AKINWALE ABOLUWADE
Prof. Ayobami Hammed, a former acting Director of Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Ibadan, has called for the creation of a National Crime Prevention Commission to address youth violence in the land.
Hammed spoke while presenting the 546th edition of the Premier University’s inaugural lecture series, on Thursday.
He said that the agency should be mandated to design, implement and monitor a national policy on peace education that is targeted at equipping the youth with required skills that could help them stay away from involvement in violent acts.
The don said that “Peace education can help prevent youth violence and radicalism by teaching youth about the advantages of peace and conflict transformation skills.”
To achieve greater success, Hammed called for the active involvement of all relevant stakeholders, including parents, the academia, private sector, media and all tiers of government.
He stressed that “Government could partner with private organizations and strengthen early warning systems to curb youth violence.
“Parents, teachers, guardians and siblings should also be educated on identifying red flags indicating a child is joining a cult or being bullied.”
The lecture, titled, “We Die Here Today! Youth Violence, Social Dysfunction, and a Counselling Psychologist’s Pathway to Peace,” highlighted the growing reported cases of youth involvements in violence and criminal activities across the country.
According to him, the rate at which violence is recorded among the youth is worrisome. He added that the development poses existential threat to the socio-political and economic future of the country.
“The aim of this lecture has been to shine light on a problem or a series of problems that seem perennial and to argue for why it is important that we chart a path to an enduring solution. The pursuit of that solution has been my preoccupation for the better part of the last 28 years of my life as an academic on this campus,” the don stated.
The professor of counselling psychology and peace studies also called for quality education, positive role model, economic empowerment, among others as ways through which the society can effectively combat the menace of youth violence.
Hammed worked with several local and international agencies on peace initiatives within and outside the country.
