*Encourages Nigerians to take ownership of public infrastructure
The National Orientation Agency (NOA), on Wednesday, admonished Nigerians on the negative effects of destructing critical public infrastructure and assets, and sought peace initiatives to address challenges.
It also attributed vandalism to misdirected anger and frustration against government’s perceived marginalization, violent protests, unemployment, lack of patriotism towards one’s country.
Director General, NOA, Dr. Garba Abari, stated this during a one-day stakeholders’ dialogue for residents of Gwagwalada Area Council of Abuja. He said that it was important to consider the protection of infrastructure as a matter of urgent national importance.
Abari who was represented by his Director, Public Enlightenment and Mass Mobilization, Mrs. Theresa Maduekwe, said: “Over the years, successive administrations in Nigeria have continued to invest huge resources to build and maintain public infrastructure such as roads, bridges, hydroelectric power stations, telephone, rail tracks as well as gas and petroleum pipelines.”
According to him, most of these infrastructure run through communities across the country and have contributed in no small measure to improve the quality of life and living across cities.
He said: “Given this reality, the expectation has been that community members residing in these areas where these infrastructures are domiciled will take special interest to protect and preserve these national assets. However, reverse has been the case as evidence shows a growing and disturbing culture of vandalism perpetrated most especially by the youths.
“This can be attributable to a host of factors including ignorance, misdirected anger and frustration against governments perceived marginalization, violent protests, unemployment, lack of patriotism towards one’s Country among other reasons.
“The implication of this is that scarce resources that would have been used to build more infrastructure to make life more meaningful for generality of the population are deployed for repairs or replacement of vandalized ones. This unfortunate situation, no doubt, has great negative consequences on the growth of our economy.”
In his address, the representative of the Gwagwalada Elder Council, Alhaji Sule Dobi, assured NOA of their support in ensuing that the sensitization is taken to various nooks and crannies of the Areas Council.
In his remarks, the Chairman, Gwagwalada Area Council, Alhaji Abubakar Jibrin Giri, who was represented by his secretary, Alhaji Mohammed Saba, called on youths not to consider poverty as a reason to destroy public property.
He said: “We see government property as nobody’s property, even when it is serving us, and therefore, even if we see somebody destroying it, we look the other way. It is not a good way of patriotism; you must report whatever is seen as promptly as possible.
“Effects of disruption of public property include disruption of services. If you disrupt transformer, then you can be sure you will not get services. If you burn down the market, then you can go to the bush and buy whatever you want to buy.
“If you destroy the hospital, when you are sick you can advise yourself where to go. All these are government property that are serving us. They are not there for anybody else except for us. The economic loses are enormous and we should allow the government to use whatever resources it has to build many more property for us and not to be replacing the destroyed property.”
