Category: Daily Trust

The decision of the Federal University Dutsin-Ma (FUDMA), Katsina State, to shut down all its study centres across the country has continued to generate concern among communities hosting the centres.

Community groups in Katsina and Kano states have warned that the move could jeopardise the educational future of thousands of students.

Daily Trust reports that FUDMA was established in 2011 by former President Goodluck Jonathan and commenced academic activities in 2012 as part of efforts to expand access to higher education in underserved states.

The university operates study centres attended by thousands of students across Katsina, Kano and Kaduna states.

However, the Federal Ministry of Education has directed universities operating study centres to shut them down and concentrate academic activities on their main campuses.

The directive exempted only the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), which has the statutory mandate to operate multiple study centres across the country.

Communities hosting the centres have opposed the development, arguing that it would place students in a difficult situation.

The Daura Literacy and Awareness Association (DLAA), in a statement issued on Friday, appealed to President Bola Tinubu, the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the management of FUDMA to urgently intervene.

The association urged the authorities to halt the closure of the university’s study centres, stressing that relocating students to the main campus in Dutsin-Ma would impose severe hardship on many of them.

According to the association, the centres have become a lifeline for students facing financial, social, occupational and family challenges.

‘These centres serve as a vital pathway to higher education for thousands of students who may otherwise be excluded,’ the statement said.

It warned that shutting them down would not only disrupt academic progress but also undermine efforts to expand access to education in underserved communities.

The association noted that the development had already triggered anxiety among students, parents, guardians and other stakeholders across Katsina State and neighbouring states.

It added that many fear that relocation to Dutsin-Ma could force some students, particularly those from low-income backgrounds, to abandon their studies.

Similar concerns in Kano

Community leaders in Bichi, Kano State, where one of the study centres is located, also described the planned closure as ‘unfortunate, disturbing and unacceptable.’

In an earlier statement titled ‘The Proposed Closure of FUDMA Bichi Study Centre: A Matter of Public Concern,’ they warned that relocating students to Dutsin-Ma would expose them to serious hardship arising from economic realities, transportation challenges, insecurity and social pressures.

‘For some students, especially those from low-income backgrounds, this may mark the end of their educational journey entirely,’ they said.

The community leaders also questioned what they described as the silence of public officials and relevant institutions on the matter.

‘Why are our leaders silent? Where are the legal practitioners? Where are the relevant authorities, such as the Public Complaints Commission and the Kano State Public Complaints and Anti-Corruption Commission? Why is the general public not paying attention?’ the statement queried.

The Bichi study centre has enjoyed support from prominent individuals, including the Deputy President of the Senate, Barau Jibrin, who donated an 18-seater bus and sponsored several students.

The Chairman of Bichi Local Government and the area’s member of the House of Representatives, Abubakar Kabir Abubakar, also supported the centre through projects, including the construction of additional blocks.

The community expressed concern that such investments could be wasted if the centre is eventually shut down.

University management defends action

Responding to the growing outcry, the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof. Mohammed Khalid Othman, said the suspension of academic activities at the study centres was in compliance with a directive from the Federal Ministry of Education.

He said the university remained committed to ensuring that all students enrolled at the affected centres graduate within the stipulated period.

According to him, academic activities will continue through a virtual classroom management platform, the Blackboard Learning Management System (LMS), which will serve students from centres in Katsina, Kano and Kaduna states.

He said the platform would facilitate seamless online teaching and learning, enabling students to complete their programmes without compromising academic standards.

Prof. Othman urged students to embrace the new arrangement by acquiring the necessary skills to effectively utilise the online learning platform.

He added that the ministry had advised FUDMA to absorb affected students into its Centre for Distance Learning, thereby allowing them to continue their programmes without disruption.

The Federal Government has expressed displeasure over attacks on Nigerians residing in South Africa, saying the present administration is considering possible retaliatory measures over the attacks.

Addressing State House Correspondents at the Presidential Villa, on Monday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, however, stated that any final decision on what Nigeria would do, requires consideration at the highest level of government, including the National Assembly.

