₦airaland Forum

Nigeria Sitting on Up to $1.5 Trillion in Idle, stranded and underutilized Capital — PeacePro

Nigeria is sitting on between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion in stranded, abandoned, and underutilized capital across public and private sectors, according to the Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro), which describes the figure as one of the largest pools of dormant economic value in Africa.

PeacePro said research reviewed by the group indicates that as much as $900 billion may be tied up as dead capital in residential real estate and agricultural land. It also cited estimates of tens of thousands of abandoned buildings owned by federal, state, and local governments valued at approximately ₦9.5 trillion.

Industry assessments further suggest that more than 56,000 abandoned projects across sectors, including roads, public buildings, and housing estates are collectively valued at ₦12–17 trillion, in addition to billions of naira invested in abandoned or uncompleted power infrastructure projects.

In a statement issued over the weekend, PeacePro Executive Director Abdulrazaq Hamzat described the situation as a “silent economic emergency,” arguing that Nigeria’s growth challenges stem less from resource scarcity and more from failure to activate existing assets.

According to PeacePro's analysis, the estimated $1.5 trillion in stranded capital spans key sectors, including
Energy infrastructure,
Transportation assets,
Housing and real estate,
Industrial and manufacturing facilities, closed factories and moribund industrial clusters; Public infrastructure projects stalled due to funding gaps or policy shifts.

Hamzat noted that the upper estimate is more than five times Nigeria’s nominal GDP of approximately $285 billion, underscoring the scale of unused economic capacity.

“Nigeria is not a poor country. Nigeria is a poorly activated economy,” he said. “The issue is not absence of capital, but immobilized capital.”

PeacePro said that unlocking even 30–40 percent of dormant assets could generate economic output equivalent to multiple years of current GDP, create millions of direct and indirect jobs, reduce borrowing dependence, strengthen local production capacity, improve energy supply and industrial output, and stabilize fragile communities through economic inclusion.

Hamzat explained that Nigeria’s installed power generation capacity exceeds what is reliably transmitted, leaving billions of dollars in generation investments underutilized. Thousands of kilometers of roads remain partially completed, reducing trade efficiency and increasing transport costs, while large scale housing projects remain unoccupied due to weak mortgage systems and land documentation bottlenecks.

“These are not hypothetical losses; they are capital already paid for but not producing value,” Hamzat said.

PeacePro identified structural and governance weaknesses as primary drivers of dead capital accumulation, including politicization of infrastructure investment, poor feasibility and demand forecasting, weak land administration systems, regulatory bottlenecks, project abandonment after leadership transitions, weak legislative oversight, poor maintenance culture, and fragmented coordination between federal and state institutions.

Hamzat warned that abandoned projects erode public trust, increase fiscal waste, and deepen inequality.

PeacePro stressed that unlocking stranded capital is not only an economic reform agenda but also a national stability strategy, noting that idle infrastructure contributes to youth unemployment, rural–urban migration pressures, crime and insecurity, community resentment, and investor hesitation.

“When infrastructure stands idle, frustration grows. When assets generate value, stability increases,” Hamzat said.

PeacePro called for an urgent national strategy anchored on a comprehensive audit of dormant and underperforming assets, conversion of abandoned projects into public–private partnerships, creation of a transparent asset registry and valuation system, land reform and digital documentation, infrastructure completion prioritization based on economic return, legislative safeguards against politically motivated project abandonment, and dedicated maintenance funding frameworks.

“Nigeria does not need to borrow its way to prosperity while trillions in value lie unused,” Hamzat said.

“The stranded and underutilized assets across the country are not merely losses; they are the foundation for inclusive growth, institutional strength, and sustainable peace. The question is whether we have the political discipline to activate them.”

PeacePro concluded that unlocking stranded capital should become a national economic priority, describing it as one of the fastest pathways to restoring Nigeria’s growth momentum and strengthening its global competitiveness.

https://newsbreaknaija.com/nigeria-sitting-on-up-to-1-5-trillion-in-idle-stranded-and-underutilized-capital-peacepro/

Nigeria’s GDP once surpassed China, Malaysia’s when we ignored IMF — Gbenga Hashim

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) presidential aspirant, Dr. Gbenga Hashim, has criticised Nigeria’s continued reliance on the economic prescriptions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), arguing that the country’s economic decline stems from policy choices shaped by external institutions rather than domestic realities.

Hashim made the remarks on Monday during an appearance on ARISE TV’s 8pm programme, where he discussed the Nigerian economy, national development, and his proposed $4 trillion economic plan.

“When Nigeria wasn’t following the IMF hook, line, and sinker, our GDP per capita in 1976 was three times that of China, and our GDP in 1966 was double that of Malaysia,” he said, citing Nigeria’s strong performance under independent economic policies in the 1970s.

He argued that the IMF is not an investor and that its projections should not serve as the primary benchmark for national progress. According to Hashim, the true measure of economic performance should be reflected in the living conditions of citizens rather than headline growth figures.

Hashim also criticised the Federal Government’s celebration of a four percent GDP growth rate, describing it as inadequate given the country’s economic losses over the past decade. “After shaving 50 percent off the GDP, a four percent growth rate still represents a net decline. Our GDP fell from $574 billion in 2014 to $230 billion today,” he said, adding that Nigeria cannot claim economic progress until GDP surpasses the level inherited in 2015.

