YOUR WELFARE, PROTECTION OF NIGERIA AND NIGERIANS MY TOPMOST PRIORITY” – ACTING COAS LT GEN OLUYEDE

By: Our Reporter

The Acting Chief of Army Staff (Ag COAS) Lieutenant General Olufemi Oluyede has promised to prioritise the welfare of troops of the Nigerian Army(NA) as well as the protection of Nigeria and Nigerians. The Ag COAS made these remarks on Wednesday 20 November 2024, during the official handing over of the Infantry Corps to his successor Major General Abdulkalifa Ibrahim in a regimented ceremony at the Headquarters Infantry Corps Jaji, Kaduna State. You will recall that until his appointment as the Ag COAS on 30 October 2024 by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, he was the 56th Commander Infantry Corps of the Nigerian Army.

Speaking further during the handing over ceremony, Gen Oluyede described his successor as a competent senior Infantry officer and a perfect gentleman whom he he believes will sustain the trajectory of moving the Corps forward. He charged all officers and soldiers of the Corps to give him all the needed cooperation and support to succeed. The Ag COAS expressed gratitude to all officers and soldiers of the NA for their massive turnout and support during the internment of the late COAS Lt Gen Taoreed Lagbaja and prayed God to grant him eternal rest and continue to give his family the fortitude to bear the loss.

While addressing troops of the Infantry Corps at the Major Bulama Parade Ground, the Ag COAS charged all officers and soldiers of the NA to put the unfortunate incident behind them, get back to work and deal ruthlessly with all criminal elements perpetrating insecurity in the country. He reassured them that their welfare would be prioritised. ” I am aware of your challenges and will tackle them head-on. Rest assured that anything that is yours will be given to you, ” he affirmed.

In his remarks, the new Commander Infantry Corps Maj Gen Abdulkalifa Ibrahim said he was delighted to take over command of the Infantry Corps from the Ag COAS, who until a few weeks ago was the Commander Infantry Corps. He appreciated the Ag COAS for moving the Infantry Corps forward through the implementation of laudable initiatives and execution of several infrastructural development projects. He lauded him for his many years of dedicated service to the Infantry Corps, the Nigerian Army, and the nation at large.

Maj Gen Ibrahim pledged to lead the Infantry Corps with integrity, courage, honour, and utmost dedication, embracing best practices in all he will do. “To my brave and dedicated fellow infantry men, both officers and soldiers, I recognise the sacrifices, resilience, and valour that define our infantry tradition. Your selflessness, teamwork, and unwavering loyalty inspire all of us. I urge you all to continue to embrace the Army’s core values of loyalty, integrity, discipline, selfless service, respect for others, and courage in the discharge of your responsibilities, ” he emphasized.

He further urged all officers and soldiers of the Corps to remain diligent, hardworking, and proactive so as to collectively confront security challenges in troubled regions, uphold the Infantry values, and protect the nation with pride. He added that he is open to ideas that would bring the Corps together and make it more cohesive and efficient.

Maj Gen Abdulkalifa Ibrahim is a member of the 39th Regular Course of the Nigerian Defence Academy and hails from Damboa Local Government Area of Borno State. In the course of his illustrious career in the NA, he served as acting Garrison Commander in 1 Division, Commander 14 Brigade, General Officer Commanding 7 Division and also commanded the Multi National Joint Task Force Ndjamena, Chad among others. He has attended all courses commensurate to his rank, including the National Defence College Course 23.

He had served previously in Jaji at the Nigerian Army School of Infantry as member Training Team and later as Chief Instructor. He participated in several operations both within and outside the shores of the country, such as Operation Hadin Kai and Operations under the MNJTF. In 2023, the Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria awarded him the National honour of the Officer of the Order of the Republic (OFR). Similarly, the Chadian Government awarded him the national honor of ‘National Order of Chad’ (NOOC) for his contributions to peace and security in the Lake Chad Basin.

The Acting COAS later inspected ongoing projects in Jaji military Cantonment and paid a visit to the Command Engineering Depot at Rigachukun, Kaduna.

YOUR WELFARE, PROTECTION OF NIGERIA AND NIGERIANS MY TOPMOST PRIORITY” – ACTING COAS LT GEN OLUYEDE

Experts, CSOs Propose Bill to Outlaw Genetically Modified Crops in Nigeria

By: Michael Mike

Coalition of Civil Societies Organisations and several agricultural experts including farmers have proposed a bill for an Act for the prohibition of Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs) in Nigeria, insisting that it is to guide against degeneration of health and wellbeing of Nigerians

The experts who took turns to speak at a press conference on investigative research and public hearing on GMOs.held on Wednesday in Abuja, said the proliferation of GMOs in the country is worrisome and should be outlawed in the country.

The Programme Manager of Health of the Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) Joyce Brown lamented that the Nigeria Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) is yet to conduct any clinical trials on the GMOs being brought into the country, claiming that what is seen on their website is the applications for bringing in GMOs into the country with no assessments report to actually certify that the GMOs are safe.

