On 16th June 2016, CITAD organised her 6th monthly Inspiring Leadership Reflection Interactive Series and the Guest of the day was Hajiya Sa’a Ibrahim of Abubakar Rimi Television. Hajiya Sa’a is the first female Managing Director of Abubakar Rimi Television formerly known as City Television (CTV). Here are highlight from the interactive discussion Hajiya Sa’a had with the staff and friends of CITAD present on that day.
Before Hajiya Saa’s inspirational speech, there was a brief introduction by the Executive Director of CITAD Dr. Y.Z. Ya’u who stressed the relevance of the monthly inspirational series. He said at CITAD we look at people who have made sacrifices and made impact in people’s lives and Hajiya Sa’a Ibrahim was one of those people.
Hajiya Saa talked about how she grew up in an extended family setting where everyone had a role to play and everyone played their part diligently and this contributed positively to her outlook in life. She also talked of a popular saying by her mother “There are many ways to Sabongari market†which implies, there is more than one way to achieve a goal. Hajiya lamented on how youth of present days wait to be spoon fed which is a contrast to how she was brought up. This helped her navigate her way in life without favour to get to where she is today. Many youth wait for the government to help them out when they have the capacity to help themselves.
Hajiya Sa’a Ibrahim capped the talk with some words of reflection: – You have to learn to be responsible, – hard work pays, – Stand on the side of truth no matter the circumstances, – identify a role model, – Never allow any to suffer between the family and the career.
The session was closed after a question and answer session and some CITAD publications were handed to Hajiya Sa’a Ibrahim.
Executive Director, Centre for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), Dr. Yunusa Zakari Yau, has called on the federal government to declare a state of humanitarian emergency in the North-east.
Speaking to newsmen in Kano yesterday, Yau said the call had become necessary as greater action was much-needed to rescue millions of people from starvation.
Yau said there was also the compelling need for developing a comprehensive frame work for humanitarian intervention in the North-east, stressing that the federal government was only using the
National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) act which focused attention on refugees from other countries rather than on internally displaced persons.
He emphasised the need for the protection of rural communities in the North-east who as soft target had been bearing the worse burden of the insurgency.
He said even the government military offensive against Boko Haram insurgents had continued to record huge success, it was daily revealing a crisis that had been understated as thousands of people were pouring out with no food, medication and shelter.
He called on the National Assembly to, without further delay, conclude deliberations and pass into law the North-east Development Commission Bill “so that an accounting mechanism and structure for coordination of effort in rebuilding and reconstruction of the region would be in place.â€
The Nigerian government has been urged to declare a state of humanitarian emergency in the conflict-ravaged northeastern region, to galvanize greater action to rescue millions of people from starvation.
This call was contained in a press statement made available to journalists this week, by the Centre for Information Technology and Development, CITAD, an NGO which has been implementing various programmes as part of the rebuilding and reconstruction efforts in the region, and was therefore worried about the grave situation in the rural parts of northeastern Nigeria.
The statement, which was signed by YZ Ya’u, CITAD’s executive director noted that whereas the government’s military offensive against the Boko Haram insurgents in the region had recorded significant successes and most of the territories earlier taken by the group, have been retaken, the development was daily revealing a crisis that had been “understated as thousands of people are pouring out with no food, medication and shelterâ€.
“They are daily starving to death. Over two Millions (2.5 million) have been displaced internally and are scattered across Nigeria. Most of them in impoverished host communities which further worsen their situation. These are different from these internally displaced persons who are in camp. They are the unaccounted IDPs who have no luxury of camps,†said the statement.
“They have been trapped for years in the bush and have no means of escaping. For over four years, these people could not farm, could not conduct business and have lost contact with other communities and the government. They have no homes, food or water to drink. Education had been disrupted. They are dying of both hunger and thirst as well as from drinking of unhealthy water out of desperation.â€
The statement decried the fact that efforts aimed at addressing the needs of the internally displaced persons have been largely concentrated in the urban areas and relief materials were being channeled to official camps whereas those disconnected communities were even in greater need of such aid.
