Some worried political gladiators in Cross River State are currently plotting to abort Governor Benedict Bengiousheye Ayade’s undying ambition to return to the Senate in 2023. In a seeming dazing move, Ayade, a professor of microbiology, fiendishly secured Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) automatic ticket for the 2023 Cross River North Senatorial District through foisting his faithful ally, the newly sworn-in Senator John Odey on the party. But, the move has ignited widespread disagreement in the senatorial district with forces empathetic to the Ogoja power bloc shouting blue murder. Already, the new senator has publicly declared that he is holding the seat…
Author: Akanimo Sampson
The call for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Caucus leader in the House of Representatives, Kingsley Chinda, and the House’s nervous reaction to the call is threatening to ignite a dangerous political crisis in Nigeria if not properly handled by all sides to the emerging conflict. Already, the House is threatening to take disciplinary measures against Chinda, for calling for the impeachment of President Buhari. But, PDP is cautioning the leadership of the House against such a nasty parochial politics on its Caucus leader for making what it described as ‘’a legitimate, valid…
A new report by International Labour Organisation (ILO) says in high-income countries,migrants are earning nearly 13 per cent on average less than national workers. According to the report, in some countries such as Cyprus, Italy and Austria the pay gap in hourly wages is higher, at 42 per cent, 30 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. In Finland it is lower than the average, at 11 per cent and in the European Union as a whole it is almost 9 per cent.In the last five years, the migrant pay gap has widened in some high-income countries: In Italy for…
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) is aiming to roll out a new technology assessment project in key African countries. The project focuses in on the high potential yield agricultural and energy sectors. UNCTAD’s Logistics and Technology Director, Shamika N. Sirimanne, says “the project will support policymakers and other stakeholders in target countries in Africa to design and implement a technology assessment exercise in the two sectors, and to utilise technologies as catalysts for sustainable development.” Undoubtedly, technology can provide solutions to many development problems, and new emerging technologies can improve access to modern energy services and enhance…
Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Research Officer in Pretoria, South Africa, Maram Mahdi, is currently advocating for dialogue between the Buhari administration, armed militants and violent extremist groups as an alternate strategy, claiming that the military response has failed. ‘’Perhaps money being poured into security responses will see a better return were it invested in peace-building, exploring opportunities for dialogue, and providing infrastructure and services. ‘’Maybe it’s time to put communities on the frontline, not in battle, but as part of a long-term dialogue effort aimed at reconciliation’’, the ISS researcher says. ISS partners to build knowledge and skills that secure Africa’s…
Hossin Ochlih was just 21 when he lost his life en route to Spain’s Canary Islands last November 24. He was the youngest of five siblings. Hossin is the one his elder brother says was the most joking and loving, and the one who always got in trouble for helping his poorer neighbours. He spoke Spanish – his paternal grandparents were from Spain – and he often shared a coffee and cigarette with the owner of the Madrid bar in the Sidi Ifni neighborhood where he grew up. Like many others, Hossin left home without telling his family. His mother…
After weeks of conflict in the northern Ethiopian regional state of Tigray, Internally displaced persons (IDPs) and conflict-affected communities are currently in dire need of humanitarian and recovery assistance. The scale-up of relief operations in Amhara follows the agreement for unimpeded humanitarian access that was reached between the United Nations and the government of Ethiopia, and the first joint initial inter-agency assessment which was completed this week. Most of the IDPs now seeking refuge in displacement sites are women and children forced to flee without being able to take their belongings. They are now in dire need of emergency shelter…
Ricky Kej, an internationally renowned Grammy award winning Indian music composer and environmentalist, is the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Land Ambassador. He was born August 5, 1981. According to Wikipedia, he has performed at venues in over 30 countries including at the United Nations headquarters in New York and Geneva. Ricky Kej was named a UNCCD Land Ambassador at the COP14 to raise public awareness about the challenges of land degradation, desertification and drought. Ricky also serves as a UNESCO – MGIEP “Global Ambassador for Kindness”, UNICEF Celebrity Supporter,[4] and is an Ambassador for the Earth Day Network. In 2020, Ricky was named as a GQ Hero 2020 by GQ magazine. In 2015, he won a Grammy at the 57th Annual Grammy…
Over the next six months, if the World Food Programme (WFP) fails to raise $204 million, hunger will be sending more than four million Zimbabweans to their early graves. This is even with millions of Zimbabweans devastated by a year of drought, rising hyperinflation and COVID-19. Concerned, WFP, a UN agency is appealing for an additional $204 million to support the most food insecure four million people. The appeal comes ahead of the ‘lean’ season, which risks pushing some 6.9 million people—nearly half of Zimbabwe’s population—into hunger by its March peak, according to the most recent national data. That includes…
Some leading human rights groups have joined Minority Rights Group International (MRG) to highlight and condemn World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) role in alleged human rights abuses committed in connection with its conservation work. WWF is boasting that for nearly 60 years, it has worked to help people and nature thrive. As the world’s leading conservation organisation, it is working in nearly 100 countries. At every level, it collaborates with people around the world to develop and deliver innovative solutions that protect communities, wildlife, and the places in which they live. WWF says it is working to help local communities conserve…
