Nigeria is intensifying efforts to expand sugarcane production as global sugar output continues to rise and domestic demand remains heavily dependent on imports. Global sugar production is projected to increase to 189.32 million tons in the 2025/26 season from 180.75 million tons in 2024/25, representing a growth of 4.73 per cent, according to estimates by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Data from the National Sugar Development Council (NSDC) and the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service indicate that Nigeria’s sugarcane harvested area has expanded from about 75,000 hectares in 2020 to 100,000 hectares by 2025. Over the same period, raw sugarcane output more than doubled, rising from 1.53 million metric tons to approximately 3.33 million metric tons, reflecting growing investment in the sector despite persistent processing constraints.
The NSDC said the evolving production landscape reflects a major spatial and structural reorganisation driven by the implementation of Phase II of the National Sugar Master Plan (NSMP II). Launched by the Federal Government, the second phase of the plan aims to raise domestic sugar production to two million metric tons annually by 2033, backed by an estimated $3.5 billion in investments across the sugar value chain.
The NSDC noted that NSMP II is designed to achieve sugar self-sufficiency, support ethanol and power generation, create employment and attract long-term private investment. At the recent launch of the Sugarcane Outgrower Development Programme (SODP), the Executive Secretary / Chief Executive, the NSDC, Mr. Kamar Bakrin, described the initiative as central to the plan’s success.
“The SODP is designed to boost local sugarcane cultivation, reduce Nigeria’s dependence on sugar imports, and create opportunities for inclusive economic growth by integrating outgrower farmers into the industry’s supply chain,” Bakrin said.
He explained that the programme targets rural participation as a way of scaling production while improving livelihoods and strengthening supply linkages between smallholders and industrial processors. Further details were provided by the Head of Out-Grower Management , NSDC, Mrs. Lade Offurum, who outlined the structure of the programme.
According to Offurum, the SODP will engage three categories of farmers, including agribusinesses and commercial operators cultivating between 50 and over 500 hectares, organised farming cooperatives managing clusters of 30 to 50 hectares, and groups of individual farmers jointly cultivating clusters of at least 30 hectares. She said the council has earmarked 150,000 hectares nationwide for outgrower development, with the aim of supporting large-scale sugar, ethanol, electricity and animal feed production, while enforcing stricter performance benchmarks for operators such as Dangote Sugar and BUA Foods.
Niger State has emerged as a major growth hub under the renewed expansion drive, following a series of land agreements signed between late 2024 and 2025. The state government has committed to developing about 148,000 hectares to host six sugar factories by 2027. The projects, located largely between Shiroro and Minna, are being developed in partnership with Niger Foods and international firms, including Uttam Sucrotech. Once operational, the facilities are projected to produce up to 2.5 million tons of sugar and 250 million litres of ethanol annually, positioning Niger State as a key centre of Nigeria’s sugar value chain. In Kwara State, BUA Foods is nearing completion of its Lafiagi Sugar Company (LASUCO) project. By late 2025, the facility was estimated to be about 80 per cent complete and is expected to become the largest integrated sugar factory in West Africa. The estate is designed to crush 10,000 tons of cane per day and is projected to add about 220,000 metric tons of refined sugar and 20 million litres of ethanol annually to national output.
Dangote Sugar is also expanding its backward integration operations across multiple states. In Adamawa, the company is continuing the brownfield expansion of its Numan refinery, while in Nasarawa, the 78,000-hectare Tunga Sugar Project is receiving a significant share of a $700 million investment programme announced in late 2025. These developments are complemented by a new greenfield project in Adamawa by Legacy Sugar, which targets annual production of 100,000 metric tonnes.
In Bauchi, UMZA Sugar has committed approximately $100 million to an integrated sugar and rice estate, while Taraba is witnessing renewed activity through the GNAAL Sugar project promoted by the Lee Group and the Lau/Tau project, which targets a processing capacity of 250,000 tonnes. In the South-West, Oyo State is hosting the Brent Sugar project, which forms part of the NSDC’s 2025 agreement cycle and is expected to contribute an additional 100,000 metric tonnes to domestic supply.
Despite rising sugarcane output, industrial sugar production has remained relatively low. Between 2020 and 2025, industrial sugar output fluctuated from about 38,600 metric tonnes to an estimated 105,000 metric tonnes, even as raw cane production exceeded three million tonnes annually. Industry data show that only about 30 per cent of Nigeria’s sugarcane is processed in factories, with the remaining 70 per cent consumed locally as chewing cane or used in artisanal syrup production.
Industrial sugar production fell by about 35 per cent in 2023, largely due to macroeconomic pressures, including the depreciation of the naira and rising operational costs faced by major refiners. Nonetheless, land acquisition and plantation expansion have accelerated in recent years. Dangote Sugar, for instance, has announced plans to expand its plantation footprint from roughly 8,700 hectares to more than 24,000 hectares in the coming years.
Nigeria continues to rely heavily on imports to meet domestic demand. As of 2024 and 2025, the country was producing between 40,000 and 80,000 metric tons of sugar annually against an estimated national demand of about 1.7 million metric tons, meaning more than 95 per cent of consumption is still met through imports. The success of NSMP II and associated projects is therefore seen as critical to narrowing this gap and reducing the country’s exposure to global sugar price volatility.
As we enter a new year, the questions that fill our markets, our homes, and our places of work are clear and urgent. They are questions about the price of food, about security in our communities, and about the direction in which our country is headed. It is the duty of this office, the Ministry of Information and National Orientation, to speak to these questions directly, clearly, and with respect for every Nigerian bearing the weight of this moment.
The last thirty-one months have been a period of foundational, often difficult, transformation. Our bold reforms, beginning with the necessary but painful decisions on subsidies and exchange rates, were engineered to break a cycle of economic stagnation and secure a future of sustainable prosperity. This path was never promised to be easy, but it was promised to be honest and purposeful.
