LIFE-ND Secures $32m Additional Funding, Records 95% Loan Disbursement

By: Michael Mike

The Livelihood Improvement and Family Enterprises Project in the Niger Delta (LIFE-ND) has secured an additional $32 million financing from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) as the intervention records 95 per cent disbursement of its original IFAD loan and expands the deployment of digital and artificial intelligence-powered agricultural advisory services.

The development was disclosed in Abuja as the Federal Government, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and IFAD commenced the sixth Joint Supervision Mission of the LIFE-ND project, a month-long exercise designed to assess implementation, resolve emerging challenges and draw lessons for the proposed second phase of the programme.

The additional financing, alongside a three-year extension, has raised the total LIFE-ND project budget from its original $97.8 million to $129.8 million, providing additional resources for expanding livelihood interventions among rural households, women and young agripreneurs across the Niger Delta.

Launched in February 2019, LIFE-ND was conceived against the backdrop of persistent livelihood and economic challenges confronting rural communities in the Niger Delta, where large sections of the population depend on agriculture and related activities but often face limited access to productive assets, finance, markets, modern technologies, skills and sustainable employment opportunities.

The project seeks to address these constraints by strengthening rural agricultural enterprises and creating pathways through which young people and women can move from subsistence-level activities into commercially viable agribusinesses.

Rather than relying solely on conventional training, LIFE-ND adopted an enterprise-incubator model, through which established and successful agribusinesses serve as mentors and coaches for younger people seeking to enter agriculture.

Under the model, mature enterprises provide practical exposure and business guidance to apprentices, allowing beneficiaries to acquire skills within functioning businesses while developing the experience required to establish or expand their own enterprises.

The project set a target of developing 900 mature enterprises to serve as incubators for 38,250 apprentices. Of this number, 25,500 are targeted across six IFAD-funded states, while another 12,750 are expected to benefit from interventions in three states supported by the NDDC.

The approach reflects a broader effort by the Federal Government and its development partners to make agriculture more attractive to young Nigerians by shifting perceptions of farming from subsistence activity towards commercially driven agribusiness and employment.

The latest project assessment indicates that the intervention is already producing measurable economic results.

According to LIFE-ND, 74 per cent of participating households recorded increased agricultural production, while 74 per cent of rural enterprises reported higher profits.

The project also reported that 82.8 per cent of participating households adopted improved agricultural technologies, demonstrating increased uptake of modern production practices among beneficiaries.

Technology has increasingly become an important component of the programme, particularly as climate variability, changing weather patterns and limited access to timely agricultural information continue to affect smallholder farmers.

More than 18,000 beneficiaries now receive real-time weather updates, while a pilot artificial intelligence-powered digital advisory system has reached 2,177 farmers.

The AI-supported intervention is designed to provide farmers with timely agricultural advice and information that can assist them in making better production decisions.

Women constitute 42 per cent of farmers reached through the pilot, while men account for 58 per cent.

The project’s intervention has also extended beyond production and enterprise development to nutrition and social inclusion.

Participation in its nutrition interventions has reached 135 per cent of the original target, while 86 per cent of participating women achieved minimum dietary diversity—well above the project’s initial target of 50 per cent.

Youth training has similarly exceeded expectations, with the number of young people comprehensively trained in crop production reaching 181 per cent of the target.

The programme has also reported improved access to agricultural land among participating incubatees, addressing one of the major constraints that can prevent young people from converting agricultural skills into viable enterprises.

Financial management has been another area of reported progress.

LIFE-ND said it had achieved 95 per cent disbursement of the original IFAD loan, attributing the performance to computerised accounting systems, compliance with audit requirements and adherence to approved work plans.

The project’s fifth Supervision Mission, conducted late last year, rated the programme “moderately satisfactory”, reflecting what the implementing partners described as encouraging progress while recognising areas requiring further attention.

The new financing represents a significant vote of confidence in the intervention.

Under the expanded financing arrangement, IFAD’s total contribution, comprising the original and additional financing, stands at $92 million. The NDDC is providing $30 million, the Federal Government $3 million, while state governments are contributing $4.8 million as counterpart funding, bringing the overall project budget to $129.8 million.