In his new report to member states, Secretary-General of United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Mukhisa Kituyi, outlines that the COVID-19 pandemic demands new economic and intellectual beginnings. The report sets the scene for the UN trade and development body’s quadrennial conference due to take place next year in Barbados. COVID-19 crisis has been both an accelerator and a decelerator for already rooted trends in the global economy. On its downside, the pandemic is hitting amid widening inequality, declining economic prospects, mounting vulnerabilities to climate change, and a weakened multilateralism. But, it seems there is a solid route…
With just 29 months to vacate office, President Muhammadu Buhari in a seeming peace-buying flattery to ensure steady oil production says his administration is now making efforts to stem the tide of decay, neglect and transform the physical and economic fortunes of Nigeria’s oil and gas region. According to him, government is repositioning the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and the Presidential Amnesty Programme to ensure they deliver on their objectives and mandate. He said the completion of the East-West Highway, which he claims is a priority project of his administration, has been handed over to the Niger Delta Affairs…
A new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is warning that the COVID-19 pandemic might not be the last crisis facing humanity. The report argues that though the pandemic is the most recent crisis facing humankind, ‘’but unless we ease the pressure on nature, it might not be the last. This includes an experimental index on human progress that takes into account countries’ carbon emissions and material footprint.’’ This 30th anniversary edition of the Human Development Report, The Next Frontier: Human Development and the Anthropocene, introduces an experimental new lens to its annual Human Development Index (HDI) that measures nations’ health, education and…
As the curtain is gradually being drawn on this 2020, United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is appealing for $818 million, to reach 54 million women, girls and young people, including 35 million women of reproductive age, 29 million adolescents and young people, and over four million pregnant women in 68 countries. UNFPA is the UN sexual and reproductive health agency. Its mission is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every child birth is safe and every young person’s potential is fulfilled. The agency supports reproductive health care for women and youth in more than 150 countries – which are…
As part of a new initiative to ensure that research impacts society, Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is currently exploring a partnership with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA). A three-member delegation from TETFund Standing Committee on Research and Development Agriculture visited IITA in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital recently for that purpose. The team set out to find existing programmes delivering on research for development in the agricultural sector and looked forward to building partnerships with IITA to achieve the Committee’s role. Deputy Coordinator of the TETFund Agricultural thematic group, Prof Charles Aworh, said Nigeria devotes less than 0.1% of its…
In its latest Holiday Security Alert, United States is warning its nationals that terrorist organisations and individuals inspired by extremist ideology exist throughout Nigeria. This is coming as scores of physically challenged persons from the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s oil and gas region were on rampage at the National Assembly on Thursday. They invaded the National Assembly Complex in Abuja to protest what they termed neglect by their representatives in the parliament. They forced themselves inside the National Assembly Complex despite resistance by security operatives at the gate. Security aides of the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, hurriedly moved away his official…
New locust swarms are forming and threatening to re-invade northern Kenya just as breeding is also underway on both sides of the Red Sea, posing a new threat to Eritrea, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan and Yemen. Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) says anew generation of Desert Locust swarms is threatening agricultural and pastoral livelihoods and the food security of millions of people in the Horn of Africa and Yemen despite intense efforts to control the pest throughout this year. More than 35 million people are already acutely food insecure in these five countries and FAO estimates this number could increase…
Less than a month old Living Faith Church in Wua, a Tiv community in Awe Local Government Area of Nasarawa State is currently making a frantic effort to provide the community with a good source of drinking water. The church which is also known as Winner’s Chapel, is appealing to Sam Empowerment Foundation to partner with it for a ‘’special intervention’’ in the community. Sam Empowerment Foundation (SEF) is a registered non – governmental, non-religious, non-political organisation whose sole objective is to provide service to humanity. SEF came into being in 2013; it was duly registered with the Corporate Affairs…
Buoyed by a research outcome in Kenya, a group in Northern Nigeria is targeting to improve the economic wellbeing of 1,000 farmers. This is because researchers working with Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) have found that loan offers allowed farmers to store more maize and earn slightly higher revenues in Kenya. IPA is, however, concerned with creating high-quality evidence and helping turn that evidence into better programmes and policies for the poor. A new startup nonprofit organisation, Taimaka, used these results to design and launch its agricultural program in Northern Nigeria, providing bridge loans and storage bags to farmers. They plan to scale…
Troubled Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, does not appear to be happy with the way the obviously undisturbed President Muhammadu Buhari is handling the worsening security situation in Nigeria. Lawan wants Buhari to wake up from his perceived long slumber and take charge of the situation. According to him, President Buhari ‘’must act now’’ on the worrisome security situation in the country. Lawan’s wake-up call is coming as Kano and Zamfara state governments have already shut down their schools due to the menace of the seeming out of control bandits. Kano State Health Commissioner, Muhammad Kiru, in a statement said all…
