The North East Development Commission (NEDC) is concerned about the increasing number of unemployed youths in the region, which makes them vulnerable to terrorist recruitment. It is taking steps to address the problem, reports Duku JOEL.
At first, it did occur to this reporter that Ibrahim was profiting from the piles of garbage that surrounded this reporter’s apartment at New Jerusalem in the city of Damaturu, Yobe State.
“What we do is take the trash from your homes and sell it to other businesses for profit,” he said when asked how they make money from scavenging.
“Some of us will be able to buy food and soap for our Tsangayas with the money we get,” Ibrahim added.
“This is what we do every day after our Malam studies the Quran.”
At rubbish sites and on the ground, Ibrahim and his buddies use a six to 10 meter rope with a magnetic iron attached to the end to pick up irons.
Ibrahim and his pals may have been doing a lot of good for the environment despite their unconventional way of rubbish collection.
Besides, they are making a living from waste collections across the metropolis.
Health and happiness can only be achieved when surroundings are free of harmful pollutants, according to environmentalists.
‘Right Away, Rubbish Removal’, an online journal on environmental rights, cites a number of compelling reasons why waste management is essential.
“The consequences of improper trash disposal are dire.
“It will pollute the environment and aid in the generation of greenhouse gases if you don’t properly discard your waste,” the journal says.
It adds that there is a long history of environmental harm caused by the mere disposal of waste products in landfills or other designated sites.
It concludes that experts are now responsible for disposing of the waste in a more effective manner.
People, particularly children and youth, who have been orphaned by the Boko Haram threat, have devised a variety of survival strategies to cope with the difficult living conditions they have been forced to endure as a result of the crisis.
It has been documented that, in addition to women and children, youths are a particularly vulnerable group in society.
As a result, they are increasingly targeted by terrorists or drawn into their ranks.
As recently reported, Boko Haram killed around 60 youngsters in Kala-Balge, who were on an expedition to collect scrap metal.
NEDC to the rescue
The North East Development Commission (NEDC) is concerned about the increasing number of unemployed youths in the region.
The situation, NEDC observed, makes them vulnerable to terrorist recruitment.
To address the problem, it has taken a bold step to tame the rising trend of youth unemployment through a deliberate policy undertaking to train 900 youths on waste management.
One hundred and fifty youth scavengers and trainers from the six states in the northeastern region are included in the 900.
Participants and trainers from each of the six states have been sent to the headquarters of their respective states to learn about best practices in waste management and recycling.
The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the Commission, Mohammed Goni Alkali, stated: “The intervention by the commission is to reduce garbage discharged in the states and implement a waste-to-wealth process, which in turn creates jobs to reduce poverty in the region.
“The commission has hired the services of world-class consultants to deliver the contents of the programme.
“More than 150 people were trained and scavengers were supplied with the following items: waste collection clothing and booths; scavenging helmets and metal sticks; as well as the establishment of trade associations for viable waste collection trade in the North East; and provided a new washing and scavengers’ clothing and booths.”
Benefits of proper waste management
Alkali underscored the benefits of proper waste management.
They include improving air and water quality and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, which are both made possible by proper trash treatment.
It reduces pollution and energy consumption involved with creating new materials by minimising the exploitation of resources.
In addition to protecting the environment and public health, waste management has numerous other advantages.
According to him, recycling garbage aids in the transformation of salvageable materials into valuable products.
He added: “You also help save natural resources, such as minerals, water, and wood, by properly managing your garbage.
“In other words, this is what happens when you practice the three R’s: reduce, reuse, and recycle.
“When the waste is properly disposed of, the landfills are not overflowing with trash.
“The creation of dangerous compounds can be reduced by conserving landfill space.
“The spread of the disease is facilitated by improper garbage disposal.
“Bacteria thrive in garbage and waste, which is why appropriate disposal is crucial.
“As a result, people who come into contact with rubbish are at danger of contracting diseases.”
Alkali emphasised that the programme will not only help create jobs and riches for young people but will also help build disease-free communities.
‘Other states in region to follow’
State Focal Person for NEDC, Dr. Ali Ibrahim Abbas, indicated that adolescents will be trained in best worldwide practices on trash management and recycling.
This, he said, is in order to remove them from the exploitative chain of third parties and connect them directly with market.
“Rather than relying on third-party transactions in the value chain, our goal is to teach these youngsters in the finest worldwide techniques of trash management and recycling and connect them directly to the market instead,” he said.
According to him, Yobe State’s 17 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and other stakeholders work together to choose these participants.
The other five states in the region follow suit, he said.
“We expect that the collectors will continue to use their conventional methods of collecting rubbish, and that the majority of their haul will be sold in Damaturu. As Dr. Abbas put it, “We want the participants to be better informed so that they can connect directly.”
‘Youth no longer easy recruits for terrorists’
Sidi Yakubu Karasuwa, Commissioner of Environment, said the region is grateful to President Buhari for establishing the Northeast Development Commission.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Tonga Betra, represented him.
He emphasised that the NEDC’s programmes and policies are enhancing speeding regional development.
He urged all six state governments in the region to join in.
Scavengers will be taught how to properly dispose of rubbish, which will provide jobs for the youths, according to him.
Karasuwa added that the operations of the Commission are decreasing Boko Haram’s ability to recruit young people.
NEDC making a difference
Abdullahi, one of the program’s beneficiaries, claimed that the NEDC is making a difference in people’s lives in the region.
“What the government and the NEDC are doing to the young people in this region makes us pleased.
“We’re going to get better at this new method of collecting and disposing of waste,” he said.
All participants will receive Certificates and Starter Packs at the completion of the Training Program, according to The Nation’s checks.
The North-East Development Commission (NEDC) is the focal organisation charged with the responsibility to assess, coordinate, harmonise and report on all intervention programs, and initiatives by the Federal Government or any of its Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), states and other Development Partners and for the implementation of all programmmes and initiatives for the North East states of Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba and Yobe.
