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OAU Loses Pro Chancellor, Oyeweso, University Community Mourns

By
Ayodele Oni
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Prof Siyan Oyeweso

By Ayodele Oni

Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, in Osun state has announced the death of its Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council, Prof Siyan Oyeweso.

A release by the Public Relations Officer of the University, Mr. Abiodun Olarewaju, stated that his death has cast a heavy pall over the University community, leaving staff, students, alumni, and friends of the institution heartbroken.

“In his expression of grief, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adebayo Bamire spoke with great emotion about the monumental loss, describing the late Pro-Chancellor as a towering intellectual, a rare patriot, and a man whose presence brought wisdom, depth, and stability to every table he sat at.

“Prof Siyan Oyeweso was not only a scholar of continental reputation; he was a gentleman of uncommon grace, humility, and dignity.

“His dedication to Obafemi Awolowo University was total. He carried OAU in his heart, and he served with a passion that inspired all who worked with him. His passing is a colossal loss—one that will echo through our Senate chambers, our classrooms, our governing processes, and the collective soul of our University.”

The Vice-Chancellor further noted that  Oyeweso’s tenure as Pro-Chancellor was marked by exceptional commitment to peace-building, academic excellence, institutional renewal, and administrative harmony.

“His leadership style was calm, inclusive, principled, and richly humane. He brought a new sense of stability and purpose to the Governing Council.

“He was also a bridge-builder, a mentor to the young, a compass for his colleagues, and a steadying influence during challenging moments.

“The University extends its deepest condolences to his family, particularly his wife and children, as well as his colleagues, associates, and the broader academic community who respected and adored him.

“May they find strength and consolation in the knowledge that his life touched countless others and that his legacy is eternally secure.”

Breaking: Tinubu Appoints Gen Musa Defense Minister, Hours After Badru Was Forced Out

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Chief of Defence Staff Musa
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has appointed, the immediate past Chief of Defence Staff, CGS, General Christopher Gwabin Musa as the new Minister of Defence.
Tinubu had earlier met with the former Defence Chief in Aso Villa, Nigeria’s Presidency on Monday where he was briefed of the appointment.
The appointment was disclosed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy in a statement on Tuesday.
According to the presidential aide, President Tinubu has forwarded Gen Musa’s name to the Senate for approval.
Musa replaced  Mohammed Badaru Abubakar, who resigned on Monday citing health grounds, sources however revealed that he was forced to resign by the president due to the shambolic manner he handled insecurity in the country.
Banditry and terrorism had increased under his watch as the nation’s Defense Minister, sources said, adding that the president could no longer stomach his failure.
Musa, 58, is a distinguished soldier who served as Chief of Defence Staff from 2023 until October 2025. H
e won the Colin Powell Award for Soldiering in 2012.
Born in Sokoto in 1967, General Musa received his primary and secondary education there before attending the College of Advanced Studies in Zaria.
He graduated in 1986 and enrolled at the Nigerian Defence Academy the same year, earning a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation in 1991.
General Musa was commissioned into the Nigerian Army as a Second Lieutenant in 1991 and has since had a distinguished career. His appointments include General Staff Officer 1, Training/Operations at HQ 81 Division; Commanding Officer, 73 Battalion; Assistant Director, Operational Requirements, Department of Army Policy and Plans; and Infantry Representative/Member, Training Team, HQ Nigerian Army Armour Corps.
In 2019, he served as Deputy Chief of Staff, Training/Operations, Headquarters Infantry Centre and Corps; Commander, Sector 3, Operation Lafiya Dole; and Commander, Sector 3 Multinational Joint Task Force in the Lake Chad Region.
In 2021, General Musa was appointed Theatre Commander, Operation Hadin Kai. He later became Commander of the Nigerian Army Infantry Corps before being appointed Chief of Defence Staff by President Tinubu in 2023.

Terrorists Tighten Grip On Kano Abduct 11 Persons At Tsamiya, Shanon LGA

By
Suleiman Anyalewechi
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Gunmen - Kidnappers

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

The spate of terrorist attacks, kidnappings and killings rocking Kano of recent  haS continued unabated with the abduction of  11 persons late Sunday night November 30,2025 in Tsamiya Village , Shanono Local Council.

The development  is coming on the heels of Kano State Government’s dismissal of rumours spiraling security challenges in the State.

