Imrana Alhaji Buba

Imrana Alhaji Buba (born 6 August 1992) is a Nigerian social entrepreneur and activist who founded Youth Coalition Against Terrorism (YOCAT) which is now regarded as Youth Initiative Against Terrorism (YIAT), a volunteer-based organisation in northern Nigeria working to unite youth against violent extremism through peace education programs in schools and villages.[1]

Imrana Alhaji Buba
Imrana Alhaji Buba receiving the 2016 Queen's Young Leaders Award from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Born
Imrana Alhaji Buba

(1992-08-06) 6 August 1992
Potiskum, Yobe, Nigeria
Nationality Nigeria
EducationUniversity of Maiduguri
University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom
OccupationSocial Entrepreneur/Activist
OrganizationYouth Coalition Against Terrorism (YOCAT)
Known forUniting youths against terrorism Northern Nigeria

Early life and education

Buba was born in Potiskum Yobe State on 6 August 1992[2] and grew up in Potiskum, Yobe state.[3] He is an alumnus of the University of Maiduguri, Borno state where he graduated with a first-class honours degree[4] in Political Science in 2015 and holds a master's degree in Africa and International Development from the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom in 2018.[2][5]

Career and activism
Imrana Alhaji Buba speaking at the 2018 One Young World Summit

Buba had a traumatic experience with Boko haram in June 2010 while he was travelling to the University of Maiduguri as an undergraduate when his bus was stopped by the terrorists and passengers were kidnapped, he survived and also had friends and family who were killed by the Boko haram insurgency.[6][7] As a result of that he founded the Youth Coalition Against Terrorism (YOCAT) in August 2010[8] to offer counselling services to victims of terrorism, as well as providing peace education and skills training for unemployed youths.[9]

He provided employment opportunities for over 2000 youth in north-eastern Nigeria through partnerships with local government agencies and private organisations and the organisation recruited over 600 volunteers and partnered with many local bodies to organise different beneficial programs for young people in north-eastern Nigeria.[10][11]

In 2016, he was selected as one of the three Nigerians and twenty-one African change makers in the Commonwealth for the Queen’s Young Leaders Award by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom.[12][13] His efforts around peace building in northern Nigeria made him a fellow of Generation Change Fellowship of the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).[14]

He was selected for the 2017 JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of the World,[15] his effort to counter violent extremism and enhance a culture of peace in Nigeria, which led him being part of the 2017 Mandela Washington Fellowship program for Young African leaders in Washington D.C.[16] He is also a fellow of LEAP Africa SIP and YALI West Africa.[17]

His efforts in initiating peaceful youths in Northern-Nigeria made him speaker, particularly regarding to political instability in the country.[1] He was a speaker/panelist at the 2016/2017 International Day of Peace events at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP),[18] speaker at the 2017 Wage Peace event at the American University, speaker/panelist at the 2017 United Nations International Youth Day event,[19] speaker at the 2018 United Nations International Day for the Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism and the 2018 One Young World Summit.[20]

His vision is to enhance a culture of peace and tolerance that can break the cycle of conflict, violence, and terrorism that plague Nigeria.[21][22][23]

Awards and recognitions

References
  1. "Group trains 50 youths on countering violent extremism in Yobe". Daily Trust. 20 November 2020. Retrieved 2021-01-28.
  2. "Age is not a limit to making a difference –Imrana Alhaji Buba". Punch Newspapers. 10 December 2017. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  3. Aluwong, Jeremiah (2019-06-29). "Everyday Heroes- Imrana Alhaji Buba • Connect Nigeria". Connect Nigeria. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  4. "ORCID". orcid.org. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  5. "Imrana A Buba | University of Edinburgh - Academia.edu". edinburgh.academia.edu. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  6. "Imrana Buba, The Peace Advocate Fighting For The Future Of Northern Nigeria". Konbini - All Pop Everything! (in French). Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  7. "WEFLIVE". www.weflive.com. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  8. "Imrana Alhaji Buba". One Young World. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  9. Admin (31 July 2017). "Fighting Terrorism Without Arms! Imrana Buba is our #BellaNaijaMCM this Week". Bella Naija. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  10. Admin. "5 Young Nigerian Leaders That Make Us Proud". Daily Digest. Archived from the original on 2017-05-14. Retrieved 2019-08-13.
  11. "United we stand: MCF Scholar honoured for work combating terrorism". Edinburgh Global. 2017-12-07. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  12. "British monarch to honour 3 Nigerians with Queen's Young Leaders Award - Premium Times Nigeria". 2016-06-09. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  13. "Queens Young Leaders – Alumni". Archived from the original on 2018-05-12. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  14. "About Me – Imrana Alhaji Buba". Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  15. Admin (12 August 2017). "Cobhams, Mark Okoye, others, make JCI Ten Outstanding Young Persons of Nigeria list". guardian.ng. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  16. "Imrana Alhaji Buba Bio". Wiki Mzansi. 2018-07-07. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  17. AfricaNews (2016-08-19). "[Exclusive] Interview with Nigerian recipient of 2016 Queen's Young Leader award". Africanews. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  18. "Imrana Alhaji Buba speaks about his experience as a victim of Boko Haram in Nigeria. | VICTIMS of TERRORISM SUPPORT PORTAL". www.un.org. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  19. Admin. "Bios of Speakers and Moderators" (PDF). un.org. Retrieved 2019-09-16.
  20. "Expanding the Role of Youth in Building Peace, Security". Search for Common Ground. 2017-08-01. Retrieved 2019-09-17.
  21. AfricaNews (2016-08-19). "[Exclusive] Interview with Nigerian recipient of 2016 Queen's Young Leader award". Africanews. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  22. "JCI". jci.cc. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  23. "Expanding the Role of Youth in Building Peace, Security | YouthPower". www.youthpower.org. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  24. "Yemi Alade, Falz, Tekno make Future Awards nominee list | Premium Times Nigeria". 2016-12-04. Retrieved 2022-03-13.
  25. "Imrana Alhaji Buba". IREX. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
  26. Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | In Nigeria, healing the scars of war might curtail its spread". Refworld. Retrieved 2019-08-30.
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