Category: Business Day

Enugu State Governor, Peter Mbah, has urged Nigerians to hold fast to optimism and unity in the face of present challenges, noting that Enugu is on a pathway to economic growth and positive turnaround.

The governor sees the economic policies of the President Bola Tinubu administration and the citizens’ huge sacrifices ultimately paying off if the nation stays the course.

These were contained in the governor’s message to Nigerians to mark Nigeria’s 65th Independence Anniversary, where he noted that, though the anniversary may is low-key, it did not obviate Nigeria’s giant strides as an independent nation.

In the message, which he personally signed, the governor congratulated Nigerian citizens for ‘the proud milestone.’

‘At 65, our independence is a reminder of what we can achieve as a people when we are united. It is also a reminder that progress demands sacrifice, and that tomorrow is shaped by the choices we make today,’ he said. Continuing, the governor said, ‘the commemoration of our 65th independence anniversary may understandably be low-key, but the significance of the strides we have made as a nation is by no means underwhelming.

Those strides are manifest in the remarkable achievements we have recorded across key sectors. They reflect as well in the bold reforms of the federal government that have brought stability to the Nigerian economy. The sacrifices may be huge today, but there is no doubt that the end will vindicate the decisions if we stay the course.’

Mbah said that as Nigerians raise their flags today, they should renew their covenant to Nigeria; embrace the spirit of unity, and uphold the optimism that has carried them this far.

The governor recommitted his administration’s inclusive development model that leaves no one behind, stressing that Enugu State, under his watch, was on the path of exponential economic growth and positive turnaround.

‘In Enugu State, this Independence Day is a fitting occasion to recommit to our pledge to make inclusion the cornerstone of government policy; to create wealth and deploy it for the benefit of everyone in Enugu State. We are staying the course, and no one will be left behind,’ he assured.

He noted that from moribund assets roaring back to life, to Ndi Enugu enjoying a resounding sense of security of lives and property, the children transitioning to 260 Smart Green Schools, our rural communities accessing modern healthcare courtesy of our completed or ongoing 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres, Ndi Enugu commuting conveniently and affordably via the state’s modern transport system and infrastructure, the state is, no doubt, on a pathway to assured turnaround and exponential economic growth.

‘Sweet Us’, the masterpiece song by a hitmaker Timaya, was popularised by former governor of Rivers State and current Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike.

While he was in Rivers and now in Abuja, he adopted the song as his signature tune and dances to its rhythm. In fact, he relishes the lyrics every time he commissions a project.

Is he living the music? Your guess is as good of mine!

For 65 years, Nigeria has had a combination of military and democratic regimes. In all of these years, one thing has remained constant- they against us!

The ruling class smiles while we frown. They laugh while we cry. They celebrate while we weep. They enjoy themselves to the fullest while we pine in abject poverty. They parrot patriotism while they are the most unpatriotic, and they preach belt-tightening but revel in all manner of extravagance.

The ruling class has always considered itself a special breed. They use the opportunity of office to better their lots. That is why ‘former this and former that.’ in Nigeria never know poverty again after holding public office no matter how short their exposure to power is. They use the opportunity of their office to make themselves stupendously rich.

Whether it was in the military era or in the democratic era, former and present leaders are among the wealthiest citizens. They flaunt this wealth to the chagrin on many of their compatriots.

Since Independence in 1960, no past president or head of state of Nigeria has ever been officially probed over appropriation or misappropriation of funds, even when there are stark evidences pointing to their high level of maleficence.

In all of these years, Nigeria has been mercilessly milked and raped by so-called leaders.

While the nation’s public debt stock continues to rise dangerously, currently standing at N149.39trillion (about US$97billion, there are few individuals in Nigeria that can be said to be richer than the country with no known viable businesses other than their exposure to public till.

Nigeria’s borrowing binge became a serious concern recently that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas cried out, calling for urgent reforms in borrowing practices and oversight.