It seems all is not well with the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Buhari administration. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is saying that APC has displayed its insensitivity and anti-people stance by encouraging President Muhammadu Buhari to visit his cattle ranch instead of Kankara, Katsina State, his home state where 600 students were abducted by terrorists. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, in a statement says his party strongly rejects an alleged unfolding ploy by APC to set up, ridicule and paint President Buhari as being solely responsible for their collective failure in governance. PDP says it is…
Tens of thousands of vulnerable migrant men, women and children from Africa are currently at risk as their support lifeline from the EU Trust Fund (EUTF) dries up. In Niger for instance, over 26,000 migrants have been rescued in the desert since 2017 through International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) humanitarian search and rescue operations. Worried,IOM is appealing for EUR 100 million to continue providing urgent protection and critical assistance to vulnerable migrants from West and Central Africa along the Central and Western Mediterranean routes, as funding under the EUTF comes to an end. IOM Director General, António Vitorino, says the imminent…
President of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), Gilbert F. Houngbo, is currently busy harping on how the world can prevent conflict and mass migration in 2021. According to him, ‘’it is essential to work together to transform our food systems and increase the prosperity and well-being of the world’s most vulnerable rural people, so that we can prevent mass migration and conflict, building a stable, peaceful world for all.” There is meaning in what Houngbo is saying. As leaders globally battle the impacts of COVID-19 and a rapidly changing climate, inter-dependence of humanity has never been clearer. Despite the…
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) says young people can play a significant role in combating desertification in Nigeria and other African countries troubled by the environmental crisis. But, this can only happen if they harness the relevant knowledge, science and technology for their land restoration endeavors. According to the UN agency, youth-oriented programmes should be inclusive, not limited to academia or young professionals but extended to young farmers and entrepreneurs, indigenous and vulnerable groups, such as young people with disabilities. ‘’Agro eco-tourism and other innovative approaches could bring young job seekers back to their communities, giving them an…
The World Bank Africa Gender Innovation Lab (GIL) and Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA) are partnering with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to evaluate the impact of a programme, Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support (APPEALS). APPEALS provides business and technical skills, in-kind cash grant, and mentorship—with and without the provision of an added socio-emotional skills training delivered to both men and women business owners. This is happening as recent evidence has pointed to the importance of socio-emotional skills development for improving business outcomes and for helping to close the gender gap between male- and female-owned…
The menacing Boko Haram and its allies are bracing for a fresh wave of deadly attacks that will see the North-East axis of Nigeria and the entire Lake Chad region reeling in bloodbath in 2021. Their attacks will be directed against soft civilian and hard military targets. The dare0devil terrorists are said to be planning to target military positions, routes and vulnerable towns in and around the Timbuktu triangle and the Lake Chad basin states. The Timbuktu Triangle is however, the battleground area. There, you have Boko Haram forces at the middle while the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) which comprises…
Tracking how people’s lives are affected by the COVID-19 pandemic can enable policymakers to better understand the situation in their countries and make data-driven policy decisions. Responding to this need, Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA), a global group concerned with making poverty history with evidence-based approach, has developed the RECOVR survey, a panel survey that facilitates comparisons, documents real-time trends of policy concern, and informs decision-makers about the communities that are hardest-hit by the economic toll of the pandemic. In Colombia, as the country looks to reactivate its economy, IPA says it will be critical to continue to provide timely, well-targeted,…
As the rampaging COVID-19 pandemic is currently raiding the Nigerian Army, Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) says it is scaling up pressure for a sovereign state of Biafra through peaceful means, including a referendum. While the Igbo mass movement said it does not want to declare a state of Biafra by force, and accordingly warned Nigerian security forces to refrain from any harassment or confrontation with it, around 30 Generals have reportedly tested positive for COVID-19, barely a week after the death of the General Officer Commanding of 6 Division, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, Maj. Gen. John Irefin, who died of…
House of Representatives’ Minority Caucus that unsettled the House last week with a call for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari, has rejected the appointment of a Sole Administrator for the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the president. The caucus is describing it as disservice to the peoples of the Niger Delta, Nigeria’s vastly polluted oil and gas region. A leading member of People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the House, Kingsley Chinda, called for impeachment process to be commenced on President Buhari. The call came as the House last Tuesday, through a resolution, invited President Buhari to come and…
Consistent with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is envisioning a future that avoids, minimises, and reverses desertification/land degradation and mitigates the effects of drought in affected areas at all levels. It is also striving to achieve a land degradation-neutral world within the scope of the Convention. According to the UN agency, desertification/land degradation and drought (DLDD) are challenges of a global dimension that contribute to, and aggravate economic, social and environmental problems such as poverty, poor health, lack of food security, biodiversity loss, water scarcity, reduced resilience to climate change and forced…
