Opinion
Opinion: Southern Kaduna Festival: A Bastion For Unity And Development
The maiden edition of the Southern Kaduna Festival (SKFest) was held from the 28th to the 30th of December, 2023 at the Kafanchan Township Stadium. Kudos to the initiators, organizers, and participants.
The colorful event was multifaceted and multipurpose: football competition, marathon race, traditional wrestling, archery, beauty pageantry, fashion parade, musical concert, cultural display, paper presentations, award presentations, etc. It attracted the attendance of highly placed dignitaries across Nigeria.
When I was drafted by the Solomon Musa-led SOKAPU as a member of the Constitution Amendment Committee sometime in 2017, I ensured that most of what SKFest is doing now was captured as recommendations in the report of the Committee. I am glad that some of these recommendations are beginning to come to fruition.
Southern Kaduna people have a diverse but intertwined cultural heritage that has not yet been harnessed for the collective benefit of the zone. The zone is yet to appreciate and utilize its economic potential; it is divided along political lines with no clear-cut implementable political and socio-economic work plan; it has seasoned and consummate politicians but without political leadership; it has many chiefdoms without cultural and ethnic cohesion; proliferation of annual cultural days and festivals by the heterogeneous ethnic nationalities and groups in the zone has become boring; tribal and dialectical differences remain a bane despite sharing substantially the same ethnicity; intra-faith denominational differences and prejudices still hold sway; and worse, inter-faith intolerance has held the zone backward for years. As a result of all these, the zone is witnessing retrogressive development.
Therefore, the whole idea of this SKFest is to ensure that the people of Southern Kaduna extraction are united on many fronts, something that has eluded the zone for a long time.
The Festival will allow the indigenes of the zone to come together every year not only to showcase and share their cultural heritage and participate in other events but to also discuss issues of common, collective, and communal interest geared towards the socio-economic, political and cultural development of the zone.
Given the rich natural and agricultural resources and tourist attractions of the zone, SKFest will afford local and foreign investors and other corporate business concerns to invest in the zone, thereby boosting its economic potential and creating jobs and employment for the youth.
The Festival should be upgraded and expanded to include the participation of people from other cultural and ethnic backgrounds and nationalities outside the zone as is being done with the annual Calabar Festival in Cross River State and Argungu Fishing Festival in Sokoto State. To achieve this, SKFest should be registered with the Federal Ministry of Culture, Tourism, and National Orientation as a Nigerian annual festival so that it can acquire both national and international status and recognition.
The presentation of awards to specially recognised and deserving sons, daughters, and other friends and well-wishers of the zone who have distinguishedly contributed to its development will encourage others to do more towards achieving that goal. The criteria for the awards should be based on realistic and stringent metrics so that the awardees will be seen to have justifiably earned them. The considerations for the awards should be merit-based and not political.
The annual awards should be inclusively categorised to cover those who are outstanding in their contributions to the zone in the following areas: public service, academia, military, political representation, traditional institutions, religious institutions, youth, and women. Each area should have one awardee only to make it competitive. An award should be dedicated to one person who is not from the zone but has contributed immensely to its development.
This edition was held in Kafanchan, Jema’a LGA. It should be rotated annually within all the LGAs comprising the zone so that each ethnic nationality or group will have a direct feel of it and a sense of belonging. Therefore, the next edition should be held in another LGA within the zone.
This maiden edition might have witnessed some challenges in terms of funding and other logistics necessary for its smooth sail, but that should not discourage the initiators and organizers. Instead, they should be encouraged to put more effort and work harder towards improving on it next time. It can only get better. A bird does not change its feathers because the weather is bad. And, beating a gold makes it shine brighter.
It is my prayer that SKFest will become the platform for Southern Kaduna people to get it right.
JKanyip
12/01/2024.
Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources, says the federal government plans to commence implementing the drill-or-drop provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
Section 94 of the PIA gives operators a period of three years to begin oil production or relinquish the assets to the federal government.
Speaking during the Cross Industry Group (CIG) meeting held on Tuesday in Florence, Italy, Lokpobiri said it is in the best interest of the country that all inactive wells go to work.
He said the federal government, under the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, has provided every necessary incentive to ensure international oil companies (IOCs) in Nigeria run smoothly and profitably.
“Now, it is imperative for these industry players to match the government’s efforts with increased investment by announcing final investment decisions (FIDs),” he said.
Furthermore, Lokpobiri discussed “the challenges, expectations, and measures to enhance the sector’s contributions towards domestic energy needs and regional expansion across Sub-Saharan Africa”.
He emphasised that while IOCs have highlighted engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contractors as a challenge, “EPCs will not come unless they see strong commitments from industry players”.
“The government has done its part to provide the requisite and investment-friendly fiscals, the ball is now in the court of the IOCs and other operators to make strategic investment decisions that will drive increased production and sustainability in the sector,” he said.
“We must also recognise that domestic crude supply is essential to national energy security. The best solution to this challenge lies in increasing production, which will ensure a balance between domestic supply obligations and external commitments.”
The minister further urged industry players to explore collaborative measures, such as shared resources for contiguous assets and the release of underutilised assets to operators ready to invest in production.
The Progressive Students Movement (PSM), a leading Pan-African student body, has commended the leadership of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in Ogun State under Commissioner of Police (CP) Lanre Ogunlowo, PhD, for its commitment to security and community engagement.
In a statement released on Thursday, the President of PSM Nigeria, Comrade Ambassador Okereafor Bestman, highlighted the CP’s efforts in strengthening collaboration between the police, stakeholders, and other security agencies to maintain peace and stability in the state.
“It is worthy of note that CP Lanre Ogunlowo, PhD, has further fostered a harmonious working synergy between the police, stakeholders, and other security agents aimed at ensuring peace and tranquility in Ogun State,” Okereafor said.
The student leader expressed confidence in CP Ogunlowo’s leadership, stating that Ogun State is on track to becoming one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria under his administration.
He also praised the professionalism and dedication of the Ogun State Police Command in tackling crime, regardless of its scale.
Additionally, PSM acknowledged the Ogun State government’s continued support for security agencies, particularly in providing mobility and logistics to enhance their operational efficiency.
The commendation comes at a time when security remains a top priority for residents and authorities in the state, with ongoing efforts to curb crime and ensure public safety.
BY ABUBAKAR YUSUF
On assumption of duty in January, 2025 , the new Universal Basic Education Commission, UBEC, Boss and well grounded World Bank expert , Aisha Garba envisaged the need to reposition the Basic Education through interfacing with the critical stakeholders.
Amongst them is the office of the National Security Adviser , NSA, led by Malam Nuhu Ribadu whose achievements in the last few years in the area of security has become distinct and outstanding.
Therefore, seeking to cooperate and collaborate with the office became germane and needful particularly the protection of lives and properties of actors in the promotion of Basic Education ranging from the pupils , teachers , workers and facilitators to enable it drive the new wave to curb Out of School Children OOSC in the country.
Aside providing the basic security arrangements for schools , the need to engage the security apparatus at the level of National Security Adviser NSA became needful, so as to address the sophistry of security problems in the country, to nip in the bud any unforseen circumstances.
With the high rates of kidnappings, abduction , banditry, cattle rustling, ritual tendencies among many other vices, the idea of bringing on board , the security architecture of the country in all ramifications will assist the commission to consolidate the implementation of Basic Education policies and programs, also introduce new ones .
Since pupils at the Primary, Junior Secondary and Secondary Schools are prone to such ugly development and security issues , the need to be proactive on the part of the commission became timely and desiring.
This led to the success story of the bilateral interface between the management of the commission and NSA, to streamline, perfect and chart a new course on the issue of security of actors in the Basic Education.
The visit described as timely and long overdue, discussed fruitfully the way forward and the immediate and long term intervention of both agencies in the area of collaboration.
According to the Executive Secretary, Universal Basic Education Commission UBEC, Dr Aisha Garba she stated by discussing” strategic initiatives aimed at enhancing educational access and security in Nigeria. ”
She further said” the engagement focused on strategies to address challenges such as the safety of schools, particularly in vulnerable regions, and the promotion of equitable education for all children.”
“the meeting highlighted the critical intersection between education and national security and the need for collaboration between UBEC and Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA), on improving access to basic education and safety of safety schools across the nation. ”
“This collaboration underscores the government’s commitment to fostering a secure and inclusive learning environment as part of its broader agenda to strengthen the nation’s educational framework,” it added.
“UBEC boss had pledged to engage critical stakeholders to break down barriers to education and create inclusive learning opportunities for children across the six geopolitical regions of the country.”
“She said: “My goal is to deliver on this mandate which includes strengthening collaboration, partnerships and institutional learning for effective service delivery. ”
“Together, we will work to increase access, improve quality, provide conducive and safe learning environments, supply adequate teaching and learning materials, and adopt the concept of ‘best fit’ in addressing specific basic education challenges, state by state and region by region”.
Highlights of the program which included the engagement of both bodies with a commitment to ensure the introduction of security architecture in schools in Nigeria is achievable.
Written BY ABUBAKAR YUSUF on yus.abubakar3@gmail.com.