‘.Even more concerning is the debt to GDP ratio, which now stands at roughly 52 percent, well above the statutory ceiling of 40 percent set by our own laws. This is not just a budgetary concern but a structural crisis that demands urgent parliamentary attention and coordinated reform,’ Abbas said.

But the greater concern is in the outlandish lifestyle of those who should be cautious about the perilous and state of the country. They rather chose to live above their means and drive the costliest automobiles in town in a country with high multidimensional poverty with the 2022 National Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) indicating that 63 percent of the population (133 million people) are multi-dimensionally poor

Today, it is safe for leaders to reel out their efforts in steadying the economy, but at the same time they flaunt their lavish lifestyles before the traumatized citizens. Confucius, Chinese philosopher, said: ‘In a country well governed, poverty is something to be ashamed of; in a country badly governed, wealth is something to be ashamed of.’

What this means is that when a government is effective and provides for its people, the existence of poverty is a sign of a societal failure, reflecting a lack of capability in the populace. Conversely, in a poorly governed society, immense wealth (such as the one being exhibited by leaders) can be seen as a symptom of corruption or exploitation of others, making it a source of shame.

Security

On this front, Nigeria has moved from a nation where citizens moved freely in the past to a point where any movement from one part of the country to another is fraught with enormous danger. Killers in the name of bandits, kidnappers, organ harvesters, Boko Haram and other assorted criminals lay siege every inch of the way, so much so that Nigerians now engage in days of prayer and fasting before they embark on interstate journeys. In those days, parents would hand over their children to complete strangers travelling with commercial busses or train to another part of the country, several kilometers away. Those children arrived their destinations in peace. Such things no longer happen today. Only politicians with heavy armada of security personnel and body guards easily move around these days. Nigeria has descended to a level where communities are signing memorandum of understanding (MoU) with bandits to be allowed to live in peace in their own domain.

Housing

This is another serious challenge in the country. With housing deficit over 20 million, many citizens live in unhealthy environments. Thousands of citizens live and sleep under the bridges and in uncompleted buildings in cities whereas their leaders in government live in palatial homes provided for them with tax payers’ money. They also own multiple houses within and outside Nigeria. A good number of public office holders are said to hide stolen wealth in real estate. High rise buildings and estates are built in highbrow areas of the country and in undeveloped places in Abuja, Lagos and other places across the country.

These buildings are left uninhabited for many years because the owners did not make the money in clean ways. Such buildings serve as store of value, whereas people are homeless everywhere.

Education

The story of education in Nigeria has moved from one that was qualitative to being wishy-washy as a result of many years of neglect of the sector. In the early years after Independence, the nation’s universities attracted students from foreign countries, who deliberately proffered to school in Nigeria to other places. They admired the quality education in Nigeria and they got it.

In those days, there were scholarships to certain levels which enabled children from poor homes to go to school. Many of them, upon graduation, got good jobs through which they lifted their poor families. But as years rolled by, those who were responsible for making policies for the nation’s education watered down everything and scholarship became a matter of ‘who you know.’ Corruption also became entrenched in the system. Education budgets became food for the boys and government schools began to lose their charm. Then, those who used to come from other lands became discouraged and disinterested. Private schools began to spring up to the point that quality became compromised.

Public office holders and other wealthy Nigerians began to send their children abroad for studies. Although Nigeria today has about 276 registered universities (73 federal, 67 state and 136 private) according to the National Universities Commission (NUC), many of them are just existing by name. The growth of a nation’s education cannot be determined by the number of schools there are in a country. It is the quality that determines it. The most pathetic story is that over 70 percent of the graduates every year do not have a job. Many of them are forced to go into ‘menial jobs’ to eke out a living. There is the need, urgent need for that matter, to declare an emergency in the nation’s education sector.