Today, the first green shoots of that promised stability are visible. December 2025 marked the thirteenth consecutive month of expansion in business activity. Multinational firms are re-evaluating Nigeria with serious intent. Our GDP is growing, inflation is declining, and our external reserves are strengthening. These are not mere statistics for reports; they are the essential groundwork upon which lasting improvement in everyday life is built.
However, a nation is not governed by indices alone. A nation is governed through trust, forged in the clear communication of both struggle and progress. My role is to be a steady voice for this administration, to explain our ambitions and our actions.
Upon this emerging macroeconomic stability, we have prioritised layering direct interventions that touch lives. The student loan programme (NELFUND) is opening doors. The Presidential CNG initiative is aimed at reducing transport costs. Programmes like LEEP, the Jubilee Fellows, and the 3MTT are designed to put skills and opportunity directly into the hands of our youth. In agriculture, a historic recapitalisation of the Bank of Agriculture and new mechanisation programs are deployed to combat food insecurity at its root.
We are also pushing ambitious infrastructure. The Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Expressway, the AKK Gas Pipeline, and new rail lines, to unite our economy and reduce the costs embedded in our geography.
In security, a new architecture is being rolled out. We are investing heavily in recruitment, equipment, and international cooperation to finally turn the tide against terrorism and banditry. The recent rescue of our abducted students in Kebbi and Niger states, respectively, is a testament to this relentless focus, and we remain steadfast until every Nigerian feels safe.
I acknowledge the fatigue that comes with endurance. The anxiety over prices, the worry for loved ones, and the desire for quicker results are all valid feelings; they are the human context of governance. This administration hears you. Our resolve is to accelerate the pace at which these reforms translate into tangible, widespread relief.
This is why in 2026, our “Budget of Consolidation, Renewed Resilience and Shared Prosperity” is critical. It is a commitment to double down on what is working, to solidify gains, and to ensure that the shared prosperity we speak of becomes a lived reality for more Nigerians, faster.
But nation-building is a covenant. We, in government, commit to lead with clarity, to deploy resources with integrity, and to communicate with constancy. We commit to face the people, to account for our stewardship, and to explain our path. In return, the civic strength of our nation, our collective will to pay taxes, to protect public goods, to engage constructively, and to reject the divisive pull of mischaracterisation and disinformation is what will ultimately secure our shared future.
This office, under my watch, shall be accountable and purposeful. It will remain a responsible, accessible, and truthful channel between the government and you, the people. We will explain, we will defend, we will listen, and we will report. You will continually and sustainably see and hear from this ministry, a clear voice of accountability for the government’s whole agenda.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, has never been one to be fazed by problems or challenges. His approach has consistently been calm and decisive—turning difficulties into opportunities to do things better and more efficiently. Our recent engagements as a government with the United States bear witness to this approach. Under the President’s leadership, we turned a tense period into an opportunity to deepen bilateral relations with the US and to ramp up our anti-insurgency efforts.
But even as we acknowledge the gains we have made, we do not seek to live in the past. Our eyes are firmly focused on what lies ahead and on how tomorrow must improve on today. For us, every moment in the present is an opportunity to double down on what is working, so that we can reap the full benefits of reform.
The journey ahead demands our collective patience and our shared resolve. The easy politics of division and noise will persist, but the hard work of building a Nigeria that works for all must prevail. We have laid a new foundation. Now, we must build the house together.
I wish every Nigerian a peaceful and productive year ahead.
Mohammed Idris, fnipr, is the Honourable Minister of Information and National Orientation
Sir: Northern Nigeria is not short on brilliant people. We have them in our schools, our streets, our WhatsApp groups. But these people are no longer stepping up to lead. Why? Because they’ve seen what happens to those who try.
When I was younger, I thought leadership was the highest form of service. I still believe that, but now I also know it can be the fastest way to become a target. The good ones get mocked. The careful ones get sabotaged. The dreamers get criminalized.
Mob culture is killing public spirit. This is what I call the rise of mob culture: a social dynamic where intelligent discourse is hijacked by cynical takedowns. It’s not just the uninformed anymore. Some of our brightest minds are now lending their voices to the chorus of public ridicule, often not realizing that they are tearing down the very same people they once prayed for.
Let me give you an example.
In my agency – the Katsina ICT Directorate (KATDICT), we’ve hosted town halls and stakeholder sessions to build in the open. We said: come, hear our plans, challenge us, contribute. And people came, smart people. But instead of engaging the ideas or offering better ones, they came with sneers, sarcasm, and superiority.
They didn’t show up to improve things; they came to perform their cynicism.
As a public servant, it’s disheartening. You open the door, not to applause or critique, but to ridicule. And this is the exact reason why many others in public service shut their doors entirely.
Another layer is cultural. In the North, we carry our traditions with pride, and rightly so. But sometimes, that pride turns into resistance. Anything new is seen as arrogance. If you communicate differently, use technology, or reach the people directly, you’re branded as “too much,” or dismissed as a “media leader.”
Meanwhile, those doing nothing remain unquestioned. This attitude has blocked so many innovations before they even had the chance to start. It’s a kind of cultural self-sabotage. We are suspicious of our own possibilities.
Why are we glorifying the critics who risk nothing?
There’s a trend I’ve watched with quiet concern: we are beginning to worship fault-finders. People who’ve never led a thing, never built a block, never contested a position, never raised a hand to help, yet they dominate our discourse.
They are witty, sarcastic, loud. They get retweets. They sound smart. But they are not building anything.
Meanwhile, the people showing up to work, sweating through bureaucracy, pushing policies, navigating real limitations, they are dismissed with a tweet or a meme.
This is not criticism. It is sabotage.
What Nigeria and the North urgently need is a new ethic of engagement. I’m not saying don’t question leaders. Criticism is necessary, but only when it is done in the spirit of construction, not destruction.
