This article, first published in 2018, speaks to the ruckus kicked up in the polity by recent comments of prominent political and religious figures once again exposing our major fault lines as a country. An outsider, especially foreigners and Nigerians in Diaspora, may be excused to think the bubble would burst any time soon and Nigeria would go to war with itself. They may well be forgiven for thinking so, especially if the social media is their only means of gauging what obtains in Nigeria. In the Nigerian social media space, battles are fought 24/7. Politically, those who stand with…
Author: Editor
By Zailani Bappa When Governor Bello Mohammed (Matawallen Maradun) came up with the peace initiative in Zamfara to end banditry and associated crimes in the state, many pessimists in the zone kicked against it and even went ahead to jeopardise it. In fact, even some of his coloegues publicly kicked against it and spoke negatively about it and insisted in not touching it with a long stick. In any case, it worked in Zamfara state. It worked, not because of its concept alone, but because of the sincerity, resilience and committment to agreements reached in the process. Today, even with…
A fire outbreak at the Nigeria Army Depot, Zaria, Kaduna State, has destroyed parts of Block 15 of soldiers’ quarters at the depot. Capt. Abdu Arigu, Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, Army Depot, Zaria, confirmed the incident in Zaria on Sunday. According to him, the incident occurred at 9.30p.m. on Saturday at the block – a two-storey building – and destroyed the last floor. “There was no loss of life to the incident. “Combined efforts of fire fighters at the Nigeria Military School and Kaduna State Fire Service brought the situation under control,” Arigu said. He said that investigation was…
The Police Command in Taraba on Sunday confirmed the kidnapping and killing of the Chairman of Ardo Kola local government area of the state, Mr Salihu Dovo, and his Nephew. DSP David Misal, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, confirmed the incident to newsmen in Jalingo. “It’s true, the chairman was abducted by gunmen at his residence in the early hours of Sunday in Jalingo and later killed him in the bush with his brother’s son whose name we are yet to get. “We have so far arrested one person in connection with the incident and we…
The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), on Saturday, came tops on the medals table, to win the fourth edition of the just concluded One Service One Medal (OSOM) Games, in Abuja. The NSCDC hauled a total of 10 gold, eight silver and seven bronze to emerge champions, while the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) won nine gold, 13 silver, seven bronze to finish second, and the Federal Fire Service (FFS) with four gold, two silver and four bronze medals clinched third place. Awwal Ibrahim, the NSCDC Director of Sports, expressed joy at his team’s victory, adding that discipline and…
The Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria has explained that it is still waiting for the approval of Kaduna state government to reopen for academic activities. A statement by the Director, Public Affairs Directorate of the university, Auwalu Umar made available to ASHENEWS on Sunday, informed students, parents and the general public that the institution was still waiting for the approval from the state government for the reopening of the Institution. According to Umar, “The state government sent a verification team to the University on Wednesday, 20th January, 2021 to specifically assess ABU’s compliance with COVID-19 preventive protocols. “The University indeed…
The Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, has called for dialogue over tribal clashes in Oyo State and appealed to the Federal government to apply caution in handling the fragile situation. The group’s director, Prof. Ishaq Akintola, made the appeal in a statement issued in Lagos on Sunday, “A tribal activist who gave quit notice to non-indigenes in Igangan, Oke Ogun area of Oyo State, allegedly led indigenes of the area to attack the latter on Jan. 22. “The incident allegedly resulted in the destruction of houses and vehicles. The Igangan incident must be condemned by all lovers of peace. “At the…
An auto crash has claimed lives of eight persons while many others sustained injuries on Saturday evening. The accident occured when an articulated truck lost control and ran into some shops at Akungba Akoko in Akoko South West local government area of Ondo State. The accident occurred directly opposite the Adekunle Ajasin University barely a month after a similar accident, but in which no life was lost. According to an eyewitness, the truck, which was coming from Ikare Akoko area in Akoko North East local government area of the state, lost control and ran into some rows of shops along…
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Saturday, recorded five deaths and 1,633 cases of the COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 120,602. The country has so far tested 1,241,230 people since the first confirmed case of COVID-19 was recorded on February 27, 2020. The NCDC said total confirmed COVID-19 cases in Nigeria now stood at 120,602, with 95,901 recoveries recorded so far. It also confirmed additional five coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll to 1,502 in the country. The agency added that the additional 1,633 new COVID-19 infections were…
President Muhammadu Buhari has advocated for the restructuring of ECOWAS, saying that the organization needed to streamline its management to adjust to current realities. “A situation where ECOWAS has 23 statutory appointees, of which 13 are Commissioners for this Commission is totally unsustainable”, the president said in his presentation to the virtual 58th Ordinary Session of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, in Abuja, on Saturday. He stressed that there was need for a lean and compact leadership in ECOWAS, to enhance the efficiency and performance of the organization, adding that the restructuring would eliminate overlap…