The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigeria

  • Insecurity: U.S., EU renew support for Nigeria

    Insecurity: U.S., EU renew support for Nigeria

    OVERWHELMED by security challenges, the Federal Government is seeking help from the United States to secure the nation’s porous borders.

    Interior Minister Abba Moro and Inspector-General of Police (IGP) Mohammed Dikko Abubakar held talks yesterday with United States security experts in Abuja on how to police Nigeria’s vast and porous borders from infiltration of militants, especially Boko Haram sect members.

    The experts are in the country to offer proposals for the installation of comprehensive border control equipment at the nation’s borders.

    The parley came on a day the European Union (EU) renewed it pledge to stay by the Federal Government until the terrorism battle is won.

    Abubakar solicited the continued assistance of the international community in the fight against insurgency and other criminalities.

    Moro confirmed the partnership between Nigeria and the US when he hosted in his office, the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Terence McCauley, who was represented by the US Deputy Assistant Secretary on Counter Terrorism, Anne Witkowsky, who led a delegation of the security experts.

    According to Moro, President Goodluck Jonathan has restated the Federal Government’s unwavering resolve to acquire equipment to effectively monitor the borders.

    The minister noted that Nigeria would spend whatever was necessary financially and use every available resource to prevent evil-minded elements from doing violence to any part of the country.

    He told the experts that Nigeria would be glad to partner with any friendly country with workable solutions to surmount its security challenges.

    Moro noted that traditional border patrols and physical checks have become obsolete and no longer workable in tracking down terrorists, who are equally seeking better ways to advance their nefarious activities.

    He said: “Just like USA demonstrates some level of leadership in the world, Nigerian today is looked up to by most African countries for leadership. Any issue that is meant to undermine democracy and strength of Nigeria affects African countries. We welcome this step as a step in the right direction that will not only reduce the act of terrorism in the country but it will eliminate completely any act of terrorism.

    “Government strongly believes that if dialogue can bring the much needed peace, then we should go for it. We are in the process. USA and Nigeria have setup several committees which recommendations are being implemented.

    Witkowsky said that US has initiated the security system and it is being introduced to Nigeria and some African countries, such as Ghana, Chad, Niger and Burkina-Faso.

    She stressed that the advanced technology would greatly enhance the ability of the nation’s immigration officials to apprehend illegal migrants at the border areas before they enter the country to cause any mayhem.

    Her words: “We are interested in working with Nigeria to secure the country. When the country is more secured, we will also feel secured and Nigeria should know that there are several options available in tackling terrorism.

    “We have been going to several countries, helping to install the finger biometric equal to that of the United States of America (USA).

    “We have figure prints of possible over 10 million travellers at the same time in a system. We are expanding in Nigeria, Chad, Burkina Faso and we are doing a major upgrade in Ghana. We are possessing about 10 thousand finger prints per week in West Africa.”

    When reporters sought to know what the US stood to gain in the partnership, Moro responded that the assistance was at no cost to the country but an extension of a hand of fellowship from a caring ally.

    Other members of the delegation are: Mr. Dwight Brown, Miss Theresa Keens, Mr. David Svendsen, Mary Johnson, Thaddaeus Hoyt and Diana Kohn, who are programmes personnel at the US Embassy.

    The European Union also renewed its continued support to the Federal Government “until terrorism is defeated”. Ambassador and Head of Delegation of the EU to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Dr David MacRae, dropped the hint at a media luncheon hosted by the commission in Abuja.

    MacRae, however, said that terrorism should be tackled within the ambit of the rule of law.

    He commended the government for its recent initiatives in addressing the issue.

    He said: “We welcome recent steps taken by government in recent weeks towards addressing insecurity in parts of the north, including the creation of two committees with the mandate to take a holistic look on radicalisation and factors that fuel it.

    “The EU is convinced that a comprehensive approach based on security, good governance, development and improvement of social conditions is key to fighting terrorism and radicalization.”

    The EU envoy condemned the killing in Baga, Borno, adding that measures should be put in place by the government to protect the lives and property of citizens.

    He stated that those responsible for the action should be brought to justice accordingly.

    “EU welcomes the decision of the Nigerian authorities to launch a full scale investigation into the Baga incident and is looking forward to thorough inquiry and bringing to justice anyone who may be responsible for any unlawful killings and conduct,” he added.

    MacRae also reiterated that the EU had agreed to finance the African-led International Support Mission to Mali (AFISMA) till the end of June.

    “By July, AFISMA will become a UN Peacekeeping Force and as far as elections are concerned there is a roadmap which the government is expected to adhere to towards constitutional reform,” he said.

  • Nigeria league star of the week: Dele Olorundare

    Nigeria league star of the week: Dele Olorundare

    Sunshine Stars striker Dele Olorundare is the MTNFootball.com star of the Nigeria league (NPFL) for Week 9 after his brace against Wikki.

    The former Jazzy Stars of Jos forward was considered ahead of Heartland front man Isah Akor, who also scored his sixth goal of the season, and Okiki Musampa, who scored twice for Nembe City to beat Gombe United 2-0.

    Olorundare told MTNFootball.com he wishes to score more goals this season.

    “My duty as a striker is to score goals, so when I score, I am excited. I thank God that I have been getting the goals this season. I am looking forward to more,” Olorundare told MTNFootball.com.

    The former Nasarawa United striker revealed he wants to set a new goals’ record in the league after Jude Aneke’s 20 goals two seasons ago.

    “I wish to score at least 25 goals. I am sure it is not beyond me, with God and my team mates supporting me, I will get there and can even go further,” he told MTNFootball.com.

  • ‘Nigeria should target Diaspora investors’

    ‘Nigeria should target Diaspora investors’

    THE government has done enough in its effort to woo investors from the Diaspora to invest in the local economy, Director, Nigeria Development and Finance Forum (NDFF), Jide Akintunde, has said.

    Speaking ahead of the NDFF Conference in Washington DC, United States from June 4 to 5, he regretted that there is no policy known to exist to encourage Nigerians living abroad to invest in the country except ‘wooing’ them through road shows.

    He noted that there are barriers to investing in the country which especially affect the participation of Nigerians living abroad, compared to global or emerging market investors looking to invest in Nigeria.

    He said Diaspora Nigerians have more psychological closeness to the country, and so they have more awareness of the high level corruption dynamic in getting a deal done where government officials are involved in the process.

    He said the event is aimed at drawing these investors into investing in the country. “However, a global investor with experience in the emerging markets knows how to deal with the rough terrain of business in Nigeria. Indeed, his behaviour is constrained by legislations in his home country which prohibit payment of bribes while doing business abroad. But this is not necessarily the case for a Nigerian abroad who has no emerging market exposure or experience,” he said.

     

     

     

     

     

    He said the programme of privatization of the State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) could have been used to stimulate Diaspora investment.

    Akintunde however insisted that to be able to do that requires more transparency in the programme than we have. We also need innovative policies to make it happen. “When we look at the financial outlay for the purchase of government assets, they are very high; perhaps too high beyond what a unit of business controlled by an individual could muster. That might explain why the multinationals and investment vehicles promoted by foreign governments are the more visible foreign businesses in the country. However, the planned floatation of Diaspora bonds by Nigeria and a few other African governments can help address this barrier,” he said.

    He said that with the Diaspora bond, Nigerians abroad could now invest in the Nigerian infrastructure sector with their pooled financial resource. This, he said, mitigates the risk of an individual or few individuals taking on both management responsibilities and operating risks of investing in Nigeria.

    “Some years ago, the federal government had mooted the idea of creating a technology parks with the involvement of Nigerians abroad, to incubate IT businesses in the country. But the commitment to push the policy to fruition has been lacking. Thus one of the proposed locations for the project, the former Federal Secretariat complex in Ikoyi, Lagos, has remained unoccupied for years,” he said.

