Category: The Nation – Nigeria

Jude Bellingham has been voted England’s Men’s Player of the Year for the second consecutive season after an outstanding international campaign that culminated in a record-breaking World Cup, TVC News reports.

The Real Madrid midfielder received the award after supporters voted through the official England app, recognising his influential performances for Thomas Tuchel’s side during the 2025-26 campaign.

Bellingham was one of England’s standout performers at the 2026 World Cup, scoring seven goals as the Three Lions finished third – their best World Cup result since winning the tournament in 1966. His tally also established a new record for an England men’s player at a single major tournament.

The 23-year-old was particularly influential in the knockout rounds, scoring twice against Mexico in the last 16 before producing another two-goal performance in England’s quarter-final victory over Norway.

His performances also earned praise from Tuchel, who described Bellingham as one of the standout players of the tournament and highlighted his ability to thrive under pressure.

Bellingham expressed his appreciation after receiving the award, describing the recognition from England supporters as a major honour.

The midfielder improved also after also claiming the 2024-25 England Player of the Year award, when he became only the second player to win the prize while playing for a club outside England, following Owen Hargreaves.

The latest recognition adds to a growing list of individual honours for Bellingham, who is also among the England players nominated for the 2026 Ballon d’Or to be held in October.

Former presidential adviser and elder statesman, Senator Ben Obi, has called for greater emphasis on practical skills acquisition as part of efforts to tackle youth unemployment and associated social vices in the country.

Obi, who spoke at the graduation ceremony of Springfield Fashion Academy (SFA) in Abuja, said academic certificates alone could no longer guarantee economic survival in the face of rising unemployment.

He described practical skills and technical competence, popularly referred to as ‘sabificate’, as important tools for empowering young Nigerians to become self-reliant and create wealth.

‘We must not only rely on certificates to survive. We must equally rely on our skills to be able to put food on the table,’ he said.

The former lawmaker praised the creativity and confidence displayed by the graduating fashion designers, saying vocational training could help shift young Nigerians from dependence on formal employment to entrepreneurship and wealth creation.

He urged the Federal Government, corporate organisations and development partners to establish funding mechanisms for credible private vocational training institutions.

According to him, supporting successful vocational institutes would enable them to expand and establish training centres across the 36 states, thereby widening access to skills acquisition.

Obi also advised young Nigerians to enrol in structured skills acquisition programmes rather than wait indefinitely for white-collar jobs.

He said institutions such as Springfield Fashion Academy could make greater impact if adequately supported to establish branches across the country.

The Creative Director of Springfield Fashion Academy, Blessing Ugwuodo, similarly urged unemployed youths and graduates to acquire practical skills instead of relying entirely on academic qualifications.

Ugwuodo said many graduates had remained unemployed for years because of their dependence on white-collar jobs, despite the opportunities available in vocational and creative industries.

She noted that practical skills could provide a more immediate route to self-employment and economic independence.

‘I am educated and I am a graduate, but skill is actually higher and more powerful than certificates,’ she said.

Ugwuodo urged young Nigerians to use the period spent searching for formal employment to develop skills and create products and services that could meet market demand.

She said Nigeria’s large population presented significant opportunities for local producers and entrepreneurs, adding that fashion was only one of several areas where young people could acquire marketable skills.

The fashion academy boss, however, expressed concern over the financial pressures confronting small and medium-scale enterprises in the Federal Capital Territory.

She particularly criticised the increase in levies imposed by the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), saying excessive charges could undermine the survival of small businesses.

According to her, rather than impose additional financial burdens on emerging enterprises, government should create an enabling environment for them to grow.

Ugwuodo also called for a review of government empowerment programmes, urging public institutions to channel resources to organisations with verifiable records of grassroots impact.

She said government should move beyond publicity-driven empowerment initiatives and support institutions already providing sustainable skills and livelihoods to vulnerable Nigerians.

She noted that Springfield Fashion Academy had trained people from diverse backgrounds, including educated and uneducated youths, persons with disabilities and widows.

Ugwuodo added that the academy had also trained individuals without formal education, stressing that lack of schooling should not constitute a barrier to acquiring skills and becoming self-reliant.

She called for stronger collaboration between government and credible vocational institutions to take skills acquisition programmes to the grassroots.

Federal Capital Territory (FCT)minister, Nyesom Wike, has announced plans to inaugurate and lead the campaign machinery in Abuja and Rivers to drive the re-election bid of President Bola Tinubu.

