Family planning
By Victor Adeoti
Osogbo, May 24, 2018 (NAN) Gov. Rauf Aregbesola of Osun has urged married couples to embrace family planning, to curtail population explosion in the country.
Aregbesola made the remark while addressing Muslim faithful at the 2018 Annual Ramadan Lecture in Osogbo.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the lecture had the theme: “Insecurity in Nigeria, Islamic Perspectives to Finding Solutions’’.
The governor said that with the spate of insecurity in the land, all hands must be on deck to ensure that the population of the country does not get to the level that the government would not be able to control it.
According to him, increase in population has contributed to the security challenges the country is facing.
Aregbesola said it was important for parents to complement government efforts at ensuring security of lives and property by giving birth to the number of children they could adequately provide for.
He attributed lack of parental care, poor upbringing and unchecked procreation as causes of security challenges confronting the nation.
Aregbesola, therefore, charged government at various levels to come up with masses-oriented programmes capable of empowering citizens and supporting their needs for national integration, growth and development.
The governor also said that for Nigeria and other parts of the world to enjoy relative peace, parents must begin to inculcate values and virtues in their wards and children.
“As parents, we must do all we can to give our children the best in terms of training, education, character and virtues, if we are truly serious about addressing our security challenges.
“We must be conscious of our population and see the need to embrace family planning as population explosion has been the major factor for the security challenges in our country.
“Today, a sizable number of our youths are unemployed, thus contributing to security threats and societal unrest.
“While government at various levels are charged to be alive to their constitutional responsibilities, Nigerians must support and complement government in the actualisation of these goals,’’ Aregbesola said.
Earlier, the guest lecturer and Chief Imam of Offa, Sheik Muideen Saman Hussain, advocated good governance as a panacea to the security challenges in the country.
Hussain called on well-meaning Nigerians and religious leaders to support government’s efforts at ensuring the security of lives and property of the citizenry.(NAN)
VE/PIO/PIO
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(Edited by Idonije Obakhedo)