Nigerians must eliminate opportunities for crimes to happen — Fashola

The Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola, says every Nigerian must work to eliminate opportunities for crimes to happen as part of their constitutional roles in ensuring security.

Fashola made this known at Landmark Public Lecture organised by Yoruba Tennis Club in Lagos on Friday, with a theme, “What can the President Do for Me?”

The minister, who noted that the President was not all-powerful, said that everybody had the duty of ensuring security.

According to him, prevention is the best way to resolving the nation’s security challenges, but when not possible to prevent, all must work to ensure that conflicts are resolved without lasting a day.
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“We must have a conflict mechanism resolution system; and in addition to that, we must eliminate the opportunities for crime to happen.

“This requires effort from the family unit, to the schools, religious Institutions and all levels of governments.
“How vigilant have we really been as a people?” he asked.

The minister also stressed the need to reset the nation’s value and belief systems for hard work.

He decried the value system of quick money syndrome that made some people go into ritualism to make money.

Fashola said: “Which society even thrives in the belief that if you get a human head, it will turn to money; what is the scientific basis for that?

“Also, do you know how many people have died in very mysterious circumstances, are missing in ritual killings, because of a belief system that we must quickly get rid of; and these are elements of security breaches.

“These breaches are reflective of values that need to change: those belief systems must change from homes, mosques and other places of worship.

“Also, we must shun ourselves of those kind of belief systems; they are not proven by science.”

He also said that traditional leaders including Obas, Emirs, Ezes, among others, were building blocks and pillars of conflict management.

“These are offices of responsibilities involved in the process to bring down conflicts,” Fashola said.

According to him, the constitution does not put security on the Federal Government alone but on all the three tiers governments.