Wike disclosed this in Abuja yesterday, after he inspected the ongoing Kuje-Gwagwalada road dualisation project.

He added that he would lead the campaign effort within the nation’s capital and extend the re-election operations to his home state of Rivers.

According to him, political parties across the spectrum are organising their ranks, and supporters of the president are prepared to initiate an aggressive campaign.

‘The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), I believe, is putting itself together for an aggressive campaign.

‘For us who are supporting Mr President from different political platforms, we have put our machinery ready to kick-start.

‘Very soon, I will inaugurate the campaign team for Tinubu in the FCT and Rivers, which I will lead.

‘All elements of the APC are ready, Mr President is ready, we are ready and you can see the enthusiasm.’

Addressing critics and political opponents, Wike argued that visible development projects would serve as the main driver for electoral support in the FCT, dismissing allegations of electoral malpractice ahead of time.

‘People are happy, and I don’t know who will contest against the president as far as this election is concerned.

‘This is governance, and this is what people expect. It will translate directly into actual votes,’ he said.

Wike expressed confidence that the administration’s infrastructure record would secure victory across board in the FCT, including support for Sen. Philip Aduda and the two House of Representatives seats.

‘It is obvious. Nobody will be able to claim rigging in FCT. The ‘rigging’ is the projects we are delivering, making the people happy,’ Wike said.

Commending the contractor and site engineers for the progress recorded so far, the minister assured stakeholders that adequate funding would be disbursed to guarantee completion of the project by December.

‘This is my first time getting to this side of the road, and I can see how highly populated this area is,’ he said.

The minister emphasised that delivering functional infrastructure remains the cornerstone of good governance and public satisfaction.

‘You can imagine the enthusiasm and happiness on the faces of the people. That is why we say the essence of governance is to make people happy.

‘When the people are happy, those in authority are happy,’ he added, expressing gratitude to Tinubu for providing sustained support for capital projects in the territory.

The Toronto International Film Festival has revealed the 2026 award winners during a live press conference at TIFF Lightbox recently.

Among the top honours announced were the People’s Choice Awards, presented by Rogers, voted on by TIFF’s public audience; the Platform Prize, the Festival’s only juried programme; two Canadian feature film awards, Short Cuts, FIPRESCI, and NETPAC awards.

In total, 12 awards were handed out, celebrating standout films and breakout talent.

In a historic first this year, winning TIFF’s Platform Prize grants a non-English-language film direct eligibility for Best International Feature Film at the Academy Awards, alongside top winners from five other qualifying festivals.

The 2026 TIFF presented 294 films from 72 countries, welcoming over 800 talent across 98 red carpets. The Festival hosted 2,000 accredited media, close to 7,000 TIFF: The Market delegates, and 279 directors from around the world.

Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi’s ‘La Bola Negra’ People’s Choice Award presented by Rogers; ‘Elsinore’ won International People’s Choice Award presented by Rogers; ‘Darlene Love: I Know Where I’ve Been’ People’s Choice Documentary Award presented by Rogers; ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, Brian Mulroney’ won People’s Choice Midnight Madness Award presented by Rogers; Theja Rio’s ‘Angh’ won Platform Prize; ‘Brace Your Heart’ won Special Jury Award; ‘Sunburn’ won Best Canadian Feature Film Award and a $10,000 CAD cash prize; while ‘Smudge the Blades’ won the award for Best Canadian Discovery Award.

Worried by the removal of Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa, other indigenous languages, from the new school curriculum, the publisher of the Yoruba Tooto weekly newspaper, Mr Kunle Babarinde, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to rescind the policy and restore the three major languages to the school curriculum.

Babarinde appealed at a press briefing held yesterday at the Meiran, headquarters of the newspaper, in Lagos, urging President Tinubu’s intervention to save Yoruba and the other languages from going extinct.

The publisher explained that the open appeal through the press became necessary after he had fruitlessly written letters to President Bola Tinubu; Senate President Godswill Akpabio; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, and all governors in the South-West, as well as the co-chairman of the National Council of Traditional Rulers of Nigeria (NCTRN), Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III, the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi (Ojaja II) and other prominent Obas in Yorubaland.

‘Of all the letters that I have written to these important personalities and eminent Nigerians, the only response I received was from the Sultan of Sokoto, while others are yet to respond to my letters,’ Babarinde said.