Bianca said, ‘Nigeria is not happy because the country has sacrificed so much for the South African struggle for independence, Nigeria sacrificed quite a lot, committed funds, committed resources to aid South Africa. In schools, seats were reserved for South African students.

‘My own generation, we carried placards, we demonstrated in front of South African assets. Sometimes we even got arrested for doing this. And Nigeria is a serious frontline state, and Nigerians are not happy about how they have treated us. They are not asking other migrants to leave, they’re only asking black migrants to leave.’

Asked on whether Nigeria is considering retaliatory sanctions against South Africa, she said, ‘That is a situation that we are considering. This is up to our legislature. This is a decision that has to be taken at the highest level of government, but it’s not off the table.’

The Minister further clarified that the repatriation process had not been delayed, explaining that the authorities were only expected to conclude the necessary formalities on June 8th, assuring that plans to evacuate affected Nigerians from South Africa remain on course.

Ojukwu also disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had directed the immediate establishment of a crisis response unit within the Nigeria Consulate in Johannesburg and the Nigerian Mission in Pretoria as reports of attacks and harassment continue.

‘So, once this situation started getting worse, the President directed that a crisis response unit be immediately set up within our consulate, and also the Nigerian mission in Pretoria. So, as things are, we have people in different provinces, we also have people who need to be assisted to get to the Nigerian consulate in Johannesburg, so we’re in the process of all that, but the documentation, which is the most important aspect of this, has been done.’

She explained that efforts are underway to reach affected Nigerians across various provinces and facilitate assistance for those seeking access to consular services.

‘The figures keep increasing. There are several processes, as you know, that have to be undertaken by South African Homeland Security. We then ensure that we screen our citizens who want to return; they also are part of the screening process, and once the citizens are cleared, they are given a paper that indicates that they are free to go.

‘The repatriation is on course. Mr. President himself has reiterated the fact that the aircraft must go to South Africa, and our citizens who are inperilled will have the chance of getting on this aircraft to be brought back to their country.’

Responding to claims by some South African authorities that many of the Nigerians seeking repatriation were illegal migrants, the minister rejected the claim, describing it as false and misleading.

Ojukwu maintained that the affected Nigerians are law-abiding residents and business owners, who have become targets of harassment, intimidation and criminal attacks.

She noted that several Nigerians have lost their properties, their shops looted and businesses vandalised or set ablaze, while some families have been forced to keep their children away from school due to safety concerns.

‘That is absolutely untrue. Our citizens are being harassed, our citizens, their properties are being looted, criminal actions are perpetuated on our citizens, the police refuse to do anything. The South African government has not come out strongly, firmly enough to condemn these incidents.

‘So, our citizens are imperilled , they are in distress, so they cannot be said to be illegal migrants. People who are doing legitimate business have their shops looted, they have their shops set on fire. Children cannot go to school because they are intimidated in their schools. So, to say that Nigerians who are in South Africa doing legitimate business are illegal migrants is absolutely untrue.’

The National Commission for Refugees, Migrants and Internally Displaced Persons (NCFRMI) Ambassador, OG Abbah (Mohammed Abubakar has urged stakeholders in Nigeria projects to invest in talented young people languishing in several refugee camps and vulnerable communities across the country.

Ambassador OG Abbah disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Lokoja on Friday, following humanitarian outreach programme held at the Durumi IDP Camp in Abuja in an attempt to support and fish out talented refugees for mentoring .

He said several of these young men in the IDP camps posses extraordinary gifts and potential, but often lack access to opportunities, mentorship, education, and support to showcase their talent fully .

‘Investing in vulnerable children and displaced communities is critical to building a safer and more prosperous future for Nigeria’, he said .

OG Abbah stressed that he fled from his violent torn Gwoza community in Borno state years back, and joined his family at the Durumi Internally Displaced Persons Camp in Abuja where he was discovered, mentored, supported to become one of Nigeria’s most inspiring emerging artists.

Ambassador OG Abbah says: ‘Mrs. Noni Okocha, Co-Founder of ‘I Am the Future of Nigeria Youth Initiative (IFON) first discovered my talent during ‘Creative Talent Hunt’ programme organised within Durumi Camp.

