Month: April 2024

The immediate past Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has called on African writers to embrace the continent’s rich indigenous languages in their works.

The former minister made the call on Friday at the World Organisation of Writers Congress, held in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mohammed chaired one of the sessions at the congress with the theme, ‘Africa Meets the Writers of the World’.

Mohammed, the Managing Partner of Bruit Costard, a lobbyist and public relations firm, said in a global landscape dominated by dominant languages, the voices of indigenous communities should be heard and their stories told.

‘As writers, you have a unique opportunity and responsibility to amplify these voices, to breathe life into languages that are at risk of fading into obscurity.

‘Our pens, our keyboards are not just tools of expression; they are instruments of preservation and empowerment.

‘When we write in indigenous languages, we are not just creating literature; we ar
e reclaiming history, honouring tradition, and empowering communities.

‘We are also giving voice to those who have been silenced,’ he said.

Mohammed noted that from available statistics, about 90 per cent of those who won the coveted Nobel Prize in Literature, especially from the non-English-speaking countries, wrote their books in indigenous languages.

He said the statistics underscored the richness and depth of indigenous languages in shaping global literary landscapes.

‘It highlights the importance of preserving and promoting linguistic diversity, as well as the invaluable contributions of indigenous writers to the world of literature.

‘Let us seize this opportunity to amplify diverse voices, challenge prevailing narratives, and champion the transformative power of literature to shape hearts and minds,’ he said.

While commending the organiser of the event, Mohammed said the panel session provided a unique platform for writers from Africa and beyond to converge, collaborate, and celebrate the power o
f words to transcend borders and unite humanity.

He also seized the opportunity to commend some notable literary giants for putting Nigeria on the global map of literature.

Specifically, the former minister commended Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka; Chinua Achebe; Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie; Buchi Emecheta; Ben Okri; Abubakar Gimba, among others for their contributions.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, has urged the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) to use its wide reach to educate Nigerians on the sacrifices made by the military toward stabilising the country.

He also urged NAN to support the military as it strives to ensure peace in every corner of the country.

He observed that there was still a low level of understanding of the military as a strategic national institution that is there for all Nigerians.

Musa spoke on Friday when the Managing Director of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Malam Ali Muhammad Ali, led the agency’s management team on a courtesy visit to the Defence Headquarters, Abuja.

He said that the lack of understanding was why some uninformed Nigerians tend to regard personnel of the armed forces as enemies instead of reliable friends committed to a peaceful Nigeria.

‘What we realised again is, a lot of Nigerians really don’t have a lot of understanding of what the military is all about.

‘Because of the past military regimes, a l
ot of sentiments have been there and so people view us with a kind of suspicion here and there.

‘I am happy that since the arrival of democracy, we are here to defend and protect democracy and ensure that it thrives.

‘For us, democracy will benefit us more because during military regime, we were also clamped down.

‘That is why it is important for Nigerians to understand that this is their own armed forces, and the armed forces is here to protect them so that everybody will be happy in his own land,’ Musa said.

The CDS said that the media, especially NAN, had played a key role in the achievements recorded by the military in the war against insurgency in the North-East.

‘The media was partly instrumental to my successes as Theatre Commander, so I want to commend you for that consistency, for your ability to report despite all the challenges.

‘For me, the media has remained a very good partner; media made my job a lot easier because we were able to reach out even to the terrorists themselves in bushes and
that is why they started surrendering.

‘It started in July 2021, until I left in January 2023 and now, we have over 120,000 and still counting.

‘So I think that is a gain, because they have been able to reach out because of the information they’ve been reading.

‘Those of them that were deceived found out that they were being lied to.

‘The impression they gave them was that any time they come out, the military was never going to spare them, but we made them understand that we knew that not all of them were involved.

‘Some of them were conscripted, some were forced. So, we were able to identify those areas and even the ones that were part of it also saw the light and decided to come out,’ he said.

The CDS, particularly commended NAN for its professionalism and its ability to positively project Nigeria to the world and also help people to understand the impact of the Nigerian story.

Musa pledged to partner with NAN to ensure that people got proper awareness that the military is their own and also understa
nd that the challenge of Nigeria is their own challenge too.

He also urged all Nigerians to join hands to make sure that the nation works, adding that it could only succeed if all Nigerians worked together.

He pledged that the military would remain transparent and professional in its dealings with the media and all Nigerians.

Earlier, Ali commended the defence chief over the handling of the recent killing of army personnel in Okuama community in Delta.

