Nexus between unemployment and insecurity

The violence in Ogun State in recent times, leaves me heartbroken and worried for the   future. Ogun State’s strength is in location, land, natural resources and human resources. For a state so blessed, what we witness in cult and gang-related activities, ritual killings etc, are totally unacceptable.

Security of lives and property is the number one duty of a responsible government and we must do more to keep the citizenry safe and the state secure in order to retain the current investment levels and attract more.

It was a 19th century American social worker who said “of all the aspects of social misery, nothing is so heartbreaking as unemployment.” In most societies, criminal offending and victimisation are disproportionately concentrated among individuals with low socioeconomic status living in economically disadvantaged areas.

In Ogun State, the youth comprises about 70% of the population with the majority being underemployed and unemployed – by the way, the young are three times more likely than adults to be unemployed. A growing subset of these young people is what we call the NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training) group. Stalled and hard to reach, these ones remain at particular risk of both social and labour market exclusion. And therefore prone to criminality. In fact, some people have likened the youth crisis to a time bomb waiting to explode (or beginning to explode)!

Because mass unemployment and underemployment exacerbate inequalities and fuel a sense of resentment, unemployed and underemployed people are often more at risk of depression, anxiety and stress. These occasionally lead to violence and it is my view that tackling unemployment and underemployment is a first step to keeping us all safe.

Apart from internal security which will seek to fight the menace of organised crimes, our security policy will therefore encompass addressing socio-economic inequalities, and the geographic disparities between developed and under-developed areas of the state.

The security plan would provide for pursuing youth-focused policies (as the idle hand is the devil’s workshop), guaranteeing food security, improving preventive healthcare, and mainstreaming environmental protection. I also know that some who would be criminals would be criminals regardless of other opportunities and so some of our plans to tackle insecurity would include building smart cities to ensure high levels of surveillance and well-coordinated responses.

Others would include: motivating and incentivizing the law enforcement agencies; further encouraging collaboration between government and the private sector to ensure the funding and effective management of the Ogun State Security Trust Fund (STF); Ensuring all the police divisions  area commands have the required logistics, including operational vehicles and communication equipment to discharge their duties and training and equipping the Amotekun Corps to complement Police efforts

Going back to my initial train of thoughts,  human capital development, such as education and training, is a critical policy lever to prevent the adverse effect of job displacement on the economic, social, and psychological well-being of individuals.

With this in mind, we will put in place support services in the form of assistance in the short run & human capital development in the long run. An important policy lever in this regard, is education and training.

It’s a long road to travel but the destination is firmly in view.

• Modele Şarafa-Yusuf, a governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ogun State.