The publisher noted that indigenous languages are tools for cultural identity and the promotion of values, without which no country can truly develop or make meaningful progress.

‘Language is a living creature that dies when it is not used. As a stakeholder and publisher of a Yoruba weekly magazine, I am not fighting only for the restoration of the Yoruba language, but for all three languages, Yoruba, Hausa, and Igbo, to be included in the school curriculum.

‘All three languages have been removed from the current school curriculum, both in primary and secondary schools and what that portends is that the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has decided to return us to slavery.

‘A people’s language is the totality of their being, and once the language dies, then every other thing, including culture, tradition and values, is gone.

‘Therefore, I am not only seeking the restoration of the three major languages to the school curriculum alone, but I am also using this opportunity to appeal to President Bola Tinubu to make the languages compulsory for admission into tertiary institutions,’ he said.

‘Job loss is imminent for the teachers of indigenous languages in Nigeria. The teachers are not happy with the proposed plan of the Federal Government to remove the languages from the curriculum, a development they said could make them redundant or out of a job.’

Other stakeholders at the media briefing include a former chairman of the Egbe Akomolede Yoruba, Lagos State chapter, Mrs Olaitan Zainab Olaide, who also urged all Yoruba monarchs to raise their voices against the proposed removal of the Yoruba and other languages from the school curriculum.

Olaide said: ‘Our language remains the only heritage that gives us the identity and respect we have as a race. So, our traditional rulers in Yoruba land must rise and raise their voices against the removal of Yoruba language from the current school curriculum,’ she said.

Other members of the Yoruba Tooto Multipurpose Cooperative Society present at the conference included the Lagos State chairman, Olabode Oyeniyi, Mrs Bunmi Adegoke and Mrs Bosede Ariyo, among others.

If only Nigeria knew how President Bola Ahmed Tinubu rescued Nigerians from the oil subsidy regime, every Nigerian would stand and thank him every morning.

The oil subsidy was not a policy. It was a monumental fraud. A national organised crime.

I write not as a politician, but as an insider. I served this country as a staff member of NNPC for 20 solid years. I was an accountant responsible for recording petroleum product sales from my desk at Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC), Ibadan Depot. For 20 years, I saw the books. I saw the lies.

I also write as a former member of the House of Representatives. I served on the Downstream Petroleum Committee, the Finance Committee, the Subsidy Probe Committee of 2012, and, above all, the Petroleum Industry Bill Committee of the 7th Assembly.

These exposures and responsibilities gave me the opportunity to arrive at one painful truth: this country’s oil and gas industry operated in a deeply corrupt environment, shrouded in secrecy that injured the nation deeply.

The subsidy regime lied about everything. They lied about production costs. They lied about imports. They lied about landing costs and their poor cost template. They also lied about storage and consumption figures. Nigeria was consuming 30 million litres on paper, but on the ground, half of it was going across our borders to Benin, Niger, Togo, Cameroon and Ghana. We were subsidising the consumption of petroleum products for mostly our neighbouring countries while Nigerians suffered scarcity.

We were borrowing to import what we had. We were paying debts for products we did not consume. The huge debt incurred during the subsidy regime almost collapsed our economy. Banks were making trillions from subsidy claims. One man would bring one ship and claim for three. Depot owners collected subsidies for products that never left their tanks.

That is why I say the best thing that ever happened to this oil and gas industry is the bold step taken by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on May 29, 2023, when he said, ‘Subsidy is gone’.

Only a courageous leader with a full understanding of the cartel can do that. Others before him knew the truth but lacked the courage.

If any counter-voices are now calling for the return of subsidy, it can only mean one thing: the cartels are fighting back. It will not augur well for us as a nation if we listen to them. Those championing the return of subsidy either lack the knowledge or exposure to how this country was subsidising other countries, or they are direct beneficiaries of the fraud.

Let me be clear: Nigerians were never the beneficiaries of subsidy. The cartels were. Nigerians were only benefiting from cheap smuggled products, scarcity, long queues, and national debt.

Of course, the need to overhaul the administration of the post-subsidy regime cannot be overemphasised. The government must ensure that the savings from the subsidy are well managed, that refineries work, that CNG and other palliatives reach the real poor, and that the downstream is well regulated.

But to return to subsidy? Never. That will be returning to Egypt after God has already taken us through the Red Sea.

President Tinubu has taken the hard road, the right road. History will vindicate him.

Hon. Rotimi Makinde, former PPMC Staff (20 years, Ibadan Depot) and former Member, House of Representatives, writes from the Source.

No fewer than five hundred participants are expected at the Camporee 2026 organised by the Osun State Council of the Scout Association of Nigeria.

The event holding for two days in Osogbo, the state capital city, will start on Friday, September 25 and end on Sunday, 27.

The participants are drawn from across Nigeria and particularly the thirty local government areas of Osun State.

According to a statement by the Osun State Scout Commissioner, Dr. Sola Olalekan Atanda, the event is being held at the Olutimehin Grammar School, Asubiaro, Osogbo.

Calling on the Osun State government led by Governor Ademola Adeleke to partner and support the Scout Council in the state, Atanda said the youths deserved to be empowered in all areas of their lives for them to be able to channel their God-given talents and energies to good purposes and also to contribute meaningfully to the overall development of the nation.

Atanda, a Marathon ’63 Scouter, said the purpose of the programme was for the participants, who are youths, to learn, grow, connect and build memories through the spirit of scouting.

He said: ‘The programme is not just another camping experience; it is an opportunity to challenge the youths to discover new strengths, serve others, and grow into the leaders they are meant to become.’

He said it was important for everyone in attendance to live up to the principle of our body, ‘Building Tomorrow’s Leaders Through Scouting.’

Atanda, therefore, charged those to attend the event to be prepared, to be intentional and to ensure they participate in all the scheduled activities of the Camporee 2026.

The people of Osun State have appealed to President Bola Tinubu to complete the abandoned bridge over the Eko-Ende/Ilie River and reconstruct the Ikirun-Ogbomoso road to boost the economy of Osun, Oyo and Kwara states.

The Elende of Eko-Ende, Oba Abdulwaheed Babatunde Adekunle, appealed while inspecting an abandoned bridge over the Eko-Ende/Ilie River.

The monarch pleaded with the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) for Osun Central Senatorial District, Kunle Rasheed Adegoke (SAN), popularly known as K-RAD, to make the demands of the people of the areas known to President Bola Tinubu.

Adegoke, who was on a consultation visit to Eko-Ende along with the APC candidate for Ifelodun State Constituency in the Osun State House of Assembly, Dr Mulikat Jimoh, pledged to take the infrastructure challenges facing communities along the Ikirun-Ogbomoso corridor to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The affected communities include Eko-Ende, Ore, Ilie, Iregba and Iresa, among others, with residents relying heavily on the road corridor for the movement of people, farm produce and goods.

The bridge, initiated during the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan and awarded to MM and IF Construction Company, was intended to improve connectivity between communities in Osun and Oyo states.

Its abandonment has, however, left the route in poor condition and created difficulties for communities and businesses that depend on the corridor.

Speaking on behalf of the affected communities, Oba Adekunle appealed to K-RAD to use his access to the Federal Government to seek the completion of the bridge and the reconstruction and expansion of the road.

‘The bridge and road are critical to our economic survival, and giving them the required attention will have a significant impact on our livelihoods,’ the monarch said.

The monarch also expressed support for President Tinubu and said the communities would continue to mobilise support for the President ahead of the 2027 presidential election.

Responding, K-RAD promised to take the concerns directly to the Presidency. ‘We will do the needful as soon as possible,’ he assured the communities.

K-RAD also commended the Tinubu administration for infrastructure projects across Osun State, expressing confidence that the President would recognise the importance of the road and bridge to the communities and wider regional economy.

The Ikirun-Ogbomoso corridor connects several agricultural communities across Osun and Oyo states and serves as an important route for the movement of people and agricultural produce.

For the affected communities, the demand is straightforward: the abandoned bridge should be completed and the road restored to a condition that can support economic activity across the area.

The Bauchi State Police Command has arrested two suspects in connection with alleged strangulation of a four-month-old baby and the killing of a 60-year-old woman accused of witchcraft.

The incidents occurred in Zirami, Azare, and Gadau areas of the state on Thursday.

In the first incident, a 27-year-old man, Muhammad Garba Ladan, was arrested after his wife reported the death of their four-month-old daughter, Fatimah Muhammad, at Azare Division.

The mother, aged 20, reportedly told the police that she had left the baby sleeping at home and gone to a neighbour’s house for hairdressing.

