From Stanley Uzoaru, Owerri
In a bid to tackle crime in the country, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has embarked on a seminar rural Imo with the theme “insecurity and crime prevention”.
It was the turn of Umueleagwa, Onicha in Ezinihite Mbaise Council Area at the weekend as the Commission through its principal resource person, Uche Ukwuobi, lectured the youths of the community on how to avoid conflict, especially boundary distributes and possible ways of solving it.
According to her, ‘many have died from this kind of conflict and it has also been the origin of enmity between kindred, family and even states, our children should be thought how to live in peace with each other, it can also lead them to carry arms in future when they are jobless and restless.’
She appealed to the elders in the communities, as well as the traditional and religious institutions to help the youths by constantly advising them on the dangers of conflict.
Ukwuobi also cautioned the stakeholders to be wary of how they disclose incidents that are capable of igniting crisis among the youths.
‘The elders should also know how to listen and talk to the youths, everything they hear from an elder may be considered to be the right thing which eventually may spark off the crisis, and it could take ages to settle,’ Ukwuobi said.
Also, in his lecture, Mr Ebere Uzoukwa, another resource person, urged the community to be in a good relationship with security agents in their locality and always report incidents to the police instead of taken laws into their hands.
‘The police is your friend, it is always advisable to report any matter to them so that they can determine how to solve it, most of the incidents in the communities occur due to the negligence of police by the parties involved in it.
The traditional ruler of Obizi, Steven Azubuike, in his speech thanked NHRC for taking the message of security to the grassroots just as he promised to impact on his people message of the commission.