Drawing a comparison with the administration of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Hashim noted that Nigeria recorded steady growth between 1999 and 2003. “When Obasanjo came in 1999, Nigeria recorded 5.5 percent growth in 2000, and by 2003 the country was achieving 9.5 percent growth,” he said.

He further criticised the APC-led government’s record in the power sector, alleging that it has failed to significantly improve electricity generation capacity over the past decade. “APC has not added one megawatt of electricity in 10 years,” he said.

On agriculture, Hashim claimed that Nigeria has lost nearly $4 billion in productive capital within two years under President Bola Tinubu, attributing the decline to policies that “artificially suppressed food prices,” weakening farmers and disrupting value chains.

Hashim emphasised that Nigeria needs bold, Keynesian-style economic interventions and double-digit growth to restore its economy, rather than incremental reforms. “Massive devaluation of the Naira started in 1986. There is nothing original or creative about continuing the same failed reforms,” he said.

Commenting on the recent killings in Woro community, Kaiama Local Government Area of Kwara State, where nearly 200 people were reportedly killed, Hashim described the incident as a major national security failure. He questioned why security forces did not respond despite the proximity of an Air Force facility.

Despite an Air Force base just 15 minutes away, terrorists were allowed to walk in and slaughter 200 people without any government resistance,” he said, calling the situation “beyond security failure” and raising troubling questions about possible complicity.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.vanguardngr.com/2026/02/nigerias-gdp-once-surpassed-china-malaysias-when-we-ignored-imf-gbenga-hashim/amp/

muykem:
We are fine with electronic transmission of results but we need to be very careful not to creat a bigger problem while trying solving a problem. 50% of Bayelsa don't have Internet access. Some of my friends include a royal father can't be access Anytime they are out of Yenagoa. So. What happened to results of elections in those communities?

Those in advantaged positions don't care about those in disadvantaged positions.

They assume everyone has the same privilege as them.

This is why Nigeria needs a leader that understands the whole of the country, not just city boys.

cule7:
Before commenting, please read the entire writeup. They proffered workable solutions.

Nigerians don't read to understand, they read to advance agenda

Only 474 LGAs Have Banks; 77% of Rural Communities Lack Internet access and no country in world transmit election results live— PeacePro

*PeacePro's Position on Mandatory Live Electronic Transmission of Election Results in Nigeria*

The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) acknowledges the ongoing national debate concerning the mandatory live electronic transmission of election results in Nigeria.

While the ambition to strengthen electoral integrity through digital technology is commendable, it is critical that any legislative framework be grounded in the realities of Nigeria’s current digital and infrastructural landscape.

1. Current State of Financial and Internet Infrastructure

Data from the Association of Mobile Money and Bank Agents in Nigeria (AMMBAN) indicates that approximately 300 out of Nigeria’s 774 Local Government Areas (LGAs) do not have any commercial bank branch. Conversely, about 474 LGAs do have at least one commercial bank branch presence.

This underscores that even basic financial infrastructure is unevenly distributed across the country, particularly disadvantaging rural LGAs.

Similarly, government planning data from the National Development Plan 2021–2025 shows that as of 2023, about 473 LGAs had internet access, meaning approximately 301 LGAs still lack reliable internet connectivity, which is essential for supporting formal digital services such as electronic result transmission.

The urban-rural digital divide further compounds this challenge: only 23% of rural communities have internet access, compared to 57% in urban areas.

This reality is reflected in overall national internet usage, which stood at roughly 36% of the population in 2024.

Initiatives like Project 774 LG Connectivity, aimed at expanding internet service to all LGA secretariats through satellite and broadband infrastructure, are ongoing but not yet completed.

2. Legal Mandate Must Reflect Reality

Even though approximately 301 LGAs have weak or no internet access, it does not imply that all polling units in those LGAs are offline.

Importantly, electronic transmission does not need to rely exclusively on live mobile data from every polling unit. A law can mandate electronic transmission with design features that ensure functionality even in low-connectivity areas, including Fallback options, Offline to online syncing, Satellite support and Staged transmission from Polling Unit to Ward to LGA and to State.

The central issue is not whether the law exists, but whether its design is implementable given Nigeria’s infrastructural realities. A law stating that:
“Every polling unit must transmit results electronically immediately”
…without accommodating connectivity gaps would inevitably produce delays, loopholes, legal disputes, and opportunities for manipulation.

3. Recommended Design for a Workable Legal Framework

PeacePro advocates that any law mandating electronic transmission of election results should include practical provisions such as Mandatory Electronic Upload Within a Defined Time Window, for example, results must be uploaded within 2–6 hours after collation, rather than “immediately,” to allow for offline capture and connectivity issues.

Mandatory BVAS/IREV-Style Upload, Results should be uploaded as scanned result sheets and figures to ensure verification and transparency.

Offline Capture Allowed, Devices must securely store results when offline and automatically upload once connectivity is available.

Fallback Transmission Channels, Use satellite hotspots at ward/LGA collation centers.

Deploy dedicated NCC supported election connectivity where possible.

Criminal Penalties For refusal to upload, deliberate device disabling, or tampering, to enforce compliance.

4. International Experience

Globally, mandatory live electronic transmission from every polling unit is extremely rare, if not totally none existence.

Kenya mandates electronic transmission from polling stations, but implementation has faced disputes due to network issues. Philippines uses Precinct Count Optical Scan (PCOS) machines to electronically transmit results after counting.
Brazil and Estonia have highly digitized reporting, but results are not streamed live from every polling unit.

