National News
Africans Rising gives awards for Activism in Africa
Africans Rising gives awards for Activism in Africa
By: Michael Mike, Abuja
Three Africans have been given awards by the Africans Rising, a Pan-African movement for their selfless contributions towards the attainment of democracy, justice, human rights, and good governance on the African continent.
The awards, which were presented to the winners in Abuja, were given in three categories; Activist of the Year, Movement of the Year, and Artistic Activist of the Year.
Co-Chair of the Movement, Wangui wa Ngoro said the award is aimed at encouraging young African activists pushing for the desired change on the African continent and to spur others to join the cause.
Ngoro said the movement is not an enemy of the government but one whose vision is in line with the African Union Vision 2063 that spells out politically what Africans want in line with constitutions of countries.
She said the goal of the Movement is also geared towards ensuring that African can speak their minds against any form of injustice, inhumanity and brutality without getting
“The AU has vision 2063, which spells out the Africa politically that we want so we are just pushing that agenda alongside the constitutions of our countries. This is a political framework of Africa itself.
“We are not anybody’s enemy, we are hoping for our governments and supporting them.
“We are excited at this event where in the past year young African activists raised their voices and brought positive changes to their communities despite the mounting challenges of global health and political crises.”
She however added that: “We are inspired by their selfless activism and African Rising for justice, peace and dignity comes together each year to acknowledge and celebrate their accomplishments through Africans rising activism awards,” Goro said.
Also speaking on the award, Ms Coumba Toure, a Coordinating Collective of the Movement, said the award was not limited to celebrating only the winner but to recognize the efforts of everyone listed in the categories for their efforts.
Toure said Africans Rising is built on the foundation that wherever there is injustice, there are people, organisations and movements fighting for justice and we want them to be seen, and their voices heard.
She said: “What we are doing with these awards is to show that they are there. We have criterias and our members vote to decide who is the winner.
“But the truth is, every activist, every movement, every artist that has been in this contest is who we want to be seen.”
She added: “So, whether or not they are chosen, our work is to show who they are, our work is to amplify their voices and what we want is that what they fight for, and those who can see them or hear them through us support them.
“We in Africa need to move past the time where speaking your opinion becomes a threat to your life so that is a big challenge.”
Also speaking, Muhammed Lamin, another Coordinating Collective of the Novement said Africans Rising is a movement which supports and shows solidarity with movements across the continents to achieve their cause.
Lamin lamented the high rate of brutality against activists and journalists on the continent, noting that it will not make them relent in their effort.
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He however noted that through African Rising’s Freedom Campaign over 80,000 journalists and activists have been released from prisons across Africa during the pandemic
“We have lost a lot of our compatriots through bullets, through detentions, through torture and all forms of human brutality put on them by our governments.
“In the name of raising their voices against injustice, corruption and the brutal nature of governance on the continents.
“A lot of our activists are in jail in Nigeria who raised their voices against police brutality during the courageous #EndSARS protest.
“The brutality will only give us hope that no one can come from another continent to give us that change that we desire, it has to be us,” Lamin said.
Mr Deji Adeyanju, another Co-Chair of the Movement and Nigerian Activist said the Movement made solidarity interventions to Guinea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, amongst other countries to ensure restoration of democratic rule.
The winners were awarded $1000 each, the First Runner-up were awarded $500 each while the Second Runner-up got $300 dollars each.
For the Activist of the Year, the winner is Wilson Atumeyi – Nigeria (1, 467 votes) – 1st Runner-Up: Maulline Gragau – Ethiopia (1, 320 votes) – 2nd Runner-Up: Christine Khabuya – Kenya (668 votes)
For the Movement of the Year, the winner is Youth4Parliament – Zambia (722 votes) – 1st Runner-Up: Ondjango Feminista – Angola (682 votes) and 2nd Runner-Up: Black Lives Matter-Leeds – United Kingdom (531 votes).
And for the Artistic Activist of the Year, the winner is Joice Zau – Angola (1,112 votes), 1st Runner-Up: Odelia Koroma – Sierra Leone (1,080 votes) and 2nd Runner-Up: Sister LB – Senegal (781 votes)
Africans Rising gives awards for Activism in Africa
National News
VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution
VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution
By: Michael Mike
Vice President Kashim Shettima has expressed deep grief over the passing of prominent Nigerian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Aminu Alhassan Dantata, saying the nation has lost an irreplaceable institution.
The late Dantata, an uncle of Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, passed away at the age of 94 in Abu Dhabi in the early hours of Saturday in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to Mustapha Abdullahi Junaid, his Personal Private Secretary (PPS), who confirmed the death.
In a condolence message, Vice President Shettima praised the late businessman for his lifetime of service, describing him as “a living bridge that connected us to our past.
“We have not just lost a leader; we have lost an irreplaceable institution,” Senator Shettima said, describing Dantata as “one of the greatest titans in Nigeria’s philosophical history” whose departure marks the end of a vital chapter in the country’s economic and democratic evolution.
“In African tradition, when such an elderly person transitions, a vital chapter of our history departs with them. He was indeed among the great titans, a living bridge that connected us to our past,” VP Shettima added.
The Vice President extended heartfelt condolences to the Dantata family, expressing hopes that they would “find the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss,” even as he prayed that Almighty Allah would grant the deceased Jannatul Firdaus.
Born into the legendary Dantata family of Kano, Alhaji Aminu built on his father’s commercial legacy to become one of Nigeria’s most influential business figures. His empire spans construction, manufacturing, banking, agriculture, and the oil and gas sectors.
Beyond business, Dantata was renowned for his extensive philanthropic work, funding schools, mosques, health centres, and supporting widows and the underprivileged across Nigeria.
VP Shettima Mourns Late Alhaji Aminu Dantata, Says Nigeria Has Lost An Irreplaceable Institution
National News
Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting
Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting
By: Michael Mike
The Senior Officials Meeting between Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.
A statement on Saturday by the Press Officer, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Modestus Chukwulaka, read: “The Delegation of European Union to Nigeria and ECOWAS wishes to inform that the Senior Officials Meeting between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the European Union (EU) will be held on Tuesday 1st and Wednesday 2nd July 2025 in Abuja.
“The agenda of the very important meeting is to prepare for the upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting and to explore areas of cooperation.”
According to the statement, the Senior Officials Meeting will be co-chaired by the Regions, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nigeria, Ambassador Janet Olisa, Director, and the Deputy Managing Director for Africa Department, European External Action Service, European Union, Mr Mathieu Briens.
The statement revealed that the agenda of the meeting is expected to entail wide-ranging discussions that would focus on various aspects of the Nigeria – EU partnership, such as: Cooperation on multilateral and regional issues; Peace, Security and Governance; Humanitarian situation; Trade and Investment; Human Development: Health, Education, Social Protection; Science, technology, innovation and digital transition; Migration; Energy, climate change and green economy transition among others.
Nigeria and the European Union share a deep, long-standing partnership inspired by mutual values and interests as well as support for multilateralism and rule-based international order, the statement said.
Nigeria-EU Senior Officials Meet in Abuja to Prepare for Upcoming Nigeria – EU Ministerial Meeting
Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People
…. Donates relief materials to displaced persons in Yelwata, IDP camp
By: Michael Mike
Former Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), Mrs. Farida Waziri has charged former governors, legislators, traditional rulers and other stakeholders in Benue state to set aside rivalry, unite and act with urgency to save their people from incessant attacks and killings.
Waziri, a retired Assistant Inspector General of Police and Principal Partner, Brookfield Chambers Abuja stated this on Saturday 28th June 2025 while donating relief materials to victims of the recent gunmen attacks in Yelwata community and displaced persons at the internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Makurdi, the Benue state capital.
Some of the items donated under the banner of Women, Youth, Children and Crime Organisation (WYCCO), a non-governmental organization founded by her, include: bags of rice, sugar, tubers of yam and other household items.
She said: “This is no time for division. It is no time for political squabbling or ego-driven manoeuvring. Among us are men and women who have led this state — former governors, legislators, traditional rulers — individuals with influence and authority. The time has come to set aside our differences and stand united, for the sake of the ordinary Benue man, woman, and child.
“That is why I stand here today to make this urgent and heartfelt appeal to our leaders: cast aside rivalry, unite, and act. Act with urgency. Act with purpose. Because what we face now increasingly resembles a deliberate, coordinated effort to erase our people and our heritage.
“We must take heed of the words of Sir Winston Churchill, who once said:
‘Our difficulties and dangers will not be removed by closing our eyes to them.’
Another of Churchill’s warnings is just as relevant to our present predicament:
‘If you will not fight for right when you can easily win without bloodshed… you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival.”
Waziri, while stating that her call was a build up to the earlier proposal by President Bola Tinubu during his recent visit Beforehand Benue, noted that meetings alone would not solve the problem, urging that: “But let us be sincere: peace will not come from meetings alone. To end the cycle of violence, we must confront its roots. Before the Yelwata massacre, communities in Gwer West, Apa, and Guma had already endured weeks of killings, kidnappings, and raids. These horrors did not emerge in a vacuum; they are symptoms of deeper issues.
“We must therefore confront the real causes — ethnic and religious tensions, unchecked banditry, and the rise of cultism as well as the abuse of illicit drugs. These forces must be tackled, along with the herder-farmer conflict, with honesty and courage. We cannot afford to keep going in circles. And there is no room for blame games. Our leaders — and indeed, all of us — must be pragmatic. So today, let us commit, as one people, to healing our wounds, reclaiming our land, and ensuring that never again will a child in Benue grow up in a camp instead of a home”
She said the development in Benue must be of “concern to all sons and daughters of Benue regardless of whether we live within its borders or far away in the diaspora to find out the root cause of these attacks with a view to proferring solutions that will bring an end to these barbaric acts”
Farida Waziri Tasks Benue Leaders to Unite, Act and Save Their People
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