‘Today, I am no longer living in the camp because someone invested in my future. That is why I believe mentorship is one of the most powerful tools for transforming lives’.

He therefore appealed to authorities, humanitarian organisations, corporate bodies, and development partners to provide increased support for displaced families, vulnerable children, and communities affected by insecurity across Nigeria to be useful to themselves and the society at large .

According to Ambassador IFON midwifed outreach at Durumi IDP camp on Thursday brought together children, families, community leaders, humanitarian partners, and young talents for activities focused on education, entertainment, and community support.

‘Educational materials were distributed to children, while scholarships, incentives, and support packages were provided to assist children and families affected by the recent demolitions and displacement within the community’,he said .

However, OG Abbah expressed concern over the increasing wave of violent attacks and insecurity affecting communities across the country.

He stressed that the impact of terrorism, banditry and kidnappings have forced thousands of Nigerians, particularly women and children out of their ancestral homes to refuge camps.

The Nigerian music artist therefore urged authorities and stakeholders to strengthen efforts aimed at improving security, protecting vulnerable populations, and providing sustainable assistance for the displaced communities.

According to him, priority areas should include emergency shelter, quality education, youth empowerment, mentorship programmes, livelihood support, and child protection initiatives.

Meanwhile, the artist noted that the recent demolitions which affected parts of the Durumi community have left many families facing renewed displacement and uncertainty.

He said: ‘ Many of these families have already suffered displacement before. To see children and parents facing homelessness again is heartbreaking. We must not forget them’.

US President Donald Trump called for more ‘surgical’ strikes against Hezbollah in Lebanon and said he is not demanding that the conflict be included in a peace deal with Iran, in an interview broadcast Sunday.

‘I’d like to see a more surgical attack on Hezbollah. I think it should be more surgical,’ Trump told NBC’s ‘Meet the Press,’ according to a transcript of the interview recorded Friday.

‘I’d like to see Lebanon have a better life,’ he added.

Israel carried out strikes on Sunday on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a stronghold of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah, saying it was retaliating for attacks targeting its territory despite a ceasefire that has not stopped the cycle of violence.

Asked whether he was demanding that Lebanon be included in the Iran deal, Trump replied: ‘No, no.’

‘Not at all. I’m not demanding,’ he said. ‘I think they’d like to see it, but I’m not demanding.’

Trump has said previously he would like to ‘separate’ the discussions on Lebanon from the negotiations on an agreement with Iran, while Tehran, on the contrary, wants to link the two conflicts.

Trump confirmed in an interview last week with The New York Post that he had a tense phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during which he reportedly reprimanded his close ally about the Israeli offensive in Lebanon.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon have destroyed numerous buildings and killed more than 3,560 people since the restart of fighting on March 2, according to the latest official figures.

On the Israeli side, 29 soldiers and one civilian contractor have been killed in Lebanon, according to the army.

Hezbollah dragged Lebanon into the broader Middle East war when it began attacking Israel to avenge Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the first wave of the US-Israel offensive.

Governor Ahmed Aliyu of Sokoto State has approved a 35 per cent salary increase for academic staff and a 25 per cent increase for non-academic staff of Shehu Shagari College of Education (SSCOE), Sokoto.

The development was announced in a communiqué issued at the end of the 37th Emergency Congress of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), SSCOE Chapter.

The communiqué, signed by the chapter chairman, Umar Yahaya Muhammad, and secretary, Abubakar Salihu Tambuwal, described the approval and implementation of the salary adjustment as a landmark achievement that demonstrates the governor’s commitment to workers’ welfare and improved living standards.

According to the union, Governor Aliyu is the first governor in the North-West geopolitical zone to approve and implement such a salary increase for both academic and non-academic staff of a college of education.

COEASU noted that the salary review has restored hope among workers and is expected to enhance staff morale, productivity and commitment to duty.

The union urged its members to reciprocate the gesture through greater dedication, professionalism, punctuality and commitment to teaching, research and community service.

It also reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining industrial harmony and pledged continued cooperation with the college management and the state government to advance teacher education.