No country has successfully implemented instant live transmission from every polling unit without exceptions, underscoring that ambitious legal mandates must account for infrastructural limitations.

5. PeacePro Position

Based on all credible data, PeacePro asserts that, any proposal for mandatory live electronic transmission must reflect Nigeria’s infrastructural reality, including internet and financial access disparities.

Laws must be practically implementable, with provisions for offline capture, fallback channels, and time bound uploads.

Failure to account for these realities would create legal, operational, and electoral risks.

PeacePro supports secure, transparent, and digitally enhanced elections, but rejects unimplementable mandates that ignore the 301 LGAs without reliable internet or areas lacking financial and technological infrastructure.

In conclusion, the path to credible elections is not in idealistic “live everywhere” mandates, but in well designed, evidence based legal frameworks that accommodate Nigeria’s digital and infrastructural realities while ensuring transparency, inclusivity, and electoral integrity.

Abdulrazaq Hamzat
Executive Director
Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro)
discus4now@gmail.com

Infographic image of complications

*PeacePro Calls for Immediate Pause in Family Planning campaign as Health Complaints Rise to Unacceptable Levels*

_Says Donor Targets Are Replacing Patient Safety and Urges Emergency Review_

The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has expressed urgent concern over rising reports from Nigerian women experiencing medical complications linked to family planning methods, particularly implants and other modern contraceptives, calling for immediate reforms in patient centered care, complication management, and ethical standards in public health facilities across the country.

In a statement issued over the weekend, PeacePro Executive Director Abdulrazaq Hamzat said the organization has documented multiple complaints from women nationwide, most recently in North Central Nigeria, reporting symptoms including breast pain and swelling, abnormal bleeding, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, and blood pressure fluctuations.

PeacePro stressed that while family planning remains an important component of reproductive health, no intervention can be considered successful if women experiencing complications are unable to access timely care or feel discouraged from reporting symptoms.

“PeacePro supports voluntary and informed family planning. However, women’s safety, dignity, and autonomy must remain the foundation of every reproductive health intervention,” Hamzat stated.

“When women suffer preventable harm and are silenced in public hospitals, it deepens distrust in the state, increases household tension, and fuels resentment, all of which directly undermine peacebuilding and social stability.”

The organization reported that many cases have led to hospital admissions in private facilities lasting days, indicating serious medical consequences. PeacePro also raised concern that even after contraceptive implants are removed, pain and complications often persist for weeks and months, yet public facilities provide little or no structured follow-up care, forcing women to rely on private hospitals for ongoing treatment.

According to the 2018 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) analysis of 6,365 contraceptive discontinuation episodes, 15.2% of all respondents discontinued modern family planning because of perceived adverse effects/health concerns.

The same national survey shows that method discontinuation within 12 months occurred frequently and 37% of contraceptive use episodes were discontinued within 12 months, with about 24% of implant episodes discontinued due to side effects/health concerns.

Hamzat further explained that, clinical research on the Jadelle contraceptive implant in Nigerian women found that 31.1% developed irregular uterine bleeding by six months of use, and 16.6% became amenorrheic (ceased menstrual bleeding) by 12 months of use.

PeacePro also stated that, a facility level study at a Nigerian teaching hospital reported that among Jadelle users, 48.5% reported side effects, with menstrual irregularities (55%) and amenorrhea (24.4%) among the most common manifestations.

Additionally, a broader review of modern contraceptive discontinuation among sexually active married women in Nigeria showed 35.8% overall discontinuation, with injectables (25.2%) and implants/Norplant (22.4%) as leading methods discontinued and side effects/health concerns as a prominent reason in many cases.

Hamzat maintained that, these data illustrate real patterns of discontinuation and side effects in Nigeria, grounded in national surveys (NDHS) and peer reviewed clinical research on implants, not anecdotal claims.

PeacePro highlighted reports that women who request discontinuation of certain methods are sometimes faced with discouraging counseling, administrative delays, or fees for removal, practices that violate informed consent, reproductive autonomy, and patient centered care.

The organization warned that donor driven programs that emphasize targets without adequately prioritizing safety risk erosion of public trust in health systems, widening health inequalities, especially in rural areas and increased reliance on unsafe alternatives due to fear of side effects.

“Family planning must never become a numbers driven system,” Hamzat said. “It must remain a health driven system that respects women’s choices and protects their safety.”

PeacePro is calling on the Federal and State Ministries of Health, development partners, and implementing agencies to pause further aggressive family planning campaigns pending a comprehensive safety review.

The federal government should conduct a nationwide audit of family planning processes, patient follow-up, and complication management in all public facilities, establish an independent patient safety review body to assess how complications and discontinuation requests are handled, documented, and resolved, Guarantee barrier free discontinuation, including removal without unofficial fees, delays, or coercion and Strengthen reporting systems to ensure complications are systematically captured and addressed through evidence based policy.

“Any system that discourages reporting, delays discontinuation, or ignores complications is unacceptable and must be corrected immediately,” Hamzat concluded.

PeacePro emphasized that addressing these issues is not only a public health necessity but also a peacebuilding imperative, as preventable suffering and institutional neglect erode social trust and community stability.

https://factcourierng.com/peacepro-expresses-concern-over-family-planning-complications/
#healthylifestyle #familyplanning #healthtips #healthcare #health #peacepro

Racoon:
Agriculture of course will take the direct hit. The escalating insecurity ravaging this nation affects agriculture the more among the many ills of our national life. Of course not forgetting the food inflation and insecurity attendant effects.

