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The Allamin Foundation for Peace and Development has reported improved acceptance of people returning from the Boko Haram insurgency in Borno State, with some women rebuilding their lives through businesses and children gaining access to formal education.

The foundation’s Executive Secretary, Hamsatu Allamin, disclosed this on Tuesday at the organisation’s end-line reflection and learning workshop in Maiduguri, where stakeholders reviewed efforts to promote reintegration and prevent violent extremism.

Allamin said some women who previously faced rejection were now running businesses and earning the trust of community members.

She recalled that when the foundation began its interventions about six years ago, some women returning from areas affected by the insurgency faced exclusion, even in internally displaced persons’ camps, and struggled to gain acceptance in host communities.

She said attitudes had changed in some communities, citing the example of a returnee whose business was attracting customers and helping her build relationships with residents.

According to Allamin, the progress highlighted the importance of combining economic support with efforts to change community attitudes towards returnees.

On education, she said the foundation had engaged relevant authorities to help children returning from areas affected by the insurgency gain admission to formal schools.

She added that the foundation followed up with schools and teachers to support the children’s integration and monitor their attendance.

The workshop reviewed the foundation’s programme on stability, reintegration and resilience against violent extremism in Borno State, including its achievements, challenges and lessons for future interventions.

Allamin said the programme had documented good practices and recommendations to guide government agencies, civil society organisations and other stakeholders working to reintegrate returnees and prevent violent extremism.

She urged the media to share the lessons learnt and amplify the voices of victims, survivors and vulnerable people affected by the insurgency.

‘Cooperation among communities, religious leaders, government institutions, civil society organisations and the media was essential to building trust and sustaining reintegration efforts’ she explained.

She said involving stakeholders in planning, implementing and reviewing interventions helped them identify challenges and agree on areas for improvement.

Allamin added that the programme had sensitised communities on how to identify early warning signs of violent extremism and respond to emerging concerns.

She urged communities to accept returnees and give them the opportunity to rebuild their lives, stressing the need for peaceful coexistence.

She also commended the Borno State Government and other stakeholders for supporting the initiative.

Hon. Olatunde Gideon Igbasan, Director-General of the APC Youth Network West Africa, has intensified efforts to mobilise young people and strengthen support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s 2027 re-election bid with his participation in a peace walk in Cape Town, South Africa.

The peace walk, held around Sea Point, was organised by the South Africa chapter of the APC Youth Network West Africa to promote peaceful political participation and rally support for President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 General Elections.

Igbasan, who is also a member of the Youth Mobilisation Directorate of the PBAT/APC 2027 Presidential Campaign, used the event to reinforce the network’s commitment to expanding its reach across West Africa and among Nigerians and APC supporters in the diaspora.

The participation of the APC youth mobilisation chief underscored the organisation’s efforts to unite young people and support groups across national boundaries behind a common political agenda.

Under Igbasan’s leadership, the network has strengthened its structures in Nigeria, Ghana, Togo, Benin Republic, Côte d’Ivoire and South Africa.

Beyond political mobilisation, the organisation has also pursued youth development and humanitarian initiatives, including food outreach programmes, support for mothers and student-focused interventions.

The Cape Town peace walk also highlighted the network’s rallying message, ‘We Are One,’ which promotes unity, cooperation and collective commitment among APC support groups at home and abroad.

According to the organisation, youth mobilisation goes beyond electioneering to include building sustainable structures, encouraging responsible political participation and creating opportunities for young people to contribute to Nigeria’s development.

The event also recognised the contributions of the South Africa chapter, coordinated by Hon. Samuel Tabiti Adeyemi, towards strengthening the organisation’s diaspora engagement and expanding its mobilisation activities.

With the 2027 General Elections approaching, the APC Youth Network West Africa said it would continue to expand its presence, deepen youth participation and strengthen collaboration among supporters within Nigeria and across the diaspora.

The organisation also reaffirmed its commitment to its mobilisation campaign under the slogan: ‘Strong and Reliable! This Is Our Time! Across West Africa! We Are One.’

Stakeholders from the South-South region, comprising youths, students and community leaders, have challenged critics of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project to visit the site and assess the level of work before forming opinions about the project.

The stakeholders spoke during an on-the-spot inspection of sections of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, where they toured the project alignment and inspected ongoing construction works between the Cross River and Akwa Ibom sections of the Coastal highway.

The inspection was led by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Community Engagement, South-South, Hon. Gift Johnbull, who said the visit was designed to enable stakeholders to see the project for themselves rather than rely solely on reports in the mainstream and social media.

Johnbull, who is also the South-South Zonal Director for Infrastructure Mobilisation and Sensitisation for the 2027 Presidential Campaign, described the inspection as an act of patriotism, saying the participants wanted to form informed opinions based on what they saw on the ground.

She said the South-South region deserved the coastal highway because of its potential to facilitate trade, commerce and economic activities across the Niger Delta, adding that the region had long clamoured for such infrastructure.

According to her, the project demonstrates the political will of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration, as well as the expertise of the Minister of Works, Senator Dave Umahi, and the technology deployed by the contractor.

Johnbull rejected the argument that the swampy terrain of the Niger Delta made it impossible to construct durable roads, citing other delta regions around the world where major road infrastructure had been successfully developed.

She appealed to South-South residents to visit the project sites and independently assess the work, rather than ‘fight what we need and what we want,’ stressing that the region should support infrastructure capable of driving its economic development.

Also speaking, SA Student Affairs to the Governor, Otu/Convener, Community of Comrades South-South, Comrade Joseph-Kelvin Enyam, said the group embarked on the inspection after hearing conflicting narratives about the project.

Eyam stated that the group, mainly composed of various student unions, was especially driven by allegations that the coastal highway ended near Lagos. However, the physical evidence they found during their inspection contradicted these claims.

He said the group was impressed by the progress of work, including the employment of youths around the project area, and urged South-South residents to take ownership of projects capable of transforming the region.

On his part, Hi-Tech Site Engineer for Section 3B, Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway Project, Charbel Karam, said about 6.5 kilometres of the inspected section had been completed, with CRCP, streetlights, walkways, V-drains and box culverts completed.

Karam added that another six-kilometre section had also been completed, while work was continuing on a swampy portion of the alignment, expressing optimism that the remaining work would be completed within the next few months.

Providing update on technical progress, the Controller of Works, Federal Ministry of Works, Engineer Okuduwa Vincent, said approximately nine kilometres of the route had reached the CRCP stage, while Section 3A had recorded about 18 per cent completion.

Vincent said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway had an overall length of about 750 kilometres, dismissing claims that its alignment had been abandoned. He explained that an additional connection to the East-West Road was being provided without cancelling the existing coastal highway alignment.

He disclosed that about 90 per cent of compensation had been paid to affected persons in Akwa Ibom, while the remaining payments were linked to a proposed realignment necessitated by difficult swamp terrain.

Vincent said the Cross River section covered 30 kilometres, while the Akwa Ibom section covered 41 kilometres, bringing the two sections to 71 kilometres, and assured that work was ongoing on both sections.