When the first three people fell sick on Thursday, June 11, residents of Doron Baga were unsure what was happening. The symptoms – vomiting, diarrhoea, and weakness – were familiar enough in a rural community where access to healthcare is limited, and illnesses are often treated at home or by local patent medicine vendors. However, …
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Every Thursday, 35-year-old Fatima Sani joins hundreds of other women from neighbouring communities across Demsa, a local government area in Adamawa State, northeastern Nigeria, to obtain Ready-to-Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) for her one-year-old malnourished daughter at the Demsa Primary Healthcare Centre. The mother of nine has made several trips to the centre to ensure her …
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Jadon John keeps a diary in which he records reference numbers for government-mandated registrations. Based in Jimeta, a commercial district in Adamawa State, northeastern Nigeria, one page of Jadon’s diary contains his voter registration details and another lists his Bank Verification Number (BVN). The 34-year-old has also noted down his National Identification Number (NIN), records …
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It was midnight on April 12 when Modu Baluye woke to the sound of gunfire. He was asleep with his family inside a classroom at Government Girls’ Secondary School (GGSS), in Monguno, Borno’s north, in northeastern Nigeria, which now serves as a temporary displacement camp, when the first shots rang out. Then came another burst, …
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For two weeks, the fate of Major General Rabe Abubakar (rtd) had become a barometer for testing whether Nigerian authorities could secure the release of a high-ranking military officer from the hands of terrorists operating in the northwestern region. The answer came on Saturday, June 13, in a press statement by Nasiru Muazu, Katsina’s Commissioner …
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Muhammadu Mahe wasn’t at home when terrorists came for him one rainy night. It was during the rainy season in 2023. He had travelled to sell livestock and spent the night in the Shinkafi area of Zamfara, North West Nigeria. The following morning, his brother, Alhaji Usman, rang his phone. “Dan Hajiya, Yan Bindiga came …
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With this year’s theme as ‘Red card to child labour: Fair play for children, decent work for adults’, the campaign for World Day Against Child Labour advocates for stronger action on quality education, social protection, decent work, stronger laws and enforcement across the world, as well as other measures that address the root causes of …
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The last time Abdullahi Alabi heard from his friend, Oluwafemi Adeyemo, it was a voice note. “I dey Terminus… I sey make I update you,” his friend said in Nigerian Pidgin. He was restocking his foodstuffs at the market, but he never came back. Abdullahi and Oluwafemi had been friends and coursemates since they came …
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“Life was good back then. We had everything in abundance.” When Jummai Usman says this, she is anchoring herself to a version of Geriyo, a community in Yola, Adamawa State, in northeastern Nigeria, that younger generations in the area may never know. Born and raised on the shores of Lake Geriyo, she considers this place …
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Let us begin with what has been forgotten. There is a field, roughly 22 kilometres southwest of Sokoto, between the Dange Shuni and Bodinga local government areas in North West Nigeria, that carries no particular weight to the eye. Grass grows there. Wind moves through trees at predictable intervals. The surrounding bush is in full …
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Muhammed Kaumi had just stepped out of the mosque when his phone rang on the evening of Friday, May 29. He had recently returned from Dikwa, a town in Borno State, northeastern Nigeria, and assumed the call was from a relative checking on his journey home. Instead, the voice on the other end delivered news …
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Before sunrise, Kellu Habila had risen from her mat in Mussa, northeastern Nigeria, and stepped into the kitchen, moving carefully in the dim light while the rest of the house slept. Outside, the dry-season dust had disappeared, replaced by the heavy stillness that precedes the rains in southern Borno. She prepared breakfast, then woke her …
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