Zulum Calls for Shift from Relief to Recovery as IOM Marks 25 Years in Nigeria

By: Michael Mike

Borno State Governor, Professor Babagana Umara Zulum, has called for greater investment in housing, livelihoods and infrastructure to help people displaced by conflict in Northeast Nigeria rebuild their lives.

Zulum made the call on Wednesday at the 25th anniversary celebration of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Nigeria at the Abuja Continental Hotel where he joined other dignitaries to unveil the organisation’s roadmap for the next 25 years.

The governor commended IOM for providing life-saving assistance and improving conditions for displaced families in Borno and other parts of the Northeast. He recalled how insurgency forced thousands of families to abandon their homes, farmlands and communities for internally displaced persons’ camps.

He said the crisis also affected neighbouring countries of Cameroon, Chad and Niger, making cooperation among governments and international partners essential to an effective response.

Zulum stressed that emergency assistance must be followed by sustained support to address the challenges keeping families in displacement and help them become self-reliant.

He urged partners to invest in permanent and semi-permanent shelters, create livelihood opportunities and support infrastructure development and environmental restoration. These efforts, he said, would help affected communities recover and enable displaced people to live with dignity and independence.

The governor reaffirmed Borno State Government’s readiness to work with IOM and other development partners to support recovery, improve livelihoods and promote stability across conflict-affected communities in the northeast.

The anniversary brought together government officials, diplomats, development partners and other stakeholders to review IOM’s work in Nigeria and discuss future cooperation on migration management, humanitarian assistance, recovery and development.

Zulum Calls for Shift from Relief to Recovery as IOM Marks 25 Years in Nigeria

Marwa Pledges Quality Education for NDLEA Officers’ Children

By: Michael Mike

The Chairman of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Brig.-Gen. Buba Marwa (rtd.), has pledged sustained investment in the education of officers’ children and improved welfare for personnel and their families.

Marwa gave the assurance on Friday during a visit to the newly established NDLEA Command School at the agency’s barracks in Yola, Adamawa State.

He said the school was established to provide children of NDLEA personnel with access to quality education within their immediate community, promising continued support to ensure it becomes one of the leading schools in the country.

Addressing the pupils, Marwa urged them to embrace discipline, punctuality and academic excellence, advising them to take their studies seriously, read diligently, prepare adequately for examinations and obey their parents and teachers.

He also charged them to shun illicit drugs, stressing the importance of making responsible choices for their future.

The NDLEA chairman also met with members of the agency’s Officers’ Wives Association and other residents of the barracks, who commended the establishment of the school as an investment in their children’s future.

Marwa disclosed that plans were at an advanced stage to inaugurate the NDLEA Officers’ Wives Association to provide a formal platform for officers’ wives to organise and collaborate on initiatives to improve the welfare of personnel and their families.

He was accompanied on the visit by the Zone 2 Commander, ACGN Ishaku Yusuf Kwajafa, and other senior officers of the agency.

Marwa Pledges Quality Education for NDLEA Officers’ Children

ActionAid: Nigerian Women Spend Five Hours Daily on Unpaid Care

By: Michael Mike

Women in four Nigerian states spend an average of five hours daily on unpaid domestic and care work, compared with about one hour for men, highlighting a gender disparity that ActionAid Nigeria says is undermining women’s economic opportunities and equality.

The organisation, therefore, called on the Federal and state governments to increase public investment in care services, strengthen social protection for caregivers and introduce policies to ensure men share domestic responsibilities more equitably with women.

According to ActionAid Nigeria, the National Bureau of Statistics’ Nigeria Time Use Survey 2024, conducted in Borno, Cross River, Kaduna and Lagos states, found that women aged 15 and above devoted 21 per cent of their day to unpaid domestic and care work, compared with 4.1 per cent for men.

The disparity was more pronounced in rural communities, where women spent almost six hours daily on unpaid domestic and care responsibilities, compared with less than one hour for men.

ActionAid Nigeria made the call in a statement by its Country Director, Dr Andrew Mamedu, to mark the International Day of Care and Support.

Mamedu said the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work placed on women and girls continued to restrict their access to paid employment, entrepreneurship, skills acquisition and leadership opportunities.

He said the situation also affected girls’ education, rest, recreation and personal development, particularly in communities where inadequate infrastructure and limited access to essential public services increased the time spent on household responsibilities.

“Women’s time is not an unlimited public resource. Governments must fund the services that reduce excessive care burdens, employers must support workers with care responsibilities, and men must take an equal share of care at home,” he said.

The organisation argued that unpaid care work should not be treated solely as a private household responsibility, describing it instead as an economic, social and human rights issue requiring deliberate government intervention.

It said the burden of cooking, cleaning, fetching water, caring for children, supporting older people and persons with disabilities, and looking after sick relatives fell disproportionately on women, often without financial compensation or adequate social protection.

According to the organisation, the unequal distribution of these responsibilities limits women’s ability to earn incomes, develop businesses and participate fully in public life, while reinforcing gender inequalities across households and communities.

To address the challenge, ActionAid Nigeria advocated the adoption of the 5Rs framework of care: Recognise, Reduce, Redistribute, Reward and Represent.

The framework calls for recognising unpaid care as valuable work; reducing excessive care responsibilities through improved public services, infrastructure and appropriate technology; redistributing domestic responsibilities fairly among women, men, households, employers and the state; ensuring decent work and social protection for paid care workers; and giving caregivers a meaningful voice in decisions affecting their lives.

The organisation urged the Federal and state governments to develop and adequately fund comprehensive care policies that integrate care responsibilities into development plans, labour policies, social protection frameworks and public budgets.

It also called for increased investment in reliable water and electricity supply, affordable childcare, accessible healthcare and support services for older persons and persons with disabilities.

ActionAid Nigeria further advocated expanded social protection for women caregivers, particularly those working in the informal economy, through access to social insurance, maternity benefits, pensions and other essential protections.

It urged employers to introduce family-friendly workplace policies, including fair parental leave and flexible working arrangements, while ensuring that paid care workers received decent wages, safe working conditions and social protection.

The organisation also called for improved access to mental health and psychosocial support, sexual and reproductive health services, and respite care where appropriate.

It urged households, community leaders and relevant institutions to challenge gender norms that assign domestic and caregiving responsibilities primarily to women, while encouraging men and boys to participate more equally in household work.

ActionAid Nigeria said investment in care systems was essential to achieving gender equality, advancing women’s economic justice and ensuring that the responsibilities of sustaining families and communities did not prevent women and girls from realising their full potential.

ActionAid: Nigerian Women Spend Five Hours Daily on Unpaid Care