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The Senior Special Assistant to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Industrial Training and Employment, Hon. Adamson Oluwatosin Ayinde has described the food production, processing and distribution sector as pivotal to job creation and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) growth that Nigeria needs for economic development and sustainability.

Speaking in Lagos on Thursday during the 2025 World Food Day organised by Spectra Industries Nigeria Limited, Ayinde noted that the government alone cannot achieve food security and industrial prosperity without the concerted efforts of private sectors and other innovative minds.

The SSA said the theme of 2025 World Food Day, ‘Hand in Hand for Better Food and a Better Future’ aligned with the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Tinubu who emphasised inclusive growth through synergy among government, industry and community.

He assured the food processing sector and similar stakeholders of the readiness of his office to develop a structured industrial training programme, for food processes, packaging, safety and equipment maintenance so that Nigerian youths and MSMEs can produce competitive products for both local and export markets.

‘As the office of the SSA to the President on Industrial Training and Employment, our mandate is to build the competent and technical workforce capable of driving Nigeria production and transformation, as we mark this year World Food Day, let us remember that the future of Nigeria food system depends on the policy of our human capital’, he said..

In his welcome address, the chairman of Spectra Industries Nigeria Limited, Chief Duro Kuteyi said the Food Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has set aside 16 October every year to celebrate globally and create awareness on why nutritional foods should be made available to people without leaving anyone behind.

He noted that the theme of the year 2025 World Food Day reminded everyone that eating nutritional foods is essential to healthy living and a better future.

Kuteyi expressed optimism that recent sharp declines in food inflation rate from 21.87 percent in August to 16.87 in September signaled that food security is coming on the way in Nigeria, adding that food processing expansion in Nigeria will make food available throughout the year at uniform price.

Reeling out a litany of challenges facing the food processing sector in Nigeria, the food technologist impressed on the federal government to make infrastructural development a priority and make lower interest rate loans available for MSMEs through Bank of Industry and other commercial banks.

Also speaking the Executive Director of Spectra Industries Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Modupe Kuteyi highlighted the significance of World Food Day and the need to eat good food to prevent malnutrition.

Mrs. Kuteyi noted that market competition with multinationals’ companies who have larger capital has been toughest challenges for the food processing sector facing in Nigeria, but her company is able to stay afloat because of the company’s sturdy stance on quality.

For Dr. Tony Bello, founder of USA based Shine Bridge Global Incorporated, to create jobs and drive entrepreneurship in any country requires strong investment in value addition.

He encouraged Nigerians to embrace diaspora talents, saying there are many Nigerians in diaspora willing to invest in the people to allow both local and diaspora talents transform and translate strategies into products, real and ready to eat consumer foods.

Gunmen on Friday evening attacked a police station in Zonkwa, headquarters of Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State, killing at least two officers.

The incident, which occurred around 8 pm, threw the usually quiet town into confusion as residents scampered for safety amid heavy gunshots

Eyewitnesses said the assailants stormed the police station located a few metres from Kamyim Hotel in Kurmin-Bi area of Zonkwa, and opened fire on arrival.

It was learnt that the attackers were trying to free some suspected vandals earlier arrested in Kachia town, believing they were being held at the Zonkwa Police Station.

A resident, who pleaded anonymity, said: ‘They came shooting sporadically. It was later discovered that the suspects they came for were not even detained in Zonkwa. But before that became clear, the damage had already been done.’

A security source confirmed the attack but declined to give details, saying investigations were ongoing.

In a video sighted by The Nation, two police officers were seen lying motionless in uniform, while a crowd gathered around the scene discussing the assault.

The attack, residents said, has heightened fears over the deteriorating security situation in the area despite recent peace efforts by authorities.

Security operatives were later deployed to restore normalcy in the town.

As at press time, the Kaduna State Police Command had yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC) Ltd., a leading consumer packaged goods company and member of the Coca-Cola Hellenic Beverage Company (CCHBC), has announced the official launch of Plazma Biscuit, one of Europe’s most iconic biscuit brands, into the Nigerian market.