This is true. Hopefully, the sustained pressure on govt will yield result to improve the situation

*Nigeria’s Agriculture Sector Suffers ₦5 Trillion Capital Wipeout in Two Years — PeacePro*

_Says destruction is comparable to a financial sector collapse_

The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has declared Nigeria’s agriculture sector to be in a deep structural crisis, warning that Nigerian farmers have lost nearly ₦5 trillion (approximately $4billion) in productive capital over the past two years due to policy induced price crashes, poor and misleading weather forecasts by the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NiMet), and severe market distortions.

In a statement issued by its Executive Director, Abdulrazaq Hamzat, PeacePro described the losses as direct agricultural capital destruction at the producer level, stressing that the estimate does not include secondary economic effects such as consumer inflation, GDP contraction, foreign exchange pressure, or security related costs.

“Those impacts come later. What has already happened is the liquidation of farmer capital,” PeacePro said.

According to the organization, Nigeria did not successfully “control food prices” in 2024–2025. Instead, a combination of poorly timed policy interventions, price suppression mechanisms, weak market coordination, and unreliable weather forecasting by NiMet forced farmers to sell produce below cost, wiping out the capital required to sustain future production cycles.

“This was not a market correction. It was a policy shock that transferred value away from producers,” the statement added.

While Nigeria has an estimated 38–40 million people engaged in agriculture, PeacePro clarified that the most severe damage was concentrated among market facing producers, not subsistence farmers, although subsistence farmers were also adversely affected, particularly by poor and misleading weather forecasts issued by NiMet.

The most affected group includes 6–8 million producers, small and medium scale commercial farmers, storage poor price taking producers, farmers engaged in grains, tubers, vegetables, and legumes.

These producers supply Nigeria’s urban and regional food markets.

Hamzat explained that repeated price collapses across two consecutive production cycles resulted in aggregate capital losses approaching ₦5 trillion, even under conservative assumptions.

PeacePro maintained that the scale of destruction is comparable to a financial sector collapse, with one critical difference, “This crisis did not happen in banks or stock markets.
It happened quietly, in farms and rural communities.”

Hamzat also cautioned that depleted farmer capital will inevitably lead to reduced planting in 2026, lower domestic food supply, higher future food prices, increased rural poverty and social instability.

PeacePro therefore urged Nigerian authorities to publicly acknowledge the scale of agricultural capital destruction and immediately shift policy away from short term price suppression toward producer protection, capital preservation, and market stability.

“No country can bankrupt its farmers and remain food secure and Nigeria will soon pay the price for policy decisions that treated farmers as shock absorbers for inflation, if not corrected on time”

https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/02/02/peacepro-nigerias-agriculture-sector-suffers-%e2%82%a65trn-capital-wipeout-in-two-years/

Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement a Key Force in Osun Gubernatorial Race – Alh Abass Olaniyi

Osogbo, Osun State

The Gbenga Hashim Solidarity Movement (GHSM) has emerged as one of the most influential groups likely to shape the outcome of the next gubernatorial election in Osun State, thanks to its popularity, grassroots reach, and mobilizing capacity, according to Alhaji Abass Olaniyi, Southwest Coordinator of GHSM and a PDP stakeholder.

Speaking on the Lero Temi podcast with Mukhtar Ajelogbon, Olaniyi said the group has not yet decided which candidate to support, noting that the PDP has not officially produced a candidate for the race.

However, he made it clear that the APC candidate is “not an option”, signaling the group’s strong stance against the ruling party.

GHSM’s influence, according to Olaniyi, stems from its ability to mobilize voters across the state, engage grassroots networks, and leverage its broad popularity to influence party decisions.

On the national political stage, Olaniyi predicted that President Tinubu’s defeat in 2027 will begin in Osun State, reflecting the strategic importance of the state in shaping both state and federal electoral outcomes.

“GHSM has consistently played a decisive role in elections where we have been engaged. Our focus is to ensure that the PDP presents a credible, unifying, and popular candidate who can win the confidence of the people,” he said.

The statement underscores GHSM’s growing relevance in the Southwest and signals a critical period of decision-making for Osun’s political landscape ahead of the 2027 elections.

https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1JFiUUmiFb/

PeacePro Warns of Escalating Hausa–Fulani Insurgency in North West Nigeria

The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has raised the alarm over a rapidly escalating Hausa–Fulani insurgency in North-West Nigeria, following a fact finding mission to the region in January led by Executive Director Abdulrazaq Hamzat.

PeacePro identified Katsina, Zamfara, and Sokoto States as the epicenters of the growing crisis.

Hamzat noted that the insurgency is distinct from the persistent Almajiri system, but both crises are compounding insecurity and social fragmentation.

Alarmingly, Hausa and Fulani communities are increasingly developing parallel, retaliatory insurgent tendencies, deepening mistrust and cycles of violence.

According to Hamzat, the insurgency emerged from banditry in the mid-2010s, with criminal networks exploiting ethnic tensions to expand kidnapping, cattle rustling, illegal mining, and territorial control, adding that political mismanagement has worsened the crisis, with some leaders downplaying criminal activity or blaming entire communities, fueling retaliation and armed self defense mobilization.

“State failure and political manipulation have transformed what could have been contained disputes into an entrenched insurgency,” Hamzat said.

Zamfara has become the epicenter due to weak governance and unregulated mining. Katsina faces rising reprisal attacks and kidnappings, while Sokoto, historically insulated by religious authority, is now experiencing spillover violence, raising regional alarm.

