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The Honourable Minister for Youth Development, Comrade Ayodele Olawande, has thrown his weight behind the Not Too Young To Perform (NTYTP) Leadership Development Advocacy’s proposed National Youth Safety and Security Summit, describing the initiative as a bold and visionary step towards protecting young Nigerians, especially the girl-child and young women, from the growing wave of insecurity.

The Minister gave his approval during a courtesy visit by the NTYTP leadership to his office at the Federal Secretariat in Abuja. The delegation was led by the President and National Coordinator of NTYTP, Comrade James Ezema, accompanied by the National Secretary, Arc Bello Muhammed, the National Women Coordinator, Barrister Fatima Alkali, and other senior officials of the organisation.

Presenting the proposal, Ezema outlined the rationale for the Annual National Youth Safety and Security Summit under the theme, “Empowering Youth for a Safer Nation: Promoting Security Awareness and Protection for the Girl-Child and Young Women.”

He lamented the increasing abductions, gender-based violence, human trafficking, and other forms of exploitation targeting young Nigerians, stressing that campuses and public institutions, which should ordinarily be safe spaces for empowerment and learning, are fast turning into danger zones. According to him, the initiative is a timely intervention that seeks to mobilise government, civil society, and young people themselves to act decisively in reversing this trend.

He revealed that the programme would run in three interconnected phases, beginning with a national inaugural summit in Abuja, followed by state-level campaigns across all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, and concluding with a campus outreach that will cover no fewer than 185 tertiary institutions nationwide within three years. He further disclosed that one of the key outcomes of the initiative would be the production of a comprehensive knowledge resource, the NTYTP Safety and Security Handbook for the Girl-Child and Young Women, to be developed through inter-agency collaboration and contributions from experts. The handbook, he explained, would be widely distributed to schools, youth organisations, and community platforms to serve as a practical guide for preventive education and safety awareness.

While urging the Ministry to provide formal endorsement, active participation, and technical support to guarantee the success of the project, Ezema emphasised that the summit aligns closely with the federal government’s youth development agenda.

He also used the occasion to introduce NTYTP as a youth-focused, non-governmental and non-partisan movement dedicated to preparing young Nigerians for transformational leadership. He explained that its core mandate is to empower and equip young people for leadership by promoting youth inclusion in governance and corporate structures, fostering excellence and accountability, and advancing community-driven development.

He further highlighted the organisation’s forthcoming five-year strategic plan covering 2025 to 2030, which prioritises youth safety, leadership training, mentorship, entrepreneurship, and diaspora engagement as part of Nigeria’s broader developmental goals.

In his response, Minister Olawande praised NTYTP for demonstrating foresight and commitment by prioritising the safety and empowerment of the girl-child and young women, assuring the delegation of the Ministry’s readiness to partner fully in bringing the proposal to life. He said the initiative represents an important complement to government programmes already in place to safeguard young people and expand opportunities for their growth.

In a decisive step, the Minister announced the creation of a joint implementation committee between the Ministry and NTYTP to immediately begin working on the details of the proposal. The committee is expected to harmonise the summit’s objectives with existing government initiatives, ensuring synergy and effective delivery across all phases of the programme.

The meeting concluded on a positive note, with both NTYTP and the Ministry of Youth Development reaffirming their shared commitment to strengthening preventive education, promoting inclusivity, and safeguarding the lives and future of young Nigerians.

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