A statement on Monday, December, 1, 2025, from Sanusi Bature Dawaki Tofa, the spokesperson for Governor Abba  Yusuf, strongly rejected claims of impending security crisis, insisting that that Kano State is safe, stable, with the security situation fully under control.

The statement was sequel to an emergency security council meeting held on Sunday to x-ray the security situation in the  state, especially, in the face of the recent terrorist attacks in some parts of Kano North Senatorial District.

According to Dawaki Tofa, there are no security reports  or other verifiable indices to show  that the state is under any serious security challenges.

“There is no valid  or actionable information pointing to any significant security risk in Kano. The circulating claims are false, sensational and deliberately crafted to cause panic.

” Security formations have been briefed, strategically deployed, and are working round the clock to neutralize any potential security breaches.

“Every part of Kano is under active surveillance, supported by a robust security architecture.

“Kano will not succumb to fear, misinformation, or attempts to distabilize its peace. Government remains fully committed to protecting lives and properties”  the Governor’s spokesman stated.

Instructively, and curiously too, while Government’s Sunday Security Council meeting was ongoing, banditry elements were striking in Shanono Local Government Area thereby reducing the State authorities’ denial of impending security crisis as  mere rhetorics.

Confirming Sunday’s attack and abduction ,the Chairman of the Faruruwa Community and Environs Security Committee, Yahaya Bagobiri, informed that the terrorists in their numbers invaded Tsamiya Village late evening on the day, and  abducted no fewer than 11 persons, including a nursing mother.

Visibly distraught and exasperated, Bagobiri expressed serious concern and regret over the failure of security agencies and other relevant authorities to nip the attack in the bud, despite the provisions of advance and credible information .

According to him, most locals got wind of the impending attack and immediately availed the information to security agencies and the authorities.

However, he described as disturbing and telling, that no intervention came, until the terrorists invaded the community.

“Since about 7.00 pm on Sunday evening, we got wind of the movement of the bandits into the community. We got information that they were spotted in Kogari, and we promptly notified security agencies. But they didn’t act because they were not given any orders.

“The bandits abducted 11 persons , including a nursing mother. The ten others abducted include three married men,and seven youths”, the head of the Community’s Security Committee stated.

The Source reports that since the inception of the security challenges in most Northern states, particularly the North West region, Kano ,the commercial hub of the North had been insulated from the menace.

Before now, the security framework of the state prided itself on its effective proactive measures targeted at protecting the Falgore Forest and other flashpoints within the border communities of the State.

However, the state lost its cherished innocence about two months ago when suspected terrorist elements began to infiltrate some local councils within the State’s border with Katsina State.

As at the time of reporting, neither the State Government nor the Police has reacted to the latest attack in Tsamiya.

E-commerce Firm Partners Lagos-Based Startup Dellyman To Power Deliveries Across Nigeria

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Jumoke Oduwole

Temu, the fast-growing global e-commerce powerhouse, has entered into a delivery partnership with Lagos-based logistics startup Dellyman, marking a significant step in Temu’s expansion into the Nigerian market. The partnership follows a successful pilot phase in which Dellyman completed more than 1,300 deliveries with a 95% success rate, demonstrating its readiness to support large-scale e-commerce operations nationwide.

Founded in 2020, Dellyman has grown into one of Nigeria’s most reliable same-day and last-mile delivery platforms. The company recently achieved a 10,000-order monthly delivery milestone in November 2025, contributing to a cumulative total of more than 300,000 lifetime deliveries. This track record made Dellyman a strong fit for Temu, which is aggressively scaling logistics capabilities across key African markets.

Through this collaboration, Temu customers in Nigeria will experience faster, more predictable, and more transparent deliveries, a critical factor in sustaining the platform’s customer satisfaction as order volumes continue to rise. Dellyman’s technology-driven approach, spanning rider management, route optimisation, and customer visibility, played a central role in Temu’s selection process.

Speaking on the partnership, Dare Ojo-Bello, Founder and CEO of Dellyman, described the partnership as both a validation of Dellyman’s operational excellence and a defining moment for Nigeria’s logistics ecosystem.

“Our partnership with Temu is a major endorsement of the vision we set out with, to build Nigeria’s most reliable, scalable, and transparent last-mile delivery infrastructure,” Ojo-Bello said. “Achieving a 95% delivery success rate during the pilot underscores our readiness to support high-volume e-commerce platforms. This collaboration shows that local startups can meet and exceed global standards when given the opportunity.”

