Headline

World Bank To FG: You Won’t Succeed In Lifting 100m Nigerians Out Of Poverty, If…

Published

4 years ago

April 8, 2022

Editor

The World Bank says it is hopeful the Federal Government can achieve its target of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in 10 years, but warned, on Friday, that such an ambitious goal won’t succeed without the execution of policies to keep adolescent girls in school and also provide opportunities in the labour market.

The Country Director, World Bank Nigeria, Mr. Shuabham Chaudhuri, said this during the launch of the policy note on ‘Supporting Adolescent Girls to Kickstart the Stalled Demographic Transition and Harnessing the Demographic Dividend in Nigeria’ which was held in Abuja.

According to him, while it was good to be ambitious, the policy environment for human capital development and job opportunities in the labour market was more crucial.

Chaudhuri said Nigeria was sitting on a ticking demographic time-bomb because governments at both the Federal and State levels have failed to heed previous dire warnings that the country’s exponential population growth might develop into a social disaster.

He said, “At the World Bank, our mission is about helping all of our member countries eliminate poverty and make life better for the bottom half. In the case of Nigeria, that aspiration is very clearly stated by His Excellency the President in terms of lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty.

“But it is very clear that Nigeria will not succeed in lifting 100 million Nigerians out of poverty if Nigeria does not manage its demographic dividend and accelerate the transition.

“Nigeria has a demographic time bomb ticking away. Why is that so? The number of jobs Nigerian youths have access to is very small compared to the number of women giving birth to children in the country.

“The single most important thing Nigeria needs to do to manage and realise its full demographic dividend is to keep adolescent girls in school. If we keep girls in school for at least secondary school, they would have matured enough for marriage at 18.”

In a similar vein, World Bank’s Regional Director, (West and Central Africa), Ms. Dena Ringold, said investing in adolescent girls was crucial to reducing child marriages in Nigeria.

She said, “Human capital development is important because it is the foundation for productive life and prepares children to take on the future.

“It is crucial that we invest in adolescent girls in order to increase the number of girls attending school and to reduce girl child marriage. We also need to engage boys since they are critical enablers of girls’ access to quality of life.”

Also speaking, the Emir of Shonga, HRH Alhaji Haliru Yahaya, noted that poorly educated families start procreating early – some girls as early as 10 years of age.

“Patriarchy is a very nasty that keeps women out of the real scheme of things. The issue of early marriage is most nauseating because it is intertwined with culture, religion, and poverty,” he said.

The royal father, therefore, called for a paradigm shift to contain Nigeria’s untamed population growth for the country to achieve demographic transition and harness the dividends.

On her part, the Minister of Women and Social Development, Dame Pauline Tallen, said that for Nigeria to overcome its socio-economic challenges, the country’s present crop of leaders must focus attention on women and girls empowerment.

“When women are empowered, it has a multiplier effect in terms of social and economic dividends for her family and society at large,” she said.

VANGUARD

Headline

TikTok Bans 49,512 Live Sessions In Nigeria As Creators Stream Sex Romps

Published

13 hours ago

November 22, 2025

Editor

For the first time, TikTok has shared data on its enforcement of Live Monetization guidelines, following a surge in users going live during sexual activity. The platform released the figures during its West Africa Safety Summit in Dakar, Senegal, held in partnership with AfricTivistes.

In the second quarter of 2025, TikTok took action, including warnings and demonetization, against 2,321,813 Live sessions and 1,040,356 Live creators for violating its Live Monetization guidelines.

In Nigeria alone, 49,512 Live sessions were banned during the same period.

The Summit brought together senior government officials, policy experts, NGOs, regulators, media representatives, and industry leaders from West African nations, including Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Chad, and Ethiopia.

Delegates discussed strategies to strengthen user protection and content moderation frameworks tailored to regional challenges.

The event marked a pivotal moment for TikTok’s regional safety efforts and its commitment to upholding global safety standards across Sub-Saharan Africa.

Experts shared insights, examined online safety challenges, and explored collaborative measures under TikTok’s #SaferTogether initiative.