What we need is constructive intelligence:
• People who question, but also propose; People who critique, but also commit, and people who dare to join the mess, not just comment from the side-lines.
And above all, we need to protect the few trying to build, not throw stones at them simply because they dared to step forward. Don’t eat from the table of cynicism when you could be helping set the table of reform.
This country is hard. Northern Nigeria is even harder. But some of us are still trying. Let us not be few. Let us be more. Let us build.
Nigerians no longer have to travel abroad for lifesaving care. Local hospitals, clinics and specialist centres are delivering treatments that once required trips to London, Dubai, or India. With new funding, workforce reforms and local pharmaceutical production, patients are returning, confidence is rising, and advanced care is increasingly available at home. Nigeria is proving that quality healthcare can thrive within its own borders, writes DELE ANOFI
For decades, Nigeria’s healthcare system was often measured against the world from afar—in airport lounges and foreign hospital corridors. It was a story of long journeys, drained savings, and quiet resignation that the best care lay beyond the nation’s borders. From London to India, Dubai to Egypt, Nigerians voted with their feet and their wallets, fuelling a multi-billion-naira medical tourism industry, even as local hospitals struggled to earn confidence, patronage, and trust.
That exodus is now slowing. In its place, a different narrative is emerging—one marked not by despair, but by cautious optimism; not by flight, but by return. Across policy rooms, hospital wards, and community clinics, Nigeria’s healthcare reforms are beginning to restore belief in the system and, crucially, in the possibility that quality care can be found at home.
At the heart of this shift is a combination of political will, financial commitment, and structural reform that is gradually changing both perception and reality. According to the Coordinating Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof Ali Pate, recent data tells a story that would have seemed improbable only a few years ago. Figures released by the Central Bank of Nigeria show that foreign exchange spent by Nigerians on medical tourism has fallen by 52 percent since President Bola Tinubu assumed office. For a country that once haemorrhaged hundreds of billions of naira annually on healthcare abroad, this decline is more than a fiscal statistic. It signals returning confidence, as patients increasingly choose Nigerian hospitals, and the system slowly reclaims its relevance.
The shift is visible not only in outbound numbers but also in the changing profile of patients. Nigerian hospitals are no longer serving only local residents. Increasingly, they are attracting inbound medical tourists, including patients from neighbouring African countries, who now see Nigeria as a destination for specialised care rather than a point of departure. This renewed confidence is reflected in perception surveys conducted between 2023 and 2025. Public confidence in Nigeria’s overall health system has risen to 55 percent. Trust in the government’s ability to manage health emergencies stands at 67 percent, while patient satisfaction with healthcare facilities has climbed to 74 percent. Modest as these numbers may seem in isolation, they represent a decisive break from years of public scepticism and institutional fatigue.
Behind the statistics lies a deeper transformation, rooted in workforce reform, service delivery improvements, and renewed attention to the welfare of health professionals. For decades, Nigeria’s doctors, nurses, and allied health workers laboured under difficult conditions, sustained more by commitment than compensation. Promises accumulated, expectations grew, and frustration festered.
Prof Pate has been candid in acknowledging this history. Generations of health workers woke before dawn and returned home late, driven by duty rather than adequate support. Successive administrations made efforts to improve conditions, but many commitments remained unresolved. As a result, expectations among professional bodies—including the Nigerian Medical Association, the Joint Health Sector Unions, and the National Association of Nigerian Nurses and Midwives—were often only partially met, or not met at all.
This legacy shaped the Tinubu administration’s approach to healthcare reform. Rather than confrontation, it chose dialogue. Rather than episodic concessions, it pursued structured negotiation. Over the past two and a half years, the government has prioritised collective bargaining, sustained engagement, and incremental trust-building as the path to industrial harmony.
The results are now visible. Despite isolated disruptions, the overwhelming majority of Nigeria’s health workforce continues to deliver care nationwide. Long-standing issues that had stalled for years are finally moving. One symbolic breakthrough was presidential approval to extend the retirement age of clinically skilled health workers from 60 to 65 years—a measure now progressing through statutory processes. Arrears under the 2023 Consolidated Medical Salary Structure have been cleared, health allowances across cadres are being processed, and more than 10 billion naira owed under the 2025 Medical Research and Training Fund has been fully settled.
Other demands are being addressed through the collective bargaining agreement framework, with interim relief measures—such as on-call allowances—already in place. While not all legacy issues have been resolved, the trajectory is clear: the system is no longer frozen; it is moving. This progress is reflected most vividly in frontline facilities. In 2023, Basic Health Care Provision Fund facilities recorded an average of 10 million patient visits per quarter. By the second quarter of 2025, visits had surged to more than 40 million—a fourfold increase that underscores renewed trust at the community level.
The surge has been supported by unprecedented expansion in funding. Federal health spending has risen by nearly 60 percent, with health’s share of national expenditure increasing from just over 3 percent to 5.2 percent. The Basic Health Care Provision Fund has grown from 131.5 billion naira in 2024 to nearly 299 billion naira projected by 2026. Additional plans include raising 150 billion naira for vaccine procurement, deploying health-focused taxes, expanding public-private partnerships, and rolling out ward-level health plans across all 8,809 wards in Nigeria’s 774 local government areas.
These reforms are anchored within a broader vision outlined in the 2026–2050 National Development Plan. More than 500 high-impact projects are underway, spanning 13 tertiary institutions, six cancer centres of excellence, and 21 strategic policies. Digital health initiatives alone are projected to save 4.8 trillion naira annually by preventing avoidable diseases, while retaining an estimated 850 billion naira previously lost to medical tourism.
