United States

By Hadiza Abdulkadir

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order designating English as the official language of the United States. The order, announced at a press briefing at the White House, aims to standardise government communications and promote the use of English in official capacities.

“This is a step towards unity and efficiency,” President Trump stated. “English has always been the common language of our nation, and this order reinforces that tradition.”

The executive order directs federal agencies to conduct all official business in English and encourages state and local governments to adopt similar measures. It also outlines provisions for English-language education programs to support immigrants in learning the language.

Before this order, the U.S. had no official language at the federal level, and multiple languages were widely used, including Spanish, Chinese, French, German, Tagalog, Vietnamese, and Native American languages such as Navajo and Cherokee. Spanish, in particular, has been a dominant language in several states, especially in the Southwest and large urban centers.

Critics argue that the move may marginalise non-English speakers and undermine the country’s linguistic diversity. Advocacy groups have vowed to challenge the order, citing concerns over accessibility and inclusivity.

Supporters, however, praise the decision as a necessary step in strengthening national identity and simplifying government operations.

It remains to be seen how the order will be implemented and whether it will face legal challenges in the coming weeks.

By Muhsin Ibrahim 

Republican Congressman Joe Wilson has proposed introducing a $250 bill featuring President Donald Trump’s face, citing economic struggles under former President Joe Biden.

In a post on the social media platform X, Wilson wrote, “Bidenflation has destroyed the economy, forcing American families to carry more cash. The most valuable bill for the most valuable president!”

The proposal has sparked debate, with supporters praising Trump’s economic policies and critics dismissing the move as political grandstanding. 

The US Treasury has not commented on whether such a bill is under consideration.

By Muhammad Sulaiman

The U.S. government has announced plans to investigate past foreign aid allocated to Nigeria and other countries, following President Donald Trump’s 90-day suspension of foreign assistance. 

The decision comes amid concerns about global destabilization and whether aid aligns with American interests.

The U.S. Mission to Nigeria confirmed ongoing efforts to track past assistance provided by the U.S. government. 

The Mission also condemned the violence and loss of life caused by Boko Haram, the extremist group designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organization by the U.S. Secretary of State in November 2013.

The review aims to ensure transparency and accountability in aid distribution while addressing security challenges in affected regions.

By Maryam Ahmad

A groundbreaking congressional investigation has forced lawmakers to acknowledge a long history of U.S. government involvement in financing extremist organisations, including Al-Qaeda, Boko Haram, the Taliban, and ISIS.

The findings, revealed in a classified report leaked to the press, outline decades of covert operations, indirect funding, and intelligence blunders that have inadvertently empowered terrorist groups worldwide.

The report details how U.S. aid, weapons, and financial resources intended for allied forces or opposition groups often ended up in the hands of militants.

It cites instances where American-made arms supplied to anti-Soviet fighters in the 1980s ultimately bolstered the Taliban and where funding to Syrian opposition forces found its way to ISIS affiliates.

Lawmakers from both parties have responded with shock and calls for greater oversight. “This is a sobering moment,” said Senator James Holloway (R-TX). “We must rethink our foreign policy strategy to ensure that American resources are never again used to fuel extremism.”

The White House has yet to issue a formal response, but officials insist that past mistakes should not overshadow ongoing counterterrorism efforts. Meanwhile, critics argue that these revelations confirm long-held suspicions about U.S. interventionist policies and their unintended consequences.

The investigation’s full findings are expected to be declassified in the coming months, raising further questions about accountability and the future of American foreign aid.

By Muhammad Sulaiman

A US-based Nigerian cardiologist, Dr. Ikenna Erinne, has reportedly died by suicide after being ordered to pay $15,000 monthly in child support. 

According to The Punch, the 36-year-old took his life on January 26, 2025, following a legal battle with his ex-wife that also led to the loss of his medical license.

Dr. Erinne is survived by his children, Ugonna and Munachi, as well as his parents and siblings. A memorial is scheduled for February 3 in Elkridge, Maryland. 

Dr. Erinne’s passing has ignited conversations on social media about how family court decisions affect mental health, particularly in Western nations.

By Maryam Ahmad

The Trump administration has reportedly issued a directive restricting the display of flags on government buildings, embassies, and military bases worldwide. According to a report by the Washington Free Beacon, which obtained a copy of the document, the new policy permits only the U.S. flag and select military symbols to be flown.

Although the directive does not explicitly mention specific flags, media outlets have interpreted the move as a ban on displaying symbols such as LGBT and Black Lives Matter (BLM) flags, which were frequently flown alongside the U.S. flag during the Biden administration.

This policy aligns with Trump’s broader cultural stance, including a previous decree recognising only two genders—male and female—in official U.S. government documents and policies.

