Headlines
Academic advocates subsidizing sanitary pads
Nasiru Yusuf
A lecturer at Federal College of Education (FCE), Kano, Hadiza Gadanya has advocated for subsidizing sanitary pads in Nigeria.
KANO FOCUS reports that Gadanya made the appeal on Wednesday at a town hall meeting on Alternative funding for girl child Education Initiatives, organized by Partnership to Engage, Reform and Learn (PERL) in Kano.
Gadanya observed that, the success stories recorded in subsidizing family planning commodity should be extended to sanitary pads as part of strategy of promoting personal hygiene among women of reproductive age.
The academic has also called for abolishing qualifying examination administer to secondary school students a year before taking final examination.
She noted that many girl students of poor background who fàiled the examination, finds it difficult to complete secondary school.
Another lecturer with the department of Adult Education and Community Development, Bayero University Kano, Auwal Halilu, identified cultural norms, poverty, health and sanitation as some of the major challenges to girl child education.
In a paper titled “Overview of Girl Child Education in Kano State: Prospects and challenges” Dr. Halilu attributed emerging barriers such as insecurity and COVID-19 to the low turn out of girls in schools.
Participants
He pointed out that introducing laws that protects the girl child, quality healthcare, providing opportunities for female school drop outs and employing qualified teachers would go a long way in boosting girl child education.
“Key stakeholders include schools, students, teachers, international and local development partners, Government at all levels, communities have a major role to play in promoting girl child education,” he said.
In his remarks, the state team leader of (PERL), Isa Surajo charged government to map out policies and programs that will improve enrolment, retention, completion and transition of girl child education.
State Team Leader PERL Isa Surajo
According to the team leader, research indicates that, government has no adequate resources to cater for the girl child due to the high number of females in the state.
Surajo noted that, the programme is targeted towards improving girl child education, good governance and learning outcomes in collaboration with relevant stakeholders.
He maintained that, the alternative funding for girl education Initiatives would focus attention on supporting government, citizens and evidence based advocacy programs to upgrade girl child education.
The team leader decried the rising number of out of school children especially females, stressing the need for communities to work together with relevant stakeholders to increase girl child enrolment, retention, completion and transition to achieve the desired objectives.
“There are a lot of resources in our communities that can be used to upgrade girl child education. PERL will continue to support and collaborate with partners to improve governance and learning outcomes.
Similarly while presenting a paper titled, “Trend Analysis on Education Budget: Implication for Girls Education” the coordinator of Kano budget working group, Comrade Safiyanu Lawal Bichi, explained that girl child education goes beyond getting girls to school but rather ensuring that girls learn and feel safe while in school and gave the opportunity to complete all levels of education.
Safiyanu Lawal Bichi
He said available figures indicated that Nigeria has over 10.5 million out of school children with over three million of the total number in Kano.
He called on CSOs and citizens to follow up and advocate for the implementation of projects which would strengthen and support girl education in Kano state.
According to him “It is also about ensuring that girls learn and feel safe while in school, and have the opportunity to complete all levels of education, acquiring the knowledge and skills to compete in the labour market.”
Participants
The town hall meeting in Alternative funding for girl education initiatives was attended by academics, journalists, students, CSOs, representative of labour unions faith and community based organisations.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The Kano State Governor, Abba Kabir Yusuf, has vowed to appeal the judgement of the governorship election tribunal which nullified his election and declared the APC candidate, Nasiru Yusuf Gawauna as the winner.
KANO FOCUS reports that Yusuf made the declaration on Wednesday night, while making a broadcast to the people of the state.
He said his legal team had been directed to appeal the judgement at the court of appeal in order to reclaim the mandate given to him by the people of the State.
He, therefore, Called on the good people of the state to remain calm and continue to be law abiding as security agents have been directed to ensure the safety of lives and property of the citizens.
“Let me assure you that the this government would continue to work for the development of the people of the state as the judgement will never dampen our spirit or discourage us from the good work we have started.” he said.
