Category: General

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in collaboration with the Federal Government on Tuesday repatriated 155 Nigerian irregular migrants stranded across various parts of Libya.

Amb. Kabiru Musa, Charge D’Affaires in charge of the Nigerian Mission in Libya, disclosed this in a statement made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja

According to Musa, the evacuation which has become a continuous and regular exercise under the IOM’s Voluntary Repatriation exercise seeks to ensure the safe return of stranded Nigerian migrants back home.

According to him, it is also, to reintegrate them to the society and to end the menace of irregular migration through sensitisation.

Musa stated that the 155 stranded Nigerians departed Mitiga International Airport, Tripoli, aboard flight NO.UZ0189 on Tuesday and are expected to arrive Nigeria on Tuesday evening.

“With the support of the IOM, today, we carried another repatriation of another 155 stranded Nigerian migrants from Libya which includes; 14 male, 110 females, 23 children and 8 infants.

“The Nigerian Mission in Libya with support from the IOM again secured the release of 139 irregular Nigerian Migrants who were in detention centers in Libya and have facilitated their return home.

“With support from the IOM, the voluntary evacuation exercise has become more regular and this is because the Federal Government is determined not to allow any of its citizens remain stranded abroad.

“Upon arrival, they would be received by relevant authorities who will ensure their reintegration into the society,” Musa said.

Musa also appreciated the Libyan authorities for their support, especially in facilitating the release of the irregular migrants in Libyan detention centers. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The District Governor, Rotary International District 9110, Rotarian Ifeyinwa Ejezie, says the enormous responsibilities to make the earth safer and more resourceful are in the hands of everyone and not just the government.

Ejezie said this in a statement issued after an event to observe the 2023 World Cleanup day organised by the District at Ojuelegba, Lagos on Tuesday.

The District governor, while declaring the day open, reiterated the importance of environmental cleanup, saying; “the exercise will promote a better human health and improve the environment’s socio-economic values.

`The environment is our home, and if not healthy, we will not be healthy either. More importantly, cleaning the environment is the key to the existence and survival of life on earth,” he said.

He thanked the Lagos State Government for its contributions and efforts in ensuring a cleaner environment.

“Lagos State government is trying its best in ensuring a better and cleaner environment and over the years have put much efforts and resources in this regard which are visibly yielding results in many areas.

“However, government cannot do it alone, people must also know that they have to play vital roles in keeping the environment safe and cleaner.

“We owe the earth great responsibilities to make it better. We need to know that it is not proper to throw away waste indiscriminately, but throw away thrash in the proper bins to keep our surroundings clean.

“We must also understand how to reuse and recycle materials to reduce waste and pollution,”he said.

Similarly, the Chair, Support the Environment Committee 2023-24, Delight Sunday-Anicho, said the event is “mainly an advocacy to get people to change their minds about how they deal with the environment which normally cause adverse effect, and the possibility of converting their waste to wealth.

“Earth is our home, let us protect it because it is irreplaceable, hence the need to cherish it.

“Do not block the drains with waste. It is our collective responsibilities and duties to prevent flooding and other environmental hazards,” he said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Rotary International District 9110 comprises all in both Lagos and Ogun State.

The theme for 2023 World Clean Up Day: “Let’s Do It World” is noted for managing solid waste and cleaning up litter from forests, rivers, streets and beaches.

The World Clean Up Day unite millions of volunteers, governments and organisations in 197 countries and territories, to tackle the global waste crisis and to help create a new, more sustainable world.

This year’s event of Rotary International District 9110 World Cleanup Day was supported by the Lagos State Ministry of Environment and Water Resources, Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Nigeria Police Force, among others.

The activities of the day saw Rotarians turning out in their large numbers cleaning the streets of Ojuelegba to Tejuosho Market areas in Lagos. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The UN Women on Tuesday called for an increase in the private sector’s involvement in the promotion of gender equality and women’s empowerment in Nigeria.

