Mbah Commends Youths for Marching against Insecurity, Supporting FG, Enugu’s War Against Crime, Terrorism- Says

Correctional Centres’ll lose relevance if youths shun crime
Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Enugu

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State has commended youths in the state for embarking on solidarity march in support of the security measures both the federal and Enugu governments have put in place to root out insecurity.

He gave the commendation when he received a large crowd of youths that converged at the government house, to express their support for President Bola Tinubu and Mbah for waging relentless war against terrorism and all forms of criminalities.

Before converging at the government house the pro-security marchers comprising Enugu youths, members of the National Youth Service Corps(NYSC) and undergraduate students had marched through popular streets in the state capital vehemently condemning all activities that engender insecurity.

They sang solidarity songs and displayed banners with inscriptions declaring their zero tolerance for terror, criminality and violent extremism. Some of the messages read: Unite Against terror; ‘Be vigilant, secure your neighbourhood’; #Ndi Enugu, let us unite against terror#; ‘Terrorism destroys lives, unity builds nations’.

Mbah told the youths that right from the inception of his administration security was identified as one of the recurring risk factors while mapping out the building blocks of development for the state, hence his decision to tackle the menace head-on.

“For you to march through the streets and end here preaching the message against crime and terrorism is profound. Ordinarily, we should be the ones preaching to you against such vices.

“But by this act, you are telling us that you are not going to be on the fringes or stand by and watch. Rather, you are going to be at the forefront of the campaign against cultism, crime and terrorism,” the governor said.
Mbah, pledged to mobilise young people across the state in the fight against criminal activities and violent extremism.

He said that greater involvement of youths in the fight against criminality would lead to a significant reduction in crime, freeing up resources for job creation and poverty eradication.

According to him, Correctional Centres would eventually become unnecessary in Nigeria if youths could shun getting involved in criminal activities.

He noted that some countries had shut down many of their correctional facilities after recording significant reductions in crime.

He insisted that such behavioural transformation could be achieved in Nigeria when young people took ownership of the campaign against criminality.

The governor said the state had adopted a zero-tolerance policy towards criminality, adding that a safer Enugu would attract more investors and generate other multiplier effects on the economy.

He urged the youths to take their campaign against crime and terrorism to every part of the state, saying their initiative would send a strong message that criminality was no longer fashionable among young people.

“Your campaign is heartwarming. When citizens apply scholarly and constructive approaches, government will be glad to engage them constructively and productively too,” Mbah said.

He assured the youths that Enugu government would complement the youths’ campaign through non-kinetic interventions, including job creation, increased investment in education and digital skills development.

Earlier, a leader of the march and Deputy Rector of the Institute of Management and Technology (IMT), Enugu, Dr. Emeka Ejim, described the coalition as a broad-based youth movement comprising corps members and students united by a common agenda to campaign against crime, cultism and terrorism.

Ejim pledged the group’s support for the state government’s security efforts, noting that Enugu has distinguished itself in the fight against crime and cultism through a combination of kinetic and non-kinetic measures, including skills acquisition and job creation.

“We pledge never to join bad groups within and outside Nigeria. We are joining you against terrorism,” he said.

The Enugu State leader of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Kelvin Okeke, said the association would mobilise no fewer than two million youths to support the campaign against violence and terror.

“This is the only way we can show you that we are against terror. We say no to terrorism,” he said.

The student leader commended the state government for investing heavily in modern security infrastructure in the state, citing the Command and Control Centre, Centre for DNA Forensics and Criminal Investigation, Distress Response Squad DRS), and other initiatives.

He noted with satisfaction that Mbah’s security measures and infrastructure were already yielding results, saying, “For instance, they tried you at Affa in Udi, and in no time the kidnappers realized they cannot ply their trade in Enugu State”.

In their remarks, NYSC members Olaranju Oreose and Emmanuela Momoh expressed gratitude to Governor Mbah for the peace and security they enjoy in Enugu.

They confessed that the security in the state had totally changed their views and allayed the fears they initially nursed when they were posted to the South East region.

“I am Olaranju, representing the General CDS President. Sir, as a corps member from the South West, and I have been in Enugu from January till now, I want to say that my journey and experience so far here has been wonderful in terms of security.

“Initially, I had the fear of coming this far distance to Enugu. But having been here, I have changed that thinking. I want to let you know that no one amongst us here, no matter the tribe, no matter the religion, is supporting terrorism,” he told Governor Mbah.