The Governor, who thanked the people of the state for their continued support and cooperation, urged them to go about with normal activities.
Nasiru Yusuf Ibrahim
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), on Tuesday, said that Kano State has recorded 5,800 suspected cases of Diphtheria from January to date.
KANO FOCUS reports that the Head, UNICEF Field Office, Kano, Mr Rahama Mohammned-Farah, stated this in Kano during a one-day media orientation on Diphtheria outbreak.
The UN Agency said the cases were recorded in 39 local government areas of the state.
According to him, Kano State has the highest number of recorded cases in the country, adding that Diphtheria was a highly contagious and infectious disease that could cause death.
Mohammned-Farah stressed that proactive measures were necessary to stem the outbreak.
“Recently, we have seen a surge in the number of reported Diphtheria cases in Nigeria, and Nigeria is currently facing an outbreak that needs to be stopped and prevented.
“As of July, Diphtheria cases have been on the rise. As of last week, over 400 suspected cases with 11 deaths have been reported in Kano.
“Out of the 39 LGAs affected, eight are the most affected, including Ungogo with 2,651 cases; Dala 989, Fagge 943, Gwale 714, Kumbotso 713, Nasarawa 538, Kano Municipal 506 and Tarauni 269,” he said.
He said that 60.8 per cent of the suspected cases had been reported in children not vaccinated, which reinforced the critical need to address the issue of zero doses, especially in Kano State.
“UNICEF delivered 1.2 million vaccines to the Kano State Government in our continuing support to the government response to Diphtheria outbreak.
“Diphtheria outbreak is a threat to child survival, health and the wellbeing of children. UNICEF is collaborating with government and partners to respond to the emergency to save the lives of children affected.
“In Kano state, UNICEF supported Tetanus-Diphtheria reactive vaccination campaigns in February, April and August, vaccinating 23,200 children in round one.
“While 277,796 children vaccinated in round two and 29,500 others in round-3 of the exercise.
“We engaged 150 traditional leaders on Diphtheria outbreak and distribution of Diphtheria IEC materials, and deployed 1,500 VCMs to the worst affected LGAs to conduct house-to-house sensitisations and referral of suspected cases to health facilities.
“Media has a key role to play particularly in infection prevention, and risk communication and community engagement,” he said.
Also speaking, Dr Muhammad Nasir-Mahmoud, the Director-General, Kano State Primary Healthcare Management Board, said the state government had adopted drastic measures to curtail spread of the disease.
“We are committed towards educating the public about what is happening and the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) has promised that Kano will be accorded priority in terms of vaccine distribution,” he said.
While describing the media as partners in the fight against Diphtheria, Nasir-Mahmoud urged them to support the campaign against the disease.
Mukhtar Yahya Usman
The Interparty Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) has urged the judges of the Kano election petition tribunal court to discharge its duties with utmost integrity and impartiality.
KANO FOCUS reports that this was contained in a statement issued by the organization secretary Kano chapter Nuhu Idris on Tuesday.
IPAC also called upon the tribunal to consider each case diligently and ensure that all the parties involved are given equal opportunities to present their argument and evidence.
It could be recalled that the election tribunal has fixed Wednesday 20th September 2023 to deliver judgment on APC’s petition against Abba Kabir Yusuf.
A hearing notice issued by the Secretary of the election petition tribunal on Monday said the judgment would be delivered at 9.00 a.m., at the High Court of Miller Road in Kano.
Mr Idris said the organization has acknowledged the importance of the electoral process in a democratic society, where the voice and choice of the people are paramount.
He said the ongoing legal proceedings before the tribunal are a testament to the vibrancy of democracy and the resolve of citizens to seek redress through legal means.
“IPAC firmly believes that justice must not only be done but must also be seen to be done.
“We, Therefore, implore the tribunal to maintain transparency in its proceedings allowing the public and all concerned parties to have confidence in the outcome of the legal process, the statement said.
He added that it is essential that the tribunal’s decisions are guided by the rule of law and the facts presented, rather than any external influence.
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