The Arewa Youths Consultative Council (AYCC) has begun orientation of over 2, 750, 000 youths across the 19 northern states to help end the rising spate of kidnapping, banditry and Boko Haram insurgency which have continued to ravage the region over the years.
The National President of the council, Mr. Zaid Ayuba Alhaji, disclosed this during the 2021 National Youth Conference, held at Mambayya House, Kano, on Saturday, and said about 137, 500 youths would be drawn from each 19 northern states, including Abuja, for the purpose.
According to him, Arewa youth consultative council has concluded plans to engage 1, 145 youths every month and 13, 750 youths every year, who would be trained to acquire major security traits, including the acts of community policing, with a view to helping security agencies nip to the bud, the nagging problem of banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and other forms of insecurity, which have endangered socio-economic development in the North.
The programme is expected to be carried out under a tagged project christened: “Sustainable Security Project for 19 Northern States (Project SUSPRONS 2021–2031), the project will run for a period of 10 years.
Zaid Ayuba listed objectives of Project SUSPRONS 2021—2031 to include engagement and sensitization of youths as critical stakeholders to bringing to an end the spate of kidnapping, banditry and Boko Haram insurgency in the North.
He added that the project is also designed, “to build the capacity of women to actively play their role as mothers and to empower them in countering violent extremism and radicalization.
“To discourage the recruitment of youths into various criminal gangs, banditry and Jihadist groups through awareness campaigns, sensitization programmes and capacity development initiatives, among other issues.”
He further stated that the project also has a vision, “to establish a permanent and reliable avenue for engagement and sensitization of young people across the 19 northern states on the implementation of youth’s strategy in community policing and other security conscious efforts in order to effectively tackle the rising problems of insecurity in our region and Nigeria.”
The Chairman of the occasion and Vice Chancellor of Yusuf Maitama Sule University, Kano, Professor Mukhtar Atiku Kurawa, in his remarks, urged northern youths to wake up to challenges of saving the region from the problems caused by insecurity.
In his keynote address, the Managing Director of Dala Inland Dry Port, Alhaji Ahmad Rabi’u reminded the youths of how former leaders like ex-military Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (Rtd) and the late Dan Masanin Kano, Dr. Yusuf Maitama Sule, among others, made waves and positive impacts in the region and the country in their early days as youths, urging them to get inspired and motivated through the legacies of those leaders.
Mr Yusuf Shitu Galambi, representing Gwaram Federal Constituency, Jigawa state, presented a paper on, “Youths and Insecurity: A Time Bomb That Must Be Addressed Urgently.”
Also, Hajiya Maimuna Muhammed Garba of National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Kano state Command, spoke on, “Drug Abuse and The Future of Youth,” while Hajiya Hauwa El-Yakub, delivered a paper entitled, “Youths in Present and Future Political Space.”
The programme was also attended by representatives of Governors of Kano, Jigawa, Katsina, Sokoto states; the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero; leaders of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs), academics, among others.