The NDDC has also disbursed two consecutive tranches of its contribution, a development expected to strengthen project implementation and demonstrate the importance of coordinated financing between government institutions and international development partners.

The sixth Joint Supervision Mission, which runs from September 1 to 30, is consequently taking place at an important point in the project’s evolution.

The exercise is expected to examine implementation across the participating states, identify bottlenecks and determine how successful components can be strengthened and scaled up.

The mission team, under the leadership of IFAD Country Director and Representative in Nigeria, Dede Ekoue, includes technical specialists in agribusiness, livestock, gender, youth development, financial management, procurement and information and communication technology for development.

As part of the field activities, the team is scheduled to travel to Asaba, Delta State, from September 2 to 8.

Among the technical leads are Abdoulaye Gonde, Project Technical Lead and Global Technical Specialist for Livestock, and Adeline Muheebwa, Lead Consultant and Programme Management Expert.

A major objective of the mission is to ensure that the experience accumulated during the implementation of LIFE-ND is not lost but translated into a stronger framework for a potential second phase.

The team will therefore document lessons learned and best practices, while also working to resolve active implementation bottlenecks and update the Procurement Risk Matrix and Integrated Project Risk Matrix.

At the end of the exercise, the partners are expected to produce an official Aide-Memoire, a comprehensive Mission Report and updated project performance indicators to guide subsequent interventions.

The significance of the programme extends beyond the number of farmers and enterprises directly reached. For the Niger Delta, where rural livelihoods are closely connected to agriculture, strengthening the capacity of young people and women to participate in productive enterprises has implications for household incomes, food security, employment and community resilience.

The LIFE-ND model also seeks to address a longstanding challenge in agricultural development: ensuring that training is connected to actual economic opportunities. By linking apprentices with established enterprises, the programme attempts to bridge the gap between acquiring agricultural knowledge and building sustainable businesses.

The additional $32 million therefore comes at a critical stage, as the government and its development partners seek to consolidate the gains recorded since the project began in 2019 and expand interventions that have demonstrated tangible results.

For the FGN, NDDC and IFAD, the immediate challenge will be to translate the reported achievements into a broader and more sustainable rural transformation programme capable of reaching more women and young people, strengthening agricultural value chains and creating enterprises that can survive beyond project funding.

The sixth supervision mission is expected to provide the operational and strategic roadmap for achieving that objective, while the proposed second phase could determine whether the innovations developed under LIFE-ND—particularly its enterprise-incubator model and emerging digital and AI advisory systems—can be taken to a much larger scale across the Niger Delta.

LIFE-ND Secures $32m Additional Funding, Records 95% Loan Disbursement

That Curious Attack On Mustapha Gubio.

By: Inuwa Bwala.

It was both chilling and curious, leaving many people still asking, the obvious question about what could be the motive behind last weeks attack on the convoy of Engineer Mustapha Gubio, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for Borno state.

It is a truism that Boko Haram/ISWAP have been operating in Borno since 2009, especially in the Lake Chad axis, and the Gubio-Kareto-Damasak highway in northern Borno has been volatile.

It is a known fact that, the attackers often target soft spots and unguarded personnel.
But targetting Gubio and his entourage which was returning to Maiduguri after a thank-you tour to APC members in Damasak, headquarters of Mobbar Local Government Area, following his emergence as the party’s consensus candidate, is curious and worrisome.

It is not enough to say, that, the route has been plied by the state governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, who has survived many such attacks.

Gubio’s convoy may not be less fortified, but against the background of our experiences and the fact that we have not experienced such in a long time, makes it more curious to ask, if Gubio is a particular target.

According to the Police, the convoy was targeted with Improvised Explosive Devices and Rocket Propelled Grenades, which again makes it obvious that the attack was premeditated.

A police armoured vehicle leading the convoy detonated a landmine and was badly damaged, which adds another angle to the possibility of a well planned ambush, that was not meant to give the candidate any chance of escape.

The attackers were said to have laid ambush with planted IEDs targeting the convoy and also fired several RPGs, implying a more organized act, different from the hitherto rag tag approach of Boko Haram or ISWAP.