Ali said the exemplary leadership of the CDS had made the military to remain calm and exercise caution in the face of repeated provocations.

He said the task before the armed forces of Nigeria was enormous, and encouraged the military to continue to make sacrifices to keep the country safe.

The managing director said the visit was to express solidarity with the armed forces of Nigeria and partner with it to promote national security.

‘We commend all of you because the amount of sacrifice of lives and limbs cannot be quantified.

*We are here all the time
praying for the armed forces of Nigeria and some of you who are piloting the affairs.

‘Our role is to report Nigeria to Africa and Africa to the rest of the world. I want to also intimate you that being the biggest news agency on the continent, we have offices in some parts of Africa.

‘At a point we had eleven foreign offices beyond the shores of the continent of Africa. We had in Moscow, in the UK and of course, we are still in the US in the UN.

‘We are the only resident news agency in the United Nations,’ he said.

The NAN boss solicited the support and buy in of the CDS to the programmes initiated by the agency to galvanise support for the military and promote national security.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arrested an Ilorin-based clergyman, Prophet Adeniyi James, for allegedly defrauding a member of his Church of N3.9 million.

James is the General Overseer of Christ Apostolic Church(CAC), Freedom City Prophetic and Deliverance Ministry in Ilorin.

In a statement in Ilorin on Saturday, the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, said the Ilorin Zonal Command of the EFCC arrested James on April 2, over the said offence.

Oyewale quoted the victim, Oluwole Babarinsa, as saying in a petition to the commission, that James called him out during a church programme sometime in 2021, and claimed that he had a revelation that he (victim) would travel abroad.

‘The petitioner said the cleric, in the course of giving the revelation, asked him about his preferred country, which he replied ‘Canada’ and they agreed to talk later in order to perfect arrangements for the trip.

‘The petitioner said James later told him that he had a friend in Lagos who c
ould help him facilitate his relocation to Canada, but at a cost of N1.7 million and N2.5 million for processing of flight ticket and travel documents, respectively.

‘Babarinsa added that he had to sell some of his properties and took some loans before he could raise N3,980,000 which he gave the prophet to facilitate his quick relocation to Canada.

‘After prolonged waiting with no result, the petitioner became agitated and began to query the prophet’s vision, prompting him to ask for a refund of his money.

‘He said that all efforts and entreaties to the suspect to refund his money yielded no positive result,’ EFCC spokesman said.

He said the suspect would be arraigned in court after the conclusion of the investigations.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Mr Dauda Ali-Biu, the Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), has said that Road Traffic Crashes (RTCs), were not caused by spiritual manipulations or ay other form of evil spirits.

‘The crashes are caused by physical errors; there’s nothing spiritual about them,’ Ali-Biu said at the Flag-off of the 2024 Sallah mega motor park rally on Saturday in Abuja.

He said that the rally had become particularly imperative in view of the envisioned increase in vehicular and human movement across the country as the festive period gathers momentum.

The FRSC boss was represented by Mr Shehu Zaki, the FRSC Deputy Corps Marshal (DCM) in charge of operations.

He said that the Corps was working assiduously to ensure a significant shift in the attitude of motorists in the year 2024.

‘Nigerians must be aware that frequent cases of road crashes on our roads cannot be linked to any spirit killing people.

‘There is an increase in human and vehicular movement, bad driving and impatience. These are the major causes,’ he
said.

Ali-Biu said that drinking and driving, overloading of vehicles, worn-out tyres, overloading, lane indiscipline, speeding, wrongful overtaking, among others, pose a threat to the life of the driver, passengers and property,

‘Such bad driving behaviours also hurt road infrastructure which cost a lot of tax payers’ resources to build.

‘As part of efforts to deal with these challenges, the Corps came up with the idea of taking the message of safety down to all of us at the Motor Parks early, in view of the critical role union officials play on the roads.

‘This also serves as a prelude to massive deployment of personnel and logistics to the highways, particularly at the black spots, to contain the perennial traffic gridlock and the accompanying hazards,’ he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

President Nangolo Mbumba on Friday visited the family home of the late liberation struggle veteran, Ida Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros to convey his condolences to the family.

Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros died in Keetmanshoop on Wednesday at the age of 79 years after a long illness.

