Month: August 2023

The National Security Adviser (NSA), Malam Nuhu Ribadu, on Wednesday urged the police to synergise with other security and law enforcement agencies to ensure successful implementation of government’s Safe School Initiative.

He made the call in Abuja at the Police Strategic Forum on Achieving Safe School in Nigeria.

Ribadu was represented at the event by retired Maj.-Gen, Abba Dikko, Coordinator, National Centre for the Control of Small Arms and Light Weapons in the Office of the NSA.

He said the police should synergise with other stakeholders in the areas of intelligence and information sharing at strategic and tactical levels.

He added that this would mitigate the menace of security challenges in line with Federal Government’s directive.

The NSA commended the efforts of the police at producing a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual for the Safe School Initiative.

He said the initiative would strengthen collaboration between security and law enforcement stakeholders to address security vulnerability of schools and other educational institutions.

“Undoubtedly, education has always been the foundation of progress in any society.

“As we strive to build a prosperous country for the future of our children and the generation unborn, it is critical that we prioritise the safety and security of educational institutions at all levels.

“Education is not only about acquiring knowledge and skills, it is also about fostering an environment that encourages creativity, critical thinking and personal growth,’’ Ribadu’s representative said.

He noted that over the years, educational institutions had been faced with security challenges of mass kidnapping, abductions, senseless killing of teachers and vandalism of educational infrastructure.

He said the security challenges had impacted negatively on school enrolment, particularly for the girl child in the northern parts of the country.

They had also hindered full realisation of the collective vision of optimising education as catalyst for national, human and capital development, he noted.

In his remarks, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Olukayode Egbetokun, said the inauguration of the SOP manual was a step in the right direction.

He noted that the focus was to achieve a secured educational environment for school children.

“The SOP is a comprehensive roadmap that underscores the commitment of the police to safeguard education by creating a secured, safe and conducive learning environment for students.

“In years past, schools used to be the safest place for children.

“Since Nigeria recorded the first incident of school kidnap in 2014, however, criminal elements had continued to threaten the safety and security of educational institutions.

“The challenges demand innovative, adaptive and sustainable approaches to ensure the efficacy of the efforts of security agencies in providing safe environment for all.

“The commitment of the police to safeguard schools and ensure unhindered pursuit of knowledge led to the creation of the SOP manual,’’ Egbetokun said.

He added that the manual outlined the meticulous procedures that would guard law enforcement agencies, educational institutions and communities to ensure safe and secured learning environment in schools.

Egbetokun said another stride taken by the police in pursuit of the safe school initiative was the establishment of the Police Protection Squad.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The National Population Commission (NPC) says it has put everything in place to conduct the 2023 population and housing census,

Clifford Zirra, NPC Federal Commissioner in Adamawa, disclosed that the commission was only waiting for instructions from President Bola Tinubu to start the exercise.

Zirra spoke on Wednesday in Yola during an interactive session with media executive on the status of preparations for the census.

According to the commissioner, Tinubu has been satisfied with the level of achievement recorded by the commission.

He said the census was vital exercise that played a significant role in shaping the future of the Nation.

“It provides us with accurate and up-to-date data about our population, which is indispensable for effective planning and development.

“The information collected during the census will serve as the foundation for policy formulation, resource allocation, and the implementation of various social and economic programs.

“The Commission welcomes the decision of the Federal Government on the postponement of the conduct of the census in order to give the new administration the opportunity to have inputs in the census process,” he said.

According to him, the postponement has also given the commission the opportunity to further perfect its processes and systems for the conduct of the first ever digital census.

Zirra also disclosed that the commission had carried out all the necessary preparations towards the census such as the Enumeration Area Demarcation, conduct of pre-tests and trial census, training of field staff, establishment of ICT infrastructure across the country, among other activities.

Alhaji Abubakar Hamma-Adama, Director of NPC in the state, appreciated the support and collaboration between the commission and media organisations in the state during the preparation to date.

“We are grateful and thankful, also we want to solicit your continued support during the census whenever the date is fixed.

“Really, census will be successful only if there is good publicity and enlightenment,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the commission has also commemorated the 2023 World Population Day with theme “Unleashing the Power of Gender Equality: Uplifting the Voices of the Women and Girls to Unlock Our World’s Infinite Possibilities”.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Lagos State government has assured the Confederation of African Football (CAF) of state-of-the-art sporting facilities and an enabling environment at the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations.

Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu gave the assurance during a courtesy call by a CAF lnspection Team on Wednesday at Alausa, Ikeja.

The governor, who was represented by his deputy, noted that the state had all the requirements to co-host the tournament with the Republic of Benin.

He said: “Lagos State had in the past hosted the under 17 and under 20 World Cup football competitions and this has given us an insight into the protocols of hosting.

“We have the template, and we know what is expected of us, so we will make sure that it is good.”

Sanwo-Olu, therefore, assured the delegation of good hospitality in the state by both the public and private sectors.