The early outcomes of Nigeria’s healthcare reforms are already tangible. Maternal deaths have declined by 17 per cent across 172 high-burden local governments, while newborn deaths are down by 12 per cent. More than 15,000 health workers have been recruited, and 435 primary healthcare facilities have been revitalised. Access to skilled birth attendants has risen by 33 per cent, routine immunisation coverage for measles, yellow fever, and HPV has improved, and family planning uptake has increased by 10 percent.
In primary healthcare alone, visits funded through the Basic Health Care Provision Fund rose from 10 million in early 2024 to 45 million by mid-2025. Each visit represents not just a patient, but a choice to stay, to trust, and to believe that care at home is possible. Parallel to service delivery reforms is a deliberate push to industrialise healthcare and reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imports. In the second half of the year, the government intensified partnerships with international development partners to strengthen local manufacturing capacity.
One of the most significant milestones was the signing of a landmark memorandum of understanding with Brazil’s EMS to establish a World Health Organisation good manufacturing practice-compliant pharmaceutical plant in Nigeria. The facility is expected to create over 1,200 skilled jobs, produce affordable, high-quality medicines for more than 30 million Nigerians, cut import dependence, and position Nigeria as a regional exporter under a broader medical industrialisation drive.
This effort is complemented by a two-year partnership with the European Union and UNICEF under the 6.3 million euro Enabling Local Manufacturing of Health, Immunisation and Nutrition Commodities in Nigeria initiative. With 5.5 million euros from the European Union and an additional 800,000 euros from Spain, the programme aims to strengthen manufacturing capacity, supply chains, regulatory systems, and technology transfer, reducing reliance on imported vaccines, medicines, and nutrition products.
Nigeria has also signed a technical memorandum of understanding with the United States valued at about five billion dollars to deepen bilateral health cooperation. Covering April 2026 to December 2030, the agreement commits the United States to provide nearly two billion dollars in grant funding, while Nigeria pledges to allocate at least six percent of executed annual federal and state budgets to health. The commitment is expected to mobilise close to three billion dollars over five years and has already been factored into the proposed 2026 Appropriation.
Malaria, one of Nigeria’s most persistent public health challenges, is receiving renewed attention. The launch of the country’s first dual active ingredient long-lasting insecticidal net manufacturing plant in Ogun State marks a turning point. Scheduled for completion in 2026, the facility will produce about 10 million nets annually, meeting roughly 30 percent of national demand. Facilitated by the Presidential Initiative for Unlocking the Healthcare Value Chain in partnership with Switzerland’s Vestergaard and Nigeria’s Harvestfield Industries, the project is expected to create 600 skilled jobs and position Nigeria as a regional hub for health product manufacturing.
Cancer care, long plagued by underinvestment and fragmentation, is also undergoing transformation. Since the establishment of the National Institute for Cancer Research and Treatment two years ago, cancer control has received sustained policy attention. For the first time in Nigeria’s history, a dedicated cancer control budget was approved in 2024. Twelve tertiary hospitals have been designated as cancer centres of excellence, with modern oncology equipment deployed across all geopolitical zones. Workforce training, cancer registries, digital reporting systems, and access to essential medicines are being strengthened through coordinated national strategies.
The impact of these reforms is amplified by private sector-led specialist centres that are redefining what is possible within Nigeria. The African Medical Centre of Excellence in Abuja, a 350 million dollar facility, has emerged as a powerful symbol of the new era. Barely six months after opening, the centre performed its first open-heart surgery and delivered West Africa’s first stereotactic body radiation therapy for lung cancer.
These milestones have had immediate ripple effects. Nigerian patients have cancelled planned treatments in the United Kingdom, the United States, and Egypt to receive care locally. Referrals have come from South Africa and Ghana. Procedures that once required travel now cost about 3,000 dollars locally, compared to up to five times more abroad when travel and accommodation are included, with patients paying in naira.
Within weeks, the centre completed more than ten interventional cardiac procedures, including angiography, stenting, and pacemaker implantation. In oncology, it recorded 130 new patients in three months, over 400 clinical encounters, 160 chemotherapy sessions planned for 27 patients, and 651 radiotherapy fractions scheduled for 31 patients. Palliative care accounted for 30 percent of cases. Beyond treatment, the centre is addressing health worker migration through skills transfer, with Nigerian professionals forming the majority of its workforce.
Even environmental health, often overlooked, is receiving attention. The commissioning of Nigeria’s first polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) treatment facility in Abuja marks a major milestone in hazardous waste management. With plans underway to replicate the facility nationwide, Nigeria is strengthening its ability to protect public health, comply with international conventions, and create green jobs within a circular economy.
Taken together, these reforms form a mosaic of renewal. No single policy explains the shift. It is the accumulation of decisions, investments, and trust-building measures that is gradually changing behaviour. Nigerians are staying. Some are returning. Others are arriving. The reversal of medical tourism is not yet complete. Challenges remain. But the direction is unmistakable. In hospitals once bypassed, lights are on again. In clinics once empty, queues are forming. In a system long defined by loss, confidence is being restored. For the first time in years, Nigeria’s healthcare story is no longer written abroad. It is being written at home.
Sir: Year 2025, was no doubt a very challenging and troubling one for Nigeria and Nigerians. The year tested the resilience of citizens across all strata, as hopes were repeatedly confronted by harsh realities. From security concerns to economic pressures, many Nigerians trudged through the year with heavy hearts, praying for relief and renewal.
Insecurity remained one of the most disturbing issues of 2025. Across several parts of the country, communities grappled with banditry, kidnapping, insurgency and other violent crimes that claimed innocent lives and disrupted livelihoods. The persistent shedding of innocent blood cast a dark shadow over national unity and development, leaving citizens yearning for lasting peace.
The economy also struggled under severe strain. Inflation, unemployment, and the rising cost of living took a toll on households and businesses alike. Many Nigerians found it increasingly difficult to meet basic needs, while small and medium-scale enterprises battled to stay afloat in a harsh economic climate marked by dwindling purchasing power.
