Adamawa Artisans Get New Digital Platform as Stakeholders Unite to Fight Crime

• Bincike International launched OneDelegate, a digital platform connecting trained artisans with paying customers in Adamawa state
• The initiative targets youth unemployment, which the organisation says leaves young people open to gang recruitment, banditry and kidnapping
• The platform will verify artisans before registration and plans to add a USSD option for people without smartphones or internet access

Legit.ng journalist Ridwan Adeola Yusuf has over nine years of experience covering public affairs and governance in Nigeria and Africa.

Yola, Adamawa state - A Nigerian development organisation has launched a digital platform to connect trained artisans with customers in Adamawa, framing the move as a response to the conditions it says drive young people towards criminal activity.

Bincike International introduced OneDelegate as security forces in the state continue to arrest suspected members of Shilla gangs during raids on identified hideouts. Shilla is a local criminal network operating largely in the Yola metropolis.

Why Bincike is targeting unemployment

The organisation's executive director, Elisha Bello, said an internal review revealed that many young people who had completed skills training programmes still lacked jobs or any reliable source of income. He warned that this gap could make them susceptible to criminal recruitment, including by gangs, bandits and kidnappers.

Bello said in a statement provided to Legit.ng on Friday, September 11:

"We are linking them with those who need their services in the state, and we plan to scale it up in other states as well."

OneDelegate allows artisans offering services such as plumbing, electrical repairs, carpentry, gas supply and waste disposal to be discovered by residents who need those services. Before listing, artisans go through a verification process. After a job is completed, customers can rate service providers, and artisans can also review customers.

Bincike unveils plans for rural reach

To avoid leaving out people without reliable internet access, Bincike plans to introduce a USSD option alongside a telephone-based service called OneDelegate Hop. Both features are aimed at reaching rural communities and vulnerable people who may be excluded from digital platforms.

The organisation also intends to partner with institutions already running skills training programmes, giving their graduates a route to certification and registration on OneDelegate without paying any fees. This would be particularly relevant for internally displaced persons who have acquired skills but have not found stable livelihoods.

The Adamawa state government expressed support for the platform, saying it fits within its broader priorities around employment, education and development.

Bincike's approach reflects its view that policing alone cannot address the conditions that make criminal activity appealing. For a young artisan with a skill but no client, the organisation believes a single job connection could mark the difference between unemployment and a legitimate livelihood.

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