From Victor Akinkuolie ,Ado-Ekiti

The Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has disclosed that he would join other good intentioned Nigerians to take the youth’s EndSARS agitations serious, saying he had been a victim of police brutality in the past.
The Governor spoke in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday during an interaction session held by stakeholders’ on the recent #EndSARS protest that resonated panic across the country.
Governor Fayemi said the case of police brutality was one issue that affects every fact of the society, revealing that he was a victim in 2014 while seeking reelection.
Fayemi , who was defeated in the June 21, 2014 election by his predecessor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, had prior to the election allegedly teargased by a team police operatives at Mugbagba area of Ado Ekiti while some APC governor were prevented from entering the state to campaign for him having been allegedly stopped by security agencies at the borders.
Describing the youths as the engineroom of the nation’s economy, Governor Fayemi stated that there was need for the governments to partner the youth for sustainable peace and development .
He advised youth to always apply for any youth oriented programmes being rolled out by the federal government and stop having the erroneous impression that they won’t be enlisted as beneficiary, apply first and see what happens”.
In his contributions, the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 17, comprising Ondo and Ekiti, Mr. David Folawiyo, said the EndSARS protest had actually exhumed fundamental issues indicative of the rots in the system.
“Ultimate power belongs to the masses, especially the youth . The EndSARS agitations didn’t state that the police were bad, but they said the SARS operatives were bad. We agreed that there were bad eggs in the SARS but in most cases people were the ones requesting for SARS services.
“We know that we have to restructure the police and that will be done. But we should all work together to make the police effective. We should all be patriotic and once we have this spirit, there won’t be SARS again. The police must be well equipped and ultimately, we must all collaborate to end SARS”.
Also, the Chairman, National Youth Council of Nigeria(NYCN), Mr. Eyitayo Fabunmi, called for total reform of the Police , so that they can be more professional and civil in the discharge of their duties.
“It is high time we concentrated more on building the youths. The universities are churning out graduates on yearly basis without jobs and our leaders are unconcerned, if they are unconcerned we are concerned as victims.
“The Ministries of youth at the federal and state levels must be well funded to be able to tackle issues relating to youths. Governments can replicate Youth Trust fund to empower youth population National Youth Investment fund should also be localised to be in all the councils for better accessibility. The politicians should also open their doors for the youths and perceive us as collaborators rather than “.