News
Ngamdu community in Borno will soon get respite against rainy seasons as N1.5b project nears completion… acresal boss

Ngamdu community in Borno will soon get respite against rainy seasons as N1.5b project nears completion… acresal boss
By: Bodunrin Kayode
The annual rainy season flooding that used to evict residents of Ngamdu community in Borno state will soon be history as the coordinator of the Agro-climatic resilience in semi arid landscapes (acresal) Peter Yakubu has revealed.
He stated that work on all expected structures in Ngamdu to mitigate this flooding which used to overwhelm the only highway in and out of the state is well over 50% competed.
Making the revelation recently in his office in Maiduguri coordinator of acresal program Peter Ayuba stated that about N1.5 billion would be spent on the project which will involve the pulling down of about 74 homes and the laying of massive drainages in the area to curtail the litany of woes experienced by residents who used to flee from their water logged homes during the rains to avoid drowning.
He said that Governor Babagana Zulum is keen on seeing the completion of the project before the commencement of the next rains which is why he followed the world bank partners up to their office to ensure an amiable conclusion of many of the grey areas in all the flood prone areas of the state.
“Actually with the Governor’s support, we have achieved more than expected considering that most of the actions in the work plan has been implemented. I can tell you that more than 80 percent of last year’s target was achieved. The project started in 2022 and we commenced implemention in 2023 making progress up till now.
“The Governor on visiting Ngamdu last year, which you are aware of agreed to visit the world bank to see that all the details of the Ngamdu project as outlined will be achieved.
” It was in that meeting that the Governor requested the world Bank Chief to come to see things for himself after the devastating Maiduguri flood. He visited some schools, Alau Dam and bridges that were destroyed and more. ” Said the coordinator
Yakubu said that Zulum also submitted a request for support for farmers whose crops were destroyed by the last flood in Maiduguri.
Speaking on the problems created by the flood in Maiduguri, he said some of it would be included in the work plan for 2025 like desilting of river Ngadabul which is a seasonal river flowing into Lake Chad.
Bulldozer, elevators and swamp buggies have been bought to assist in desilting the rivers. Which normally should have lessened the effects of the flood if it was not loaded with too much silt.
On the Ngamdu flood plain, he told this reporter that so many houses have been affected and marked for demolition but they had to wait until the Governor approves N100m for their compensations before they can ask residents to leave their homes adding that the entire Ngamdu anti flood project will cost about 1.5b naira for now.
“We are constructing a channel through the town and the pond and it would be emptied across on the other side of the road.
“The contractor would have finished long ago but for compensations for homes to be pulled down which is supposed to have been taken care of but causing a little bit of delay.
“And this is caused because some of them made mistakes in their names and it affected their payments which is why some of them are here to correct the anomalies to get their final compensations.
“About 74 houses were involved so we are not taking the matter lightly which is why we started implementation in the early part of December. About 18 to 20,000 people above 60 years were also given some support of 50,000 each.” He noted.
The Coordinator revealed that the Ngamdu fish pond will be expanded to become larger to produce more fishes for commercial purposes.
On the plan of acresal to intervene in the Maiduguri flood, he described the collapse of the Alau Dam as an unplanned accident adding that they have however planned desilting of the rivers criss crossing the state capital to enable them mop up further floods due to rainfall.
Bakin kogi tipper flood plain
“Bakin kogi” tipper he stressed was originally 13 metres wide but the Governor does not want it that wide. “This is why he did not agree with the world bank and their specifications which insisted on 13 metres because up to eight or nine sub drainages and streams enter that place at the same time during the rains and cause flood in the surrounding settlements.
“They finally agreed on 6.9 metres for the specification of the construction and a Chinese company will soon be given the opportunity to handle it.
“It will drain Bulumkutu through the railway down to kogi tipper while another one from 777 and Bintu sugar enters there too.
“The size of the place was estimated wrongly before but partially corrected during Modu Sheriff but what we are about doing now is to ensure that the floods stops once and for all and people do not live in fear during the rains.” He maintained.
On Uba town, Yakubu posited that his agency will drain the area adjoining the Emir’s Palace and link up with the big river that passes through Lassa.
This has to be done because the terrain is flat and it affects the flow of rain water which causes resultant flooding adding that there are similar interventions in Lassa, Uba, Uvu except Askira which they have not done any form of construction and are yet to intervene.
He told this reporter that
Lassa will get about N130m, Uba about five billion naira while Uvu is just a linear drainage costing far lower.