Politically, the year was equally turbulent. Several political parties were engulfed in internal crises, factional disputes and leadership tussles that weakened their structures and distracted them from offering credible alternatives to governance. These crises further deepened public distrust in the political class and democratic institutions.
As Nigerians welcome the New Year 2026 with open arms, there is a collective yearning for renewed hope. Citizens desire a year that brings economic prosperity, job creation, and a noticeable improvement in security across the country. The expectation is that 2026 will mark a turning point where policies begin to translate into tangible benefits for the masses.
There is also a strong call for stability within the polity, particularly among opposition parties. Nigerians want to see political actors put their houses in order, build strong internal democracy and present issue-based alternatives that can strengthen democratic competition and accountability.
No doubt, 2026 will be filled with intense political alignments and realignments ahead of the 2027 general elections. However, there is widespread concern that governance must not be sacrificed on the altar of politics. Leaders at all levels must remember that their primary responsibility remains the welfare of the people.
The president and state governors are therefore expected to ensure the smooth running of the country even as political mobilisation gathers momentum. With expectations that government revenues will improve due to the implementation of the new tax law, Nigerians insist that such funds be judiciously used to better lives. Anti-graft agencies must also step up tougher actions against corruption, both within and outside government.
As the new year unfolds, the collective prayer is for peace, responsible leadership, and shared prosperity.
Nigeria has expressed readiness to consolidate and deepen the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China in 2026.
Director-General and Global Liaison of the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership, Mr. Joseph Tegbe noted that emphasis will continue to be placed on cooperation that directly supports Nigeria’s development priorities, including economic diversification, infrastructure delivery, human capital development, technology transfer and long-term sustainability.
Commenting on the future of the partnership, Tegbe expressed confidence that cooperation between both countries would continue to mature.
According to him, sustained engagement and shared commitment would ensure the delivery of lasting outcomes that advance the common vision of a China–Nigeria community with a shared future.
Tegbe also noted that the Federal Government has consistently upheld the One-China principle as the foundation of its diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
Nigeria has expressed its readiness to consolidate and deepen its Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with China in 2026.
The Director-General and Global Liaison of the Nigeria–China Strategic Partnership, Mr. Joseph Tegbe, said the focus would remain on cooperation that directly supports Nigeria’s development priorities.
These include economic diversification, infrastructure development, human capital growth, technology transfer and long-term sustainability.
Speaking on the future of the partnership, Tegbe expressed confidence that collaboration between both countries would continue to strengthen and mature.
According to him, sustained engagement and shared commitment by Nigeria and China would ensure the delivery of lasting outcomes that advance their common vision of a China–Nigeria community with a shared future.
He also noted that the federal government has consistently upheld the One-China principle as the cornerstone of its diplomatic relations with the People’s Republic of China.
Amid Lagos’s Christmas lights and music, millions of Nigerians face a harsher reality of rising prices, unpaid rent, and empty cupboards. In the absence of reliable government support, churches and mosques have become de facto welfare providers, distributing food, covering school fees, and easing hardship. For many struggling families, faith-based aid bridges the gap between survival and despair, revealing both extraordinary generosity and deep systemic failure, reports Deputy Political Editor RAYMOND MORDI
A few days before Christmas, while traffic snakes through Lagos and carols echo from loudspeakers across neighbourhoods, a quieter scene plays out behind the gates of a Pentecostal church in Iju-Ishaga. Before the morning service, a small crowd gathers, lining up in calm, orderly rows. Volunteers call out names from a handwritten list, checking them off meticulously. Bags of rice, bottles of groundnut oil, and basic cooking condiments are distributed with quiet efficiency. No one asks for a voter’s card, a tax record, or any bureaucratic documentation—there are no forms, no background checks, just the simple act of giving.
Mary Okafor, a widow raising three young children, clutches a Bagco bag brimming with rice, beans, and tomato paste as she steps away from the church grounds. Her eyes glisten with relief. Only a week earlier, she had felt the familiar, gnawing anxiety of wondering how to put a Christmas meal on the table. Now, thanks to the Redeemed Christian Church of God’s annual food distribution, that burden has lifted—at least for a while. “This is God telling me He hasn’t forgotten us,” she whispers, voice trembling with quiet gratitude.
Across town, in Lekki, a similar story takes place within a very different religious context. After Friday Jummah prayers at the Lekki Central Mosque, dozens of men and women—some elderly, others pushing strollers or carrying small children—wait patiently in line. They are not here for a sermon, but for sustenance: bags of staples purchased with zakat, the mandatory alms prescribed in Islam. For Ahmed Garuba, a tailor whose small business shuttered earlier this year, this package of rice, beans, and cooking oil eases a month filled with uncertainty and financial strain. “When the world says there is no way,” he says quietly, “your faith makes a way.”
Poverty and faith-based welfare in Nigeria
Nigeria faces a profound and persistent poverty crisis. Despite being rich in natural resources and possessing one of Africa’s largest economies, millions of Nigerians live below the poverty line. Over 70 million people—roughly one-third of the population—survive on less than $2 a day, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Rising inflation, currency instability and the soaring cost of food have further eroded purchasing power, making basic necessities increasingly unaffordable.
Structural factors exacerbate this crisis. Unemployment remains high, particularly among youth, and a large portion of the workforce is engaged in informal, precarious jobs that provide little security or social protection. Rural communities, heavily reliant on subsistence farming, face additional threats from climate change, flooding, and land degradation. Urban centres, meanwhile, are plagued by overcrowding, rising housing costs, and inadequate public services, leaving many residents in slums and informal settlements.
Government welfare programmes exist, such as the National Social Investment Programme (NSIP) and conditional cash transfers, but critics insist their reach is limited. Coverage is uneven, disbursement irregular, and bureaucratic inefficiencies and corruption reduce effectiveness. Social protection spending accounts for just 0.14 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP, far below the global average of 1.5 percent, leaving many families with little recourse in times of crisis.
