The decision by the Nigerian government to shut down the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria's (NMCN) verification portal has caused significant disruption for Nigerian nurses and midwives working abroad, forcing many to return home under distressing circumstances. This policy, ostensibly aimed at curbing the mass migration of healthcare workers, is a flawed and short-sighted approach to a complex issue that demands a more nuanced solution. Rather than stemming the tide of migration, the government has infringed on the rights of nurses to offer their services freely, punishing those who have sought better opportunities abroad due to poor pay and adverse working conditions in Nigeria.

The healthcare sector in Nigeria has been plagued by chronic underfunding, poor infrastructure, and an insufficient workforce. For many years, Nigerian nurses, midwives, and doctors have sought greener pastures abroad, where they are offered competitive salaries, better working environments, and opportunities for career growth. This "brain drain" has left Nigeria’s healthcare system even more vulnerable, but the blame cannot solely be placed on the healthcare workers who are exercising their right to seek better living conditions. Rather, the underlying factors driving this mass exodus need to be addressed.

The government’s heavy-handed tactic of shutting down the verification portal is not only ineffective but counterproductive. By denying nurses abroad the ability to renew their licenses or verify their qualifications, it has placed these healthcare professionals in precarious legal situations, jeopardizing their livelihoods and forcing many to return to Nigeria. Nurses in the UK, US, and Saudi Arabia, among other countries, are facing the threat of job loss and deportation simply because they cannot meet their host countries' certification requirements. This crisis not only affects the individual nurses but also tarnishes Nigeria's reputation in the global healthcare community.

The government's actions appear to be a knee-jerk reaction to the ongoing migration of healthcare workers, but this approach fails to tackle the root causes of the problem. Nigerian nurses and midwives, like professionals in any other field, have the right to seek employment opportunities that offer better pay and working conditions. The shutdown of the portal infringes upon this right, essentially trapping healthcare workers in a system that neither values nor adequately compensates their contributions.

Instead of resorting to punitive measures, the government should focus on creating incentives that make staying in the country a more attractive option for healthcare workers. These could include increasing salaries to match international standards, improving the working conditions in public hospitals, offering continuing education and career development opportunities, and ensuring that the healthcare system is adequately funded. A well-compensated and motivated workforce is less likely to seek opportunities abroad.

Moreover, the government should recognize that the migration of healthcare workers can have its benefits. Nurses and midwives who work abroad often send remittances back to Nigeria, contributing to the country’s economy. They also gain valuable experience and skills that they can eventually bring back home, benefiting the healthcare system in the long run. Rather than viewing migration as a loss, the government should see it as an opportunity for growth and development.

The closure of the NMCN verification portal has caused unnecessary hardship for Nigerian nurses abroad, many of whom are now facing unemployment and legal consequences. The National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) has rightly urged the government to reopen the portal and resolve the issue promptly. However, even if the portal is reopened, the damage has already been done. The affected nurses are now left to pick up the pieces of their disrupted careers and lives.

In conclusion, the Nigerian government must rethink its approach to healthcare worker migration. Shutting down the verification portal is a violation of nurses' rights and will do nothing to address the underlying issues driving migration. Instead, the government should focus on creating a healthcare system that values and compensates its workers adequately, ensuring that they have no reason to leave in the first place. Only then will Nigeria be able to stem the tide of healthcare worker migration in a manner that respects the rights and dignity of its professionals.

Bandits have abducted nurses at a Primary Health Care Center at Layin Dan Auta village in Kuyello Ward, Birnin Gwari Area of Kaduna State.

According to community sources, the bandits had targeted a primary school in Kuyello, located on the outskirts of the town.

However, when they could not find pupils to abduct, they reportedly moved to the nearby hospital where they abducted the nurses on duty.

A community leader in the area, who preferred to remain anonymous, confirmed the incident and described the situation as worrisome.

“They arrived in the area and went straight to a nearby school, thinking they would find students. However, the school was empty, so they proceeded to the PHC in Kuyello and abducted the nurses on duty,” he said.

Another youth leader in Kuyello, Baba Isah, also confirmed the incident.

He stated that the two nurses were on duty when the bandits attacked. It remains unclear if any patients were abducted, as most had already left the hospital.

As of the time of filing this report, there was no official statement from the either state government or the police.

Police Public Relations Officer of Kaduna Command, Mansir Hassan, could not be reached on phone.

Daily Trust

Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties help approve more funding for war

Israeli lawmakers gave their initial approval on Monday to raising the 2024 budget framework to help fund reservists and assist people displaced as a result of the war in Gaza, with support coming from ultra-Orthodox parties.