The launch marks a strategic milestone for NBC as it expands into Nigeria’s rapidly growing snack food sector, reinforcing the company’s long-term commitment and confidence in the country’s economic potential.

The launch is a result of a collaborative effort between Bambi (a leading confectionary company in Europe), Coca-Cola HBC Group, Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), and a respected local biscuit manufacturer and outsourcing partner.

Crafted with high-quality ingredients, Plazma offers a wholesome, creamy biscuit experience designed to support the health and enjoyment of Nigerian families.

The event marking Plazma’s official entry into Nigeria was highlighted by a symbolic moment when Goran Sladic, Managing Director of Nigerian Bottling Company, sold the first carton of Plazma biscuits in the market underscoring the brand’s arrival and the company’s excitement about this new chapter.

‘Plazma is much more than a biscuit, it represents trust, quality, and connection that transcend borders and inspire generations. Bringing this beloved brand to Nigeria is another step in our journey of growth, innovation, and partnership with the communities we serve. With over seven decades of presence in Nigeria, our commitment goes beyond business expansion; it’s about investing in the people, potential, and promise of this great nation,’ Managing Director of NBC, Goran Sladic, said.

In his book, ‘Scars: Nigeria’s journey and the Boko Haram conundrum’, former Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) Lucky Irabor calls for the declaration of a state of emergency to marshal all elements of national power towards ending the insurgency in the Northeast. Undoubtedly, that declaration would also deal with the insurgency cum banditry in the Northwest and North Central. Months ago, this writer called on the federal government to put Nigeria on a war footing by mobilising about 30,000 to 50,000 troops to deal with banditry and Boko Haram once and for all. In the words of Gen. Irabor, ‘The understanding of Boko Haram as purveyors of anguish and torment under the cloak of religious puritanism should serve as a lesson for all in our future socio-cultural and socio-political interactions.’ The former CDS also argued that the actions of the insurgents were disconnected from religion which they, however, use to mask their predatory and nihilistic goals.

At the rate misleading inferences are distorting the terrorism narrative in Nigeria, especially with allegations of intentional genocide ascribed to government connivance, if not collusion, it is no longer realistic to continue to waffle about labels and definitions or which measures are sensible and adequate to combat terrorism in the North. For years the Nigerian government had deployed sterile paradigms to fight terror and experimented with a mixture of kinetic and non-kinetic measures based on their understanding of the multifarious roots and manifestations of the crisis. This is sheer sophistry. While much progress has been made in battling banditry and Boko Haram, it is nevertheless time to mobilise once and for all to defeat the spreading cancer. It is only after victory that it may be time to embark on non-kinetic measures to deal with the root causes of the crisis. To rehabilitate insurgents midway in the war is, for instance, to open the government to allegations of official connivance, another way of saying, as Gen. Irabor argued, that the country lacked the political will to defeat insurgency. It is not certain that insurgents are deliberately dispersing their forces into autonomous cells to saturate all parts of the country with terror and stretch the military thin and run them ragged; but whatever the causes of the dispersal, the government must urgently stop the haemorrhaging before more states are ensnared.

Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti, (ABUAD) Chief Afe Babalola, SAN has expressed concern over Nigeria’s increasing debt burden, warning that it could discourage foreign investment and threaten financial stability.

Babalola spoke in Ado-Ekiti during the 2025 International Leadership Conference on Leadership, Governance, Sustainable Change and Wealth Creation (2.0), jointly organised by Afe Babalola University, Trinity Western University (TWU), Vancouver, Canada, and the African Centre for Leadership, Strategy and Development (CentreLSD).

Speaking on the conference theme, ‘Shaping Transformational Leaders for a Changing World: Tackling Insecurity, Governance and Development,’ the legal icon described the topic as timely, given the nation’s current economic challenges.

He lamented that Nigeria’s worsening debt profile had become a major disincentive to foreign investors and was exerting pressure on the local financial system.