The congress further appealed to the government to sustain support for tertiary education through improved funding, staff development programmes, better learning facilities and enhanced welfare packages.

The Chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), Prof. Tunji Olaopa, has assured shortlisted candidates for recruitment that a computer-based test (CBT) will soon be conducted for them.

Olaopa gave the assurance in a statement he personally signed at the weekend in Abuja.

He said that his statement had become necessary to dispel online comments that CBT has been jettisoned as recruitment has already been done.

Dismissing the comments as frivolous and unfounded, Olaopa said that measures had been put in place for the CBT to be conducted for the shortlisted candidates.

He said what is left is the adequate provision of resources to support the process.

He added that as soon as the needed resources were made available, the CBT would hold.

Olaopa said that the commission only conducted interviews for persons with qualifications in the sciences, technical and vocational subjects, mathematics and engineering-based subjects in response to a request from the Federal Ministry of Education that was in dire need of these categories of teachers in Federal Unity Schools.

Noting that the exercise has not jeopardised the expected CBT, he urged shortlisted candidates to remain calm and anticipate official communication from the commission on the recruitment.

The Deputy Governor of Adamawa State, Professor Kaletapwa George Farauta, witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Adamawa State University (ADSU), Mubi, and Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, aimed at strengthening academic collaboration and advancing research activities between the two institutions.

The agreement was formally signed by the Vice Chancellors of both universities at the Abubakar Barde Campus of ADSU in Mubi.

The partnership is expected to deepen cooperation in key academic areas, including knowledge sharing, joint research, postgraduate supervision, staff development, sabbatical exchanges, and the sharing of academic facilities.

Speaking during the ceremony, Professor Farauta commended the managements of the two universities for initiating what she described as a strategic and impactful partnership capable of enhancing higher education in Adamawa State and beyond.

She stressed the need for academics to remain committed to equipping students with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills needed to thrive in today’s competitive global environment.

The Deputy Governor also reassured the institutions of the Adamawa State Government’s continued support toward transforming them into world-class centres of learning, research, and innovation.

Professor Farauta further emphasized the importance of effective supervision and urged the universities to continue expanding the frontiers of knowledge through research-driven innovation.

Speaking on the agreement, the Vice Chancellor of Adamawa State University, Professor Clement Augustine, and his counterpart from Modibbo Adama University, Professor Ibrahim Umar Bobboi, disclosed that the MoU covers joint postgraduate supervision, collaborative research programmes, staff development initiatives, sabbatical exchanges, and academic facility sharing.

They added that the partnership would also focus on livestock development, particularly artificial insemination of indigenous livestock breeds, as well as the introduction of medical and allied health science programmes aimed at producing more healthcare professionals.

The Vice Chancellors further stated that the collaboration would strengthen activities at the Centre for Peace and Security Studies, expand agricultural programmes, and enhance capacity-building opportunities for academic staff.

Both institutions reaffirmed their commitment to the successful implementation of the agreement to ensure the realization of its objectives.

A highlight of the occasion was the presentation of gifts to the Deputy Governor by the management of Adamawa State University.

Earlier, Professor Farauta inspected facilities at the university as part of activities marking the event.

Let’s begin with an anecdotal story, or rather, two stories. In November 2024, Hamdiyya Sidi Shariff, then a 19-year-old lady from Sokoto State decried the state government’s handling of banditry. But despite her life-threatening travails at the hands of the Sokoto State government over many months, she received little support from the northern public. In contrast, when another young lady, Ushie Rita Uguamaye, a youth corps member serving in Lagos, took to social media to criticise President Bola Tinubu over the cost-of-living crisis in the country, many Nigerians down South rose to her defence, which made attempts to persecute her difficult.

Hamdiyya’s and Rita’s circumstances were different, but both cases highlighted an increasing divide between the North and South in our attitudes to civic participation and the culture of collective demand for accountability and better governance. It is not that the South is a shining example of democratic governance itself as such, no. But at least on issues of collective security or some fundamental rights, southern publics, media and civil society tend to be more willing to draw a line and demand better, regardless of who is president or governor.