She said the country does not need GMOs to solve it’s food insecurity, insisting that food insecurity is caused by poverty, insecurity, inequality among others, noting that instead of resorting to GMOs, the country should rather addressed the problems.

She however advised that looking at the country’s agricultural landscape, a sustainable approach such as agroecology should be adopted to boost food production and not GMOs

On his part, a renowned teacher and agricultural consultant, Prof Johnson Ekpere said that the previous government ratified GMO without understanding the basic precepts that guide GMO which is the Cartegena Protocol on Biosafety

He stressed that the government must ensure that the basic tenets that guide this protocol is understood by those implementing the law for successful adoption and integration.

He also called on the government to set up a biosafety research facility that will help them understand what they are doing and take drastic risk assessment of our biotechnology

The Deputy Director of Center for Food Safety and Agricultural Research, Prof. Qrisstuberg Amua stated that NBMA should be a biosafety regulatory agency not a management agency, insisting that the misapplication of their names has translated them into a promoter of foreign technology that are at the detriment of Nigerians

He however warned that that the unregulated biosafety research can exercebate biosafety challenges which is what is currently manifesting in Nigeria as the chemical pesticides used are known disruptors of echo systems.

Another expert, Dr Segun Adebayo called on the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Federal Completion and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) to rise up their duty by controlling what is being brought into the country saying Nigerians are eating poison.

A farmer Mrs Ejim Nnena insisted that farmers say No to GMO as the adoption of the technology means poverty, serious nutrition crisis among others.

She maintained that if they are given GMO seeds and cannot replant it, it is poverty in disguise adding that if they have to spray chemicals to enable the seed germinate properly that means farmers are being pushed out of the field into slavery..

She said what farmers are asking for is adequate security on the farms, extension workers to guide the, mapped out areas for farm activities, provide seed banks.

Experts, CSOs Propose Bill to Outlaw Genetically Modified Crops in Nigeria

With Present Fertility Rate, Nigeria’s Population May Hit 450 million in 2050-AAFP

By: Michael Mike

Association for the Advancement of Family Planning (AAFP) has called on Nigerians to embrace family planning for improve healthcare and economic wellbeing, raising the alarm that at present fertility rate, Nigeria’s population may hit 450 million by 2050 without the economy to support such growth.

The association also pleaded with the federal government to release the N2 billion outstanding in this year’s budget meant to execute Intervention programmes across the country, while also calling on government to incentivize the health sector to encourage Nigerian professionals fleeing for greener pastures to stay back and contribute their quotas to the growth of the sector.

Speaking at an interactive session with journalists in Abuja, Chairman Management of the AAFP, Dr. Ejike Orji said that with the current fertility rate, Nigeria’s population may hit 450 million by 2050.

He decried that the prevailing economic trend and other future expectations will not support such a a spiral population growth, adding that if nothing was done to arrest the situation, it could get to a stage when people may not be able feed.

Speaking on the high fertility rate which the country is currently grappling with, Ejike said there are some developments in fertility rate already which suggested that Nigeria is heading for higher population numbers in the years ahead.

“I mean, there is a high percent rate of fertility, about 4.8 percent percent in Nigeria today. But we would have needed to achieve much more but the fertility rates are still very high. And then, with only that much in transit, we need to get to a fertility rate of at least 4.

“So, we are going back to the fact that we are still not in crisis in any country you see a bulge of young people. Nigeria has 75 percent of the population that is at the age of 34 and largely unemployed.

“So, you have a lot of hungry, angry young men and women all over the place. So, what do you see next? Some of them will start leaving the country.

“That is what we have seen in the Japa syndrome That is happening in the country. All our trained young doctors, ICT, are leaving the country,” he said.

Orji who expressed appreciation for the government’s payment of the $4 million counterpart fund, also appealed to the federal government to help release the N2 billion outstanding in this year’s budget for family planning programmes.

While drawing historically analysis, Orji said: “Nobody is in doubt that Nigeria is facing a national crisis, unless people who refuse to agree, is not in which they can decide. In 1960, when we got independence from the British, our population was just about 42.5 million, while the British people that colonized us was about 50 million.

“Our income per capita at that time was higher than the British people. In the last census we did in 2007, we were 140 million. Now Britain is just 60 million, while we are well above 230 million” .

“And that’s why we are quite excited that the $4 million was supposed to be used about a month or two ago. And we’re now calling for the N2 billion left to be used by this year. And to make sure that conversation is heard loud and clear, The fifth, the eighth Nigerian family planning conference is coming on the 6th of December,” he said.

Orji used the opportunity to highlight issues that will future during the December family planning conference saying that stakeholders will devote more attention to issues of sustainable financing through advocacy and resource mobilization, drive multi stakeholder accountability and advance rights-based quality services.

On his part, the President of the Albino Foundation, Mr. Jakes Apelle who spoke on behalf of the Persons with disabilities urged Nigerians to remove minds from the religious and cultural inhibitors to family planning and highlight the health and economic benefits therein.

With Present Fertility Rate, Nigeria’s Population May Hit 450 million in 2050-AAFP