In this vacuum, religious institutions have stepped in as critical providers of support. Churches and mosques across Nigeria distribute food, pay school fees, assist with rent, and provide emergency cash, effectively becoming de facto welfare systems. Their reach often extends into communities that formal programs cannot penetrate, offering immediate relief where the state falls short. For millions, faith-based aid is not merely charitable—it is a lifeline.
These programmes operate through both structured initiatives and informal networks. Large churches, such as the Redeemed Christian Church of God and Deeper Life Bible Church, have dedicated welfare ministries that manage monthly distributions, educational support, and housing assistance. In Islam, zakat—the obligatory alms—is redistributed through organisations such as the Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation, funding education, healthcare, and small businesses. Local mosques also organise food distribution and emergency aid, creating community-level safety nets.
The strengths of faith-based welfare lie in accessibility and local knowledge. Clerics often know families personally, allowing aid to reach those most in need quickly and efficiently. Programs are flexible, responding to urgent requirements that formal welfare schemes may miss. Support is delivered in familiar and trusted environments, fostering dignity and social cohesion.
However, reliance on religious institutions also has limits. Aid can be uneven, sometimes tied to membership, moral expectations, or visibility within a congregation. Vulnerable groups—such as people with disabilities, widows, and single mothers—may be unintentionally excluded. Sustainability depends heavily on donations and volunteer labour. Yet despite these challenges, faith-based welfare highlights both the extraordinary generosity of communities and the persistent inadequacies of state-led social protection. In Nigeria, it is not merely a supplement; it has become an essential component of survival for millions.
What does it mean when access to basic survival is mediated by religious affiliation rather than by rights guaranteed by the state? When help is conditional, given as charity rather than as a legal or civic entitlement, what vulnerabilities emerge? And when survival depends on proximity to a mosque, church, or faith leader, what does that say about the state’s role in ensuring the welfare of its citizens?
Nigeria lacks a comprehensive welfare infrastructure. Unemployment insurance is largely inaccessible. Health insurance, particularly for those in the informal sector, is rare. Social assistance exists in scattered programs that are underfunded, poorly coordinated, and often tied to political patronage rather than need. In such a vacuum, faith fills the gap. Churches and mosques are physically present, linguistically familiar, and socially embedded in communities where government services rarely penetrate. Clerics often know who has lost employment, who is behind on rent, or whose child has dropped out of school. Seeking help from them is not just natural—it is often the only viable option.
However, reliance on religious welfare subtly reshapes the social contract. Aid is dispensed at the discretion of faith leaders or welfare committees, often guided by membership, perceived moral character, or visible commitment to the congregation. This system, while compassionate, is inherently uneven. It blends spiritual authority with social influence, and the line between voluntary charity and dependence on religious power can blur. For the families lining up for food or assistance, these complexities may feel distant. What matters most is the immediate relief—food on the table, a roof over one’s head, the ability to send a child to school.
Faith-based welfare in Nigeria has grown not only in scope but in sophistication. Large churches have established dedicated welfare ministries to manage the influx of requests. A pastor at a branch of Deeper Life Bible Church in Lagos, speaking anonymously, describes how his church has created a welfare department to meet the “growing number of people seeking assistance of one kind or another.” The support offered is wide-ranging: food, cash, school fees, rent, even temporary housing. Budgets are flexible, records are often minimal, and the demand is relentless. “We attend to dozens of people every month,” the pastor explains. “There is never a shortage of need.”
Funding comes from the church’s main funds and occasional targeted donations. While most beneficiaries are church members, the aid sometimes extends to others in the community. “It is both a religious obligation and a way to fill a gap left by the state,” the pastor says.
Mosques operate similarly. Beyond the obligatory zakat, many mosques have organized food distribution programs, emergency cash grants, and educational sponsorships. These programs often rely on volunteers from the congregation who know the recipients personally, ensuring that aid reaches those genuinely in need. This personal connection fosters a sense of dignity for the recipient but also reinforces the idea that access to basic necessities can depend on being known or visible to a religious community.
At the New Nations Baptist Church in Maryland, Lagos, faith-based welfare operates with structure and intent. The church’s Benevolence Ministry, led by Pastor Sunny Udemba, forms the core of its social outreach. “It is an anomaly when people do not have food to eat at home,” Udemba explains. “Usually, anyone who needs help is directed to that ministry.”
Each month, the ministry assists between 15 and 25 people, though urgent needs can expand that number. Support ranges from food and basic necessities to school fees, rent, and emergency expenses. When it comes to education, the church ensures that financial assistance targets genuine need rather than academic performance. “We may not pay 100 per cent,” Udemba notes, “but we will assist.” Church members are encouraged to contribute resources for the poor. Some donate food, others give cash, while referrals sometimes extend aid to non-members. “We regard it as part of evangelism,” Udemba says, emphasising that assistance is not conditional on joining the church, though some beneficiaries later do.
Islamic welfare operates on a similarly systematic foundation, with zakat—the obligatory alms—as its cornerstone. Organisations such as the Zakat and Sadaqat Foundation (ZSF) leverage this religious obligation to create an extensive support network across Nigeria. In 2025 alone, ZSF disbursed N653 million across 28 states, funding education, medical care, and small businesses. “Zakat is not just about wealth transfer,” says ZSF executive director Prince Sulayman Olagunju. “It is about restoring dignity and hope.”
Community-level efforts reinforce this approach. The Lekki Muslim Ummah distributed N162 million to more than 400 people in 2025. Its president, Dr AbdulGaniyu Labinjo, emphasises that recipients are expected to eventually contribute zakat themselves, creating a cycle of empowerment. Chief Imam Dr Ridwan Jamiu often reminds beneficiaries to use the funds responsibly, avoiding spending on celebrations, and prioritizing essential needs.
