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AGILE: Bauchi Coordinator Laments Inability To Fill Number Of Pupils

Published

1 year ago

December 17, 2024

Malam Ali Gar, the Bauchi state Coordinator of the Adolescent Girls Initiative for Learning (AGILE) project has lamented the inability to fill the required number of pupils allocated for the project.

He expressed worry over the situation during a five-day Training for 3,009 three School Based Management Committee (SBMC) executives from all the 20 LGAs in the state on their Roles, Responsibilities and Development of School Improvement Plan (SIP) in Bauchi.

The Project which earmarked 50 upper basic and 50 senior secondary schools to benefit from the intervention, has so far documented 7,000 out of the total of 20,250 pupils and students targeted beneficiaries.

Gar said even with over 20,000 admissions issued and continued sensitisation across media outfits and social media platforms, the project still has a target of 13,000 to cover.

The Project Coordinator identified poverty, poor infrastructure and proximity as some of the challenges hindering access among the targeted beneficiaries and charged the participants to redouble effort towards addressing the challenges in enrolment especially among the girl-child.

Also speaking, the Speaker, Bauchi State House of Assembly, Abubakar Suleiman said that the government alone cannot solve the problems of education.

Represented by the Chairman, House Committee on Education, Nasir Ala, the Speaker urged the trainees to be accountable and transparent in their assignment towards salvaging the future of the younger generation.

In his contribution, Alh. Adamu Duguri, the Executive Chairman, Bauchi State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), expressed worry over the alarming rate of divorce, Gender-based Violence attitude of people towards girl-child education.

He charged the SBMC members on greater responsibility in monitoring, supervision, enrolment and guarding of educational facilities in their respective communities.

While declaring the training open, the State Commissioner for Education, Dr Jemila Dahiru, said AGILE is one of the few projects that recognises and empowers SBMCs to promote educational activities.

Represented by the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Ali Babayo, the commissioner said this is one of the reasons why the participants pay attention towards the successful implementation of the set targets.

The 5-day training which drew three SBMC members from each of the 1,003 benefitting schools across the state, also has the twenty local government Education Secretaries among other stakeholders in attendance.

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Trump’s Airstrikes: Halt Military Cooperation With US Immediately – Sheikh Gumi Tells Tinubu Govt

Published

2 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

Islamic cleric, Sheikh Ahmad Gumi has called on the Federal Government to immediately halt all military cooperation with the United States following reported US airstrikes.

Gumi warned that American involvement could worsen Nigeria’s security challenges and undermine national sovereignty.

Gumi made the call in a statement posted on his Facebook page on Friday.

He said while Islam permits the fight against terrorism, such actions should only be carried out by what he described as “clean hands,” arguing that the United States lacks the moral authority to lead such efforts because of its global military record.

According to the cleric, Nigeria made a mistake by allowing foreign powers to play a role in its counterterrorism operations, insisting that “terrorists do not truly fight terrorists” and that such interventions often result in civilian casualties and hidden political motives.

Gumi warned that allowing Nigeria to become a theatre of war would attract anti-US forces into the country, further destabilising it.

He also cautioned that US involvement, particularly under claims of protecting Christians, could polarise the country along religious lines.

The cleric further argued that airstrikes alone cannot defeat terrorism, stressing that effective counterterrorism requires strong ground operations, which he said Nigeria has enough personnel to carry out if properly organised.

“This is the mistake Nigeria has made. Terrorists don’t fight terrorists in truth; they may only kill innocent people and have ulterior motives behind the drama of fighting ‘terror’.

“As a principle, no nation should allow its land to be a theater of war. And no nation should allow its neighbors to be their enemies.

“If Nigeria wants military assistance, China, Turkey, and Pakistan can do the job effectively,” part of his statement reads.

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Shehu Sani Reacts To Trump’s Military Strikes In Nigeria

Published

2 hours ago

December 26, 2025

Editor

Former lawmaker, senator Shehu Sani, has reacted to reports of United States military strikes on terrorist targets in Nigeria’s North-West, saying foreign powers cannot permanently handle the country’s security challenges.

Sani made the remarks on Friday via his X handle while responding to a post by the United States Africa Command, AFRICOM, which indicated that the strikes were carried out in coordination with Nigerian authorities.

According to him, if the reported strikes were indeed a joint operation with Nigerian security agencies, then such action was justifiable, given the threat posed by terrorist groups in the region.

He described terrorists operating in parts of northern Nigeria as “cancerous cells,” stressing that they survive through violence and should be confronted decisively.

Sani also dismissed narratives suggesting that terrorist attacks target only one religious group, describing such claims as false and misleading.

He said: “If actually, the military strikes against the terrorists targets in the North Western part of Nigeria were a joint operation with the ‘Nigerian Authorities’ as posted by the US AFRICOM on their verified X handle, then it’s a conscionable action.

“Terrorists have become cancerous cells in our part of the country.They live by the sword.The narrative that the evil terrorists only targets one faith, remains absolutely false and misleading.

“Again, the ultimate security and peace in our country lies with ourselves and not with the US or any foreign power. They can complimentarily or unilaterally strike, but they can’t eternally fight our battles.”