Group builds capacity of youths to combat disintegration tendencies

In a bid to address growing ethno-religious crisis in Nigeria, and threat to the nation’s unity, a youth led-group, Vilsquare Makers’ Hub, and The Meluibe Empowerment Foundation said there is the need to promote initiatives that would bridge disintegration in the country, especially among the young population.

The groups, a research and development centre aiming to build and connect growth clusters to opportunities and empower women and youth to live more sustainably noted that worsening loss of lives and properties due to ethno-religious crisis in the country is unacceptable.

Speaking at a three-day National Hackathon Series, which is part of a two-year programme, motivated by the need to achieve Sustainable Development Goals in the area of education, one of partners of the initistuve, Obialunanma Nnaobi, said there is a need to build collaborative engagement among youths in an attempt to ensure national unity, ethnic, tribal and religious tolerance in Nigeria.

She noted that the groups have already engaged people in two cities in Nigeria, Kano, and Ado-Ekiti, as part of the target to reach and engage youths across the nation’s six geopolitical zones.

Nnaobi said the third edition of the programme, which focused on the North Central Zone, aim at harnessing the human resources across local communities to solve challenges facing the communities, especially using technology to achieve sustainable development.

With over 200 million people as well as different religious and ethnic bodies, she insisted that the programmes would change youths’ approach to national development development by focusing on solving critical challenges in the country irrespective of people’s religion or origin.

“We are building a bridge across communities,” Nnaobi said, while insisting building relationship and network among young people would dispel wrong ethic or religious believes in the country.She said the first edition of the programme, which held in Ado-Ekiti aimed SDG three, which priorities good health and well-being and thereby featured heart rate monitor bracelet, massage vest, medicine dosage reminder, cigarette smoke detector armband as well as medical information bracelet for travellers.

In Kano, Nnaobi said the group used hardware and software solutions to promote SDG 16, which focuses on Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions.