Author: Christiana Alabi-Akande

Stakeholders in Nigeria’s education and security sectors have called for a dedicated budget for school safety, warning that efforts to protect pupils and teachers from attacks will remain inadequate without sustained funding and coordinated preventive measures. The call was made at the 7th annual summit of the Education Writers’ Association of Nigeria (EWAN), where participants stressed that protecting schools requires more than deploying security personnel after attacks. They advocated investment in school infrastructure, intelligence gathering, community policing and early-warning systems to prevent threats before they escalate. Speaking on financing safe schools in Nigeria, the National Coordinator, Financing Safe Schools in…

As the world marks the International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October, the stories of young girls who are daring to dream, create and build against the odds deserve to be heard. Twenty-six-year-old Sadiq Rukayat is one of such voices. A Nigerian visual artist and entrepreneur, she has turned a childhood passion for drawing into a creative journey that now spans visual art and her handcrafted raffia earrings brand, Ewalani by Abimbola. Through her works, Rukayat is already proving that creativity can be both a language and a livelihood. From drawing for her classmates as an introverted child…

DevReporting, a cinematic media platform focused on data-driven reporting on development issues across Nigeria and Africa, has continued engagements with relevant stakeholders and leading media organisations, including Premium Times and the Centre for Journalism Innovation and Development (CJID), ahead of the screening of its documentary titled: “LG Billions in the Dark”. The 3-in-1 event, which is scheduled to hold on Thursday, 29 October at the Faculty of Arts Theatre, University of Lagos, will also feature the unveiling of the organisation’s non-profit arm, Development Reporting Africa Foundation (DRAF), and fundraising for its activities. In Lagos, the DevReporting team on Monday met…

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has appointed Ayodeji Badejo, a professor of counselling psychology, as the 10th substantive vice-chancellor of Lagos State University (LASU). The appointment was announced in a statement on Wednesday by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso. According to the statement, the appointment was made under the Lagos State University Law 2004, as amended. Mrs Badejo will succeed Ibiyemi Olatunji-Bello, a professor of physiology, whose tenure ends on 19 September. She is expected to assume office on 20 September for a five-year term. The appointment makes Mrs Badejo, LASU’s third female vice chancellor. Mrs Olatunji-Bello, who assumed office in…

The West African Examinations Council (WAEC) has asked schools and candidates dissatisfied with the recently released 2026 West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) results to apply for a review, saying outstanding review requests will be processed within two weeks. The Head of the Nigerian Office of WAEC, Amos Dangut, disclosed this on Thursday during the monthly dialogue organised by the Education Writers Association of Nigeria (EWAN), themed “One-on-One with WAEC HNO: Addressing Concerns over WASSCE Results, Other Matters.” EWAN is a network of journalists committed to advancing education reportage across Nigeria’s print, broadcast and digital media. He gave the…

After five decades of shaping Nigeria’s media landscape, veteran broadcaster, Bimbo Oloyede has been celebrated by colleagues, scholars and public figures with a 60-author festschrift that honours her remarkable journey while passing her wealth of experience on to a new generation of media professionals. The Coliseum, Lekki, in Lagos on Tuesday, came alive as media veterans, younger practitioners, scholars, public officials, private-sector executives and creative industry leaders converged for the public presentation of ‘Communication and Media in Nigeria’, a festschrift honouring veteran Nigerian broadcaster Bimbo Oloyede’s 50 years of active media practice. The event celebrated the 72-year-old for her contributions…

When Asmau, 30, had her first baby eight years ago, she hoped breastfeeding would begin immediately after delivery. But the hours passed and she did not see any milk. Then a day passed, and another. Worried that her baby was hungry, she began giving him formula. Days later, her breast milk started to come out little by little. By then, the baby had become used to the bottle. Worried and unsure of what to do, Asmau continued with the formula. Three years later, after having her second child, Asmau faced the same problem. Her milk did not seem to come…

While one type of IUD may lead to heavier, more painful periods, another can make menstruation lighter or even stop it altogether. When should side effects become a medical concern? This piece separates myths from medical evidence, examines why different IUDs affect women differently, and outlines what every woman should know before choosing the contraceptive method  After giving birth to her third child in 2014, Maryanne Okeke, 40, knew she wanted to space her children. However, she avoided modern contraceptives because of frightening stories she had heard from other women. Some complained of severe bleeding after using contraceptives. Others said…

Data shows 4.9 million children need life-saving humanitarian support, yet no federal or state budget specifically provides for early childhood development in crisis settings. A new report has raised fresh concerns about Nigeria’s investment in its youngest and most vulnerable citizens, revealing that millions of children affected by conflict, displacement, climate shocks and economic hardship remain “fiscally invisible” because neither the federal nor state governments have dedicated budget lines for early childhood development in humanitarian crisis settings. The report, ‘Financing Early Childhood Development in Crisis (ECDiC) in Nigeria: From Fiscal Invisibility to Child-Level Results’, developed by the Moving Minds Alliance…

Today marks 27 years of uninterrupted democratic governance in Nigeria. While many spend the day watching Democracy Day analyses and celebrations, some children and teachers remain in captivity, enduring the consequences of violent attacks on schools. In this report, DevReporting chronicles the wave of attacks on Nigerian schools and the abduction of innocent students and educators, tracing the crisis from the Chibok kidnapping to recent incidents across the country. Known as Jijinigbe in Yoruba, Ntọrọ mmadụ in Igbo and Garkuwa da Mutane in Hausa, kidnapping in Nigeria has evolved from isolated criminal incidents into a nationwide security crisis. While Nigeria…