The Nation Newspaper

Category: Northern Reports

  • Experts push to criminalise bullying

    Experts push to criminalise bullying

    The Equality Development and Research Center (EDRC) is set to begin pushing for a legislation to criminalise bullying in the country.

    The legislation is expected to make bullying a criminal offence in accordance with the law like any other criminal offence in the constitution.

    Founder EDRC, Marsha Nwanne, said there is a need to lobby legislators to make them look into bullying and consider pushing to combat the bullying pandemic.

    Nwanne said this in Abuja at a training for staff of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency (NIHSA) on workplace bullying.

    Read Also: Nigeria under threat, say experts

    She listed the effects of bullying on individuals to include Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), panic attacks, depression, poor concentration, low self-esteem, suicide, and a lot more.

    He added that it hurts organisations when they are forced to replace staff that leaves as a result of bullying or low productivity.

    Her words, “Once people realise that what they are doing is wrong, and even experience that it is wrong on all levels, that is the beginning of the success story. We have come a little further to say that we intend to intervene.

    “We have psycho-social support doctors who are willing to work with us and a lot of them are even on pro bono basis. We also have a child psychologist and these are people who intend to break that cycle which we established in the training that bullying starts at school and moves to workplaces. We have a couple of lawyers as well on pro bono who intend to assist us in championing this cause.

  • Flood kills 10, displaces scores in Adamawa

    Flood kills 10, displaces scores in Adamawa

    Ten people have died and scores of others displaced in communities in Girei Local Government Area of Adamawa State as a result of flood.

    This followed repeated rainfall around the three local government areas that form munipal Yola city: Yola South, Yola North, and Girei.

    The torrential rain occurred on and off all of Thursday afternoon, while the flooding in Girei, which lies next to Yola North, was confirmed on Friday evening.

    Read Also; Flood: NiMet lists Borno, Sokoto, Kaduna, Bayelsa, Delta, Kebbi as high-risk states

    The Executive Secretary of Adamawa State Emergency Management Agency (ADSEMA), Dr. Suleiman Muhammad, confirmed the flood casualty in an interview on Friday evening.

    Suleiman said that 10 people were killed and scores displaced within the Girei town, headquarters of the Girei LGA, and Jabi Lamba, a major community within the Girei LGA.

    The ADSEMA Executive Secretary disclosed that three children escaped death in Girei after a building collapsed as a result of the flood, and that the children had been admitted to hospital.

    He said his agency has since deployed its assessment team to the affected areas to determine relief needs, and that he will communicate with the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to arrange its own intervention.

  • ‘AbdulRazaq’s investment in basic education unmatched’

    ‘AbdulRazaq’s investment in basic education unmatched’

    Kwara Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq’s heavy investments in basic education are another first in the history of the State since 1967, Prof. Raheem Adaramaja said on Thursday.

    Adaramaja, who is the Chairman of Kwara State Universal Basic Education Board (KWSUBEB), spoke in Ilorin at the Grand Finale of the Radio Quiz Competition organised for Junior Secondary School Students in the Sixteen LGs of Kwara State.

    Ekiti and Offa local government schools emerged the First and Second Prize Winners, while Irepodun LG settled for the third place.

    “We have every reason to thank Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for his love for us and interest in the development of basic education in the State. It is on record that his investment in basic schools is, to our knowledge, the highest since the creation of Kwara State in 1967. He is indeed the father of basic education,” he said.

    Adaramaja said the pride of any society depends largely on the structure, status and achievements of its basic education, saying Kwara under AbdulRazaq has heightened the standards and glory of basic education through heavy investments in school infrastructure and human capital development.

    “You will agree with me that Kwara State has achieved immensely under Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq in our basic education which has therefore transformed its standards and restored the public confidence in public schools. This is evident in the way our pupils/students are making us proud in all the competitions they have participated,” the Chairman added.

