News
Bade Emirate organizes durbar in Yobe.
Bade Emirate organizes durbar in Yobe.
By: Yahaya Wakili
In a remarkable display of cultural heritage, the Bade emirate council in Yobe state has organized a colorful durbar competition to celebrate the Eid-el-Fitr Sallah fast. The durbar held at Mai Bade Palace at Gashua was a momentous event that underscored the significance of unity, bringing people together, strengthening communal ties, and celebrating the rich cultural heritage of Bade. The durbar also reinforced the unity and traditions of the people of Bade and featured an array of cultural heritage performances.
Alhaji Alkali Sale Bukar Sakan, Sharakun Bade, the deputy chairman of the Bade Emirate Durbar Committee, said since we are young, they are preparing the durbar during the Eid-el-Fitr and Eid-el-Kabir sallah, and during then our parents are performing many things, and this horse racing our parents are doing it. Therefore, we see that we revive this, our cultural heritage, and anything that has been done yesterday, today, and even tomorrow is continuous, and since we are in Borno State, that time NTA is carrying the traditional activities; people of Bade are dancing with swords, blue dresses, and red caps. Now, we didn’t introduce them, but we have the intention to bring the full team of the tradition we have.
“The time of modernization comes with its style. Other youth have an interest in their cultural heritage, while others, because of the Western education they receive, abandon their culture, but we are reviving our culture, and we hope our children and our grandchildren will emulate what we will leave behind, what our parents left to us, while the new modernization is trying to destabilize us. He said a few years back when Boko Haram came, it stopped this cultural heritage and other cultural activities, but now, Alhamdulillah, peace has been restored because if you enter Gashua now, you will know that peace has been restored in Yobe. Even from the Sallah of last year to date, it shows that there is peace; you will see everybody is enjoying it, and he is happy people are celebrating Sallah without fear or molestation.
Sharakun Bade further said, We, the Bade emirate council, are reviewing our culture because we inherited it. Other emirates didn’t inherit it, and even if they didn’t inherit it, it wouldn’t stop them from performing their culture, and every emirate has its own culture. They have their own traditional culture, and we hope they will advise their own emir to give them the opportunity because our emir gave us the chance. If the culture is not revived, one day it will disappear completely. And anything we are doing with regard to this durbar, we are doing it with government officials, and anything we are doing is open. Hon. Yau Usman Dachia, Deputy Speaker of the Yobe State House of Assembly, is here; the Executive Chairman of the Bade local government area, Hon. Ibrahim Babagana, is here; and the Chairman of the Jakusko local government, Hon. Umaru Agwa, is also there, so the presence of these honorables serves as a letter.
Alhaji Alkali Sale further revealed that the Bade emirate council is together with His Excellency, Governor Mai Mala Buni CON Chiroman Gujba. Anything Governor Buni brings us, we receive it with good faith, 100% accepted, and we thank Governor Mai Mala Buni CON because he gives us the opportunity to improve our cultural heritage. And every member of the committee donated something; some brought #10,000, some #500,000, and somebody brought #1m. All this among us, the members of the committee, and even His Royal Highness, the Royal Father, gave a donation to this committee.
Also speaking to newsmen on the history of the durbar committee, the secretary of the committee, Alhaji Sale Garba Suleiman, said this committee was inaugurated about three years ago by His Royal Highness, the Mai Bade, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Suleiman. The time HRH inaugurated this committee, he told us that he wanted them to revive and improve the Bade cultural heritage, and he also told us that he did this because our youths who are coming up to know actually their cultural heritage. We thank his royal father for creating this committee, and we, as Muslims, believe everybody comes with something for the benefit of the people; the reward will go to him. Therefore, we are appealing to other emirates in our dear state to emulate this great thing for the benefit of their people.
“I am sure everybody who saw this program will be interested to review their own culture so that their youth will grow with their own cultural heritage, and as I said, this committee is new and is young, and we are planning to improve it, and we are advising other emirates to emulate what we are doing. We are trying to reach the Yobe State Art and Cultural Board to present to them what we are doing so far, because what you are doing, if you didn’t get results on it, you have no excuse, but as for the results we have on what we are doing, we will present them and solicit advice and cooperation from them to see how we will improve this matter.
