Nigeria’s health sector in 2025 recorded notable progress in infrastructure, emergency care, insurance expansion, and service utilisation, yet persistent strikes by doctors, nurses, and allied health workers exposed unresolved labour tensions threatening reforms. Under the Health Sector Renewal Investment Initiative, the Federal Government commissioned oncology centres, expanded emergency services, improved immunisation coverage, and cleared several legacy arrears owed to health workers, signaling significant investment in healthcare reform. In spite of these gains, waves of strikes disrupted federal hospital services, left patients stranded, and highlighted deep-rooted tensions between authorities and health sector unions, exposing the fragile nature of reforms even with investment…
Author: Editor
An international team of scientists has identified a gene with the potential to improve global food security by helping cereal crops better withstand some of the unpredictable challenges posed by climate change. The discovery, centered on barley genetics, offers new avenues to breed more resilient crops, reducing losses and stabilizing food supplies as weather patterns become increasingly erratic. Published in the prestigious journal Science on Nov. 6, the study focused on the genetic mechanisms that regulate seed dormancy — a plant’s internal “timer” that determines when a seed breaks its dormant state and begins to grow. The researchers zeroed in on a gene known…
Human rights lawyer and former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, has questioned the Federal Government’s silence following confirmation by the United States of the presence of Islamic State (ISIS) elements in Nigeria’s Northwest. Odinkalu raised the concern after the U.S. announced airstrikes on ISIS targets in the region, reportedly carried out in cooperation with Nigerian security agencies. He noted that for years, the Federal Government had described armed groups in the Northwest as bandits, not terrorists, and said the recent development suggests a significant shift in the official narrative. According to him, Nigeria’s involvement in…
All Nigerians who respect national dignity, constitutionalism, and sovereignty should be extremely concerned about this development. Even when described as a “joint operation,” reports of a US military strike in northwest Nigeria raise significant normative and political concerns regarding the boundaries of outside intervention in Nigeria’s security matters. The normalisation of foreign military intervention under the pretence of counterterrorism collaboration, which reproduces subtle but enduring forms of neocolonial power over African governments, is a problematic tendency reflected in such operations. The terminology allegedly used by the US President Donald Trump to describe the operation as a reaction to terrorists “targeting Christians” is…
U.S. President Donald Trump has announced that American forces carried out strikes against Islamic State (IS) targets in Nigeria, citing attacks on Christians as the reason for the action. In a post on his Truth Social platform late Thursday, Trump said the United States launched what he described as a “powerful and deadly strike” against IS elements operating in northwest Nigeria, accusing the group of targeting and killing civilians, particularly Christians. The Pentagon later released a video appearing to show a missile launch from a U.S. warship. No official details were provided on casualties or the extent of damage from…
With the passing of Professor Adamu Baikie on Friday, 12 December 2025, Nigeria and, indeed, Africa lost a great intellectual, institution builder, and architect of modern education. He was someone who created significant impact on the lives of those he encountered as a teacher, administrator, church and community leader. We are grateful to God for giving him a full and accomplished life having lived 94 years. For me, the Baikies are family and we grew up in a small closely-knit community. In 1934, our parents were foundation members of Christ Church, Anglican Communion in Fagge, Kano. The geographical location of…
The Federal Government has filed 16 alleged money laundering charges, to the tune of ₦1.014bn, against a former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), and his son, Abubakar Abdulaziz Malami, before the Federal High Court in Abuja. Also listed as a co-defendant with Malami, who served as Attorney-General and Minister of Justice from 2015 to 2023 under the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, is Hajiya Bashir Asabe. According to the charge, the government is accusing Malami, his son, and others of being involved in the laundering and concealment of ₦1,014,848,500.00 (One Billion, Fourteen Million, Eight Hundred…
The Bauchi State Drugs and Medical Consumables Management Agency (DMMA) has expanded its Drugs Revolving Fund (DRF) scheme to 616 public health facilities across the state to improve access to affordable and quality medicines. Managing Director of the agency, Abdulkadir Ahmed, disclosed this during a step-down training for health workers, noting that about 800 staff from 264 facilities are being trained on effective management of the scheme. The DRF, established ten years ago, ensures the continuous availability of essential medicines and medical consumables in public health facilities. Ahmed said the expansion was approved by Governor Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed and is…
Introduction: Recently, the leadership of the De Renaissance Patriots Foundation (DRPF) attended—by invitation—what was presented as a stakeholders’ consultation meeting on the decision of the Lagos State Government to move the issuance of Indigeneship Certification to itself, contrary to the constitutional rights vested in Local Governments and traditional institutions to do so. The state government is planning to transition the issuance from physical to digital formats, and the Lagos indigenes group’s position presented at the meeting is as follows: The De Renaissance Patriots Foundation (DRPF) is committed to protecting the heritage, identity, and rights of indigenous Lagosians. We were invited…
The United States has been carrying out intelligence-gathering flights over Nigeria since late November, according to flight-tracking data reviewed by Reuters. The surveillance missions, operated by contractor aircraft, point to deepening security cooperation between Washington and Abuja following high-level engagements last month. Reuters reported that the aircraft typically departs from Accra, Ghana, conducts flights over Nigerian territory, and returns to Ghana’s capital. The operations come amid rising security concerns in Nigeria and growing diplomatic pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. The surveillance jet is operated by Mississippi-based Tenax Aerospace, a firm that specializes in special-mission aircraft and maintains close…