The vote to add 3.4 billion shekels ($906 million) to the 2024 budget passed by a 58-52 margin, the Finance Ministry said.

Ultra-Orthodox parties had threatened to boycott votes in parliament in a dispute over funding for their separate education system.

The bill still needs to pass two more votes to become law.

The rift with ultra-Orthodox parties is a test of the unity of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government as Israel presses on with its offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7 last year.

The two religious parties, which occupy 18 of parliament's 120 seats, said last week they would not participate in plenum votes until the government agreed that schools in their separate education system should receive the same benefits as state-run schools -- especially their "New Horizon" programme which adds school hours and sharply boosts teacher pay.

A spokesman for Moshe Gafni, leader of one of the ultra-Orthodox parties, said the faction had decided to vote for the budget this time. It was not clear about voting in future votes.

"The budget adjustments will enable the conditions required for the continuous continuation of the war against those who seek our harm," said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, who criticised those who voted against.

"It would be good if the members of the opposition would join in with national responsibility and vote in favour of continuing to fund the evacuees and reservists - this is a war for all of us together."

Israel has called up reservists up during the Gaza war, and tens of thousands of Israelis have been displaced from homes in the north by rocket fire from the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah.

($1 = 3.7530 shekels)

Reuters

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces capture village of Memryk in east, Ukraine says troops holding firm

Russian forces pressed on with their advance on the eastern front in their 2-1/2-year-old war against Ukraine, capturing the village of Memryk, east of the city of Pokrovsk, the Defence Ministry said.

Ukraine made no mention in accounts by the military's General Staff of the village, lying in the front's most hotly contested sector. But the country's war blogs reported it had passed into Russian hands last week.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv's forces were holding their own in Donetsk region.

Reuters could not independently verify accounts from either side.

Russian forces, in a slow advance through Donetsk region, have in recent weeks moved towards the town of Pokrovsk.

Moscow's defence ministry noted the capture of Memryk in one of its daily reports and said Russian forces had inflicted losses on Ukrainian troops in at least two other nearby villages and repelled eight enemy attacks in Donetsk region.

On Sunday, the ministry announced the capture of another village, Novohrodivka, which a Ukrainian officer said had been abandoned by Kyiv's forces several days earlier.

In his nightly address, Zelenskiy said troops in Donetsk region were "completing their tasks in truly steadfast fashion, repelling Russian assaults and reclaiming our positions".

"It is equally important to destroy as many occupying forces as possible. The Pokrovsk sector, the Kurakhove sector, it is here that the Russian army must lose as much combat capability as possible."

Zelenskiy said Ukraine's top commander, Oleksandr Syrskyi, also reported on action in northeast Kharkiv region and on Kyiv's incursion into Russia's Kursk region launched last month.

Ukrainian forces, he said, were "getting Russia used to a clear understanding of where its land is and where its neighbour's land is".

Authorities in Sumy region, across the border from Kursk, announced the obligatory evacuation of three more settlements in areas long subject to Russian attacks.

RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Ukraine has sustained massive losses in Kursk Region – Moscow

Ukraine has lost around 11,400 troops since it launched an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region last month, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said on Monday.

The Russian military has also destroyed over 1,000 units of Ukrainian military hardware, including 89 tanks, 42 infantry fighting vehicles, 74 armored personnel carriers, 635 armored combat vehicles, 371 cars, 85 artillery pieces, and 24 multiple rocket launchers, seven of which were US-made HIMARS systems, the ministry claimed in its latest daily update.

In the course of the last 24 hours alone, Ukraine has lost up to 240 servicemen and 13 units of hardware, the ministry estimated.

During the past day, Russian ground forces, supported by artillery and aviation, have repelled three Ukrainian attacks near the settlements of Mikhailovka, Cherkasskaya Konopelka and Desyatoye Octyabrya, the statement read.

Kiev’s troops also tried to advance towards the villages of Malaya Loknya, Korenevo, Kremyanoye and Martynovka, but were pushed back, it added.

“Reconnaissance and search operations in forested areas to track down and destroy enemy sabotage groups, who are attempting to penetrate deeper into Russian territory, are continuing,” the Defense Ministry said.

According to the statement, Russian troops, artillery, and aviation pummeled Ukrainian positions in more than a dozen locations in Kursk Region. Air and missile strikes were also carried out against military concentrations and foreign mercenaries in Ukraine’s Sumy Region, which borders Russia, the ministry stated.

