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Gombe State University is set to honour Abdullahi Usman, popularly known as Engineer Hadi, during its combined convocation ceremony.

Usman is a 71-year-old self-taught engineer who has built a helicopter, water powered stove, among several other inventions.

Other prominent personalities to be honoured include the Vice President of Nigeria; Kashim Shettima, former Secretary to Government of the Federation; Boss Mustapha, Professor Idris Mohammed, former board chairman of TETFUND; Alhaji Kashim Ibrahim-Imam, former Finance Minister; Hajiya Zainab Ahmed, former ECOMOG General Commander late Timothy Shelpidi.

Announcing this during a media briefing at the council chamber, Vice Chancellor of GSU, Aliyu El-Nafaty, noted that the individuals have distinguished themselves in their various fields, noting that their efforts have been outstanding in the development of the school.

On the choice of Usman, he said “the self-made scientist and innovator, comes from a humble background as he trained himself into innovating electronics/electrical appliances that addresses the challenges we face today, especially energy. He invented cooking stoves that us water and generating plants that generate energy up to 7.5KVA without the use of any fuel and many other gadgets.”

Speaking further, El-Nafaty, disclosed that Shettima, Mustapha, Ibrahim-Imam, Ahmed, Shelpidi would be conferred honorary degrees.

While Professor Mohammed would be bestowed with Emeritus Professor of Infectious Disease and Immunology, following his contributions in the control of HIV/AIDS, Meningitis epidemics, adding that he is the first to be so honoured.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, CP Idowu Owohunwa, has disclosed that late singer, Ilerioluwa Aloba aka Mohbad, began vomiting and developed goosebumps after he was injected three times by a nurse, Feyisayo Ogedemgbe, on September 12, 2023.

The Lagos CP disclosed this at a press briefing on Friday at the state Command headquarters, Ikeja, Lagos.

Owohunwa was giving preliminary reports of investigation conducted by the police team to unravel the circumstance that led to the death of Mohbad.

“As of today, a total of 26 witnesses have been interviewed,” the CP said.

He said those interrogated include Mohbad’s father, mother, sisters, brother, wife and manager among several others.

The CP said Mohbad was brought in dead to the hospital, and he was certified dead by doctors on duty on September 12.

According to the CP, the nurse, Feyisayo Ogedemgbe, who was invited by Mohbad’s friend, Ayobami Sodiq aka Spending, to inject the singer at his residence, administered three injections believed to have led to the chain of reactions that eventually led to the singer’s death.

“Mohbad began vomiting and developed goosebumps after the injections,” Owohunwa said.

Details later…

A mentally ill man has killed at least nine people in Adamawa State, Nigeria, before being beaten to death by an angry mob.

LEADING REPORTERS learnt that the incident happened on Wednesday evening in Libbo Ward, Kate-Gamji village, in the Sheleng Local Government Area of the state.

The man, identified as Ali Denham, was said to have embarked on a killing spree for reasons unknown to members of the community. He reportedly used a knife to stab his victims, including an elderly woman and man.

Some angry youths in the village surrounded Denham after he killed his victims, disarmed him, and beat him to death.

The remains of the deceased persons were buried on Thursday evening.

Family members of the suspected man have fled the community.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has vowed not to back down on his election petition case currently pending before the Supreme Court.

Atiku, who stated this at a media conference in Abuja on Thursday, October 5, said he would pursue the case to a logical conclusion, whether he wins or loses.

He said: “I will only drop the case when the court rules on it. If the court says I am right, fine. If it says he (President Tinubu) is right, fine.”

While answering a question, Atiku, who contested the February 25 presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said a group of serving governors had attempted to persuade him to drop the case at the initiate stage of the trial.

According to him, he refused to grant audience to the said governors who he said claimed to be intervening on behalf of the President.

A non-governmental organisation (NGO), FOMAF Project 70, yesterday awarded scholarships to 18 indigent students in Lagos State.

The scholarship, an initiative of InterGuide Academy, gave certificates to the indigent students at a ceremony held in Lagos to the admiration of their parents and guardians.

The coordinator of the project, Judith Rhodes-Vivour, said that the beneficiaries were drawn from different areas in the state.

