By Brima Sannoh
Violence in any shape or form is destructive, always leaving in its trail sorrow, misery and bitterness. It is not only anti-developmental but has the tendency of fanning the flames of reprisal which indeed will not be good for the image of any country. Political violence fuelled by any group should not be tolerated to rear its ugly head within the political landscape of this country simply because we have not only tasted but rather swallowed the bitter pills of violence in all its ramifications.
I am gratified by the stringent actions that the law enforcement entities are taking to combat violent actions perpetuated by certain unscrupulous individuals. Though some may frown at the actions executed by the Police from time to time, however, we are totally in support of their pro-active stance and want to encourage them to continue to enhance good policing.
We are appalled to hear about frequent outbursts of violence perpetrated by young people who are expected to be the engine for overall national development. Indeed, we are aware of militating factors that do impinge on enhancing good prospects for young people, an outstanding one which is lack of jobs.
That notwithstanding, negative peer group influences and poor parental mentoring are also key factors that lead to recalcitrance and waywardness.
Combating the growing tide of youth violence in our midst should not only be the priority of the Government but all relevant stakeholders that have the moral responsibility to do so. Some have argued that acute poverty is one of the underlying reasons why parents most times fail to groom their children to become morally upright and turn out to be responsible citizens. I, however, beg to differ from that viewpoint simply because it has been proven beyond all reasonable doubts that good parenting rather than poverty goes a long way in shaping the characters of children.
As very soon we will be having bye-elections, Chieftaincy elections, election re-runs etc precautionary measures must be heightened in order to stem political violence. Civic education, using the media, must be rigorously disseminated by the National Council for Civic Education and Development headed by Kalilu Tutangi, Civil Society organizations and religious leaders to help enlighten the wider citizenry to be aware of the importance of political tolerance and national cohesion.
Besides, it is very much important for the heavy of politicians on polling days as their presence, it has been noted, whip up emotions that could culminate into tensions. They must totally refrain from making inciting statements and trying to clandestinely manipulate the outcomes of the forthcoming elections.
It goes without saying that the future of any democratic country lies in the hands of young people, in whom it is hoped, brilliant ideas and contributions will come from to take the nation to higher heights. Make no mistake about it that young people are resourceful, are endowed with physical dexterity and could be very innovative in championing transformative programs that can impact positively on overall national development.
Lamentably, though, over a considerable period of time our young people were side-lined by aging politicians and other public officials who deliberately deprived them from contributing meaningfully to nation building. Most were denied opportunities for capacity building purely out of greed and institutionalized corruption that permeated various facets of the country.
Whilst those public figures selectively offered greener pasture to their children, relatives and close affiliates, the bulk of our youth were left out in the cold to end up as drop outs and social misfits. The future for many of them obviously became very bleak always yearning for handouts which made them malleable in the hands of ill-motivated politicians who manipulate them during electioneering periods to cause chaos, intimidate potential rivals only at the end of the day to dump them after achieving their aspirations.
It cannot be overemphasized that Government should place premium in creating avenues through which young people could be capacitated to become very productive in society instead of engaging in anti-social activities.
