‘‘Unemployment Breeds Insecurity’

The President of the Evangelical Church Winning All (ECWA), Rev. Stephen Panyan Baba, has stated that if the issues of unemployment andpovertyarenotaddressed,itwouldbreeddiscontentandinsecurity in the country. Speaking at a media briefing in Lagos, recently, Baba saiditistheresponsibilityofleadersinauthoritiestoenergeticyouths and positively engage their strength. Healsostatedthatthecountrystandstoreapthegainsofproductivity and profits by doing so, adding that on the other hand it would suffer in an unimaginable way if there is failure in this direction, “as we seem to be fast headed as a country.” He explained that it was the constitutionalresponsibilityofgovernmenttoputinplacetheenabling environment to create jobs and allow for innovative ideas to thrive. Baba, appealed to government at all levels to consider job creations as a matter of national emergency to save the country from the mass exodus of Nigerian citizens to other countries in search of means of survival, “who end up perishing in the oceans and desert, while those who remain take to various heinous crimes as means of livelihood.” The ECWA President further stated that over the past few years, the state of insecurity across the country has been a cause of worry for the Church, adding that Boko Haram insurgency has found a new lease of life and has been organizing regular raids against the military and ordinary communities in the past six months and taking in more hostages.