Such programmes are far from ad hoc charity. They are organised, predictable systems grounded in religious teachings and financed by tithes, offerings, zakat, and donations. For many Nigerians, these faith-based networks are more reliable than state welfare. Over the past 25 years, ZSF has distributed over N5 billion, benefiting more than 100,000 people, highlighting the scale and continuity of religious social support.
Government programmes, by contrast, remain fragmented and limited. Initiatives such as the National Social Investment Programme exist, but their reach is minimal. Many Nigerians cannot identify anyone who has benefited, and the processes for receiving aid are opaque. Social assistance is often tied to emergencies or political cycles, rather than being a sustained, predictable support system. A World Bank report in November 2025 highlighted the problem. Nigeria allocates only 0.14 per cent of its GDP to social protection, far below the global average of 1.5 per cent. The report noted that this “tiny allocation” reduced poverty by just 0.4 percentage points, and only 44 per cent of benefits reached the poorest citizens.
Experts warn that the system’s weaknesses are deep-rooted. Segun Tekun, a former UNICEF and ILO specialist, says Nigeria’s welfare apparatus is “too weak to combat poverty,” noting that reliance on donors—estimated at 60 per cent—makes social protection unsustainable.
Others are more direct. Emmanuel Gabari, a social worker, human rights activist, and UN Youth Ambassador based in Kano, observes that government responses are reactive rather than proactive. “Nigeria’s social welfare system is nothing to write home about,” he says. “The government only responds in emergencies.” Gabari recalls images of officials throwing bread from boats to flood victims in Borno, asking rhetorically, “How does that bread get to the people?”
Scandals further erode public trust. During the COVID-19 pandemic, hoarded palliatives led to food shortages, prompting people to break into warehouses. “People broke into warehouses because they were hungry,” Gabari notes. “That tells you everything.” For many Nigerians, these gaps have made faith-based welfare not just a supplement, but a lifeline. Churches and mosques provide predictable, community-rooted support when the state cannot. While this relief is vital, it also underscores the stark contrast between government provision and the capacity of religious institutions to meet basic human needs. In a country where millions live hand-to-mouth, faith-based welfare has become an essential part of daily life, offering both sustenance and dignity in a system where state support remains inconsistent, opaque, and often inaccessible.
For people like Mary Okafor, the debates over social policy feel distant and abstract. The hospital still demands payment, the landlord still expects rent, and bureaucratic forms remain a barrier she cannot navigate. When she needs help, it is the church that answers the phone, the mosque that opens its doors. Faith-based welfare is immediate, tangible, and familiar—a lifeline when official systems fail.
Yet even this lifeline has limits. Assistance is often conditional, whether explicitly or implicitly tied to belief, participation, or moral conformity. Those outside dominant faith communities may find themselves entirely excluded. Questions of dignity also arise: some beneficiaries hesitate to request help publicly, fearing judgment or stigma. Vulnerable groups, including people with disabilities, widows and single mothers, may be unintentionally overlooked, as many programmes rely on informal networks rather than structured outreach.
The burden on religious institutions is heavy. Clerics themselves acknowledge the strain. “We are seeing more cases than before,” says a pastor at Deeper Life Bible Church. “We worry about sustainability.” Not every religious leader embraces the role of social provider. “The church is not the state,” insists Pastor Sunny Udemba of New Nations Baptist Church. “If the system worked, we would have less to do.” Similarly, Imam Sadiq, speaking on zakat, cautions: “Zakat is not a substitute for public policy. It is a moral obligation, not a governance framework.”
Experts warn that leaving social protection entirely to faith-based organisations carries risks. It can deepen inequality, reduce transparency, and relieve the government of its responsibility to citizens. Welfare delivered solely as charity is fundamentally different from welfare guaranteed as a right. Without state involvement, access can remain uneven, arbitrary, and tied to subjective judgments about worthiness or loyalty.
At the same time, the solution is not to dismantle faith-based welfare. Rather, innovative collaboration between religious institutions and government agencies could harness the strengths of both. Structured partnerships—with oversight, transparency, and clear boundaries—could allow churches and mosques to identify and reach those in need, while the government provides funding, regulation, and guarantees of inclusion. “This can work,” says Emmanuel Gabari, a social worker and UN Youth Ambassador based in Kano. “But only with sincerity, accountability, and transparency. The intentions of both parties must be genuine. The government should not be giving out palliatives or empowerment programs only around election time. And the churches must ensure that resources reach those in need, not just enrich a select group within their congregation. The common goal must be to alleviate poverty.”
In the absence of reliable government support, Nigerians have long relied on resilience—finding ways to endure when systems fail them. Increasingly, however, that resilience is sustained not by public institutions, but by faith, community, and charity. Religious organizations provide predictability, familiarity, and human connection in a landscape where official welfare is fragmented, underfunded, and often politically influenced.
Back in Iju-Ishaga, Mary Okafor leaves the church with her bag of rice, beans, and tomato paste, and with the quiet reassurance that someone will check in on her. It is not a solution to all her problems, but it is immediate relief, a reprieve from hunger and worry. Across town, her Muslim neighbour will visit the mosque on Friday to receive similar support. In these small acts, the gaps left by the state are momentarily bridged. Nigeria’s religious institutions did not set out to become a parallel welfare system. They stepped in because no one else did. Whether the government will eventually reclaim this role, or learn to coordinate with faith-based organisations to ensure equity and efficiency, remains uncertain.
Until that happens, people like Mary will continue to line up, quietly trusting in the system that works where others fail. In a nation where formal social protection is insufficient, faith-based welfare is more than charity—it is survival. It reflects both the generosity of communities and the enduring fragility of public support, a duality that defines the lived reality of millions across Nigeria. In the streets of Lagos, in the mosques of Lekki, and in countless neighbourhoods across the country, the lines continue. People wait. They trust. They endure. And faith, in its many forms, remains the bridge between need and relief, between hunger and hope.
