Nigerian Newspapers
How humanitarian crisis stares .5m children in the North
More than half a million children in northern Nigeria face severe malnutrition this year in a humanitarian crisis that has largely gone unnoticed because of ongoing conflict in the region, aid agencies say.
Violent clashes between insurgents and Nigeria’s security forces in 11 northern states have forced thousands of people to flee to neighbouring countries in search of food, shelter and livelihoods.
Aid organisations are finding it difficult to reach the millions who remain. So far, only four international relief organisations have been able to help some of the estimated 55 million people at risk, half of whom live in poverty.
“If this was happening in other African countries, the world would sit up and pay attention,” said Choice Okoro, Head of Mission in Nigeria for the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA).
“We tend to forget that we’re talking about people, not percentages. Just five percent of the Nigerian population is equivalent to a quarter of the population of any other West African country,” she told Thomson Reuters Foundation by telephone.
Aid workers are particularly worried by high levels of severe acute malnutrition (SAM) – defined by the World Health Organisation as a very low weight for height, visible severe wasting, or the presence of nutritional fluid retention or oedema.
“To put things into perspective, Niger, which usually has the worst malnutrition in the Sahel, is expected to have 290,000 cases of SAM by the end of this year. Nigeria will have almost double that,” said Cyprien Fabre, Head of the Regional Support Office at the Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department of the European Commission (ECHO).
“Only 60 percent of the children affected by severe acute malnutrition (SAM) will receive treatment. A further 900,000 children will suffer from moderate acute malnutrition this year, a loose indication of the level of food security in the region,” he added.
Signs of an unfolding humanitarian crisis were already present five years ago, around the time of the 2008 Sahel Food Crisis, aid workers say. In the south of Niger, where ECHO was running malnutrition programmes, many of the children seeking treatment were coming from northern Nigeria, relief workers said.
“It was clear to see that things were bad across the border, but there were no international aid agencies in northern Nigeria, so nobody could assess the situation,” said Fabre.
Aid has been slow reaching the affected populations in Nigeria due to a lack of security and for political reasons.
“There is the notion that Nigeria has the capacity in terms of financial means – it’s an oil producing country. That’s true, but what is needed is technical assistance to ensure effective intervention when emergencies happen,” said UNOCHA’s Okoro.
A new ECHO delegation due to start work in September will provide part of that technical assistance and will also lobby to push malnutrition and food security higher up the national agenda.
In addition, ECHO has already given $ 11.6 million in 2013 – more than five times the $ 2.25 million it gave in 2008 – directly to partner organisations on the ground to pay for ready-to-use therapeutic foods (RUTF) such as peanut paste, which are high in energy and nutrients.
However, one key organisation is sorely missed. Normally, with moderate malnutrition and food insecurity of a scale seen in northern Nigeria, the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) would be the first to respond, said a senior UN official who asked to remain anonymous.
“The Nigerian government is very proud and sensitive towards the involvement of WFP, as this implies that the government cannot take care of its own people,” the official told Thomson Reuters Foundation. “There was talk of an all-Nigerian WFP office, but this was rejected by WFP due to concerns over corruption,” he said.
“The Nigerian Red Cross is working on the ground in these areas, but if you don’t have WFP involved in this scale of humanitarian crisis, then that’s a huge problem,” he added.
A growing insurgency and a heavy-handed response by the state have exacerbated the humanitarian situation in the three North-eastern states of Adamawa, Yobe and Borno, said Lucy Freeman, Deputy Africa Director for Amnesty International.
In mid-May, President Goodluck Jonathan declared a state of emergency and launched an offensive in the North-east against the Islamist sect Boko Haram, which is responsible for much of the insurgency.
“People are trapped in the north of the country. Their mobile phones have been cut off and there is very restricted movement in the area, so that has had a detrimental effect on people’s ability to live, eat and trade … to survive,” said Freeman in a telephone interview.
Local people are terrified of Boko Haram, but many feel safer with them in charge than at the hands of the security forces as they know where they stand.
“People are afraid of the security forces. There is no confidence that those arrested are the ones responsible for the attacks. Hundreds and hundreds of people have been detained and have effectively disappeared,” said Freeman.
“Earlier this year, there were reports of a large number of bodies deposited at the Maduiguri mortuary by the Joint Task Force [of the Nigerian military and security services]. Nobody knows who these people are, where they have come from or why they were killed,” she added.