The decision has sparked debate. Supporters praise the emphasis on national and military symbols, while critics view it as a step back in terms of inclusivity and representation.

By Sulaiman Abdullahi

Los Angeles is currently experiencing severe wildfires that have burned over 26,000 acres. This has led to a state of emergency and mandatory evacuations for approximately 150,000 residents. 

The Palisades Fire has caused significant destruction, including the loss of numerous buildings and the deaths of at least 16 people. High winds and limited firefighting resources have complicated efforts.

In contrast, Gaza is enduring a humanitarian crisis due to prolonged conflict, resulting in over 46,000 Palestinian deaths and extensive damage to infrastructure, including water and sanitation facilities, due to Israel’smassive attacks on the enclave. The United Nations estimates that recovery and rebuilding will take years and require billions in funding.

While both regions are experiencing severe destruction, the causes differ: Los Angeles is facing a natural disaster, while Gaza’s devastation stems from military conflict. The recovery for both areas will demand substantial resources, time, and international assistance.

Several social media users share pictures of the two devastations. Many also make comparisons. Some view the LA fire as punishment for U.S. support of Israel, while others see it as a natural disaster that can affect anyone, anywhere.

By Haroon Aremu

After fierce contention between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump for the next occupant of the White House, with the latter emerging victorious, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s congratulatory message to the President-elect reignited intense discussion about the relationship between both nations. 

The president’s eagerness to strengthen ties between Nigeria and the United States raises questions. Has the partnership between both countries truly benefited Nigeria? Or was Mr. President’s call merely another political courtesy? These questions prompt us to examine the nature of Nigeria’s relationship with the U.S., its economic implications, and the broader political dynamics at play.

Nigeria and the U.S. have maintained a long-standing economic relationship. Nigeria is one of America’s top trading partners in Africa. In 2019, bilateral trade between the two nations exceeded $10 billion, and the U.S. remains Nigeria’s largest foreign investor, particularly in the oil and gas sector. 

However, Nigeria’s economy continues to struggle, primarily due to its overreliance on oil. With global shifts toward renewable energy, including in the U.S., Nigeria must diversify its economy to remain competitive and avoid being left behind.

Critics argue that while the U.S.-Nigeria partnership has brought some benefits, these advantages are not felt equally across the population. The wealth generated from trade and investment remains largely concentrated in the oil sector, leaving many Nigerians excluded from broader economic gains. The promise of diversification remains largely unfulfilled, and the average citizen continues to bear the brunt of the country’s dependence on oil.

The political dynamics of the U.S. and Nigeria share striking similarities, particularly in their recent elections. Both the 2020 U.S. election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden and Nigeria’s 2023 election, where Bola Tinubu contested mainly against Peter Obi and Atiku Abubakar, were “reportedly” marred by allegations of fraud, electoral manipulation, and identity politics. Just as many Americans questioned the integrity of their electoral process, Nigerians also faced concerns over corruption and electoral malpractice.

However, Nigeria can learn from the U.S. by adopting reforms that promote a certain level of transparency, credibility, and inclusiveness in its electoral system, as witnessed in 2024. While the U.S. system has its challenges, its efforts to ensure a fair and free election through checks and balances offer valuable lessons for Nigeria, which must work to eliminate corruption and build public trust in the electoral process. 

These reforms will help create an electoral system that reflects the people’s will and ensures fair participation. 

Transparency, accountability, and the active participation of civil society will be vital to improving Nigeria’s elections and ensuring the people’s will is genuinely reflected in government.

Nigeria’s economy faces pressing challenges, including over 30% inflation and a soaring unemployment rate. The country’s dependence on oil exports makes it vulnerable to global market fluctuations. 

The need for diversification has never been more urgent. Nigeria must expand into agriculture, technology, and manufacturing sectors to create a more sustainable and resilient economy.

While U.S.-Nigeria partnerships in agriculture, technology, and infrastructure development have created some jobs, the benefits are often limited. Without proper policies and management, the economic gains from these partnerships fail to reach those who need them most. Corruption hinders inclusive growth, with the wealth generated by foreign investments rarely benefiting the broader population.

The U.S. has provided substantial aid to Nigeria over the years, including over $125 million in COVID-19 assistance and various health initiatives, such as PEPFAR, which has improved healthcare access. 

Educational programs have also significantly impacted Nigerian schools, providing millions of books and teaching resources. However, critics argue that much of this aid addresses immediate needs without addressing the deeper, systemic issues that hinder long—term development, such as corruption, poor governance, and institutional inefficiency.

Though aid has brought short-term relief, Nigeria must push for real, lasting change. Relying on external assistance alone is not enough without addressing the root causes of poverty, unemployment, and economic instability. 

