Day: May 14, 2023

Nigeria is set to develop the implementation strategy for Food System Transformation Pathway in order to boost security and reduce unemployment among youths and women.

Dr Sanjo Faniran, who is the National Convenor of the UN Food Systems and Director of Social Development, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, disclosed this in Abuja.

Faniran said that the strategy would address the questions of poverty, inadequate supply of nutritious food and non-consumption of minimum dietary diversity in the country.

He said it would also address stunting, chronic malnutrition, underweight, anaemia and diet-related noncommunicable diseases, including hypertension, diabetes, stroke and cancers, among others.

Faniran said that the national food systems transformation aimed to achieve some goals by 2030 as well as promote sustainable food trade, increase women’s empowerment in Agriculture Index Score, and increase Environmental Performance Index score.

The food system pathways aim to improve the productivity and sustainability of the food system while promoting health and nutrition, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and enhancing socio-economic development in Nigeria.

The implementation of these pathways requires a multi-stakeholder approach and engagement at all levels to ensure that the objectives are achieved.

To this end, he said, the ministry would hold a zonal workshop involving stakeholders in Kano on Monday and Awka, Anambra on Thursday on the development of the strategy.

He said that the workshop would be in collaboration with Kano State Government, World Food Programme, Food and Agriculture Organisation, IFAD, GAIN and AGRA.

The Kano consultation workshop is to harvest input from all the Northern States towards the development of a robust and inclusive implementation of the strategy.

Faniran said that consultation workshops would be used to harvest input of stakeholders, especially state actors in the Food System Value Chain, to strengthen and ensure an inclusive and jointly-owned Plan, taking into consideration various professional, technical and socio-economic positions of the stakeholders.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

A pan-Igbo cultural organisation, Ekwe Igbo International, has launched a campaign for the promotion of Igbo language in private and public schools in the country, especially in the south-east.

President-General of the organisation, Chief Chinedu Onwudinjo, said this in Abuja on Sunday at an event to mark the group’s 14th anniversary.

Onwudinjo said the organisation decided to embark on the campaign in schools as most parents no longer speak or teach their children Igbo language at home.

“We are also calling for the sustainability of Igbo language in schools curriculum to encourage younger ones to speak it and to avoid it going into extinction,” Onwudinjo said.

According to him, the group will be touring the five south-east states to engage with school authorities on how best to promote Igbo language amongst pupils and students in the zone.

“With our effort, there will be change.

“We were in Anambra two months ago and we met with the governor and we told him our mission which is the promotion of Igbo language in schools.

“He assured us that learning the language will be a must in schools in the state,” he said.

Onwudinjo, who blamed most parents for the gradual extinction of Igbo language, noted that the language was compulsory during their school days but wondered what had gone wrong in recent times.

“It is unfortunate that most of our kids don’t speak Igbo language, it is a shame for the parents.

“We plead with parents to speak Igbo language to their kids the same way they speak English to them, whether in London or America.

“It is a known fact that without speaking Igbo language, he or she cannot compete favourably with others in the south-east in different fields of endeavour,” Onwudinjo added.

He used the opportunity to congratulate Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, the newly-appointed President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, and urged him to ensure that the rights of Igbo people were not trampled upon.

He also urged him to always stand on the truth and the unity of the country.

“We urged him to hit the ground running immediately because there are plenty of works to do which were left undone before the demise of the late President-General, George Obiozor.”

Also speaking, the Publicity Secretary of the group, Chief Ekenechukwu Aloefuna, said Ekwe Igbo International has members and branches worldwide but “wanted to make an impact at home first before highlighting our achievements abroad”.

Aloefuna said the group had been preaching oneness and peace just to help unite Nigerians after the 2023 general election that almost divided Nigerians among tribal and religious lines.

He also urged the youths to shun the attitude of getting rich quick through dubious ways and other social vices as the group would not hesitate to expose such people to law enforcement agents.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Troops of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) operating in Lake Chad Basin Region has neutralised some terrorists and recovered heavy weapons.

A statement on Sunday by the MNJTF spokesman, Lt. Col. Kamarudeen Adegoke, said the latest successes were recorded under the renewed onslaught on the terrorists code named “Operation Harbin Kunama” (Scorpion sting).

“The ongoing operation by troops of the MNJTF has further diminished the capacity of Boko Haram/ISWAP terrorists to carry out their activities in the Lake Chad Basin region.

“The offensive posture and doggedness of troops of the MNJTF has continued to yield remarkable results.

“Following attack by BH/ISWAP terrorists on troops position in the general area of Arege, which was effectively repelled, an exploitation was conducted by troops of the Force on May 11 in the general area.

“Several items were recovered, including one Dushka gun, Dushka Turrell and a burnt Gun truck while several terrorists were neutralised during the encounter, the statement added.

It also stated that a clearance operation in the general area of Ferondiya in the lake Chad Basin was successfully conducted in clearing terrorists hideouts.

According to the statement, items recovered from the terrorists included two Gun trucks, two Anti – Aircrafts guns, one RPG tube, two AK 47 rifles, one RPG bomb and three Toyota Buffalo Gun truck tyres.

Others are 387 rounds of 12.7mm, 440 rounds of 7.62mm x 54mm and 364 rounds of 7.62mm x 50 mm ammunitions.

In his remarks over the successes recorded, the Force Commander of MNJTF, Maj.-Gen. G.U Chibuisi, lauded the troops for their commitment and urged them to sustain the tempo.

Chibuisi also lauded the effective role of air components in the successes recorded and urged for more synergy for maximum results.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria