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For decades, Nigeria’s official response to escalating poverty has relied heavily on the machinery of temporary social safety nets, from conditional cash transfers and subsidized grain distributions to emergency palliative stipends. While short-term humanitarian relief can cushion vulnerable households against acute economic shocks, treating cash handouts as a substantive national strategy is an exercise in ...
Nigeria’s worsening food crisis has exposed an uncomfortable contradiction at the heart of the country’s economic reforms: government revenues are rising, yet millions of Nigerians remain unable to afford adequate food. An estimated 36.3 million Nigerians are facing crisis-level food insecurity or worse, according to the latest Food Security Monitor by the Alliance for a ...
Food security is often discussed in Nigeria as though the central challenge were simply getting more Nigerians to cultivate more land. Governments announce agricultural programmes, distribute inputs, encourage farmers to increase production and set ambitious targets for domestic food supply. Yet the foundations of a productive agricultural economy are laid long before a farmer plants ...
The rescue of 308 kidnapped Nigerians from captivity in Kwara and Niger states stands as one of the most significant security breakthroughs in recent years. According to the Presidency, the intelligence-led operation, carried out by the military, the Department of State Services (DSS), the police and other security agencies, represents the largest single-day rescue of ...
Nigeria's worsening security challenges have exposed a truth that has been decades in the making; that is, no nation can expect its armed forces to defend it effectively while neglecting the welfare, professionalism and institutional capacity of those entrusted with that responsibility. President Bola Tinubu's approval of a substantial salary increase for military personnel is ...
If the first chapter of a nation's security crisis is written in the shock of unexpected violence, the second is defined by how authority responds when the smoke clears. In recent weeks, Nigerians witnessed a rare and welcome glimpse of swift state action. The rapid operation that led to the rescue of a kidnapped judge ...
Every fresh kidnapping, terrorist assault or massacre presents government with another opportunity to reassure the public that security agencies are responding decisively. Those assurances have become familiar. What has become equally familiar is the steady procession of fresh attacks that follow them. The cycle has endured for years, cutting across administrations, regions and security commands, ...
The Federal Government's decision to adopt a household mapping strategy to identify and return an estimated 15 million out-of-school children to classrooms is a welcome recognition that Nigeria cannot solve a crisis it has yet to fully understand. Accurate data is the foundation of sound policy, and any serious effort to rescue millions of children ...
Nigeria's latest budget implementation figures have once again drawn attention to an uncomfortable truth about the country's public finances. While the Federal Government has defended its economic reforms as laying the foundation for long-term stability, the disclosure that it borrowed ₦12.62 trillion in 2024, overshooting its approved borrowing target by ₦4.79 trillion, should concern policymakers ...
The reported death of a young Nigerian following an alleged assault by South African police officers, alongside renewed xenophobic attacks against Nigerians and other African nationals, has once again exposed a troubling reality that the continent has yet to confront with the determination it demands. The incident has rekindled painful memories of previous outbreaks of ...
The release of 23 inmates from correctional facilities in Rivers State through a judicial decongestion exercise deserves commendation. For the beneficiaries and their families, it marks the end of prolonged uncertainty and offers an opportunity to rebuild lives interrupted by incarceration. It also demonstrates the determination of judicial authorities to ease the burden on overcrowded ...
The conclusion of the Independent National Electoral Commission's Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise marks another significant step towards the 2027 general election. As the registration window closes, national attention should shift from the number of new names added to the voters' register to a far more consequential question: will Nigerians who have registered have sufficient ...
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's approval for the expansion of the Nigerian Army from eight to twelve divisions marks one of the most ambitious military restructuring exercises in recent years. Coupled with the recruitment of 28,000 additional personnel and sustained investment in equipment, operational readiness and troop welfare, the decision reflects an acknowledgement that Nigeria's security ...
From widespread allegations of technical glitches and disenfranchisement to post-election petitions and calls for cancellation, the recurring friction in Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) elections reflects the very afflictions that undermine confidence in Nigeria’s general elections. Regarded widely regarded as the conscience of the nation, yet, when the legal association conducts its own national elections, the ...
By Iswell Emmanuel Every thriving economy has an invisible heartbeat. It is not found in towering skyscrapers, oil wells, glittering markets or busy seaports. It is found in the ease with which money moves. A random Nigerian trader may produce the finest fabric, a software developer may build world class applications, and a farmer may ...
Few episodes reveal the scale of a national challenge as vividly as the alleged extortion of the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), by four police officers in Abuja. According to the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, the officers allegedly deserted their assigned duty posts, ...
The Federal Government's decision to establish a $500 million Niger Delta Agricultural Investment Fund marks an ambitious effort to reshape the economic future of one of Nigeria's most strategically significant regions. Announced by Vice-President Kashim Shettima during the Niger Delta Investment Summit in Abuja, the initiative is designed to mobilise public, private and multilateral financing ...
The Federal Government's decision to suspend the proposed increase in registration fees for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) and the National Examination Council (NECO) examinations has brought welcome relief to millions of Nigerian families already struggling with the rising cost of living. At a time when inflation continues to erode household incomes ...
For 56 agonising days, the fate of the pupils, teachers and bus driver abducted in Oyo State remained a source of anxiety for their families and the nation. Their eventual rescue through what security agencies described as a carefully planned intelligence-led operation is undoubtedly a welcome development. Every Nigerian should celebrate the safe return of ...
Nigeria's condemnation of the killing of two of its citizens during the latest outbreak of anti-migrant violence in South Africa has revived concerns over a cycle of diplomatic protests that has accompanied similar incidents for more than two decades. Each resurgence of xenophobic attacks appears to follow a familiar pattern. Lives are cut short, businesses ...
Nigeria’s recurring battle with institutional impersonation has taken a more troubling turn, not merely because a fictitious presidential council existed, but because it appears to have operated for a time from within the very heart of federal administration. The Presidency has now confirmed that the so-called “Presidential Foreign Intervention Promotion Council” is entirely fictitious, while ...
Children sitting for a public examination ought to be preoccupied with recalling formulas, analysing passages and writing essays that will shape their future. They should not be calculating escape routes or wondering whether armed men will storm their classrooms. Yet that was the cruel reality in Borno State on Monday, when gunmen attacked Lassa Day ...
Nigerians awoke this week to yet another series of grim reports from Plateau, Kebbi and Kogi states. At least 20 people were killed in an attack on Kawel community in Plateau State, while separate incidents in Kebbi and Kogi left more people dead and others abducted. Although the locations differ, the underlying story remains the ...
The Federal Government's decision to resume mass terrorism trials involving more than 600 suspects ranks among the most significant developments in Nigeria's security landscape this year. According to the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, about 600 suspects are expected to face trial under the fourth phase of the current administration's ...
As Nigeria inches closer to restructuring its internal security architecture, the long-debated concept of sub-national law enforcement is finally moving from political rhetoric to legislative reality. Amidst the predictable wave of uncritical optimism from various state executives, a sober masterclass in pragmatic governance was recently delivered by the former Governor of Lagos State and Minister ...