The breakdown of the beneficiaries indicated that eight of them were undergraduates, an additional eight in Junior Secondary School (JSS) and another two in the Senior Secondary School (SSS).

Speaking at the event, the Founder of FOMAF Project 70, Dr. Gbenga Olowo, said that the beneficiaries were dear to him.

Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, has organised a training programme for women farmers on how to mitigate the effects of climate change on agricultural practice.

The university also provided non- cash revolving facilities for the 90 women farmers that participated in the programme, held at the institution’s International Conference Centre in Ilorin, the state capital.

The institution organised the training programme in collaboration with Olayinka Yusuf of the Gender and Responsible Artificial Intelligence Network (GRAIN).

One of the resource persons at the training programme tagged, “Artificial Intelligence For Women In Agriculture (AI4WIA),” Dr Olatunji Yusuf of the Agricultural Economy Department of KWASU, said the university organised the programme to train the women farmers on artificial intelligence needed to mitigate the effects of climate change on agricultural production.

“Agriculture in Africa is rain- dependent and rain has become erratic because of change in weather. Therefore, there is the need for adequate planning to mitigate the effects of erratic rainfall due to climate change on agricultural production.

“This is the main reason why our university deemed it fit to inculcate artificial intelligence in our women farmers to enable them farm effectively. Our focus is on women farmers because of the role they play in the family and community,” Yusuf explained.

THE celebration today of World Teachers’ Day reminds everyone that teachers are the bedrock of any modern society. Apart from shaping the future of generations, they serve as role models for the youth. Beyond speeches, President Bola Tinubu and his education ministers, and the state governments should undertake a critical review of Nigeria’s education system, including how the Nigerian teacher has fared, as a prelude to sweeping reforms.

This year’s theme, “The Teachers We Need for the Education We Want: The Global Imperative to Reverse Teacher Shortage,” speaks to a major gap in Nigeria’s education sector; the shortage of qualified teachers and should serve as another wake-up call.

October 5 every year is set aside, explained UNESCO, to celebrate the resilience of teachers all around the world. It commemorates the anniversary of the adoption of the 1996 ILO/UNESCO Recommendation concerning the Status of Teachers, which sets benchmarks regarding the rights and responsibilities of teachers, and standards for their initial preparation and further education, recruitment, employment, teaching and learning conditions.

Being a teacher, according to UNESCO, provides the unique opportunity to make a transformative and lasting impact on the lives of others, contributing to shaping sustainable futures and offering personal fulfilment.

However, the world faces an unprecedented global teacher shortage exacerbated by a decline in their working conditions and status, said the UN.

Nigeria’s case is troubling. There are not enough teachers for the teeming student population. One reason cited is the poor welfare of teachers in the country, which has driven very bright minds away from the profession into more lucrative vocations.

According to the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, the country has only 2.3 million registered teachers on its database as of 2023. This is barely enough to cater to the over 20.1 million out-of-school children (per UNESCO).

There are multiple challenges. UNICEF noted that in the North-East, the teacher-to-student ratio is 1:124. Little wonder the region hosts the highest population of out-of-school children

Teachers in Togo can earn as much as $111 monthly, according to official figures. This is higher than the country’s minimum wage of $64 per month.

Today’s world is knowledge-driven. Competing requires acquisition of cutting-edge skills and information. Constantly, there should be better welfare package for the teachers.

The National Union of Teachers complains that teachers leaving the service in many states were not being replaced, while the quality of teaching is fast declining. The NUT’s calls for urgent and creative action by the state governments to accord priority to the education should resonate with the governors.

The Universal Basic Education Commission said there were 354,651 teachers for 7.2 million students in pre-primary schools; 915,593 teachers for 32 million students in primary schools; and 416,291 teachers for eight million students in junior secondary schools.

Over the years, the federal and various state governments have tried to address the problems; but the policies have proved to be inadequate. More should be done.

Recently, Nigeria saw a mass migration of teachers when the United Kingdom commenced a teacher’s recruitment, which will prioritise applicants from Nigeria and other developing countries. They will be paid thousands of pounds to teach 11-16 year-old children mathematics, languages and science.

To improve quality and avoid losing more competent ones, therefore, Nigeria’s governments should improve their training, welfare, and career progression.