National News
Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria pass 70,000 mark, UNHCR renews call for help
Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria pass 70,000 mark, UNHCR renews call for help
By: Michael Mike, Abuja
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has revealed that Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria are now over 70,000.
The UN Refugee agency also appealed to international community for urgent additional support for refugees in Nigeria
UNHCR, while stating that of the over 70,000 refugees, nearly 80 per cent of them are women and children.
The UNHCR’s Country Representative Chansa Kapaya in a statement on Monday said: “This is not just a number, these are people behind these numbers, mothers, fathers, brothers and sisters, people just like you and I, that have been forced to flee their homes to seek safety and save their lives,” adding that “70,000 refugees are 70,000 daughters and sons.”
She lamented that their dreams and plans were disrupted by violence in the North-West and South-West regions of Cameroon where a conflict between secessionist Non-State Armed Groups and the army has been displacing people from their homes since 2017.
She noted that recent arrivals and UNHCR’s protection monitoring confirm killings, abductions, forced evictions and other forms of violence, with armed groups attacking schools and hospitals.
She said over 8,000 Cameroonian women, men and children have arrived in Nigeria’s Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Benue, Enugu, Cross River and Taraba States in the past 12 months, many in hard- to -reach rural areas.
She disclosed that UNHCR, together with the National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and IDPs, registered them, with 59 percent found refuge in local communities and the rest living in four settlements which UNHCR helped build on land generously provided by the government.
Also Read: NDLEA officer didn’t assault any passenger at Lagos…
The statement said Nigeria has a progressive open-door approach to refugees, allowing refugee girls and boys to go to school just like nationals and their parents to work where they can, and with support from UNHCR, Nigeria provides primary health care to refugees and nationals alike.
Kapaya said: “UNHCR commends Nigeria because it is on its way to become a champion in implementing the Global Compact on Refugees,” adding however that “but Nigeria needs support”.
She said the most pressing needs of Cameroonian refugees are food, shelter, improved health care and education as well as livelihood opportunities.
She said with rising food prices, the economic hit of COVID-19 and the refugee influx, needs are on the rise with serious risks of gender-based violence and negative copying mechanisms such as begging and survival sex. The amount of support UNHCR can deliver is increasingly falling short. Cash for food, for instance, had to be reduced from 2019 due to insufficient funding.
The statement said US$97.7 million is needed to respond to the needs of a total of some 78,000 refugees and asylum-seekers of different nationalities and to IDP needs – protection, camp management/coordination, shelter and non-food items such as blankets and jerry cans.
The statement lamented that so far, not even half of this amount (45 per cent, as of 23 November) has been received.
Cameroonian refugees in Nigeria pass 70,000 mark, UNHCR renews call for help
National News
ActionAid Alleges Government Paying Lip-service to Free First Nine Years of Schooling
ActionAid Alleges Government Paying Lip-service to Free First Nine Years of Schooling
…Demands Immediate Government Action to End Educational Exclusion of Poor Children
By: Michael Mike
ActionAid Nigeria has alleged that the government is only paying lip service to the avowed policy of free education to children in their first nine years of schooling, insisting that a massive number of children are still being denied their right due to inadequate resources, poor infrastructure, and a lack of transparency in the use of public funds.
A statement on Monday by the Country Director, ActionAid Nigeria, Andrew Mamedu demanded an immediate government action to end educational exclusion of poor children in the country.
The statement read: “ActionAid Nigeria vehemently disapproves the failure of the Nigerian government to provide quality education to children from poor backgrounds- one of its most vulnerable citizens. Despite the free education policy that was enacted to cater for children in their first nine years of schooling, a massive number of children are still being denied their right due to inadequate resources, poor infrastructure, and a lack of transparency in the use of public funds. This is a shocking dereliction of duty.
“This obvious inaction by the government is a clear betrayal of the trust placed in them by the citizens. The inconsistent working relationship between federal and state governments has resulted in a catastrophic failure of coordination, prioritization, and curriculum development. This is unacceptable and must be addressed immediately.”
Mamedu added that: The outrageously high number of poorest children who are out of school is a direct consequence of the government’s appalling neglect of public services.”
Mamedu said: “According to the Nigerian Education Factsheet by UNICEF, about one fourth of the children of primary school completion age did not complete primary education. Moreover, there’s a staggering wealth-based disparity, as 97 per cent of children from the richest families complete primary school, compared to just 34 per cent from the poorest families.