Healthcare

Perhaps, no other sector captures the stunted growth of Nigeria than the health sector. There is no denying the fact that a lot is being done and has been done, but they all amounted to ‘too little too late’. In the past, many Nigerians believed so much in the health institutions in the country. The Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), University Teaching Hospital (UCH) Ibadan, University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital (UNTH) and a few others were go-to places and gave Nigerians hope, but today, they have become a shadow of their old selves. Apart from chronic dearth of qualified personnel because of the ‘japa’ syndrome occasioned by frustrating operating environment, the high cost of running the facilities has hampered quality service delivery. Today, such institutions are groaning under the weight of high electricity bill among others. The neglect of the nation’s healthcare sector became total when presidents and other public office holders began to jet out to London, France and India to treat throat and ear infections.

Deepening fault lines

Many Nigerians, except those in government, speak in tandem that Nigeria is perhaps, more divided today than it has ever been in its 65 years. The acclaimed social cohesion is non-existent, and the evidence is everywhere. What many Nigerians are seeing today is a nation that is being gradually driven to a precipice. People now talk about their ethnic leaning more than their Nigerianness. People today are apprehensive living outside their geo-political zones. These are no signs of a progressive country. And as e dey sweet the powers that be, e dey pain the people!

While the leaders revel in endless enjoyment and claim of a burgeoning nation, the masses are gnashing their teeth and the nation continues to totter.

One thing that has so much affected the country is the increasing trust deficit. Until the ruling class begins to win back the trust of the people, the expected growth may continue to be in the realm of aspiration.

What began as crude phishing emails riddled with spelling mistakes has now evolved into a high-stakes battle against artificial intelligence-powered impersonations. From cloned voices to convincing video calls, cybercriminals are weaponizing AI to mimic reality so closely that even seasoned professionals struggle to tell the difference.

Cybersecurity expert, Okoli Ugochukwu, with over a decade of experience in security operations and incident response, has sounded the alarm: ‘Trust is no longer a starting point. It’s a reward that must be earned. In the AI era, we must verify first, then trust.’

According to him, traditional red flags like typos or suspicious email addresses have given way to sophisticated threats. Attackers now replicate a CEO’s writing style, voice, or even facial expressions in video calls to trick employees into releasing sensitive data or approving fraudulent wire transfers.

‘Imagine your CEO’s voice on the phone calmly asking you to authorize an urgent payment. Would you hesitate? That’s the new battlefield,’ Ugochukwu explained.

To combat this wave of AI-driven scams, he outlined five key defense strategies:

Multi-channel verification – Confirming requests across different mediums (e.g., email + phone call).

Contextual verification – Checking whether requests align with past behavior or tone. Zero-trust mindset – Treating every request as potentially malicious until verified.

AI-powered defenses – Using detection tools to flag anomalies in voice, video, or email.

Personal codes or safe words – Low-tech but effective human-only verification layers.

He emphasized that while the tools may be advanced, vigilance remains human-driven. ‘The landscape of trust has shifted. What can be faked in one channel is harder to fake across many. Habits of verification, not fear, will keep us resilient.’

With over 400 citations worldwide for his research on AI-driven cyber threats, Ugochukwu continues to push for a balance between human intuition and technology. His message is clear: as the line between truth and fabrication blurs, the key to digital safety is discipline.

Ugochukwu is a cybersecurity professional with 10+ years of experience in security operations, cloud security, and incident response. His research on AI and evolving AI-driven cyber threats has been cited over 400 times worldwide. He is committed to advancing cyber resilience through innovation, mentorship, and emerging technologies.

The Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Mortgage Bank has announced a growth plan aimed at deepening access to housing finance in Nigeria, with targets to grow its loan portfolio to N100 billion and expand mortgage services to 100,000 families within the next three years.

Hayatudeen Auwal, the bank’s Managing Director, disclosed this on Tuesday at the commissioning of its new head office in Abuja, noting that the expansion drive will include the establishment of 20 new branches nationwide.

He explained that the strategy is aimed at expanding access to mortgage financing while sustaining the bank’s record of financial discipline. ‘We intend to establish at least 20 branches nationwide in the next three years, grow our active customer base to 100,000 families, and scale our loan portfolio to N100bn. With the support of our Chairman, the entire housing development financing window has been opened to support the FHA Mortgage Bank.

