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FG Moves To Curb Flood Disasters, Climate-Induced Crises As VP Shettima Launches Preemptive Action Plan
FG Moves To Curb Flood Disasters, Climate-Induced Crises As VP Shettima Launches Preemptive Action Plan
By: Our Reporter
As the rainy season sets in, with its attendant torrential downpour, the federal government has taken proactive steps to prevent flooding through strategic measures to enhance disaster preparedness and risk management across the country.
To this effect, Vice President Kashim Shettima on Wednesday launched Nigeria’s Anticipatory Action Framework, designed to shift disaster management from reactive responses to proactive preparedness by leveraging early warnings, local empowerment, and pre-arranged financing to save lives and livelihoods.
A key component of the strategy involves establishing a dedicated trigger group comprising meteorological and emergency management agencies that will synthesise data to enable forecasts up to two weeks in advance.
Speaking during a framework validation workshop held at the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), Office of the National Security Adviser in Abuja, VP Shettima described the framework as a timely intervention to confront the rising threats of climate-induced disasters such as floods, which affected over five million Nigerians in 2024.
“These disasters are no longer distant threats. They are here, knocking at our doors, sweeping through our streets, flooding our homes, and testing not only our moral sensitivity but the depth of our preparation,” he said.
The Vice President stressed the urgent need to dump the costly and inadequate reactive approach to disasters for a more proactive measure.
He stated, “For decades, our response has been reactive. We wait for the waters to rise, for the homes to vanish, and then we scramble for relief. This late arrival of support costs more and saves fewer lives.
“We lose close to 5% of our GDP every year to reactive disaster responses. This approach is not only unsustainable, it is also deeply unjust to the most vulnerable among us. This is why we must act before disasters unfold”.
The VP explained that the new framework is built on three strategic pillars, including “early warning systems powered by satellite technology and delivered through community-based networks to provide life-saving information in real time.
“The second is pre-triggered financing. No plan can succeed without resources made available before the storm arrives. The third is localised preparedness.
“Studies have shown that anticipatory action can reduce losses by up to 60 per cent. That is not just a statistic. It is hope. It is the future of millions salvaged before ruin,” he added.
Senator Shettima drew instances from Benue State where trained volunteers, responding to early warning alerts, evacuated over 80,000 people within 72 hours.
“That is what it means to build early warning systems that work. It’s not just about integrating forecasting tools, but delivering timely alerts in languages our people understand,” the Vice President stated.
He explained that the trigger group is composed of national agencies, including NiMet, NiHSA, NEMA, NASRDA, and NOA, working in collaboration with UNOCHA, WFP, FAO, and the IFRC.
“We cannot leave here with only communiqués and good intentions. We must take ownership of this framework, embed it into our institutions, and stay accountable to its promise,” the Vice President told participants at the workshop.
Earlier in his keynote address, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda, said the Tinubu administration is committed to supporting the operationalisation of the Anticipatory Action Framework for Nigeria.
He stressed the need for response agencies and intervention organisations to utilise the National Social Register to lay the foundation for a flood-resistant nation, noting that the register is a national resilience infrastructure.
The Minister recommended the enactment of a risk management and data sharing protocol, the establishment of a national risk and sustainable coordination centre, early funding for anticipatory actions, and the deployment of technology to enable real-time monitoring of situations across the country.
On his part, the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator, Nigeria, Mohamed Malick Fall, commended Nigeria for taking the bold step in leading the institutionalisation of coordinated humanitarian response to disasters in the region.
According to him, the rest of West Africa is looking up to what is being done in Nigeria, as successes recorded in the country will permeate the rest of the region.
In his welcome remarks, the National Security Adviser, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, said the workshop is a crucial step towards building a resilient and progressive nation, emphasising that poorly managed disasters can exacerbate insecurity, enable displacement, disrupt critical infrastructure and deepen societal fragilities.
He also noted that efforts aimed at strengthening the anticipatory capacity of the nation are a priority of the Tinubu administration, as it is essential in sustaining lives and securing national assets, among other goals.
On her part, the Special Assistant to the President on Humanitarian Affairs and Development Partners, Mrs Inna Audu, said the workshop was designed to accelerate the country’s journey towards a national early warning system that is integrated, inclusive, and anticipatory.
She noted that President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima are deeply committed to building a disaster-resilient Nigeria, stressing that the time for piecemeal responses was over and that stakeholders must shift to systems thinking where data, people, and policies are interconnected, and where foresight guides interventions.
There were also goodwill messages from the European Union and representatives of response agencies, development partners, Civil Society Organisations and the private sector, among others.
FG Moves To Curb Flood Disasters, Climate-Induced Crises As VP Shettima Launches Preemptive Action Plan
Burkina Faso weaponising emergency landing to attack Nigeria after Benin fails coup
By: Zagazola Makama
The Burkinabè military junta is using the precautionary landing of a Nigerian Air Force (NAF) C-130 aircraft as a pretext to demonstrate growing hostility toward Nigeria, following Abuja’s role in helping avert the recent coup attempt in the Benin Republic.
