The Vice-president Dr. Goodluck Jonathan yesterday called on well meaning Nigerians and companies especially those operating in the Niger-Delta region to give employment to youths of the area in order to discourage them from going back to the creeks and engaging in pipeline vandalisation and hostage taking.
The vice president, who spoke while receiving the leadership of the Nigeria Economic Summit group in his office, said though government was determined to bring about changes to the situation in the volatile Niger-Delta region, the co-operation of other agencies in ensuring that the youths are gainfully engaged would go a long way in ameliorating the situation in the region.
“We are not too comfortable that a country like Nigeria cannot provide jobs for our youth and of course, when you do not have jobs, even those people who ordinarily would not have been criminals would take up criminal activities.
“We pray that by God’s grace, we will resolve the Niger Delta matter. We also call on well-meaning Nigerians, especially in the private sector, to also help the youth of the Niger Delta because as many youth we pull out of the creeks, the better for us. We noticed sometimes that the opportunities are not given by companies that operate in the area and now it is now biting hard on the country,” he observed.
He said what the country is suffering as a result of the problems in the Niger-Delta region today was as a result of several years of neglect of the region by the successive governments and promised that this government would strive to correct the ills of the past.
Speaking on the economy, the vice president said this administration was determined to make a difference by concentrating on the improvement of the economy of the nation.
“The economy is vital and we are quite happy with the composition and calibre of people that are driving the process. For a country to develop, the economy is first because you cannot even talk about building roads if you do not have the money to build the roads.
“You cannot talk about water if you do not have the money to provide the water. So, everything boils down to a well-planned economy for this country.
Speaking on the economic situation in the country, the vice president said, “One of the top most things on the agenda of the President is security. Security is like the economy because the economy cannot even grow without adequate security. So, there must be security of life and property.”
Jun272007