On Askira town, the coordinator stated that the Governor directed the ministry of works Commissioner Engineer Gubio to take over the Palace of the Emir and start work.
Climate change/ Cattle management/ over grazing/ long or short term solution
On the position of his agency on cattle management, he said that over grazing management has been one of their serious management challenges so far.
Yakubu added that there has been a deliberate plan for three Ruga’s and with the one in mafa completed, they hope there will be another at Gubio and Rumigo in southern Borno respectively.
The Challenges that Nigeria must face is the free movement of cattle and all manner of animals from economic of west African countries (ECOWAS) countries.
As long as cattle keep committing atrocities in the savannah, there is no way we can have achievements in the area of consistent deforestation.
“This is because they not only eat out trees, they uproot most of our trees in northern Borno with impunity. No checks at all at the borders.
“Even the nymph trees are being eaten by Camels. If you must plant trees in northern Borno, they must be protected for about four to five years from cattle, camels elephants and all manner of animals.
“Even the cows have trampling effects on new seedlings. We succeeded in establishment of about 30 hectares of nymph trees in magumeri already, but animals are threatening these trees by eating and uprooting them. They come all the way from Kala Balge to eat up our trees.” Said the coordinator.
Our major problem is the herders who do not control the animals, they eat up the trees and the branches causing over grazing which is one of the major problems associated with climate change in the state.
“If we don’t maintain these fences they will eat up the entire foliages and that is not good for us at all. They come in from all the border states to eat up out trees and return before the rains and floods.
“Over grazing is one of our major challenge in the savannah today and we must do something to stop this frustrating challenge. They eat most of the sweet trees like Adua, Balanitis Gum Arabic rendering useless the landscape and put the terrain in trouble.
Speaking on countering measures of the state government so far, he acknowledged that the Governor has done a lot from the climate change agreement.
“The ten million seedlings raised, solarization of the town, hospitals, bore holes and a lots of CNG and electric buses are all on the streets of Maiduguri while public buildings are also using solar now.
“We were expected to calculate the amount of carbon emission in our atmosphere before we traveled for the last summit but we could not. So these are the areas we may be able to focus on that soon.” He concluded.
Ngamdu community in Borno will soon get respite against rainy seasons as N1.5b project nears completion… acresal boss
International
OP-ED: “A RESCUE PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”

OP-ED: “A RESCUE PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”
By: Michael Mike
This month, leaders will gather in Sevilla, Spain, on a rescue mission: to help fix how the world invests in sustainable development.
The stakes could not be higher. A decade after the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals and many global commitments to finance them, two-thirds of the targets are lagging. And the world is falling short by over $4 trillion annually in the resources developing countries need to deliver on these promises by 2030.
Meanwhile, the global economy is slowing, trade tensions are rising, aid budgets are being slashed while military spending soars, and international cooperation is under unprecedented strain.
The global development crisis is not abstract. It is measured in families going to bed hungry, children going unvaccinated, girls being forced to drop out of school and entire communities deprived of basic services.
We must correct course. That begins at the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Sevilla, where an ambitious, globally supported plan to invest in the Sustainable Development Goals must be adopted.
That plan should include three essential elements.
First, Sevilla must help accelerate the flow of resources to the countries who need it most. Fast.
Countries must be in the driver’s seat, mobilizing domestic resources by strengthening revenue collection and addressing tax evasion, money laundering and illicit financial flows through international cooperation. This would provide much-needed resources to prioritize spending on areas with the greatest impact such as education, healthcare, jobs, social protection, food security, and renewable energy.
At the same time, national development banks, regional and Multilateral Development Banks need to come together to finance major investments.
To support this, the lending capacity of these banks needs to triple so developing countries can better access capital on affordable terms with longer timelines.
This increased access should include re-channeling of unconditional reserve assets — or Special Drawing Rights — to developing countries, preferably through Multilateral Development Banks to multiply their impact.
Private investment is also essential. Resources can be unlocked by making it easier for private finance to support bankable development projects and by promoting solutions that mitigate currency risks and combine public and private finance more effectively.
Throughout, donors must keep their development promises.
Second, we must fix the global debt system. It is unfair and broken.
The current borrowing system is unsustainable, and developing countries have little confidence in it. It’s easy to see why. Debt service is a steamroller crushing development gains, to the tune of more than $1.4 trillion a year. Many governments are forced to spend more on debt payments than on essentials like health and education combined.
