Shina Abubakar – Osogbo
The Chairman of the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE), Prof. Banji Akintoye, on Saturday blamed the governors in the South West for the high rate of poverty and insecurity in the region.
He said the governors were not doing enough to create jobs for the teeming youth populace, hence, the alarming rate of insecurity as youth resorted to various social vices as means of survival.
Akintoye, who delivered a keynote address at an Annual Distinguish Lecture organised by Ede Unique Club in Ede, Osun State, said no effort put together to tackle insecurity in the country would be successful if the government fails to reduce the level of poverty in the country.
The Emeritus Professor of History said it was not possible for people to live in abject poverty and expect improved security in the country.
He said due to the high level of poverty in the country, many youths, especially from the South West, were risking their lives to search for a greener pasture abroad.
He said: “There is no doubt that there is massive poverty in the South West and in the country at large.
“And it is painful that our South West governors do not know how to handle poverty.
“Rather than creating job opportunities, we are enrolling our children in schools with no job prospects.
“Poverty is becoming unbearable in the region and as a result, many youths in the South West are engaging in drug abuse and other illegal activities.
“The economy is declining, many are losing their jobs, there is a high level of corruption in the land and people are living in abject poverty.
“There is no doubt that there is an urgent need for economic revival in the South West and in the country at large.”
Vanguard