He further noted that the partnership represents more than operational growth as it signals a shift in how global e-commerce brands view Nigerian logistics capabilities. “This is not just about fulfilling orders; it is about reshaping perceptions of what Nigerian delivery companies can achieve. We are committed to building the kind of infrastructure that supports international standards, empowers local businesses, and ultimately strengthens consumer trust in the broader digital economy.”

Ojo-Bello added that Dellyman will continue investing in capacity, fleet expansion, and merchant-facing tools to ensure superior delivery experiences for Temu buyers and other online shoppers nationwide.

The Temu–Dellyman partnership is expected to accelerate the efficiency of e-commerce fulfilment in key urban centres, reduce delivery delays, and strengthen customer trust in cross-border marketplaces. It also positions Dellyman as a preferred logistics partner for other international retailers exploring entry into the Nigerian market.

As Nigeria’s online shopping adoption accelerates, Temu’s arrival, and its choice of a local startup for fulfilment, signal growing confidence in the country’s evolving logistics infrastructure.

Ambassadors: Why Tinubu Should Appoint Military Officers

By
Tosin Olatokunbo
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Bola Ahmed Tinubu

Amid the controversy generated by the recent appointment of some Nigerians and High Commissioner, a lawmaker in the Nigerian House of Representatives, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to consider the appointment of retired military officers as diplomats who will represent the country abroad

According to the lawmaker , Abdussamad Dasuki, these military officers should be sent to missions abroad or countries where the country is soliciting arms and ammunition to combat banditry and terrorism.

The lawmaker spokes following the appointment of 35 Nigerians last week by President Tinubu, to represent Nigeria in its foreign missions abroad.

The magazine had reported that 10 of the nominees l, who are now awaiting Senate approval are women.

The federal government, said last week that countries like the United States, United Kingdom and France are assisting Nigeria with intelligence and military equipment to combat the insecurity in the country.

Dasuki, who made the remark in a press release he issued on Monday said such military officers must be those who have undergone extensive strategic and tactical training, participated in high-level operations and acquired invaluable battlefield experience in the course of their careers in the Armed Forces.

He said the military officers will also afford the federal government top-notch advice on what military warfare to acquire and how to use them in the warfare against insurgents and bandits.

He stressed however that the appointment of diplomats into the nation’s missions abroad is the prerogative of President Tinubu who has the Constitutional power to do so.

Dasuki: “Our retired senior military personnel have served this nation with distinction. Their firsthand understanding of modern warfare, counterterrorism strategies and defence procurement puts them in a unique position to advance our national interests abroad.

“Deploying them as envoys to strategic countries will not only strengthen negotiations for essential military hardware but also ensure that the government receives informed, experience-based strategic advice at a time when the military needs modern reconnaissance drones and armed UAVs to combat all forms of armed conflicts that have become existential threats to the country.

“Insecurity has remained the most pressing challenge confronting our nation for over two decades.

“In recent times, the situation has worsened, with unacceptable levels of killings, kidnappings, and violent attacks across many parts of the country. These extraordinary times require extraordinary strategic alignment, including in our foreign policy direction and the calibre of individuals deployed to advance it, he said”

Gunmen Attack Governor Otti’s Convoy

By
Suleiman Anyalewechi
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Alex Otti - Governor of Abia State

By Suleiman Anyalewechi

Abia state Governor, Dr Alex Otti, on Tuesday, December 2, 2025 survived an attacked by  gunmen on the Umuahia/Owerri Road .

The assailants had, in the early hours of the day ambushed and attacked a three-man advance team from the Umuahia, the State while Capital,  heading to the Sam Mbakwe Airport Owerri.

The gunmen who struck within Umuowa and Ihite Junction nursed the belief that the Governor was in the convoy.

Reports of the audacious attack has, expectedly, created high  level tension, anxiety and apprehension in the State, with not a few expressing shock and disbelief.

A statement from Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, the Governor’s spokesman, while confirming the unfortunate incident, noted that Governor Otti was not in convoy.

He also informed that there were no casualties from the incident.

“In the early hours of today, December 2, an advance team of three members from the office of the Executive Governor of Abia State, His Excellency, Dr Alex Chioma Otti, on duty to the Sam Mbakwe Airport Owerri, Imo state, was attacked by unidentified gunmen.

“The incident occurred between Umuowa and Ihite Junction, shortly before the Sam Mbakwe Airport Junction in Imo State.

