Source: Iniabasi Udosen 2017

Harness the exciting power, intelligence and the energy of the youth in Countering Violent Extremism

Zarma Umar Maryah
Jul 25, 2017 · 3 min read

Whether unprecedented or not, the challenges currently facing our country Nigeria and our global security are immense and cause for considerable alarm. It is difficult to think of a time in recent history when there has been such a confluence of destabilizing factors — local, regional and global — hindering collective capacity to better manage violence. These overlapping risks, unchecked, could coalesce into a major crisis — indeed we are currently experiencing a spike in global conflict violence — without the safety net of solid structures to deal with it.
As part of the Countering Violent Extremism awareness campaign, we all can reach out to traditional and religious leaders to obtain their buy-in for the initiative. Various sensitization and advocacy activities can be conducted to support and provide a safe means for youth development by instilling the qualities of patience, tolerance, team work, and discipline. Peace is a path that has to be travelled constantly and maintained constantly, and used constantly for the good of the people… it’s a thing of joy to see people who are not just dedicated to talking about reconciliation, but to see people who are traveling the road to make it possible, to make it last.

Source: Iniabasi Udosen 2017

Greater efforts are needed, and urgently, both to understand better the growing dangers of conflict seeping from one arena to another; and to engage a broader array of actors with the capacity to effect positive change. The civil society, non-governmental organizations, private sector leaders, and individuals can support initiatives that would provide a means for grass roots communities to share best practices of using other alternative methods to encourage tolerance, female inclusion, and community cohesion. Nigeria’s success and prosperity matters to us all its citizens, to the Continent, and the rest of the World
The US Ambassador’s remarks at the Screening of “Code Girl”, an American Film Showcase documentary which featured Team Charis, the Nigerian winners of the 2015 Technovation Challenge, was equally instructive and inspiring: “The Nigerian team’s achievement at Technovation is a clear example of what young Nigerians can accomplish with proper mentoring, determination and team spirit.” Nigerian Youth can and should play a greater role in shaping their futures through peace building and development. “We share the optimism that Africa is the place on Earth where the most exciting and fastest pace of change is going to be happening over the next decade or two,” Kruvant said. “And we all need to get together to find ways to harness the exciting power and the intelligence and the energy of all those young people who are going to be doing great things.”
Let these serve as a call for us all to share our experiences as young leaders working for positive change, and give insight into how development efforts can benefit from the talents, creativity and drive of the young people in our various communities. We are, or need to be, at the heart of every community and development initiative. Let’s realize our potential, regain hope and build prosperous futures for ourselves, our families, our communities and the nation Nigeria.

For more information and contributions join us NEIEF FELLOWS on Twitter: @neieffellows , Facebook Page: The Northeast Intellectual Entrepreneurship Fellowship — NEIEF, Instagram: @neieffellows and use the Hash Tag: #NotAnotherNigerian

Zarma Umar Maryah

Written by

Lecturer, Researcher, Fellow USAID/NERI @neieffellows Countering Violent Extremism in the Northeast, Empowering Youths to achieve the SDG’s

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