“Daily people are dying for want of food and water,†it said “As the rainy season sets, their conditions will even be worse by the lack of shelter, leaving them at the mercy of the elements that they have been exposed to for so long a time. Already there are reports of tens of people dying every day of hunger, thirst and lack of shelter especially in communities outside Maiduguri and the danger of mass starvation in these communities is so real.â€
Amongst others, the statement categorically demanded of governments in Nigeria to “develop a comprehensive framework for humanitarian intervention in the northeast†asking the government to come up with “a policy on IDPs as currently the government has no policy on IDPs and has been using the NEMA act which has its focus on refugees from other countries rather than on IDPs.â€
It further called on Nigeria to protect rural communities in its northeastern region whom it said, as soft target, have been bearing the brunt of the Boko Haram insurgency. It also called on the National Assembly, to expedite action and ensure the successful passage of the North East Development Commission bill so as to bring about “accountable mechanism and structure for the coordination of effort in rebuilding and reconstruction of the region.â€
There are over 30 million out-of-school children, OOSC, across Sub Saharan Africa and one-third of that figure, over 10 million, is in Nigeria, according to UNESCO
Student’s of Shara community’s under-tree school receiving sets of uniforms and learning materials donated to them by CITAD
Shara, a very remote rural community in Sumaila local government area of Kano state, in northwestern Nigeria, is a village where, until recently, not a single child goes to school. Over 10.5 million children of school age across Nigeria are not going to school which includes 40% of the country’s children of between the ages of 6 and 11. Moreover, 30% of pupils drop out of primary school and 54% do not get to complete junior secondary school.
Unbelievably, the community, whose inhabitants were in the habit of migrating  and resettling somewhere else whenever a school is built close to them, has now not only secured a plot, but is also seeking the support of government and NGOs to help them build a school for their children. This development has generated a lot of excitement among the community’s children, many of whom are now eager to go to school and acquire education.
This is not unconnected with consistent advocacy efforts of the Centre for Information Technology and Development, CITAD, an NGO, whose fruitful yet exhaustive efforts have successfully changed the mindset of the members of the community, who themselves gathered money and acquired a plot of land on which the school will be built.
So passionate and eager are parents in the community now that they have accepted to see their children learn in an under-a-tree school before a proper structure is built for them. Therefore, today, children from the community are being taught basic literacy skills by volunteer teachers from neighboring communities under a tree which serves as their temporary class before a proper one is built for them.
“We are grateful to CITAD helping us get a school and for giving us uniforms, exercise books and learning materials,†said an excited Usman Sama’ila, wearing his new school uniform. “I want to be educated so that I can develop myself and my community.â€
However, it took CITAD and a local CBO, Sitti Forum, series of advocacies and lobbying on the people of the community, who vehemently opposed Western education and were skeptical about allowing their children to be educated in Western-styled schools, to be able to convince them to send their children to school. The community initially rebuffed their overtures and much later began to listen and eventually heed their call.
“We carried out research as a forum and identified communities where there were no schools and decided to help such communities get schools so that their children will be able to acquire education,†said Saidu Saleh Sitti, the chair of Sitti Forum, a community-based organization working in the area. “We carried out advocacy to both elders and youth of the community, tried and convince them on the benefit of getting their children acquire education. It was really difficult trying to convince them.â€
Speaking during a ceremony organized for the presentation of school uniforms and instructional materials donated to the pupils of the under-tree school, by the Centre for Information Technology and development, CITAD, in Shara recently, Abdulganiyu Rufa’i, coordinator of the Center’s education program said the Centre, which was working in the education sector in across the states of the northeastern region and Kano, wanted to give Shara’s children the opportunity to be educated.
“CITAD has been working towards the improvement of education in the northeastern states as well as in Kano. In Kano, we are working in Dawakin Tofa, Garun Mallam and Sumaila local government areas. We identified Shara community and are working here because we want to give the children of the community the opportunity to be educated,†he said.
“Our hope is to come up with community-driven efforts for educational development because of our realization that the government alone cannot handle education; education sector is too important and strategic for it to be left in the hands of the government, alone. Therefore, communities need to be empowered with innovative strategies to be able to bring about development of education within their domain.â€
Rufai, who said the Centre, was working to improve enrollment and retention of children in school said they learnt about the community through their research which showed that not a single child in the community was attending school hence their decision to carry out advocacy to the members of the community which has now yielded good results.
