The Executive Director, North East Youth Initiative Forum (NEYIF), an NGO working on development of North east of Nigeria, Dauda Mohammed Gombe, speaks to MUSA M.
BUBA, on their interventions in the area
You are the chief executive officer of NEYIF.
What is it all about? NEYIF is a youth- led NonGovernmental Organization, NGO, created to purposely support humanitarian and developmental activities in North eastern Nigeria.
It came to existence as result of insurgents’ activities that have ravaged the Northeastern part of the country.
We started operation in 2011, but officially commissioned in 2013, with several activities like fighting against violent extremism, education, among others.
We also look at how best to help young people, children, women, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups to be out of their situations.
The reason for giving priority to youth is that, they are the key drivers in every society, by virtue in every angle be it Boko Haram, the military and other security agencies, most of them are young people, they are the target.
The civilians being arrested and detained are young people, so young people are at the centre of the insurgency, and the insurgency has become a challenge to the youth and nobody is talking about them, so we believe it is high time we come together and provide solution for them to be at ease, have voice and for them to stand on their own.
Recently you organized a match for youths on “Not too Young to Run” what do you intend to achieve? Not too young to rule is about young people inclusion in governance.
Since Nigeria returned to democracy, the system has not been favouring young people be it the electoral process, governance, they will tell you young people plays a key role and that is all.
By virtue of Nigeria politics any person above 18 years is eligible to vote and be voted for, but there is a gap, if eligible to choose a leader they too are supposed to be elected as leaders at the federal, state and local governments levels for more opportunities, so is about inclusion in governance, opening of more for young people to engage, participate, discuss and propagate youths agenda, that is why we were able to move the motion both at federal and state levels with 33 states signed the bill, including my state, Yobe that happens to be third on the list.
The President has also signed the bill which means the advocacy has just started, we need to match to the political parties, stakeholders to seek for reduction in nomination forms fee which you know ordinary youths cannot afford N22.5m for governorship and the rest.
If they don’t reduce it they are giving the young privilege with a right hand and retrieving it with left hand.
There is need for a level playing ground for the young people, they do not have money.
We even suggested a price for them and also for them to reserve seats for some young men and women that cannot afford, we also called for direct primaries where everybody will exercise his/her civic right.
Street children phenomenon has always been a challenge especially in northern Nigeria.
What is your organization doing to get them protected and provide them with western education? Thank you.
The children on the streets have always been a challenge especially in northern Nigeria and precisely to Northeast, Yobe and Borno in particular.
The majority here believe in Quranic education and which has become a culture of our fore fathers, but they are better ways to handle this issue, we have the system in the Nigeria but bad governance is taking us back to Egypt.
For us, we believe there is need to engage, encourage, support and help families that were separated, unaccompanied children in conflict areas, children at risk, children associated with armed groups to go back to school, we call it a conventional education others called it western education.
We have been doing alots in engaging different partners working with them in Gujba and Gulani local government councils of the state in providing informal education.
We train them for 9 months by organising a class for them to learn basic innumeracy, literacy, psycho-social education and other supported activities.
We have built temporary classes, furnished them with furniture, writing materials and we are paying token to the volunteering teachers.
After the training we access them, those who passed we enroll them into the formal school and also support them with uniforms, books, etc , from time to time.
You know most of these children are unaccompanied, separated, so we identify care givers.
This children will be under their custody by taking care of them, because most of them are orphans, and do not have place to go, so the care giver are given grants to engage in business, we normally monitor them and they make savings with us.
The last batch we gave them N20,000.00 each, some were able to save between N9,000-N15,000 and we added another N25,000.00 for them to regain their livelihood.
If you leave them idle they will not allow the children to go to school, they will prefer them going to farm or hawking.
You are partnering with UNICEF on protection and nutrition.
What has been your challenge? We are also into business of malnutrition of children in eight local government councils of the state, providing them with support by referring them to clinics, if the clinics cannot handle we take them to stabilization centres until they recover, that is why the cases of malnutrition in Yobe has drastically reduced.
Most of our challenges are the communities, their attitudes toward changes.
When you come they always expect cash money and not the services, we ensure we provide them with community base oriented approach, Gujba and Gulani are our territory so this is the major challenge.
We have been doing a lot of programmes there we sometimes uses our own personal money for instance, any issue that has to do with sexual and gender base violence anywhere in Yobe, either it’s a rape case, domestic violence is funded by NEYIF and we are winning cases in the courts of law with help from our partners.
Another challenge is insecurity you are not certain what will happen and also the resources at our disposal is minimal and cannot provide for all the communities.
Is it true that you are contesting for Member House of Assembly, representing Damaturu I? This is issue of politics whenever you are doing good to the people, they tend to connect you with politics that you deserve to lead them, but for now my real issue at stake is humanitarian needs in those communities, my main purpose is how to support, engage them to recover.
For example, Damaturu the state capital there are a lot of things to be done here, the state government and partners are doing their best but the attention is so minimal, there are a lot of contributions that can be done to impact on the lives of the people.
Look at the regular increase of the street child, something needs to be done, during the insurgency you won’t see any child but today look at it, where are their parents, what are we doing? People have been calling on me to contest because we are in politics and we will continue to be, but am assuring them, when the time permits, I will surely let them know my stand.
What are your final words to especially to IDP returnees in Yobe state? My final words to Internally Displaced Persons and everybody affected by the disaster or crisis, they should not always depend on the humanitarian assistance, let’s stand to think on the local ways of handling our issues, let’s be responsible in handling our issues, let us be responsible to ourselves, there are a lot of opportunities within our own communities, advantages.
The little we get let’s engage in business, send our children to school, preach peace.
It is better to have peace and live in our own communities than to have peace in strange land.