had not gone on suicide bombing before them.

He called for fair treatment of those agitating for secession, suggesting that a plebiscite should be held to determine the veracity of their agitation.

He recalled to the agitation of the Itsekiri people, which led to the creation of the Mid-Western state through plebiscite.