Day: May 25, 2024

The Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Christopher Musa, says sporting activities help to sharpen the physical fitness, mental alertness and skills of military personnel to ensure combat readiness.

Musa said this on Friday in Abuja at the Inter-Command Combat Sports Competition organised by the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) as part of the activities to commemorate its 60th Anniversary.

He said the security challenges confronting the nation had made the armed forces to continue to evolve joint training with emphasis on physical training and sports.

He said the sportsmanship exhibited during the keenly contested activities gave credence to the premium placed on sports by the armed forces towards enhancing the combat readiness of personnel.

‘It is my belief, therefore, that the continuity and sustainability of this level of training and competition, coupled with the equipping of the armed forces, the armed forces will develop the required capacity to overcome these challenges.

‘The Nigerian Air Force no doubt pl
aces high premium on sporting activities through the annual ten kilometer walk, route matches, annual fitness test programme and the just concluded combat sports.

‘This effort certainly underscored the value the service has given to the physical and mental health of its personnel.

‘I encourage you to sustain your drive for personal development, taking cognizance of the fact that human capital remains the most critical component of any organisation, as many studies have shown,’ he said.

The CDS congratulated the participants for the display of resilience and spirit of sportsmanship.

He added that the personnel that participated in the combat sports exhibited sacrifice, discipline, self control, team spirit, tenacity, physical and moral courage, as well as the zeal to win.

According to him, these are the same values that are needed to navigate the armed forces and the wider society through tough and difficult times.

‘As Nigeria passes through this defining moment in its history, our armed forces is requir
ed more often than ever before to deliver on its constitutional mandate of securing our dear country.

‘I enjoy you all, therefore, to sustain and improve upon the ideals which you have displayed this evening,’ he added.

The Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, said having sound physical and mental health was imperative for the armed forces in discharging their constitutional responsibilities.

Abubakar said active participation in sports enabled the personnel to keep physically fit while providing the much-needed outlet to cope with the rigours of military duty.

He added that sports provided a basis for the teamwork needed for troops to function with the necessary cohesion during peacetime military engagements and combat operations.

‘As we all know, warfare is a gruelling experience and the ability to advance long distances with full combat gear through rugged terrains and to fight effectively require strength, agility and stamina from troops.

‘This can only be conditioned through co
mbat sports and rigorous physical fitness training.

‘Hence, active participation in combat sports helps to provide both physiological and psychological benefits that reduce stress, illness and injuries, especially during operations.

‘Accordingly, physical fitness and mental alertness of personnel have become key considerations for the armed forces to meet the increasing demands of current and emerging threats,’ he said.

The CAS said NAF had continued to prioritise the participation of its personnel in sporting activities to enhance the standard and quality of sports and sporting facilities in bases to improve the overall health, well-being and morale of personnel.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the sporting event comprised combat sports, relay races, casualty evacuation race, tug of war, archery and invitation races, amongst others.

The various NAF Commands such as Tactical Air Command, Ground Training Command, Air Training Command, Special Operations Command, Logistics Command, Mobility
Command and NAF Headquarters teams competed.

While the NAF Headquarters emerged the overall winner, the Ground Training Command came second and the Logistics Command came third.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Neem Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO),has called for more humanitarian interventions in the North-West zone of the country, just like the North-East.

Dr Fatima Akilu, the Executive Director, Neem foundation said in an event tagged ‘ Aid Beyond Politics and according to Need: Overcoming Disparities in Humanitarian Responses in Nigeria.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the event, organised by NEEM Foundation in collaboration with the Humanitarian Policy Group at ODI, also unveiled a new research highlighting the disparities in humanitarian response across Nigeria’s Northern Regions.

Akilu said that the research revealed the discrepancies in humanitarian responses between the North-East and North-West.

Akilu said this was in spite of the fact that the two zones were faced with similar humanitarian needs, saying the North-West remained critically underserved compared to the North-East.

‘The study highlights that acute malnutrition in the North-West nearly triples that of th
e North-East, with 64 per cent of surveyed Local Government Areas .

‘This This is reporting ‘serious’ acute malnutrition, compared to 22 per cent in the North-East .”

Akilu said that these disparities according to the report were largely due to differing narratives and perceptions of the conflicts in the two zones.

‘The North-East’s conflict, framed as an ideologically-driven insurgency, has attracted significant domestic and international humanitarian attention.

‘In contrast, the North-West’s crisis is often described as ‘endemic banditry’ or ‘lawlessness,’ leading to its deprioritisation.

‘Here, we understood that while the landscape of aid provision in Nigeria is saturated with positive forces that help make the lives of people better, we also recognised that factors internationally and locally often leave certain demographics marginalised and underrepresented,’ he said.

Akilu said that the foundation sought to understand why this happened, whether aid providers were unaware of the situation.

She s
aid that the research underscored the urgent necessity to address the root causes of crises and to provide equitable, needs-based humanitarian aid across all parts of Nigeria.

Presenting the findings of the report, Mr John Bryant, Research Fellow at the Humanitarian Policy Group and co-author of the new study, said that while the North-East had had a major humanitarian response spanning more than a decade, humanitarian efforts in the North-West had been almost entirely absent.

‘The stark differences are primarily a consequence of how respective conflicts are understood in both regions by the state and humanitarian actors.

‘ The North-East is commonly framed as an ideologically- driven insurgency of Islamic extremism, a compelling narrative of an understandable threat that helped galvanise domestic and international attention, including an international humanitarian response.

‘In contrast, the framing of the conflict in the North-West has worked to effectively depoliticise and deprioritise the region’s cri
sis. State and international actors commonly describe the crisis as one of ‘endemic banditry’ or ‘lawlessness’ driven fundamentally by underdevelopment.

