Cubinks NEWS

  Ungwan Bulus community in Chikun, threatened by erosion T he media, environmentalists and stakeholders led by officials of Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency, during the week, successfully concluded a-weeklong monitoring exercise of the ongoing hazard identification and profiling, being conducted by field officers recently trained and posted to all the 23 local government areas of Kaduna state. The exercise, which is the brainchild of the Kaduna State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), was put together to strengthen systems on coordination and response in the event of emergencies in the state, particularly at the grassroots level. While in Chikun, Kajuru Local Government Area, Senior Assessment Officer of the Agency, Mubarak Zakari explained that the monitoring exercise was going on simultaneously in all the 23 Local Government Areas of the state, adding that the monitoring by all the stakeholders was to ensure that accurate data were collected to facilitate planning and b...

  N etwork for Better Nigeria, a coalition of concerned Civil Society Organizations in the 19 Northern States has responded to  the growing tension threatening national unity and socio-economic development of the country and called on President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently collaborate with the governors in the 19 northern states and critical stakeholders to arrest the lingering insecurity in Nigeria. In a joint statement signed by Mallam Isiaku Abdulhameed, the coalition in collaboration with Arewa Youth Consultative Youth Movement, Arewa Youth Assembly and Chanchanta stated inter Alia:  "the Federal Government should urgently collaborate with the Northern State Governors and come up with a modernistic livestock development policy which will not only provide solutions to the herders/farmers crises but transform the age long traditional open grazing towards providing additional economic value for pastoral communities. Equally, we wish to express our support on the position...

Executive Secretary SEMA, Abubakar Hassan addressing participants By EDDY OCHIGBO  S equel to the growing concern and vulnerability of people in communities across the length and breadth of Kaduna state, the State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA), during the week, trained no fewer than 30 Field Officers on Hazard profiling and mapping to mitigate possible disasters in the state, particularly in the hinterland.  The two-day capacity building exercise - which among other things, dwelled on vulnerability, hazard and disaster - touched on functional and early warning system concept of Disaster Risk Reduction, Emergency Response,  hazard profiling and mapping. In an interview with Correspondents at the event, SEMA's Executive Secretary, Alhaji Abubakar Hassan revealed that Kaduna state in its renewed plan to tackle possible disasters is currently working round the clock to arrest emergencies ranging from fire, flooding and the like. "SEMA is now at different levels of review...

By DANGWA DANJUMA L ack of basic education, sanitation, healthcare facilities and access to portable water supply have hit Gwagwada, a host community camping over 300 households displaced from fifteen villages in Chikun Local Council of the state. Speaking at the flag off of relief materials distribution for the internally displaced persons (IDPs), the Village Head of Gadani, Mr Bitrus Tsauri disclosed: “Since they arrived, the wells which have been the sure source of water for several households in the community have dried up; the solar powered borehole is only providing drips of water necessitating most residents to seek drinking water from streams. Our two public primary schools and healthcare facility are currently inadequate and may be unsafe, especially with the coronavirus pandemic that Kaduna state is still counting cases”. He confirmed that those who can farm, have been provided land to start over again; there is still the worry however, for those who are unable to farm due t...

By DANGWA DANJUMA F rayed nerves and reactions have trailed a virtual conference being organized by the Nigerian Bar Association over the selection of Governor Ahmed Nasir el-Rufai as one of the key speakers for the event. Announcing the cancellation of his registration and withdrawal from attending the conference a young lawyer, Itong Washington tweeted,"we should be able to take a definite stand on certain things. As an individual in my corner, this is about the best I can do." it is unfortunate that Paul Usoro keeps making odious decisions that are highly regrettable Reacting to Washington's position, Sunny Omekedo a lawyer and real estate consultant pointed out: "I expect the NBA to feel the pulse of its members. You have my support and I also withdraw". On his part, Adeshola Adeola regretted that, "it is unfortunate that Paul Usoro keeps making odious decisions that are highly regrettable." Adeola described the action of the associat...

How infrastructure deficit worsens the climate crises ... flooding in Sabon Tasha By DANGWA DANJUMA F ollowing heavy downpour in this wet season, communities in the fringes of Kaduna metropolis, are helplessly alarmed by the magnitude of flooding they are experiencing which for them have become a recurring signature of rainfall in recent time.  In Sabon Tasha, Chikun local government area, constituting many communities of majorly low income earners in the state have, called on government to find a lasting solution to incessant flooding bedevilling the community during rainy seasons. "Erosion over the years have made useless several kilometers of drainages built by residents, making all debris during rain to find their way through the unhindered growing channels that mark the roads leading to the highway.  I also fear that waste management and the sanitation culture needs to improve because refuse left in drainages could also be contributing to the pro...

A summary of the state government's commitment to open budget By DANGWA DANJUMA T he Kaduna State Fiscal Responsibility Law (2016), should be reviewed to guarantee citizens participation in the budget process. Coalition of Associations for Leadership, Peace, Empowerment and Development's (CALPED) Head of Leadership, Governance and Advocacy, Yusuf Ishaku Goje who dropped the hint, maintained that "an amendment bill of the Fiscal Responsibility Law (FRL, 2016) should also be sent to the House of Assembly to capture the CDCs as an integral part of budget process". This, he said would surely, "boost citizen’s confidence in the State government and ensure we deliver on the OGP key performance indicators on open budget." During this year’s budget formulation, CDCs generated from some of the local government areas were submitted to the Planning & Budget Commission, but no evidence to show that a single one was captured in the 2020 approved budget....