Ogun Govt Prioritises Youth Empowerment as Key to Community Security – Akinmade

The Ogun State Government has continued to take deliberate and measurable steps that place youth empowerment at the centre of its community security strategy, according to the Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Strategy, Hon. Kayode Akinmade.

Akinmade stated this while delivering the keynote address at a one-day Youth Security Summit themed “Youth-Led Strategies for Community Security,” held at the NUT Secretariat, Kuto, Abeokuta. The summit was organised by the Ogun State Chapter of the Nigeria Youth Organization in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Youth Development.

According to him, youths are not just the leaders of tomorrow but the “defenders, innovators, and nation-builders of today,” whose creativity, courage, and insight are essential to sustaining peace and progress in the state.
He added that insecurity retreats when young people embrace leadership and responsibility, noting that communities grow stronger when youths lead with purpose.

Akinmade highlighted several initiatives of the Governor Dapo Abiodun administration targeted at youth empowerment and enhanced community security. These include the training of over 21,000 youths in vocational and digital skills, as well as strengthening the Amotekun Corps through the recruitment of young operatives and provision of improved operational equipment.

He urged youths across the state to play active roles in safeguarding their communities through community intelligence, digital early-warning tools, civic engagement, campus peace-building initiatives, and technology-enabled reporting systems.

He said:
“The challenges of our time — cybercrime, cultism, drug abuse, highway threats, and emerging community vulnerabilities — demand strategies that combine institutional structures with the innovation of our youth. Youth-led security does not mean assigning policing duties to young people, but creating structured avenues for meaningful involvement through community intelligence, digital alerts, civic influence, campus peacebuilding, social media awareness, neighbourhood vigilance, and tech-enabled reporting.”

Akinmade further outlined key achievements, including:

• Training of more than 21,000 youths in vocational and digital skills through OGSTEP and similar programmes, reducing unemployment and expanding lawful economic opportunities;

• Skills development for over 31,000 residents through the Ogun State Skills Fund, boosting human capacity and reducing insecurity-linked vulnerabilities;

• Graduation of the first cohort of CyberSquad Digital Technicians from the Ogun Tech Hub after a three-month intensive programme, with plans to train 10,000 youths by 2027.

He also highlighted other interventions of the Abiodun administration, such as strengthened community policing, intensified anti-cultism campaigns in tertiary institutions, expanded counselling and mentorship for at-risk youths, rehabilitation support for young people affected by drug abuse, and wider youth enterprise programmes through local government skills-acquisition centres.

Additionally, the state government has improved lighting and safety infrastructure across selected communities to deter criminal activity and ensure safer night-time movement.

Akinmade reaffirmed his office’s commitment to driving youth-led communication platforms, security awareness campaigns, and the proposed Youth Security Innovation Framework, which aims to transform youth-generated ideas into practical solutions for community resilience and early threat detection.

He urged security agencies to deepen collaboration with youth groups, noting that modern security architecture thrives on trust, engagement, and timely information flow.

Commending the organisers, he said the summit aligns with Ogun State’s collective vision of building a safer and more resilient society.