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Obasanjo Expresses Concern Over Drilling Of Boreholes At Homes
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Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has raised an alarm against water borehole drillings at homes, declaring that repercussions of such action could be devastating.
He lamented that the incessant construction of boreholes particularly in Abeokuta, Ogun State capital, was as a result of failure of subsequent administrations to sustain the Oyan Dam project embarked on by his military administration in 1977.
In a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, the former president gave this warning when management and staff of the Ogun-Osun River Basin Development Authority led by the Managing Director, Adedeji Ashiru, visited him on the occasion of the World Water Day at the weekend.
The former President called for elimination of wastages of water resources, stressing that it would be impossible to achieve food sufficiency and security without effective water management.
He hinted that due to the failure of the dam project, the residents of Abeokuta embraced digging of boreholes everywhere to source for water, adding that this however comes with a repercussion that nobody for now may know how devastating it could be.
“We cannot de-emphasise the importance or usefulness of water to human life and this why we do say water has no enemy,” he said.
“This was why as Military Head of State in 1977, I realised that strategic water management must be part of our food sufficiency drives, and food security and we created 11 River Basin including the Lake Chad.
“And what are we trying to achieve? If we have to only depend on rain fed agriculture, we shall definitely not get it right. Rain may come too early or too late, there may be droughts or flood all of which have telling effect on food production and security.
“So, the first thing to do as part of measure designed to achieve food security is effective management of water for agriculture. All of the river basins therefore have facilities for irrigation to ensure all year-round farming.”
Obasanjo said that the Oyan Dam was actually created to generate power and water for the residents of Ogun and Lagos State, but sadly, 48 years after it has not lived up to the reasons why it was constructed.
The former President noted that the dam is said to have the capacity to generate 9 Megawatts, saying that if this dam could be made to generate such megawatts of electricity, it would have a profound impact in boosting power supply to the people and help reduce the challenge of inadequate power supply in the country.
“Oyan Dam was built to supply water for Abeokuta and Lagos, but it has been neglected and ignored just like the turbine for the power supply,” he noted.
“The water supply is not there for Abeokuta, and we have rather continued to dig holes everywhere causing the water level to go down and down. That will have repercussions in the future, how long we shall have it I don’t know, but the geologist can do their job and tell us how fast that repercussions will come.”
Speaking earlier, the Managing Director and Chief Executive of O-ORBDA, Ashiru said that they have decided to pay the former President a visit and salute him for his foresight which made him to create the 11 river basins 48 years ago.
He disclosed that the vision for effective water management and sustainability which Obasanjo has had since 1977 was just caught by the United Nations about 10 years ago while talking about Sustainable Development Goals, sixth which bothers on sanitation and clean water.
Ashiru said that his leadership since assumptions have also been working round the clock to ensure that the vision of the founding fathers for the river basins which is to primarily boost agricultural production, controls flooding among others are realised
The OORBDA Chief Executive said that the vision of President Bola Tinubu is to also ensure that these River Basins are put to good use such that they play very active roles in the administration’s food security drives.
He revealed that for last year, the Federal Government supported the Ogun-Osun River Basin to embark on construction of seven dams across the Southwest and has also for the year 2025 made a budgetary allocation of N45 billion for the agency to drive irrigation farming.
No fewer than 76 ISWAP terrorists have abandoned their enclaves and surrendered to troops within the North-East theatre of operations as part of the Joint Task Force (North East), Operation HADIN KAI (OPHK), and continued operational successes.
The North East geopolitical zone comprises six states: Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe.
In a statement by the Acting Military Information Officer, Headquarters Joint Task Force North East Operation Hadin Kai, Captain Mohammed Goni, revealed that among those who surrendered were key members of the terrorist network, due to relentless military pressure.
“The development highlights the devastating impact of the sustained offensive by Operation HADIN KAI, which continues to dismantle terrorist strongholds, disrupt command and logistics structures, and deny the insurgents freedom of action across the theatre”.
“Persistent military operations have continued to degrade the terrorists’ combat capabilities while eroding confidence within their ranks and leadership. Within the last week alone, a total of 76 terrorist foot soldiers with some families surrendered to troops”
“They are currently in a secure location undergoing profiling, debriefing, and other established procedures in accordance with extant operational protocols,” the statement reads in part.
According to Captain Goni, the operational gains demonstrate the effectiveness of the Nigerian military’s comprehensive counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency strategy, combining precision combat operations, intelligence-led engagements, and coordinated joint efforts with partners.
He added that “the Operation HADIN KAI remains resolute in its mission to completely defeat terrorism and restore lasting peace and security across the North-East and the pressure on the remaining terrorist elements will continue unabated until they are completely neutralised or forced to surrender”.
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Ex-Vice President and Presidential Candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar, has raised concerns over a fresh plot to keep the opposition party, the African Democratic Congress, off the ballot in the 2027 general elections.
In a statement by his spokesperson, Phrank Shaibu, he said elements within President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s government want to use political and legal machinations to exclude the ADC from the ballot.
Atiku urged its supporters to reject every attempt to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the coming election.
He noted that the ruling party may conspire against democracy but would not decide.
“We are fully aware of their plots. While they seek to sow confusion within the opposition, we know their real target is the ADC because it represents the most credible alternative.
“We therefore call on all Nigerians—not just ADC members and supporters— to rise in defence of democracy and reject any attempt by the ruling party to cherry-pick which opposition parties are permitted to participate in the next general election.
“Our message to the APC and the hooded men plotting in dark chambers is simple: you may conspire, but you will not succeed. If the APC is truly confident in its popularity, why is it so terrified of the ADC?” Atiku added.
Gunmen suspected to be bandits, on Monday, attacked the Government Day Secondary School in Lassa, Askira/Uba Local Government Area of Borno State, killing a teacher and abducting an unspecified number of students who were writing the National Examinations Council Senior School Certificate Examination.
The assailants reportedly invaded the community while the examination was in progress, opening fire and throwing residents into panic. One teacher was killed during the attack, while another sustained gunshot injuries.
Residents said the gunmen took away several students and some teachers before fleeing the area. The exact number of those abducted had yet to be determined as of the time of filing this report.
A resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity, alleged that military personnel stationed in the community had left for a patrol in nearby Uba, about 16 kilometres away, shortly before the attackers struck.
“The soldiers were not around when the terrorists invaded. They came in large numbers, shooting indiscriminately and causing panic. They abducted students writing the NECO examination along with some teachers,” the resident said.Death & Tragedy
The attack disrupted the ongoing examination and forced residents to flee for safety as the gunmen operated freely in the community.
The spokesperson for the Borno State Police Command, Nahum Daso, confirmed the incident, saying security agencies had been notified and that several students remained unaccounted for following the raid.
Efforts to rescue the abducted victims were said to be ongoing, while authorities were yet to disclose the exact number of those kidnapped or provide further details on the operation.
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