A 35 year old Ghanaian, Mutaru Mumuni Muqthar has become the first ever youth to become African Man of the Year, an award which was organized recently by Daily Trust. ICPC was a guest at the event.
Muqthar, the first of 16 siblings, is the Executive Director of West Africa Center for Counter-Terrorism, a non-profit organisation focused on counter extremism research and outreach in West Africa.
In his acceptance speech, Muqthar described leadership failure and corruption as some of the major reasons youths engage in extremism and radicalism.
In his words, “Corruption is one of the collections of problems and factors that lead people to engage in terrorism which is why my organisation engages young people in the local communities to build the values of ethics to enable them fight corruption.”
Muqthar works with local communities and youth groups in countering the foundation of violent extremism and radicalization in vulnerable communities.
The story of Muqthar is a wake-up call for all African youths to contribute positively in making their world a better place.