Nigeria: 'Recurring Pipeline Explosions Caused By Poverty'

from All Africa

This Day (Lagos)

Leader of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), Otunba Gani Adams, yesterday attributed the recurring vandalisation of Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines to the prevalence of poverty in the country.

Adams, who spoke in Lagos, during a thanksgiving service held at the Festac Town Central Mosque, said "there is nothing poverty cannot do. In the news today, we heard that another pipeline vandalisation has happened. With the kind of casualties we have few days ago, I do not expect that anybody should be involved in pipeline vandalisation again."

He expressed dissatification over the high rate of poverty in the country, "because we do not have jobs, there is no sustainable means of livelihood and definitely, this is why Nigerians would want to find their way at all means to survive."

Adams, who was recently released from custody, after nearly 10 months, noted that what government at all tiers should do was to set in motion machinery that would cushion the adverse effect of the poverty climate, by ensuring that it creates job opportunities for the unemployed, while also subscribing to measures that could improve the living standards of the citizenry.

According to him, I am calling on the Federal Government to create enough jobs, so that people will not be involved in wrong acts. An idle hand is the devil's workshop. When you don't have anything doing, you tend to be involved in criminal activities.

Adams said "I am here to thank the Almighty God for bringing me out alive from prison, because the prison experience is so traumatic that it could lead to death or paralysis, but I came out alive, healthy, and that is why I wish to thank my God for giving me this opportunity ."

Speaking against the backdrop of the significance of the Id-el-Fitri, Adams said "Today is a significant day.