By Asiwaju Adekunle Saheed
Residents and youths of Enugu State marched through popular streets in the state capital on Friday in a show of support for the government’s fight against insecurity, declaring zero tolerance for terror, criminality and violent extremism.
The march, made up of undergraduates and members of the National Youth Service Corps, ended at Government House, Enugu, where the youths were received by Governor Peter Mbah and pledged to mobilise young people across the state against criminal activities and extremism.
Addressing the group, Mbah said security had emerged as one of the recurring risk factors identified by his administration while mapping out the state’s developmental priorities, prompting his decision to confront the menace head on from the outset of his tenure.
While commending the youths, the governor said his administration’s Tomorrow Is Here mantra was not a political slogan but a genuine commitment to investing in young people who would one day take charge of the state’s future.
He noted that their willingness to march and speak out against crime and terrorism was a profound statement, effectively reversing the usual order in which government preaches to citizens. Mbah said greater youth involvement in the fight against criminality would ultimately reduce crime and free up resources for job creation and poverty eradication, pointing to countries that had shut down correctional facilities after significant reductions in crime.
The governor said Enugu State had adopted a zero tolerance policy toward criminality, insisting that a safer state would attract more investors and generate wider economic benefits. He urged the youths to extend their campaign to every part of the state, describing their initiative as proof that criminality was no longer fashionable among young Nigerians, and promised government support through job creation, education and digital skills programmes.
Leader of the march and Deputy Rector of the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, Dr Emeka Ejim, described the coalition as a broad based youth movement of corps members and students united against crime, cultism and terrorism, pledging that members would never join bad groups within or outside Nigeria.
Also speaking, Enugu State leader of the National Association of Nigerian Students, Okeke Kelvin, said the association would mobilise no fewer than two million youths to support the campaign, insisting the march was proof of their rejection of terror in all its forms.
What do you feel about this post?
Like
Love
Happy
Haha
Sad
