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Global, national partners rally support for NDLEA’s alternative development project

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Global, national partners rally support for NDLEA’s alternative development project

By: Michael Mike

International partners and local stakeholders in the global effort to combat the scourge of illicit drug trafficking have expressed their preparedness to support the Alternative Development Project of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).

According to a statement on Friday by the spokesman of NDLEA, it is an initiative aimed at encouraging illicit drug producers and dealers to engage in lawful and productive business opportunities.

They made the commitments in their remarks during the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop on “Building a Support Network for the Alternative Development Project in Nigeria”, organised by the Alternative Development unit of NDLEA at the agency’s National Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday.

Speaking at the ceremony, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) explained the decision to embrace the ADP initiative. According to him, “In Nigeria, the Alternative Development Project will focus on reducing the vulnerabilities of ignorance, poverty, hunger, unemployment and underdevelopment that push people into illicit economies, particularly illicit drug cultivation. Aside from its link to transnational organised crime, illicit drug cultivation fuels national organised crime that causes agricultural states to abandon food crop cultivation for cannabis plantations in some communities in Southwest Nigeria. We intend to reduce these vulnerabilities both in urban centres and rural areas through the provision of functional mechanisms and facilities for sensitisation, skills acquisition, empowerment and positive engagements for sustainable livelihoods.

“As a diversified enterprise tailored to meet various needs and interests of the people, the Alternative Development Project in Nigeria will focus on agricultural and community development, research and basic infrastructure, and industrial and commercial engagements. We will begin with agricultural development through the crop substitution project. We will also focus on advocacy and education programmes and set up mechanisms to monitor and evaluate project implementations, progress, impacts and challenges.”

He expressed appreciation to the Global Partnership on Drug Policies and Development in Berlin, Germany for providing a fully funded Alternative Development study visit opportunity to Thailand for some NDLEA officers. He equally applauded the contributions of the immediate past Country Representative of UNODC in Nigeria, Mr. Oliver Stolpe; Chief, Drugs, Laboratory and Scientific Services Branch of UNODC, Vienna, Dr. Justice Tettey; Ashnik Alternative Development Initiative, an NGO and other stakeholders who assisted in developing the framework for the birth of the Alternative Development unit of the agency.

He called for a more robust global support to ensure the success of the project.

In his remarks, Tettey commended NDLEA for blazing the trail in Alternative Development initiative in Africa. He identified four critical elements needed for the success of the project as: “people- centred and responsive approach where the aspirations of the people, inclusion and local ownership of AD programmes will ensure meaningful participation of youths, women and the locals in the project design and implementation; value added production chain and access to market which involves research- aided identification of high- yielding marketable crops in harmony with the local environment and equally satisfy local and international markets.”

He noted that environmental considerations must be paramount in all efforts around Alternative Development to ensure sustainability and protection of the ecosystem. He pledged UNODC support to ensure a successful implementation.
Equally in his remarks, Mr. Danilo Campisi, Officer- in -Charge , UNODC Country Office, Nigeria, stated that 8,900 hectares of cannabis farmland being cultivated in six states in Nigeria would have been used for production of licit crops. He condemned the recruitment of young men who are desperate for livelihood in the communities by drug barons, who exploit their vulnerabilities.

Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Agribusiness and Productivity Enhancement, Dr. Kingsley Uzoma commended the NDLEA boss for the laudable initiative, noting that the Alternative Development project is in line with President Tinubu’s commitment to addressing issues of unemployment, youth and women empowerment by providing tools and resources needed to engage in productive licit farming activities in order to prevent the vulnerable from engaging in unlawful activities.

Others who spoke at the workshop include; Ms. Ana Medeiros, who represented acting Chief of Mission, United Nations International Organisation on Migrants; Mr. Thierry Rostan, Global Coordinator, Alternative Development/ Sustainable Livelihood Team, Vienna, Austria; Professor Bala Shehu of the Ashnik Alternative Development Initiative; Dr. Jonah Kolo, the Coordinator of the AD project and Dr. Martin Agwogie, President , International Society of Substance Use Prevention and Treatment Professionals (ISSUP), Nigeria, among others.

Global, national partners rally support for NDLEA’s alternative development project

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Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

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Eid-el-Kabir: IPCR Calls on Nigerians to Peace, Harmony

By: Michael Mike

Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) has called on Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress.

The advice was given by the Director General of the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR), Dr. Joseph Ochogwu, in his message on Eid-el-Kabir.

The Institute, while extending warm greetings to Nigerians, wished them a joyous and peaceful celebration, marked by love, compassion, and unity.

The Institute while noting that Sallah is a significant occasion in the Islamic calendar, symbolizing the values of sacrifice, gratitude, and community, emphasized that the spirit of Sallah should guide Nigerians in their interactions with one another, fostering a culture of peace, tolerance, and understanding.

The IPCR urged Nigerians to promote peace and harmony in their communities, recognizing that peace is essential to national development and progress, while
encouraging individuals to embrace the values of Sallah, including forgiveness, empathy, and kindness, in their daily lives.

According to IPCR, peace is critical to promoting national stability and cohesion.

The Institute also urged Nigerians to use this period of Sallah celebration to address conflicts and promote dialogue, which could help to build trust and understanding among Nigerians and also contribute to a more peaceful society.

