Nigeria

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The House of Representatives have scheduled a meeting with the leadership of the Academic Staff of Universities, ASUU, in a bid to resolve the lingering impasse between the union and the government.

The Clerk of the Green Chamber, Yahaya Danzaria made the revelation in a statement he made available to newsmen on Monday in Abuja .

According to Danzaria, the meeting will take place at the Representative Wing of the National Assembly on Tuesday.

“The House of Representatives is deeply concerned about the renewed strike which seems to have defied all efforts made to find a solution or reach an agreement between the Federal Government and the striking University lecturers.

The House is more worried about the negative consequences of the strike on the future and quality of education of our teeming youths who have been kept at home for the past six months despite the intervention of the House and several well-meaning Nigerians overtime to see that the matter was resolved.” Part of the statement reads

ASUU embarked on strike on February 14, consequent of which most Nigerians public universities have been shutdown.

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Nigerian Institute of Leather and Science Technology (NILEST) Zaria has proposed to legislators to provide a law that will ban the consumption of animal skin, locally known as ‘ganda’ or ‘kpomo’ in the country.

The Director-General of the Institute, Prof. Muhammad Yakubu, disclosed this to journalists in Abuja Sunday, September 17, 2022.

Yakubu stated that the law was to help revive the comatose leather industry in the country. Meanwhile, the eating of animal skin should be banned.

He added that “the habit of eating animals skin, which has no nutritional value, should be stopped in order to save the industry and boost the nation’s economy.

“To the best of my knowledge, Nigerians are the only people in the world that overvalue skin as food. After all, ‘Kpomo’ has no nutritional value.

“At a point, there was a motion before the two chambers of the National Assembly, it was debated, but I don`t know how the matter was thrown away,” he said.

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

The Spokesperson of the Nigerian Police Force, NPF, Prince Olumuyiwa Adejobi said Nigerians have no right to retaliate when assaulted by men of the Nigerian Police Force.

He stated this on Twitter on Saturday Adejobi tweeted in response to a viral video of two young men dragging a riffle with two policemen in uniform.

In the video, the two young men whose phones were seized reportedly by the policemen were seen haranguing the officers for the release of their phones.

Adejobi said doing that is against the extant laws of the land and that such actions are disrespectful to the country.

“Even if a policeman on uniform slaps a civilian, the civilian has no right to retaliate more so if he is on uniform, its an act of disrespect to Nigeria, to beat an officer on uniform, the disrespect is not to the policeman but to our nation and its a crime as enshrined in our criminal laws.

“So its not a case of what the policeman did, that led to it, but the reaction of the civilians who actually assaulted the police. If police assault a civilian, you report and actions will be taken to rebuke him, not to take the law into your hands.” He tweeted

By Ahmad Deedat Zakari

Nigeria’s Vice President, Professor Yemi Osinbajo, departs Abuja today and will be representing Nigeria at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in London. 

The spokesperson to the Vice President, Laolu Akande, stated in a statement he released on Saturday, September 17, 2022. 

According to the spokesperson, the Vice President will be among the guests and dignitaries to be received by King Charles III at a reception in Buckingham Palace on Sunday and the state funeral on Monday.

He also stated that on the sideline of the funeral is a scheduled bilateral meeting with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly.

Part of the statement reads: “Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, SAN, will be representing Nigeria at a number of events tomorrow and on Monday, during the State funeral for the late Queen Elizabeth ll of the United Kingdom.

Prof. Osinbajo departs Abuja today and will join members of the Royal Family, world leaders – including members of the Commonwealth, Heads of State, Governors-General, Prime Ministers, and foreign royal families – at the ceremonies, including the funeral service scheduled to hold at Westminster Abbey on Monday.”

By Abbas Badmus

The idea of eNaira comes from the ever-expanding developments in digitalization and the need for a secured means of effecting transactions across borders. 

eNaira is a central bank digital currency issued and regulated by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). As a compliment to the existing forms of CBN-issued legal tender currency, the eNaira serves as both a store of value and a medium of exchange, offering efficiency in Nigeria’s payment ecosystem.

President Muhammad Buhari launched the eNaira on 25 October 2021, under the slogan: “Same Naira, More Possibilities”.

The introduction of the eNaira by the CBN immediately put Nigeria in the global spotlight as the first African country to launch the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC).

If fully embraced, there are several benefits for Nigerians and the business community, thereby eradicating many issues surrounding cash transactions.

Some benefits include speedy delivery, safe, simple trading and transactional opportunities for customers and end-users.

More specifically, the benefits to the merchants and business owners include reduced cash handling cost, elimination of failed transactions, instant settlement, increased speed of transactions, improvement in records keeping and elimination of Challenges associated with giving change to customers, amongst others.

