KATSINA – The Nigerian Army has initiated a skills acquisition programme in Katsina aimed at empowering 10,000 widows, orphans and youths to be self-reliant and reduce insecurity.
The programme, initiated by the 35 Battalion and sponsored by 17 Brigade, started with the training of the first batch of 120 beneficiaries at the barracks in Katsina.
The Brigade Commander, Brig.-Gen. Ishaya Ibrahim, said the initiative was to enhance the beneficiaries’ capacity in various skills and promote economic empowerment.
Ibrahim, represented by his Chief of Staff, Col. Nehemiah Yakubu, said that the initiative was also to help engage youths productively and reduce their involvement in criminal activities and other forms of insecurity.
He urged the organisers to sustain the initiative and expand it to accommodate more beneficiaries, stressing that skills acquisition remained an effective way of creating opportunities for youths.
The Brigade Commander also said that beneficiaries would receive starter packs or financial support at the end of the training to enable them to establish their businesses.
Earlier, the Commanding Officer, 35 Battalion, Lt.-Col. Okorie Obasi, said that the first batch of 120 beneficiaries were expected to undergo three months training.
Obasi, the project initiator, said that the programme targeted 10,000 beneficiaries, adding that the 120 participants were just the first batch.
He said that the training was intended to take youths off the streets by engaging them in productive activities, thereby reducing some of the factors contributing to banditry and other crimes.
“By the time youths are engaged productively, there is every possibility that banditry will drastically reduce,” he said.
Obasi said that the programme, which was in collaboration with Subulu Salam Skills Acquisition Centre, was not restricted to the barracks community.
According to him,, youths from surrounding communities are also to benefit from it.
He recalled that the Brigade had, during the 2026 Nigerian Army Day celebration, empowered youths and undertaken development initiatives in communities around the barracks.
Obasi said that the next batch would comprise about 200 beneficiaries, adding that subsequent batches would also be trained until the target of 10,000 beneficiaries was achieved.
The Director-General, Subulul Salam Skills Acquisition Centre, Imam Samu Adamu-Bakori, said the centre was responsible for providing the skills training and supporting the empowerment of the beneficiaries.
Adamu-Bakori, who is also the Chief Imam of Masjid Bani Kumasi GRA Juma’at Mosque and a Sharia Court Judge with the Katsina State Judiciary, said the programme was aimed at empowering youths and reducing unemployment.
He said that the centre intended to use skills acquisition as a tool to address youth unemployment and contribute to efforts to tackle insecurity in the state.
According to him, unemployment among youths remains one of the factors that can expose them to criminal activities.
Adamu-Bakori said that in view of this there was a need for sustainable empowerment programmes.
He expressed optimism that the initiative would contribute to creating self-reliant youths and strengthening economic opportunities in Katsina State.
The beneficiaries are expected to receive training in various vocational skills, with further support planned for some of them to establish small businesses after completing the programme.
