violence not the way forward

Ado-Ekiti —Governor Seriake Dickson of
Bayelsa State, has canvassed for dialogue
as the only way out of the recurrent

violence in the Niger Delta, saying waging
war against the militants would only
exacerbate the already volatile situation in
the region.
Militants under the aegis of the Niger Delta
Avengers had declared war on the FG,
destroying national assets, and incurring
huge financial losses, running to billions of
naira and massive reduction in the
production of crude oil, which output was
put at fifty percent of its original capacity.
While the Federal Government’s military
option to hunt down the militants appeared
to have failed, Governor Dickson joined his
voice with that of other leaders in the
region, calling for dialogue between the
militants and the federal government as the
only way out of the logjam. Dickson also
urged both parties to come to a round table
and dialogue for peace and stability.
The governor gave the advice at the
weekend during the Ekiti State University
(EKSU) ‘s 21st Convocation ceremony where
he was awarded with Doctorate Degree in
Public Administration in recognition of his
exemplary leadership.
The governor received the honour alongside
the Chancellor of the University and
traditional ruler of Aramoko-Ekiti, Oba
AbdulAzeez Adegoke Adeyemi, and the Ekiti
State-born legal luminary, banker and oil and
gas magnate, Mr. Gbenga Oyebode, while a
total of 18,685 candidates received the
institution’s Degrees, Diplomas and Post-
graduate Diplomas.
Giving the breakdown, the Vice Chancellor
of the University, Prof Oye Bandele said
3,054 are full-time, 392 Sandwich, 10,613
from Affilliate colleges and 3,937 part-time
students. In the post graduate category, 78
are PhD degrees, 366 for Masters, 127 for
professional Masters and 118 are for Post-
Graduate Diploma. In all, he said a total of
24 students made First Class honours
degree.
Let us fight food insecurity, Fayose charges
Nigerians
Meantime, the Ekiti State Governor, Mr
Ayodele Fayose, has called on Nigerians to
pay more attention to agriculture, saying
there is food insecurity in the country that
must be tackled. He stated this also during
the 21st convocation ceremony of the Ekiti
State University, Ado-Ekiti. A statement by
his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Idowu Adelusi,
quoted the governor as urging fresh
graduates and school leavers to see
different segments of agriculture as fertile
ground to secure employment.
“Let us focus on agriculture because we are
not only fighting Boko Haram and insecurity
but we already have food insecurity and
when you have food to eat a large part of
the problem is solved. It is not everybody
that will build house, but everyone of us
must eat, even if it once a day.
“Those that are graduating, the queue out
there is long and white collar jobs are rare,
those who even have such jobs, are they
paid regularly?. The situation is getting
tougher every day. We must invest more in
agriculture,” the governor said. Fayose, who
lauded the EKSU Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oye
Bandele and his team for their efforts, said
they still needed to look inward to generate
more revenue.