By Maryam Ahmad

The U.S. State Department has revoked the visas of at least six foreign nationals from Argentina, South Africa, Mexico, Germany, Brazil, and Paraguay who publicly “celebrated” the assassination of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk.

In a statement posted on X, the department said it had exercised its authority to deny entry to individuals “who wish death on Americans.” It also published screenshots of their social media posts praising Kirk’s killing, describing the remarks as “reprehensible and incompatible with the values of decency and respect.”

“We will not tolerate or provide safe haven to those who glorify acts of violence against Americans,” the statement read.

The move underscores Washington’s unprecedented effort to shut criticism of Mr Kirk after his assassination, which has sparked intense debate and condemnation both within the United States and abroad. The State Department did not release the names of the individuals involved.

By Muhammad Abubakar

The Federal Government has announced a major review of admission requirements into Nigeria’s tertiary institutions, declaring that Mathematics will no longer be a compulsory subject for candidates seeking admission into Arts and Humanities programmes.

The new policy, unveiled by the Federal Ministry of Education, forms part of a broader revision of the National Guidelines for Entry Requirements into Tertiary Institutions in Nigeria. According to the guidelines, Mathematics remains mandatory only for Science, Technology, and Social Science courses, while English Language continues to be compulsory for all programmes.

Under the revised rules, candidates seeking university admission must still obtain a minimum of five credit passes in relevant subjects, including English. For polytechnic admission at the National Diploma (ND) level, four credits are required, while five credits, including Mathematics and English, remain mandatory for the Higher National Diploma (HND).

Similarly, in Colleges of Education, English Language is compulsory for Arts and Social Science students, while Mathematics is required for Science, Technical, and Vocational programmes.

The government explained that the reform aims to make tertiary education more inclusive and accessible, reducing unnecessary barriers that have prevented thousands of qualified candidates from securing admission. Officials project that the new policy could enable an additional 250,000 to 300,000 students to gain admission annually.

Education stakeholders have welcomed the move as a progressive step towards aligning Nigeria’s education system with global best practices, though some have called for careful implementation to maintain academic standards.

By Fatima Ishaq Muhammad 

Pigeon breeding is one of the oldest forms of aviculture, with records dating back to ancient civilisations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Rome. Among the most captivating branches of this practice is the breeding of fancy pigeons—birds selectively bred for their unique colours, feather structures, size, posture, and overall appearance. Today, fancy pigeon breeding has become both a cultural heritage and a thriving hobby, attracting enthusiasts worldwide.

Fancy pigeons are descendants of the rock dove (Columba livia), the common ancestor of all domesticated pigeons. Over centuries, breeders have cultivated distinct breeds by emphasising certain traits. This has resulted in hundreds of recognised fancy pigeon varieties, such as the Jacobin, known for its feathered hood around the neck, the Fantail with its dramatic tail spread, and the Frillback with uniquely curled feathers. Each breed reflects aesthetic beauty and the artistry and dedication of generations of breeders.

As a Kano-based breeder, Sabiu explained in an interview, “In the past, pigeons were just part of household compounds. Now, they are a symbol of prestige and creativity. People take pride in keeping rare and beautiful breeds.”

According to Ibrahim, a breeder, “Breeding fancy/exotic pigeons requires patience, knowledge, and attention to detail. There is a need to carefully pair birds to enhance specific traits, whether it be feathering pattern, body posture, or head structure. Another thing is Proper housing, nutrition, and clean loft management are essential for maintaining the health and vibrancy of the flock.” Breeders also keep detailed records of lineage to avoid genetic weaknesses and to preserve the purity of each breed.

The practice of breeding fancy/exotic animals in Nigeria is not without challenges. Muhammad, a breeder and seller of fancy/exotic pigeons in Sabon Gari market, explained that Issues such as genetic disorders, disease outbreaks, and environmental stress can threaten the pigeon population and quality. He said, “This also affects the pricing. He added that the time and financial commitment required to maintain healthy and well-bred birds can be demanding”. 

However, dedicated breeders often view these challenges as opportunities to deepen their skills and ensure the sustainability of the hobby. The passion continues to thrive. For many breeders, the joy lies not only in competition but in the daily routine of nurturing and admiring their birds.

Fancy/exotic pigeon breeding has become a source of livelihood for many Nigerians. Depending on the breed and quality, a single bird can sell for anywhere between ₦30,000 and over ₦200,000, with pairs fetching even higher prices. Kano-based breeder Suleiman explained, “In the past, pigeons were part of everyday compounds. Today, a single rare pigeon can pay school fees. They are more than pets—they are investments.” Rare, imported varieties or well-bred local stocks are in particularly high demand. Breeders often generate income through:

Sales of pigeons both locally and across state lines, Breeding services like pairing and hatching rare breeds for clients and supplying loft materials and feeds as more people take an interest in pigeon keeping. As a Kaduna breeder shared, “Some people underestimate pigeons, but they can generate a steady income. A well-managed loft can sustain itself and even support a family.”

With more young people entering the hobby and the growing visibility of pigeon markets on social media, the future of fancy pigeon breeding in Nigeria looks promising. Breeders now use platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp to advertise, sell, and network, expanding their customer base beyond their immediate communities. 

For many Nigerians, fancy pigeons are no longer just a hobby—they are an investment and a path to financial stability. The sight of a well-bred Fantail or Jacobin in a loft is not only a mark of beauty but also a reminder that even tradition can evolve into opportunity.

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

In a significant political shift, three members of the House of Representatives from Kaduna State have defected from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, announced the defection on Tuesday. The lawmakers crossing the aisle are Hon. Abdulkarim Hussain Mohammed, Hon. Aliyu Mustapha Abdullahi, and Hon. Sadiq Ango Abdullahi.

The political event was graced by the presence of Kaduna State Governor, Senator Uba Sani, who attended the plenary specifically to witness the defection.

The lawmakers justified their move by pointing to internal crises and deep-seated divisions within the PDP.

Following the announcement, Governor Sani led the defecting legislators to the Speaker’s office for a photo session before departing.

However, the move was immediately contested by the Minority Leader of the House, Kingsley Chinda.

He challenged the defection and called on the Speaker to declare the seats of the three lawmakers vacant, citing the relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution.

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

The runway expansion project at the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria is in its final stages, a development expected to significantly decongest Kaduna Airport and enhance the college’s training capabilities.

The project involves extending and upgrading the college’s original runway, which was built in the 1960s and has been under increasing strain from growing aircraft operations.

Once complete, the expanded runway will allow NCAT to handle larger commercial aircraft, diverting traffic from the busy Kaduna Airport.

In a recent update, NCAT’s Rector, Dr. Ismail Danjuma, confirmed the project’s progress and its anticipated benefits.

“The expansion will enable the accommodation of larger commercial aircraft, further helping to ease congestion at Kaduna Airport,” Dr. Danjuma stated.

The new runway will also unlock critical training opportunities for aviation students. A key advantage will be the ability to conduct night flight training, which was previously restricted due to runway limitations.

This infrastructure upgrade is a central part of NCAT’s broader modernization strategy. The college is also upgrading its simulators, investing in new training equipment, and establishing new training centers in Abuja and Lagos.

The Federal Government has allocated funding for the project, with reports indicating strong backing from the House of Representatives.

The Speaker, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, is acknowledged as having been instrumental in securing the necessary federal support.

The runway expansion is integral to NCAT’s strategic plan to solidify its status as a premier aviation training hub in Africa.

The college aims to continue producing pilots, air traffic controllers, and other aviation professionals with facilities that meet International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.

By Uzair Adam

The Kano State Government has announced plans to host the 11th edition of the Nutritious Food Fair (NFF), tagged “Kano 2025,” on Thursday, October 16, 2025, at the Meena Event Center, Nasarawa GRA, Kano.

The state Commissioner for Budget and Planning, Hon. Musa Suleman Shanono, disclosed this during a media briefing on Monday in Kano.

He said the event, themed “Our Food, Our Heritage,” aligns with the agricultural transformation agenda of Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf’s administration and aims to promote nutritious and locally produced foods.

Hon. Shanono explained that the fair is being organized by HarvestPlus, in collaboration with its global office in Washington, the Federal Ministries of Agriculture and Health, the Kano State Government, and the UK Government-funded Propcom+ Programme.

According to him, the fair will bring together policymakers, researchers, farmers, and food processors to showcase innovations, share knowledge, and discuss issues in the nutritious food sector.

He added that over 100 commercial exhibitors and more than 2,000 participants are expected at the event, which will feature exhibitions, sales of nutritious food products, panel discussions, business deal rooms, quiz and cooking competitions, as well as capacity-building sessions.

A key highlight of the fair, according to the Commissioner, will be the decoration of the Kano State First Lady as the Smart Mother of the State, who will champion nutrition awareness and education among women across Kano.

Shanono further noted that the fair will create employment opportunities for youths and strengthen business linkages in the nutritious food sector.

He reaffirmed the government’s commitment to working with partners like Propcom+ and HarvestPlus to ensure that people across Kano State continue to have access to nutritious food.

By Uzair Adam

The Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD) has launched the maiden edition of its Digital Tech Policy Forum to deliberate on the urgent need for a national Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy framework in Nigeria.

Held in Kano under the theme “Towards a National AI Policy,” the event gathered academics, policymakers, and technology experts to examine the ethical, governance, and infrastructural issues shaping Nigeria’s digital landscape.