“The gap widens in senior secondary school, where 90 per cent from wealthy families complete their education, versus a mere 16 per cent from poor families.”
He lamented that: “There are also significant ethnic disparities- children from Igbo, Yoruba, Ijaw, Ibibio, and Edo backgrounds tend to have higher completion rates, while those from Fulani and Kanuri backgrounds face lower rates of educational attainment.”
He said he firmly believes that “Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, and it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that all children have access to quality education.”
He added that: “The current state of education in Nigeria is a crisis, and we assert that the government takes immediate action to address these issues and prioritize the future of our children.”
Mamedu said: “ActionAid strongly demands that the government: Implements the policy of free education for the first nine years of schooling effectively, without delay; Improves coordination and prioritization between federal and state governments, to ensure a unified approach to education; Increases transparency in the allocation and use of public funds for education, to ensure that resources are being used effectively; Allocates sufficient funds for infrastructure development and improving the school experience for children, to provide a safe and supportive learning environment.”
He said: “It’s time for the government to step up and fulfill its responsibility to provide a decent education for all, without excuses or exceptions.”
ActionAid Alleges Government Paying Lip-service to Free First Nine Years of Schooling
Crime
Six terrorists killed as army troops raid terrorists enclaves
Six terrorists killed as army troops raid terrorists enclaves
By: Zagazola Makama
Troops of the Operation Hadin Kai of the Nigerian Army have killed six fighters of the Islamic State of West African Province (ISWAP) during a raid of a “notorious enclave” in Goniri in Damboa LGA in Borno.
It was gathered that the feat was recorded when the troops of 81 Division Task Force Battalion stormed the terrorists enclave in collaboration with Civilian Joint Task Force on May 9, 2024.
Intelligence sources told Zagazola Makama that the The troops successfully cleared Wulma Mashi and Kodow and destroyed structures of the terrorists. The troops went further to clear Goniri and Kokotuma. Contact was made with the terrorists in a small market before Gorere market.
The troops gundown the six terrorists and destroyed all the structures in the area.
Six terrorists killed as army troops raid terrorists enclaves
National News
FG Declares Wednesday Holiday to Mark Worker’s Day
FG Declares Wednesday Holiday to Mark Worker’s Day
By: Michael Mike
The Federal Government has declared Wednesday, 1st May, 2024 as a Public Holiday to commemorate this year’s Workers’ Day Celebration.
The Minister of Interior, Hon. Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, who made the declaration on behalf of the Federal Government, reiterated the need for excellence, efficiency and equity in all spheres of labour, re-affirming President Bola Tinubu’s administration’s commitment to fostering a culture of innovation, productivity, and inclusivity in the workplace.
Tunji-Ojo, in a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Interior, Dr. Aishetu Gogo Ndayako, said: “In alignment with this year’s theme, which focuses on ensuring safety and health at work in a changing climate, I wish to state that the Federal Government remains steadfast in its resolve to prioritise the safety and well-being of all citizens. Let me reaffirm Mr. President’s commitment to providing a conducive environment for work, where every worker can thrive and contribute meaningfully to national development”.
The Minister, while acknowledging the contribution of workers, called for proactive measures to mitigate adverse effects of climate change through synergy in in the implementation of sustainable practices and policies that promote well-being in the workplace and in building a nation guided by the principles of integrity, diligence and compassion.
Tunji-Ojo also urged Nigerians to remain committed to the present administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda as he wishes workers a happy celebration.
FG Declares Wednesday Holiday to Mark Worker’s Day
-
News2 months ago
Roger Federer’s Shock as DNA Results Reveal Myla and Charlene Are Not His Biological Children
-
News2 months ago
EYN: Rev. Billi, Distortion of History, and The Living Tamarind Tree
-
Columns2 months ago
Army University Biu: There is certain interest, but certainly not from Borno.
-
ACADEMICS3 months ago
A History of Biu” (2015) and The Lingering Bura-Pabir Question (1)
-
Opinions2 years ago
THE PLIGHT OF FARIDA
-
Opinions3 months ago
Tinubu,Shettima: The epidemic of economic, insecurity in Nigeria
-
Opinions2 months ago
UMTH:…and the testimonies of patients and patient relations
-
National News2 months ago
Fraud and Mismanagement Rock INGO’s IDP Cash Assistance Effort in Bama