Kidnapping: VC Blames Rulers, Politicians

By Emmanuel Obe

The new Vice-Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Ndorwa Lale, onTuesday blamed the worsening spate of kidnapping in the Nigeria on the failure of political and traditional leadership.   Lale, who spoke at the University of Port Harcourt when the Caretaker Committee of Eleme Local Government of Rivers State visited him, said local leaders have abandoned their abodes for criminal elements to control.   The VC, whose son was recently kidnapped in his hometown, Ebubu in Eleme Local Government Area of Rivers State, said criminals in local communities were well known and could be checked by their local leaders if they were alive to their responsibilities.   He said, “Erecting homes with high walls and stockpiling money will not save anybody. The solution lies in providing leadership and impacting people’s lives.”     The Chairman of the Caretaker Committee of Eleme Local Government, Mr. Philip Okparaji, condemned the abduction of the vice-chancellor’s son, Mr. Ejire Lale, and thank God for freeing him from his abductors.   Okparaji, however said the kidnap of Ejire was not due to the failure of leadership at the local government level, but it was an act carried out by a few criminal elements. “God will expose them.”   The chairman said the local government was prepared to partner the University of Port Harcourt in the training of young people in the local government area.   He prayed God to guide Lale to lift UNIPORT to great heights during his tenure.