For those following the trend of events in Nigeria, they would attest to the fact that since last week, the attention of the country had temporarily shifted from politics to pageantry, as an 18 year old Kano state indigene, Shatu Garko, was crowned the 44th Miss Nigeria, and the first Hijab wearing winner, since the contest began in 1957. Although I had interest on the issue, but I chose to keep quiet for a number of reasons, the first of which is in order to avoid going into any conflict with those that are very versed in the Islamic jurisprudence.…
Author: Editor
By Angela Atabo When President Muhammadu Buhari assumed office on May 29, 2015, one of his cardinal focus was the fight against corruption, because of his belief that “if we do not kill corruption, corruption will kill Nigeria.” The fear of corruption became so palpable that the “body language” of the president assumed a warning signal. Apart from launching some strategies to tackle the menace, the Buhari administration came up with the innovative whistle blowing policy, which was unveiled on December 21, 2016, by Kemi Adeosun, a former Minister of Finance. A whistleblower is a person who exposes information or…
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA), in partnership with the government of Niger Republic, organised an international symposium for traditional rulers in that country to harness Demographic Dividends (DD). This is contained in a statement issued by Kori Habib, the UNFPA Media Associate in Abuja on Monday. Habib stated that the conference, which has “Traditional Rulers as Agents of Change” as its theme, would be presided over by President Mohamed Bazoum of Republic of Niger at the Mahatma Gandhi International Conference Centre in Niamey from November 22 to 23. She noted that the symposium was aimed at promoting experience-sharing and enhancing…
The ECOWAS Court of Justice says only six West African countries are ready to respect its rulings 20 years after its establishment. President of the Court, Justice Amoako Asante, said since establishment of the court in 1991, only six countries of the 15 member states, had met the pre-requisite for obeying the court rulings. Giving an address at the opening of an international conference to celebrate the court at 20 and also seek law reviews and advance its knowledge, Asante said that all countries ought to have set up a national authority to implement its rulings. The conference has as…
The African Union Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSCOCC) has inaugurated five eminent personalities, including a traditional ruler, as its Nigerian Cultural Ambassadors. The five AU-ECOSOCC Nigerian Cultural Ambassadors were inaugurated at the unveiling of the project “My Culture and I” in Abuja on Saturday. Speaking during the ceremony, AU-ECOSCOCC Country Representative, John Oba-Olasunkanmi, said that cultural diplomats and traditional leaders were key players in the propagation of cultural development in Africa. Oba-Olasunkanmi said that the AU-ECOSCOCC Nigerian Cultural Ambassadors “are custodians of our Culture that will propagate and influence a cultural ‘Rebirth’ not just in Nigeria but in the…
Nigeria’s First Lady, Aisha Buhari on Sunday, received her counterparts from Sierra Leone, Congo Brazzaville, Sao Tome and Principe as well as representatives of Zimbabwe, Cote d’Ivoire and Mauritania ahead of the 9th Summit of the African First Ladies Peace Mission (AFLPM) Those on arrival were Maria de Fatima Vila Nova of Sao Tome and Principe, Antoinette Sassou Nguesso of Congo Brazzaville, Fatima Maada Bio of Sierra Leone. The first lady also received the representatives of the First Ladies of Cote d’Ivoire, Mouritania, and Zimbabwe. Mrs Buhari, who welcomed the visiting first ladies to Nigeria, expressed delight for the visit.…
Nigeria’s Operation Hadin Kai (OPHK), the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) and Operation Emergence-4 Maroua in Cameroun are changing strategies against Boko and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorists. The Chief of Military Public Information for MNJTF, Col. Muhammad Dole, said this in a statement issued on Sunday in Ndjamena. Dole said the Theatre Commander, OPHK, Maj.-Gen. Christopher Musa and the Force Commander, MNJTF, Maj.-Gen. Abdul-Khalifah Ibrahim, had paid an operational visit to Operation Emergence-4 in Maroua, Cameroun, toward the objective. He said the commanders were received by the Field Commander, Operation Emergence-4, Maj.-Gen. Saly Mohammadou, before proceeding…
Gunmen on Sunday evening, killed an All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship aspirant in Zamfara in the 2019 governorship election, Sagir Hamida. The deceased’s elder brother, Kabiru Hamida disclosed that Sagir was killed near Abuja while he was returning from the weekend. According to him, the family members were still gathering details of what happened from the authorities and possible eye witnesses, adding that details could only be made available by Monday. Late Hamida, an Abuja-based businessman and former director in the federal civil service, aspired for the governorship of Zamfara under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2011 but lost…
Governors elected on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held a closed door meeting on Sunday night in Abuja. Meeting under the aegis of the Progressives Governors Forum (PGF) were the host governor and chairman of the group, Abubakar Bagudu of Kebbi, his counterparts from Kwara, Imo, Borno, Ebonyi, Lagos and Zamfara. Others were governors of Niger, Ogun, Cross River, Kogi, Nasarawa, Katsina, Plateau, Ekiti, Jigawa and Kano states. As at 10:00 p.m., their counterparts from Osun, Yobe, Gombe and Kaduna states were still being expected. The meeting was expected to, among other things, discuss the party’s forthcoming…
The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), has faulted U.S’s removal of Nigeria from the list of countries with religious concern, insisting that there are still religious threats in the country. This is contained in a statement by CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle made available to newsmen on Sunday. According to the statement, available statistic shows that there are still threats to religious tolerance in most parts of the country. Recall that Nigeria was placed on the list alongside other countries during the regime of President Donald Trump in 2020 for alleged toleration of “severe violations of religious freedom.” The United…