PeacePro is calling for urgent, decisive action, including impartial security intervention, criminal justice accountability, political de-escalation, and community reconciliation, warning that failure to act risks turning the North-West into a lawless zone.

https://peacepro.org/peacepro-warns-of-escalating-hausa-fulani-insurgency-in-north-west-nigeria/

honesttalk21:
PeacePro's assessment of the Almajiri system hits the mark by highlighting the dire impact on children's lives and the growing insecurity it fosters. However, their proposed solutions echo the same empty promises we've heard for years. During Jonathan's administration, 137 schools were constructed with N15 billion, yet many of them now stand unused. The promise of eradicating the system in five years lacks transparency about accountability and funding sources.

While they suggest engaging religious leaders, this approach overlooks the fact that some of these leaders resist change due to the benefits they reap from free child labor and the exploitation of political thugs. There's no mention of holding parents accountable for abandoning their children or taking decisive action against unregulated Quranic schools.

True accountability would involve legal consequences for neglectful parents, immediate funding solutions, and mandatory school enrollment for all children. Instead, we see another NGO statement offering a coordinated response that lacks real impact. The Northern elites who gain from this system are unlikely to dismantle it of their own accord. It will take bold measures to criminalize child abandonment and sidestep those who resist change. Until then, these discussions will fade away, leaving vulnerable children on the streets.

Reassessing the Almajiri Crisis: Why Education Alone Misses the Point
By Abdulrazaq Hamzat

In January, I visited all the states of Nigeria’s North West to reassess the Almajiri situation before releasing any new publication.

This reassessment was deliberate. It was necessary to confront realities on the ground afresh, practically, not abstractly.

This is not an academic exercise for me. Growing up, I lived among Almajiri children. Yet, even with lived experience, I have come to accept that academic and policy perspectives can still miss critical truths when they are detached from present realities. The Almajiri crisis has evolved, and our responses have not evolved with it.

One of the most persistent misconceptions is that the Almajiri crisis is fundamentally an education deficit. Our recent PeacePro survey across the North West challenges this assumption.

Among the Almajiri children surveyed, just a little over 20% demonstrated any meaningful Islamic knowledge. The sample size was modest, but the implications are troubling. If the survey were expanded, the figure might drop to 10% or lower.

This finding is significant for two reasons.

Our respondents were largely older Almajiri, many of whom had spent years in the system before it became this worse.

Secondly, younger Almajiri are even more disconnected, hit differently by deprivation, displacement, and insecurity.

What this tells us is simple but uncomfortable, the majority of today’s Almajiri are neither being educated nor religiously instructed in any substantive sense. They are not students. They are abandoned children surviving within a system that no longer delivers what it claims to represent.

Approaching the Almajiri crisis primarily through formal education, classrooms, curricula, certificates, misses the point.

Many of these children are already adolescents or young adults. For them, conventional schooling is neither realistic nor immediately relevant.

Policy that insists on “education first” risks producing a new category of failure, children forced into systems that neither meet their needs nor reflect their realities.

Across the North West, we drove for hours, sometimes over four hours, across vast land masses with no meaningful infrastructure or productive use. This is not empty land; it is wasted opportunity.

These spaces can be transformed into large scale agricultural and vocational training hubs, absorbing thousands of Almajiri children and youth across entire value chains.

Crop production
Livestock management
Agro-processing
Storage, logistics, and distribution
Basic mechanics and tool handling

Such hubs would not merely “rehabilitate” Almajiri children, they would equip them with productive skills that immediately translate into livelihoods, even without formal education.

In Katsina and Zamfara, the mining curse is unmistakable. I witnessed illegal mining activities spread across wide areas, often operating openly. In the same spaces, I saw guns carried on motorcycles, largely by young Almajiri recruits.

The connection is direct.

These children possess only one marketable skill: physical labour, digging. In such an environment, Illegal mining becomes employment. Armed groups become recruiters and Violence becomes an income stream.

Even well intentioned interventions can backfire.

Introducing mechanized drilling, for example, threatens their only source of livelihood. When survival is at stake, reform is perceived as hostility.

For the almajiri children, we need to shift from focusing on schooling to dignified livelihoods.

The Almajiri system cannot be solved by Nigeria’s current education framework alone.

What is required is a massive vocational and livelihood oriented intervention, deliberately designed for children and youth who may never pass through formal schooling.

The objective must be clear, dignity without dependency,
Livelihood before literacy and
Skills before certificates.

Then, Education can follow.

Finally, the Almajiri crisis is not merely about out of school children. It is about social abandonment, economic exclusion, and state failure across vast territories.

If Nigeria continues to treat Almajiri strictly as an education problem, we will continue to misdiagnose and therefore mismanage the crisis. What is needed is a bold, practical reimagining, one that turns neglected land into productive space, abandoned children into skilled contributors, and insecurity into opportunity for social reconstruction.

PeacePro’s reassessment confirms one thing clearly, the future of the Almajiri must be built with tools, land, skills, and dignity, not classrooms alone.

Abdulrazaq Hamzat

Almajiri System Must Be Eradicated Within Five Years — PeacePro

_Warns Failure Could Set West Africa Ablaze_

The Foundation for Peace Professionals (PeacePro) has issued a stern warning that Nigeria’s worsening insecurity will remain unresolved unless the Almajiri system is decisively dismantled within the next five years, cautioning that continued neglect of the crisis could destabilize not only Nigeria but the entire West African subregion.

