FG TARGETS 11,000 YOUTHS, LAUNCHES SAFE NIGERIA INITIATIVE
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BY JENN NOMAMIUKOR
The Federal Government launched the Safe Nigeria Initiative on Tuesday, a large–scale youth empowerment and humanitarian skills programme designed to combat insecurity by addressing its underlying socio–economic causes.
Recall that the initiative, also known as Youth Empowerment for Peace and Resilience, was unveiled at the National Counter Terrorism Centre – Office of the National Security Adviser (NCTC-ONSA), Abuja.
The initiative is being coordinated by the NCTC, in collaboration with the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction.
Speaking at the launch, the National Coordinator of NCTC, Maj.-Gen. Adamu Laka, stated that the initiative was designed to support security operations by focusing on prevention, inclusion, and opportunity.
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Laka mentioned that the programme would empower at least 11,000 vulnerable youths across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
“Sustainable peace cannot be achieved through kinetic responses alone. Violent extremism, banditry, kidnapping and organised crime are symptoms of deeper challenges such as poverty, unemployment, trauma and social exclusion.
“The Safe Nigeria Initiative seeks to bridge humanitarian response and national security objectives by equipping at-risk youths with vocational skills, livelihoods support, psychosocial services and civic education,” he said.
Laka added that economically-productive and socially- included youths were far less likely to be recruited into crime or violent extremism, stressing that community resilience remained central to national security.
Also speaking, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Reduction, Mrs Delu Yakubu, said the programme aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Yakubu described the initiative as a major shift toward people-centred, non-kinetic security responses that prioritized skills development, economic empowerment and social cohesion.
She mentioned that the program would offer vocational training, support for starting businesses, education on building peace, and psychological and social care for young people, especially those from vulnerable and conflict–affected areas.
In his speech, the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Sen. Atiku Bagudu, stated that Nigeria’s young population remains one of its biggest strengths.
However, he added that this strength can only be fully used through consistent and focused investment in developing skills.
According to him, gaining skills is key to tackling unemployment, insecurity, and improving the country‘s economic performance.
He emphasized that a more skilled population is not only an economic benefit but also a strategic resource for inclusion, resilience, and long–term national stability, in line with Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
Additionally, the Director-General of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF), Abdulateef Shittu, stated that the initiative shows a shared understanding that lasting security cannot be achieved through force alone, but through prevention, inclusion, and opportunity.
Shittu assured that state governments would support the implementation of the program through community engagement and coordination.
He described youth empowerment as not just a social policy priority but a national security necessity, requiring a coordinated approach involving the entire government and society.
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