Development cannot be achieved through aid alone—it requires internal reforms and institutional strengthening.

To President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Nigeria is at a critical juncture. It faces significant economic challenges, including the risk of recession, but the partnership with the United States offers an opportunity to stimulate growth, attract investment, and create jobs. 

While the World Bank acknowledges Nigeria’s efforts through macro-fiscal reforms like unifying exchange rates and phasing out gasoline subsidies, these changes must be carefully managed to minimize short-term negative impacts on vulnerable groups. 

Scaling up social protection programs, investing in critical sectors such as education, healthcare, and infrastructure, and promoting economic diversification into areas like agriculture, technology, and manufacturing are essential to reducing reliance on oil and ensuring long-term stability. 

The World Bank’s $2.25 billion funding through the RESET program can enhance revenue mobilization, improve governance, and foster private sector growth.

Nigeria must strengthen its dialogue with the U.S., showcase investment opportunities, and deepen cooperation on security. Moving forward, Nigeria must prioritize real, actionable partnerships that deliver sustainable benefits to its people, avoid actions akin to political fraternization, and focus on inclusive development. 

The world is watching, and now is the time for decisive action to secure Nigeria’s future.

Haroon Aremu Abiodun, author of Youth Service for National Stability: A Corpers’ Chronicle, advocates for national development, has received an award from PRNigeria Center, and is an investigative research journalist. He can be reached at exponentumera@gmail.com.

By Lawal Dahiru Mamman 

Africa boasts an abundance of resources, with its vast landscapes from north to south and east to west teeming with diverse natural and mineral riches. These treasures have the potential to revolutionise the lives of its citizens. The continent’s human capital is equally impressive, harbouring 18.3%—approximately 1.5 billion—of the global population, making it the world’s second-most populous continent.

In truth, these natural resources gifted to Africa have not been fully harnessed for the benefit of its people. In some cases, resources in regions have ignited conflicts and even war, leaving people in bemoanable poverty and deprived of basic necessities like food and water, which are essential for human survival. This is in sharp contrast to the supposed envious rapid developments cities should be undergoing for urban and economic renaissance.

Ghana’s first president, Kwame Nkrumah, an enthusiastic advocate for the continent’s unity and independence, captured this problematic state of African nations when he said, “Africa is a paradox,” not without rhyme or reason but because “Her (Africa) earth is rich, yet the products that come from above and below the soil continue to enrich, not Africans predominantly.” 

Considering this age-long reality, leaders have repeatedly converged, deliberated, and mapped out strategies for development. Among many of these, Africa Agenda 2063 – a deliberate framework for socioeconomic transformation adopted by the African Union (AU) in 2015—and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)—an economic agreement aimed at creating a single unified market for Africa—remain the most talked about in the present. 

Little progress has been made with these well-thought-out agreements for nearly a decade. Recently, the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Association of Nigeria (MWFAAN) announced its intention to host a ‘Pan-African Legacy Conference’ in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. 

The conference will commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Mandela Washington Fellowship, a brainchild of former United States President Barack Obama to enhance U.S.–Africa relations, particularly among young people. Since its inception, the fellowship has sent over 7,200 young Africans to the U.S. for six weeks of professional development and cultural exchange. 

Themed “Shaping Africa’s Future through the AfCFTA and Agenda 2063” aims to chart a path for the next 10 years, focusing on economic development in Africa. It will bring young people closer to decision-makers to bridge the gap between the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and youth entrepreneurs. It will also ensure access to trade opportunities across Africa and unite the government, nonprofit sector, and business leaders to create a comprehensive framework for sustainable development.

A ruckus has been raised in the fullness of time for youth to participate actively in governance for Africa’s development. This conference is a deliberate attempt by young people to engage policymakers and industry experts in solving our age-old predicament: failing to cater to our rapidly growing population.

Could this gathering sew the Gordian knot, freeing Africa from the shackles of stagnation and retrogression and guiding her towards prosperity? Tempus Omnia Revelat—the future holds the answer. 

As Kwame Nkuruma astutely observed, “It is clear that we must find an African solution to our problems and that this can only be found in African unity. Divided, we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.”

If the Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni Pan-African Legacy Conference will be a point of unity that proffers solutions and moves us towards economic liberation, so be it.

Lawal Dahiru Mamman writes from Abuja and can be reached via dahirulawal90@gmail.com.

By Hajara Abdullahi

The long reoccurring war between Israel and Palestine spans decades which can be traced to the Balfour Declaration of 1917  that led to the creation of a national home in Palestine for the Jewish people fleeing the Nazi Holocaust in Europe. After the creation of the zionist state in 1948, the Arab states went to war with Israel, which led to the first Nakba (Catastrophe) that led to the killing of hundreds of Palestinians and thousands of others fled their homes. Israel won the war, and the reality surfaced that the Zionist state had come to stay, especially with unwavering support from allies like the US, France, Germany and other European countries.

