Nigerian Military Says Boko Haram Ends Soon

By Juliana Katung

Nigeria’s Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah, has expressed optimistism in winning the war against Boko Haram, saying the military will soon recapture more communities taken over by the Islamist Boko Haram insurgents.

This is because of Nigeria’s renewed effort and joint operations with its counterpart from the neighboring countries.

Minimah said, the Military and its counterpart have recorded a lot of successes in the last few days which is connected to the joint operations between the Nigerian forces and their Cameroon, Chad and Niger counterparts.

He stated this at the opening ceremony of a 5-Day seminar for operational level officers of the Nigerian Army by the British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT) held at Jaji Military Cantonment, Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria.

According to him, the ongoing counter terrorists campaign in the North-East coupled with the awakening of Cameroon, Chad and Niger forces has led to the liberation of more communities under siege of Boko Haram terrorists and also boosted successes recorded against the extremist group in the recent time.

He said the seminar would build the capacity participants and impart more Knowledge on the Nigerian Army on how to recover more territories, which would in turn help the army perform better and be more professional in dealing with terrorism.

“It is gratifying to note that, our drive in retraining in conjunction with the valued partnership is beginning to yield greater results.

He however expressed hope that the seminar will further strengthen the long standing partnership between the Nigerian and United Kingdom armies.

Leader of British Military Advisory and Training Team (BMATT), Brig Gen Jonny Bourne, said the world is currently facing a new wave of security challenges, therefore, the earlier the armies of nations round the world begin to learn from one another, the better.

Gen. Bourne who is the Commander British 7th Infantry Brigade said the seminar would generate valuable ideas to tackle the security threats around the world and Nigeria in particular.

Meanwhile, recently close to 7,000 soldiers from Cameroon and Chad have taken positions on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria, in the bid to combat Boko Haram Islamist extremists.

Some sources revealed that the soldiers are finding cross-border operations difficult due to the fact that the insurgents have adopted a new strategies of planting mines on the roads.

According to the sources Chadian and Cameroonian soldiers sang during a joint training session in Fotokol on Cameroon’s northern border with Nigeria’s Borno state, a Boko Haram stronghold.

It is from Fotokol that Chadian soldiers organised attacks on Nigerian towns seized by the Islamist group and assisted Cameroon in protecting its territory from militants
fighting to create an Islamist caliphate.

According to sources, both Nigerian soldiers and their counterpart are still ready to combat Boko Haram despite the group’s new strategy which bring about the successes recorded.

Kaduna Polytechnic Threatens Action Over Land Encroachment

By Mohammad Ibrahim

KADUNA (Nigeria) – Rector of Kaduna Polytechnic, Northwest Nigeria, Muhammad -B- Ibrahim has frown at encroachment into College of Administrative Studies and Social Science (CASSS) property its host Community.

He therefore urged Nigerian government to intervene by stopping the community from such action.

Addressing journalists, Mohammad said the land belonged to the institute since 1976 when it was bought by the then Northern region government.

He said the original land owners were duly compensated for the 1000 hectres of land by the government.

” We paid for the land and we got our certificate of occupancy. It was about 1000 hectre of land, but the Gbagi community now began to encroach into the land inch by inch which is unfortunate. The matter was taken to court but late Patrick Yakowa the then state governor intervened and asked us to settle the issue out of court with the community.

” When I came into the office we demacated our land from the already encroached land but now as I speak to you some miscreants have continued encroaching into the land. It was really unfortunate for some few individuals to be doing this dispute the fact that the land belonged to a federal establishment,” he said.

The Rector further threatened to hold the traditional ruler of the community, Sa Gbagyi responsible for any breach of law and order in the community, saying he should call his people to order.

Earlier, the National Association of Polytechnic Students (NAPS) through their National Public Relations Officer, Abdulmajeed Oladimeji Oyeniyi gave the Gbagyi Community 14 days ultimatum to stop encroaching into the land.