He, however, emphasized that the Governor  was not on the convoy at the time of the attack. The attack was carried out on his advanced team.

As at the time of reporting, the motive behind the attack,and those suspected to be responsible,were subjects of intense and varing speculations,

Both the Abia and Imo State Security authorities were also yet to react to the development .

Badaru Abubakar, Does The Expected, Resigns As Defence Minister

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Mohammed Abubakar Badaru - Minister of Defence

By Adesina Soyooye

Badaru Abubakar, Monday night, finally, did what not a few people had, especially, since the last two months, expected him to do.He handed in his letter of resignation from office as Minister of Defence to President Bola Tinubu. Abubakar cited health reasons.

His welcome resignation came in the midst of the worst security crisis which has engulfed the country, and forced President Bola Tinubu to announce a national emergency on security. It also came hours after President Tinubu, for the first time since he removed him from office as Chief of Defence Staff on October 24, met in the Villa with General Christopher Musa, rtd. It was also the day a national daily, The Punch, in a strongly worded Editorial, urged Tinubu to remove Abubakar from office.

Minister Abubakar has, since, been adjudged by not a few people as unfit for the office. Since his appointment, and especially, since the worsening insecurity, and more especially, these past three weeks which have been riddled with terrorists’ invasion of schools and Churches and the resultant abductions of hundreds and killing of dozens, Badaru has been, absent, almost missing in action. There have been no statements from him and no visits to the most affected States. Instead, it is the Minister of State, Defence, Bello Matawalle, who has been a little active, and, he it was who the President sent to Kebbi in the wake of the abduction of 25 students of the Government Girls Comprehensive Secondary School, Maga and the killing of their Vice Principal and the school’s security guard.

An announcement from Presidential Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said Mr President has accepted Abubakar’s resignation.

Part of the announcement read: “In a letter dated December 1 sent to President Bola Tinubu, Abubakar said he was quitting on health grounds.

“President Tinubu has accepted the resignation and thanked Abubakar for his services to the nation.

“President Tinubu will likely inform the Senate of Badaru’s successor later this week.”

Badaru Abubakar was a two-term Governor of Jigawa State. He served from 2015 to 2023, and was appointed Minister for Defence on August 21, 2023.

It is not known, yet, who President Tinubu would appoint as his replacement, but retired General Musa’s meeting with him on Monday has sparked speculations that he could be the one.

Tinubu had been criticised for appointing two people with no Military background to man the Defence Ministry at the time when Nigeria is security-very- challenged.

Osun Governor Adeleke, Finally, Dumps PDP

By
Adesina Soyooye
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Governor Ademola Adeleke Dumps PDP

By Adesina Soyooye

Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, has finally dumped the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.

The Governor was forced to dump the Party under which he was elected Senator and later, Governor, due to the intractable crisis which engulfed it since 2023, and worsened in the past two months.

Feelers that the Governor was finally, officially, on his way out of the party filtered-in early Monday  when the PDP postponed its Governorship Candidate Primary Election scheduled for December 2, 2025.

In a letter signed by its National Organising Secretary, Umar Mohammed Bature titled

Update On Osun State Gubernatorial Primary Election the party notified

delegates, stakeholders, and the general public that the Gubernatorial Primary Convention has been postponed following an ongoing consultations and the need to ensure full compliance with the Party’s constitution, established guidelines, and the Electoral Act.

It added that

“A new and definitive date for the primary will be communicated in due course after all procedural requirements have been concluded.”

It also confirmed Adeleke as its only Candidate for the 2026 Governorship election. “For clarity, the PDP affirms that His Excellency, Senator Ademola Adeleke, remains the only duly cleared, screened, and confirmed aspirant for the Party’s gubernatorial ticket in Osun State. No other individual purchased forms or completed the screening process; hence, Governor Adeleke stands as the sole valid aspirant recognized by the Party”, it noted.

However, the fluid situation put Adeleke’s ticket in jeopardy. Sensing what would be afoot, Adeleke had distanced himself from the controversial PDP National Convention held in Ibadan in November. He was conspicuously absent. What was not public was that the Governor had, since 4th November, 2025, resigned from the beleaguered Party.

In his resignation letter to his Sagba Abogunde Ward 2 Ede, dated 4th November, 2025, and titled “RESIGNATION OF MY MEMBERSHIP OF THE PEOPLES DEMOCRATIC PARTY (PDP)”, the Governor wrote: “Due to the current crisis of the national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), I hereby resign my membership of the Party with immediate effect.