The governor, however, said the state was aiming beyond the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, as it also planned to build the interest of the young generation in football.

He stated that the goal of his administration was to make sure that young Nigerian talents were recognised globally in sporting activities.

“Aside renovating the Teslim Balogun Stadium to standard for the purpose of the competition and beyond, we are building new ones in different communities within the state.

“So far, we are building nine stadiums in Agege, Ifako-Ijaiye, Ikorodu, Epe among others.

“This is for the purpose of accommodating and encouraging youths, both male and female in terms of playing football and other sports.

“The essence for us is to also start a lot of sporting activities in our communities which includes community football,” he said.

Sanwo-Olu pledged that before the end of the year, the Teslim Balogun Stadium would be ready.

Earlier, the leader of Nigeria’s Bid Delegation for the Africa Cup of Nations 2027, Mallam Mainasara Illo, said the team was in Lagos to inspect football facilities that had been proposed by the Nigeria Football Federation for the hosting of the Africa Cup of Nations 2027.

Illo said six states in Nigeria and two cities in the Republic of Benin had been proposed to host the competition.

He expressed optimism that the venues proposed in Nigeria would pass the test.

“It is totally inexcusable if Lagos State, being Africa’s largest economy, the nation’s most populous state and a state in which football is most passionately followed does not make it,” said Illo.

He, therefore, urged the state government to hasten work at the Teslim Balogun Stadium as the team had visited the stadium and observed that construction was ongoing with other training centres that would be used for the competition.

Illo requested that the state government ensured the provision of good hospitals, hotels for Important Personalities (VIPs), among others, were readily available.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

A life coach, Mr Ndubuisi Onyenma, on Wednesday, has advised

youths to have positive mentality toward life, irrespective of any situation to prevent depression.

He gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on the sidelines of

an Emotional Wellbeing Workshop organised by Inspire Minds Education Foundation, a Non-Government Organisation (NGO).

The workshop, which was organised for students of Baze University in Abuja was to focus on mental health issues,

managing stress, trauma and relationships among young people.

According to Onyenma, depression is a disease of the mind and what youths feed their minds with constantly will reflect

in what they express at the end of the day.

He said “there are lots of negative things happening in the society today and when you look at the economy, people are not smiling.

“When you let all those things come to your mind, what they do is they cloud your mind, and they trigger stress hormones

like cortisol that starts getting you off that positivity.

“Once you are off that positivity, you begin to look at the situation from a negative angle and the next thing will be depression.

“So, it is a shift but the major focus is the mind. If youths can guide their minds and feed it with positivity, they will stay away from

depression.”

Onyenma also advised parents and guardians to monitor how youths make use of the social media,

According to him, what children and youths are exposed to in their cognitive years will determine what they become later in life.

He said “social media has both positive and negative impacts, but the perception about it is what determines the results.”

He added that a lot of people pick up the negatives from social media and use it against one another, while others use it positively.

“It is a responsibility from the home that is a fundamental part to start watching this thing.

“What are you teaching your children from cognitive development, from motor sensory stage to concrete stage, to operational stage to adulthood?.

“So, in the formative part of their lifestyle from zero to seven years, what have they learned? Whatever they have learnt will determine what they will become in the future.

“There has to be that intentional perspective about parents, putting a close watch on what children are being exposed to.”

According to Onyenma, when children are left to browse the internet unattended, they are left to the vulnerability of being exposed to things

that they should not have been exposed to in the first place.

The Founder of the NGO, Mrs Rosemary Uwaleme, said that the rate of depression and suicide ideation was now on the increase due to different factors.

According to her, some people may have the same life experiences and not come down with mental conditions because their brains are wired differently.

“The Association of Psychiatrists in Nigeria said that over 60 million Nigerians suffer from mental illnesses.

“Common mental health conditions such as anxiety, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder are eating deep among young people today.

“Mental illness is just as important as physical illness but it is not given the much needed attention.

“Also, the present economic situation is making things even worse, and many young people cannot fend for themselves, not to talk about

doing other things for themselves or their family, and this can be depressing.”

She added that the most important thing is to seek for help either by opening up to a family member, a counsellor or a trusted

person that can help to solve the problem.

Uwaleme said that during counselling sessions, many young people complained about different situations affecting them, ranging

from being uncomfortable with the way they look and lack of confidence in themselves.

“Some struggle with drug abuse, academics, loss of a parent or the fact that some parents will not allow them to follow their passion.’’

She advised them to always look on the positive side as their stories could take a different turn with the right help and approach.

She added that “as counsellors, we are motivated when we see people who initially had nearly given up begin to enjoy life again,

make meaning out of life and even begin to inspire others.

“We believe that our young people are the hope for a brighter future.

“That is why we are here to bring to your alertness that you are strong, you are creative and capable of achieving whatever you

put your mind to.”

Source: News Agency of Nigeria