He said failure to do so the entire students will act in order to secure the land for the institution.

” We are calling on President Jonathan, together with the Inspector-General of Police, Minister of education, the state government, Sa Gbagyi and others to stop the encroachment on the land,” he said.

According to him, the attitude of few people holding the polytechnic community to ransom was wrong.

The students said out of the four Campuses of Kadpoly scattered across the metropolis, it’s only the campus at Sabon Tasha, Bye-Pass that have been witnessing such encroachment by the host community.

Nigeria’s Fuel Queues Will Disappear by Weekend – Says Govt

ABUJA (Nigeria) – Nigeria has assured its citizens that the current long queues seen at filling stations will disappear by the end of the week.

Nigeria is currently witnessing long queues at filling stations across the country, with some pump stations in northern city of Kaduna and southern city of Lagos selling the commodity as high as N120 (US$0.60) per litre, instead of the official pump price of N87 (US$0.43) per litre.

The situation has also led to appearance of touts who control the selling of the commodity at black markets. On Tuesday in Abuja, touts were selling a litre of petrol at over N200 (US$1.00).

A Group Executive Director in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Aisha Abdulrahman who assured of the disappearance of the queues said, the Corporation now had adequate stock that could last between twenty and thirty days, having addressed the glitch that caused the shortage in supply.

Abdulrahman encouraged filling stations to complement NNPC retail outlets by selling petrol for twenty-four hours in order to clear the fuel queues across the country.

She cited rumours and speculations as reasons for hoarding and panic buying by commuters, affirming that the NNPC had flooded the country with petroleum products.

Fielding questions from journalists, after taking them round filling stations in Abuja, Supervising Minister of Information, Edem Duke criticized opposition political parties for speculations that there was fuel scarcity in the country.

He said all the NNPC depots across the country were wet with fuel, but the queues in the filling stations were because of speculations and panic buying.

He berated the political opposition party for cashing in on the fuel situation to score cheap political point and assured that President Jonathan’s Administration would remain responsive to the welfare and economic well-being of the citizens.

“A good government cannot inflict scarcity on its people. It cannot bite its nose to spite its face, especially at a time when there is political tension.

“There is no government worth its onions that will say rather than focus on strategies to win election, let us deprive the citizenry of adequate supply of petroleum products.

“So when people are sitting in Dubai and issuing statements that are unfounded, I think we as the conscience of the nation should know better,” he stated.

Nigeria: 134,000 Youth Corps Members Prepare To Man Polls

By Longtong Ibrahim

About 134,000 Corps Members would be engaged as ad-hoc staff in the conduct of Nigeria’s forth-coming general elections – they have already been accredited and trained by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in the coming elections.

Director-General of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), Brig.-Gen. Johnson Olawumi stated this while briefing journalists in Abuja.

Olawumi said about 34,000 of Corps members who recently passed out were also trained by the electoral body to participate, but that they would neither wear NYSC uniforms nor be under the care of the scheme.

“You are all aware that we have an existing MOU with INEC on the participation of corps members on election duties.

“However, for 2015 election, INEC brought a new dimension by asking interested corps members to register on line, and as at the close of registration in January this year, we had about 168,000 registered corps members to serve as ad-hoc staff.

“We always have three batches of corps members and because the election was slated then for February 14, the Batch A of last year that registered and were supposed to participate in the election passed out February 19. Initially, our plan was to use them for the elections, but since keeping them due to the postponement of the elections would violate the NYSC Act, we had to pass them out.” He said.

Director General said the scheme in collaboration with the security agencies had put in place measures to ensure adequate security of corps members participating in the polls.

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Nigeria Relief Agency Extends Support To Orphanage Homes

NEMA logo
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Logo

By Mohammad Ibrahim

KADUNA (Nigeria) – Nigeria’s National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) has donated food items to four orphanage homes in Kaduna, Northwest Nigeria.