‘The dream of bridging Nigeria’s housing finance gap and supporting the Federal Government’s housing delivery agenda is alive. Today, I’m proud to say we have not only sustained that dream but expanded it, turning vision into measurable progress. Our key achievement is being the number one collaborator with the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria,’

According to Auwal, the bank has already achieved significant milestones, including facilitating over N27bn in mortgages for 3,427 Nigerians across the federation and enabling more than 6,000 citizens to access mortgage loans through the PENCOM retirement savings window. He stressed that the bank’s credibility rests on its consistency in meeting obligations, a factor that has earned it trust within the financial sector.

‘From the National Housing Fund, despite accessing a huge loan portfolio, we have never defaulted. We have never defaulted in making repayments, and we have never defaulted in meeting our objectives,’ he said.

The FHA Mortgage Bank boss further emphasised that housing finance remains central to achieving the government’s broader economic vision.

‘Thanks to Mr President, who has challenged Nigerians to envision a $1 trillion economy, we believe the housing sector is well-positioned to contribute to that goal. With the effort and commitment of our Chairman, FHA Mortgage Bank will play its part in achieving it,’

As part of its growth agenda, the bank is also preparing to launch a Diaspora Mortgage Project to help Nigerians abroad own homes back home, while exploring partnerships with pension funds, insurers, and international development agencies. Auwal added that efforts are ongoing to secure a national banking licence.

‘We are aiming to become a national bank. The Central Bank of Nigeria has already been informed and has given us a checklist of outstanding requirements. With our commitment, we are confident that before long, FHA Mortgage Bank will attain national bank status.’

Newcastle United bounced back in emphatic style with a dominant 4-0 victory over Union Saint-Gilloise, marking Eddie Howe’s first-ever win in the Champions League.

Just days after a gut-wrenching defeat to Arsenal, Howe’s side looked every bit the European contenders in Brussels as they secured their first away win in the competition since 2003.

There was no sign of a hangover at Lotto Park. Newcastle opened the scoring in the 17th minute when Sandro Tonali’s sweetly struck volley deflected off Nick Woltemade, leaving Union goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen wrongfooted.

Union Saint-Gilloise-making their Champions League debut-responded positively, and Nick Pope was called into action to deny Adem Zorgane midway through the first half. But Newcastle doubled their lead just before the break. Anthony Elanga was brought down in the box by Fedde Leysen, and Anthony Gordon confidently converted from the spot, sending Scherpen the wrong way.

The Belgian champions pushed forward after the interval, with Anan Khalaili firing wide and Pope producing key saves to keep out Niang and Zorgane.

Newcastle’s control was cemented after a VAR check awarded them a second penalty when Leysen was penalised for handball. Gordon stepped up once more and buried his second of the night.

Substitute Harvey Barnes rounded off the rout with a composed finish from inside the area late on, sealing a vital three points in Group F. Following their opening loss to Barcelona, Newcastle’s European campaign is now truly up and running.

Nigeria’s U20 side, the Flying Eagles, will take on Saudi Arabia in their second match of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Talca on Thursday night.

After a 1-0 defeat to Norway in their Group F opener, the seven-time African champions are eager to bounce back and keep their hopes of advancing alive.

Despite dominating possession and creating several chances in the match against Norway,

Nigeria was unfortunate not to find the equalizer in the second half. The Flying Eagles were denied two penalty appeals by the referee, leaving them frustrated in what was otherwise a promising performance. A win against Saudi Arabia will boost Nigeria’s chances of progressing to the Round of 16, especially with a tough match against Colombia coming up on Sunday.

Head coach, Aliyu Zubair, remains confident that his team has recovered from the disappointment of the Norway defeat.

His focus now is on ensuring the squad delivers the right result against Saudi Arabia. With all key players available,

Zubair is expected to stick with his preferred 4-3-3 formation, emphasizing attacking play and ball possession.

Infidelity may capture gossip, but the deeper scandal is this: women are being erased from the wealth story. It doesn’t matter if you are a wife, a partner, or a breadwinner. The lesson remains the same: protect yourself.

When I wrote about Side Chick Economics in Part 1, the goal was not sensationalism. I wasn’t positioning myself as the moral police. My lens was, and remains, practical: helping women understand power, secure wealth, and prepare for legacy, whether in the home, the boardroom, or the marketplace.

Because here’s the hard truth no one wants to admit: you can be a wife, a side chick, or even the breadwinner and still lose.

The feedback I received:

The responses were explosive. Women nodded in agreement. Men argued fiercely. Some laughed and called me a troublemaker. A few warned that I might lose business because certain men felt attacked. Others admitted they were sharing the article in their WhatsApp groups.

Several men pushed back with conviction:

‘We have agency. As long as I provide for my family, I can choose how else I spend my money: philanthropy, alternative households, or otherwise.’

‘Some side chicks contribute more than wives, supporting ventures or taking risks wives might avoid.’

‘Why single-sided chicks out? Side chicks are women, too, right? And together with their children, form families. Perhaps not the traditional type, but no less deserving or valid in my opinion. So why is diverted wealth to them considered ‘lost’? Lost how? They are intelligent women, too.’

I don’t dismiss these perspectives. They reveal the complexity of how money moves and who benefits. Some see it as redistribution. Others see it as erosion. Both can be true.

Why this matters

Here’s the sharper lesson: if you don’t know where the wealth comes from and how it flows, you are already a side note in the story of your own family’s legacy.

Too many women are ‘wives’ in title but ‘side chicks’ in practice, shut out of the real financial structures of their own households. Assets are hidden. Wealth is syphoned. Inheritance is decided in secrecy.

And it isn’t only wives at risk. Many women who carry more than their fair share as breadwinners watch men quietly take liberties with the little they do earn, spending it elsewhere, often unaccounted for. This isn’t just unfair. It’s destabilising.

The wider circles of leakage

The leakage doesn’t always stop with a single relationship. Money often flows into extended circles. In some cases, side partners themselves become breadwinners, channeling resources to their own families and funding parents, siblings, or even spouses and children elsewhere.

In other words, secrecy creates hidden economies of obligation, ‘families within families’, syphoning resources away from the very structures meant to secure a family’s future.

And beneath it all lies the trap of complacency. Too many financially dependent women settle for surface comfort: school fees paid, fridge stocked, travel or shopping allowance here and there, without contributing or asking harder questions about where the real assets sit. Comfort isn’t the same as security. Complacency isn’t safe. It’s being quietly written out of the ledger.

The unspoken sacrifice

One story still lingers with me. At a gathering, a man propositioned a woman who would ordinarily have dismissed him. When she resisted, he replied chillingly, ‘Can’t you take a bullet for your family?’

That line captures the unspoken pressure many women live with: to accept indignities, compromises, or side roles in the name of survival. It may feel like a sacrifice. But in truth, it is surrender, and the cost is unbearable.

The Alpha Woman paradox

Even the strongest women are not immune. Some of the so-called ‘alpha women’, successful breadwinners carrying entire households, still find themselves exposed. Why? Because fragile egos often look elsewhere for affirmation. Outsiders feed needs that capable wives no longer indulge.

This is not a justification. It’s a paradox women must confront. Strength without strategy is vulnerability. Power must be paired with protection.

Acknowledging culture

We must also acknowledge the cultural and societal practices that shape these realities. In many African communities, polygamy remains a recognised structure. In others, ‘families accepted as families’ exist outside formal marriage, particularly once children are involved.

This is not about judgement. These practices are woven into our history and, in some contexts, function as accepted social systems. But even here, the lesson is the same: clarity matters. Respect matters. Structures matter. Whether polygamous, blended, or single household, secrecy breeds confusion, while transparency protects posterity. The real victims aren’t just spouses. They are the children and generations left to fight inheritance wars.