‘Both of these characteristics are incomplete and simplistic, but have shaped the perceptions of donors and other actors that in turn drive discrepancies,’ he said.

Bryant said that the research underscored the need for the global humanitarian system to reassess its prioritisation mechanisms, especially as donor budgets shrink and fewer people were being targeted in humanitarian appeals.

He added that the study emphasised that the solution for the North-West should not mirror the North-East response, instead, it advocates for leveraging local humanitarian capacities and supporting state-level authorities to develop more sustainable and effective interventions.

He said the study recommended that state authorities should be the central actors in delivering protection, services and development interventions for affected people.

Bryant added that the study c
alled on humanitarian actors to uphold humanitarian principles, and assistance must be provided on the basis of need.

He said that lessons could and should be learned from the North-East on the responsibility for facilitating a needs-based and principled humanitarian approach among others.

Ms Meghan Diagle ,Senior Research Fellow at Humanitarian Policy Group, ODI, said that the organization is one of the world’s leading teams working on humanitarian issues.

‘ We are dedicated to improving humanitarian policy and practice through a combination of high-quality analysis, dialogue and debate.

‘The partnership we had with Neem foundation has produced a stronger, more interesting and more relevant piece of research that we could not have produced on our own,’ he said.

Diagle stressed the need for international organisations to support local organisations to address the crisis locally by prioritising the adoption of localised approach to encourage local ownership in addressing the crisis and strengthening respo
nse among others.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, says the ministry has received about 8,925 expressions of interest for the Renewed Hope Estates and Cities housing scheme.

Dangiwa, said this on Friday in Abuja, at the ministerial briefing on the performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the last one year.

According to him, the 8,925 expression of interest comprises 1,294 for outright purchase, 2,408 for mortgage, 2,184 for rent-to-own and 3,039 for instalment payment.

‘Since the inception of the administration of President Bola Tinubu, and the Renewed Hope Housing programme, we have taken pragmatic steps to fast track the sale and occupation of the housing units across the country.

‘We advertised expression of interest forms with four windows of subscription to give room for all income segments of Nigerians, which include outright payment, mortgage, Rent-to-own and instalment.

‘We received a total of 8,925 Expression of Interest. This comprises 1,294 for Outright Purchase, 2,4
08 for Mortgage, 2,184 for Rent-To-Own and 3,039 for Instalment payment.”

Dangiwa recalled that in April, the ministry released the first batch of offer of new provisional allocation letters for outright payment to successful applicants.

He said that under phase one of the renewed hope housing scheme, 50,000 housing units would be delivered across Nigeria adding that the cities would have 1,000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geo-political zones and the FCT.

He said that the estates would have 500 housing units per site in the remaining 30 states.

He said that the ministry recently launched an online housing portal to ease the process of acquiring homes being built under the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Programme.

According to Dangiwa, the target is to strengthen the federal government’s urban and slum upgrading programs aimed at improving living conditions, infrastructure, and basic services in informal settlements.

He said that under the phase one of the slum upgrading pr
ogramme, the ministry planned 26 sites nationwide.

‘This includes four sites in each of the six regions of the country totaling 24 and two in the FCT.

‘The key services to be provided at the identified sites will include water supply, solar streetlights, rehabilitation of access roads, construction of drainages and waste management and sanitation services among others,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Federal Government has said that the construction of 50,000 housing units under phase one of the Renewed Hope Housing Cities and Estates will create over 1.2 million direct and indirect jobs.

The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Ahmed Dangiwa, made this known on Friday in Abuja, at the ministerial briefing on the performance of President Bola Tinubu’s administration in the last one year.

Dangiwa said that the job creation was in addition to the value chain effects of the purchase and supply of building materials, as well as businesses around the construction sites among others.

He explained that the ministry’s vision was to create an efficient housing market where all Nigerians would have the right to a secured, decent, and affordable home as a platform for active participation in economic development.

Dangiwa added that the ministry’s overall strategic action plan was centred on the three core pillars of the Tinubu Renewed Hope Agenda.

He said that the ministry had achieved some major mile
stones in housing in the last one year like the planning and actualisation of the Renewed Hope Cities and Estates Development Programme inaugurated by President Bola Tinubu earlier this year.

According to him, the Renewed Hope Housing Programme is designed to be a catalyst for economic growth, adding that the construction and development of the new areas will generate employment opportunities, stimulate local businesses, and attract investments.

‘From the ministry’s 2024 approved budget, we are also rolling out another batch of Renewed Hope Estates of semi-detached bungalows.

‘To enhance affordability and ease of off take, we used organic designs where one bedroom can be expanded to two-bedrooms and three-bedrooms as the income of beneficiaries increase over time,” he added.

Dangiwa further said that the programme aimed to address social inequality by providing a broad range of affordable ownership options.

He said this included single digit and up to 30 years mortgage loans to be provided by the Federa
l Mortgage Bank of Nigeria.

He said that the other programme included rent-to-own options where beneficiaries could move in and pay towards homeownership in monthly, quarterly, or annual instalments and outright purchase for high income earners.

He disclosed that the government approved the total sum of N126.5 billion from the 2023 supplementary and 2024 budget for the projects including slum upgrade and urban renewal.

The minister explained that the ministry currently had estates in 12 states and three cities nationwide namely Katsina, Yobe, Gombe, Abia, Nasarawa, Benue, Akwa Ibom, Delta, Sokoto, Oyo, Osun, Abuja, Yobe and Lagos..

He revealed that contractors had been mobilised and commenced work to deliver 3,500 units, adding that an MoU had been signed with reputable developers to build 100,000 housing units nationwide.

‘Work has commenced for 3,112 housing units under this public-private-partnership bringing the total number of housing units currently under construction to 6,612’, he said.

Source:
News Agency of Nigeria