In his opening remarks, CITAD’s Executive Director, Malam Yunusa Zakari Ya’u, said the forum aims to foster continuous dialogue between policymakers, academia, and civil society on emerging digital challenges.

He stated, “Our goal is to ensure that technology policy in Nigeria is not reactive but proactive. This forum will serve as a bridge between research and policy, ensuring that innovations like AI are guided by ethics, inclusivity, and human-centered values.”

He added that the forum would convene monthly to discuss critical digital policy matters, stressing that a robust and inclusive national AI policy is vital to building public trust in technology-driven governance.

Participants identified several challenges hindering Nigeria’s AI readiness, including the absence of a national AI policy, infrastructural deficits, ethical concerns in academia and media, and growing fears over data privacy and algorithmic bias.

Head of the Department of Computer Science at Bayero University, Kano, Dr. Hadiza Umar, emphasized that the rapid expansion of AI technologies in Nigeria calls for immediate policy intervention.

“AI is transforming every sector—from education to health and agriculture—but without regulation, it can also deepen inequality. We need a roadmap that balances innovation with accountability,” she warned.

Similarly, Engr. Rabi’u Haruna, former Chairman of the Kano Chapter of the Association of Professional Bodies of Nigeria (APBN), highlighted the importance of collaboration among government, academia, and industry stakeholders.

“Policy without professional input will not work. The government must listen to experts and practitioners if we truly want an AI ecosystem that serves Nigerians rather than exploits them,” he said.

Also speaking, Malam Aisar Salihu Musa, a lecturer at the Department of Mass Communication, Kano State Polytechnic, expressed dissatisfaction with the ongoing trend of unprofessional usage of AI on social media and in academia.

Musa stated that the menace has contributed to the growing concern over the spread of fake news on social media, citing an incident where the picture of Engineer Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, the former Kano State governor, was altered by AI to change his red cap, causing confusion about which image was authentic.

He further called on the government to be among the first adopters of policymaking on AI usage.Dr. Sanah Abdullahi Mu’az of Bayero University’s Software Engineering Department cautioned against the misuse of AI in education.

She stated that, “We are already seeing AI-enabled plagiarism among students. Universities must adopt clear AI-use policies to protect the integrity of academic work while promoting responsible innovation.”

Adding a policy perspective, Kano State Commissioner for Information, Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Yusuf Ibrahim Kofar Mata, revealed that the state government has begun developing a Hausa-language AI chatbot.

He explained that, “This initiative is about taking AI to our grassroots. We are building a tool that farmers, students, and traders can use in their own language to access vital information on health, education, and commerce.”

He pledged that the ministry would assign a permanent representative to the forum and establish a committee to align AI policy deliberations with state planning efforts.

At the close of the meeting, participants agreed that Nigeria must move from being a passive consumer of foreign AI technologies to an active innovator and regulator within the global AI ecosystem.

“The future of AI in Nigeria,” Ya’u concluded, “depends on our ability to build policies that are not just about technology—but about people, trust, and shared prosperity.”

By Abdullahi Mukhtar Algasgaini

In an act of integrity, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Katsina State has handed over ₦6.2 million in cash and personal effects recovered from a fatal accident to the family of the deceased victim.

The incident occurred on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at Dikke along the Funtua-Sokoto road. A white Toyota Hiace bus with registration number SRZ 112 LG was involved in a crash after a tyre burst, exacerbated by excessive speed.

Preliminary reports indicate that of the 18 passengers on board, one adult male died, while 17 others sustained injuries and were rushed to the General Hospital in Funtua for treatment.

Following the crash, FRSC operatives recovered a bag containing ₦6,200,000 and other personal belongings valued at over ₦100,000 from the scene.

The Funtua Unit Commander later presented the items to the victim’s next of kin.The Corps Marshal, Shehu Mohammed, expressed his condolences to the bereaved family and reiterated the FRSC’s commitment to accountability and compassion.

He used the opportunity to advise motorists to prioritize vehicle maintenance, especially tyre checks, and to avoid speeding to prevent similar avoidable tragedies.

By Bilyamin Abdulmumin, PhD

One of my grandfather’s wives, Hajiya Ba’u, survived to live with us till last year, when she passed away. She was fond of sharing history, and in me she found a devoted student. One particular period stuck with her was the early years of her marriage, which was a few years before Nigerian Independence. She once narrated to me how oranges and bananas were considered costly gifts at the time. They only got to see such fruits when my grandfather travelled to Ibadan; these fruits were shared meticulously, as they were seen once in a blue moon.

These fruits, which were once rare luxuries, have now become common in every household, regardless of the season. One can wake up at any odd hour, walk to the main street, and easily find them. Both oranges and bananas are now available in many varieties. The sweetest orange is Dan Boko, named after its place of origin, while the sweetest banana is the variety known as Senior; it has a taste beyond ordinary bananas. Beyond oranges and bananas, fruits like apples, pineapples, and coconuts have also become ubiquitous, and the richness of fruits reaches its peak in the form of fruit salad. People of the 1960s could only dream of fruit salad in Heaven.