Thanks to the combined team of soldiers, police, NSCDC, DSS, Civilian JTF and vigilante groups, who counter-engaged the attackers and forced them to retreat into the surrounding bush. A scan of the surrounding by Police tactical operatives who cleared the route to neutralise secondary explosive threats, points to the sophistication of Gubio’s security network.

AAlthough, no casualty was recorded among Gubio’s, government officials, or other political stakeholders in the entourage, it remains a terrifying moment, and one may be tempted to ask, who wants Gubio, dead?

One may say, that, the attack highlights the persistent security threat along the 156km Gubio-Kareto-Damasak corridor, a route long regarded as a flashpoint due to insurgent activity, but given our experiences with the targetting of political leaders in the past, a curious mind may not dismiss this as one of such cases of random incidents.

This is not the first time a high-profile Borno politician has been targeted. It may be recalled that, in the build up to the 2011 elections, the governorship candidate of the same ruling party, the APC, was ambushed and killed.

Several other politicians and businessmen had been targeted and killed in very curious circumstances.

As recent as 2020, the convoy of Governor Babagana Zulum was attacked near Baga, and the real circumstances surrounding the incident have remained cloudy.

To sweep this one under the carpet, as a mere Boko Haram ISWAP attack: to me may leave a window open for further mischief.
I have known Engineer Mustapha Gubio, as a consumate gentleman, who cannot hurt a fly.

His emergence as APC’s flagbearer has a lot of prospects, given his pledge to consolidate on Governor Zulum’s achievements in security, resettlement, education and agriculture.

I am aware that investigators may not have not named any individual or political actor behind the attack for now, but citizens are eager.

While accusing fingers point in the direction of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists, who may be seeking to destabilize the 2027 political process, a deeper linning could prop up another dangerous design.

As Borno counts its blessings that Gubio survived, the poser remains: Who wants Gubio dead? Until this is resolved and the terrorist, who may be mere canonfodders are fully uprooted, candidates, voters, and convoys will continue to move under the shadow of that question.

That Curious Attack On Mustapha Gubio.

Borno Christian Youth Leader Names Son After Zulum, Cites Governor’s Leadership

By: Michael Mike

A prominent Christian youth leader in Borno State, Mr Emmanuel Bulama, has named his newborn son Zulum in honour of Governor Babagana Zulum, citing the governor’s leadership, humanitarian interventions and commitment to rebuilding the state.

Bulama, who leads the Jere Christian Youth Forum, gave the name to his son during a naming ceremony held on Sunday, saying the decision was informed by what he described as the governor’s remarkable contributions to the development and welfare of the people of Borno.

The ceremony was officiated by Rev. Anthony Inuwa of the Church of Christ in Nations (COCIN), Old Maiduguri, who led the proceedings and offered prayers and blessings for the newborn and his family.

Explaining the significance of the name, Bulama said naming his son after the governor went beyond a personal tribute. According to him, it was also a prayer and an expression of hope that the child would grow into a man whose life would reflect the qualities he associates with Governor Zulum.

He specifically cited leadership, compassion, service to humanity and commitment to the people as qualities he hoped his son would emulate.

“This name is not just an honour to Governor Zulum; it is also a prayer for my son,” Bulama said, stressing that he desired the child to grow up with a strong sense of responsibility and dedication to the service of others.

The Christian youth leader said he hoped his son would become a responsible citizen who would make meaningful contributions to society and demonstrate concern for the welfare of others.

The gesture is particularly significant in a state where Governor Zulum’s administration has continued to place emphasis on rebuilding communities, strengthening social services and addressing the humanitarian consequences of years of insecurity.

The naming ceremony attracted prayers and goodwill messages for the newborn, his parents and the entire family, with prayers offered for the child to grow in wisdom, responsibility and service to humanity.

The event ended on a note of thanksgiving and celebration, with the family expressing gratitude for the safe arrival of the newborn and hope that the child would live up to the ideals symbolised by his name.

Borno Christian Youth Leader Names Son After Zulum, Cites Governor’s Leadership