It recognized that the country’s many ethnic and religious groups can work together to build a more harmonious society, celebrating their differences and promoting a culture of tolerance.
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Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

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Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

By: Michael Mike

A community leader and the Waziri Mushere of Bokkos Local Government Area of Plateau State, Chief Yohana Margif has expressed dismay over the incessant killing of innocent citizens of the community.

Margif made this known in an interview with journalists on Thursday in Abuja.

He called on President Bola Tinubu to urgently intervene to halt what he described as genocide against the people, which he said was being perpetrated by suspected herdsmen.

Margif also called on Malam Nuhu Ribadu, the National Security Adviser, and other security chiefs in the country, to rein in the alleged culprits.

He said: “I would like to draw the attention of the topmost leadership in Nigeria to the deteriorating dire security situation in Plateau, particularly in Mushere Chiefdom of Bokkos LGA.

“I urge President Tinubu to take immediate decisive action to halt these endless and senseless killings, protect lives and properties, and secure the future of the Mushere people, and other victims of obvious genocide against the people.

“Herdsmen are killing our innocent people, burning their homes, looting their foodstuff, property, livestock, and taking over their ancestral lands,” he said.

According to the Abuja-based real estate mogul, the attacks and attendant killings have intensified recently since the onset of this year’s farming season.

Margif further said that the people had been displaced from their villages and ancestral homes and were forced to become internally displaced persons in the country.

He emphasised that the situation required immediate intervention by all stakeholders in order to prevent further escalation and inflict an irredeemable harm by wiping out the entire community from the surface of the earth.

He lamented that: “Since President Tinubu’s administration began, Plateau State has witnessed an unprecedented escalation of violence and loss of lives.

“This is the current sad reality. Our people are constantly under the threat of the enemy’s bullets and can’t sleep with two eyes closed due to the perpetual unleashing of violence against them by external forces.

“Something urgent must be done to stem the tide of violence and end this war against the people in order not to
harm this administration’s reputation,” Margif said.

In the past couple of days, suspected herdsmen militia killed no fewer than 35 people in the localities of Hokk, Pangkap, Fokoldep, Kopmur, Margif, Horop, Mbor, Mushere and Kwahas localities in Mushere Chiefdom.

Chairman, Bokkos Community Peace Observers, Kefas Mallai, who confirmed the killings to newsmen, said the victims included a 70-year-old Pastor of COCIN LCC Kwakas-Mushere, Mimang Lekyil, who was attacked and killed in the church.

He said that the pastor’s wife was also shot in the leg and was admitted at the Jos University Teaching Hospital for treatment, he said.

“Bokkos has never been this insecure, with the people being butchered as we are currently witnessing,” Lilian Madaki, from the Mushere community told journalists.

The Commissioner of Police in the state, Emmanuel Adesina, also confirmed the incident in a statement saying security forces including police and military personnel, had been deployed in the affected communities.

Community Leader Seeks Tinubu’s Urgent Intervention in Incessant Plateau Killing

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VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

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VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

** Says Nigeria has lost an intellectual giant

By: Our Reporter

Vice President Kashim Shettima today led other Muslim faithful for the Jana’iza (funeral prayers) of the late elder statesman, renowned medical scholar and former Minister of Education and Petroleum, Prof. Jibril Aminu, at the National Mosque in Abuja.

Prof. Aminu, a one-time President of the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (OPEC), passed on in Abuja on Thursday after a prolonged illness.

The Vice President, who arrived at the National Mosque at 1:52 pm, commiserated with the family of the deceased and prayed Allah to comfort them and make Aljanna Firdaus the final abode of the late elder statesman.

Noting that the late Prof Aminu’s demise is a great loss to the nation, VP Shettima described the late surgeon, educationist and administrator as a man who saw it all, just as he said the deceased was an intellectual giant who can hardly be replaced.

“It is a very sad loss. Prof Jubril Aminu was the last of the great titans, an iconic figure who enormously contributed to the development of the nation.

“He was variously the Executive Secretary of NUC, Vice Chancellor of the University of Maiduguri and Honourable Minister of various ministries across the country and left his landmarks on the sands of time.

“He is irreplaceable. May Allah grant him Aljanatul Firdaus and give the family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss. His loss is not just to the good people of Adamawa State but to the nation and Africa at large,” the Vice President prayed.

Born in Song, Adamawa in 1939, Prof. Aminu was a towering figure in Nigerian public life.

The late Consultant Cardiologist served the nation in different capacities, including as Federal Minister of Education and later Federal Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources (1989–1992), Ambassador of Nigeria to the United States (1999–2003), and Senator representing Adamawa Central (2003–2011).

He was also President of OPEC in 1991 and President of the OPEC Conference between 1991 and 1992 while he was Petroleum Minister.

Other mourners who joined the Vice President at the National Mosque in Abuja for the Jana’iza included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar; National Security Adviser, Nuhu Ribadu; Special Adviser to the President on General Duties (Office of the Vice President), Dr. Aliyu Modibbo; former Secretary to the Federal Government, Yayale Ahmed; former Governor of Adamawa State, Admiral Murtala Nyako; former Governor of Gombe State, Senator Danjuma Goje; former Chief of Army Staff, General Tukur Buratai (rtd); former Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman; former Minister of State for Health, Dr. Aliyu Idi Hong, among many others.

VP Shettima Leads Mourners At Funeral Prayers For Late Prof. Jibril Aminu

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