As the world marks World COPD Day on 19 November 2025, Nigeria stands at a critical juncture. Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, or COPD, a chronic, progressive, and preventable respiratory illness, is quietly imposing a heavy burden on health, society, and the national economy. Yet, it remains inadequately understood, underdiagnosed, and under-prioritised in public policy discourse. On this day, the Global Allergy & Airways Patient Platform (GAAPP) and the Amaka Chiwuike‑Uba Foundation (ACUF) remind us that COPD is not just a medical issue; it is a governance challenge that demands urgent, coordinated action. COPD’s burden in Nigeria is more than theoretical.…
Author: Editor
A social media contact familiar with Lt. A.M. Yerima reached out to me after my last update to say that the young man is not, as I had suggested, the scion of an upper-crust military family. His evidence was convincing. Yet many claims, including those circulated by popular AI chatbots such as Google’s Gemini, assert that he is the son of retired Major General M.M. Yerima. The claims initially seemed plausible because both men hail from Yobe State. This morning, however, I asked a retired general who knows Major General M.M. Yerima intimately whether Lt. A.M. Yerima was indeed his…
There is an ongoing and increasingly heated discussion around the teachings and methods of Sheikh Yahya Ibrahim Masussuka. His bold interpretations and open challenges to mainstream clerical authority have unsettled many, yet they also speak to a deeper cultural moment in Northern Nigeria. This is not merely a theological dispute but part of a larger reckoning with decades of unchallenged dogma and intellectual conformity. Masussuka’s emergence and the fierce reactions to him, expose a region caught between inherited certainty and the demands of critical thought in a changing world. These debates may sound chaotic, but they signal renewal. The North…
Five years ago, a military junta took over power in Mali with a firm promise to end terrorism and establish security in the country, end French neo-colonialism and set the country on the path of development. Last Saturday, Mariam Cisse, a twenty-year old social influencer with 90,000 followers on TikTok was arrested by jihadists while creating content in the market in her town of Tonka near Timbuktu. The following day, Sunday this week, they brought her back to the market, announced that she had been producing video content supportive of the military junta and executed her. There were no Malian security…
As a sociology student, I was struck by the recent confrontation between Nigeria’s Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, and a young naval officer, Lieutenant A. M. Yerima, at a construction site in Abuja. On the surface, it was just another heated exchange between two men in authority. But beneath that moment lies a deeper story one that says a lot about power, respect, and the fragile relationship between civilian leaders and the military in our country. It is, in many ways, a small window into the sociology of the military and the everyday struggles that define our…
Improved community participation and stronger accountability mechanisms are transforming healthcare delivery at the Primary Health Care Centre (PHC), Nikuchi, under the Community-Led Monitoring (CLM) Project of the Association of Civil Society for Malaria, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN). By Anna Moses The initiative, implemented across 13 states, including Niger State, focuses on malaria prevention, immunisation, and nutrition through community-driven strategies such as advocacy visits, focus group discussions, client exit interviews, and follow-ups. In Niger State, the project is being executed in ten Local Government Areas (LGAs) through twenty Community-Based Organizations (CBOs). The Hurting Hearts Foundation (HHF) oversees implementation in the Nikuchi…
I believe those teasing the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, as a land grabber have no idea of the extent of power he, like state governors, holds over land within his jurisdiction. Most of the criticisms directed at him over this dispute are projections of personal dislike for the man rather than sound legal reasoning. While it may be agreed that he should not have been physically present at the scene, the law vests power over land matters squarely in his office. We are under a civilian administration, and any claim that a military officer can interfere with a public institution’s…
I have read competing perspectives on the correctitude (or lack thereof) of FCT Minister Nyesom Wike and Lt. A.M. Yerima’s conduct in the viral video of their gladiatorial rhetorical combat. My concern, however, is different. Several social media commentators, irrespective of partisan affiliations, appear united in proclaiming that Wike finally “met his match” in Yerima. Interestingly, the Wike-Yerima confrontation reminded me of a puzzlingly paradoxical but deeply philosophical aphorism we were fond of as student union activists in the 1990s. We used to say that when an unstoppable force (which Wike fancies himself as and which many people ascribe to…
Younger generations of Nigerians would not know the famous mad dog story involving late Chief MKO Abiola and troops of the Nigerian Army. Oral account had it that Retired General Abdulsalami Abubakar as a middle Cadre Senior Officer led that operation. Lt. AM Yerima of the Nigerian Navy is equivalent to Captain in the Nigerian Army for those who may not know. The restraint that young officer exhibited today is typical of Nigerian Armed Forces officers. They can be complete gentlemen until you threaten their life which Minister Nyesom Wike’s DSS detail almost did. Ironically, if those guys were not…
Residents of Minna, the Niger State capital have expressed gratitude to the Federal Government as they continue to benefit from the ongoing distribution of Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITNs) by the National Malaria Elimination Programme (NMEP). By Anna Moses The aim of the distribution of insecticide-treated nets, launched in partnership with Global Fund and other health partners, is to reduce child mortality and high cases of malaria in Nigeria. Speaking with our reporter on Mandela Road, Victoria Kumaorun Adugu, expressed joy over the free nets, describing them as life-saving gifts for families battling constant mosquito bites. She explained that before now, all her…