Sevilla must result in concrete steps to reduce borrowing costs, facilitate timely debt restructuring for countries burdened by unsustainable debt, and prevent debt crises from unfolding in the first place.
In advance of the conference, a number of countries put forward proposals to ease the debt burden on developing countries. This includes making it easier to pause debt service in times of emergency; establishing a single debt registry to strengthen transparency; and improving how the IMF, World Bank and credit-ratings agencies assess risks in developing countries.
Finally, Sevilla must raise the voice and influence of developing countries in the international financial system so it better serves their needs.
International financial institutions must reform their governance structures to enable greater voice and participation of developing countries in the management of the institutions they depend on.
The world also needs a fairer global tax system, one shaped by all governments — not just the wealthiest and most powerful.
The creation of a “borrowers club” for countries to coordinate their approaches and learn from one another is another promising step toward addressing power imbalances.
The meeting in Sevilla is not about charity. It’s about justice, and building a future in which countries can thrive, build, trade, and prosper together. In our increasingly interconnected world, a future of haves and have-nots is a recipe for even greater global insecurity that will keep weighing down progress for all.
With renewed global commitment and action, Sevilla can spark new momentum to restore a measure of faith in international cooperation and deliver on sustainable development for people and planet.
In Sevilla, leaders must act together to make this rescue mission a success.
OP-ED: “A RESCUE PLAN FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT”
Crime
Illicit drug consignment packaged as green tea intercepted at Lagos airport

Illicit drug consignment packaged as green tea intercepted at Lagos airport
By:Michael Mike
No fewer than 66 parcels of Loud, a strong strain of cannabis, packaged as green tea have been intercepted by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) at the import shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) Lagos.
According to the spokesman of the anti-narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, the seizure made last Thursday was based on credible intelligence received ahead of the arrival of the consignment at the cargo wing of the airport on 11th May.

Babafemi, in the statement issued on Sunday, disclosed that the NDLEA had watch-listed the shipment, and sustained surveillance around it for over three weeks before inviting other stakeholders for a joint examination last Thursday.
He said the Loud consignment weighing 62.2 kilogrammes was concealed inside wraps of green tea that came from Thailand via UAE on an Emirate Airlines flight.
Babafemi said in another operation in Lagos, NDLEA operatives last Monday intercepted a consignment of 1,665 kilogrammes skunk, a strain of cannabis, along Lekki-Ajah expressway. Two suspects: Gidado Ayinde and Obanla Oluwafemi were promptly arrested in connection with the seizure.
In Kaduna, operatives of the state command of NDLEA on patrol along Abuja – Kaduna expressway last Tuesday arrested 29-year-old Goodluck Nnaemeka with 612 bottles of codeine-based syrup and 2,970 pills of flunitrazepam. In another operation same day, a 52-year-old wanted drug dealer Kabiru Musa (a.k.a KB) was arrested at Kurmin Mashi. A total of 25.7 kilogrammes skunk was earlier recovered from his base.
While a total of 9 kilogrammes Loud was recovered from the spare tyre compartment of an Audi station wagon car marked AAA 975 XU driven by Atari Israel, 45, along Auchi road, Edo state, two young women: Favour Joy and Joy Igwe were last Tuesday nabbed at Ikpoba hill area of Benin city. Recovered from them include: 106.57 kilogrammes skunk; 1 kilogramme Loud; 800 grammes Colorado and 302 grammes of methamphetamine.
Babafemi said the War Against Drug Abuse (WADA) social advocacy activities by NDLEA commands equally continued across the country in the past week.
Meanwhile, the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Rtd) while commending the officers and men of MMIA, Lagos, Kaduna, and Edo commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures of the past week, also praised their counterparts in all the commands across the country for pursuing a fair balance between their drug supply reduction and drug demand reduction efforts.
Illicit drug consignment packaged as green tea intercepted at Lagos airport
News
One year after Allawa’s fall, displaced residents cry for help as humanitarian crisis deepens in Niger

One year after Allawa’s fall, displaced residents cry for help as humanitarian crisis deepens in Niger
By U.K. Umar
One year after armed attackers overran Allawa community in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, a deepening humanitarian crisis continues to haunt the thousands of people who fled the invasion and now live in makeshift camps with no hope of return.
The silence that hangs over the once-thriving agrarian community of Allawa is not just physical, it is a silence of abandonment, neglect and despair.
Since the violent invasion of April 25, 2024, residents who escaped death have become Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), living in overcrowded primary school buildings, market stalls and half-roofed compounds in neighbouring towns such as Kuta, Erena and Gwada.
