Across the blood-stained fields of Borno and Yobe, the silent forests of Niger and Zamfara, and the ravaged communities of Benue and Sokoto, Nigeria’s youth have seen too much, too soon. With Boko Haram/ISWAP insurgency crippling the Northeast and organized banditry terrorizing the Northwest and North Central, the wounds run deep, not only in land and lives, but in identity and hope. NEYIF provides succour. By Abdallah el-Kurebe Yet, from the ashes, a youth-driven revolution is stirring. Meet the Northeast Youth Initiative Forum (NEYIF), a resilient force led by young Nigerians, and particularly its Executive Director, Muhammad Dauda Gombe, who…
Author: TheStories
The House of Representatives has passed, for Third Reading, a Bill for an Act to criminalise the refusal of eligible voters to go out and vote at elections. The sponsor of the Bill was speaker Dr. Tajuddeen Abbas, Ph.D (Iyan Zazzau) himself. Speaker Tajuddeen sponsored the Bill perhaps because he has noticed that the number of registered voters in Nigeria continues to rise, while several eligible voters who actually go out to vote have consistently been dwindling since the third election cycle in 2007. According to INEC records, between 1999 and 2023, the number of those who voted at presidential…
Samuel P. Huntington, the American political scientist who spent more than half a century at Harvard University as an academic and adviser, has identified key attributes that define the power and structure of a dictatorship. According to him, signs of dictatorship in a country include rule by one person or leader or by a small group of persons who exercise power without limitations, or exercise power with limited political pluralism and limited mass mobilization. I think Nigeria exhibits all these signs and symptoms today and may soon be a dictatorship, if we do not participate in the next elections to…
It is not only unconstitutional but damn right immoral to endorse any sitting governor or president “as the sole candidate” of a political party for an election. When the endorsement is done before the president reaches halfway through his tenure in office, it not only undermines the political process but is also illogical. By Sadiq Ibrahim Dasin And when the endorsement was for the president only, while both the President and the Vice President were elected and serving on a joint ticket, the endorsement of the president alone without his vice is illegal. Quote me anywhere! The illegality of the…
On Saturday, May 24, 2025, the ancient town of Kuta in Niger State wasn’t just hosting a dignitary — it was embracing a son. The homecoming of Comrade Yakubu Garba, Deputy Governor of Niger State, to the headquarters of Shiroro Local Government Area carried weight far beyond ceremonial greetings. It was a political reckoning, a personal plea, and a masterclass in humility. By Abubakar Abdullahi el-Kurebe In the days leading up to his visit, a quiet storm had been brewing within the local chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC). At the heart of the tension was the selection of…
The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has intercepted a massive consignment of illicit drugs valued at over ₦6.5 billion at Nigeria’s seaports in Lagos and Rivers states, while also arresting two British nationals attempting to smuggle cannabis through the Lagos airport. The seizure includes more than six million pills of opioids—including Tamol, Tapentadol, and Carisoprodol—as well as 332,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup. NDLEA operatives discovered the drugs at the Port Harcourt Ports Complex, Onne, and the Apapa seaport, Lagos, following intelligence-led tracking of new trafficking routes. The drugs were concealed in multiple containers that were placed under watch and…
The Police Command in Niger says it has rescued four kidnapped victims of Sarkin-Pawa, Munya Local Government Area of the state. This is contained in a statement by its Public Relations officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, on Saturday in Minna. On February 20, around 10 pm, suspected kidnappers attacked Hayin-Dogo and Dangunu villages of Sarkin-Pawa, Munya LGA. During the attack, one Usman Daina and four others were abducted, but Daina was released after two days. “Since then, the joint security team has been mounting pressure through different clearance and rescue operations to rescue the victims. “Fortunately, on May 22, at about…
The National Prayer Altar (TNPA) last week called on the Nigerian government to reverse its ratification of the policy, which equates certificates issued by the National Board for Arabic and Islamic Studies (NBAIS) with WAEC, NECO, NBTE and other standardised examination bodies. TNPA said such an equation distorts Nigeria’s secularity. In the meantime, an Islamic human rights organization, the Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has confirmed the compatibility of the NBAIS certificate with WAEC, NECO, and NBTE. The Islamic organization advised the Christian group and Nigerian Christendom to eschew all vestiges of colonial mentality as well as anti-Arabic and anti-Muslim paranoia.…
As part of ongoing efforts to deepen democratic participation and amplify women’s voices in Nigeria’s political landscape, the International Press Centre (IPC), Lagos, has commenced a series of high-level consultative forums with key media stakeholders. The initiative is supported by the European Union under its flagship Support to Democratic Governance in Nigeria Phase II (EU-SDGN II) programme. The forums—organised in collaboration with the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) and the Guild of Corporate Online Publishers (GOCOP)—are scheduled to hold on Saturday, May 24, 2025, in Port Harcourt and on Tuesday, May 27, 2025, in Abuja. They are focused on…
I have traveled extensively across the globe, visiting countries on every habitable continent—except Australia. Despite these journeys, I’ve never found it captivating enough to remain in any one country for more than two weeks. There’s something about being in a place where you’re constantly tracked, monitored, or required to declare your return date that feels stifling. In many developed nations, life is so efficient and orderly that it becomes monotonous. Everything works like clockwork—too perfectly. It’s almost dull. Back home, we’re used to a different rhythm: getting frustrated when “NEPA takes light” and jubilant when power is restored. As we…