News

HOMEF Organizes Reading Series, Wants Nigerians Pick Ideas From Books To Better The Environment

Published

7 months ago

January 31, 2025

By Joseph Ebi Kanjo

In its pursuant to environmental justice, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), on Friday commenced a book reading series wherein short stories about the environment from a book co-authored by HOMEF team were read.

The eleven chapters and 93 pages book titled ‘A Walk in the Curfew’, and written during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown is a collection of short stories about the environment as it relates to man’s action, politics, challenges in the society, amongst others.

Speaking at the event held in Benin, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director, HOMEF, said the reading series was to make Nigerians appreciate books and more so to make them pick one or two ideas from books on how to make the environment better.

“We want Nigerians to pick up ideas from books, music, drama, movies, etc about what they can do to make the environment better,” he added.

According to Bassey, writing a book during a time the world was locked down is a reminder of the fact that the time of crisis is the best time to pause, reflect, and take real action.

He added: “Most often, when there is a calamity or there is a crisis, people tend to forget that they need to do something. People just panic, and forget about thinking to discuss what should be done.

“Writing a book in a time the world was locked down shows the fact that when things happen this way, don’t just ignore it, it is time to sit down and reflect.

“By writing the stories in the time of the pandemic, the writers show that emergencies are excellent moments for reflection on life.

“They also hold up the light on how to build resilience and overcome the most dire situations.

“The stories remind us of the power of human connection, solidarity, and creativity in the face of adversity.”

One of the co-authors, Kome Odhomor, said she was inspired to write her short stories after visiting a community in Rivers State where she saw fishes dead in the rivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Odhomor, the Communication Lead, HOMEF, who authored the chapter titled ‘The Fisher’s Pain’, said her story is a portrayal of the challenges faced by fishers in the Niger Delta and the need to protect the environment as humans.

“One would wonder how the fisherman copes at that particular time when the country was faced with lockdown and people are scrambling for survival.

“It brought to mind that we do need nature as humans, but not nature needing us, as we were made to believe,” she added.

Another co-author, Onome Etisioro, said the COVID-19 pandemic, which inspired fear in her, also made her come up with the thinking that for man to suffer from nature in that magnitude, man must have acted badly to nature in his day-to-day activities.

“The lockdown inspired fear in me in the sense that I saw nature as the opponent at that period. It was something that was scary; but it was also something that made me think that if nature is fighting us now, it means that we must have done something wrong to it, for it to fight back. So, it allows me to reflect on humans’ activities in nature,” she said.

News

FG Unveils Revised Curriculum For Basic, Secondary, Technical Education

Published

2 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Editor

Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad

The Federal Government said it completed a comprehensive review of school curricula for basic, senior secondary and technical education aimed to make Nigerian learners “future-ready.”

The Ministry of Education disclosed this in a statement signed on Friday by its Director of Press and Public Relations, Boriowo Folasade, and made available to newsmen on Sunday.

Folasade said the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Said Ahmad announced the curriculum on behalf of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Alausa, while speaking in Abuja.

According to the minister, the review was carried out in collaboration with key education stakeholders, including the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, the Universal Basic Education Commission, the National Senior Secondary Education Commission and the National Board for Technical Education.

The new framework is designed to reduce content overload, improve learning outcomes, and ensure Nigerian students are equipped with skills relevant to today’s global demands.

Prof. Ahmad said the exercise went beyond merely trimming subjects, stressing it focused on improving content to promote deeper learning and reduce overload for pupils and students.

“Under the revised structure, pupils in Primary 1–3 will study a minimum of nine and a maximum of 10 subjects; pupils in Primary 4–6 will take 10 to 12 subjects. Junior secondary students may offer 12 to 14 subjects, senior secondary students will take eight to nine subjects, and technical schools will offer nine to 11 subjects,” the statement read.

“The revised curricula will reduce content overload and create more learning time for students,” Prof. Ahmad said, adding that the changes reflect the government’s commitment to delivering quality, practical and relevant education in a rapidly changing world.

The Ministry of Education commended stakeholders for their role in the review and said implementation will be accompanied by strict monitoring to ensure a smooth transition across schools nationwide.

The ministry did not give an exact date for rollout, but said the new curricula will be phased in with oversight from relevant agencies to guarantee effective adoption.

News

Over 23,000 People Still Missing In Nigeria — ICRC

Published

2 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Editor

The International Committee of the Red Cross says more than 23,659 people remain missing in Nigeria, leaving 13,595 families in anguish, most of them women struggling with uncertainty and hardship.

Protection of Family Links Team Leader of ICRC in Damaturu, Mr Ishaku Luka, disclosed this on Sunday during activities to mark the International Day of the Disappeared.

He said 68 per cent of those still searching for answers were women, while 59 per cent of those missing were minors at the time of their disappearance.

According to him, Yobe State alone accounts for 2,500 cases, the majority recorded in Gujba Local Government Area.

“Behind every missing person is a family living in pain, uncertainty, and economic difficulty.

“The anguish is compounded by legal, administrative, and psychosocial challenges. These families deserve acknowledgement, care and support,” Luka said.

He explained that the issue of missing persons was one of the most devastating consequences of armed conflicts, disasters, and migration.

He urged parties to conflicts, authorities, and communities to take greater responsibility in preventing disappearances.

Sharing ICRC’s interventions, Luka said by June 30, the organisation had collected 451 new cases in Nigeria, and closed 515 cases.

Luka added that the organisation had facilitated the reunification of seven separated children with their families.

“Every day, worldwide, we help reunite 20 people with their families. Every hour, we help clarify the fate of two missing people. Every minute, we help four separated persons contact their loved ones,” he added.

Head of ICRC Sub-delegation in Damaturu, Mr Rashid Hassan, said families of the missing should not be left alone in their struggles.

“Time does not heal. Acknowledgement, answers and respect do. Families must know that their loved ones are not forgotten and their demands are heard,” Hassan stressed.

He said the ICRC, working with the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS), had provided mental health and psychosocial support, livelihood assistance, and orientation programmes for families of missing persons in Borno and Adamawa states.

Hassan urged authorities to fulfill their obligations by clarifying the fate of missing persons, protecting the dignity of the dead, and addressing the economic and social needs of the affected families.

He also called on society to show solidarity, avoid stigmatisation, and support the resilience of families searching for answers.

Globally, Hassan said, more than 94,000 people were newly registered as missing in 2024, bringing the total to 284,400.

He stressed, however, that the figure represented only a fraction of the real number.

“As we commemorate this day, we renew our commitment to advocate for the rights of the disappeared and to push for continuous efforts in searching for answers.

“No family should live with the torment of uncertainty,” Hassan said.

(NAN)

News

Ex-TVC’s ‘Your View Host,’ Afolabi-Brown, Admits Ignorance In Past Criticism Of Peter Obi

Published

3 hours ago

August 31, 2025

Editor

… narratives how she once considered suicide

Former Your View host, Morayo Afolabi-Brown, has said her past remarks about former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, were made without knowing much about him or his record in office.

The veteran media personality, in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, explained that her comments on the Labour Party presidential candidate at the time were not based on personal familiarity with his record.

“It was because I did not know him. After I made that comment, people called me and said, ‘Morayo, do you realise that when he was governor, he actually served us?’

“So that was him. I said, ‘Oh, I did not know,’” she said.

The broadcaster also opened up about her battle with depression, recalling how she once considered taking her own life.

“I was depressed. It got so bad that I thought I was suicidal. I just left everything behind.

“I remember just walking on the express, hoping a car would hit me. It was that bad,” she revealed.

Afolabi-Brown explained that she decided to step away from Your View after the show’s tenth anniversary, saying she had long harboured the thought of moving on.

“It was when we were 10 years old that I knew it was time to move on to the next thing.

“I’ve been harbouring that thought for a while, but I just didn’t know to what or where, you know.

“But I think last year, I got that light bulb moment,” she said.

Brown further narrated how she was sacked from TVC until her identity became known to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“People now call Asiwaju, ‘Do you know whose child was sacked?’ He said, ‘I’m not aware.’

“He said, ‘This is the Alao Aka-Bashorun’s daughter. That’s when he knew it was me,” she recalled.

On controversies during her career, she revisited the uproar that trailed an on-air interview in which she was accused of calling her husband a pedophile.

According to her, the First Lady’s intervention helped her make peace and publicly apologise.

Her exit from Your View, she noted, marked the end of her 12-year journey on the breakfast show.