Checkmating Cultism: Enugu CP tasks parents on children upbringing
The Commissioner of Police in Enugu State has tasked parents and guardians on children and youth proper upbringing to stem use of hard drugs/substances that encourage cultism and other vices.
Giwa gave the task on Tuesday during the official Re-Launch of Police Campaign Against Cultism and Other Vices (POCACOV) in Enugu State and Stakeholders Meeting on the title: “Strengthening Community Partnership For Sustainable Crime Prevention”.
The state police boss noted that it was wrong for parents to abandon their critical role of moulding children’s character from home to the school or police.
He noted that the home must ensure that children are disciplined and avoid bad companies; while delinquent attitudes/characters should be corrected at formative stage such as hard drugs in take.
The commissioner noted that POCACOV started in Enugu through the initiative of former Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Ebere Amaraizu, adding that since it set up, the state police command had sustained the POCACOV campaigns and engagements.
“As a Command, we have promoted community policing and engagements to a new height as we believe that police cannot do it alone. We need cooperation and support of all segments of the state.
“We have been in the vanguard using our social engagements to redirect misguided and drug addicted youths to make a change and contribute positively to the society and their betterment as well.
“The Command will also sustain all existing POCACOV engagements and community policing initiatives even as we believe that using emotional intelligence and non-kinetic approach can solve some issues better,” he said.
Giwa appealed to traditional rulers, youths and community leaders to encourage their youths to join the Nigeria Police as the state government had provided vehicles and other logistics for them to work with.
According to him, they will be able to join the Nigeria Police in reforming misguided youths in the state.
Speaking, the National Coordinator of POCACOV, SP Orvenonne Ikwen, said that POCACOV initiative was meant to deploy the non-kinetic crime fighting approach to win back misguided youths.
Ikwen said that the major cause of cultism in community remained peer pressure and hard drugs use.
She noted that through tailored sensitisation and engagements, the police would be able to check hard drug use and negative influences on the youths.
“Our youths must taught and oriented on pursuing positive engagements that produce positive results for themselves and the large society,” she said.
Corroborating, Igwe Chinedu Nwaobodo, the Traditional Ruler of Ugwuaji Awkwunanaw Autonomous Community, said that some youths engage in situational crime, which they might not commit when guided properly or placed in a better condition.
“So, as traditional rulers, we have a role to constantly engage the youths and correct perceived mistakes on time and encourage peaceful co- experience,” Nwaobodo said.
The Secretary-General of Police Officers’ Wife Association, Enugu State, Mrs Adaeze Anosike, pledged the support of POWA to further expand the campaigns of POCACOV in the state.
Organisations that attended the event included: National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN), NDLEA, NAPTIP and the Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation (CALMHAF) among others.