Kwara Central Senator Traces Insecurity In Nigeria To Unemployment

By Steve Oni, Ilorin

Senator Yahaya Oloriegbe, representing Kwara Central in the 9th National Assembly, has adduced the worsening security situation in the country to idleness caused by unemployment, noting that there is a nexus between drug abuse and unemployment.

Youth unemployment, he lamented, has become so worrisome, cognisant that the youth believe things are really getting worse with fading opportunities. He admonished the three tiers of government to urgently address the situation, which is a time bomb.

Speaking at the ‘News Keg’ programme of the Correspondents’ Chapel, Nigeria Union of Journalists, Kwara state Council, in Ilorin, the state capital, the Senator, however, commended President Muhammadu Buhari for his efforts to open job opportunities for the people, particularly the youth, and for working assiduously to nip the nagging insecurity in the bud.

He said: “The current as ministration in 2015 inherited a terrible security situation where some local governments in the country were under the control of the Boko Haram insurgents. But now, there is no Nigerian territory under Boko Haram control as was hitherto the case.

“Even the world’s super power country; the United States, has not been able to defeat the Taliban in Afghanistan for years now, so President Buhari should be commended for doing the needful to address the issue of insecurity in Nigeria. The President needs the support of all and sundry to arrest the ugly situation.”

The Senator, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Health, said coronavirus emerged with a bang ravaging the entire globe, adding that as it is, it is a virus we have to live with and people should strive to keep safe by strictly adhering to all the safety protocols rolled out by government and the medical team.

Oloriegbe, a medical doctor, also submitted that disruptions cause by the COVID‐19 pandemic though have immensely impacted global economies, with a multiplier effect felt by all; it might have also resulted in some good things, believing that the pandemic has created ample opportunities to improve the country’s health infrastructure.

He said: “In the revised 2020 budget, isolation centres, emergency centres and infectious disease centres will be built in each of the 36 states.

“Every federal institution will also have testing facility while funds have been made available to relevant agencies for research and to come up with coronavirus cure and vaccines for other diseases.”

Acknowledging that the legislature is an important institution that makes a democratic system function properly, the Senator implored the media to help educate the populace on the roles of the legislature, which, he said, include legislation, oversight and representation, noting that poor understanding of the functions and roles of legislature may lead to friction between the legislators and their constituents.