Organisations that benefitted from the gesture include Jamiyar Matan Arewa; Al-lhsan Charity; Shelter in Christ; and Adonai Orphanage homes.

NEMA’s North West Zonal Coordinator, Musa Ilallah said the gesture was to encourage the orphanages to cater for more less privileged in the society and to offer the inmates a sense of belonging.

“May I on behalf of the agency present these items to you for the benefit of the children and inmates of these orphanage homes.

” We believe that we have a responsibility as an agency to provide support in whichever way we can,” he said.

Ilallah urged Managers of the Homes to make judicious use of the items donated.

In a remark, Matron of Jam’iyar Matan Arewa, Maryam Tahir, commended NEMA for the gesture and urged the agency to sustain the tempo.

She described the gesture as a clear indication of NEMA’s interest to the plight of orphans and other inmates in the homes.

The items donated include rice, sugar, cooking oil, noodles, canned tomatoes, cloths, detergent, soap, cups, plates, spoons, blankets, buckets, mattresses and diapers, among others.

ISIS Is Recruiting Nigerians Through Social Media – Omeri Warns Parents

The Coordinator of the National Information Centre on the War Against Terrorism and Director-General of the Na­tional Orientation Agency, Mr. Mike Omeri has revealed that the dreaded Islamic sect, ISIS has been recruiting mostly young Nigerians schooling outside the shores of the country via social media.

He stated this in a press briefing on Thursday at the National Brief­ing Centre Abuja, said that intel­ligence reports indicated that young Nigerians are being radi­calise by the Islamic terrorist group through the social media and a variety of other sources.

According to him, those youths who are mostly children of the rich and affluent were being re­cruited into ISIS advising that “parents and guardians, espe­cially those whose wards are schooling abroad, should closely monitor the activities of these students who may be susceptible to the antics of the promoters of the ISIS ideology”.

On the fight against terrorism in the north east, he noted that since February 18, 2015 some remarkable success has been re­corded by the Nigerian military forces in the on-going war.

Omeri called on Nigerians to be patriotic and appreciate the effort and sacrifice of the military and security personnel for the selfless manner in which they are pros­ecuting the anti-terror war.

“We also call on our citizens to shun the trend of cynicism among some unpatriotic Nigerians who have chosen to ascribe the recent success in the anti-terror war to external efforts, instead of the un­tiring efforts of Nigerian troops, he added.

This success the Coordinator stated, includes the stiff resis­tance against insurgent incursion into the country at several loca­tions and the recapture of several towns and settlements which had Boko Haram presence earlier.

Curled from The Herald.

Nigeria: Victims of Post 2011 Election Violence Want Compensation

By Mohammed Ibrahim

KADUNA (Nigeria) – Some victims of Nigeria’s post 2011 election violence – who are tenants – have frowned at the government’s compensation process, faulting the decision to exempt them from payments made to victims of the crisis in Kaduna state, northwest Nigeria.

According to them, the decision to compensate only house owners and landlords whose houses were burnt during the election without extending same to the tenants was unfair and unjust.

In a statement, spokesperson of the victims, Mallam Shehu Hassan said it was wrong and inhuman for government to single out landlords and house owners for compensation leaving tenants to their fate.

According to them, apart from losing their property, some of them escaped death by the whiskers.

” After the crisis Kaduna state government set up a commission of Inquiry which received victims complaints and I submitted my complain to the commission for possible assistance.

” The commission on submitting its report to the government recommended that I should be assisted. Even the white paper committee also recommended me for assistance but the committee in charge with the disbursement of funds refused to assist me on the ground that I’m not a landlord nor a house owner,” he said.

A victim of the crisis, who is also a Widow, Mrs Asabe Daniel said she and her children lost everything as the house where they lived was burnt to ashes.

She blamed the politicians for her predicament, lamenting that it is the same politicians that caused the misery.