Recently, CBN Deputy Governor, Economy Policy, Dr Kingsley Obiora, made it known in the just-concluded Abuja eNaira Merchants Mega Events held at Abuja Chambers of Commerce and industry that there is a reward scheme for merchants and business owners using the eNaira platform.

“I am pleased to inform you that the central bank of Nigeria approved a reward scheme for merchants and other users of the eNaira.

“This reward scheme includes providing merchants with the required scheme includes providing merchants with the required promotional (marketing) materials, subsidizing the current merchant service charge by 50% and activation of a nationwide sensitization which early business adopters of eNaira can leverage on to market its wider adoption “.

It is also important to note that the eNaira platform can now facilitate payments using QR codes, USSD, Wallet ID and eNaira wallet tag. Value-added services on the platform include branch or sub-wallets, employee management, and interoperability with other enterprise applications. Furthermore, these services are provided in a secure environment as the eNaira platform was built using a secure security protocol.

Ample opportunities for increasing business income abound through the adoption of eNaira. For instance, the availability of the eNaira payment option on e-commerce merchant platforms such as Remita is expected to complement the existing digital payment system, translating to about 50% increments in e-commerce transactions at a lower cost.

Going by the innovations and advantages of the eNaira, and the greater understanding that the relaunch is expected to build, it is most likely that the eNaira will, in no distance time, be embraced to enhance financial inclusion further.

Abbas Badmus is with TechDigest Abuja and can be reached via abbasbadamasi946@gmail.com.

By Uzair Adam Imam

An aggrieved lecturer at the University of Maiduguri has put his personal library for sale as the dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) lingers.

The lecturer, Othman Abubakar, disclosed this in a short note, which The Daily Reality verified, titled, “Goodbye To Education In Nigeria, No Hope”.

The Daily Reality recalls that ASUU has been on strike since February 14, 2022, resulting in the shutdown of public universities nationwide for over seven months.

The union is protesting against alleged infrastructure decay at various institutions and neglect of its members’ welfare.

Abubakar said, “With the destruction of university education in Nigeria today, and the starving of university lecturers by the insensitive APC government, I no longer need these books. 

“Those that still believe that education in Nigeria is important, please come to my office at the address below and buy these books at your own price l am available in the office from 9 am to 5 pm daily, including weekends.

“Access Address: Department of English and literary studies, University of Maiduguri. Sign. Dr Abubakar Othman,” he stated.

Currently, the case between ASUU and FG is in court as the FG dragged the union before the court to put an end to its lingering strike that led to the shutdown of all public universities nationwide.

By Uzair Adam Imam

A Federal High Court in Zamfara State has invalidated the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) primary election that produced Alh. Dauda Lawal as the state gubernatorial candidate in the 2023 general election.

Alh. Ibrahim Shehu Gusau, former federal lawmaker, who contested against Dare in the primary election, took the case to the court seeking justice, adding that there had been many irregularities in the election.

However, the court, preceded by Justice Aminu, invalidated the election and ordered that fresh primary election must be conducted to ensure justice and fairness to all parties.

Barrister Ibrahim Ali, counsel for the plaintiff, while speaking to journalists shortly after the judgement, said, “The court looked at the merit of the matter and decided the case in favour of the plaintiffs.”

He added, “Our prayers were that the primary elections conducted by a committee led by Adamu Maina Waziri be nullified by the court and order be given by the court for the conduct of a fresh election in line with the PDP’s constitution and guidelines. All our prayers have been granted.

“The judgment was well evaluated because we proved our case beyond reasonable doubts and we are happy with the decision of the court.”

By Muhammadu Sabiu

A total of 286 foreigners, including 86 Lebanese, 14 Britons, and 4 Americans, received Nigerian citizenship on Thursday in Abuja from the Federal Government.

At the State House, President Muhammadu Buhari granted the affected foreign nationals the status of Nigerian citizens.

By means of naturalization, 208 qualified individuals who signed the declaration declaring themselves to be Nigerians received citizenship.

After they had formally uttered the national pledge and oath of allegiance for Nigeria, the remaining 78 were granted the same status by registration.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Buhari gave the Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS) instructions to present the new Nigerians with the proper credentials right away.

According to him, this would allow people to start enjoying the prestige bestowed upon them, regardless of where they reside in the nation.

Mr Buhari asked them to uphold national beliefs and make an effort to positively impact the communities in which they live.

The president noted that the event was required under the constitution and was intended to exonerate all lawful citizens of the nation from the label of “statelessness.”

Meanwhile, Rauf Aregbesola, the interior minister, had earlier disclosed that the foreigners had undergone a series of exhaustive examinations by the country’s security agencies before being deemed qualified and deserving of Nigerian citizenship.

He was quoted to have said: “Today’s ceremony is a reminder of our common human ancestry.

”These people came from near and distant lands, from different races, religions, ethnicity, and other social affiliations and identities.”

