Nigerian activist and social commentator VeryDarkMan has made a groundbreaking impact after launching his non-governmental organization (NGO), focused on transforming Nigeria’s public education system.

Within 24 hours, his initiative garnered overwhelming support, raising ₦21,620,780. The majority of contributions came from small donations (₦72-₦500), with notable contributions of ₦2 million and ₦1 million.

VeryDarkMan praised the community’s backing, emphasizing transparency and accountability. He criticized existing NGOs for mismanaging public funds and pledged open governance.

Photo source: X

A bill pushing for the creation of Bola Ahmed Tinubu Federal University of Nigerian Languages has scaled first reading in the house of representatives.

Ekwutosblog understands that this bill is sponsored by Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker, and eight other lawmakers: Inuwa Garba, Nasiru Shehu, Alex Ikwechegh, Bako Useni, Amobi Ogah, Akin Rotimi, Halims Abdullahi, and Felix Nwaeke.

The university will be located in Aba, Abia state.

The proposed university would provide equal educational opportunities in Nigerian languages, offering diplomas, degrees, and postgraduate programmes designed to develop skills in language and cultural fields.

It will also produce graduates who can effectively use Nigerian languages for national development.

The university will also collaborate with other institutions involved in Nigerian languages and culture, providing basic training and promoting national unity.

The bill revealed that President Bola Tinubu will be the university’s visitor, responsible for conducting evaluations at least once every five years.

The President is also given authority to remove council members, excluding the pro-chancellor and vice-chancellor, based on misconduct or inability to perform duties.

The bill will need to pass a second reading, public hearing, third reading, and Senate concurrence before it is sent to the president for assent.

However the proposed bill has ignited a flurry of reactions among Nigerians with many criticizing it as unimportant and a waste of resources, especially in light of the current economic challenges.

Williamstalk posted: “Anywhere Belle face people we have a pressing issue facing the people and you guys are busy attending to things that are not relevant for the now!!! Is this not an oversabi something!!!!”

DrWhales tweeted: “The existing Universities are not funded adequately. A lot of Universities in the North suffer low patronage die to insecurity issues and general lack of interest in Education. These are not issues enough, you must play politics by trying to massage an old man’s ego.”

Popular social media critic, Daniel Regha wrote: “And this is important right now because? Many Nigerians can’t feed or cope under this administration, but it’s learning languages that’s being discussed by lawmakers? My God!”

Tomi of Canada asked: “These people are just playing Nigerian’s. Is this what Nigerians need right now with all the universities we already have?”

Survivors of the atomic bombings of Japan almost eight decades ago have won the Nobel peace prize for their campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organisations – commonly known as Nihon Hidankyo – received the accolade one year before the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and at a time of growing concern about the possible use of nuclear weapons.

The Nobel committee said it had decided to award the prize to Nihon Hidankyo “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again”.

The Norwegian committee said testimony by hibakusha – survivors of the August 1945 bombings by the US – had “helped to generate and consolidate widespread opposition to nuclear weapons around the world by drawing on personal stories, creating educational campaigns based on their own experience, and issuing urgent warnings against the spread and use of nuclear weapons”.

It added: “The hibakusha help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable, and to somehow grasp the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons.”

Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, who is attending the East Asia summit in Laos, told reporters: “It’s extremely meaningful that the organisation that has worked toward abolishing nuclear weapons received the Nobel peace prize.”

While the committee noted that nuclear weapons had not been used since the end of the second world war, it said the “taboo” against their use was “under pressure”.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has refused to rule out the use of tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine, while North Korea has continued to develop nuclear weapons that some experts believe are capable of striking the US mainland.

Some will see the prize as a rebuke to Japan’s conservative government, which is dependent for its defence on the US nuclear umbrella and is not among the more than 60 countries that have ratified a 2021 treaty to ban the possession and use of nuclear weapons.

“At this moment in human history, it is worth reminding ourselves what nuclear weapons are: the most destructive weapons the world has ever seen,” the Nobel committee said.

Between 60,000 and 80,000 people died instantly after the Enola Gay, a US B-29 bomber, dropped a 15-kiloton nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on the morning of 6 August 1945, with the death toll rising to 140,000 by the end of the year. Three days later, the Americans dropped a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki, killing 74,000.

Today, the number of people officially recognised as having died from the effects of the bombings stands at 344,306 in Hiroshima and 198,785 in Nagasaki. The average age of the 106,000 survivors is almost 86, according to Japan’s health ministry.

“One day, the hibakusha will no longer be among us as witnesses to history,” the Nobel committee said. “But with a strong culture of remembrance and continued commitment, new generations in Japan are carrying forward the experience and the message of the witnesses.”

Nihon Hidankyo’s co-chair, Toshiyuki Mimaki, 81, told a news conference in Hiroshima that the group’s recognition would give a major boost to its efforts to demonstrate that the abolition of nuclear weapons was possible, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported.

“It would be a great force to appeal to the world that the abolition of nuclear weapons can be achieved,” Mimaki said. “Nuclear weapons should absolutely be abolished.”

He said the idea that nuclear weapons brought peace was a fallacy. “It has been said that because of nuclear weapons, the world maintains peace. But nuclear weapons can be used by terrorists,” he said. “For example, if Russia uses them against Ukraine, Israel against Gaza, it won’t end there. Politicians should know these things.”

MG Sheftall, the author of Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses, which was published last month, said he was “absolutely elated” by the news. “Since the nadir of the cold war, I don’t think the world has needed renewed awareness of the horror of nuclear weapons more than it needs it now,” he said.