By: Sanity Multi-Efforts Forum (SMEF)
Last week, Hip TV gave Nigeria a mirror. In “Reality of Insecurity for Young Nigerian”, we saw Tunde, 24, who said crime felt like his only “job offer”. We heard Aisha, 21, who stopped attending night classes because of fear on her street. We listened to Musa, who lost a brother to cult violence and now distrusts every uniform.
These are not actors. They are our brothers, sisters, and neighbors. And their story is the reality many young Nigerians wake up to daily.
SMEF Hails Resilience of Oro Ago Students, Stakeholders Amid Security Challenges
As Sanity Multi-Efforts Forum (SMEF), an independent civic forum, we watched with pain and purpose. Pain, because no nation should raise a generation that sees fear as normal. Purpose, because SMEF exists to give that generation something Tunde, Aisha, and Musa are searching for: Sanity. Direction. A platform.
Hip TV showed us the “forgotten”. SMEF proposes a new strategy to make them “found”.
1. From Fear to Purpose
Insecurity thrives where purpose is absent. When a young person has no skill, no mentor, and no hope, the streets become his classroom and gangs become his family. Hip TV’s reality is therefore a purpose crisis.
SMEF’s strategy is to take sensitization directly to where youth gather – barber shops, football fields, TikTok, and WhatsApp groups. Not lectures, but conversations. Not threats, but truth. We must tell them: Your life has value beyond the street. There is dignity in skill. There is power in lawful choices.
2. From Peer Pressure to Peer Protection
Hip TV revealed how peer groups push youth into crime. SMEF believes peer groups can also pull them out. The strategy is to create “Sanity Ambassadors” – trained young leaders in every community who mentor 10-20 peers each. They teach conflict resolution, reject drug abuse, and promote compliance. Youth will listen to youth, if the message is real.
3. From Forgotten to Focused
The youth in Hip TV’s program said government “programs” never reach them. SMEF’s strategy is to bridge that gap. We will partner with agencies to translate policy into language youth understand. If there is a skills fund, we sensitize youth how to access it. If there is a security tip line, we teach them how to use it safely.
Government must focus on youth. Youth must focus on sanity.
SMEF’s Promise to Nigeria’s Youth
To Tunde, Aisha, Musa, and millions like them: You are not forgotten. You are the future Nigeria is fighting for.
SMEF calls on government, churches, mosques, schools, and parents to join us in a “Sanity Month for Youth”. 30 days of intentional conversations, skills fairs, and mentorship drives in every state. Let us replace fear with focus.
Hip TV exposed the pain. SMEF is ready to deliver the platform. Because when youth find purpose, insecurity loses power.
The youth are not lost. They are just waiting for sanity.
Sanity Multi-Efforts Forum (SMEF) is an independent civic advocacy platform committed to youth sensitization and civic mentorship across Nigeria.