In his message of condolences Mbumba said: ‘I became president and entered this office with tears following the passing of my brother and comrade, President Hage Geingob, I didn’t expect that two months later I will be mourning the passing of comrade Ida Jimmy. I extend my condolences to the children, bereaved family, rank and file of the Swapo Party and the Namibian nation at large. May the Lord console and comfort us during this difficult time and may the soul of comrade Ida Jimmy rest in eternal peace,’ said Mbumba.

Mbumba said Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros has a record that cannot be questioned as she was such an imposing figure with deep roots in the struggle for liberation.

He added that she was imprisoned, she was tortured and nothing could stop her in the figh
t for an independent Namibia, citing that the country is today free because of the role late Jimmy-!Ha-Eiros had played.

‘Indeed, comrade madam Ida Jimmy was a leader and liberator of the Namibian people, thus, to lose her is a great loss to all Namibians. We therefore pay our utmost respect to our heroine and honour her legacy of bravery and courage in the face of danger, be it imprisonment, house detentions or physical torture. We will always respect her, honour her memory and salute her enormous courage,’ he said.

Source: The Namibia Press Agency

Nigeria’s Deputy Senate President and newly elected ECOWAS Parliament First Deputy Speaker, Sen. Barau Jibrin, has urged newly inaugurated members to collaborate towards achieving the bloc’s aims and objectives.

Jibrin, who is also the parliament’s Acting Speaker, made this known at the closing of the Inaugural Session of the Sixth Legislature of the ECOWAS Parliament, on Saturday evening in Abuja.

He charged them to work resolutely to produce concrete and valuable results for ECOWAS, having accepted the responsibility of becoming elected representatives of their respective countries’ parliaments, and inaugurated as ECOWAS legislators.

‘As you well know, we have deliberately chosen to be on this front. So, let’s join forces beyond our differences to remain true to our commitments and make history with our term of office. Therefore, let us work resolutely to produce concrete and valuable results for ECOWAS.

‘Our responsibilities are heavy, and we must be aware of them and remain totally faithful to our com
mitments. That’s why we need to work together with intelligence, rigour, and determination to meet the major challenges that lie ahead.

‘As you can see, Honourable Members, the mission we have been assigned is enormous but very exciting because it involves putting ourselves at the service of the Community to ensure its prosperity and emergence,’ Jibrin said.

According to the Nigerian Deputy Senate President, the 6th ECOWAS Legislature will be counting on the subregional bloc’s lawmakers’ efforts, contributions, and effective presence during parliament’s deliberations, going forward.

‘Your passion, dedication, and commitment to achieving the objectives of the Parliament, will enable us to make ECOWAS an ECOWAS of peoples, where peace and prosperity reign for all.

‘We are resolute in our mission to uphold peace and prosperity for the people of West Africa, and this Session has provided us with the platform to launch this noble endeavour,’ Jibrin said.

The Acting ECOWAS Speaker noted that an integral part o
f the events that should have characterized the inaugural session of the Parliament was the election of a new Speaker.

He, however, expressed dismay that it did not happen due to the absence of Togolese lawmakers, who, by virtue of the Parliament’s Supplementary Act, should assume the speakership of the 6th Legislature.

Sen. Jibrin expressed solidarity with the Togo and pledged the Parliament’s full support in ensuring that the Togolese Representatives would be inaugurated soon to culminate in the election of a new Speaker.

While extolling the wisdom of the Sixth Legislature and the processes that led to the election of four Deputy Speakers, the lawmaker expressed satisfaction that the application of the Doctrine of Necessity was applied to restore order and uphold the sanctity of ECOWAS.

According to the Acting ECOWAS Parliament Speaker, the action taken by the Parliament marked the beginning of what would be a united Parliament that would be ‘speaking with one voice’ in the interest of the Community.

H
e extended gratitude to the Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu, ECOWAS Commission President, Dr Omar Toure, among others, for keeping ECOWAS’ ship afloat.

‘My heartfelt tribute, particularly to His Excellency Bola Ahmed Tinubu, President of the Republic of Nigeria. His unwavering leadership and profound interest in the ECOWAS Parliament were very instrumental in securing a smooth inaugural session of its sixth legislature.

‘May I express my sincere thanks to the Acting Secretary General of the Parliament, Mr Bertin SOME, and to all the staff members of the Parliament, who have worked tirelessly to ensure the success of our work,’ Sen. Jibrin added.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the highlight of the Parliament’s sitting on Saturday was the consideration and adoption of the report of an Ad-hoc Selection Committee, which established fourteen Standing Committees.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria