Lere Olayinka, Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication and Social Media to the FCT Minister, has stirred fresh debate online over what he believes are the root causes of rising insecurity in Northern Nigeria.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Olayinka questioned the reasoning behind low-income earners taking on more family responsibilities than they can handle, pointing to unregulated polygamy and child neglect as major factors fueling insecurity in the region.
He wrote, “This is one problem the North must begin to solve now. There is no reason a man who cannot properly take care of one wife and two children should marry three wives and produce fifteen or seventeen children.
“Many of today’s terrorists and bandits were once innocent children roaming the streets, hungry, uneducated, and forgotten.”
He also raised concern about the growing number of children seen on major roads in Abuja carrying plastic bowls to beg, describing it as a warning sign of a deeper social crisis.
“Each time I see them on major roads in Abuja carrying a plastic bowl, my questions are always How did they get here? Who are their parents? What will these unaccounted children become in future?” He asked.
According to him, while many people are quick to blame the government for the country’s challenges, the state cannot realistically solve a situation where individuals with very low income still choose to have large, unmanaged families.
“I am sure some people will still come here to blame the government. But what can the government do in the case of a gate-man earning say N60k per month, but has four wives and 17 children?”
He warned that children who grow up without care or support often end up angry and vulnerable.
“Abandoned children, like these ones, will certainly grow up angry, desperate and dangerous.”
