Blame game giving criminality ethnic colouration — Uzodinma

Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma says the act of engaging in blame game by political and religious leaders has given criminality party and ethnic colouration.

Uzodinma, in a statement on Monday, said the genuine reaction of every well-meaning and patriotic leader should be that of outrage and condemnation against violent crimes before looking for whom to blame.

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He said by being silent or laying the blame on President Buhari or the All Progressives Congress, “these leaders create the impression that only government and the APC should fight criminality.

“Those who were politicising the insecurity in the land were unwittingly creating an enabling platform for division in the country and also buoying the criminals to exploit the division among the political class.”

He advised aggrieved politicians not to toe the line of violence and desist from any action that would heat up the polity or lead to loss of lives and property for political gains.

The governor said it was unfortunate that even those who had access to the Presidency had chosen the media to lambast the government instead of passing vital information to the government on ways to tackle insecurity.

He commended Buhari for refusing to be distracted by the cacophony of blame, especially from opposition politicians.

He said by remaining focused in seeking solutions to the current problems, the president had demonstrated uncommon leadership traits befitting his office.

Uzodinma appealed to the political and religious leaders to moderate their utterances so as not to create the impression that criminality is the product of the APC.

He advised ordinary Nigerians to be personally involved in the fight against insurgency, banditry, kidnapping or other violent crimes by sharing intelligence with security agencies who naturally would protect their identities.