The time His Royal Highness inaugurated this committee, the first thing we told him was that we didn’t know where we would get money to carry out our assignment. He advised us to contact our people who are willing to assist and request the assistance from them either in cash or in kind, and I will not forget it, because HRH was the first person who put his donation into this account, and since then we have continued getting donations. I assure you that we did our work successfully, and we have the remaining money in our account that can be used to do our program for the next Sallah, inshallah. Therefore, we and our relatives contribute the money. And at this point, I will never forget Hon. Yau Usman Dachia, Deputy Speaker of the Yobe State House of Assembly. He is completely a son of Bade. This man, honestly, he plays a vital role in this committee; he contributes a lot. In fact, we can’t say anything to him except that we pray that Allah (SWT) reward him with Aljannatul Firdaus.
This work is for durbar, since before we were born our parents have been doing it, but to invite journalists for coverage is the first time, and this committee was inaugurated three years back. I, personally, thank Almighty Allah in his mercy for giving us the opportunity to make this burbar successful, and we are receiving the commendation from the public, and we also thank HRH, the Mai Bade, Alhaji Abubakar Umar Suleiman, for creating this committee and giving us the opportunity to serve our people. We highly appreciate it, and we thank him. May Allah (SWT) reward him and give him good health. Amen.
Bade Emirate organizes durbar in Yobe.
Zulum commissions remodelled ‘2nd chance school’ for vulnerable girls
.Disburses N1bn to SMEs in 5 LGAs
By: Our Reporter
Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, on Thursday commissioned a fully remodelled “Second Chance School” for vulnerable girls and women in Biu Local Government Area.
The newly inaugurated facility is part of a strategic initiative designed to offer adult women, including those who missed formal education or dropped out of school due to prevailing challenges, a pathway to self-reliance.
The school’s curriculum is tailored towards providing comprehensive skills’ acquisition, critical digital knowledge and basic literacy, and numeracy training.
With the Biu centre now operational, Zulum’s administration has established three such schools across the state, with existing centres already operational in Maiduguri and Bama.
Meanwhile, Governor Zulum has disbursed N1 billion to small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) across five local government areas in southern Borno.
The targeted LGAs include Biu, Hawul, Shani, Bayo and Kwaya-Kusar, with the funds intended to support entrepreneurs and enhance business sustainability.
Zulum explained that the direct injection of capital into the SME sector is essential for driving grassroots development and fostering self-reliance in the post-insurgency recovery phase.
In a related development aimed at tackling youth restiveness and promoting social stability, Governor Zulum has ordered immediate employment of 200 young individuals from the Biu Local Government Area.
After the inauguration, Zulum visited Biu Specialist Hospital where he announced the immediate and automatic employment of a number of dedicated volunteer health workers who have served tirelessly.
He also inspected the 100-unit teachers’ housing estate under construction in Biu town. The estate is part of the Borno State Government’s motivational strategy to attract and retain qualified teaching professionals in public schools.
Governor Zulum has also directed immediate commencement of rehabilitation work on the Borno State Hotel Annexe in Biu.
Zulum commissions remodelled ‘2nd chance school’ for vulnerable girls
Environment Minister Calls for Inter-Agency Collaboration to Address Environmental Challenges
By: Michael Mike
The Minister of Environment, Balarabe Abbas Lawal, has urged enhanced inter-agency collaboration to tackle environmental challenges across Nigeria.
The call was made during a meeting with the Director-General of the National Hydro-Electric Power Producing Areas Development Commission (N-HYPPADEC), Abubakar Sadiq, and his team at the Ministry’s Abuja office.
Highlighting potential areas of cooperation, Lawal emphasized the importance of climate-resilient water supply and sanitation (WASH) programs aimed at ensuring year-round access to safe, reliable, and clean water in communities affected by dam operations. He noted that such collaboration would not only improve access to safe drinking water but also reduce the prevalence of water-borne diseases in these areas.
On energy initiatives, the Minister discussed the distribution of clean cooking stoves to households in hydro-basin communities, stressing that this would significantly reduce household energy poverty, deforestation, and emissions through the adoption of energy-efficient cooking technologies.