The continued detention of 10 NAF personnel in Bobo-Dioulasso, despite their aircraft making a technical precautionary landing fully compliant with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) regulations, “confirms a disturbing pattern of petty retaliation, insecurity and reckless behaviour by the Burkinabè junta.”
Emergency landings are globally recognised safety procedures, and ICAO rules demand that aircrews must not only be protected but provided immediate assistance. Burkina Faso’s decision to turn a routine safety measure into a diplomatic confrontation “is nothing short of childish and vindictive.”
The Nigerian Air Force earlier issued a statement confirming that the crew carried out a precautionary landing “in accordance with standard safety procedures and international aviation protocols,” and reported receiving cordial treatment at the initial stage. However, diplomatic sources told Zagazola that the continued withholding of the crew contradicts that assurance.
The action by Burkina Faso did not occur in a vacuum. The hostility followed Nigeria’s military intervention that helped Benin Republic’s constitutional order resist a coup attempt widely believed to have had tacit backing or sympathy within elements of the Alliance of Sahel States (AES), of which Burkina Faso is a leading member.
The junta’s behaviour was now consistent with a bloc increasingly defined by militarism, paranoia and antagonism toward democratic neighbours, especially Nigeria, whose regional influence has consistently frustrated destabilisation efforts in West Africa.
Detaining an emergency crew is not an accident. It is an act of vengeance. Burkina Faso is attempting to send a message to Nigeria after the failed coup in Benin, but the message only exposes their irresponsibility and insecurity.
Burkina Faso’s conduct is an “embarrassing display of hostility,” warning that weaponising ICAO-governed emergency procedures for political grudges undermines aviation safety across the region.
If the junta’s behaviour is allowed to stand, it could endanger future emergency operations, discourage pilots from declaring technical concerns, and jeopardise lives. If Nigeria were to apply the same hostility, lives would be lost. Burkina Faso’s action is a threat to global aviation safety.
Given the seriousness of the violation, we advised that the Nigerian Government to immediately summon the Burkinabè Ambassador to provide formal explanation for the junta’s “reckless, unprofessional and unlawful” actions. Nigeria must “respond strongly to prevent further AES provocations.”
We also urged West African and international aviation authorities and every other body to condemn this blatant and dangerous breach of global norms,” while insisting that the detained NAF crew must be released immediately and unconditionally.
The world must not allow a reckless military regime to twist an aviation safety incident into a political attack on Nigeria
End
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Two fulani women rescued from forest after month-long abduction in Adavi forest in Kogi
Two fulani women rescued from forest after month-long abduction in Adavi forest in Kogi
By: Zagazola Makama
Police in Kogi State have rescued two women who were kidnapped nearly a month ago from Irewagere Fulani Camp in Adavi Local Government Area.
Zagazola report that the victims, Safara Yakubu and Habibat Aminu, both aged 25 and of Fulani descent, were abducted on Nov. 3, 2025, at about 11:00 p.m.
Sources said that the Divisional Police Officer, Osara, mobilized a team based on credible intelligence and rescued the victims along the Osara-Oshokoshoko Obajana Forest on Sunday at about 2:00 p.m.
The rescued women are currently receiving medical attention at a local medical center.
End
Nigeria Condemns Attempted Military Takeover of Government in Benin
By: Michael Mike
Nigerian government has condemned the attempted military takeover of government in neighbouring Benin Republic.
A statement by the spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Kimiebi Ebienfa read: “The Government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria has received with grave concern and unequivocally condemns in the strongest possible terms the attempted forcible seizure of power in our friendly neighbour and brotherly nation, the Republic of Benin in the early hours of Sunday 7th December, 2025.
“This act of destabilization represents a direct assault on democracy, constitutional order, and the collective will of the Beninese people, who have consistently demonstrated their commitment to peaceful political transitions.
“Nigeria stands in firm solidarity with the Government and people of the Republic of Benin, and applauds the swift action taken by Beninese authorities to protect its legitimate institutions and preserve the peace.”
“We commend the courage and professionalism of the Beninese security forces in defending the constitutional order and guaranteeing the safety of the President. Their dedication ensured that the unfortunate attempt to subvert democracy was decisively repelled,” the statement added.
The statement further read: “Nigeria reiterates its strong commitment to the principles of democracy, good governance, and the rule of law as fundamental pillars for peace, development and regional stability. Unconstitutional changes of government are an unacceptable and retrogressive step that threatens the hard-earned democratic gains and socio-economic progress of our sub-region.
“As a steadfast partner within the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Union, Nigeria calls on all member states and the international community to unite in condemning this act and in reaffirming our shared commitment to the African Union’s Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance, and the ECOWAS Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance.
“We urge all parties in the Republic of Benin to remain calm, uphold the rule of law, and continue to channel any political discourse through peaceful, constitutional, and democratic means.
“The Federal Government of Nigeria reassures the Government of the Republic of Benin of its full support and continued cooperation as we work together, as brothers and partners, to deepen democracy and ensure lasting peace and prosperity for our peoples and the entire West African region.”
Nigeria Condemns Attempted Military Takeover of Government in Benin
Burkina Faso weaponising emergency landing to attack Nigeria after Benin fails coup
Burkina Faso’s reckless violation of icao rules over emergency landing exposes AES hostility toward Nigeria
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