“I thank the Peoples Democratic Party for the opportunity given to me for my elections as a Senator (Represented Osun West) and as Governor of Osun State under the People’s Democratic Party.”

The letter was received and acknowledged same day by the Ward Chairman, Saka Kamoudeen Alamu.

It was not immediately which Party the Governor would  settle for in order to contest for his second term in office.

A couple of months back, after very high level discussions, he was set to join the All Progressives Congress, APC, and even though President Bola Tinubu was all for it, Adeleke could not stand the bitterness and open antagonism from some members of the Osun State APC which greeted that move. He quickly withdrew into his shell, but pledged full support for President Tinubu’s  second term reelection in 2027.

Not a few people doubt he would join the African Democratic Congress, ADC, given the very untidy relationship between Tinubu and the National Secretary of the Party, Rauf Aregbesola, a former Tinubu very close ally and friend-turned very bitter political enemy. Some people also say both the Social Democratic Party, SDP and the Labour Party, LP, are ruled out for personal reasons.

What is not in doubt, however, is that whichever Party he joins, the hugely popular Governor will, most likely, have the support of his people.

Nigeria Going, Going… US-NIG Joint Working Group To The Rescue?

By
The Source
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Steve Osuji
Steve Osuji

By Seve Osuji

As non-state actors encircle Nigeria like vultures and inflict maximum punishment, threatening to overrun her, President Bola Tinubu hurriedly proclaimed emergency.

If you thought he was going to unveil a ground breaking strategy to clear out the miscreants in 90 days, then you’re a denizen of Mars.

It all turned out to be a damp squib. It was yet another photo opportunity with security chiefs during which the president was caught on camera dozing off on them.

The report emanating from the so-called security meeting was even more underwhelming:  The president declared an emergency on security matters in Nigeria.

And what does that mean? He directed massive recruitment into the armed forces and the police, that’s it!

Ha, at a time of existential threat on her very sovereignty? A time the country is on the verge of being overrun by terrorists?

CLEARLY A CAPACITY ISSUE: Again and again, President Tinubu has proven that he truly lacks the requisite capacity to run Nigeria. At a time a General and his troops were ambushed and slaughtered by terrorists.

At a time the federal government is so prostrate, it had to shut down schools in response to bandits invading schools across the Northern zone and herding hundreds of pupils into the depths of the forest.

As terror and banditry have become pervasive, making Nigeria look like a broken giant in the sun, you would expect a president to talk tough, to enunciate flat-out strategies and to envision final closure initiatives to a long-running madness.

Zilch. Nothing. Ineptitude. Void. These are all we got from President Tinubu’s declaration of emergency.

US-NIG JOINT WORKING GROUP TO THE RESCUE? Thank goodness, the Trump mandate is yielding fruits already. Recall that President Donald Trump of the US, had in October warned about genocide against Christians in Nigeria promising to visit, ‘gun blazing’ to take out the bad guys if President Tinubu continues to doodle over the matter.

We hear a joint working group is coming up shortly. Some highlights are: deeper intelligence cooperation, accelerated processing of requests for defence equipment, scale up of assistance across fronts, enhanced technical backing for early warning and rapid response and humanitarian support for communities in distress, especially in the middle belt that the Jihadists have rendered a tragedy zone.

PUSHING BACK ISIS AND CRAZY JIHADISTS: This is good news. This is indeed heartwarming; probably the best talk we’ve heard in Nigeria about insecurity for a long time.

There’s no doubt that the ISIS beasts troubling countries like Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, to name a few, had marked Nigeria for taking.

For the past 15 years, since they stepped into Nigeria through Borno (Lake Chad axis), they have continued to entrench and grow in strength and capacity.

From the northeast to the northwest of Nigeria, they come in different names and different guises: Boko Haram, ISIS, ISWAP, Al Quaeda, Lakurawa, etc.

As it is, if we don’t get support in the form of the US-NIG JWG, the north of Nigeria would be balkanised and taken over by various terror/jihadi groups before 2027. Katsina is almost gone!

North central would become the next battlefield and of course, we know their next destination: Igbo and Yoruba lands with the minorities as collateral spoils of war.

All of this is likely to happen in the next five years.

EXPRESSO avers that Nigeria could be overrun in five years if Tinubu remains in power. We don’t need any special intelligence to predict this.