Ukrainian forces invaded Kursk Region on August 6, in the largest attack on internationally recognized Russian territory since the start of hostilities between Moscow and Kiev in February 2022. Their advance was quickly halted by the Russian army, but fighting in the region continues, with Kiev’s troops still holding a number of settlements in the border area.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said last week that liberating Kursk Region is “a sacred duty”of the Russian military. According to Putin, by targeting the region, Ukraine wanted to make Moscow “nervous” and force it to re-deploy units from other key sectors of the front line.

Reuters/RT

Recently, I saw a video on social media that showed a public figure in a bad light. That person's voice and face were easily recognizable, so people ran with it, sending an onslaught of negativity their way.
The video was later debunked as an artificial intelligence deep fake, but by that time, thousands of hate comments had already been posted. 
Misinformation like this is a major problem facing today’s young people, Bill Gates tells CNBC Make It. He’s tackled issues from climate change to poverty — yet, online misinformation has him stumped.
“Misinformation is the one where I, a little bit, had to punt and say, ‘OK, we’ve handed this problem to the younger generation,’” Gates says, adding that online conspiracies about him have even impacted his daughter. 
“Hearing my daughter talk about how she’d been harassed online, and how her friends experienced that quite a bit, brought that into focus in a way that I hadn’t thought about before,” says Gates.
Misinformation is becoming more common, as technological advances like artificial general intelligence chatbots make it easier to generate and spread falsehoods quickly. AI-generated misinformation was named as the top global risk of the next two years in a World Economic Forum survey in January. 
Gates says he isn’t entirely sure how to stop the spread of misinformation. He’s sensitive to the counterargument that restricting any type of information online could harm the right of free speech, yet agrees that some kinds of rules need to be established, he says.

CNBC

Security operatives suspected to be personnel of the Department of State Services (DSS) have arrested Joe Ajaero, president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Benson Upah, spokesperson of the NLC, said Ajaero was arrested on Monday morning at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport in Abuja as he was about to board a flight to the UK.

“The assault on Nigerian workers continues. President of the NLC, Joe Ajaero, was arrested and abducted by men of the DSS at the Nnamdi Azikwe Airport Abuja this morning on his way to attend an official engagement of TUC United Kingdom and he is now detained at the office of the NSA,” the NLC said in a statement.

“This intimidation and assault must stop!!!”

BACKGROUND

On August 19, the police invited Ajaero for questioning over “a case of criminal conspiracy, terrorism financing, treasonable felony, subversion, and cybercrime”.

The letter signed by Adamu Mu’azu, assistant commissioner of police, indicated that Ajaero was expected at the Intelligence Response Team (IRT) complex on August 20.

Mu’azu said an arrest warrant would be issued on Ajaero if he did not honour the invitation.

Ajaero declined the invitation, demanding details of the allegations levelled against him.

On August 7, police had raided the NLC building in the Central Business District of Abuja.

The NLC said operatives who raided the building “claimed that they were looking for seditious materials used for the #EndBadGovernance protests”.

Subsequently, Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police (IGP), said one of the masterminds of the Sudan conflict was traced to the NLC headquarters.

The IGP added that police detectives traced the foreigner to a shop within the Labour House, and that operatives did not raid the entire secretariat.

Nigerians took to the streets from August 1-10 to protest against economic hardship and soaring inflation with #EndBadGovernance as the theme.

On August 29, some members of affiliate unions and labour leaders across states, converged on the Labour House ahead of Ajaero’s visit to the IRT.

Afterwards, Ajaero and Femi Falana, human rights lawyer, alongside other activists, left the building for the police headquarters.

The Cable

Operatives of the Department of the State Services (DSS) have laid siege to the office of the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) in Abuja.

This comes hours after DSS personnel arrested Joe Ajaero, the president of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Details of the operation at SERAP’s office are still sketchy, but according to a post via X, the legal and advocacy organisation said the operatives demanded to see its directors.

“Officers from Nigeria’s State Security Service (SSS) are presently unlawfully occupying SERAP’s office in Abuja, asking to see our directors.

“President Tinubu must immediately direct the SSS to end the harassment, intimidation and attack on the rights of Nigerians,” the post read.

On Sunday, SERAP gave President Tinubu 48 days to reverse the recent hike in the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS).

It asked the President to use his “leadership position and good offices to direct the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) to immediately reverse the apparently illegal and unconstitutional increase in the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS), also known as petrol, across its retail outlets”.