The warning was issued by Abdulrazaq Hamzat, Executive Director of PeacePro, following an extensive fact finding and engagement tour of seven states across Northern Nigeria, where the organization interacted with a wide range of stakeholders on issues of insecurity and the Almajiri crisis.

According to Hamzat, the tour exposed a disturbing and consistent pattern of normalized child abandonment, cloaked in cultural and religious justification, which has produced millions of socially excluded children and continues to fuel banditry, extremism, and organized criminal violence.

“What Nigeria is dealing with is not just banditry, terrorism, or criminality,” Hamzat said.

“It is the long term consequence of a society that has normalized the abandonment of its children.

The Almajiri system, in its current form, is not merely a policy failure; it is a cultural expression of total societal collapse.”

Hamzat described the situation as a composite failure cutting across all layers of society.

“It is a failure of culture, a failure of family, a failure of religion, a failure of government, and a failure of society, all rolled into one,” he stated.

PeacePro declared that Nigeria must eradicate the Almajiri system within the next five years or risk an uncontrollable expansion of insecurity beyond its borders, warning that the current level of violence could pale in comparison to what lies ahead.

“If this crisis is allowed to persist, Nigeria will not burn alone. The sheer scale of excluded, uneducated, and desperate youths being produced annually is enough to set the entire West African subregion on fire,” Hamzat warned.

While acknowledging that the Almajiri system is often defended as culture or religious tradition, PeacePro insisted that culture loses moral legitimacy when it systematically produces deprivation, homelessness, and social alienation.

“Culture is not sacred when it destroys lives. Any culture that turns children into roaming beggars, denies them education, welfare, protection, and a sense of belonging is no longer heritage, it is a social pathology,” Hamzat said.

Based on observations across the seven North West states visited, PeacePro identified the Almajiri crisis as the outcome of a five layer societal failure.

Family failure, where parents relinquish responsibility without safeguards, Ethnic nationality failure, where collective identity is used to normalize tragedy as culture, Religious failure, where children are accepted into learning systems without welfare, skills, or protection, Societal failure, where child begging is normalized and spiritualized and State failure, where child rights and basic education laws are ignored or weakly enforced.

“When families, ethnic nationality, religion, society, and the state all fail at the same time, insecurity becomes inevitable, not accidental,” Hamzat said.

PeacePro warned that children raised outside family care, education, social protection, and civic identity inevitably grow into adults disconnected from the state and vulnerable to recruitment by criminal gangs, extremist groups, and violent political networks.

“You cannot abandon children in the name of culture and expect peace in the name of patriotism. A society that mass-produces excluded children is manufacturing future instability,” Hamzat added.

The organization stressed that its position is not an attack on Islam, Northern culture, or religious education, but a call for urgent reform rooted in responsibility, dignity, and accountability.

“This is not about destroying culture or faith. It is about restoring their ethical foundations. Religion without welfare and compassion has been weaponized against the very children it should protect,” Hamzat said.

PeacePro called on federal and state governments to treat the Almajiri crisis as a national emergency and security priority, and to adopt a coordinated response aimed at eradicating the system within five years. Key measures include large scale rehabilitation and vocational programs for existing Almajiri youths, as well as sustained engagement with religious and traditional leaders to drive culturally grounded reform.

Hamzat concluded that Nigeria’s insecurity crisis will persist unless the country confronts its root causes with courage and honesty.

“Nigeria’s insecurity is not a mystery. It is the predictable outcome of decades of societal abandonment, normalized as culture. Until we end that abandonment, insecurity will only change form, not disappear.”

PeacePro reaffirmed its commitment to peacebuilding advocacy, policy engagement, and community-based reforms aimed at breaking the cycle between child neglect and national insecurity.

https://theeagleonline.com.ng/why-almajiri-system-must-be-eradicated-in-five-years-peacepro/

*Honey Queen, Maryam Mahmud Sets Ambitious Production Targets of 5 Tonnes in 2026, Eyes 20 Tonnes by 2030*

Maryam Mahmud, Zoology graduate from the University of Ilorin and Executive Director of Honeyz Depot, the state’s largest honey distributor and operator of Kwara’s only exclusive walk in honey store has unveiled an ambitious plan to expand the company’s honey production operations.

Beyond her executive role, Maryam is also the lead beekeeper, directly managing the production line and ensuring quality at every stage.

Honeyz Depot, which has dominated honey distribution in Kwara State for the past five years, began its honey production line three years ago and is now set to go semi-commercial, targeting 5 tonnes of honey by 2026, with a long term goal of scaling up to 20 tonnes annually by 2030.

Nigeria’s honey market is valued at approximately USD 63.21 million (2024), with demand rising across food, pharmaceutical, and personal care sectors. Yet, the country produces less than 10% of its annual honey consumption, creating a large import gap and costing the economy over $2 billion annually in imports.

Speaking on the expansion, Maryam said, “Our walk in store, before temporary shutdown and distribution network have shown the growing demand for quality honey. Now, we are taking the next step, controlling production, ensuring traceability, and scaling responsibly to meet rising market demand.”

Maryam stated that, Honeyz Depot’s production roadmap will combine owned anchor apiaries with a structured outgrower beekeeper network, designed to maintain quality, expand supply, and reduce import dependency. The initiative is expected to create jobs, support rural livelihoods, strengthen pollination services, and foster sustainable growth, not just further solidifying Honeyz Depot’s leadership in Kwara State’s honey market, but also across Nigeria.

kpankpangolo:
Let’s watch and see.