Practical lessons

So, what do we take from all this? Whether you are a wife, partner, breadwinner, or even ‘the other woman’, this is not about morality but about power and protection:

1. Ownership matters. If your name isn’t on the title, don’t assume love will protect you. If you’re the breadwinner, don’t assume generosity alone secures you either. Document what you’ve built.

2. Transparency is protection. Asking about money isn’t nagging. It’s leadership.

3. Preparation isn’t paranoia. Death, divorce, and blended households aren’t always hypothetical. They are certainties you must plan for.

4. She-Money is non-negotiable. Keep funds and assets in your own name. Not hidden. Not secret. Just sovereign and safe.

5. Beyond low-hanging fruit. Don’t stop at trading, trips, or consumption. Build assets, equity, and strategy. Sustenance will not save you.

6. Knowledge is leverage. Complacency thrives in ignorance. Financial literacy, wealth circles, and trusted advisers are essential. The more you understand where the money comes from and where it goes, the harder it is for anyone to quietly write you out of the story.

A final word

This conversation is not about deriding wives, side chicks, or anyone else. It is not even about morality. It is about power, clarity, and preparation.

Because at the end of the day, the real scandal isn’t infidelity. The real scandal is when women, whether wives, partners, side chicks, or breadwinners, allow themselves to be written out of the wealth story.

The old days of relying fully on the breadwinner are gone. The new reality demands vigilance, strategy, and unapologetic involvement in financial decision-making.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says it has delisted 101 drugs from circulation in Nigeria.

In a statement on Tuesday, the agency said the affected products are no longer permitted for manufacturing, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale, or use in the country.

NAFDAC explained that some of the products were withdrawn voluntarily at the request of market authorisation holders, while others were suspended or outrightly cancelled by the agency.

A suspension, it said, applies when the conditions under which a registration licence was issued are no longer met, while a cancellation occurs when the agency revokes a product’s licence.

Popular medicines on the list

The delisted products cut across a wide range of medicines and health items – from antimalarials and cough treatments to vaccines, insulin and growth-hormone injectables, diabetes medicines, inhalers, and eye drops.

Some widely used medicines are on the list, including:

Flagyl suspension and tablets, used to treat diarrhoea

Penicillin G Sodium Sandoz, prescribed for bacterial infections

Artemether/Lumefantrine, a frontline antimalarial

Elisca eye drops, used in treating infections

‘This is to inform the general public that the following products are approved for withdrawal, suspension and cancellation by NAFDAC. They are therefore no longer permitted for manufacture, importation, exportation, distribution, advertisement, sale and use within Nigeria,’ the statement reads.

‘Please note that the certificate of registration of a product is said to be withdrawn when the use of the Certificate of Registration of that product is discontinued upon request of the Market Authorization Holder.’

List of affected products

Some of the delisted drugs include:

Abacavir Sulfate/Lamivudine Dispersible Tablets 60mg/30mg – withdrawn voluntarily by Healthline Limited

Amaryl M Tablets – withdrawn voluntarily by Sanofi Aventis Nigeria Ltd

Amaryl M SR Tablets – withdrawn voluntarily by Sanofi Aventis Nigeria Ltd

Aprovasc 150mg/5mg Tablets – withdrawn voluntarily by Sanofi Aventis Nigeria Ltd

Artemether/Lumefantrine 40mg/240mg Tablets – withdrawn voluntarily by Healthline Limited

ASAQ (Artesunate amodiaquine Winthrop) Tablets (various strengths) – withdrawn voluntarily by Sanofi Aventis Nigeria Ltd

Betopic Eye Drops – withdrawn voluntarily by Novartis Nigeria Limited

Coaprovel 300mg/25mg Tablets – withdrawn voluntarily by Sanofi Aventis Nigeria Ltd

How do you feel to be named the Cuppy Africa Steinhardt Scholar for a second year in a row?