In the open letter dated 7 September 2024 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organisation said: “The increase in petrol price constitutes a fundamental breach of constitutional guarantees and the country’s international human rights obligations.”

Daily Trust

Oil marketers may begin the importation of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly called petrol, following the recent declaration by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited that it would only fully offtake the product from the Dangote Petroleum Refinery if the market prices of the commodity were higher than the pump prices in Nigeria.

NNPC also declared that Dangote and other domestic refineries were free to sell directly to any marketer on a willing buyer, willing seller basis, adding that it had no desire or intention to become the distributor for any entity in a free market environment.

This is, however, contrary to what the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, stated last week. The owner of the $20bn refinery had stated that the refinery was waiting for NNPC, adding that the national oil company would be the only off-taker of its petrol domestically.

Reacting to the slowdown in discussions between Dangote and NNPC, oil marketers stated that they would only source the product from wherever they found it cheaper, as this could be through importation.

Commenting on the price of Dangote petrol, the National Operations Controller, Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, Mustapha Zarma, said, “We have not contacted Dangote for now, but we may contact the refinery’s sales department this week to find out the price.

“If the price is competitive enough for one to buy and get his return on investment and the required margin, then we wouldn’t mind purchasing directly from him to complement what NNPC is bringing in or what NNPC would buy from Dangote.”

Zarma confirmed that since the Federal Government and NNPC had said the Dangote refinery would sell its product at the market price, this implied that the government would not intervene in the pricing of the commodity from the plant through subsidy.

Based on this, he noted that other dealers now had the opportunity to source the product from any producer at a cheaper price, whether locally or internationally.

He noted that some oil marketers currently imported diesel, while others bought the product from Dangote, adding that a similar situation would play out in the purchase of petrol, going by NNPC’s recent position on Dangote petrol.

“I believe that we are going to analyse the price of Dangote petrol and see the advantages of buying from Dangote viz-a-viz importation. Whichever we see is cheaper will automatically attract everybody, especially if importation is cheaper.

“That will bring about competition and I don’t think the government will allow price monopoly. They would want a competitive market where the laws of demand and supply would determine the local price of refined petroleum products, just like diesel is right now.

“And with that, there is going to be some kind of equilibrium in the pricing and there is going to be guaranteed sustainability of supply,” the IPMAN official stated.

Industry observers say the Federal Government seems not ready to stop fuel importation following the refusal of NNPC to be the off-taker of Dangote’s petrol.

They, however, noted that with the recent hike in the pump prices of petrol, the government was systematically stopping subsidies on the commodity, following the recent revelation by NNPC that it spent over N7.8tn subsidising petrol.

At the presentation of the audited report and accounts of NNPC for the 2023 business year in Abuja last month, NNPC’s Chief Financial Officer, Umar Ajiya, admitted that the oil firm was shouldering a heavy subsidy burden on petrol imports.

He said the government directed NNPC to sell the petrol it imported at a price that is half the landing price.  According to him, at times the Federal Government paid the money and it could as well net off for it.

While the official pump price of petrol was about N600/litre, the average landing cost was about N1,200/litre. Ajiya said the company covered about N7.8tn in “shortfall” in the first seven months of this year.

“What has been happening is that we have been importing PMS, landing at a certain price, and the government is telling us to sell it at half price. So, that gap between that landed price and the half price is what we call shortfall or we call it a subsidy,” the CFO had stated.

Foreign producers

Also speaking on the development, the National Publicity Secretary of IPMAN, Ukadike Chinedu, said though marketers were ready to buy from Dangote, the revelation from NNPC showed that dealers were free to source their products from any cheaper source.

“From what is happening now, it means that the Petroleum Industry Act is being implemented, the removal of subsidies has come to stay and the price of petrol is to be determined by the economics of demand and supply.

“Now that NNPC has said they are not the sole off-taker of Dangote petrol, it then means that the price of the product would determine where we are going to buy it. If NNPC imports the product and its price is cheaper than that of Dangote, we will buy from NNPC. If Dangote’s price is cheaper than that of NNPC, then we will buy from Dangote. So, right now, competition will set in. Remember that diesel price rose as high as N1,600/litre and Dangote came in with his own at N1,200/litre, and the importers reduced their price to N1,100/litre.

“It further dropped to about N950 and now revolves between N950 and N1,100 for both the imported ones and the ones produced locally. By the time competition sets in, the product will sell cheaper,” Ukadike stated.

On whether marketers had started making plans to import if the imported product would be cheaper, he replied, “Our National President, Abubakar Maigandi, has commenced discussions with some investors who are now in the process of securing funds going by the current trend in the business.