    The close session of the competition that was broadcast live on Radio Kwara, was well-attended by government officials, parents and education stakeholders, some TIC Chairmen and other dignitaries, including Chairman Kwara Assembly Committee on Education, Hon. Baba Soliu Boriya; Special Assistants on Religion Affairs (Islam) Ibrahim Danmegoro, and Rev. Timothy Akangbe (Christianity); representative of the State Commissioner for Communications Dr. Fatima Amuda; State NUT Chairman Comrade Oyewo Bashir; and PTA Chairman and first Makama Ilorin Alhaji Ibrahim Oniye.

    Among the royal fathers in attendance were Owa of Eruku Oba Busari Ayinde Olarewaju; Oloke-Opin of Oke-Opin Land Oba E. D Ajibola; and Asolo of Isolo Opin Oba Sunday Raphael.

    Adaramaja said the quiz was put together to celebrate the participating schools and students who have, for the past five months, worked so hard to attain academic excellence, describing them as another good ambassadors of basic schools of the State.

    Adaramaja, who recalled the last Presidential Schools Debate Championship in Lagos, where Kwara Contingents clinched the first position, said there are several instances to prove the efficacy of the government’s investments in the sector since the last three years.

    “Let me inform this gathering that the Governor has approved sums of N500,000, N300,000 and N100,000 as prizes for the First, Second and Third positions respectively,” he said.

    He thanked the Governor for the unflinching support and every prize he gives out to encourage hard work and excellent performance among pupils of government-owned schools in the State.

    Read Also:Some Northern Govs mismanaging primary education – FG

    The Governor had also given the Champions of the last Presidential Schools Debate competition held in Lagos Scholarship Award to University level apart from handing to the students the cash prize of #500,000 each for making the State proud.

    The government, at the grand finale, also awarded N100,000 to Aishat Zakari, another Junior Secondary School student who turned out victorious at the recent National Quiz Competition on Mathematics, an event that took place in Abuja.

    She was declared the Queen of Mathematics, having come First in the North Central and Sixth in the whole Nigeria in that Competition.

    Kwara NUT Chairman, Comrade Oyewo Bashir, said the quiz has succeeded in showcasing the excellent performance of teachers in the classrooms, applauding the organisers and the present administration for their commitments so far.

    Callers on the live programme took turns to hail the school pupils for exhibiting talents that are symbolic of a positive development in the public school system in Kwara, urging the present administration to continue in that direction.

  • UNICEF urges exclusive breastfeeding at media parley

    UNICEF urges exclusive breastfeeding at media parley

    As part of activities to mark the 2022 World Breastfeeding Week, the United Nations Children Funds (UNICEF) has urged media practitioners to sensitise the public, especially mothers to the importance of practising exclusive breastfeeding.

    At the end of a two-day media dialogue held in Jos, the Plateau State capital, the UNICEF Nutrition Specialist in Bauchi Field Office, Philomena Irene described journalists as key drivers in community sensitisation, especially when it comes to behavioural change against negative practices among community members on the issues of exclusive breastfeeding.

    She further said the media dialogue would seek to strengthen the capacity of media practitioners toward child-focused reporting, using an exclusive breastfeeding approach for enhanced infant nutrition.

    Her words: “We also want to expose the media to the first-hand situation of malnourished children with a view to having a better and evidence-based reportage and to leverage the media as an advocacy channel for positive policies towards exclusive breastfeeding and child nutrition,” said Irene.

    The Managing Director of Bauchi Radio Corporation (BRC) Suraj Maaji explained that at the end of the media dialogue, there will be reports that will help in raising exclusive breastfeeding practices among households.

    Represented by BRC/UNICEF Focal Person, Umar Muhammad Shira, the MD said part of the meeting would see journalists visiting fields to have first-hand information regarding issues of exclusive breastfeeding and infant nutrition and come up with news stories, and programmes, features, documentaries, and special reports.

    The Nation reports the meeting is organised by Bauchi Radio Corporation (BRC) with support from UNICEF Field Office Bauchi.

    The media dialogue drew journalists from Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau and Taraba states, and other key stakeholders.

  • Insecurity: Badaru orders Jigawa schools’ closure

    Insecurity: Badaru orders Jigawa schools’ closure

    The Jigawa State Governor Badaru Abubakar has ordered the immediate closure of all public schools in the state in the middle of the end-of-the-year promotional examination. The order was given yesterday.