The call was made in Lagos, on the sideline of a Private Sector CEOs Meeting with Mr Maxime Houinato, UN Women Regional Director for Central and West Africa, who is on an executive visit to Nigeria.

Houinato lauded the established collaboration between Nigeria’s private sector and the government which he said had so far yielded a 25 million U.S. dollar fund to fight gender-based violence.

This, he said was possible because they acknowledge that gender equality is key for the promotion of the economy.

According to him, both the private sector and government are aware of the crippling effects gender-based violence has on the Nigerian economy.

“We are wasting a tremendous amount of money to address this issue and if it is put off the table, the funds will be available for other developmental projects,” he said.

Houinato also hailed women in business for realising that for them to rise to the top of the difficult environment of business in Nigeria, they need to be professional and collaborative.

“The women have realised that they are going to access spaces when they are professional, strong in business, and side with governments to influence the economic policy of this country.

“To do that, the level of professionalism that they need to demonstrate is very high because the economy in Nigeria is a very competitive place, and they want to earn that place,” he said.

On his part, Mr Lansana Wonneh, UN Women Deputy Country Representative in Nigeria, said gender inequality is one of the biggest challenges to development in Nigeria.

Part of its symptoms, he said, include limited participation of women in governance and gender-based violence.

He said changing the dynamic should not be left to the government or civil society alone, adding that the private sector also has a significant role to play.

“If we all see it as a national cause, then it is important that the private sector also invests.

“If they invest, it has business benefits for them as well,” he said.

Wonneh added that a reduction in gender-based violence would lead to an increase in productivity of half of the population, considering that about 50 per cent of Nigerians are women.

“Eliminating gender based violence will only allow Nigeria to realise the full investment potential and full productivity potential of women,” Wonneh said. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt.-Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, has charged mid-level commanders of the Nigerian Army to lead their subordinates by example in the ongoing effort to mitigate security challenges bedeviling the country.

Lagbaja gave the charge on Tuesday, while delivering a lecture titled, “Crafting My Command Philosophy As Chief of Army Staff, Nigerian Army Within Nigeria’s Contemporary And Emerging Security Environment”, to students of Senior Course 46 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Kaduna.

This is contained in a statement by the Director, Army Public Relations, Brig.-Gen. Onyema Nwachukwu, on Tuesday.

The COAS said that leading by example remained the most reliable leadership style, where the leader models the behaviour he wants to see in his team members.

According to him, when you lead by example, you do not just push team members towards excellence; rather, you actively demonstrate that excellence.

“My command Philosophy is a commitment that I will not ask any of my commanders or Principal Staff Officers, or anyone for that matter, to do what I am unwilling or unable to do personally.

“I equally do not expect my commanders to ask their subordinates to do anything that they are not willing or unable to do,” he said.

Lagbaja added that his expectation was that commanders at all levels should lead by example and propagate such a healthy culture across the Nigerian army, adding that exemplary leadership would correspondingly impact positively on operational efficiency in the ongoing operations.

He said that no stone would be left unturned to ensure that the Nigerian army under his watch remains operationally effective in all its endeavours.

The Commandant of the College, AVM Hassan Alhaji, expressed appreciation to the COAS for practically taking the lead by delivering the lecture in person and sharing his thoughts to guide the officers on the direction he is taking the army.

Alhaji urged the officers to imbibe the leadership qualities espoused by the COAS to sharpen their command capabilities and effectively deliver on assigned tasks.

During a visit to troops of 198 Special Forces Battalion at Afaka in Igabi Local Government Area of Kaduna state, the COAS commended the troops for successfully clearing the insurgents from the Rigasa-Afaka axis of the state.

He enjoined them to sustain the tempo of the ongoing operations to completely clear the insurgents from their hideouts.