‘The theme of this conference is most appropriate at this time. Records show that Nigeria is now a big debtor nation. As of today, our total public debt stands at N152.4 trillion or $99.7 billion’, the legal icon said.

Babalola lamented that the debt crisis is already affecting the domestic financial system, disclosing that several banks have raised complaints that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is failing to honour promissory notes issued by government.

Babalola called for urgent fiscal reforms, prudent economic management, and strategic debt policies to restore investor trust, stimulate growth as well as ensure sustainable development.

Citing Section 14 of 1999 Constitution (as amended), the legal icon reminded leaders that the primary responsibility of government is to guarantee the security and welfare of the people, which he said should guide every economic and political decision.

‘The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall be a state based on the principles of democracy and social justice. It is declared that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria, from whom government derives all its powers and authority’, he added.

In his lecture titled ‘Transformational Leadership in an Insecure and Disruptive Era: Building Ethical, Resilient and Impactful Leaders for Africa,’ the founding Executive Director of CentreLSD, Dr. Otive Igbuzor, said Africa’s progress depends on transformational leadership that rewards merit, integrity, and innovation.

Igbuzor identified inclusive governance, ethical leadership, Innovative Education, Institutional Integrity and Continental Collaboration as imperatives for national rebirth, urging the Federal Government to institutionalise leadership training in schools to groom future leaders.

In her remarks, the Vice Chancellor of Afe Babalola University, Prof. Smaranda Olarinde, described the conference as timely, noting that global and regional partnerships are essential to address challenges such as insecurity, hunger, poverty, infrastructural decay, and economic uncertainty.

The project, Òwú. Fil. Faden. Thread. is both a work of art and a method of research – a tactile approach to history, memory, and resistance. It interlaces cities such as Bregenz, Lagos, St. Gallen, Vienna, and Dakar into a textile fabric that reveals colonial entanglements as well as gestures of resilience.

Materials including linen, cotton, damask, and fine industrial embroidery bear the traces of trade, violence, and migration. The project unfolds as a traveling exhibition, accompanied by a documentary film, a monumental quilt, and a forthcoming publication (to be released in spring 2026).

In Lagos, the project takes on the theme of reclamation, positioning the city as an entangled site situated within global economies and local rituals, colonial legacies and postcolonial aspirations. Through the quilt, the exhibition evokes both the material and affective economies of textiles-lace, cotton, linen, and beyond-tracing how they circulate through longing, aspiration, and loss, as well as the enduring struggle for economic independence.

For this project, the artists explored interlacing, stitching, punching, dyeing, warping, piercing, spinning, and cutting as methodologies of making-producing textiles, images, and knowledge. These gestures serve not only as creative acts but also as ways of remembering, questioning, and imagining new connections within and beyond colonial frameworks. The accompanying Pattern Book references the quilt’s intricate details, unfolding an archive of hands, thoughts, stories, and places – a textile web of relationships, memories, and potential transformation.

Participating Artists: Anette Baldauf, Milou Gabriel, Sasha Huber, Janine Jembere, Susanna Delali Nuwordu, Abiona Esther Ojo, Jumoke Sanwo, Mariama Sow, and Katharina Weingartner.

The project is funded by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) and developed at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. The Lagos exhibition and workshops are supported by the Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, and the Revolving Art Incubator (RAI), Lagos.

Opening: 29 October 2025 | 4:00 PM

Artist Talk: 5:00 – 6:00 PM

Venue: Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, 9 McEwen Street Yaba Lagos. Documentary Film Screening: 1 November 2025 | Time: 5pm – Lace Relations

Venue: John Randle Centre for Yoruba Culture and History, Onikan roundabout, Lagos Island, Lagos.

Workshop: 13 – 14 November 2025 | 10:00 AM

Venue: Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, 9 McEwen Street Yaba Lagos. Closing Talk: 22 November 2025 | 4:00 PM Venue: Center for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, 9 McEwen Street Yaba Lagos.

