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Buhari, speaking on Arise TV, said security was essential in
order for investment in the country, where unemployment rose to
33.3% in the fourth quarter.
"Nobody is going to invest in an insecure environment. So I told
them, I said they should tell the youth that if they want jobs,
they will behave themselves," Buhari said. "Make sure that the
area is secure. So that people can come in and invest."
Nigeria has struggled with high unemployment and rapid
population growth for decades, but the joblessness worsened
since the coronavirus pandemic struck last year when the country
had not yet fully recovered from a 2016 recession.
Buhari has faced criticism over rising violence in nearly every
region of the nation. Armed gunmen have kidnapped more than 700
students in the northwest since December, Islamist attacks in
the northeast have worsened and there have been nationwide
attacks that have burned down police stations and killed
officers.
Parliament in April called on the presidency, armed forces and
police to address the security crisis and some urged Buhari to
declare a state of emergency.
Buhari said the government would take a tougher approach toward
insecurity, particularly against bandits in the northwest and
separatists in the southeast.
"We have given the police and the military the power to be
ruthless," he said. "And you watch it, in a few weeks time,
there will be a difference."
Attacks, particularly in the north, have targeted farmers,
worsening food inflation, which stood at 22.72% in April. Buhari
said if farmers could not operate safely, hunger would spread
and the government could lose control.
(Reporting by Libby George, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
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