TikTok’s Outreach and Partnerships Manager for Sub-Saharan Africa, Duduzile Mkhize, emphasized the platform’s commitment to enhancing user security through stakeholder collaboration.

She stated: “While global, we remain hyper-local in our day-to-day efforts. The dialogue at this Summit is invaluable because only through insights sharing and collaboration with policymakers and local partners across West Africa can we prevent a fragmented and insecure digital environment.

“United action can help us guarantee a safe space for our community to discover, create, and connect responsibly.”

A key partner in this effort is Nigeria’s Dr. Akinola Olojo, expert on preventing and countering violent extremism, and member of TikTok’s Sub-Saharan Africa Safety Advisory Council.

He said: “The convening of various stakeholders in Dakar, sharing insights for collaborative action, proves that the work we do alongside TikTok is not in vain.

“We must move beyond reactive measures and continue to build proactive systems that empower communities to resist radicalization and leverage online spaces for positive social impact.”

Globally, TikTok removed over 189 million videos in the same quarter, representing just 0.7% of all content uploaded. Of these, 163.9 million were flagged by AI-driven moderation systems.

Notably, 99.1% of removals were detected proactively, and 94.4% were taken down within 24 hours. The platform also removed 76,991,660 fake accounts, alongside 25,904,708 accounts suspected to belong to users under the age of 13.

In Nigeria, TikTok removed 3,780,426 videos between April and June 2025 for violating Community Guidelines. Impressively, 98.7% were removed before being viewed, and 91.9% were taken down within 24 hours.

The data, released in TikTok’s Quarter 2 2025 Community Guidelines Enforcement Report, underscores the platform’s ongoing commitment to creating a safe digital space for its users.

Headline

Nnamdi Kanu’s Case Proof Of Religious Persecution In Nigeria – US lawmaker, John James

Published

3 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

Former chairman of the Africa Subcommittee and now a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, Representative, John James, has claimed that the case of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is proof of religious persecution in Nigeria.

James stated this when the United States House Subcommittee on Africa on Thursday, held a public hearing to review President Donald Trump’s recent redesignation of Nigeria as a Country of Particular Concern.

The hearing in Washington, DC included senior US State Department officials and Nigerian religious leaders.

James claimed that in the case of Nnamdi Kanu, Nigeria’s Court of Appeal had struck down the charges against him and ordered his release in 2022.

He said: “Religious persecution is tied to political repression and weakening institutions in Nigeria. The detention of Mazi Nnamdi Kanu is a clear example.

“In 2022, Nigeria’s Court of Appeals struck down the charges against him and ordered his release.

“The UN Working Group for Arbitrary Detention has also called for his unconditional release, yet he remains in solitary confinement in deteriorating health and recently had to represent himself in court.

“Nigeria has signaled that the law is optional and targeting Christians is fair game. Just hours ago this morning, despite the pleas and cries of Nigerian people and many Nigerian lawmakers, Kanu was convicted on all charges.”

Nnamdi Kanu was on Thursday, sentenced to life imprisonment over terrorism charges.

Headline

Nigerians Don’t Trust Their Govt – US Congressman Riley Moore

Published

3 days ago

November 20, 2025

Editor

US Congressman Riley Moore has said that Nigerian people do not trust their government.

Moore stated this on Thursday at US House of Representatives Subcommittee on Africa, which is investigating Trump’s redesignation of Nigeria as a ‘Country of Particular Concern’, CPC.

“The Nigerian people don’t trust their government. ‘How can you trust a government that doesn’t show up when you ask them to?

“The Nigerian government must work with the US in cooperation to address these insecurity issues.

“A case that just happened recently in Plateau state. We had a pastor there who warned the Nigerian government that they were under attack. There’s imminent attack forces here in the next 24 hours. Please come and help us.

“The Nigerian government did not only ignore it but put up a press release that it is fake news,” he said.

Moore would be meeting with a delegation of senior members of the Nigerian government, over the devastating insecurity in Nigeria and the US designation of the country as CPC, DAILY POST reports.