She said that upon returning, she found the baby lifeless and allegedly saw her husband suspiciously coming out of the room.

According to the police, the woman alleged that her husband had previously made several unsuccessful attempts to kill the child, whose pregnancy reportedly occurred before the couple got married.

The police said detectives attached to the Azare Division rushed the child to the General Hospital, where a doctor confirmed that she had died from alleged strangulation.

The suspect was subsequently arrested and is currently undergoing preliminary investigation, while the child’s remains were released to relatives for burial.

In a separate incident in Gadau, police arrested 25-year-old Haruna Amadu of Kuka Buni village for allegedly killing a 60-year-old woman, Hafsatu Ya’u, who he accused of being a witch.

The police said the suspect allegedly trespassed into the victim’s residence at Wasari village, Gadau District, at about 7am on Thursday and attacked her with a knife.

The victim was reportedly stabbed in the chest and other parts of her body, while the suspect allegedly accused her of causing the illness of one Maryam Amadu of Kuka Buni Village.

Police detectives attached to the Gadau Division evacuated the victim to the General Hospital, Azare, for treatment, but she was later pronounced dead by a doctor.

The corpse was released to her relatives for burial while the suspect was arrested.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Nafiu Habib, said both cases were under investigation and would be transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

The Commissioner of Police, Sani-Omolori Aliyu, condemned witchcraft-related killings and violence against women and children, warning residents against taking the law into their own hands.

Dr Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, wife of the Lagos State Governor, has urged residents to embrace waste sorting and proper sanitation practices to facilitate waste evacuation and prevent the spread of communicable diseases.

Sanwo-Olu made the call on Saturday while monitoring the sixth edition of the state’s reintroduced monthly environmental sanitation at Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area.

She stressed the need for cleaner and sustainable sanitation practices at the grassroots, saying that proper waste management remained essential to maintaining a healthy environment.

‘We need our people to embrace sorting of waste because it will make evacuation easier and also help us to maintain a cleaner environment.

‘Sanitation is not just about cleaning our surroundings; it is about ensuring that our communities are healthy and sustainable and preventing the spread of communicable diseases,’ she said.

Sanwo-Olu, who acknowledged the need for the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) to improve its waste evacuation operations, said the situation could only get better with sustained efforts by all stakeholders.

‘LAWMA needs to be up and doing. We acknowledge that there are areas where we need to improve, but it can only get better.

‘We also need residents to play their own part by ensuring that waste is properly sorted and disposed of,’ she said.

She commended residents of Oshodi-Isolo, particularly women and children, for participating actively in the monthly exercise.

The governor’s wife was accompanied by Mrs Oluremi Hamzat, wife of the Deputy Governor; Mr Rotimi Akodu, Special Adviser on Environment; and other top government functionaries.

Meanwhile, some residents of Olowora and Eweje streets alleged that heaps of refuse had accumulated in their areas due to non-evacuation by LAWMA in the last six months.

Mrs Adeola Lawal, a resident of Olowora, urged the state government and waste management authorities to be proactive in evacuating refuse, saying that prolonged accumulation of waste could pose serious health risks to residents.

Lawal called for regular monitoring of waste collection activities and prompt intervention whenever refuse began to accumulate, stressing the need to guard against a possible epidemic.

From Mafoluku, Mr Julius Moye, another resident, said residents had continued to fulfil their obligations by paying their PSP waste collection bills, but expressed concern over the prolonged presence of refuse in the area.

Moye urged the authorities to ensure that waste was evacuated regularly, saying that proactive measures were necessary to prevent the situation from deteriorating into a public health crisis.

Mr Charles Nwobodo also called for greater proactiveness by the state government and relevant waste management agencies, urging them to address refuse accumulation before it became a wider health challenge.

Nwobodo said residents should also play their part by disposing of waste properly, while the authorities should ensure that collected waste was evacuated promptly.

The residents appealed to the state government to strengthen waste evacuation operations in Olowora and Eweje and ensure that communities where residents regularly paid their PSP bills received corresponding waste collection services.

They also called for sustained environmental sanitation beyond the monthly exercise, saying regular waste evacuation would complement residents’ efforts to maintain clean and healthy surroundings.

The streets monitored by Sanwo-Olu and her entourage include Adisa Ajibulu, Eweje, Makinde, Abeokuta and Olowora.