From Rhoda Godwin in Yenagoa
Stakeholders in the Niger Delta region including the Women Organized for Mentorship and Advocacy Network WOMAN have called on the federal government to implement good policies that can reduce criminality and insecurity in the Niger Delta region.
They made the call yesterday during the Niger Delta Peace and Security Network meeting hosted by the Foundation for Partnership Initiatives in the Niger Delta, PIND held in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
Peace building Program Manager, Dr David Udofia noted that the Niger Delta which has large reserves of natural resources and socio economic viability is enmeshed in economic underdevelopment, environmental degradation and general insecurity.
” There is a need for further dialogue to enhance the effectiveness and coordination of interventions that are designed to reduce conflict or to prevent the start or resumption of violent conflicts in the Niger Delta”
Discussions highlighted other causes of violent conflicts in the region to include internet fraud, cultism, failed marriages, low moral values, unfulfilled promises from international companies and poverty as the major causes of violent conflicts and insecurity in the Niger Delta.
Executive Director, WOMAN, Lady Eunice Nnachi who is an advocate of building strong family driven support that respects values noted that many young people who engage in crime and criminality are victims of breakdown in moral values from the family system.
She called on parents to mentor and encourage their children and youths to use their time and energy in useful and productive ventures to make them financially independent.
Also speaking, Women Leader, Swali Ultramodern market, Mrs Ebiere Ebiotu decried the activities of hoodlums and youths who harass market women, extorting money from them and sexual harassment of young girls and children hawking in the markets.
She called on the government and other relevant stakeholders to intervene in the situation while also calling on parents to desist from sending their young children to hawk goods in the market.
Stakeholders proffered various solutions to reduce insecurity such as the need for parents to be responsible for proper training of their children, advocacy, sensitization against cultism in schools and skills acquisition for youths.
They further called on the government to strengthen the judicial system such that offenders are made to pay for their crimes which would serve as a deterrent to others.