The North must learn from this, because, right now, the general tendency is not to transform individual suffering into collective demands for accountability, but to endure in silence. This diverging trend in civic culture was illustrated, again, by the recent kidnapping incidents in Oyo and Borno states on the same day. While one incident triggered protests and strikes, people largely resigned themselves to fate and prayers in the other. All Nigerian lives are equal, but one part of the country appears more willing to turn personal insecurity into collective pressure for better governance, while the other largely absorbs repeated incidents into normality. Yet, absorbing crime and cruelty into normality is precisely how evil thrives in a society.

It is true that southern media, civil society and public have tended to be generally indifferent to the insecurity situation in the North, except where there is divisive regional or religious politics to be played. But for me, the real question is not why others are not speaking loudly enough for us, but why we are not speaking loudly enough for ourselves. When governance failures cross certain thresholds, southern Nigeria appears to demonstrate a stronger culture of demanding accountability from leaders. Think the EndSARS protests, the Hunger Protest, and of course the recent protests and strikes following kidnapping incident in Ibadan.

What does the North do in the face of similar, and even worse situations? The point is simple: no one can value your life more than yourself. But perhaps the most worrying consequence of this trend is the normalisation of dysfunction. Kidnappings, mass abductions, bandit attacks and other forms of insecurity have become so frequent in the North that they increasingly appear to be treated as unfortunate realities of life rather than unacceptable governance failures that require collective action at all levels of state and society. Communities grieve, sympathise and pray, but rarely organise sustained pressure on leaders to do better. But when leaders do not feel the collective pressure of citizens, they tend to have few incentives to do better.

More importantly, for me, this culture of silence and fatalism in the face of mounting insecurity in northern Nigeria is structural, cutting across all levels of northern society, from the leadership to the followership. First, northern governors routinely issue statements condemning insecurity, but you would struggle to see evidence of their sustained advocacy and engagement with federal security institutions, and even less of their own internal collective efforts at solving the problem or at least improving the situation. This is despite the fact that many security challenges transcend state boundaries and therefore require collective political action.

Similarly, northern federal legislators rarely act in concert to keep these issues consistently on the national agenda. When last does anyone hear or see the heads of Nigeria’s security agencies being seriously grilled in either chamber of the National Assembly about the insecurity situation in the North and the rest of the country? When last did anyone hear National Assembly members demanding accountability for the trillions pumped into security budgets annually?

Northern civil society, as well as traditional and religious leaderships also appear less assertive than they once were in asserting public concerns. Organisations like the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), the Northern Elders Forum (NEF), and other civic bodies often respond episodically rather than sustained long-term campaigns around governance failures. Labour and professional unions have similarly been less visible in demanding accountability around security challenges directly affecting their constituencies and often even members. For example, until the incident in Ibadan, many Nigerians may have forgotten that the NUT still exists. Yet, it has state chapters across all 19 states of the North where one or other form of school kidnappings have occurred in virtually every state in the past five years or so.

Northern media organisations, with the notable exception of the Daily Trust and Trust TV, also sometimes treat these incidents as isolated tragedies rather than symptoms of deeper governance failures requiring sustained scrutiny. It is often said that the North suffers some disadvantage within Nigeria’s national media landscape. But this is only partly true. The South doubtless has more established national media outlets than the North, but the North has a far richer local and local language media culture than the South. But if these media spend more effort in cannibalising content from other media, as they often do, they would have little space or incentive to produce original material that reflects the governance situations in their own local environments on a sustained basis.

Traditional and religious leaders, meanwhile, frequently encourage patience and prayer. These have their place, but they cannot replace policy or governance performance. Thus, given these structural dimensions of a weak civic culture, ordinary citizens tend to suffer their pain in silence and the leaders have little incentives to do better. Yet governance improves only when citizens consistently remind leaders that poor performance carries political and social consequences.