    The governor’s order which came in the late hours of Tuesday was sent to all head teachers in the state through the Ministry of Education and State Primary Education Board.

    Reports from the state indicated that the closure of the schools resulted from a heightening security threat in the state.

    Read Also; Nasarawa orders immediate closure of schools over security threat

    When contacted, the Commissioner of Police, Mr Sale Tafida, through the command’s spokesperson, Lawal Shis, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) said: “We did not advise schools to be closed. In fact, nobody contacted us to that effect.”

    Also when contacted, the state’s Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Lawan Yunusa Danzomo confirmed that the schools were closed for security reasons.

    Mr Danzomo said: “We closed the schools based on intelligence reports on security and that there are chances that the schools could be attacked by bandits.

    “Security threats are not peculiar to Jigawa State are being experienced in many other parts of the country. But the threat is more against Border States which Jigawa is one.”

    The commissioner said: “We also ordered the tertiary institutions to close, though we urged them to study the situation and be free to decide what to do on their own.”

  • Court adjourns case against Plateau APC, INEC

    Court adjourns case against Plateau APC, INEC

    The Jos division of the Federal High Court yesterday, adjourned the pre-election suit filed by Danyaro Dakon Sarpiya, a governorship aspirant against the All Progressives Congress (APC)) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

    The suit is  challenging the nomination of Nentawe Yilwatda, as the governorship candidate of the first respondent.

    At yesterday’s proceedings, the counsel to the plaintiff, S.A. Abbah Esq urged the court to grant him leave to amend their ex parte motion to join  Yilwatda in the suit filed through an originating summons.

    “My Lord, I move a motion ex parte seeking the leave of the court to allow us to amend our originating summons to join the candidate in the suit,” he pleaded.

    He told the court that the initial parties in the matter are yet to be served with the process.

    Mr Matthew Burkaa (SAN) told the court that he had a motion pending before it, wanting to announce an appearance for the Nentawe Yilwatda, but S. A. Abbah objected to the appearance of the learned silk on the grounds that he is not a party to the suit as the business of the day is for the hearing of the Applicant Motion Ex parte for an order of the court to amend his originating process.

  • Northeast women forum: ‘we’ve confidence in CDS Irabor’

    Northeast women forum: ‘we’ve confidence in CDS Irabor’

    Women in the Northeast under the aegis of Northeast Women for Peace Forum have cautioned against deliberate misrepresentation of the ongoing military operations in the region.

    The group urged public analysts and commentators to visit the Northeast to see how the operations are faring, so as to avoid misleading the public.

    The women, who were protesting the recent description of the Chief of Defence Staff General Lucky Irabor as a “meddlesome General” by one opinion writer, said it was a plot to bring down the CDS.

    They further referred to the opinion published in the editorial of one of the national newspapers as “clannish and unwarranted.”

    In a statement by the Convener, Hajiya Bilikisu Goni, the forum wondered if the writer was paid for the hatchet job of bringing down the CDS by detractors who are profiting from the insurgency.

    The statement argued that “instead of coming to the Northeast and see how military operations are faring, the writer was comparing Nigeria with the United States of America.”

    According to the forum, “as beneficiaries of ongoing military operations in the Northeast, we members of the Northeast Women for Peace Forum are in a better position to reply to what we feel is a deliberate attempt to misinform Nigerians.

    “Before asking the writer some questions, we plead with him to find out what leaders, politicians and the people, especially women that are gradually returning to their means of livelihood are saying about ongoing military operations in the region.

    “He seems to be angry that the military is dominating the airwaves. Does he want the enemies of the country or those benefitting from the security challenges to dominate?

    “Is the writer aware that life is gradually returning to normal in the Northeast? Is he aware of the gradual return of the Chibok girls?,” it said.

    The group wondered why the writer is against the presence of the military in society,” the forum said.

  • Police promote 43 officers in Niger

    Police promote 43 officers in Niger

    No fewer than 43 Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSPs) serving in Niger State have been promoted to the rank of Superintendent of Police (SP).

    The majority of the promoted officers were divisional police officers in some parts of Niger State.