Hajiya Ba’u also mentioned that soap was a rare luxury in those days, and they would only use it once in a while. The equivalent of soap, if I didn’t forget, is Bagaruwa (Gum Arabic tree); the pods and bark of this tree contains substance called saponins, like in the case of sodium salts of fatty acids of modern soap, the hydrophobic part of the saponins binds to oils on skin, clothes, or utensils while hydrophilic part binds to water, this creates micelles, which trap dirt and wash them away. Some rural areas still use Bagaruwa as a means of cleaning. In other words, these rural areas are just as advanced as my community of the 1960s. This is why going to rural areas is reminiscent of time-travelling.

Today, whether it’s table soap or liquid soap, it comes in various types, sizes, colours, and fragrances. My memory was reset in 2019 when I lodged at Hotel 17 in Kaduna. There, I saw just how far the customisation of everyday items had gone: single-use soaps, single-use rubbing Vaseline, single-use sugar, single-use perfume, milk, and more. People of the 1960s would think such convenience could only be found in Heaven.

My grandma was also nostalgic about the advancement of packaging. Polyethene (black nylon, etc) was non-existent in those days, so instead they used Tumfafiya—a broad leaf large enough to serve as a wrapper. In fact, I myself bought zogale da kuli (Moringa oleifera and groundnut cake) wrapped in Tumfafiya. In a chemical process called polymerisation, thousands of two-carbon alcohols (ethylene) are woven together to form polyethene. That is more or less like laying thousands of bricks together to make a block. Thanks to the Polyethene revolution, it has now taken over, from shopping bags to “leda” bags, “Santana” bags, water sachets, milk sachets, and stretch wraps in different sizes, brands, and designs. Our packaging revolution extends to cardboard boxes, aluminium foils, plastic containers, and resealable pouches. Those living in the 1960s could only have been left speechless.

Far back in the 1960s, donkeys and camels were the standard vehicles. So, when my Fiqh Sheikh travelled to Zamfara in the 2000s, we only closed for one day. He reminded us that in earlier times, such a journey would have required at least two weeks. Similarly, cellular communication, once a dream of the 1960s, now happens in a split second. One day in the lab, a colleague, who was fond of observing social change, sent a message to England using his mobile phone. Our conversation would revolve around the miracle: the efficiency of sending the message at a negligible cost of only about ten naira.

The paradox is this: even as social change is undeniable in contemporary Nigeria, the strength of our institutions has nosedived and been reversed. A small clinic in a district in the 1960s would treat patients better than what is obtainable in our modern general hospitals. Teachers, even at the primary school level, were treated like kings. We are still in touch with the rural communities my father taught in the seventies and eighties. In one viral clip, late former President Buhari recalled how immediately after secondary school graduation, he was offered a managerial job, a new motorbike, and a competitive salary. 

Late Chief Audu Ogbe, in a Daily Trust reminiscence, noted that in the 1960s, the Central Government even borrowed from the Native Authorities, which now became local government authorities. A former permanent secretary from Kebbi State once told me how, during his days at ABU in the 1980s, students had meal tickets and even their clothes washed. All these examples point to one fact: institutions were working then.

With remarkable social change beyond recognition and technological advancement beyond imagination, if our institutional trajectory is redirected, Nigeria could go to the moon.

Happy Independence Day.

By Muhammad Sulaiman

The Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA) has lauded President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for granting a posthumous pardon to the late Major-General Mamman Jiya Vatsa, a former Nigerian Army officer and acclaimed poet.

In a statement signed by ANA President, Dr Usman Oladipo Akanbi, and General Secretary, Dame Joan Oji, PhD, the Association described the gesture as a “commendable act of national healing” and a recognition of Vatsa’s enduring contributions to Nigerian arts and literature.

General Vatsa, who was executed in 1986 over alleged involvement in a coup plot, was one of ANA’s early leaders and a strong patron of the literary community. He was instrumental in securing the land for the Mamman Vatsa Writers’ Village in Abuja, a landmark project of the Association.

While expressing appreciation for the pardon, ANA maintained that Vatsa was wrongfully convicted, noting that his trial and execution were the result of “deliberate malice orchestrated by a perceived close associate.” The Association said the presidential pardon serves as a vindication of Vatsa’s innocence.

ANA further appealed to President Tinubu to direct that all the rights, privileges, and entitlements due to the late General be paid to his family as a gesture of justice, closure, and recognition of his service to the nation.

The Association concluded by thanking the President “for finally wiping the tears of the Mamman Vatsa family,” adding that the act will forever immortalise the legacy of the distinguished poet-soldier and patron of Nigerian literature.