Month: October 2023

President Muhammadu Buhari Thursday in Abuja directed Ministries, Departments and Agencies to comply with ongoing transition of all government operations to digital platforms that will enhance efficiency and effectiveness in service delivery, and promote more inter-agency synergy. (more…)

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) The UN and European Union (EU) plan to spend 10 million  dollars  per year  in the next four years  to end all forms of violence against women and girls in Nigeria.

Mrs Hadiza Aminu,  EU, UN Spotlight Initiative Coordinator,  said this in Kano during a media dialogue Stoplight Initiative on ending violence against women and girls in Nigeria.

Aminu  said  43 per cent  of girls were married before the age of 18 and 17 per cent  married before 15, while 20,000 new cases of obstetric fistula occurred every year, according to the .National Demographic Health Survey of  2013.

The EU, UN Spotlight Initiative is a global partnership aimed at  eliminating all forms of violence against women and girls and all harmful practices in support of the 2030 Agenda on Sustainable Development.

Aminu said that  the project  would start in five pilot states of  Adamawa, Ebonyi,  Cross Rivers,  Sokoto and Lagos as well as the  Federal Capital Territory and Splits.

She said that violence and other forms of harmful practices against women and girls were reported to be of epidemic proportions and this trend  was on the rise in the country.

She said that there was a need to  have the right people to discuss  social norms.

Aminu said the country had the problem of a lack of data  but that with the structures in the states, data could be generated with proper training.

She said that the groups would support government agencies in- charge of data  generation.

She said that the EU and UN  would  ensure that states had family courts  to handle cases of violence.

Mr Danladi  Bako, a former Commissioner for Communication in  Sokoto State,  said that  most women did  not report violence due to different reasons  which might be cultural,  religious or fear of the future.

Bako said that poverty could increase  violence with social vices, adding that the issues of violence and rape had not been taken  seriously in the country.

Bako advised that EU and UN should  have people in radio and television stations, adding that there was a need for more men to be involved in the campaign against violence.

”There is a disconnect  between what the men want and what the women want;  so there  must be a way to harmonise  things to arrive at a point, ” he said.

Bako said that the country needed to fashion a way for men to accept gender equality and called for the political will from the government to address the issues.

He advocated an educational system that would be used to educate people on anger management as  80 per  cent  of violence  was based on provocation.

Bako  also advised that traditional leaders be involved in the fight against violence.

Mr James Ibor,  a human rights activist and member of Basic Right  Counsel Initiative, said the issue of discrimination against women was common and the situation must change by creating strong awareness.

Ibor said Nigeria ratified the Convention for The Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in 1985 but international treaties could only go into effect when parliament put in a corresponding domesticated law.

He urged the media  to promote  the  values of gender equality.

Mrs Hapsatu Isiyaku, Assistant Director, National Population Commission,  said  that  violence against women and children was a monster that required synergy and collaboration to eradicate violence in the  society.

Isiyaku said that the commission was  established  to ensure that all children born were duly registered and issued birth certificates as a means of identity.

She  said that birth certificate was the  first  legal identify recognised by law and that any child  that was not registered did not  exist.

She advised the media to dedicate part of the news and other programmes to sensitising members of the public  to  the rights of women and children and also to have birth certificates for their children. (NAN

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) Sen. Mohammed Musa (APC- Niger), has urged Nigerians to support the social media bill before the National Assembly because it was aimed at protecting human dignity.

Musa said in a statement on Monday in Abuja, that when assented to, would protect human dignity among many other inherent gains.

The Senate had on Nov 5, re-introduced the ‘Protection from Internet Falsehood and Manipulations Bill 2019’, to regulate the use of social media in the country.

The bill, which was sponsored by Sen. Musa, was aimed at curbing fake news on the internet and to guide social media users.

“The social media bill comes with enormous gains such as a free internet that guarantees national security; protects minors from abusive forms of marketing, violence, and pornography.

“The bill, when assented to, will protect human dignity from incitement to racial hatred or racial discrimination.

”It will provide economic security and curb fraud, as well as provide instructions on pirating credit cards.

“It will also provide security, protect privacy from unauthorised communication of personal data, electronic harassment; protection of reputation and intellectual property as propounded by the European Union Paper on illegal and harmful content on the internet,’’ he said.

The lawmaker said that although, Nigerians might be afraid that the law could be manipulated by politicians and government officials, it was not enough to negate the overall gains of the regulation.

He urged Nigerians to support the voyage, reiterating that it would guarantee sanity, protect rights and sensitivities on the internet.

He, however, faulted claim that the bill which had similarities with a Singaporean Statue subject was plagiarised.

According to him, it is preposterous that this is said to be an instance of plagiarism.

The lawmaker said that legislations across the globe are public documents and national legislatures do not claim right over them, as to form the basis for a claim for plagiarism over their effectiveness.

He said that the problems and challenges of regulating internet activities cuts across jurisdictions and was therefore inevitable that lessons should be drawn from other jurisdictions in fashioning out workable solutions in Nigeria.

He urged the general public not to heed to the immature attempt by uninformed mischief makers who were trying to distort the progress of the bill.

Musa said the law when enacted, would become a universal template that could be adopted and domesticated to fit peculiarities.

