Stakeholders in security at the weekend blamed the rising cases of cultism in Lagos State to lack of parental cares on their children.
CP Edgal with other stakeholders.The stakeholders who spoke during a Town hall meeting between the Lagos state police Command and residence of suru-Lere declared a state of emergency on cultism and agreed to fight it headlong.
Speaking on the topic:’ Partnership with the Community for Crime Prevention’, Commissioner of Police in charge of the state, Mr. Imohimi Edgal, said:” The rising increase in cultism in the state has reached an alarming stage that we all need to declare a state of emergency on cultism. I have asked one of my officers to do in-depth research or investigation on the reasons for the increase in cultism among the young ones and it was revealed that one out of 10 children is into cultism. This is not good for the growth of our country. What are their reasons? The investigation revealed that they join for supremacy over others. They join to avoid intimidation by their peers. They join so that they have edge over girls in their communities.
” Who is to blame? Parents are to blame. It is a shame that we the parents have failed woefully. Majority of us are even afraid to talk to our children. We fear to tell them the truth. Some of you keep quiet when you see your children going wrong so that people will not hear you talking to them. Some of you are outrightly afraid of their children and it is shame on you.
Some of us don’t sleep at home to monitor what our children are doing. How many times have you paid a surprise visit to your children schools and how many times have you checked what is in your children’s rooms and their bags to know what they bring in to your house? We arrested some children between 1to 2 am, during initiation into the cult group. These children were between the ages of 15 to 20. Tell me how a child of 15 will leave the parent’s house at the wee and unholy hours without their parent’s knowledge. Shame on you if you are such a father. Go back home and take charge of your children as we are losing them to drugs, crime and to cultism.
” I want to appeal to parents to understand that our children are the future hope of our country, if we allow them to miss it, we will have no hope and no future leaders to take over from us. What legacy are we leaving behind for our children? The general election is fast approaching, tell your children not to be used to ferment troubles by unscrupulous politicians whose children are not even in the country.
Don’t let your children be used to cause a breach of peace in the country as anyone caught will be prosecuted. Those who are eligible to vote, should go to the polling stations with their PVCs and return home after casting their votes”
On his own, Oba of Igbobi-Sabo Kingdom، HRM Owolabi Adeyemi Adeniyi, Said he totally agreed that a state of emergency should be declared on cultism: ” I see many of them with tattoos all over their bodies and most of the tattoos are symbols of wives but cult or the other. Like the CP pointed out, we should all work hard to check our children, talk to them about the dangers of cultism and bring them back from the way to doom. Let our children know that they are our future hope and leaders. parents are not doing their duties of training their children in the way they should. I call on fathers not to leave their duties for their wives but stand their grounds while talking to their children.