Five characters.

What are the 5 characters?

kpankpangolo:
That’s a bold goal. I doubt they can meet it. My problem with honey is I touch it once then never again. I always give out bottles I buy.

Why do you think she can't make it?

Nigeria’s Honey Queen Sets Ambitious Production Targets of 5 Tonnes in 2026, Eyes 20 Tonnes by 2030

Maryam Mahmud, Zoology graduate from the University of Ilorin and Executive Director of Honeyz Depot, the state’s largest honey distributor and operator of Kwara’s only exclusive walk in honey store has unveiled an ambitious plan to expand the company’s honey production operations.

Beyond her executive role, Maryam is also the lead beekeeper, directly managing the production line and ensuring quality at every stage.

Honeyz Depot, which has dominated honey distribution in Kwara State for the past five years, began its honey production line three years ago and is now set to go semi-commercial, targeting 5 tonnes of honey by 2026, with a long term goal of scaling up to 20 tonnes annually by 2030.

Nigeria’s honey market is valued at approximately USD 63.21 million (2024), with demand rising across food, pharmaceutical, and personal care sectors. Yet, the country produces less than 10% of its annual honey consumption, creating a large import gap and costing the economy over $2 billion annually in imports.

Speaking on the expansion, Maryam said, “Our walk in store, before temporary shutdown and distribution network have shown the growing demand for quality honey. Now, we are taking the next step, controlling production, ensuring traceability, and scaling responsibly to meet rising market demand.”

Maryam stated that, Honeyz Depot’s production roadmap will combine owned anchor apiaries with a structured outgrower beekeeper network, designed to maintain quality, expand supply, and reduce import dependency. The initiative is expected to create jobs, support rural livelihoods, strengthen pollination services, and foster sustainable growth, not just further solidifying Honeyz Depot’s leadership in Kwara State’s honey market, but also across Nigeria.

Contact:
Phone: +2348165128454
Email: Maryamtoke1995@gmail.com
Facebook: Honeyzdepot_foods
Instagram: honeyzdepot_foods

Tinubu's historic miscalculation

The weakness Nigeria has displayed under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, and the quiet humiliation that has followed as a result of a disoriented foreign policy, will haunt the country for a long time.

Even at the height of the Boko Haram insurgency, President Goodluck Jonathan refused to allow the United States or the collective West to step directly into Nigeria under the guise of security partnership.

He understood the historic tragedy that follows foreign military intervention in Africa.

He also understood that once a country cedes that line, it rarely regains full control of its security narrative.

Instead, Jonathan acted decisively when it mattered most, neutralising clear and present threats within Nigeria’s own sovereign framework, even if belatedly and under immense political pressure.

President Tinubu, however, has now eaten the forbidden fruit in paradise.

Yes, there will be explanations. There will be arguments about short-term tactical gains and international cooperation. But history is unkind to such justifications. The precedent being set today will linger far longer than the momentary relief it claims to offer.

The most painful irony is that this foreign intervention is unlikely to achieve any substantial or lasting security outcome.

Rather, it risks transforming Nigeria into a theatre of proxy interests and anti-US sentiment, drawing the country deeper into geopolitical contests it neither initiated nor controls.

The United States may claim a rhetorical victory and move on. Nigeria, however, will be left to manage the long-term consequences, consequences that may ultimately prove more destabilising than the insecurity we were originally confronting.

This is not partnership. It is a historic miscalculation. The first, since Nigeria's independence and one that reverses Africa's sovereign momentum.

By Abdulrazaq Hamzat

*5 ways President Trump unintentionally aiding Terrorists in Nigeria*

U.S President, Donald Trump’s repeated claims that “Christians are facing genocide in Nigeria” may sound like distant political rhetoric or concern from a global leader, but on the ground, they are creating dangerous consequences, especially for the Christian communities in Nigeria.

His narrative is unintentionally empowering terrorists, increasing risks for Christian communities, and worsening Nigeria’s fragile security situation.

1. *Elevating Christians as “High Value Targets for terrorists”*

Terrorists seek publicity.

When a U.S. President repeatedly claims Christians in Nigeria are victims of genocide, extremists see an opportunity.

Attacking churches creates global headlines.

Kidnapping Christians becomes more “valuable.”

Targeting Christian gatherings becomes a way to attract international attention.

Before this, terrorists attacked whoever was vulnerable, both Muslims and Christians. Trump’s rhetoric has now turned Christian targets into tools for international visibility.

*2. Deepening Religious Polarization*

Nigeria’s insecurity is driven by terrorism, banditry, governance failure, and resource conflict.

Trump’s claims distort this reality by framing the crisis as a “Christian vs. Muslim” clash.

This sectarian framing benefits extremists.

It fuels fear and distrust between communities.

It allows terrorists to justify attacks as religious battles.

It aids recruitment among young people who feel their faith is under threat.

It increases the likelihood of retaliatory violence.

Terrorists thrive in environments of division, and Trump’s rhetoric has widened those cracks.

3. *Weakening Trust in Government Security Efforts*

When Trump accuses Nigeria of “genocide,” two dangerous things happen.

A. Communities lose trust in the government

People begin to believe the state is targeting Christians. This pushes communities to rely on militias and vigilante groups, creating fragmentation that terrorists exploit.

B. Terrorists perceive Nigeria as isolated

When international actors view Nigeria negatively, extremists assume the state is weakened and vulnerable. They become bolder and more daring in their attacks.

*4. Providing Terrorists With Propaganda Tools*

Extremist groups thrive on narratives. Trump’s comments now allow them to say, “America confirms Christians are under attack.”

“These attacks shake global powers.”

“Nigeria is weak.”


Each attack becomes a propaganda victory, fueling their recruitment and justifying further violence.


*5. Misdiagnosing the Real Problem*

False narratives distract from the true drivers of insecurity. When policymakers abroad adopt Trump’s framing, Wrong solutions are proposed, aid is misdirected and counterterrorism strategies become less effective.

This confusion creates space for terrorists to expand.

In Conclusion, Trump Is Unintentionally Fueling Extremism in Nigeria.

Terrorists do not rely only on weapons, they rely on narratives.

By exaggerating and distorting Nigeria’s crisis, Donald Trump has provided extremists with a religious war framework, global visibility, propaganda ammunition, a reason to target Christians and increased polarization.


The result is clear, Nigeria is now more dangerous for Christians, not safer.

The international community must approach Nigeria’s crisis with accuracy, nuance, and responsibility, not political sensationalism that strengthens the hands of violent groups.

Rising tension: Stop ethnic profiling; pursue peace, says Olawepo-Hashim

ON FEBRUARY 21, 202112:00 PMIN NEWS

As ethnic tension rises across the country, former presidential candidate, Mr. Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim, has warned Nigerians to desist from engaging in ethnic profiling so as not to worsen the situation and embolden Nigeria’s enemies to create more crises for the nation.

The politician and businessman, who was reacting to rising ethnic tension in the land, warned that pitching one ethnic group against the other and pushing for attacks and reprisal attacks could only promote more suspicion and mistrust and lead to avoidable destruction.

In a statement made available to Vanguard in Abuja on Sunday, Mr Olawepo-Hashim, expressed serious concern over the ongoing attacks and counter attacks arising from the age-long farmers-herders conflicts and exacerbated by other security challenges, but warned that they should never be a justification for ethnic stereotyping capable of provoking ethnic pogroms.

Olawepo-Hashim said: “All patriotic Nigerians should be worried. I am worried. We all have roles to play, community leaders and social organizations must tone down divisive rhetoric,” he said.

“Now is the time to motivate and encourage various security agencies to step up their games. Now is the time for government leaders to act as statesmen. We must unite to save the nation.

“Public officers at all levels must avoid statements and actions that show support for any party to the conflict as it has tendency to undermine national cohesion and security.

“On clashes between herders and farmers all over Nigeria, it is well agreed by all reasonable citizens and leaders that a pastoral practice that ruins the legitimate businesses of others, must immediately give way to a more acceptable and modern arrangement. ”

“We need a transition to a system that accommodates the aspirations of poor farmers and herders who have long been neglected by successive governments. This is the most urgent task of public policy at both State and Federal levels.

Perhaps it is time again to renew our earlier call for devolution of power to the States in policing and other critical areas, in order to lessen the burden of the Federal Government in policing,” Olawepo-Hashim cautioned.

He reiterated that states and local policing might help reduce tension as security questions requiring prompt attention would be taken at state levels before they fester into broader national crisis, providing incentives for diver’s centrifugal forces to jump in.

While observing that nation building will not be completed in one day, the business executive expressed optimism that there would still be life after 2023 and Nigeria will survive.

The businessman turned politician noted that from ongoing public debate, it was obvious that consensus has been built around issues such as the desirability of state police to deal with insecurity, devolution of powers to states to control resources in their inland basins to pay taxes to the centre.

It will be recalled that Olawepo-Hashim had in a recently admonished Nigerians to agree on things that are agreeable and continue to discuss things that are not clear but may become clearer in the future.

Nigeria, he said, must move forward together in peace and harmony.

Vanguard News Nigeria

What is Nigeria turning into? I am very worried about the rumor i just heard. The management of National Open University of Nigeria under the instruction of the vc is rumored to have given the Nans president N500k to issue statement condemning students who called for the sack of the VC. Without any inquiry, or efforts to understand what was happening within the institution that led to the call for the sack of the Vc, the Nans president, upon hearing money is involved horriedly issued the statement claiming that the students are imposters. This is a trying period for this country.

Even the devil fell remose when he his alone

SHOCKING REVELATION ABOUT GEJ BY REUBEN ABATI

Kayode Emmanuel wrote on facebook:

Reuben Abati, spokesman of President Good luck Jonathan confided in a close associate recently while expressing his deepest concern.
Abati reportedly said, you have to be absolutely bias and extremely sentimental to be able to defend president Good luck Jonathan successfully.

If you are not acting blind to his flaws, you can’t perform your duty to him as a spokesman because there is hardly anything he does right. Even if you advice him to act right on certain occasions, he will eventually act wrongly,yet you have to defend him in his error. Some times, I get tired of defending him because, you have to keep lying continuously.

On your own path, you have to abandon logic and bother less about any personal integrity, else you can’t make the image of this president. If you don’t want to lie to defend him, if you don’t want to be bias or sentimental, then his image can’t be made because he hardly act right on many national issues.

Some times, you have to act foolishly to defend some of his actions because without at least some element of foolishness, some things can't be logically defended. That is one area i find difficult in this job. Abati said.

they are the sponsors of various govt to power

no,, woman look like man

hum

?

thanks for your advice and am ready for real.. add yours