Honestly, I was shocked, in a good way, though. Being the first recipient last year was already such a huge honour, but winning it again feels like a reminder that the work I’m doing truly matters.

It’s also an encouragement to keep going. For me, this is bigger than an award. It’s about keeping the door open for more Africans who want to explore creative approaches to healing and social impact.

What does this award represent for you personally?

It represents validation of the path I’ve chosen. Drama therapy is not a very common field, especially among Nigerians.

To have my work in this space recognised twice tells me that arts have a rightful place in conversations about health, resilience, and community transformation.

How does it feel to be a trailblazer in drama therapy, being only the second Nigerian to pursue credentialing as a Licensed Drama Therapist in the US?

It feels both exciting and humbling. On one hand, I feel a great sense of pride to be among the very few Nigerians in this field, especially as drama therapy is still emerging globally.

On the other hand, it comes with the responsibility to represent my community well, to pave the way for others, and show that Africans can and should have a place in shaping how creative arts therapies grow worldwide.

I hope my journey helps make this path more visible for future Nigerians who want to combine mental health with the arts.

You’ve often spoken about Arts as a tool for social change. Can you share some examples of your work?

In Nigeria, I directed community theatre projects that addressed societal issues such as gender-based violence and lack of quality education.

Here in the U.S., I’ve worked on performances that talk about gun violence, immigration, and race. The goal has always been the same: to use theatre as a mirror, a voice, and sometimes, a form of healing.

You’ve also had opportunities on the global stage. What stands out for you?

Representing Nigeria at the World Bank Youth Summit in Washington, D.C. was a highlight. I was presenting my research on drama therapy and dementia care at an international medical humanities conference in Qatar. These platforms reminded me that our local stories have global relevance.

What do you envision for the future of your work in Nigeria?

I hope to continue building bridges between Nigeria and the global community in the areas of mental health, creative arts, and social change.

I want my work to inspire conversations about how the arts can serve as a therapeutic tool, not just in Nigeria but worldwide. Whether through collaborations, research, training programs, or advocacy, I aim to spotlight Nigerian voices on international platforms and create opportunities for others to engage with creative arts therapies.

For me, it’s about expanding access and recognition so that more communities, including those in Nigeria, can benefit from the healing potential of the arts.

Much of the federal government has shut down after Republicans and Democrats in the Senate failed to agree on rival funding bills to keep it open.

Republicans blocked a Democratic bill that would have funded the government through October and extended Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire this year. Democrats, in turn, rejected a Republican-backed House measure to keep funding flat until Nov. 21. Both needed 60 votes but fell short along party lines.

After the failed votes, Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought told agencies to ‘execute their plans for an orderly shutdown.’

Essential services such as Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans’ benefits will continue, but delays are expected. About 750,000 federal employees may be furloughed daily, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

Trump hints at firings during shutdown

President Donald Trump suggested the shutdown could be used to permanently shrink government.

‘We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible,’ he told reporters, hinting at mass layoffs. ‘We don’t want to do that, but we don’t want fraud, waste and abuse.’

What’s at stake if the shutdown drags on

Federal workers and active-duty service members may miss paychecks by mid-October.

Air traffic controllers and TSA officers, deemed essential, could work without pay, as in past shutdowns, some may call in sick.

The WIC nutrition program for women and children could run out of money.

National Parks may remain open but unstaffed, as in the last shutdown.

Democrats insist they will not back a spending bill without health care subsidies. ‘Republicans are plunging America into a shutdown . and risking America’s health care,’ Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said.

Republicans accuse Democrats of hostage-taking. ‘Senate Democrats have sacrificed the American people to Democrats’ partisan interests,’ said Senate Majority Leader John Thune.

No clear path forward

Republican leaders say they will keep forcing votes in hopes of drawing more Democrats. Three crossed over on Tuesday to back the GOP bill.

The last shutdown in 2018-2019 lasted 35 days, the longest in US history. With both parties refusing to yield, there is no clarity on how long this one will last.