By Abdul-Azeez Suleiman
The inactivity of youths and children, in most northern Nigerian communities has caused a dilemma for many governments and parents: During school breaks, children are exposed to several social as well security risks including youth involvement in criminal activities, psycho-active substance consumption, prostitution and school dropouts
Concerned about this situation, the JMD Foundation, founded and solely funded by Capt Jamil MD Abubakar has committed to improving the populations’ living conditions using sport involving sensitising the young and reinforcing their health knowledge, sensitising on the dangers of idleness and fostering the empowerment of vulnerable groups.
JMD Foundation is concerned primarily with the promotion of community empowerment, by targeting, notably the youths and women with such programmes as the environment, health, and education.
To achieve this, he added the JMD Academy as an arm of the Foundation located in the Sheik Qaribula Estate in Kano, Nigeria strategically because Kano is currently considered to be the safest state in northern Nigeria with the highest population of youth.
The Academy has an affiliation with La Liga in Spain, the eight major teams in the Turkish league and a host of top clubs within Europe, Middle East and Asia. Candidates selected and admitted into the Academy receive professional training and full preparation before being sent abroad, all expenses paid by the Academy.
The Academy foots the bill for accommodation, feeding and sundry expenses including passport, visa and tickets before they are taken to clubs abroad. The Academy also gives priority to the attitude and character of the selected candidates in order for them to be good ambassadors of the Academy and Nigeria both within and outside the country if selected.
Covering several years, the initiative is an empowerment and education programme through sport for the youngsters in Kano. It proposes a multi-faceted approach that offers possibilities for the development of football talents while encouraging relevant sensitisation activities for the well-being of the populations.
Creating sporting activities and developing attractive, stimulating, recreational, and sustainable talents for the young people, the JMD Academy also conducts educational programmes in fitness by organising sporting contests for the young and teaching daily life skills.
It is also involved with awareness raising campaigns on the dangers and risks of drug addiction by sponsoring health education workshops about complications caused by inactivity, etc.
So far, over 1,500 youths (both girls and boys) aged 12 to 30 have been directly impacted by the JMD initiative and will be able to take part in local sports contests and profit from training to carry out further and larger ambitions in sports
With about 5,000 inhabitants from the targeted localities reached with respective sensitisation activities, a big decrease in the number of idle youths, drug addictions and criminal activity in localities around Kano is already been noticed as a result of the committed personal effort of this young man.
Already, young Jamil has become a strong influence among northern Nigerian youth with many serious and independent moves being anticipated to draft him into political contest to a very high office with a solid guarantee of massive support from the vast population of youth.
Suleiman, a journalist writes from Abuja.