By Uzair Adam Imam

The Federal Government of Nigeria, today Thursday, has said that the family of Kaduna-Abuja train victims should be at ease as the arrest of Tukur Mamu will not halt the efforts to rescue those in captivity.

The Minister of Police Affairs, Mohammed Maigari Dingiyadi, disclosed this in Abuja after the NSC meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chambers.

The Daily Reality reported how more than 60 passengers were abducted when terrorists attacked the train conveying them from Abuja to Kaduna. However, today marks exactly 186 days after their abduction and 23 of the victims are still in captivity while others, on the hand, who regained their freedom, were said to have allegedly paid N100 million as ransom.

The Daily Reality also reported that the bandits negotiator was first arrested in Egypt on the orders of the federal government of Nigeria on Wednesday, September 7, 2022.

He was later brought back to Nigeria where he was, again, arrested by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Our reporters learned that the train victims have not communicated with their families since Mamu’s arrest.

By Ahmadu Shehu, PhD

For the first time in history, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Poland, H.E. Andrzej Duda, visited Nigeria on 6^th September 2022. Apart from being a landmark in history, this visit has renewed the longstanding alliance and friendship between these great nations and has substantially reduced miscommunications and misperceptions among the citizens and officials of both countries.

The visit has yielded bilateral agreements of enormous importance to both nations, especially on agriculture and technology transfer. Moreover, judging by its history and relationship with Nigeria, nay Africa, Nigeria and its sister nations stand to gain more level playing ground in bilateral negotiations with Poland than many other more advanced western countries. This, however, is a topic for another day.

The resilience of the Polish – Nigeria relationship was tested in the early days of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. As the Russian army steadily and mercilessly advanced toward major Ukrainian cities, foreign residents scampered for safety across all Ukrainian borders in search of safety. Thousands of Nigerians, mostly students, found themselves at the Polish border, which was already overwhelmed by destitute refugees struggling to cross into Poland. The scenes and images of the border control points shall never be missed!   

While a lot of misinformation and deliberate spinning of Poland as a racist, intolerant country was being cooked and distributed, the Polish diplomatic mission in Nigeria busied itself with solutions and helping Nigerians trapped in this conflict. A few days later, news surfaced that Polish officials were actually particularly kind to all citizens, especially Nigerians who were given special treatment by various missions based in Poland.  

Back at home, Polish companies and financiers have landed significant business deals to ramp up Nigeria’s solid minerals sector to ameliorate the foreseen global energy crises occasioned by the war. In addition, the Polish agro sector looked at Nigeria as the next solution to the food crises, raising the hope that the Nigerian agricultural value chain would become a global competitor.

Tracing the roots of Poland’s contribution to the growth of Nigeria’s tertiary education in the ‘60s, ‘70s and even ‘80s, several Nigerian universities have found valuable opportunities to collaborate with major Polish universities in various academic fields.

The Nasarawa State University, for instance, had a significant project that translated the works of a Polish scientist whose contributions to the Nigerian academic community cannot be quantified. Several first-class Nigerian universities, such as Bayero University, Kano, have maintained a functional MoU with the University of Warsaw for many years.

In line with its cultural heritage and educational development support, the Polish mission in Nigeria built a specialized school to support Almajiri and out-of-school children in Kaduna State. Although many foreign non-governmental organizations do these kinds of projects, Poland is the only country to start this foresighted initiative as part of its foreign mission activities.

The Polish mission established and sustains a vibrant Polish Alumni forum, which is meant to foster and strengthen the understanding between the citizens of the two countries. Nigerians who studied, trained or visited Poland in a working capacity discuss relevant issues of interest to Nigerians in Poland and the bilateral relations and areas of cooperation between the two countries. This initiative has led to mutually beneficial opportunities for Nigerians and Polish people willing to study, live or do business in either country.    

Polish – Nigeria relations is a sixty-year-old business that stood the test of time. However, to whom do we owe this enthusiastic revival of the friendship between these crucial countries? The bulk stops at the table of Her Excellency Joannah Tarnawska, the Poland ambassador to Nigeria.

Tarnawska is an African-born and bred Polish lady with a degree in African studies from the Faculty of Oriental Studies of the University of Warsaw. Mrs Tarnawska is currently doing a PhD in economics, with a research interest in economic issues in Africa.

Her cultural ties, deep understanding and love for Africa are unmatched. Thus, the amount of success she will record as a diplomat in Africa is promising. Her resilience and understanding of the murky waters of the Nigerian political landscape give her an edge to thrive. The balanced, respectful and dignified way in which the Polish mission now treats Africans will undoubtedly bring back the glory of the Republic of Poland as a true, non-colonial ally of this continent.         

Africa is the future! Therefore, this shall be a win-win for Poland and Nigeria!

Ahmadu Shehu is an Associate Professor at Kaduna State University. You can reach him at ahmadsheehu@gmail.com.