The Academic Staff Union of Research Institutions (ASURI) has attributed the unemployment and poverty in the country to neglect of research by successive governments since independence.

The Secretary-General of ASURI, Theophilus Ndubuaku, said this during the Institute of Criminology and Strategic Studies (ICSS) graduation ceremony in Lagos.

Despite being endowed with natural resources, Mr Ndubuaku lamented that Nigeria’s major problems were poverty and unemployment.

“But unfortunately, the country created by God to be number one has been designated as poverty capital, then what is the problem?

“The problem we have is the neglect of research, Nigeria is blessed with natural resources, while we have some countries that did not have any resources,” he said.

He explained that research was the key to development, and when a country neglects research, the result is unemployment and poverty.

“So, in a country with a 200 million population, if you don’t employ people, everyone will become bandits. You can’t employ people without using the tools for development which is research,” he said.

Also speaking, Chuks Maha, a security expert, said that every individual has a role to play in returning the country to normalcy.

(NAN)