Sir: ISIS terrorists operating in Nigeria got a fitting and perfect gift on Christmas day from the US President Donald Trump when their command-and-control centre in Bauni Forest of Tangaza Local Government Area of Sokoto State was reduced to rubbles by airstrikes launched by the United States military from a naval warship in the Gulf of Guinea.
While unpatriotic elements and enemies of the nation were quick to criticize the airstrikes as a violation of Nigeria’s sovereignty, further lampooning the Nigerian government and military as impotent, the moves made by the Tinubu administration since the country was designated as a country of particular concern with the infamous “guns-a-blazing” tweet, due to alleged genocide against Nigerian Christians, have shown that the Nigerian government has been secretly working in collaboration with the US government to address the issue of terrorism in Nigeria.
The bilateral cooperation was evidenced by reciprocal visits of senior government officials representing both nations, and reported sightings of US military planes flying over Sambisa Forest and other terrorists’ enclaves in the last one month. The most obvious tell that Tinubu was in the know and fully briefed on the impending airstrikes was his Christmas day tweet celebrating Christians in Nigeria where he tagged the US president’s personal handle on X. This was a novelty and obviously a go-ahead signal.
Since 2009, Nigeria has struggled with the issue of terrorism and banditry which according to Vice President Kashim Shettima, has claimed over 100,000 lives. It started with the popular Boko Haram in Borno State. Today, we now have several groups like ISWAP, Ansaru, Lakurawa, Mahmud, and other Islamic militants’ factions which have not only pledged allegiance to ISIS but also sometimes engage in violent and bloody struggles for supremacy among themselves.
Some have wondered why the Nigerian military seems incapable of defeating the terrorists even when they excel effortlessly in international assignments e.g. in putting down the recent coup in Benin Republic. There are many reasons for this and this is what has spurred some pundits and keen political watchers to call for collaboration with foreign powers to stem this ugly tide.
Aside from it being an asymmetrical warfare with different rules of engagement, there are tales of terrorist’s sympathizers in the military either for religious or pecuniary reasons. Also, tacit backing from certain political and religious elites, the absence of political will due to the need for electoral victories, and foolish policies like incorporating repentant terrorists into the Armed Forces are some of the reasons why the military cannot win this fight without external help.
President Tinubu must not rest on his oars. While the Americans are dealing with the bandits from the sky, he needs to rally the military and intelligence community to strike while the iron is hot. Our borders should be monitored with drones for surveillance to prevent an influx of foreign fighters, to mop up those who escaped the airstrikes, and to prevent a migration towards safer areas in the country.
In 2021, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) released a list of Boko Haram sponsors. Six Nigerians were convicted in Dubai for funneling millions to fighters. Now is the time for the government to take another look at that list as many of the names on that list are still roaming around freely in Nigeria. Military victory against the terrorists will be easily attained once their source of funding is cut off.
The Global Terrorism Index of 2018 ranked Fulani herders as the third most violent terrorist group in the world. Over the course of a decade, they have become a terror force against farming communities. The solution is ranching and legislation against cattle herding in Nigeria.
The bilateral strike on terrorists’ hideouts in Sokoto State last Thursday has been described as a bold and courteous step to stamp out extremism in Nigeria.
In a statement at the weekend, Alliance for Yoruba Democratic Movements (AYDM), a coalition of 130 Pan-Yoruba groups, said the joint strike between Nigeria and the United States represented a present and consistent threat to Islamic fundamentalism in Nigeria.
The statement was signed by the General Secretary, Popoola Ajayi and Rasaq Arogundade.
AYDM called for the arrest of Sheik Gumi, who the group described as the alleged leader of the terrorists’ intellectual wing.
“Sheik Gumi should be arrested. He is a terrorist masquerading as an Islamic scholar. We are going to mount local and international campaign to ensure his arrest and prosecution at the International Criminal Court (ICC).’’
AYDM warned Southwest governors to prepare for terrorists’ operations and possible attacks on the region, as the terrorists would wish to fight back, targeting the home base of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and also foreign economic interests.
The group said the U.S. and Nigeria should carry out more strikes to defeat terrorism in Nigeria. AYDM, however, said the growing spate of Islamic extremism reflected the violent clash of civilisation in Nigeria, urging President Tinubu and the National Assembly to decentralise Nigeria for ethnic self-determination.
“We welcome the attacks on terrorists that are determined to take over Nigerian space. The attack has shown that Nigeria is building effective partnership across the world to reclaim the lost sovereignty of the country. The attacks are not enough. It is time to restructure Nigeria so that those who believe in a theocratic state and those who cherish democracy should have their own sovereign republics.”
AYDM says there is no country that can fight terrorism alone without sharing intelligence and operations with allies.
It said terrorism in Nigeria had become a tool for political bargain.
“Terrorists and their sponsors are blackmailing Nigeria to submit power to them or risk widespread violence,” the group said.
It said the terrorists had their ideological camps made up of rich and influential Fulani, who supported the violence employed to make Nigeria ungovernable so as to pave the way for military coup or complete takeover of the political economy.
“We are dealing with sponsors of terrorists, who do not believe in power sharing. They want the whole country to be at their mercy.’’
AYDM said with the U.S. involvement in counter terrorism operations in Nigeria, the days of the terrorists were numbered.
It urged President Tinubu to expand frontiers of support to Russia and Israel.
“Nigeria needs as many countries as possible, as friends that are necessary to defeat terrorism. The Nigerian authority should also seek collaboration with Russia and Israel; some of the few countries that give unconditional support to Africa’s strive for freedom.
“We wish to see the Nigerian anti-terrorism framework extended to Russia, given the progressive role of the country in counter-terrorism operations in the Sahel. Nigeria needs to work with Russia and others to be able to effectively fight terrorism,” AYDM said.
