Naomi Gabriel —
President of the Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria (REDAN), Dr. Aliyu Wammako, has blamed the rising spate of insecurity in the country on unemployment. He revealed this in an interview with local newspaper, the Independent.
He said the Nigerian government should invest massively in housing as a means of curtailing unemployment and urged security agencies to do more in their fight to arrest insecurity issues.
Wamakko also alluded to the fact that while REDAN is doing all it can to reduce housing deficit, he called on the Nigerian government to provide an enabling environment to overcome this problem.
“We cannot go to a place that is volatile and expect us to start construction, he said.
All these problems of insurgency, the issue of banditry, it is because of unemployment of the teaming Nigerian youths. If you invest in the construction of houses, every one house will provide employment for 25 people. You can imagine if you are now constructing a million house. Many people will be employed and that will reduce the menace in the society.
“Construction is the answer because it will bring employment, it will rejuvenate the economy, It will provide so many things, including those people selling building materials. The issue is that government is not providing the conducive environment we are talking about.”
“I’m not a soldier and I don’t have the authority to give orders. But if the orders were to be given as it is, those people should not be allowed to strike, they should be met in their dens and make sure they were attacked. That will solve the problem.
“Government should be serious and stand up to its task. Government is to protect life and property and once government failed to do that, it means there is failure in governance. If this government want to tackle the issue of insurgency and banditry, it must meet these people in their dens so that at least we will have peace in the country, the REDAN boss noted..