“Beyond the public speaking, the internet space in Nigeria has become corrosive. Information whether true or false spreads like wildfire.

“We may have the capacity to regulate the internet space but it is extremely difficult to regulate the effect of hate speech distributed through online platforms.

“We need a more standardised approach and this is the crux of the move to sanitise the corrosive internet space in Nigeria,” he said.(NAN)

(flowwerbudnews)The Federal Government through the Office of the Senior Special Assistant
to the President on Sustainable Development Goals OSSAP-SDGs) is
partnering with the Government of Denmark to achieve the Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs).
This was the outcome of a bilateral meeting between the Senior Special
Assistant to the President on Sustainable Development Goals Princess
Adejoke Orelope- Adefulire and the Ambassador of Denmark to Nigeria,
Ambassador Jesper Kamp in her (SSAP) Office recently in Abuja.
The SSAP stated that, as a way of garnering support and augmenting
Federal Government’s efforts to achieve the SDGs, her Office is partnering
with Development partners, Private Sector Organizations and other key
stakeholders.
She noted that, Government alone cannot achieve much in issues of
developing the country, hence, the need to partner and collaborate with
development partners.
She emphasized that, with the enormous socio-economic challenges facing
especially the crises ridden North-Eastern part of the country, there is every
reason to partner and support the efforts of the Federal Government to
enable out-of-school children be enrolled in schools.
Mrs. Adefulire pointed out that, her Office interventions focus, was on
education and health sectors, hence the priority on renovation and
construction of schools and Maternal and Child Care clinics and hospitals
to achieve goals 3 and 4 of the SDGs. She called on the partners to give
more support in these areas.

She noted that, the launch of the Integrated Sustainable Development
Goals (iSDGs) model by President Muhammadu Buhari recently in New
York, during the 74 th Session of the UN General Assembly has given a
guide to all stakeholders as to the implementation of the Global Agenda.
Earlier in his remarks, the Danish Ambassador said his visit was to discuss
ways of collaborating with the Nigerian Government through OSSAP-
SDGs, and play a supporting role to ensure the attainment of the SDGs in
Nigeria.

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(FLOWERBUDNEWS) The Nigerian Senate may amend the proposed death penalty clause in the Hate Speech Bill before it.

Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, who is the sponsor of the bill, made this known in a statement on Sunday in Abuja.

Abdullahi, who is the Deputy Chief Whip in the Senate, assured that the death penalty proposed in the bill would be amended by the Senate “when it is subjected to legislative input at the National Assembly.”

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the controversial bill had, on Nov. 12, passed first reading.

Abdullahi, who represents Niger North Senatorial District, said that the bill would undergo some fine-tunings to ensure that the clauses contained in its provisions to be passed into law reflected Nigerians’ views.

He added that the Senate welcomed contributions and inputs by critics and supporters of the bill, as these would go a long way towards giving Nigerians the much awaited law that would address the disturbing trend of hate speech.

According to him, hate speech has led to the death of many and is a major factor behind depression and suicide in Nigeria.

“We have followed closely arguments for and against the hate speech bill, and seen the reason why some kicked against it.

“Given the high respect which we have for Nigerians, we will make amendment to the death penalty aspect that most Nigerians objected to, so that a bill that meets their expectations is passed into law.

“Clearly from the conversations, Nigerians agree that we have a problem in the society today as a result of hate speech, which has fuelled so many killings and violence, and is responsible for cases of depression and suicides,” he said.

Citing a World Health Organisation (WHO)’s report, Abdullahi disclosed that Nigeria, which was the seventh-largest country in the world, “has Africa’s highest rate of depression and ranks fifth in the world’s frequency of suicide rate.”

The lawmaker explained that the Independent National Commission for the Prohibition of Hate Speech to be established would guard against every act of discrimination against Nigerians by way of victimisation.

The commission, according to Abdullahi, will have an executive chairperson, a secretary and twelve commissioners appointed through rigorous process involving the National Council of State, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the National Assembly.

(FLOWERBUDNEWS) Singapore political figure Brad Bowyer on Monday corrected a Facebook post questioning the independence of state investment firms following a government request, in the first use of the country’s new “fake news” law.

Bowyer used “false and misleading” statements alleging the government influenced decisions made by state investors Temasek Holdings [TEM.UL] and GIC [GIC.UL], according to a statement on the official government fact-checking website.

Bowyer said he had placed a correction notice with a link to the government statement above his Facebook post following a request to do so under the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA).

“I have no problem in following that request as I feel it is fair to have both points of view and clarifications and corrections of fact when necessary,” Bowyer said in a statement on Facebook.

“In general, I caution all those who comment on our domestic politics and social issues to do so with due care and attention especially if you speak from any place of influence.”

Bowyer, a naturalized Singaporean born in Britain, has been a member of the ruling party and opposition parties but has never stood for elected office.

A spokesman for the newly-created POFMA office said the correction requested by the minister for finance was the first case under the new law, which came into effect in October.

Rights groups have raised concerns the fake news law will be used to stifle free speech and chill dissent in the city state, where the ruling party has comfortably won every election since independence in 1965.

Singapore says it is particularly vulnerable to fake news because of its position as a global financial hub, its mixed ethnic and religious population and widespread internet access.

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