Mrs. Franca Odiegwu, Headteacher of Woliwo Primary School II, Onitsha, Anambra State, has described the school’s victory at the just-concluded 2025 President’s Teachers and Schools Excellence Awards as an act of divine favour. The school emerged as the best school in Nigeria and received a 16-seater bus, among other prizes. Speaking with journalists on Friday in Awka, Odiegwu attributed the feat to innovative measures introduced to improve the school’s learning environment. “A good teacher is one who possesses a blend of personal qualities, professional skills, and ethical values that foster a positive and effective learning atmosphere.Emerging as the best school…
Author: Editor
The Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Mr. Olakunle Nafiu, has described the Skills Acquisition and Entrepreneurship Development (SAED) programme as a vital “Plan B” for corps members to ensure self-reliance and economic stability. Addressing the 2025 Batch ‘B’ Stream II corps members in Kaduna on Friday, Nafiu urged them to fully embrace the SAED initiative during their orientation to build sustainable livelihoods. He explained that the programme was designed to equip corps members with practical skills for self-employment, especially when job promises from relatives or white-collar opportunities fail to materialize. “The SAED programme aims to make Nigerian…
Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, has criticised the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, following the minister’s heated exchange with Arise Television presenter, Rufai Oseni, which went viral earlier in the week. Speaking at an event on Friday, Makinde defended the journalist’s line of questioning and accused Umahi of evading transparency on the cost of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project. “They asked a minister how much the coastal road costs, and then you (Umahi) start dancing around, saying that the next kilometre is different from the previous one. Then what is the average cost?” Makinde queried. “When we did the Oyo…
When a government rejects poverty data, it risks rejecting reality itself. The recent rejection of the World Bank’s poverty report by the Nigerian Presidency raises more questions than it answers. According to the Presidency, the World Bank’s figures are merely “analytical constructs” and not “real-time headcounts.” The government argues that the global poverty line of $2.15 per person per day, set in 2017 purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, should not be interpreted literally. When converted to roughly ₦127,000 per month at today’s exchange rate of ₦1,420 to the dollar, the figure exceeds Nigeria’s new minimum wage of ₦70,000. By this…
Major stakeholders in Nigeria’s fintech subsector on Tuesday collectively underscored customer trust as the key currency driving the nation’s digital financial future. They made this assertion at the 8th Edition of the Nigeria Fintech Week (NFW) 2025 held in Lagos. The 2025 NFW, themed “The Fintech Ecosystem Symphony: Orchestrating Nigeria’s Digital Future,” brought together regulators, innovators, and investors to discuss the next phase of the country’s digital transformation. The stakeholders emphasised that for customer trust to propel Nigeria’s digital financial future, it must be grounded in advanced security, artificial intelligence (AI), strict compliance, and collaboration. Delivering the keynote address, the…
Over the past few weeks, there has been a lot of narratives about the alleged genocide against Christians that is said to be on-going in Nigeria. The current wave of the narrative is essentially from the United States, generated recently by the comedian, Bill Maher and CNN’s Van Jones who have both accused Nigeria of indulging in “Christian genocide.” In addition, Senator Ted Cruz, amongst other American legislators has accused Nigeria of the same and said that he was introducing a Bill in the Senate to do “something about it” and “protect Christians in Nigeria.” The Canadian Parliament has also…
The Lagos State Government has ordered the immediate eviction of all squatters living under the Opebi–Mende Bridge in Ikeja. The Commissioner for Environment and Water Resources, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, issued the directive in a statement signed by the ministry’s Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Kunle Adeshina, on Thursday. Wahab said the squatters had turned the underside of the newly constructed but yet-to-be-inaugurated bridge into makeshift homes and shops. He directed security agencies to move in immediately to dislodge the occupants and clear all illegal structures. “The primary responsibility of every government is the protection of lives and property. The present…
Health experts have urged governments at all levels to prioritize prevention, embrace data-driven research, and establish a coordinated national response to tackle non-communicable diseases (NCDs) across Nigeria. They made the call on Thursday at the opening of the 7th Annual International Conference of the Nigerian Association of Foreign Trained Pharmacists (NAFTRAPH), held in Lagos. The three-day conference is themed “Non-Communicable Diseases in a Post-Pandemic World: Nigeria’s Perspective and How to Mitigate Disease Ramifications.” Delivering the keynote address, Dr. Nelson Aluya, Chief Executive Officer of Eralmed Medical Group and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, U.S., described…
The most powerful solutions to complex challenges are often those that are localized, sustainable, and empowering. Nowhere is this clearer than in Kenya’s Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), which stand as a persistent battleground against hunger and malnutrition. Amidst this struggle, a quiet revolution is underway, marking a transformative chapter for farmers in counties like Kitui, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, and Makueni: the adoption of regenerative agriculture and its central feature, the kitchen garden. Kitchen gardens are proving to be more than just a farming practice; they are a lifeline, providing sustenance and concurrently restoring the health and fertility of the…
Months ago, I saw an interesting TikTok video. It featured the military leader of Burkina Faso in what was supposedly his presidential jet, being escorted by what was claimed to be Russian fighter jets on his way to meet President Putin.Fortunately for me, I know an F-35 when I see one—and the jet fighters in the video were clearly F-35s. Immediately, I knew I was dealing with fake news. The video had been shared by a connection on Facebook. Many of my Facebook friends, who are sympathetic to the regime in Burkina Faso and its ties to Russia, shared the…