Family members, and associates penultimate Saturday attended the last Ofala festival in honour of the late pioneer Eze Ndigbo of Lagos State Hyacinth Nwabueze Ohazulike.

Ohazulike died in Lagos on Sunday, April 20, 2025, in Lagos.

The event was held at the Oko-Oba Primary School’s playing ground in the Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, Lagos State, in a carnival- like manner, with a spectacular display of rich Igbo culture and traditional rites to celebrate the death of the revered traditional leader.

Igbo traditional singers and masquerades from the southeast thrilled the guests and well-wishers.

Son of the deceased, Prince Tochukwu Ohazulike aka TOKAS described his late father ‘as a man who doesn’t discriminate he’s a man with a large heart with words of wisdom to share to whom it may concern he further said the late Eze Ohazulike has left a deep vacuum to be filled.”

One of the daughters of the deceased, Princess Emily Akuabia Ohazulike, thanked the guests and the large crowd that graced the occasion describing her father as ‘the man of the people who has served humanity with his immersed wealth of wisdom.’

She disclosed that in line with Igbo tradition that another similar event would be held in honour of her father at his home town next year.

In his tribute, the Eze Ndigbo of Ikeja, Uche Dimgba described Ohazulike as a unifier, who exported the culture and traditional religion of Ndigbo from Igboland to Lagos and the diaspora.

He said: ‘He (Ohazulike) believes in the culture and traditions that’s why he promoted it (Ofala Festival) and organised it every year spending his hard earned money and by bringing togetherness when celebrating the new Yam Festival in Lagos state.’

The president of Ohaneze Ndigbo in Lagos State, Chief Solomon Ogbonakwene described the Ohazulike as a man with phenomenal capabilities, saying : ‘ He (Ohazulike) was always pushing forward in everything he does, and he was the first Eze Ndigbo in Lagos State and a man of high integrity.’

Former Labour Party’s governorship candidate in the 2023 election in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes- Vivoh, who said he was a friend of Ohazulike’s daughter but described the crowd at the event as an attributes of a good and a successful man that the deceased Igbo leader was in his lifetime.

The Secretary of the Lagos Chapter of the Labour Party, Sam Opala said the late Eze Ohazulike was the one of the people that made the Igbos proud in Lagos State.

‘If ever there was a man who bestrode his world like a colossus, that man was our father, Eze Hyacinth Nwabueze Ohazulike (OON), Eze Ndigbo, Lagos State and Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Association of Eze Ndigbo in the Diaspora.’Since his demise, things have not remained the same. A great void has been created and it would be very difficult to fill it,’ he added.

Artiste Managers Association in Nigeria (AMAN) countdown to its 2025 award event reached a crescendo with plans to unveil its 2025 award winners soon.

The AMAN Awards was birthed to publicly recognise, reward and celebrate excellence within the creative industry in Nigeria, Africa and beyond.

AMAN awards event will be held November 26, 2025 at The Grand Ballroom of Eko Hotels and suites Victoria Island Lagos.

Speaking after a meeting of the AMAN Awards 2025 Organising Committee, President of AMAN, Mr. Collins Ifeanyi Onwuneme Enebeli Ajereh a.k.a. Mavin Grandpa Worldwide (MGW) said the list of awardees had been compiled and will be announced after ratification.

AMAN president noted that AMAN Awards 2025 would build on the successes of the 2023 maiden edition.

He also used the opportunity to reiterate the mission and vision of AMAN in unifying all artistes managers and other fronts men who work assiduously towards the growth and development of Nigerian creative industry ecosystem.

According to Enebeli, AMAN is over 30 years old and continues to be relevant in Nigeria’s creative industry space.

AMAN president emphasised that music, entertainment, movies and creative industry endeavours contributes so much to Nigeria’s GDP and artistes managers are instrumental to this huge investment into Nigeria’s economy.