“So, we are talking with some foreign partners because you need to understand that independent marketers are the highest buyers of diesel from Dangote refinery because we control about 80 per cent of the filling stations nationwide. So, if Dangote PMS is cheaper we will buy it, but if importation is cheaper, we will go for it.”

President Bola Tinubu recently directed that NNPC should sell crude to Dangote and other domestic refineries in naira.

The President’s Special Adviser on Revenue, Zacch Adedeji, who also serves as Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, explained that the move would mitigate Nigeria’s heavy reliance on foreign exchange for crude oil imports, accounting for roughly 30 to 40 per cent of its forex expenditure.

The revenue chief said that by denominating crude oil transactions in naira, the government expected to significantly lighten its forex burden, with estimated annual savings of $7.3bn. It is also expected to reduce monthly forex expenditure on petroleum products to $50m from approximately $660m.

“Monthly, we spend roughly $660m in these exercises, and if you analyse that, that will give us $7.92bn savings annually,” he stated.

Earlier, the President stated that Nigeria spent N2tn monthly on fuel importation.

Punch

At least 48 people were killed on Sunday in a fuel tanker truck explosion following a collision with another vehicle in north-central state of Niger, the state's disaster management agency said.

The State Emergency Management Agency in Niger state said the fuel truck collided with a truck carrying travellers and cattle. Several other vehicles were also caught up in the accident, it said.

The agency's spokesperson Hussaini Ibrahim put the death toll at 48 and officials were still trying to clear the scene of the incident.

Nigeria's state-owned firm NNPC Ltd last week hiked the price of gasoline by at least 39%, the second major increase in more than a year but shortages have continued, forcing motorists to queue for hours in the country's major cities and towns.

Reuters

In a shocking display of authoritarian overreach, the federal government has initiated mass trials of #EndBadGovernance protesters, marking a dark chapter in the nation's democratic history. This egregious act not only tramples on the fundamental rights of citizens but also exposes the government's blatant disregard for the principles of democracy and the rule of law.

The charges of treason leveled against these protesters for their alleged attempt to overthrow President Bola Tinubu's government are nothing short of farcical. Let us be clear: peaceful protest is not treason; it is a cornerstone of democracy. By criminalizing dissent, the government is committing the real act of treason against the country’s constitutional order and the sovereignty of the Nigerian people.

The irony is palpable. While the government busies itself with persecuting its critics, the very issues that sparked these protests - hunger, poverty, and economic hardship - continue to ravage the nation unchecked. Instead of addressing these pressing concerns, the administration has doubled down on its misguided policies, as evidenced by the recent 30% hike in petrol prices. This tone-deaf response only serves to pour gasoline on the flames of public discontent.

The mass arrests and detentions reported by Amnesty International are deeply troubling. Over 1,000 protesters, including minors, have been denied access to legal representation and subjected to inhumane treatment. This is not justice; it is a mockery of it. The planned mass trials are nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to silence dissent and punish those who dare to speak out against the government's failures.

We call on the federal government to immediately and unconditionally release all detained protesters. Furthermore, we demand a thorough investigation into the reported killings of protesters in Kano, Katsina, Suleja/Tafa, Jigawa, and Maiduguri. The use of excessive force and tear gas against peaceful demonstrators is a gross violation of human rights and must not go unpunished.

It is high time for the government to realign its priorities. Instead of wasting resources on suppressing dissent, focus should be placed on rescuing millions of Nigerians from the brink of starvation. Address the rampant insecurity, corruption, and mismanagement that plague the country. Listen to the voices of the people, for they are not your enemies but your constituents, deserving of respect and good governance.

To President Tinubu and his administration: your legacy is at stake. Will you be remembered as the government that crushed democratic freedoms, or as one that listened to its people and worked tirelessly to improve their lives? The choice is yours, but know this - the eyes of the world are upon you, and history will judge your actions.

The right to peaceful protest is non-negotiable in a democratic society. It is not a privilege granted by the government, but a fundamental right of the people. Any attempt to suppress this right is an attack on the very foundation of the country’s democracy.

We stand in solidarity with the protesters and all those who peacefully exercise their right to demand better governance. To the Nigerian people: do not be silenced. Your voices matter, and together, we can build the Nigeria we deserve - a nation of justice, prosperity, and true democracy.

The government must act now. Release the protesters, drop all charges, and address the root causes of discontent. Anything less is a betrayal of the very democratic principles that enthroned this government and legitimize it.