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From George Onyejiuwa, Owerri
Worried by rising spate of insecurity in the South East, Bishop of Anglican Diocese of Egbu, Imo State, Rt. Rev. Geoffrey Okoroafor has called on governors in the region to hold heart-to-heart talks with aggrieved youths and end the violence.
He also admonished the governors to urgently tackle debilitating unemployment among youths in the zone.
Speaking at a press conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the creation of Egbu Diocese at Bishop’s Court, Egbu, Owerri North Council Area of the state, Bishop Okoroafor said: “If dialogue is what is required to solve this problem, our governors should do that to ascertain their grievances and the way forward. I believe that there’s no smoke without fire.”
He expressed worry over the level of destruction perpetrated by aggrieved youths in the zone, lamenting that they were creating more problems for the people they claimed to be fighting for.
“This is affecting everyone. You don’t create problems while trying to solve it. Attacking police stations, security installations and killing security operatives is creating more problems and that is not a solution to whatever may have been responsible for their grievances.
“When you burn governor’s house and cars, it is still the state’s money that would be used to rebuild and replace them because the governor will not use his personal money to do that,” he said.
He called on the federal and state governments to put more effort in solving unemployment crisis in the country.
“Unemployment is pushing people to their limits. No matter what you preach as a cleric, without employment, there is a limit to what you can preach. Our government should stop being insensitive to the problems of Nigerians,” he said.
