By Abdulrahman Obaje

The executive Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ahmed Usman Ododo has continue to set pace for Nigeria youths in general and Kogi youths in particular with laudable projects and initiatives, within the short period of time in office.





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It is on record that Governor Ododo is among the first set of Governors that quickly announced the implementation of the new national minimum wage, despite dearth of resources, unveiling a new minimum wage of ₦72,500 for the kogi State civil servants, effective immediately.

Also, in a demonstration of his commitment to mitigating flood-related hardships for the people of the state, the proactive Governor had move to curb impending traffic gridlock in preparation for a possible flooding by opening about 5km alternate route in Nyamanyama Village along Ganaja –Ajaokuta road, serving as a bypass in case the main Ganaja road is submerged by a looming flood. This is commendable.

More so, in order to open up more rural communities and ease free flow of agricultural produce in Kogi State, Governor Ododo flags off construction of the 19.55km Obajana-Uro-Aku rural farm road, marking a significant milestone in Kogi State’s quest for enhanced rural infrastructure and agricultural growth.

The icing on the cake is an announcement in Lokoja during his Independence Day anniversary speech of his youth empowerment program tagged ”OYESA”. The Ododo Youth Empowerment and Skills Acquisition (OYESA) programme, is aimed at equipping youths with cutting-edge skills to boost the youths’ economic prospects.

The programme designed to absorb many youths in the state, providing training in areas such as CNG conversion, welding, fabrication, solar system installation, and other skills acquisition programs is one of the numerous feats of Governor Usman Ahmed Ododo towards alleviating suffering of the indigenes and in habitants of the state.

OYESA is partnering with the Kogi State Nigeria-Korea Friendship Institute (NKFI) to ensure a seamless rollout.

The governor’s administration has also enrolled over 45,000 students in the state’s scholarship program, Secured accreditation for Medical and Surgery courses at Confluence State University of Science and Technology (CUSTECH) Osara, ensured timely salary payments for state workers, including Local Government employees and primary school teachers.

Gov. Ododo has also provided fertilizers, farming inputs, and pesticides to farmers across the state for maximum agricultural production.

Governor Ahmed Ododo’s leadership has brought hope and development to Kogi State, with a focus on youth empowerment and people-centred policies.

No wonder a source had said that under Governor Ododo’s leadership, Kogi State is taking decisive steps to protect its citizens and promote a culture of good governance as the State awaits the attention of the Federal Government.

Author Profile

Abdulrahman Obaje

Prince Abdulrahman Obaje is a Media, Information and Computer Technology Consultant. A quintessential Journalist, online marketer, social media strategist, Mathematician and Computer Scientist is based in Abuja, Nigeria. He is the Founder and the Publisher of The Informavores!. You can reach me on +234 805 939 5252 or send i-witness report directly to me on news@informavores.com.ng.

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 One of the most significant business in the rainy season in Nigeria is Corn cooking or roasting business. adsbygoogle || []).push({});

The sale of corn has become a money spinner for some women within the territory.

A cross section of women in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) told NAN that corn business was quite lucrative this rainy season and had become a means of livelihood for them.

According to the women, corn business has become profitable and an opportunity for them to make money.

“Corn has become one of the most common small capital businesses to venture into, especially during the rainy season,” most of them said.

NAN reports that corn sellers cook or roast corn for the delight of their customers, depending on the one that suits their taste.

Mrs Grace Yahaya, a resident of Apo community, who sells boiled corn told NAN that she smiles to the bank from her corn business everyday.

“Before I started this corn business, I was selling Kunu Aya (Tiger nuts  beverage),  until a friend introduced me to the business.

“Corn business is a sub-business for me. I look forward to rainy season to start the business because it gives me quick money to support my family.

In her words, ”I wait anxiously for  this season. I put my groundnut business on hold, to start the corn business.

”’Since I am into corn farming. It is more profitable to harvest, cook and sell, after which I go back to my business,” she said.

Another corn seller, Mrs Theresa Stephen, a housewife in Galadimawa community, said that corn business was the only business she could do.

“Corn business is the only business I do, because it is only during the rainy season.

“I prepare for it, as I plant the maize early and wait for the harvest to start my business.

“After the season, I start planning for another planting season,” she said.

NAN also observed that corn business was not done by women only, as some men also roast and sell corn along the road in the nation’s capital. 

Abubakar Musa, a corn seller, along the Airport Road, told NAN that he sold corn in all seasons.

Author Profile

Abdulrahman Obaje

Prince Abdulrahman Obaje is a Media, Information and Computer Technology Consultant. A quintessential Journalist, online marketer, social media strategist, Mathematician and Computer Scientist is based in Abuja, Nigeria. He is the Founder and the Publisher of The Informavores!. You can reach me on +234 805 939 5252 or send i-witness report directly to me on news@informavores.com.ng.