Also speaking at the event, the education secretary for Sumaila local government, Sabo Aliyu, said the Centre was complementing the government’s effort and thanked CITAD for intervening in the community, which he said desperately needed education.
He stated that the local education authority would do everything possible to assist their efforts by constructing makeshift classes for the students as well as equip it with desks and chairs for both the students and their volunteer teachers, so as to facilitate learning process.
“I urge parents in this community to send their children to the school, including their girls. This is because if the girls are educated they have the opportunity to study for health-related courses and be able to take care of pregnant women in the community. This will solve you the trouble of exposing your women to men when they are sick or pregnant,†he said.
Bakari Hussaini is the special adviser to the governor of Kano state on education and while speaking at the event, he said millions of children were out of school in Kano state adding that the Governor Abdullahi Ganduje administration was coming up with a policy of free and fair education in the state, towards inclusive education in the state.
“The Kano state government is working on a free and compulsory education policy to address the huge challenge in the sector,†he said. “As I speak to you, millions of children across Kano state, who are of school age are not going to school, hence we are happy with the effort of CITAD and other NGOs working in the state.â€
He added that the Kano state government will look into the possibility of building a proper school close to the community in the near future adding that education was the responsibility of all members of the society, and not the government alone.
“All members of Shara community, where ever they are in the country, and anyone that has anything to do with the community should contribute toward the development of education in the community,†he urged
Improving enrollment and retention of children in school will obviously help improve literacy levels among the next generation of Nigeria’s leaders, which will also afford them the opportunity break the cycle of poverty and make positive contributions towards the development of their country.
Moreover, the successful realization of the stand-alone Goal 4 (Education 2030) of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, and the goals of the Global Partnership for Education, GPE, is tied to the achievement of inclusive and equitable quality education for children across the country.
‘Even as the military offensive against Boko Haram scores successes, it isrevealing an understated crisis,’ says NGO head
Thousands of people in far-flung villages of Nigeria’s northeast are dying of hunger and lack of basic shelter, according to a group involved in rebuilding and reconstruction efforts in areas ravaged by the terrorist Boko Haram insurgency.
“Even as the military offensive against the Boko Haram insurgents continues to record success, it is daily revealing a crisis that has been understated. Suddenly, thousands of people are pouring out with no food, mediation, or shelter. They are daily starving to death,” Yunusa Yau, executive director of the Center for Information Technology and Development (CITAD), which has been implementing various aid and development programs in the region, told a news briefing in the northwestern city of Kano on Tuesday.
Yau said hundreds of thousands of these people were trapped in mountains, bushes, and other hideouts and were unable to farm or trade yet remain undocumented as displaced persons.
Over 2 million persons are recorded as having been displaced in the region owing to the crisis, with some taking shelter in government camps largely found in towns like Maiduguri, Bama, and Yola.
“Relief materials are channeled to known camps but those disconnected communities are even in greater need. The conditions just outside of Maiduguri [in northeastern Nigeria] are calamitous. Daily people are dying for want of food and water,” Yau said.
“As the rainy season sets, their conditions will even be worse due to lack of shelter, leaving them at the mercy of the elements that they have been exposed to for so long a time. Already there are reports of dozens of people dying every day of hunger, thirst and lack of shelter, especially in communities outside Maiduguri, and the danger of mass starvation in these communities is so real,” he added.
The group commended the various nonprofit organizations offering assistance to the displaced persons but said that these efforts so far amount to “scratching the surface”.
It called on the government to “declare a state of humanitarian emergency in the region to galvanize greater action to rescue millions of people from starvation, and develop a comprehensive framework for humanitarian intervention in the northeast”.
“In this connection, we ask that the government, in addition to a blueprint, come up with a policy on IDPs [internally displaced persons] as currently the government has no policy on IDPs and has been using the NEMA [National Emergency Management Agency] Act which has its focus on refugees from other countries rather than on IDPs.”
