News
Global Drug Day: Eye Opener Launches Prevention Initiative At Orphanage
By Sunday Isuwa, Abuja
In a significant stride towards combating drug abuse among children, The Eye Opener Tobacco/Substance Abstinence Club’s Innovation’s Founder, Mrs Margaret Kwa’ada Julius, has led a pioneering drug prevention initiative at the Nana Berry Orphanage in Ado, Karu LGA of Nasarawa State.
The event, titled “The Eye Opener Tobacco/Substance Abstinence Club’s Innovation: 80 Poems for Prevention Professional for Child and Youth Awareness,” took place as part of activities marking Global Drug Day.
The aim, according to Mrs Margaret was to educate and engage less privileged children on the dangers of drug abuse and smoking.
The Abstinence Club, designed to enlighten children and foster a drug-free lifestyle, was inaugurated during the event.
Additionally, the “80 Poems for Prevention Professionals for Child and Youth Awareness” was launched.
During her briefing, Margaret Kwa’ada Julius emphasized the importance of early drug prevention education and the role of creative tools in making a lasting impact on young minds.
The highlight of the day was the recitation of poems by children from various educational levels, which reinforced the anti-drug message.
The poems, in line with the 2024 theme “The Evidence is Clear: Invest in Prevention,” captivated the audience and underscored the importance of a healthy lifestyle.
The initiative received enthusiastic feedback from both the children and the orphanage management.
The orphanage management expressed their gratitude to Mrs. Margaret for her innovative approach, recognizing the potential of the poems to maintain children’s awareness about their health and mental well-being.
Mrs. Bilinda Joseph, the head teacher, praised Margaret Kwa’ada Julius, the “WHO No Tobacco 2021 to 2024 Award winner in Africa region,” for her outstanding efforts and pledged to include drug prevention programs in the school calendar.
Participant Annabel Akushi appreciated the uniqueness of the programme, highlighting its potential to enhance children’s mental health protection.
Mrs. Amina Zubairu, a teacher at the orphanage, expressed satisfaction with the initiative and promised to integrate the poems into their educational activities.
By Israel Bulus, Kaduna
As Nigeria joins the global community to mark World Malaria Day 2025, the Caleb Danladi Foundation has stepped up its efforts to combat the disease, with a special focus on protecting vulnerable populations.
Aligning with this year’s theme, “Malaria Ends With Us: Reinvest, Reimagine, Reignite,” the Foundation facilitated the re-enrollment of hundreds of women, children, and other at-risk groups into the Kaduna State Health Insurance Scheme.
Founder of the Foundation, Captain Caleb Danladi, disclosed that the organisation fully funded the beneficiaries’ insurance premiums to enhance their access to malaria prevention and treatment services.
Speaking during Friday’s commemoration, Danladi lamented that malaria continues to claim countless lives, particularly in underserved communities.
“Healthcare is a right, not a privilege,” he said. “On this World Malaria Day, we reaffirm our commitment to saving lives through direct support, strong advocacy, and strategic investments in community health solutions.”
He emphasised the need for sustained investments in healthcare and a reimagined approach to delivering equitable services across communities.
Danladi also urged government agencies, healthcare workers, and development partners to strengthen collaboration efforts aimed at eradicating malaria, noting that safeguarding the health and dignity of Nigerians especially women and children is a shared responsibility.
The Director-General (D-G) of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, stated that Africa would be minimally impacted by the tariffs imposed by the President of the United States of America (USA), Donald Trump.
Okonjo-Iweala made the remark during an interview with Nigerian journalists at the Spring Meetings of the World Bank in Washington D.C. on Friday.
She explained that only 6.5 per cent of Africa’s exports go to the USA, while 4.4 per cent of its imports come from the U.S., meaning that the impact on the continent would be minimal.
“The trade of the continent is very limited with the USA. We have done the analysis, and the impact on the continent as a whole is not significant,” she said.
However, she noted that Africa’s limited trade with the USA was also not ideal, as it hindered economic growth.
The D-G emphasised that Africa needed to focus on utilising its own resources to reach its full potential, as aid was declining, and the continent required more investment.
She pointed out that Africa must strengthen internal trade, citing Lesotho as an example.
In spite of Lesotho exporting 200 million dollars’ worth of textiles to the USA, the country faced challenges due to the shrinking U.S. market.
Okonjo-Iweala noted that Africa spent 7 billion dollars annually on importing textiles, suggesting that Lesotho should instead focus on selling textiles within African markets.
She also urged the USA to consider the effects of tariffs on least-developed countries, calling for a reassessment of the reciprocal tariffs in poorer nations.
Okonjo-Iweala concluded that Africa needed more investments and should work towards boosting intra-Africa trade, which remained underdeveloped.
“We cannot trade more externally, where our trade is only 3 per cent of world trade, or internally, where intra-Africa trade is 16 to 20 per cent at most,” she said.(NAN)
Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN), the umbrella body of cattle herders in Nigeria, has praised President Bola Tinubu for appointing Mr. Tosin Ajayi as Directo- General of the Department of State Services (DSS), describing the appointment as one of the best by the administration.
MACBAN thanked President Tinubu for creating the Federal Ministry of Livestock Development, saying it was a fulfillment of one of his campaign promises to the body and would greatly improve the livestock industry in Nigeria.
The body said the DSS handling of the security situation in Plateau, Benue and other states was with outmost professionalism and deserved commendation.
MACBAN’s statement came a few days after the Plateau State government praised the DSS for being it’s most reliable partner in fighting insecurity in the state. Plateau state government said the DSS helped solve several security problems in the state.
In a statement issued Friday in Abuja, MACBAN charged other security agencies to learn from the way the new DSS leadership has been stepping in to secure life and property, saying it was impressed by efforts by the DSS DG to investigate the root cause of the problems across the states.
The statement was signed by MACBAN national president, Baba Othman Ngelzarma.
Said MACBAN, “We salute the professionalism with which the DSS has been handling the delicate security challenges in Plateau, Benue and several other states.
“Only recently, the DSS DG averted what would have been a very serious security crisis in Enugu State where nine young Fulani men were murdered in cold blood and their corpses dumped in the bush.
“It took painstaking efforts by Mr. Ajayi to help douse tensions.
“We are encouraged by the DG’s belief that there cannot be peace without justice. We are happy that he’s been warding off political pressures to paint law-abiding Fulani herdsmen with the same brush used to paint terrorists and criminals.
“To be sure, there are criminal elements as well as good persons among all races and tribes. We are happy that, under Mr. Ajayi, the DSS has been able to draw the line between criminality and law-abiding Fulani herdsmen who break sweat to earn decent living,” noted MACBAN, adding, “we urge other security agencies to take a cue from the DSS.”
According to the largest body of cattle herders in Nigeria, over 20 percent of its members, and four million heads of cattle, have been forced by insecurity to flee Nigeria, with hundreds of families displaced.
The exodus of herders, noted the group, had raised the cost of beef, the cheapest meat source in Nigeria.
MACBAN promised to cooperate with federal and state governments as well as support security agencies to help restore peace to boost businesses and agricultural economic activities.