” They are discriminating against tenants or is it a crime that we voted them into office, is this the dividend of democracy they have for us,” she asked.

Another victim, Mr Charlie Madu expressed shock when government decided to pay only landlord and house owners.

” Does this implies that we tenants are not Nigerians or are regarded second class citizens that government does not care to assist us,” he queried.

He stressed that the physiological trauma all victims went through during the violence and the property lost is enough for government to consider them for compensation.

The victims therefore, appealed to both state and federal government to assist them so as to reduce their sufferings.

They added that failure to assist them will discourage them from participating in future elections.

Child Spacing: Shared Experiences and Way Forward For Nigeria

By Sekyen Dadik

KADUNA (Nigeria) – The importance of effective family planning in any nation’s development cannot be over stressed, as it plays a significant role in reducing poverty and maternal mortality.

Family planning gives couples the opportunity to achieve a desired number of children with adequate spacing thereby promoting a healthy life for the mother and children.

According to the Project Director, Nigeria Urban Health Reproductive Initiative (NUHRI), Mojisola Adeku, for Nigeria to accelerate the attainment of MDGs 4, 5 and 6 that pertained to survival of the child, survival of the women and survival of the family, family planning must be embraced – it contributes to 30 per cent reduction in maternal mortality. It also contributes to 25 per cent of reduction in child deaths.

In one of her visits to Kaduna Moji said “ur objective is to meet the unmet needs of the urban poor. It is sad to note that in Nigeria, one in every 13 women is likely to as a result of childbirth complications.

“Nigeria is second to India in terms of these preventable deaths. What do we do to make pregnancy safe in Nigeria?

“It is not enough to know the number of people dying but to understand the causes with a view to providing solution,” she said.

But in spite of effort by government and development partners to ensure adequate Family planning programmes, certain factors have continue to militate against the success of these programmes in Nigeria.

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in the “2012 Millennium Development Goals Performance Tracking Survey Report,” revealed that family planning has remained low due to lack of contraception commodities and effective campaigns for child-spacing in urban and rural areas.

“Only about 17.3 per cent of women between 15 years and 49 years used any method of child-spacing in 2012.

The report showed that, there is a high knowledge of contraception in Nigeria as 85 per cent of women and 97 of men have knowledge about a contraceptive method.Yet a wide gap exists between knowledge and use of these contraceptives. Hence only 15 per cent of married women use a contraceptive method.

So many factors account for these gap between the knowledge and usage of contraceptives.

According to the Nigeria Family Planning Blueprint (Scale-Up plan) 2014, “Poor demand is a significant barrier to Family Planning access caused by low knowledge, especially of Long Acting Reversible Contraceptive methods (LARC)”.

The draft also noted that misconception and opposition contribute to the low usage of contraceptives, adding that intention to use is low, as 63% of women have no intention to use any of the available methods.

Other factors include cultural beliefs which have also contributed to poor response of women to family planning services. In many cultures women have no right to take decisions; hence, they depend on their husbands for every decision even as it pertains to their health and that of the family at large.

Also religious beliefs especially among certain sects militate against the success of Family Planning as use of contraceptives is perceived to be a sin against God.

One other salient reason is the misconception women hold towards family planning which primarily stems from shared experiences.

Educated women and even professionals in the medical field deliberately decide to shun family planning services, simply because of another person’s experience. On several occasions, women make excuses like “Mrs. A used a method and could not conceive till after 7 years, hence I rather not use a contraceptive and suffer same fate”.
Many women also believe use of contraceptives lead to uncontrollable weight gain, so they would not use any for fear of adding weight.

To checkmate these beliefs and misconceptions, there is the need for continuous sensitization to encourage women to seek medical attention to ascertain which method fits them and not rely on anyone’s experience.

Also sensitization through traditional and religious leaders will go a long way in encouraging couples especially those in the rural areas enjoy the different family planning services provided for them.

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