Author: Basheer Luqman

THE acting executive secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC), Mr Chris Maiyaki has revealed that despite the presence of 149 private universities in Nigeria, the institutions could only cater for approximately 10 percent of the Nigerian university population. He lamented that on an annual basis, over two million prospective individuals seek university admissions with the existing institutions while they are only able to accommodate between 500,000 and 700,000 candidates. Maiyaki made this known when he received a delegation from the International Institute of On-line Education (IIOE), China, an affiliate institute linked with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and…

The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced a 43 percent increase in Nigerian passport fees effective from September 1, 2024. The upward review was made public on Wednesday through an official statement released by the Nigerian Immigration Service on X. “Based on the review, 32-page Passport booklet with 5 year validity previously charged at Thirty-five Thousand Naira (N35,000.00) will now be Fifty Thousand Naira (N50,000.00) only; while 64-page Passport booklet with 10 year validity which was Seventy Thousand Naira (N70,000.00) will be One Hundred Thousand Naira (N100,000.00) only,” the statement revealed, noting that the passport fees remain unchanged…

Cristiano Ronaldo, the footballing star, has once again rewritten the record books. His newly launched YouTube channel ‘UR. Cristiano’ has achieved an unprecedented feat, becoming the fastest channel to reach one million subscribers in just 90 minutes. The momentum didn’t stop there. In under three hours, the channel had garnered three million subscribers, a testament to Ronaldo’s global appeal and anticipation of his new digital venture. This achievement has sparked conversations about his influence compared to other sporting giants like Lionel Messi and popular celebrities such as Beyoncé. One X user, Chino, succinctly summed up the sentiment, stating,…

The naira on Wednesday fell to a new low of 1,610 against the dollar following dollar scarcity on the parallel market, popularly called black market. Traders in some areas of Lagos buy dollars from individuals at the rate of N1,600 and resell at N1,610 on the black market. This presents N5 loss when compared to N1,605 quoted for the past three trading days. The last time the dollar quoted at N1,610 was on July 30, 2024. “The dollar is scarce in the market but the demand is not much due to the high cost”, one street trader told BusinessDay on…

The Kwara State Governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, said his administration will double down in its efforts to make Kwara a tourism hub through the rich cultures of its people. Speaking in Lafiagi in Edu local government of the state during the Emirate’s Sallah Nko_ festival, the Governor said the state is endowed with beautiful cultures that can attract tourists and boost the local economy. Sallah Nko festival is a yearly socio-cultural gathering where all sons and daughters of Lafiagi Emirate, including village heads, pay homage to the Emir as part of the Eid celebration. This year’s edition involved the…

Subsidy Removal: Kwara Reverses Directive Reducing Workdays To 3 Kwara State government has reversed the directive which reduced working days from five days to three days for civil servants in the state in the wake of fuel subsidy removal by the federal government. The government had on June 5, 2023, through a letter from the state’s Head of Service, Mrs Susan Oluwole, reduced the work days from five to three, to cushion the effect of fuel subsidy removal on the civil servants in the state. However, in a letter to the Heads of Ministries, Department and Agencies…

Special Repo It is lamentable that rising food insecurity has remained till to- day the bane of many households worldwide. Intriguingly, this disturbing scenario is more pronounced across the developing nations of the world, particularly within the African continent. Incidentally, Nigeria, which prides itself as the ‘Giant of Africa’, is not immune to this unsavory sand unhealthy development. For the record, food insecurity has been defined as a condition of not having access to sufficient food, or access to food of adequate quality, to meet one’s basic needs. Consequently, this results in hunger, malnutrition or under nourishment among…

I’ve just been directed to the interesting stroll that you’ve had today, on the shores of history, and of hindsight! That’s very useful for the younger members of our community. A lot has disappeared today. Marx used to say that everything solid, melts always. Indeed, if you waited long enough, everything changes! From music: Alhaji Ajadi, Odolaye Aremu, Jaiyegbade Alao; Oba Alabi Oole; the Ajiweres; awon oni Toobeni; etc. Sports, especially football, table tennis, track and field, through to cycling, boxing and other sports that became part of the ensemble during the First Kwara State Sports…

Point of Sale operators are now fully back in business after a long break occasioned by the recent naira scarcity crisis in the country. The increase in the number of old naira notes in circulation by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has also made more cash available to PoS operators through commercial banks. The development has rubbed off on the socio-economic activities of the residents as business transactions have started to pick up in the Ilorin metropolis, contrary to the bitter experience of the past few months. Findings further revealed that charges on cash withdrawals…

The Nigerian Institute of Medical Research on Monkeypox has appointed a lecturer at the Department of Veterinary Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Dr Oluwafemi Daodu, as a member of the 12-man research team on Monkeypox. The team consists of scientists and scholars from Nigeria and Canada. Doadu’s appointment was disclosed via UNILORIN’s bulletin issued on Monday by the Director of Corporate Affairs Department of the university, Kunle Akogun. Akogun noted that the research team would conduct a critical research project relating to the effective combat against Monkeypox. According him, the research…