“It’s a difficult situation for the Nigerian government, but they don’t seem to be moving quickly to resolve the problem. Instead, it seems like the conflict is being displaced into other areas rather than actually being stopped,” added Freeman.
(Source: Reuters)
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Tribune Online
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has recorded 62 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 165,110. The NCDC disclosed this on its official Twitter handle on Friday. “55 new cases of #COVID19Nigeria; Lagos-21, Yobe-19, Ogun-6, Akwa Ibom-3, Kaduna-2, Plateau-2, FCT-1, Rivers-1.” YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE COVID-19: Nigeria Recorded […]
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
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Sourced From: Tribune Online
•Deploy more personnel as army chief vows to wipe out terror group
•Security beefed up at N’Assembly
Deji Elumoye and Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja
Abuja, Nigeria’s seat of power, is under a massive security cordon following threats of attacks by insurgents and the increasing wave of banditry in the contiguous states of Kaduna, Kogi, Nasarawa and Niger States, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.
There has been a wave of kidnappings in the outskirts of the federal capital, notably Pegi, Tuganmaje and Kuje among others, which the police have battled in recent times.
The security situation in and around the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) was heightened by the pronouncement of the Niger State Governor, Mr. Sani Bello, that Boko Haram fighters who he said sacked 50 villages in the state and hoisted the terror group’s flag, were about two hours drive away from the FCT.
Security has also been beefed up at the National Assembly as operatives, yesterday, thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja.
The deteriorating security situation nationwide prompted the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Uche Secondus, to warn that the 2023 general election may not hold, demanding the declaration of a state of emergency as well as the convocation of a national conference.
However, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, yesterday restated the Nigerian Army’s determination to annihilate Boko Haram.
But the Governor of Katsina State, Hon. Bello Masari, cautioned against declaring a state of emergency, saying doing so isn’t the solution to combat the security challenges facing the country.
The security of the nation’s airports was also in focus yesterday as the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) said there was no threat to them.
THISDAY’s investigations showed increased presence of troops, police, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) personnel and intelligence operatives at the three strategic entrances to the city notably, Keffi, Zuba and Gwagwalada.
More checkpoints were also mounted around Gwagwalada and Keffi.
THISDAY also observed increased intelligence deployment at the entrance and the borders of FCT with contiguous states.
Beyond the borders, there were more deployments and police patrols inside the city and increased intelligence deployments as well.
Security sources told THISDAY: “There are deployments here and there but they are routine. Alertness is key to a secure environment.”
It was also learnt that security agencies were involved in frenzied meetings throughout yesterday.
The meetings, coordinated by the office of the Chief of Defence Staff under the new joint operational strategy of the armed forces, were aimed at coordinating a joint response to possible threats of attack to the FCT.
“I understand the security teams have been meeting for some days now and if you look around you, you will notice that there are increasing patrols and numbers of security personnel. The threats are not been taken lightly,” a source said.
National Assembly workers, lawmakers and visitors also had a harrowing experience accessing the legislative complex due to heightened security in the area.
Security operatives thoroughly screened every vehicle approaching the National Assembly complex in Abuja, impeding both human and vehicular traffic.
The Sergeant-at-arm of the National Assembly and other security agencies supervised the operations, leading to huge traffic build-up inside the complex.
Legislative staff, visitors and lawmakers were seen patiently waiting for their cars to be searched so that they could go ahead with the business of the day.
Some staff and visitors at some point got tired of waiting and were seen alighting from their cars to trek from the gate to the complex.
Meanwhile, the ONSA has said there is no threat to the nation’s airports.
A statement by the Head of Strategic Communication, Mr. Zachari Usman, said the reports of threats to the airports were an internal correspondence of security threat assessment misconstrued as security threat to the airports.
PDP Demands State of Emergency
In a related development, the PDP National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, yesterday demanded the declaration of a state of emergency, warning that the 2023 general election might not hold if the federal government failed to tackle insecurity.
He called on the federal government to summon a national conference to address the spike in insecurity.
Secondus added that the national caucus of the party will meet today to discuss the state of the nation.
Addressing members of the National Executive Committee (NEC) in Abuja, Secondus said: “We are worried Abuja is not even safe. It is no longer politics. We got alert of plots to bomb and burn down our airports.
“We urge the federal government to declare a national state of emergency in security. There is the need to call a national conference to discuss the insecurity in the country.