He assured the troops that their welfare will take the pride of place under his command. (NAN) (www.namnews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

President Bola Tinubu has called on African leaders to increase investment in African youths toward enhancing socio-economic development of the continent.

Tinubu said this during a Breakfast Launch of the Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF) Impact Report, held on the margin of the 78th United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) meeting in New York.

The report has the title, “The Tony Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Programme: A Decade of Impact”.

The report highlights the significant contribution of the TEF’s flagship 100 million dollars Entrepreneurship Programme in advancing Africa’s socio-economic development.

The programme was organised by TEF, United Nations Development Fund (UNDP) and United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) GEN-U, a global partnership to skill and connect young people to opportunities in education, employment and social impact.

Tinubu, represented by the Minister for Trade and Industry, Doris Uzoka-Anite, said that African leaders aren’t doing enough for the citizens as regards socio-economic development.

“I don’t think we are doing enough as Africans for Africa. I think we need to do a lot more.

“Tony Elumelu is the major person driving investment in SMEs, supporting the youths, entrepreneurship, and start-ups. We need to challenge ourselves more, go a bit further.

“Africa has some of the richest people on the planet, we have a resource rich continent, a huge population of young people, and I think that we need to take that challenge upon ourselves as Africans, to support one another,” he said.

Tinubu said that Africa should desist from its reliance on donor funding, noting that such should support what had already been established and not show Africans the way to do things.

He noted that Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were the engines of Nigeria and African economic growth, adding that they contributed almost half of the national GDP, and more than 80 per cent of employment.

“And this is why we owe them every support that we can make available,” he said.

Tinubu added that the right infrastructure which includes regulations, property rights, access to justice, protection from unfair competition, power, roads and ports access would be provided.

Similarly, Mr Tony Elumelu, Chairman, TEF, noted that the foundation took a bold step to transform Africa 13 years ago, by enhancing entrepreneurship development and galvanise African solutions.

Elumelu noted that TEF had lit a beacon, noting that support and collaboration was required to make the beacon shine brighter and better.

“100 million dollars is a drop of water in the ocean compared to what we need in Africa. Young Africans need economic support.

“We’ve seen the devastating effect of climate change, how our young ones due to hopelessness are migrating and living in difficult situations. We want to put a stop to that,” he said.

To achieve that, Elumelu called for collaboration and increased investment in young Africans, bringing more women to economic activities and alleviating poverty.

“Poverty anywhere is a threat to all of us everywhere,” he said.

Earlier, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Somachi Chris-Asoluka, said TEF had empowered young African entrepreneurs from all the 54 African countries.

Chris-Asoluka noted that TEF had surpassed its target and funded 18,000 entrepreneurs and disbursed over 100 million dollars, directly, as seed capital to entrepreneurs who had created over 400 thousand jobs across African countries.

She said that 91 per cent of businesses supported by the foundation were still active, generating significant revenue of over 2.3 million dollars and creating jobs.

According to her, the foundation has boosted gender representation, noting that the goal is to create a brighter and inclusive future for Africa.

Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, Assistant Administrator and Regional Director for Africa, UNDP, said UNDP partnered TEF due to shared interest that drives development across Africa and globally.

Eziakonwa noted that Africans wealth was its population which constitutes 70 per cent of young, vibrant and innovative Africans.

“It is our loss if we don’t invest in them because that is the future of prosperity,” she said.

She called for enhanced collaboration and investment to strengthen economic development of African youths.

Also, Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, said that TEF’s work aligns with Lagos State programmes on economic empowerment and poverty reduction.

Sanwo-Olu said that collaborative efforts must evolve, to enhance the scale of Impact to deepen inclusion, equity and fairness. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Minister of Defence, Mohammed Badaru, has praised the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) for providing a formidable air power in the ongoing joint operations in defence of Nigeria.

He stated this at the graduation of participants of the Air War College (AWC) Course 9/2023, on Tuesday in Makurdi, Benue.

