Jakadiya Mubi
Mubi town, the seat of the Emirate council, is an ancient city that had a reputation for being an international commercial and agricultural hub. Mubi is well known for trade with Cameroon, Chad and other neighbouring states. Major items traded include grains and cattle (international cattle market in Mubi South Local Government).
Goods such as soap, clothing and drinks are brought from Cameroon. Mubi also hosts an impressive currency exchange market and boasts of 4 tertiary institutions namely: Federal College of Agricullture, Federal Polytechnic, Adamawa State University and College of Health Technology.
The Population of Mubi town alone is over 200,000 and has rapidly increased after the liberation of the town in November 2014 from Boko Haram. Indigenes of Borno, Michika, Madagali, among others have been emigrating to Mubi which they consider as a safe haven.
Despite the commercial importance of Mubi, Mubi youths have poor school attendance record and high incidence of substance abuse. This situation was made worse by Boko Haram invasion of the town in 2014. Even though not many schools were destroyed in Mubi town, the Boko Haram invasion disrupted schooling and businesses as up to 80% of the population of Mubi evacuated to Yola, Cameroon and other towns. The result was closure of schools, disruption of farm activities and increased poverty rates due to lower household income.
Adamawa State Government, in collaboration with UNICEF embarked on a campaign to return at least 400,000 children to school in 2017.
As Jakadiya Mubi, my office has the mandate to oversee and assist the Youth Leaders and Women Leaders (Jakadiya Mata) of the 25 Districts in the 5 Local Governments to engage in community development activities and support the implementation of the activities of the Office of Jakadiya Mubi
As Jakadiya of Mubi (turbaned December 2017) I have followed closely the plight of children in Mubi rural areas. I visit once in a year to interact with Village Heads in some of the Local Governments. The key problems identified are: [a] poor enrolment into schools, poor teacher attendance and lack of writing and reading materials; [b] high rate of substance abuse among teenagers and [c] under-employment and restive teenage behavior leading many to join Boko Haram and criminal activities. I have interviewed teachers in the Public Schools who informed that many children can afford only 1 exercise book which they use for all subjects. Class attendance during rainy season is very poor as both teachers and children attend to farm activities. I have supplied exercise books, school bags, pencils and math sets but in limited quantities.
Our Objectives
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Expected Outcome
1. At least 40% increase in school enrolment and significant higher motivation for learning.
2. Better teacher motivation and commitment leading to higher education quality.
3. Skills acquisition and entrepreneurship program would lead to youth self employment and increased family welfare as well as social development
4. Lower incidence of substance abuse among teenagers and improved rates of tertiary school attendance. This will in turn lead to higher family income and community welfare.
5. It is also expected that Boko Haram will find it difficult to recruit members from Mubi Emirate and this would lead to the weakening of Boko Haram and terrorist related activities.
6. More peaceful and harmonious communities which will enable growth in welfare.
7. Lower levels of youth restiveness and more economically productive youths. It is expected that with more positive engagement of youth in rural areas, migration to urban areas will reduce significantly.