Presidency Links Skills Acquisition To Fight Insecurity, Empower Vulnerable Youths

The Presidency is expanding skills acquisition and entrepreneurship programmes as part of efforts to tackle insecurity by addressing unemployment, poverty and other socioeconomic factors that expose vulnerable youths to criminal activities.

The initiative will involve collaboration between the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Technical, Vocational and Entrepreneurship Education (TVEE) and the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Homeland Security.

The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on TVEE, Dr Abiola Arogundade, disclosed this on Wednesday in Abuja during a meeting with the Special Adviser on Homeland Security, Maj.-Gen. Adeyinka A. Famadewa (retd.).

The meeting focused on developing areas of cooperation between the two offices, particularly in economic empowerment, employability and sustainable livelihoods as complementary measures to conventional security operations.

Arogundade said the proposed partnership would create opportunities for citizens to acquire relevant skills, develop entrepreneurial capacity and engage in productive economic activities.

“This partnership seeks to strengthen cooperation between both offices in empowering our people, broadening their awareness, and creating sustainable opportunities for their positive engagement,” she said.

She added that the initiative was intended to steer vulnerable individuals away from crime while promoting an informed, empowered and safer society.

The two presidential aides acknowledged the need for a comprehensive approach to national security that combines military and law enforcement operations with education, vocational training and economic inclusion.

Under the proposed arrangement, TVEE programmes would target unemployed and economically disadvantaged youths who may be vulnerable to recruitment by criminal networks exploiting poverty, limited economic opportunities and social exclusion.

The collaboration is also expected to connect vocational education with homeland security priorities, strengthen community resilience and support efforts to prevent crime through sustainable livelihood opportunities.

Famadewa emphasised the importance of addressing the underlying socioeconomic factors contributing to insecurity, noting the role of non-kinetic measures alongside conventional security operations.

His office is also working on strengthening intelligence coordination and surveillance, improving border security, identifying security threats and establishing effective procedures for reporting and responding to emergencies.

The proposed partnership reflects the administration’s broader effort to integrate skills development, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment into its approach to national security.

By expanding access to vocational training and opportunities for self-employment, the initiative seeks to provide vulnerable youths with alternatives to criminal activities while supporting community stability and long-term peace.