National News
Fayemi Advises African Leaders Against Dependence on Foreign Aids
Fayemi Advises African Leaders Against Dependence on Foreign Aids
By: Michael Mike
Former EkitI State Governor and Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, Dr. Kayode Fayemi has asked Africans to advance their own core interests and values, insisting that African leadership must also as a necessity expunge the development aid framework from its thinking and embrace the audacity in defending the continents’s rights and interests in global affairs that has eluded us for way too long.
Fayemi while noting that: “Leadership audacity was at the heart of the launching of the pan-African project.” described as demeaning a situation where African leaders sees powers from the grounds of development aid and support alone.
Audacity according to him served us well in the struggle for independence and decolonisation, saying President Kwame Nkrumah used to tell African leaders, we should neither face the east nor west, we should always face forward.
He said: “To rise to the challenge of the times, Africa must organise itself to develop and deploy the necessary strategic plans, policy packages and leadership resources that are fit for the era of rapid and complex change.
“It is this task of policy and leadership advancement that must be addressed as an urgent necessity if Africa is to play its rightful role in the ongoing dynamic of change in global order.”
Also speaking at the Annual Conference of the Society for International Relations Awareness (SIRA) with the theme: “Africa in the turbulence of a world in search of direction,” .its chairman, Comrade Owei Lakemfa advised President Bola Tinubu and his other colleagues in Africa to engaged career diplomats to proffer solutions to current conflicts being faced on the continent.
He asked African leaders to define their interest, move the continent forward and engage professional diplomats.
He said: “Beyond these conflicts, we are confronted with a world in which the richest 10 per-cent own 52 per-cent of all income while the poorest 52 per-cent get just 8.5 per-cent.
“We have all ignored the reasons why the International Labour Organisation, ILO was established in 1919. The preamble proclaims that the ILO was set up because: “universal and lasting peace can be established only if it is based upon social justice.” It added that conditions: “exist involving such injustice, hardship and privation to large numbers of people as to produce unrest so great that the peace and harmony of the world are imperilled.”
He stated further: “We think that Africa should start looking at the situation and try work a direction. We have no direction and various countries and continents are working together to fashion out a direction but Africa is not.”
Lakemfa noted that professional diplomats can assist African leaders in their quest to address conflicts facing the continent.
Also, the Director- General/CEO Michael Imoudu National Institute for Labour Studies, Issa Aremu observed that there was once a Nigeria that used to lead the campaign for decolonization of the Africans.
Fayemi Advises African Leaders Against Dependence on Foreign Aids
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
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