The European Cultural Centre, Nigeria (ECC Nigeria) and the Platform for Cooperation on Mixed Migration (PCMM) have signed a landmark 15-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen cultural diplomacy, promote migrant inclusion, and advance cross-continental collaboration between Africa and Europe.

The agreement establishes a long-term framework for cultural exchange, policy dialogue, migrant reintegration, youth empowerment, and creative collaboration. One of the first joint projects under this partnership is the Cultural Hangout Festival (CHF) – a flagship Afro-European event that celebrates migration through art, music, trade, and storytelling.

Speaking during the signing, Ambassador Sunny Victor Onuoha, Director of International Cooperation, and board member, ECC Nigeria, described the partnership as ‘a bridge of culture and cooperation between continents.’

Mr. Aihawu Victor, Director of PCMM and CEO of the Cultural Hangout Festival, noted that ‘migration should be seen not as a crisis, but as a story of resilience,creativity, and shared humanity.’

Both organizations will jointly implement programs that include the Migrant

Excellence Awards, youth and children’s cultural programs, and the creation of Cultural Exchange Resource Hubs.

The partnership’s first major outcome will be showcased at the Cultural Hangout Festival 2025 (CHF Abuja), holding December 12-14, 2025, in commemoration of the United Nations International Migrants Day.

Founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola (SAN), has expressed concerns over the rising bank interest rates in Nigeria, describing the development as one of the major obstacles to economic growth and the empowerment of ordinary citizens.

Speaking at the weekend during the 2nd edition of the annual Aare Afe Babalola Day at the Ewi’s Palace, Ado-Ekiti, Babalola lamented that the harsh lending conditions imposed by banks have made it nearly impossible for small business owners and farmers to access credit facilities.

He said that the prevailing 20% interest rate has crippled the capacity of ordinary Nigerians to start or expand businesses, thereby worsening the two hydra-headed monster of unemployment and poverty levels in the country.

Babalola explained that the present economic situation has worsened with multinational companies relocating out of the country and the living conditions of Nigerians deteriorating.

‘The way things are today with many of the multi-national companies relocating out of the country, no reasonable investor wants to come and invest in Nigeria,’ he lamented.

He recalled that there was once a time in Nigeria when everyone, regardless of their profession, maintained a small garden for farming and had enough food to eat and share.

Babalola contrasted that era of plenty with the present, which he described as a period of hardship, saying the country now suffers from poor infrastructure, erratic power supply, and widespread insecurity.

In response to the economic challenges, the Legal icon said he established two cooperative societies with a combined capital base of N200 million to provide soft loans for at least 2,000 people at a minimal interest rate of five percent.

Babalola explained that the initiative was conceived as a direct intervention to support artisans, traders, farmers, and other low-income earners who have been locked out of the formal financial system due to stringent banking policies.

He added that the cooperative societies are already operating effectively and have begun making significant impacts in lifting the people out of poverty and idleness.

He, however, appealed to more Ekiti indigenes to join the cooperative groups, stressing that collective participation and prompt repayment of loans would ensure the sustainability of the scheme and the eventual eradication of poverty.

‘If members follow the workings of the cooperative societies by repaying their loans on time, sooner than later, poverty and unemployment would be a thing of the past,’ Babalola said.

At the event, Babalola made a donation of N100 million toward the completion and beautification of the palace pavilion, besides the N100 million donated to the two cooperative societies.

Ekiti Governor Biodun Oyebanji said that Babalola has immortalised himself by building human resources across Nigeria that will outlive him.

Oyebanji said that the legal luminary has made tremendous impacts in the lives of many Nigerians through philanthropy, his legal profession and establishment of ABUAD, where thousands of citizens are deriving their livelihoods and enhancing their careers.

The Governor, represented by his Deputy, Chief (Mrs) Monisade Afuye, said that the government of Ekiti State is proud of the achievements and life trajectory of the elder statesman, who emerged from a humble background and turned out to be a shining light across Nigeria and globally through his industry, innovation, character, honesty and philanthropy.