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Accelerating community development through youth empowerment

By UNDP NIGERIA

June 30^th, 2022

33-year-old Ibrahim Halliru from Borno State, Nigeria is a proud member of the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and Volunteer Security Outfit (VSO) who is motivated by his passion to help safeguard his community against insurgent attacks and recruitment of local youth into non-state armed groups (NSAG).

A resident and native of Maiduguri, Ibrahim started his own poultry business in hopes of earning enough income to support himself and his family. Reflecting on his journey, he recalls,

“Even with a diploma, it has been extremely difficult to get a job. I was able to start a poultry business, but due to limited opportunities for young people, I have been struggling to keep business afloat”.

Accelerating community development through youth empowerment

Youths like Ibrahim who do not have options for sustainable means of livelihood, find it extremely difficult to carter for themselves and their families. Unemployed young people in northeastern Nigeria often face stigma in their communities and because of this, many resort to crime and violence, while some are even inclined to join extremist groups. These challenges, paired with limited opportunities to earn income, need to be addressed as part of the nexus between security, community development and youth empowerment in order to make impactful and sustainable change.

The transport sector in Borno State has rapidly been growing and provides a viable option to empower youth livelihoods. Leveraging on this opportunity, with the goal of addressing youth unemployment, the United Nations development Programme (UNDP) partnered with the Borno State government to help strengthen its agenda of transforming the transport sector across the region.

To create livelihood opportunities for young people in the state, 300 youth, who previously belonged to Volunteer Security Outfits (VSO), received capacity development on traffic management, regulation and control, which will enable them to be active participants in supporting the transformation of the Borno transport sector. The training will support their integration into the public sector through the Ministry of Transport, as part of implementation of the Borno State Traffic Management Agency Law.

The training focused on the basics of traffic laws and management, road safety and road usage, but also creatively included content that helped to build trainee capacity in key elements of community security, social responsibility and civility, volunteerism, and community service. This collaboration in addition supported the development of the Borno Traffic Management Agency (BOTMA), an essential agency in advocating and supporting improvements in generation of own source revenue by the State Government of Borno.

Ibrahim was selected to join the traffic marshal training, where he received the skills to be a successful traffic marshal:

“Prior to the training, I had no knowledge of traffic management but now I’m so enlightened and feel proud that I can serve my community” Ibrahim shared. “Anytime I clear traffic gridlock, I have this sense of satisfaction and clarity of purpose. Above all, it contributes to the sustained livelihood for many youths like me”.

With 300 professionally trained youth deployed across the State, traffic management has improved, with knock-off effects leading to enhanced community security and safety, and a demonstrable increase in the ability of the Ministry of Transport to generate more revenue from the sector which can be used towards community improvements. This has also contributed immensely to the creation of sustainable livelihood for youths in Borno State.