In an attempt to tackle water scarcity and provide access to safe drinking water to communities in Kano State, the Federal Government in 2019 awarded contracts to various companies for the construction of boreholes and supply of wash bores. Investigations, however, revealed that funds were released to non-existent companies leaving the projects undone. By A’isha Ahmad Isma’il Nine-year-old Amira Usman, a student of Kore Primary School in Makoda Local Government Area, of Kano State was seen pushing a water cart with four Jerrycans of water when this reporter met her. Amira had fetched the water from a running stream, almost…
Author: Editor
By Femi Ogunshola Vote buying is not a new lexicon in Nigeria electoral system. Desperate politicians allegedly deployed it to rig their way to victory and subvert the will of the people. As one Yoruba saying goes: “édíbó ésébé”, meaning `vote and cook good soup`. The last primaries held by the leading political parties to choose their presidential flag bearers were allegedly characterised by vote buying. “The way the buying is usually done, as we have observed, is that the voters will show the agents their vote for confirmation. “They’ll pick a paper, and go to a preconceived location to…
By Kelechi Okoronkwo Success thrills: The Executive Chairman of FIRS, Muhammad Nami, takes his message of rethinking utilisation of tax revenue to ATAF General Assembly. A major take-away from the just concluded Seventh General Assembly of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) which held in Lagos, Nigeria, from October 31 to November 4, 2022 is that tax money must be put into good use if more tax revenue is to be generated. Heads of tax agencies from 42 African countries and more than 500 other participants, comprising of 380 registered participants who attended physically, 100 registered participants who participated virtually…
The CBN has decided, you can’t take more than 20k out of your own money from your own bank account in one day. In a country in which the majority of Nigerians have no bank accounts or smart phones, they want us all to engage in cashless transactions using bank cards and Apps. They want the transition to be immediate and seamless. They know it is impossible but the decision has been taken, the majority of Nigerians must suffer. We all know this is bad for us as ordinary Nigerians. I wonder whether it is good for the banks and…
By Chijioke Okoronkwo Over the years, space weather hazards, high frequency signals in ocean going vessels and aircraft, global broadcast communications and short wave radio communication have been subjects of continuous monitoring and advanced research. Worldwide, only few countries have Super Dual Auroral Radar Network (SuperDARN) sites for such atmospheric investigation; the latest being Nigeria. For Nigeria, this changed on November 4, when Vice-President, Yemi Osinbajo, inaugurated the Virginia Tech-Nigerian Bowen Equatorial Aeronomy Radar (VT-NigerBEAR) at Bowen University, Iwo, Osun state. The project involves local and international teams and institutions, including the Virginia Tech SuperDARN HF radar group, the U.S.…
“As was preparing to give birth, a medical student who came to observe my case was telling me about the prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) and asked if I felt guilty because I was HIV-positive. I told him that I did feel guilty. M y diagnosis was very strange to me. I did not know what to say or how to react. I wanted an abortion, but it was too late. My mother was also against it because of what of our religion” By Abujah Rachael Ms Julian Yohanna, 23 year-old of Bazango Community, Kubwa in the Federal…
For his 79th birthday, friends, colleagues, school mates and mentees of Professor Adele Jinadu convened a colloquium in Abuja on 30th November to celebrate his contributions to deepening democracy on the basis of knowledge and praxis of his discipline of political science. The crème de la crème of the community was there including Professors Okwudiba Nnoli, Tunde Adeniran, Attahiru Jega, Anthonia Simbine, Nuhu Yaqub, Kole Shettima and Saliu Hassan. Sam Oyovbaire and Bolaji Akinyemi sent messages of solidarity, while Ameze Guabadia spoke from her standpoint of a law professor and Professor Anthony Asiwaju spoke for historians. Okey Ibeanu and yours…
I am writing this article in pain, great pain, for reasons that have to do with my training and calling as a journalist, my conscience, or my moral sense of differentiating the right from the wrong, and how these values play a guide, in shaping my behaviour as a person. For the avoidance of any ambiguity, and in order to circumvent any misinterpretation on the position from where I am talking, I must make it clear that I am writing in my personal position as a Nigerian, a human being, and one that believes in the ambition of the rule…
“At the onset of my administration we developed a blueprint for economic growth and development called the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP). The plan was focused on economic recovery in the short-term and sustained growth and development in the long-term. It enabled this administration, through the flagship agriculture initiative, the Anchor Borrowers Programme (ABP), to provide access to credit to over four million smallholder farmers in 36 states of Nigeria and the FCT” By Kadiri Abdulrahman The need to achieve financial inclusion, the mission to accommodate Nigeria’s large underserved population into the country’s financial system has been in the…
By Sumaila Ogbaje The push by the Nigerian Armed Forces to end insurgency in the North East of the country has so far led to the surrender of 82,237 fighters and their families since July 2021. The bulk of the surrendered fighters of Boko Haram and Islamic States West Africa Province (ISWAP) terrorist groups, were women and children of the fighters and others rescued by the military. The administration of this huge number of combatants and their families has raised immense interest from local and international stakeholders. Nigeria has been confronting insurgency and terrorism in the North Eastern states of…