Cleric urges government to create jobs to curb crimes

Rt. Rev. Tunde Adeleye, Bishop, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Calabar Diocese.

Rt. Rev. Tunde Adeleye, the Bishop, Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Calabar Diocese, has advised government at all levels, to create jobs for the youths in order to check rising cases of crimes in the country.

Adeleye made the call on Monday in Calabar in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

He said unemployment was largely responsible for kidnapping, armed robbery, militancy and other heinous crimes across the country.

The cleric said that the rate of kidnapping in the country was on the increase and the best way to tackle it was for all levels of government to create massive jobs for the youths.

“Kidnappers now take away both adults and children. The federal state and local governments should take urgent steps to stop this.

“Even some parts of this country which were earlier adjudged to be safe are no longer safe.

“Government at all levels should rise up to this challenge by creating jobs for the volume of unemployed youths in the country.

“There should be employment for all able-bodied youths in Nigeria. It is unfortunate that even holders of masters degrees in very lucrative professions in Nigeria are jobless today,” he said.

He further advised the youths to stop being used by some politicians as tugs, saying that ‘those who plant evil will end in evil’.

The cleric further advised that the law enforcement agents should not be “selective” in handling kidnap cases.

Adeleye noted that when the elite got kidnapped, the law enforcement agents usually tended to act swiftly to get such people released, unlike when low profile individuals were victims.

He said the practice was wrong, adding that efforts should be made to rescue all kidnap victims as soon as possible.