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In the northeast, tens of thousands of people have been killed and whole communities and public infrastructure have been decimated in the Boko Haram conflict, one of the most deadly and the most devastating during the past decade. adsbygoogle || []).push({}); js">

Thousands of young girls and women have been abducted and serially raped. Over three million people have been internally displaced while others have fled to neighbouring countries. There is also the problem of massive starvation as farms have been abandoned and camps for internally displaced persons are not adequately catered for with food, medicines and other supplies despite the commendable humanitarian assistance by international organization, foreign governments and the Nigerian national and state governments.

During the past decade also, there has been the problems of wars and massacres involving herdsmen and farming communities in different parts of Nigeria.

The Social Development Integrated Center (Social Action) in conjunction with Development and Peace Caritas, Canada; in a new report claimed that there are similarities in all of these conflicts and advocate for the need to promote a common civic understanding of the genesis of these problems. Hitherto, discourses around these unfortunate developments have had an overwhelming ethnic and religious colouration, which have contributed to dividing Nigeria along those lines.

While delivering welcome address by the Director of the Social Development Integrated Center (Social Action), Dr. Isaac ‘Asume’ Osuoka at the official launch and panel discussion on the report titled BOILING OVER: GLOBAL WARMING, HUNGER AND VIOLENCE IN THE LAKE CHAD BASIN, said that “What we have realized in our engagements and associated research is that there are intersections of an ongoing ecological crisis and violent conflicts in the Lake Chad Basin and the Sahel region generally.

“In the other areas of Nigeria such as the Niger Delta, decades of environmental damage caused by the petroleum industry created local impoverishment and unemployment that encourage armed insurgency and banditry.

Therefore, both in the north and the south of the country, as agencies deal with the immediate challenges of insecurity, we need also to have a conversation about how to address the underlying ecological and governance problems that created the vulnerability in the first place.”

Osuoka also said that, “the findings of their research in northeast Nigeria is in accord with the view expressed by the Nigerian government that climate change is responsible for decades of drought and desertification in the Sahel region.”

Before the advent of Boko Haram in 2009, the Lake Chad Basin had undergone dramatic climate changes, resulting in the near-total drying up of the lake. Between 1963 and 2019, the Lake Chad had lost over 95% of its original size of over 22,000km² to just a little above 1,000km² impacting adversely on the livelihoods and the altering of migration patterns. It impacts include reductions in the pasture for livestock and fertile land for food production.

The near total loss of Lake Chad has had profoundly negatively impacts on fishing and agricultural livelihoods as the Lake used to serve as a lifeline for millions of people. By 2009, many young and able men in the Lake Chad Basin were unemployed!

The droughts of the 1970s and 1980s put pressure on the Nigerian government to build several dams and irrigation projects, sometimes with international credit facilities. Many of these projects started without adequate assessment of environment and social impacts, the report revealed that, in many cases, gains from such projects were overshadowed by massive dislocation of poor farmers and herdsmen who were removed from irrigated land in favour of politically connected persons. This was responsible for the peasant protestation against displacement by dams, which resulted in the Bakolori Massacre of 1980. The Maitasine revolt and massacre also happened in the same year. It is instructive to note that in the case of Maitasine, it was an Islamic sect that led the poor to revolt. “We can only imagine the social conditions in northeastern Nigeria that turned young men into butchers of fellow men under the banner of Boko Haram years later.”

“What the report we are presenting today shows is that understanding the social ecology of violence is imperative to sustainable peace in northeast Nigeria and elsewhere.” Osuoka reiterated.

In all of these, the reality of poor governance cannot be ruled out.

Osuaoka said, “However, if we say that climate change is a causative factor for the situation of insecurity, we do not suggest that it is the only cause. The reality of poor governance, the looting of funds by officials and contractors and the resultant abandonment of ecological restoration and development projects, many of which have been implemented without adequate consideration of environmental impacts, have all provided triggers for the crises.

So far, there have been reports, and widespread public perception of mismanagement of funds voted for humanitarian assistance in northeast Nigeria. When the state officials act with little regard for the human rights of citizens, the result is a germination of a culture of impunity.”

Now we have a crisis that the government alone cannot address without the support of the civic leadership. Our shared understanding of the urgency of the challenges at hand and the necessity for concerted actions to achieve peacebuilding, national development goals and a sense of global justice is key to solving the problem we found ourselves in.

Author Profile

Abdulrahman Obaje

Prince Abdulrahman Obaje is a Media, Information and Computer Technology Consultant. A quintessential Journalist, online marketer, social media strategist, Mathematician and Computer Scientist is based in Abuja, Nigeria. He is the Founder and the Publisher of The Informavores!. You can reach me on +234 805 939 5252 or send i-witness report directly to me on news@informavores.com.ng.

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