    He said that the engagement of Nigerians abroad should not be merely for political posturing. “We must fashion a policy that will facilitate technology transfer by creating opportunities for Diaspora Nigerians to come and invest in the country. This is a more realistic process to bridge the technology gap as opposed to the expectation that some foreign entities will come and transfer their know-how to us,” he said.

     

  • Nigeria, EU sign N18b pact

    The European Union (EU) yesterday signed 89-million Euro (about N18 billion) financial agreements with the Federal Government to support the country’s health, water programmes and economic growth.

    The Minister of National Planning Commission (NPC), Dr Shamsuddeen Usman, signed the three financing agreements on behalf of the government. Dr David MacRae, the Ambassador of the EU to Nigeria, signed on behalf of the union in Abuja.

    Usman, who was represented by the NPC Secretary, Mr Fidelis Ugbo, said the agreements would help to expedite action toward implementing the programmes.

    He said the water supply and sanitation sector reforms was conceived to contribute to poverty reduction, sustainable development and the achievement of the water and sanitation related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Adamawa, Ekiti, and Plateau states.

    The minister added that the total budget for the programme was 52 million Euros and that the European Development Fund’s (EDF) contribution toward its implementation was 40 million Euros.

    He said that the maternal and newborn health programme was designed to significantly improve the health status of women and children through improved and sustainable primary health care delivery system in Adamawa and Kebbi states.

    According to him, the total budget for the programme is 33 million Euros and the EDF’s contribution to the programme is 30 million Euros.

    “The Nigeria competitiveness support programme will support the country in trade and investment competition through development of process, procedures and stronger capacity of relevant institutions in Nigeria.’’

    Usman said that the total budget for the programme was 230 million Euros and that the EDF’s contribution to the programme was 19 million Euros.

    “By authorising the three financing agreements today, the EU contribution stands at 89 million Euros. In this regard, Nigeria will be on the right track to making considerable progress in the achievement of the MDGs,’’ he said.

    The minister said the EU contribution would also assist Nigeria to achieve its developmental goals as enshrined in the country’s Vision 20:20202 and the Transformation Agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration.

    In his remarks, MacRae said the EU would contribute 89 million Euros from the EDF to assist in the development of water supply, improved access to health and foster economic growth in Nigeria.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalled that the Federal Government had in November 2009, signed the 10th EDF Country Strategy Paper-National Indicative Programme with EU for the implementation of 17 indicative programmes in the country.

     

  • What will our non-children inherit from us in Nigeria? NTA Nigeria Map again! ExxonMobil/malaria

    What will our non-children inherit from us in Nigeria? NTA Nigeria Map again! ExxonMobil/malaria

    Can we think for a moment about what our ‘non-children’, the rest of Nigerians, will inherit from us, as people and government in Nigeria? We inherited powerful images of ‘life after colonialism’ from our Independence parents dancing around a flagpole with descending British and rising Nigerian flags. At the Governor’s Mansion, in 1962 as a Boy Scout I served medi medior hors d’oeuvres to retiring colonialists and budding Nigerian-ists. Those images turned into schools without books, taps without water, switches without power, police with blood stained corrupt checkpoints, elections without votes, education without scholarships and finally the fear factor. A parent even in a village is mindful of the inheritance laws and what will be left to the children –farmland, a hut, a house, trinkets and beads, clothes.

    What is the splendid legacy we shall leave for all the wealth and good weather God has endowed us with? When you visit countries across the world, the citizens are at pains to point out public and private buildings, monuments to great thoughts, ideas and events. Often they were built ‘before our time’ like the Pyramids and the Sphinx, The Taj Mahal, The Houses of Parliament, the Red Fort, the Kremlin, the Forbidden City, The Tower of London, The Great Wall of China, Hadrian’s Wall, the castles and fortresses, the great Cathedrals and Mosques and Temples and mansions. These were built for war, peace, love and hate and many were built under ‘extreme anti-human rights conditions’ with slaves and slave trade profits.

    Many others have been built ‘in our time’: The Eiffel Tower, The Burj Khalifa Building, The Gherkin, the Great Bridges, The Three Gorges Dam, and the Sydney Opera House. These have been built for development. Though not always owned by government, governments take ownership to showcase their primary place ‘all the world is a stage’. It is these magnificent structures which make the countries a focus of eyes. Did I forget the White House? Of course not! Everyone knows the White House. None of these buildings is a white elephant. And in Nigeria what will we leave our non-children? The CBN building in Abuja, The Villa or that boat-shaped building in Abuja, so far from the ocean? Or Jos and Boko Haram corpses? A negative budget, a huge debt and many thieves loaded with Nigeria’s naira?

    Na wa O! NTA on Sunday 28-4-2013 News at 9, at 9 .03pm, put out a map of Nigeria without the Rivers Niger or Benue showing. Perhaps NTA has withdrawn the previous adulterated maps while awaiting authentic space age NigSAT 2 infrared maps? Good, but this confirms the magomago going on by ‘some people’ with the map of Nigeria in the national media, a media paid for by the taxes of all Nigerians, North and South of the aforementioned rivers. The result of this ‘Geo-investigation’ should be publicised. The ‘some people’ found responsible for trying to alter the course of history and the topography of Nigerian geography should be brought to book before Nigeria is irreversibly changed or actually disappears as a country! It seems ‘some people’ and their backers are praying for Lagos and all states south of ‘The Rivers’ to disappear under an as-yet imaginary tsunami from the Bight of Benin. Imagine crossing the Onitsha Bridge and finding no land South except the Atlantic Sea. That would be the fate of Nigerians if ‘some people’ had their way! We no go gree O!

    Not everyone who declares ‘I love you’ wants you to live or actually ‘loves you’. I tell my female patients to look in a mirror and realise that the person in the mirror is the only one who has their genuine maternity interests at heart. So their being neglected, beaten, deprived of ante-natal care or good delivery facilities is manifestation of a warped an useless ‘love from their husband’. No one can love them more than themselves. No one can love you more than yourself. Nigerians should each look in a mirror, before it is too late!

    Is Exxon Mobil’s publicity campaign in the newspapers ‘fair to all concerned’? It admits to just $15m spent ‘over 10 years to malaria prevention in Nigeria’. Hurray, I suppose! Some companies do nothing, so ‘doing a little’ is ariwoable,abi? Ariwoable means noisemaking-able. You may think that $15m over 10 years is a lot, worthy a national honour for the Managing Director or Chairman because ‘money talks’. It is actually just $1.5m a year or N2.2b or one tenth of the money stolen from the Police Pension Fund. It is only $4109.5/day or 41 barrels/day at $100/barrel. Wow!!!! Check how much averagely ExxonValdes, I mean ExxonMobil, landed daily during that time out of the two million barrels/day produced in Nigeria. The ExxonMobil campaign was through adverts across newspapers, each costing probably over N150,000 and in total perhaps N1.5-N2million plus. Small, abi? It is unfortunate that in all that advert space, there was not a single instruction to the thousands of readers on malaria prevention tips or strategies.

    If Exxon Mobil had put out such a malaria prevention ‘life skill message’ in the adverts and included a comment on ExxonMobil’s contribution, it would have been wonderful, cost-effective, use of money, space, and attention span and saved lives. This advert should have been a dual message, the primary advert about ExxonMobil’s contribution and the secondary message – ‘Be Warned’ anti-malaria strategies. Yet another wasted opportunity.

  • Nigeria, Canada trade volume to hit $6b in 2015

    The Nigeria, Canada trade volume will double to $6 billion from $3 billion by 2015, the Canadian Minister of International Trade, Ed Fast, has said.

    This is contained in the Oxford Business Group (OBG) report for 2012, which indicated that Canada is working with the African governments to address issues relating to security.

    In a report obtained by The Nation tagged: Nigeria – 2013 Report on economic reforms, the firm said rolling out wide-range reforms in the economy is prompting investors to take a “fresh look” at the country.

    Fast said the privatisation and anti-corruption reforms would create better opportunities for investors.

    “These ongoing changes will create better opportunities for all Nigerians and for investors from around the world. Canadian businesses are taking a fresh look at Nigeria and the opportunities it presents. They see that the environment is good for business, including a fair and strong regulatory framework to support and protect them,” he said.

    “It is important that security threats are addressed, particularly because security and prosperity go hand-in-hand,” Fast said.

    The minister added that while Nigeria’s extractive industries remain a focal point of interest for Canadian businesses, other sectors, such as information and communications technology (ICT), were playing a growing role in bilateral trade and investment.

    “While diversified trade and investment are vital to our bilateral relationship, the extractive sector can also be an important driver of sustainable economic growth and poverty reduction in developing countries, provided that an enabling environment is created,” he said.

    The report was produced with research assistance from the Nigerian Economic Summit Group, the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, Cordros Capital Ltd and Price Waterhouse Coopers.

     

  • EU worried over Baga killings

    The European Union Ambassador/Head of Delegation, Dr. David MacRae Tuesday expressed concern over the recent  killings of innocent civilians in the Northern parts of the country by soldiers.
    The envoy also supported the call to  investigate the incident and where there is a  clear case of an abuse,  those responsible should be brought to justice.
    Besides, the envoy also listed corruption and power supply as some of the issues the country must overcome to attract investment.
    About 185 people were reported to have been killed recently in Baga, Borno state during the clash between the joint Military Task-force (JTF) and the dreaded terrorist group, the Boko Haram.
    MacRae who was reacting to the incident during a chat with journalists in Abuja  on Tuesday  noted that the fight against terrorism must be done according to the rules of engagement, saying anything outside that is unacceptable.
    He said, “the fight against terrorism must be conducted within the law rather than outside of it. Anything less is unacceptable. Those responsible for containing the crisis must act with utmost respect for the rule of law, with measures in place to ensure that the innocent and their property are protected.
    “If there have been abuse of human rights or abuses of law, those who have done this should be brought to justice. This is obviously the way all civilized nations behave and we regard Nigeria as one of these.”
    MacRae who also spoke about the level of corruption in the country, said that It would have been far better if the country’s resources are judiciously used; noting that what Nigerians needed are just the basic things of l life.
    MacRae therefore urged government to address the issue of  impunity and financial recklessness headlong to make the desired change that will drive the development.
    He said,” it would have been far better if those resources had been used to deliver basics services like education, health and infrastructure. These are the things need to be put in place.
    “What this country needs is jobs; jobs for the people especially young people. If young people had jobs they won’t be unnecessarily agitated and getting involved in misdeeds. But without work, without just income, and no social safety net in Nigeria, the people will continue to face poverty. Half of the population in this country are below poverty line.”
    While applauding the  Lagos  reform in Public Financial Management, MacRae  stressed that,  “it is important that public money is accounted for and that all expenditures are clear and transparent so that people of this country know what is happening with their money, which, may be entrusted to politicians or civil servants or to a minister but on behalf of the people of Nigeria. That is why public financial management with all it entails is vital for the future of this country.
    “The idea that public money is not accounted for is unacceptable. It is the right of the individual to know. If you don’t have the information, how can you be sensibly involve yourself in democracy and decide who to vote for.”
    Though he noted that Nigeria is not the only corrupt nation, he however said that the problem in the case of Nigeria is that people are not punished.
    “It is not that Nigerians are more corrupt than anybody else. If you look at history, people are caught all over the world for crimes but when they are caught, they go to the prison or they are fined heavily. That is a strong incentive. It is not that Nigerians are rather more dishonest, it is just that when people get away with things they will take advantage of it. It is important to have a legal system which is functional,” MacRae stated.

  • Nigeria Corruption Inc.

    Nigeria Corruption Inc.

    • Retired judge worries over corrupt power brokers

    Justice Mustapha Akanbi, retired President of the Court of Appeal has lamented that indicted ex-governors, ministers and party officials have remained the power brokers in the country, wondering how the war against corruption would work under their influence. As a former chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission (ICPC), Justice Akanbi is well situated to know the debilitating consequences of public corruption on the country. He made this observation at the meeting of the National Association of Law Teachers (NALT), held recently in Ilorin.

    We share in Justice Akanbi’s concerns that indicted public officials who ordinarily should be quarantined if not incarcerated have returned through surrogates to further destroy the system. This is possible because of the weak state institutions, and also the unfortunate inability of our country to develop a critical mass of civilian population to stop these fellows on their track. Justice Akanbi also called on ‘the President, governors, political leaders, and top civil/public servants, emirs, obas and obis to imbibe the spirit of leading by example and be in the vanguard of struggle to eliminate corruption or reduce it to tolerable level.’ While the call is laudable, it is unfortunate that most of those he is appealing to seem to have lost all sense of patriotism.

    Nonetheless, we commend Justice Akanbi for raising his moral voice against a major national challenge. We must also ask the President and other national leaders to hearken to this voice of reason. We reecho his worries that because the purveyors of corruption are the political godfathers, ‘more often than not, mediocre, incompetent and corrupt hands find their way to positions of power and authority which they use and manipulate to their own advantage and not to the benefit of the society or public good.’ Furthering his unimpeachable thesis, he argued that ‘the end result is that the nation begins to drift and slide dangerously down the slippery road of economic ruination.’ In our view, our country is already farther down this ignominious road, and only a quick reversal of course can save the final consequences.

    While pressuring the political class to change from its ruinous ways, we believe the civil society and state institutions have a huge responsibility to whip the recalcitrant leaders into line. Of course these critical groups range from professional bodies, to labour unions, religious bodies, security and anti-corruption agencies, the courts, the press and other influential bodies, that need to push together to save our country, otherwise our fate will continue to spiral in the negative as Justice Akanbi further argued. He had forewarned that, ‘in the process, there is general desecration of societal and normative values, low level performance in both socio-economic and technological development and ultimately a putrefying decadence, the stench of which often puts off or prevents other nations, with a record of transparency and probity, from wanting to interact or do business with a corrupt nation’.

    While urging action on all national leaders, it is important that President Goodluck Jonathan realises that by virtue of his position, he remains the chief culprit of Justice Akanbi’s stinging indictment. This is because he has the moral and political authority to ensure that the fight against corrupt practices achieves the needed result. Where it is failing as many, including the international community have confirmed, then he must accept the responsibility for the failure. Unfortunately the President has by his conduct also shown lack of the needed enthusiasm to fight corruption. Worse still, most of his close friends and associates form a chunk of these indicted but influential ex-political heavy weights.

     

  • FIFA UNDER-17 WORLD EX-GFA BOSS ASKS FIFA TO BAN NIGERIA FOR AGE-CHEATING

    FIFA UNDER-17 WORLD EX-GFA BOSS ASKS FIFA TO BAN NIGERIA FOR AGE-CHEATING

    EX-GHANA FA chief Ben Koufie will make a recommendation to FIFA to ban Nigeria and Ivory Coast from playing at the U17 World Cup because they age-cheated their way to qualify for the competition.

    Koufie says he will make a recommendation to the world football’s governing body to ban countries from age-group competitions if any of their players fail age tests.

    Magnetic Resonance Image (MRI) scans have been used by both FIFA and the Confederation of African Football to check on the true ages of players as the clampdown on age cheats intensifies.

    Nine players were banned from the African U-17 event after failing tests. The players hailed from Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Congo.

    Now Nigeria and Ivory Coast have qualified for the World Cup to be held in the UAE later this year and both teams played in Saturday’s final in Morocco.

    Koufie, who has worked with the technical committees of both CAF and FIFA, now wants FIFA to enforce tougher punishments for teams whose players fail MRI scans.

    “I am going to make some recommendations to Fifa that it should just not be a matter of disqualifying players from tournaments when they have failed their MRI in a specific competition,” Koufie told BBC Sport.

