Tantita’s youth drive helps stem Bayelsa’s crime surge – Groups
Youth organisations and civil society groups have credited Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) with helping to curb youth violence, oil theft and other criminal activities in Bayelsa State and other parts of the Niger Delta.
The groups said the company’s engagement of thousands of young people in pipeline surveillance had provided alternative livelihoods for youths previously vulnerable to illegal activities, while contributing to improved security in several communities.
Goddy Simon, Asaba
Youth organisations and civil society groups have credited Tantita Security Services Nigeria Limited (TSSNL) with helping to curb youth violence, oil theft and other criminal activities in Bayelsa State and other parts of the Niger Delta.
The groups said the company’s engagement of thousands of young people in pipeline surveillance had provided alternative livelihoods for youths previously vulnerable to illegal activities, while contributing to improved security in several communities.
The commendation came separately from the Coalition of Niger Delta Youth Stakeholders (CNDYS), Ijaw Women Deserve Better Initiative, Grassroots Movement Connect (GMC) and youth leader, ‘Gen.’ Okiemo Stephen.
The organisations said Bayelsa had previously faced persistent challenges involving crude oil theft, illegal refining, cult-related violence and other crimes, but argued that Tantita’s employment initiative had helped reduce the pressure.
The CNDYS spokesperson, Comrade Odede Charles Precious, said the company’s intervention had altered the security situation in parts of the state by giving young people legitimate sources of income.
“Tantita has given many young people a reason to abandon crime. The engagement of youths in pipeline surveillance has significantly reduced violence, insecurity and other anti-social activities across the state,” he said.
He said the employment opportunities had helped redirect youths away from illegal bunkering, crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, cultism and other criminal activities.
Coordinator of the Ijaw Women Deserves Better Initiative, Miss Bomiegha Rachael Lagos, described Tantita’s intervention as a “game changer”, saying it had restored hope to families affected by unemployment and insecurity.
Lagos said some unemployed youths who were previously drawn into illegal bunkering and cult-related activities were now gainfully engaged, which she said had contributed to greater stability in their communities.
Okiemo said Tantita had helped address a gap created by the exclusion of some restive youths from the Presidential Amnesty Programme.
According to him, some youths who were left outside the programme allegedly turned to kidnapping, illegal bunkering, cultism and other criminal activities as alternative means of survival.
He said the company’s employment initiative had significantly reduced the level of insecurity and eased pressure on security agencies responsible for maintaining law and order.
The Grassroots Movement Connect, led by Hon. Afen Enason Patrick, said its assessment of communities in the region showed improvements in security since the commencement of Tantita’s operations.
The group claimed that crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism and illegal artisanal refining had declined in some areas, alongside a reduction in soot pollution.
It also said the involvement of youths from host communities in pipeline surveillance had contributed to efforts to curb piracy, sea robbery and other criminal activities on the waterways.
Despite the commendation, the groups urged Tantita to build on the reported gains by expanding its interventions beyond pipeline surveillance.
The CNDYS called for greater investment in skills acquisition, entrepreneurship, technical education and other sustainable empowerment programmes targeting youths and women across the Niger Delta.
Lagos, in particular, called for targeted initiatives for women, including single mothers, female undergraduates and other vulnerable groups.
She advocated vocational training, entrepreneurship support and other sustainable livelihood programmes that could enable women to become economically independent and reduce their vulnerability to poverty and crime.
The groups maintained that sustained investment in employment, skills development and community-based empowerment would complement security operations and help consolidate the relative peace recorded in parts of the Niger Delta.
