Insecurity: Obasanjo Reveals Cause of Banditry, Kidnapping in Nigeria
- Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has blamed insecurity on the unemployment of youths nationwide
- Obasanjo, who spoke at a recent event in Lagos, said that when men and women are not adequately engaged in work, they tend to be a nuisance to society
- He also encouraged Nigerian youths to harness the importance of agriculture and its ability to generate wealth
Legit.ng journalist Segun Adeyemi has over 9 years of experience covering political events, civil societies, courts, and metro
Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo has correlated the surge in banditry and kidnapping with the widespread unemployment in the nation.
He expressed this viewpoint while delivering a speech at the 9th International Trade Exhibition & Conference on Agrofood, Plastics, Printing, and Packaging in Lagos.
Source: Getty Images
FairTrade Messe and the Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa co-hosted the event.
As quoted by Punch, Obasanjo said:
“Of course, if we are able to achieve this, it will improve our security. Part of our insecurity are men and women that are not properly engaged.
"If we are able to give them employment, there will be less of them getting involved in banditry, in kidnapping and in doing various other criminal activities that they get involved in.”
The ex-president, who labelled himself as fervently passionate about agriculture, emphasised the importance of advancing agribusiness to ensure food security, nutritional well-being, job opportunities, wealth generation, poverty reduction, and revenue, especially through foreign exchange.
He stressed that efforts to ensure food security should include ensuring the presence, affordability, and accessibility of food within the nation.
Obasanjo said:
“Food security starts with availability. We must be able to produce enough. Then there is affordability. We must be able to get everybody who needs food to be able to get the food that they need. Then there is accessibility. We must get food to where it is needed.
“Almost 40 per cent of our food go to waste after cultivation. So, food security and nutrition security makes agribusiness important.”
Youths and agriculture
Obasanjo emphasised the importance of encouraging youth involvement in agriculture to address issues like emigration, unemployment, and insecurity.
He expressed concern that Nigerian youths tend to favour the entertainment industry over agriculture, highlighting the necessity of making farming more attractive.
Additionally, he urged policymakers to maintain consistent policies to enable farmers to plan effectively without fear of sudden policy changes disrupting their efforts.
Central to this effort, he stressed the importance of providing low-interest loans to farmers, emphasising that high interest rates hinder profitable agribusiness ventures.
Obasanjo speaks on economic hardship
In another report, Obasanjo has revealed what President Bola Tinubu's administration needs to alleviate the ongoing economic hardship.
Obasanjo said the economic hardship is caused by the mismanagement of resources and lack of productivity among Nigerians.
He said Tinubu's administration should devolve power and resources from the federal government to state and local governments.
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Source: Legit.ng
