The European Union (EU) and international conflict-resolution group, Search for Common Ground, have outlined a new effort to curb youth vulnerability to violent extremism in Northwest Nigeria by improving access to economic opportunities and conflict-resolution skills.
The plan was presented at an Abuja event addressed by the EU Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, H.E. Gautier Mignot, and the Country Director of Search for Common Ground in Nigeria, Karno Ouattara.
The initiative targets youths in Katsina, Zamfara and Sokoto; states where insecurity, unemployment and fractured community systems have made young people easy targets for violent networks.
Ambassador Mignot said the intervention responds to long-standing structural pressures driving young people toward criminal and extremist groups.
“This is a timely intervention that places young people at the centre of social transformation,” he said.
“Today marks the beginning of an exciting journey, one that shifts young people away from the drivers of conflict and positions them as agents of change,” he added.
He said the approach aligns with the EU’s current development priorities on job creation, youth skills and social cohesion, citing past engagements such as the Nigeria Jubilee Fellows Programme, interfaith projects in Taraba and Adamawa, Niger Delta violence-prevention support and the I-RENEW youth leadership scheme.
“These initiatives show our firm belief that young Nigerians must be equipped with tools to shape their communities and drive peace,” he noted.
Ouattara said the programme was informed by youth-led research conducted in September 2025 involving more than 550 respondents, which flagged economic exclusion and limited innovation spaces as key drivers of instability.
He described the new model as a bold and timely initiative that positions young people not as victims, but as partners and solution architects.
He added that the design includes mentorship and team-based tasks aimed at building practical, community-focused problem-solving capacity.
“To ensure inclusion, at least 50% of participants will be women, with representation from persons with disabilities and both rural and urban communities,” he said.
Speaking for the Minister of Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, the Director of Network and Social Mobilisation in the Ministry, Hajia Amina Dauran, said the government views the programme as part of a wider response to the social and economic strain shaping youth realities across the North.
“Sustainable peace cannot be imposed; it must be built from the ground up through inclusive participation, communication, trust, and shared responsibility,” she stated.
She added that the initiative comes at a time when violent extremism, shrinking economic options and community fragmentation continue to define daily life for many young Nigerians.
The second arm of the project introduces a media component, including ‘The Hustle Reality Show,’ which will train selected youths in entrepreneurship, financial literacy, business development and peacebuilding. The programme will air in Hausa and English across TV and digital platforms to broaden reach.
Ouattara said the broadcast format is intended to amplify youth-driven solutions in communities under pressure.
According to him, “this project is built around their ideas, energy and determination. They are not the problem, they are the solution.”
Participants on the show will also be linked to mentors, investors and professional networks as part of the broader effort to steer at-risk youths away from the factors feeding extremism in the Northwest.
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