We Create Job Opportunities to Fight Crimes, Says Abiodun

James Sowiole in Abeokuta

The Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, yesterday, said that his administration has been tackling insecurity in the state with creation of employment opportunities for the people particularly, the youths.

Abiodum said the administration has created a job portal meant to dimension the number of unemployed or under employed people in the state to match them with employers, and has launched the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, FADAMA GUYS, among others.

He made these remarks when he spoke at the 2021 Capacity Building Workshop for security agencies in Lagos and Ogun States, which was organised by the Nigeria Police Force, Zone II Headquarters, Onikan, Lagos.

The governor also said that his administration has reconstituted and inaugurated the State Security Trust Fund (SSTF) and made it private-sector driven, which has provided logistic and equipment support for security agencies in the state.

The theme of the workshop is “Internal Security Operations in a Democratic Dispensation.”

Abiodun noted that the nexus between poverty, literacy and insecurity, and added that local vigilantes, community development associations and “Amotekun” had been mainstreamed into the state security architecture to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in policing Ogun to ensure the welfare, wellbeing, and security of lives and property.

He pointed out that the current insecurity in the country could be reduced to the barest minimum if more jobs were created and more youths 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 SSTF, 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 stated.

Abiodun noted that Ogun and Lagos States are like rivers that flow into each other, and posited that the two states must continue to synergise, particularly in the area of security.

He said that state-based security agencies have been created to deal with peculiar security challenges as the national police would not be able to handle the enormous security issues in all parts of the country.

He commended the police authority for organising the workshop, especially after the experience of the EndSARS# protest, describing the workshop as a practical step of using collaboration to ensure safety of lives and properties.

According to him, 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 governor enumerated the place of security in the development of the society and urged security operatives to be friendly with the populace, as they need the support of the people to succeed in their duties.

In his speech, the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Folasade Jaji, stressed the need for cooperation between the police and civilians.

Sanwo-Olu said that this has led to the first Lagos Police/ Youth Dialogue that is geared towards strengthening mutual relationship between the people and security agencies.

He urged the participants to come up with ideas that would change the narrative in the society, adding that “the people need the police just as the police need the people.”

In his address, the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Usman Alkali Baba, observed that the police could not surmount security challenges without the support of other agencies including the media.

Baba said that law enforcement agencies must develop capacity to achieve their constitutional mandates, adding that security officers must imbibe effective policing, which included human rights and due process.

He charged the participants to sharpen their knowledge, saying “they cannot give what they do not have.”