    “If the players played in the qualifying matches for that competition, that team must be disqualified because it used disqualified players in the qualifying process.

    “Once you are caught and it is proven that the player played in the qualifying matches then you have to be disqualified.

    “I am worried about it because it is not fair at all to the youngsters. It is called U-17 because it is a development stage.

    “If you now bring 20 to 25-year-olds to play in that competition then it is an injustice.”

    Koufie has been a consistent and strong critic of age cheating in Ghana and reckons the problem lies with coaches and administrators as part of what he says is an unhelpful emphasis on winning at a young age.

    The former Black Stars boss, who has also worked in Zimbabwe and Botswana, has been talking to youth coaches in Ghana and wants them to be at the forefront of addressing age cheating by emphasising development rather than winning for youth teams.

    “Coaching at this level must be taken seriously because that is the formative stage. The U-17 is not a must-win area,” he said.

    “It should be a chance for the boys to learn at a competitive level, that is the assessment. We are incorrectly using it now as a real competition where they must win.

    “Sometimes in football you lose in order to learn and in the process learn to win. They may lose but they must learn from their losses.”

    All four teams – champions Ivory Coast, runners-up Nigeria, Tunisia and Morocco – have qualified for the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in United Arab Emirates from 17 October to 8 November.

     

  • Nigeria partners global foundation for out-of-school children

    Nigeria partners global foundation for out-of-school children

    Nigeria has entered into partnership with a global education foundation, the Educate-A-Child Programme, an initiative of Her Highness, Sheikha Moza Bint Nasser of Qatar, to address the challenge of out-of-school children in various countries.

    The programme is funded by the Qatari Government.

    The Minister of State for Education, Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, yesterday led the Nigerian delegation to the high-level meeting, with the theme: Accelerate Efforts to Reach Out-of-School Children.

    A statement by the Special Assistant to the Minister of State for Education (Media), Simeon Nwakaudu, said the three-day meeting is holding in Doha, Qatar.

    The minister worked out the partnership after briefing Ministers of Education from 17 countries attending the meeting.

    Wike, who presented Nigeria’s Country Report to the ministers and former national leaders, explained that the nation has taken vital steps to address the problems associated with out-of-school children since the Goodluck Jonathan administration came to office in 2011.

    He said the Federal Government has the political will to tackle the challenge posed by such children.

    According to him, the funding of infrastructural development, recruitment of teachers and involvement of various stakeholders in access creation programmes have led to a reduction in the number of out-of-school children in Nigeria.

    Wike urged international agencies and other development partners to assist the nation in resolving the challenges posed by out-of-school children in Nigeria and other developing countries.

    He said: “In our country, we have given education the desired priority under the leadership of President Jonathan. We have the political will to ensure that we create access to quality education for our children that are presently out of school. We urge all development partners, especially the Educate a Child Programme, to invest in our nation to reduce the number of out-of-school children.

    “We have invested in the development of infrastructure in the form of the Almajiri schools in the North and selected some parts of our country for the construction of special girl-child schools and schools for the boy-child who is out of school in parts of the South. We look forward to targeted investments to help us develop more infrastructure to cater for more out-of-school children.”

    Wike had a private session with Sheikha Bint Nasser, Ministers of Education and former British Prime Minister, Mr Gordon Brown, on how to develop a strong international partnership to increase global access for out-of-school children.

    Addressing the opening session of the meeting, its Convener, Sheikha Bint Nasser urged international development agencies, philanthropists, wealthy nations and individuals to prioritise basic education as a right of less privileged children.

    She explained that she and her foundation, Educate a Child Programme, would continue to fund projects that enhance access to quality education for out-of-school children across the world.

    The philanthropist said Educate A Child will reach the 61 million out-of-school children, adding that the programme will work on education projects in Nigeria.

    Mr Brown, who is a United Nations (UN) Special Envoy on Education, said there is a global emergency in education.

    The former British Prime Minister urged governments and international development agencies to increase the funding of education.

    He noted that without increased funding and improved access to education, poverty will undermine global development and stability.