This is contained in a statement by the Director of Public Relations and Information, NAF, Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, on Tuesday in Abuja.

The minister said that NAF had over the years, continued to attract tremendous goodwill and credibility to the nation through the provision of airlift and humanitarian support for the United Nations, African Union and friendly African countries.

Represented by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Christopher Musa, the minister said that NAF’s premium on operational art, critical thinking and other pragmatic frameworks for military decision-making processes in the curriculum of the AWC would, no doubt, enhance the culture of proactiveness in operational planning and management in the NAF.

This, according to him, is indispensable to ensuring national security which is pivotal to the socio-economic development of the nation.

Badaru also commended the NAF personnel who continued to contribute immensely to the successes of ongoing joint operations.

“I must also place on record that the NAF has been playing significant and crucial roles in the ongoing counter-insurgency and counter-terrorism operations where its officers and airmen have performed gallantly,” he said.

Gov. Hyacinth Alia of Benue State, commended the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) for their efforts towards peace restoration in the country.

Alia also expressed appreciation to the NAF for their efforts at sustaining and maintaining peace and security in the state.

According to him, the presence of the NAF in Makurdi gives the people of Benue a sense of security and an assurance of their safety.

In his remarks, the Chief of the Air Staff (CAS), Air Marshal Hasan Abubakar, described the graduation of another set of participants of the AWC as a major stride in human capacity development in the Service.

Abubakar said that capacity development was critical to the fulfilment of NAF’s constitutional mandate, adding that the NAF would be inducting additional platforms before the end of the year to boost training, air power employment and projection.

According to him, these platforms include two Agusta 109 Trekker Multi-role helicopters, two Beechcraft King Air 360, three Diamond DA-62 surveillance aircrafts and six T-129 ATAK helicopters.

“Other pending acquisitions include two CASA 295 medium airlift/surveillance aircraft, 12 AH-1Z attack helicopters and 24 x M-346 attack aircraft.

“These acquisitions demonstrate government’s deep commitment to equipping the NAF for the safe conduct of training and agile airpower employment to meet the nation’s security challenges,” he said.

Abubakar thanked President Bola Tinubu for his unwavering support to the NAF in equipment procurement and training, which had enabled it to maintain consistency in conducting operations to curtail contemporary threats.

He said the war college had played important role in enhancing synergy in the ongoing operations, noting that institutions like the war colleges must continue to produce officers with broad understanding and beliefs in joint operations.

He said the successes so far recorded in ongoing joint operations signified the benefits and necessity of joint force employment in contemporary military operations.

The CAS added that the defence and service headquarters must continue to work towards eradicating all impediments to joint operational planning and execution to optimise combat strength of joint forces in operations.

He said the AWC had since inception, been consistent in fulfilling its mandate of developing the capacity of middle cadre officers in the AFN in leadership and effective employment of air power.

He said the emphasis placed on critical thinking and its application to operational planning as well as net assessment and future studies had greatly enhanced the quality of the course content, while attracting wider patronage from other services and friendly nations.

Earlier, the Commandant of the College, AVM Abayomi Kehinde, said the college course curriculum as well as those of the Army and Naval War Colleges were harmonised by the DHQ to promote synergy.

Kehinde said that participants at the three war colleges had since the harmonisation of the curriculums, converged on Abuja to conduct a joint operational planning exercise nicknamed EXERCISE SKYLOCK annually.

He said the exercise was aimed at promoting inter-service synergy and collaboration as well as interoperability at the operational level within the armed forces.

Kehinde expressed optimism that the knowledge gained by the participants from their exposure to joint operations planning and execution would broaden their knowledge as well as strengthen their understanding of unified and multi-agency approaches to the conduct of warfare, crisis management and resolution.

He said the participants comprised one Cameroonian officer, two Nigerian Army officers and two Naval Officers.

“It is a clear testament that the college was indeed a tri-service as well as a multi-national institution,” he added. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria