International NGO partners governments, traditional, religious, community leaders to promote girl child education, End early marriage

By Madu Mohammed, Maiduguri

A nongovernmental Organisations (NGO) Plan International has solicited for the partnership of governments at all levels, traditional, religious to put more efforts in ensuring enrolment of girl child into school and out-of-school girls get back to school with a view to end early marriages in Borno state.

Speaking during an event to mark this years “International Day of the Girl Child, with a theme: “My Voice, Our Equal Future”, which held at Gubio IDP camp in Maiduguri recently emphasised that there must be a collective and broader effort to discourage early marriage and promote enrollment of girl child into school.

She said education should be made accessible, qualitative, safe and girl-friendly, to discourage early marriage and called on ommunity leaders to promote global education goals, stressing hat the reality is that when girls are married young, their education and other opportunities to live a safe, healthy and empowered life, come to an end.

Mrs Chinelo said education alone is not enough to end child marriage.abd solicited for cooperation government ministries and civil society organisations to key in, in the campaign to end the practice.

“In the community where we worked we understand that a lot of young girls are already married and with children, we give education to adequately take care of themselves and the young ones. .We know that in all over the world they have a different definition for a girl or child, here where we worked the UN define a child as somebody below the age of 18, we understand that this definition doesn’t stand because you see that at the age of ten or eleven someones is already married,” she added.

“So this society see those married girls as an adult, so we do a lot of education and awareness to sensitized them that even though those girls are productive, but they are still a child and cannot take care of another child that is the essence of canvassing against early marriage and the rest of them,” Mrs Chinelo .

She said “Girls enrollment into school is very very low here, but with the intervention of Plan International and others development agency that is working in Borno State, now a lot of families are realizing the need of girls education and they are supporting it”.

“We are breaking that barrier we are not there yet but we are making effort to ensure that by the year 2023 or thereabout we are going to have a considerable number of girls who are in school and who are clamouring to continue their education from primary to the tertiary institution and later to become somebody in their communities,” Chinelo explained.

In her remarks, the State Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Zuwaira Gambo who was represented by Hajiya Aishatu Shani told the gathering that the current administration is working hard to ensure that more school-age girls are enrolled in schools.

She stressed that education initiatives that help girls to avoid child marriage must include awareness-raising campaigns for parents and community leaders on the benefits of girls’ education, scholarship programmes for girls, equipping schools and providing training for teachers on how to ensure a safe environment for all students.

“Changing cultural practices and attitudes that allow child marriage to continue takes years, and requires a deep and lasting commitment to work with families and communities to make change happen.” Hajiya Gambo said

“By reaching out to communities and empowering the girls who are vulnerable to child marriage, we can begin to change the narratives that girls are somehow of lesser value. It will take time but we must address the root causes of child, early and forced marriage, including poverty and gender inequality,” further stressed.

Nigerian Army flags off Operation Crocodile Smile VI to commence 20th October to December 31st Nationwide

By Madu Mohammed, Maiduguri

The Nigerian Army has on Saturday flagged off ” Operation Crocodile Smile VI in it’s flush out Boko Haram insurgents,, kidnapping, Banditry, cyber crime and other crime and criminality.

The Chief of Army Staff, ( COAS), Lt General Tukur Buratai while addressing a Press Conference at the Army Social Super Camp 1 Ngamdu said the Operation which is to commence on 20th, October 2020 will last till December 31st, 2020 across all Nigerian Army formations in the country.

The COAS who represented at the briefing by the Chief Training and Operations (CTOP), Major General Nuhu Ambazo said ” the Nigerian Army is set to start its annual Exercise CROCODILE SMILE which is traditionally conducted in the last quarter of the year. This year’s Exercise CROCODILE SMILE V1 is scheduled to commence from the 20th of October to the 31st of December 2020.”

“The Exercise is deliberately intended to be all encompassing to include cyber warfare exercises designed to identify, track and counter negative propaganda in the social media and across the cyberspace. This is the first ever Cyberwarfare exercise to be conducted in the history of the African Armed Forces. Accordingly, the exercise will also include positive identification component aimed at identifying Boko Haram terrorists fleeing from the North East and other parts of the country as a result of the ongoing operations in the various theatres of operations especially in the Northeast, North Central and North Western parts of Nigeria, the COAS stated.

General Buratai said “this years exercise will as well have civil military component which consist of environmental sanitation, roads rehabilitation and repairs, humanitarian aids, medical outreach, assistance to physically challenged and assistance to widows of our fallen heroes”.

He said Operation Harbin Kunama 4 Operation Crocodile smile 5 have been successful completed, while Operation, Fire Ball, Operation Hadarin Daji, Operation Auem A Kpayem, Operation safe Heaven among others are still on going.

He therefore commended other sister security agencies for their support and synergy and the press for finding time to grace the briefing.

Fight against desert and desertification, FG establishes Forestry College in Borno

By Madu Mohammed, Maiduguri

In it’s efforts in combating desert, desertification and climate change, the Federal Government has established College of Forestry in Gwangolong village of Jere local government area of Borno state.

The Minister for Environment, Alhaji Mamoud Abubakar who made this known in Maiduguri, when he paid a courtesy call on Governor Babagana Zulum at the Government House, Maiduguri yesterday said ” I am on a working visit to Borno state. We have a lot of presence in this state because of its strategic importance. We have agencies and departments that are working in the state, the Great Green Wall, Forestry Research Institute among others.”

He said ” the Great Green Wall has raised 1.3 million seedling, , planted 60 kilometers of shelter belt and 140 heaters reserved among others ‘.

” Borno is one of the 11 Frontline states of Great Green Wall project, which is an international project consist of 11 countries. We have our newly established Forestry college in Borno, GGW which is working on desert and desertification and environmental management. We also here to find out need of the state. what the state needs and how we can collaborate and strengthen them”, the minister said.

He said ” we know the Borno state Governor have working diligently in terms of environmental management in terms of planting trees. We will continue to support him in planting more trees, we have planted more trees, we’re going to plant more. The Great Green Wall has planted over half a million trees in Borno state, we will do more, the GGW have raised 1.3 seedlings to support Borno..

Responding, the Borno state Governor, Prof. Babagana Zulum said ” I want to notify the people of Borno state that the Federal government in it’s magnimity has established College of Forestry in Gwangolong village of Jere local government are here in Borno state.”

” You are aware of the arid nature of the state and I believe with the establishment of the College of Forestry, the people of Borno state will benefit a lot with a view to combating desertification and enhancing climate actions in the state. I remain eternally grateful to the Federal Government”, The governor added.

He assured that the Borno state government under his leadership will collaborate with the Federal ministry of Environment, Great Green Wall and Forestry Research institute of Nigeria to see how possible best to work together in safeguarding the environment, because environment is very important, stressing that ,without environment there should be no rain, and that the nexus between environment and development cannot be overemphasize.