The reasons are that he is utterly incompetent, which is the result of incapacity and corruption. Hardly anything is getting done under his watch in nearly three years.

Not even ambassadorial nominations can be got right. In fact, both the president and the presidency are worse than poor. In countries where the presidency is manned by great minds, such rabble-rousers as we have on the list would never have made it. It’s most disgraceful to have Reno and Fani-Kayode heading Nigeria’s missions anywhere.

NOW THAT THE US IS HERE, WHAT TINUBU MAY DO: Nigeria needs utmost tact in embracing and engaging with the US.

President Tinubu must consider some interventionist, short and long term measures.

SUGGESTED SHORT TERM STEPS:

>Set up EMERGENCY WAR ROOM, EWR. Call it say, Operation 90 Days.

>Pick the very best living Nigeria military mind to head it (must be a serving or retired military general).

>The EWR team of not more than a dozen will engage with and direct the US-NIG JWG.

>Overriding objective of the EWR is to clear out all active terrorists from Nigeria in 90 days.

>The EWR will map out the hot spots and create forward commands.

>Unravel and arrest all the terror financiers and supporters.

>Determine sources of arms.

>In collaboration with the US-NIG JWG deploy more intelligence and technology to pre-empt and rout.

>The head of EWR would directly give weekly updates to the nation.

LONG-TERM STEPS:

>Government must deal with the underlying causes of this social upheaval.

>Ban grazing giving a one-year moratorium. >Set up model ranches to help fast track the transition.

>Outlaw the almajiri learning system.

>Outlaw Sharia law in the northern states

>Recruitment into the military and police  should be made a routine and ongoing exercise, etc.

FINALLY ANALYSIS: Without deigning to teach professional war tacticians their job, these are just pointers to what is possible.

US-NIG JWG STRATEGY TEAM: And lest we forget, Nigeria must have an EMERGENCY STRATEGY THINK TANK(EST), to be domiciled in Aso Rock, this team will drive our collaboration with the US. They are to be made up of our best of the best minds.

They are to run through the frameworks, the objectives, directive principles, timelines, expectations, results, etc.

Nigeria must not go blindfolded into a “love affair” with the US. We must go with our very best minds in strategy and bilateral cooperations. We must protect our sovereignty.

The ultimate point is that Nigeria is at the tipping point right now. If we fail to act now and quick, Nigeria will sooner fall into the hands of murderous Jihadists.

Then she would be classified among the “axis of evil” states.#

>>Osuji was a former newspaper editor and columnist.

>>Feedback: [email protected]

>OSUJISTEVE/01.12.25

HIV Prevention Injection Finally Unveiled In Africa

By
Akinwale Kasali
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0
HIV Injection

By Akinwale Kasali

The groundbreaking new Human Immune Virus, HIV, Prevention Injection has been unveiled in South Africa, Eswatini and Zambia. It was unveiled on Monday, December 1, 2025.

This is the first public rollout of the drugs, as the aforementioned countries have the World’s Highest HIV Burden.

The drug known as Lenacapavir, is taken twice a year, and has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99.9 percent, making it functionally akin to a powerful vaccine.

It was gathered that in South Africa, where one in five adults lives with HIV, a Wits University Research Unit oversaw the rollout as part of an initiative funded by Unitaid, the United Nations health agency.

“The first individuals have begun using lenacapavir for HIV prevention in South Africa … making it among the first real-world use of the 6-monthly injectable in low-and middle-income countries,” Unitaid said in a statement.

Though the research did not specify how many people received the first doses of the drug, which cost $28,000 per person a year in the United States.

A broader national rollout is said to be expected next year.

Neighbouring Zambia and Eswatini received 1,000 doses last month as part of a US programme, and were expected to launch the drug at World AIDS Day ceremonies.

Under the programme, manufacturer Gilead Sciences has agreed to provide lenacapavir at no profit to two million people in countries with a high HIV burden over three years.

Though the numbers of supplied has generated criticism, with Critics saying this is far below the actual requirement and that the market price is out of reach for most people.

Eastern and Southern Africa account for about 52 percent of the 40.8 million people living with HIV worldwide, according to 2024 UNAIDS data.

Generic versions of lenacapavir are expected to be available from 2027 at around $40 per year in more than 100 countries, through agreements by Unitaid and the Gates Foundation with Indian pharmaceutical companies.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, has been used for over a decade to prevent HIV, but its reliance on a daily pill has limited its impact on global infections.

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