    While congratulating the newly promoted officers on behalf of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Alkali Baba Usman, the Niger State Commissioner of Police Monday Bala Kuryas urged them to redouble their commitment to duty to justify their promotion.

    He reminded the promotees that promotion comes with additional responsibilities and therefore, they should put in their best in their respective capacity, especially in the fight against banditry and other criminality in the state.

    The decoration of the promoted officers took place at the Niger State Police Command with the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations DCP Ali Hayatu Kaigama; Deputy Commissioner of Police, Investigations, DCP Aboki Danjuma and other senior officers of the command who assisted the commissioner in decorating the promoters.

    On behalf of those promoted, Superintendent of Police (SP) Moses Saba who is the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Zungeru Division appreciated the Inspector-General of Police for recommending them for promotion.

    He pledged that they will continue to redouble their effort in the line of duty.

  • Fed Govt praises groups over WISH project execution

    Fed Govt praises groups over WISH project execution

    The Federal Government yesterday praised the successful implementation of the Women Integrated Service for Health (WISH) project implemented by Marie Stopes International Organisation Nigeria (MSION), Options, Ipas, Planned Parenthood Federation of Nigeria (PPFN) and ThinkPlace.

    The WISH project, which is a United Kingdom (UK) Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) flagship project, was implemented to support Nigeria’s progress toward universal sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) in 13 Northern states from August 2018 to July 2021.

    The states are Gombe, Bauchi, Taraba, Yobe, Borno, Adamawa, Sokoto, Jigawa, Katsina, Kebbi, Kano, Zamfara, and Benue with additional social marketing across Nigeria, including the FCT.

    The project delivered 6.1 million couples years of protection (CYPs), 1.4 million additional family planning users, averted 1.2 million unsafe abortions, averted 2.8 million unwanted pregnancies, and prevented 16,000 maternal deaths.

    Therefore, a one-year sustainability-focused extension was granted to the implementing partners to sustain the gains of the WISH project across six states Bauchi, Sokoto, Adamawa, Borno, Kano, and Jigawa.

    At the National Inception Meeting of the Women Integrated Services for Health Extension Project (WISH-CE) in Abuja, the Director of Family Health at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Salma Ibrahim Anas said: “The WISH project was implemented in a unique manner in the past three years in Northern states that have the highest burden of maternal mortality and poor child survival, and also with the lowest uptake of family planning.

    “We commend the efforts of the WISH project which was successfully implemented and which would change the outcome of sexual reproductive health in the country. It has also focused on sustainability and that caused an extension which has been granted for the coalition to continue implementation.”

    The Country Director of MSION, Emmanuel Ajah said: “This extension project seeks to enhance government’s ownership of quality sexual and reproductive health (SRH) services provision, supervision, and leadership to strengthen the health system and institutionalise the government ownership and leadership in the quality of care.

  • ‘Education should be catalyst for knowledge-driven economy’

    ‘Education should be catalyst for knowledge-driven economy’

    The Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Opiah has said the country’s education system must prepare the youth for a knowledge-driven economy.

    The minister stated this during the inauguration of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Treasury Management in Abuja on Tuesday.

    Opiah reiterated the need for the members of the institute to contribute and work towards a sustainable economy.

    The minister said: “Treasury management is a ‘must be’ for any country that targets sustainable development because it is a strategic approach to optimising beneficial returns of innovative deployment of public and private finance.”

    Highlighting some of the importance of treasury management, the minister said: “Supervision and management of cash flows and its balances will be better managed and utilised; there would be better services from banks; proper allocation of funds will be achieved; fraud and embezzlement would be minimised.

    “Chartered Institute of Treasury Management is important to the education sector because it will help ensure that finances allocated to the sector by the government, civil society and non-governmental organisations will be judiciously utilised for the achievement of the ministry’s three focal areas of access, quality and systems strengthening and, of course, the timely attainment of the ministry’s 10 pillars of the Education for Change: A Ministerial Strategic Plan.

    “We all agree that Nigeria’s education must prepare and arm youths to take competitive advantage of the 21” Century knowledge-driven economy within and outside the country.