The Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, has blamed the violence in some parts of the country on negative politics by some individuals who do not mean well for the country.
Maku spoke on Tuesday in Abuja at a public lecture organised by the Abuja council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists.
The minister was reacting to the recent killing of security operatives in Nasarawa and Borno States.
Maku said that though unemployment had played a role in the resurgence of violence in some parts of the country, some politicians were taking advantage of the situation for selfish gains.
He said: “It is very easy for people to say that unemployment is the sole aim of insecurity in the country today, but I want to disagree with this notion.
“Insecurity is not just a product of unemployment but one of negative politics.
“Political leaders in this country must change their attitudes and orientation to politics and this is the problem of insecurity in this country.”
Maku said that a situation where political leaders recruited and armed youths with all kinds of weapons to pursue political gains should be discouraged and condemned by all and sundry.
The minister described the situation in Nasarawa as “shameful and inimical to the growth of the state.”
According to him, unleashing terror on security operatives in that manner in Nasarawa State is disgraceful to the political class.
Maku however assured Nigerians of the present administration’s commitment to fix some of the challenges facing youths in the country.
He said that the various interventions of the Federal Government in agriculture and power sectors were aimed at directly and indirectly creating jobs for the teeming unemployed youths.
Maku dismissed insinuations that the present administration had lost track on its transformation agenda, adding that the Nigerian economy still remained the most attractive in Africa in spite of the challenges.
He urged the media to support the rejuvenation of the economy by reporting facts about Nigeria and emphasising more on the progress made rather than the challenges confronting the nation.
Orji Uzor Kalu, the guest speaker, stressed the need for government to do more in creating jobs for unemployed youths in the country.
Kalu said that though joblessness was not an excuse for youths to take to crime, creating the environment for youths to be gainfully employed would reduce the propensity for their involvement in crime.
The former governor of Abia State urged the government to create an environment for youth employment to thrive by effectively fighting corruption and other social vices in the society.
He called on wealthy individuals to assist government in the area of job creation, noting that government alone could not create jobs for the teeming Nigerian youths.
Kalu urged the media to pursue an agenda that would unite rather than divide Nigeria, adding that the media had the potential of setting a positive agenda for Nigeria’s growth and development.
There were also goodwill messages by the President of the NUJ, Malam Mohammed Garba; and the Special Adviser to the President on Youth and Student Affairs, Jude Imagwe, who represented the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.
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