The sad irony is that northern Nigeria was not always like this. The North used to have a strong civic culture that spoke out against poor governance, that demanded accountability and improved governance, and that stood up for the region’s interests within Nigeria’s fractious national politics. During the struggle against colonial rule and throughout the First Republic, northern politics featured vigorous contestation. Political parties such as the Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU) and the Middle Belt People’s Congress (UMPC) challenged both colonial Native Authorities and the dominance of the ruling Northern People’s Congress (NPC). Opposition politics was robust, and dissent was viewed as a legitimate component of public life. Indeed, even NPC politicians consistently educated the public against political complacency.

This tradition was carried forth into the Second Republic by parties like the People’s Redemption Party (PRP) and the Great Nigeria People’s Party (GNPP) who actively challenged incumbent federal and state governments and offered alternative visions of governance. Northern politics and political leaders accommodated disagreement and recognised that those in authority should be subjected to scrutiny, even though it was inconvenient. Individual activists, student movements, labour organisations and academic unions consistently pushed governments to perform better and defend public interests, often at great personal costs.

Even more recently under the Obasanjo administration (1999-2007), northern political and civil society leaders actively challenged federal overreach when they believed regional interests were at stake. Speaker Ghali Na’Abba and others in the National Assembly frequently confronted the presidency in defence of legislative independence. Governors such as Abdulkadir Kure asserted state rights. Senior figures in Obasanjo’s own cabinet like Adamu Ciroma spoke openly when they considered it necessary. The ACF emerged partly to articulate northern concerns, while traditional rulers such as Emir Mustapha Jokolo were willing to publicly express dissenting views. Their actions mirrored the assertiveness with which then Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu defended the interests of the South-West during the same period.

The lesson from recent events, therefore, is not that some Nigerians care more than others. Rather, it is that some parts of the country have become more willing to embrace silence and fatalism in the face of unacceptable governance failure. This is what must stop. For enduring change, the North must rediscover its activist voice.

For many Nigerian parents, recent school abductions in Borno State and Oyo State have revived painful memories of past incidents such as the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping.

Years after those tragedies, many Nigerians are still asking why schools remain vulnerable and whether enough has been done to protect children.

Join us in this episode of Nigeria Daily as we examine the return of school kidnappings and what must change to stop them.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has commended men of the Armed Forces and other security agencies, saying the country does not take their sacrifices for granted.

The President, in a message posted on his X handle and addressed to members of the Armed Forces and other security agencies, commended the soldiers for their sacrifices and commitment, saying they are the shield protecting Nigerians and preserving the nation’s peace and stability.

While describing the fight against insecurity as more than a military operation, the President said it is a national duty, urging citizens to support the security forces ‘by providing timely, useful information. When you see something, say something. When you know something, report it.’ he said.

He wrote, ‘I commend all our patriotic front-line soldiers in the fight against terrorism in all forms. You stand as a shield between innocent citizens and those who seek to destroy the peace, safety, and dignity of our communities.’

He commended the soldiers for carrying the burden of protecting Nigerians across difficult terrains, saying the country will not take the sacrifice for granted.

‘This fight has not been easy. It has come with pain, pressure, and sacrifice. But your courage has remained firm. Your service is acknowledged. Your sacrifice is honoured. Your country does not take you for granted.’

‘To every officer and soldier of our Armed Forces, to the Police, DSS, Civil Defence, intelligence services, local security formations, and all who work day and night to keep Nigeria safe, I say thank you.

‘I also acknowledge the families behind the uniform. Many of you have endured long absences, anxious nights, and the emotional cost of duty. Nigeria remembers that sacrifice, too.

‘We honour those who have paid the supreme price in defence of our country. Their names may not always trend, but their courage lives on in rescued communities, protected families, and the survival of the nation they served.’

The President reaffirmed the importance of the military operation, insisting that the fight against terror is not only a military operation.

‘It is a national duty. Citizens must support our security forces by providing timely, useful information. When you see something, say something. When you know something, report it.

‘Nigeria will not surrender to fear. We will not allow terrorists, bandits, kidnappers, or violent extremists to define who we are as a people. Their violence is not our identity. Their hatred does not represent Nigerians of any faith, creed, or community.

‘To our troops and all front-line patriots, thank you for your courage.’ he said.