“There may not be any election in 2023 in Nigeria due to insecurity. This government must listen to the people. The Buhari government should call a national confab to discuss security and state of the nation. It is no longer politics. This time we are not playing politics. Let’s keep politics aside and move the nation forward.”
He said the country had been grounded, regretting that there had been no matching response from the federal government.
Secondus said in the past, terrorism in the North was confined to the North-east, but with the report of Boko Haram occupying villages in Niger State, terrorism had spread to the North-central
“Herdsmen are also menacing in the West; gunmen causing havoc in the East; and the militants in the South; all killing, looting, raping, maiming and burning down homes. The situation is bad; Nigerians all over are living in fear,” he said.
The Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said the problem of Nigeria was outside of the PDP headquarters, while pledging the support of the Senate to the declaration of state of emergency in security.
Abaribe said he deliberately decided not to speak on the floor of the Senate but to allow the APC senators to speak so as to avoid being accused of giving a partisan colouration to the issue of insecurity.
He stated that only electoral reforms would give victory to the opposition party in the 2023 general election and ensure a democratic defeat of the APC-led federal government.
Also, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, commended the NEC and the PDP leadership for their collective efforts at resolving the House leadership crisis.
The NEC meeting adopted the position of Secondus, calling on the federal government to convoke a national conference to discuss the state of insecurity in the country, according to a communiqué read by the National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Ologbondiyan.
Army Chief Vows to Wipe Out Boko Haram
The army yesterday reiterated its commitment to wipe out Boko Haram.
Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lt. Gen. Ibrahim Attahiru, told reporters in Maiduguri, Borno State that Boko Haram had been defeated in many encounters and would continue to be defeated until it’s annihilated from Nigeria.
“We will take on Boko Haram decisively, and we are committed to the focus of the operations, which is the total annihilation of Boko Haram from Nigeria,” he said.
The COAS, who was visiting the headquarters of Operation Lafiya Dole in Maiduguri for the fifth time since his appointment four months ago, said the visit was to boost the morale of the troops, reassure them and listen to any issues affecting them.
Earlier, the Theatre Commander of Operation Lafiya Dole, Maj. Gen. Farouq Yahaya, lauded the visit, which he said had continued to boost the morale of the troops.
“We are honoured, we are grateful, we are encouraged by those visits. You provided us guidance, logistics and other things we required. We are most grateful for those visits,” Yahaya said.
State of Emergency Won’t Solve Security Challenges, Says Masari
Katsina State Governor, Hon. Aminu Masari, has, however, said declaration of a state of emergency won’t solve the security challenges facing the nation.
Masari, who spoke yesterday with journalists after meeting with the Chief of Staff to the President, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari at the State House, Abuja stated that he was against the recent call by the House of Representatives for the declaration of a state of emergency in the security sector as it would not solve the problem.
According to him, declaring a state of emergency will not achieve the desired effect as the security structure and personnel to be used to execute the emergency are already overstretched in a bid to safeguard lives and property.
Sourced From: THISDAYLIVE
Kamaru Usman has raked in a mammoth £1.1million, about N584.2 million after his impressive knockout victory over Jorge Masvidal on Saturday night, Sportivation.com.ng reports.
The Nigerian Nightmare has been handsomely rewarded for his stunning performance and he was the best-paid fighter on the card which was witnessed by 15, 000 fans in Florida.
According to Daily Mail, Usman earned £538,000 to show up, £459,000 pay-per-view bonus, a £43,000 sponsorship bonus and a well deserved £35,000 Performance of the Night bonus.
Jorge Masvidal also earned £358,000 to show, £186,000 in pay-per-view money and a £28,000 sponsorship bonus.
This is the biggest payday of Usman’s career so far and the Welterweight champion also benefited from the fact that Masvidal is also a top draw for the fans.
Kamaru Usman is a Nigerian-American professional mixed martial artist, former freestyle wrestler and graduated folkstyle wrestler.
Sourced From: Latest Nigeria News, Nigerian Newspapers, Politics
The government said that no worker should stay back beyond 6:00 p.m. within premises of buildings undergoing construction.
The post Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings appeared first on Premium Times Nigeria.
Sourced From: Premium Times Nigeria
Nigeria records 55 new COVID-19 infections, total now 165,110
Military, Police Ring Abuja to Forestall Boko Haram Attack
UFC: Usman gets N584m after beating Masvidal
Insecurity: Lagos bans occupation of abandoned buildings
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