Impact Report: One Year into the Implementation of the Nigeria National Action Plan on Youth Peace and Security

This report shares summary of progress made and challenges in promoting the Youth Peace and Security agenda in Nigeria since the launch of the Nigeria National Action Plan on Youth Peace and Security (NNAPYPS) in November, 2021. It also put forward a set of recommendations that can strengthen the implementation of the NNAPYPS moving forward.

About the NCYPS

The NCYPS is a multistakeholder movement of over 1000 organizations comprising the Nigerian government, youth groups, civil society, private sector, and development partners working on YPS. It started as the National Working Group on Youth and Peacebuilding in 2016 and was renamed NCYPS in 2019.

The overall role of the NCYPS is to provide constant and up-to-date strategic technical advice, coordination, and support to the Youth, Peace and Security agenda, including the domestication of the UNSCR 2250 and the implementation of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) in Nigeria.

The duties of the NCYPS include convening monthly meetings (online and offline) of core stakeholders (government, youth groups, civil society, private sector, and development partners), mobilizing technical and financial resources, monitoring and evaluation, and peer learning to support the Youth, Peace and Security agenda in Nigeria.

The NCYPS is responsible for providing oversight for the work of State Coalitions on YPS and reporting results to the Global Coalition on Youth Peace and Security.

The NCYPS is led by three Co-Chairs drawn from government, civil society, and youth groups, with the support of a Steering Committee comprising youth groups and civil society to drive the work of the NCYPS.

Forward

In an effort to domesticate the UN Security Council Resolution 2250 (UNSCR 2250) on Youth, Peace and Security, Nigeria became the first country in Africa and second globally to develop and launch a National Action Plan on Youth Peace and Security (NAPYPS).

Since the launch of the Nigeria National Action Plan on Youth Peace and Security (NNAPYPS) by the Honorable Ministers of Youth and Sports Development, and Women Affairs, several steps have been taken by the Nigeria Coalition on Youth Peace and Security to ensure a holistic and sustainable implementation of the NNAPYPS. Notably, a workplan was developed to mobilize resources, engage stakeholders and measure outcomes and impact over a three-year period beginning from the end of 2021. Advocacy to the Nigerian government to make budgetary allocations for the implementation of the NNAPYPS and the YPS agenda was also successful. The establishment of the YPS Basket Fund that is managed by the United Nations in Abuja has also been completed with an initial pledge of 400,000 Euros by the European Union. Pre-dissemination of the NNAPYPS and stakeholders mapping has also been concluded in the six selected pilot states as embedded in the workplan. Strategic engagement of the media to reach over 40 million Nigerians, especially young people, to create awareness on the NNAPYPS has also been implemented nationally and in pilot states. Activities aimed at building the capacity of youth, civil society, and government on YPS, including peer exchanges, are ongoing. At the sub-national level, two states (Kogi and Nassarawa) have developed and launched their State Action Plans on YPS (SAPsYPS). Eight additional states are at different stages of consultations and development of their strategies and SAPsYPS.

Despite these achievements, there is a huge gap in funding, lack of capacity on YPS by youth and stakeholders, challenges with creating sustainable spaces for youth and civil society to engage, effects of government bureaucracy, and competition from some international and regional actors to promote their interests. These challenges have hampered the holistic implementation of the workplan.

There is an urgent need to address these identified challenges to ensure that the workplan is implemented in a timely manner so that young people in Nigeria are able to co-create with other stakeholders in safe spaces that are well-resourced and sustainable. We call on national, regional, and international actors to support the process of implementing the NNAPYPS and especially through the Nigeria Coalition on YPS to ensure robustness, inclusivity, and a higher standard of impact, helping the youth of Nigeria to escape violence, exclusion, and poverty.