Education has been disrupted. Food is uncertain. Healthcare is nearly non-existent. And worse, hope is fading.
At an abandoned block of classrooms now serving as a displacement shelter in Kuta, Zagazola Media Netowork, met Malam Musa Yakubu, a 47-year-old farmer and father of seven. He sat quietly under the shade of a neem tree, surrounded by three of his children, all barefooted and visibly malnourished.
“This place was once my children’s school. Now it is our home,” he said, forcing a smile. “We sleep on broken desks, on bare floor. During rainy nights, we cover ourselves with nylon bags. My wife cries often because she cannot feed our children.”
Malam Yakubu said he grew up in Allawa and owned over 15 hectares of farmland before the invasion. Today, he depends on handouts from well-wishers.
“The last time we received food aid was three months ago. Since then, we have been living on roasted yam and wild leaves. My children have not seen a classroom since we fled.”
Standing nearby was Amina Ibrahim, 16, who said she dropped out of Junior Secondary School following the attack. Now, she spends her days helping her mother hawk groundnuts in Kuta. I want to return to school,” she said quietly. “But how can I go to school when we have no home, no books, and no peace?”
‘My primary school is a ghost town’
For U.K. Umar, a former resident of Allawa and the writer of this report, the tragedy is personal.
“I attended Central Primary School in Allawa, which is now in ruins,” he recalled. “My childhood friends are now scattered across IDP camps. Some lost their parents. Some were taken by the attackers. We were not just displaced. We were forgotten.”
Umar said the displacement was not just the result of one attack, but a culmination of years of insecurity that was never addressed.
“What happened on April 25, 2024, was the final blow. Security agencies left, and armed groups moved in. What followed was a complete collapse of community life. Now, we are a forgotten people.”
Terror in the shadows
Reports from Shiroro LGA suggest that terror groups now control mining activities across several wards including Kurebe, Kwaki and Kushaka. Residents allegethat the attackers collect levies from artisanal gold miners up to N2 million per site every two weeks. Those who fail to comply are barred from mining, while others are punished.
“Their boys come during the day to collect fuel and money. At night, they disappear into the bush. They even settle disputes among locals. It is like a second government,” said a displaced youth who asked not to be named.
Just two weeks ago, five persons were reportedly abducted in Kwanta Yashi. Locals say they fear speaking out, as they are caught between hunger and violence.
‘Even water is a privilege’
In the Erena IDP settlement, Hajia Halima Abdullahi, 60, spoke through tears.
“I used to be a trader. I had goats and chickens. Now, I beg for drinking water. We fetch from a stream one hour away, and sometimes, we boil it. Other times, we drink it raw.”
She said many elderly displaced persons have developed hypertension and respiratory infections due to harsh conditions.
“There are no drugs. No doctors. Sometimes, we use herbs. Our children are falling sick every day.” It was also observed that the camps lack toilets, clean water, mosquito nets, and electricity. In some shelters, more than ten people sleep in one small room.
‘We feel abandoned’
There is growing frustration among displaced residents over what they describe as state government indifference.
“All we hear are promises. No concrete plan. No official has told us when we can return. It is as if our lives no longer matter,” said Ibrahim Zakari, a youth from Allawa now living in Gwada.
He appealed to the Niger State Government and the Federal Government to urgently intervene.
We are Nigerians too. We voted. We paid taxes. We built our homes and schools. Why have we been left to suffer?”
“You cannot keep over 20,000 displaced people in hopeless conditions for over a year and expect stability. Children are out of school. Teenage girls are being married off. Boys are joining vigilante groups. Trauma is spreading like wildfire,” he warned.
He called on the Federal Government to declare a humanitarian emergency in Shiroro LGA and mobilise the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), as well as development partners, to scale up food, water, and shelter support.
“There must be a concrete, time-bound plan for resettlement. These people deserve to go home with safety, dignity, and support.”
Conclusion
One year after the fall of Allawa, the question remains: how long must a people wait?
As Niger State and the Federal Government grapple with rising insecurity, the forgotten people of Allawa continue to live in limbo displaced, distressed, and dangerously ignored.
Their pain is not history. It is ongoing. And unless urgent steps are taken, the crisis may deepen further.
“We have not died,” Malam Musa Yakubu said quietly. “But we are not living either.”
One year after Allawa’s fall, displaced residents cry for help as humanitarian crisis deepens in Niger
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