Other proposed collaboration areas between the Ministry and N-HYPPADEC include erosion and flood management, ecosystem restoration, climate-resilient afforestation programs, youth and community engagement, job creation, and public awareness campaigns.
In his remarks, Abubakar Sadiq described N-HYPPADEC as a strategic partner of the Federal Ministry of Environment, outlining the commission’s impactful interventions across water supply, sanitation, housing, youth empowerment, water transport safety, and institutional strengthening. He also commended the Ministry for its prompt response to flood-prone areas, erosion challenges, and pollution management.
N-HYPPADEC maintains offices in Lokoja, Birnin Kebbi, Ilorin, Lafia, Jos, Gombe, Jalingo, Makurdi, Kaduna, with its headquarters in Minna, Niger State.
Environment Minister Calls for Inter-Agency Collaboration to Address Environmental Challenges
Health
Health Worker Exodus Deepens as Policy Brief Warns of Systemic Risk to Nigeria’s Healthcare Sector
Health Worker Exodus Deepens as Policy Brief Warns of Systemic Risk to Nigeria’s Healthcare Sector
By: Michael Mike
A new policy brief has warned that unless urgent welfare-focused reforms are implemented, the country risks a deepening crisis that could undermine access to quality healthcare nationwide.
Nigeria’s healthcare system is facing mounting pressure as the steady departure of doctors and nurses continues to erode service capacity, raising concerns about long-term system viability.
According to the policy analysis authored by health policy expert Dr Emmanuel Ejimonu, of the Athena Centre for Policy and Leadership, more than 42,000 nurses left Nigeria between 2021 and early 2024, while thousands of Nigerian-trained doctors have registered to practise abroad, particularly in the United Kingdom. The trend shows no sign of slowing, as survey data cited in the report indicate that nearly three-quarters of medical and nursing students intend to seek employment overseas, with about one in three expressing no plans to return.
The report attributed the exodus largely to domestic welfare and governance challenges rather than professional ambition. Health workers interviewed consistently pointed to low and irregular salaries, unsafe and overstretched working environments, limited opportunities for funded specialist training and weak social protection systems. These challenges, the brief notes, have made emigration a rational choice in the face of institutional uncertainty, especially as global demand for health professionals continues to rise.
Although the Federal Government introduced a National Policy on Health Workforce Migration in 2023 to promote ethical recruitment and retention, the brief argues that its impact has been limited. Implementation gaps, inadequate funding and uneven execution at state and facility levels have prevented the policy from delivering meaningful improvements in working conditions.
The consequences of sustained health worker losses are already visible. Teaching hospitals are reportedly struggling to maintain specialist training and mentorship programmes, while recurring strikes highlight growing mistrust between health workers and government authorities. Economically, the country is losing returns on public investments in training, even as staff shortages compromise care delivery in both urban and rural facilities. Remaining workers also face rising burnout, further fuelling migration intentions.
Drawing on international experiences from countries such as Ghana, Kenya, the Philippines and Cuba, the policy brief stresses that health worker migration cannot be completely stopped. Instead, it recommends managing mobility through welfare-based retention strategies and credible governance structures.
Central to the recommendations is a proposed Welfare-First Retention Package, which prioritises guaranteed and timely payment of salaries, improved workplace safety, funded career progression, fair bonding arrangements and strengthened social protection. The package also calls for disciplined use of bilateral agreements and ethical recruitment frameworks to protect Nigeria’s investment in health worker training.
The brief estimates that, if properly funded and implemented, the proposed measures could reduce short-term health worker attrition by up to one-third within two years, while significantly improving retention over a five-year period.
The report stated that reversing the health workforce crisis will require treating welfare reform as a core economic and governance priority, backed by political will, fiscal discipline and strong institutional coordination. Without such action, the report warns, Nigeria risks the gradual hollowing out of its healthcare system, with far-reaching consequences for public health and national development.
Health Worker Exodus Deepens as Policy Brief Warns of Systemic Risk to Nigeria’s Healthcare Sector
“While the rest of us sleep, you keep watch over Nigeria” — Governor Diri praises soldiers’ sacrifices
Zulum commissions remodelled ‘2nd chance school’ for vulnerable girls
Environment Minister Calls for Inter-Agency Collaboration to Address Environmental Challenges
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