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About 3.7 million People Face Food Insecurity in Nigeria’s Northeast- ICRC Laments
About 3.7 million People Face Food Insecurity in Nigeria’s Northeast- ICRC Laments
By: Michael Mike
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has decried that across conflict-affected areas of northeast Nigeria, more than 3.7 million people face food insecurity.
It stated that many of them are farmers who once nourished their communities, but years of conflict have displaced families, restricted their access to farmland and disrupted local food production.
According to a statement by ICRC, a community leader in Dikwa, Modu Umar said: “Right now, we face severe food shortages,” adding that some families are forced to walk long distances every day to collect firewood to sell, just to afford food.
“Farming is the only solution to hunger,”
In some communities, insecurity severely limits farmers’ movements. “Some people trek three hours to reach their farms,” a 70-year-old farmer Churi Ibrahim from Gajibo said.
He added that: “By the time you reach your farm, you’re already exhausted, and when you return home, it’s late.”
Despite these challenges, farmers persist. “Even when you’re afraid, you have to go,” said Bintu Konto, a mother of five, insisting that: “If you don’t farm during the rainy season, you’ll have nothing to eat.”
As the lean season begins and food stocks dwindle, the pressure is mounting. “This is when households must start purchasing food, but many conflict-affected families can’t afford much,” Diana Japaridze,
Head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) office in Maiduguri, said.
She added that: “They’re forced to
drastically limit their intake.”
The ICRC lamented that food insecurity is also fueling malnutrition, especially among children under five and pregnant or
breastfeeding women.
In response, the ICRC supports malnutrition stabilization centres as well as
community education to help families care for vulnerable children; to help address these challenges and promote long-term resilience, the ICRC has initiated an
agricultural assistance programme that supports both rainy and dry season farming.
This year, more than 21,000 farming households have received seeds tailored to local conditions, along with seed
planting tools to reduce labour burdens and improve efficiency.
According to the statement, the support includes both field crops and vegetables, such as rice, maize, tomato and okra, contributing to greater dietary diversity and nutritional value. Farmers are also trained in sustainable farming practices, helping to build local capacity and ensure they can continue even when the ICRC leaves.
It stated that at a systemic level, and in partnership with the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), the ICRC also recently completed repairs to a key a water source, ensuring continuous water access for the council’s seed testing and greenhouse facilities.
It said nevertheless, the lean season in particular constitutes a significant challenge for the many farmers who cannot produce enough food for their families.“For a large family like mine, sometimes, we don’t even get one meal a day,” a farmer, Churi Ibrahim said.
About 3.7 million People Face Food Insecurity in Nigeria’s Northeast- ICRC Laments
Ambassador Mamman hails Buratai’s legacy, urges youth mentorship
By: Zagazola Makama
Ambassador Yusuf Mamman, former Nigerian envoy, has lauded the leadership and reforms of retired Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, former Chief of Army Staff, describing him as a “soldier’s soldier” whose tenure transformed the Nigerian Army’s doctrine, structure, and innovation.
Mamman, who chaired the public presentation of the book Life Principles for Greatness from the Life of Lt.-Gen. Tukur Yusuf Buratai, said he accepted the role without hesitation because the work offered lessons for Nigeria’s youth.
He recalled that Buratai rose from a cadet in the Nigerian Defence Academy to become Chief of Army Staff at a time the country faced the existential threat of Boko Haram insurgency.
“He came at a very challenging and difficult time in our national history, when Boko Haram posed the biggest existential threat to Nigeria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity since the civil war,” Mamman said.
According to him, Buratai spearheaded deep and profound changes that reshaped military doctrine, operations, and troop welfare, laying the foundation for the ongoing modernisation of the Nigerian Army.
“He never sought to take credit, but his works were very evident and clear. The master plan for the Army’s modernisation we are following today was driven by his vision,” he added.
Mamman also linked Buratai’s example to the need for youth empowerment, noting that Nigeria’s young people are making significant contributions in technology, media, and the creative industry.
“We must give them the enabling environment to harness their creativity for national greatness. Our future relies on the resilience, creativity, and scholarship of our youth,” he said.
The event, held in Abuja Intercontinental Hotel attracted dignitaries including Senior Military Officers, both serving and retired, Sen. Abdulaziz Yar’adua, Chairman Senate Committee on Army, and other prominent Nigerians.
Ambassador Mamman hails Buratai’s legacy, urges youth mentorship
Kachalla Alti kills rival bandit kingpin, Dankarami Usaini in Zamfara community
By: Zagazola Makama
A feared bandit kingpin, Kachalla Alti, has killed a fellow gang leader in Matsuki village, Tsafe Local Government Area of Zamfara State, in what residents described as a deadly supremacy battle.
Zagazola gathered from sources that the incident, which occurred at about 4:45 p.m. on Monday, has left the community tense and largely deserted.
Witnesses said the slain bandit, identified as Dankarami Usaini, 40, a Hausa native of Matsuki, had long operated from the Dangajeru forest, allegedly extorting residents and attacking those who resisted.
According to locals, Dankarami was in the village to collect levies on behalf of Kachalla Alti, the younger brother of notorious armed gang leader, Adamu Alero.
However, discontent had been brewing among residents over the “excessive harassment” by Dankarami. They reportedly reached out to Kachalla Alti to intervene. Kachalla Alti stormed the village with his men and shot Dankarami dead on the spot.
Following the killing, many residents fled to nearby villages, fearing retaliatory attacks from Dankarami’s loyalists.
Local sources said tension remains high, with sporadic gunfire heard in nearby forest routes.
Kachalla Alti kills rival bandit kingpin, Dankarami Usaini in Zamfara community
Police, hunters search for kidnapped septuagenarian in Gombe
By: Zagazola Makama
Police in Gombe State, in collaboration with local hunters, have launched a search for a 60-year-old man abducted by gunmen in Funakaye Local Government Area.
Sources said the incident occurred on Tuesday at about 12:30 a.m., when about seven armed men stormed the Ganti area of Abuku village via Ribadu Bajoga and kidnapped one Muhammadu Lawal to an unknown location.
Upon receiving the report from the village head of Bage, a joint team of police operatives and hunters mobilised to comb nearby communities in an effort to rescue the victim unhurt.
The sources said no arrests had been made as of the time of filing this report.
Police, hunters search for kidnapped septuagenarian in Gombe
Investments in circular economy have the potential to increase forex earnings- NESREA DG
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Ambassador Mamman hails Buratai’s legacy, urges youth mentorship
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