General
North East Conflict Renders 1.9m Nigerians Homeless—UNICEF
By Adedapo Adesanya
The conflict in the North East of Nigeria has uprooted 1.9 million Nigerians from their homes, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) has disclosed.
This was made known in a statement issued by the UN specialised agency’s Communications Specialist for Nigeria, Mr Geoffrey Njoku, on Tuesday, May 5.
The UNICEF report stressed that internally-displaced children in Nigeria accounted for one of the world’s most vulnerable to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The agency, in the report titled Lost at Home to assess the risks and challenges facing internally- displaced children, called for urgent actions to protect them.
“In North-East, Nigeria, there are currently 1.9 million people displaced from their homes. Sixty percent of them are children, with one in four under the age of five,” it said.
The report stated that globally, an estimated 19 million children, more than ever before, were living in displacement within their own countries, due to conflict and violence in 2019.
“’Lost at Home’ looks at the risks and challenges internally- displaced children face and the urgent actions needed to protect them,” it said.
The UN agency said that as COVID-19 continues to spread around the world, children are among the most vulnerable to feel its direct and indirect impacts.
“Hundreds of thousands of children in North-East, Nigeria, are living in the shadow of conflict and now in the increasingly-challenging shadow of a global pandemic and its potential socio-economic aftermath.
“When a new crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic emerges, displaced children are especially vulnerable and the gaps in our ability to keep them safe are even starker.
“We must urgently work together; all of us, government and humanitarian partners, to keep them safe, healthy, learning and protected,” it said.
According to the report, the COVID-19 pandemic is making a critical situation for displaced children and families around the world even worse.
It said that they often lived in overcrowded camps or informal settlements, where access to basic hygiene and health services was limited, and where physical distancing was not possible.
“This is true in Nigeria’s North-East, where conditions pose a particular challenge to containing the possible spread of diseases like COVID-19.
“Internally-displaced children around the world often lack access to basic services and are at risk of exposure to violence, exploitation, abuse and trafficking,” the report stated.
Assessing the challenges facing children, UNICEF explained that they were also at risk of child labour, child marriage and family separation, all of which posed direct threats to their health and safety.
The report said there are 12 million new displacements of children in 2019, with 3.8 million of them caused by conflict and violence and 8.2 million by disasters linked mostly to weather-related events, like flooding and storms.
UNICEF further said it was collaborating with its partners to protect displaced children in the North-East through critical health and nutrition services.
Others, it said, were provision of access to life-saving WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) services through accelerated construction of facilities, and adapted solutions to continuing education, including provision of radio for distance learning, while schools were closed.
“What we really need now are strategic investments and united efforts by government, civil society organisations, private sector, humanitarian actors and the children themselves, to find solutions to the effects of displacement, especially as we face the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The efforts must also address and help mitigate the long term impacts this can have on children’s health and education,” it said
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Young bloggers, online content creators and digital influencers have been charged to embrace ethical journalism, responsible storytelling and fact-based reporting as they shape public opinion in the digital age.
This task was given by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mr Mohammed Idris, during the Niger State Bloggers, Online Publishers and Content Developers Forum on Monday in Abuja.
In a statement on Tuesday by his Special Assistant on Media, Mr Rabiu Ibrahim, the Minister said digital platforms offer enormous opportunities for innovation and civic engagement but must be used responsibly to promote truth, national unity and constructive public discourse.
He urged bloggers and content creators to verify information before publication, reject misinformation and disinformation, avoid sensationalism, and use their platforms to educate, inspire and promote national development.
Mr Idris also encouraged young Nigerians to see digital content creation not only as a source of income but also as a tool for civic engagement and nation-building, stressing that ethical communication is essential to strengthening democracy and public trust.
He further encouraged aspiring bloggers and digital entrepreneurs to continue developing their skills and uphold professional standards that will strengthen the credibility of Nigeria’s online media ecosystem.
“There is no democracy that can thrive without a responsible media. You cannot carry freedom and abandon responsibility,” he stated, adding that the government remains committed to protecting press freedom while encouraging ethical journalism.
The Minister also highlighted the establishment of the International Media and Information Literacy Institute (IMILI), the world’s first UNESCO Category 2 Institute dedicated exclusively to Media and Information Literacy, describing it as a major step in promoting digital literacy and responsible online engagement.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The vice-presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr Rabiu Kwankwaso, disclosed that Mr Peter Obi, the party’s presidential candidate, signed agreements committing himself to serving only one four-year term if elected in 2027.
Mr Kwankwaso explained that the documents comprised a formal agreement involving the political party and a separate personal accord between himself and Mr Obi.
According to Mr Kwankwaso, the deal stipulates that the presidency will return to Northern Nigeria in 2031 upon the completion of an Obi-led administration’s four-year tenure, if elected next year.
“We have agreed to formalise it in writing,” Mr Kwankwaso stated. “We have executed one document for the party and another between the two of us,” he revealed during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today late on Monday.
He reiterated that Mr Obi would honour his pledge and resist pressure to seek a second term, expressing confidence in the former Anambra State governor, noting that his interactions had convinced him that he would respect the agreement.
“I personally believe him, and, based on what I now know about him, I do not believe he will change his mind when the time comes,” he said. “We are all gentlemen.”
Mr Kwankwaso added that he and Mr Obi would continue to collaborate after the proposed administration completes its term.
“The agreement is that after four years, we will continue to work together as a group, as a party, and as friends and brothers,” he said. “After our four-year term, from 2027 to 2031, power returns to the North. That is the consensus.”
The former defence minister did not state that he would be the NDC presidential candidate in 2031; his comments referred broadly to the presidency returning to the North, rather than to his personal political ambitions.
Mr Obi has repeatedly pledged to serve only one term if elected; however, he has yet to publicly confirm the specific details of the documents described by Mr Kwankwaso.
In the 2023 Presidential polls, Mr Obi was the Labour Party presidential candidate while Mr Kwankwaso contested on the platform of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Over 1.14 million hectares of degraded land have been restored by the Nigerian government, with more than 1.5 million trees planted across the country in the past year.
This information was revealed by the Minister of Environment, Mr Balarabe Abbas Lawal, at the 2026 Top Management Retreat and National Tree Planting Campaign in Maiduguri, Borno State.
He said these achievements were made through initiatives of the federal government like the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project and the National Agency for the Great Green Wall.
According to him, the restoration of the land and the planting of trees demonstrate a clear national commitment to securing environmental sustainability while advancing economic growth.
The Minister reemphasised that the environment is not an abstract concept, pointing out that “it is the air we breathe, the land that feeds us, the rivers that sustain communities, and the climate that shapes the future.”
He praised Governor Babagana Zulum of Borno State for his giant strides in the environment sector in the state, urging other state governors to emulate him by providing sponsorship for their students to the various Federal Colleges of Forestry Resources Management institutions located across the six geo-political zones of the country to encourage and boost Forest education in the country.
He described the decision of Mr Zulum to sponsor 540 indigenes of the state to a forestry college in Maiduguri as commendable.
Mr Lawal also informed the participants of the programme that the Presidential Executive Order on the Prohibition of Exportation of Wood and Allied Products, 2025, is a key policy instrument under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying it protects Nigeria’s forest resources, curbs illegal logging, and encourages tree planting as a national duty.
He pledged the Federal Ministry of Environment’s continued partnership with state governments on afforestation, ecosystem restoration, and other interventions tailored to their needs.
“Nigeria’s environmental future can be secured by protecting natural heritage, strengthening climate resilience, and advancing inclusive and sustainable development for present and future generations,” he declared.