Since the creation of Israel, Palestinians have been subjected to the worst form of apartheid and dehumanisation, as well as the forceful annexation of their lands to establish Jewish settlements, which the U.N. have described as illegal under international law. Peace accords and diplomatic efforts have done little to address this decade-long conflict from Camp David to Oslo.

On October 7 2023, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel that led to the loss of about 1,139 lives, while about 250 were kidnapped, according to the BBC. This attack sparked rage worldwide, considering the strong support Israel enjoys from powerful allies like the U S and the U.K. This attack had led to the launch of a full-scale wall on the besieged Gaza Strip that has claimed the lives of at least 45,000 people, and almost 100,000 have been injured. It has also led to the displacement of nearly the entire population of 2.3 million, a hunger crisis and a genocide case at the World Court. Even the occupied West Bank is not spared, as IDF have carried out airstrikes and shellings that have killed civilians and displaced thousands. The U.N. has described 2024 as the deadliest year for Palestinians in Gaza, with the IDF offensive reducing the enclave to rubble.

Since the outbreak of the conflict, The U.N., E.U., U.S. and other world leaders have condemned the Hamas act and called for restraint to avoid escalation. Diplomatic efforts have been put in place after months of fighting with Iran-backed resistant groups Hezbollah and Houthi launching solidarity attacks against Israel. On October 18 2023, U.S. President Joe Biden visited Tel Aviv to make a peace deal between the warring parties. Similarly, the G7 leaders also met in Tokyo in June to push forward for a ceasefire to avoid a wider regional conflict.

On May 31, U.S. President Joe Biden announced a three-phase proposal to the U.N. Security Council to end the war in the Gaza Strip. He called, first, for a temporary ceasefire tied to partial withdrawals of Israeli forces, limited hostage exchanges, and an influx of aid. Negotiations would then begin and, if successful, lead to the second phase, involving a permanent cessation of hostilities tied to total withdrawals and complete hostage exchanges. The final phase would see reconstruction efforts being set up, but Israel’s refusal to accept the conditions witnessing the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza a total setback amidst protests by families whose relatives are held as hostages in Gaza. However, the ceasefire plan was short-lived when Israel, with the assistance of intelligence support from the U.S., launched a deadly attack that led to the killing of at least 200 Palestinians while  4 Israeli captives held in Nuseirat camp in Central Gaza were rescued, according to the BBC.

Hopes were lit when U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in his 11th trip to the Middle East on August 15 to avert a wider conflict after the killing of top Hamas leader by Israel, told a gathering of reporters while departing Tel Aviv that the ball is in the court of Hamas to accept the conditions as Israel has accepted the bridging proposal for the ceasefire to work. Unfortunately, Hamas said it won’t be part of a new proposal, saying it will only accept the initial proposal put forward by President Biden.

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vehemently opposes the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel in exchange for captives held in Gaza, the withdrawal of IDF from Gaza while Hamas has not been dismantled, as well as leaving the strategic Philadelphi corridor  ditched the last hope of the ceasefire which two key mediators Egypt and Qatar have been working on.

Marwan Bishara, a senior political analyst with Aljazeera, said, “Both parties understand that they cannot achieve in diplomacy what they couldn’t achieve in war” This implies that the Israelis won’t get the captives back on a platter of gold, neither would Hamas get Gaza free of Israeli soldiers free of charge.

The  Wall Street Journal, in an exclusive article it published on September 20 2024, said it’s unlikely for a ceasefire to be reached in Gaza, citing top-level officials in the White House, State Department and Pentagon without naming them while explaining two obstacles will make it difficult: Israel’s demand to keep forces in the Philadelphi corridor between Gaza and Egypt and the specifics of an exchange of Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. In the recently concluded 79th session of the UNGA, world leaders called for restraint in Lebanon as tension heightened.

In the end, diplomatic efforts may produce little or no results because, as Tim Marshall explained in his book Prisoners of Geography, the map of the region is being redrawn in blood, and the current fault lines emerged from the artificial lines drawn by Europe. Therefore, the U.N., U.S, Arab League and other world leaders must work hand in hand for a two-state solution agreed upon in the Oslo Accord of 1993, as well as press Israel and Hamas to accept the conditions laid down for the ceasefire to work which will ensure a peaceful coexistence in the Middle East region as well as prevent a wider regional conflict the region risk facing with the recent clash between Hezbollah and Israel on the Lebanese southern border.

Hajara Abdullahi wrote from the Dept of Mass Communication, Bayero University Kano.