An All Progressives Congress chieftain, High Chief (Alh.) Isiwele Musa, has attributed the high rate of crimes in the country to hunger and unemployment.
Musa, in an interview with the Independent stressed the need for young minds to be usefully engaged, adding that “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”
The retired Deputy Commissioner of Police maintained that there is hunger in the land, adding that security operative should have unity of purpose to fight crimes.
In his words, “My candid view on the issue is not unconnected with unemployment and hunger necessitated by the hardship in the land. There is a local maxim which says ‘an idle mind is the devil’s workshop’. Therefore, it’s not surprising that kidnapping and other vices have increased.
“As a retired Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP, I am speaking from experience. Most people point fingers at the Fulanis, which in most cases is not correct. Recently at Uromi, precisely at angle 90, the boys that were arrested in an attempt to kidnap a girl were the locals, the village boys. They confessed to the crime, and if they were not arrested everybody would blame the Fulanis for it. So, you see what I mean what I meant when I said that the increase is being fueled by hunger, poverty and unemployment across the villages.
“To nip it in the bud, there must be unity of purpose among the people, locals and security agents. What I mean by that is that a lot depends on the ability of the locals to pass on vital intelligence to appropriate quarters – information is power. That’s why am happy about the National Assembly debate on state police, to bring security to the grassroots.”
