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Rescue Leah Sharibu, Others The Way You Rescued Kankara Boys CAN, Tell FG

Published

6 years ago

December 22, 2020

Some Christian leaders, yesterday, asked the Federal Government to rescue Leah Sharibu, the Dapchi schoolgirl still held in Boko Haram captivity on account of her faith in Christ.

They renewed the call for her freedom sequel to the quick release of about 344 schoolboys kidnapped from Government Secondary School Kankara, in Katsina, owing to the swift response by the authorities.

Speaking in an interview, CAN President, Revd. Samson Ayokunle welcomed the release of the schoolboys but maintained that there was still a moral burden on the government to secure Leah Sharibu’s freedom as well.

He said: “While we congratulate the Federal Government for working hard to secure the release of these boys, and the parents for the joy of having their children back, more needs to be done.

“There is still the moral burden on the government to get Leah Sharibu and the rest Chibok girls released from captivity.” Ayokunle urged President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to place a high value on all lives and reexamine the security infrastructure, given that Boko Haram abductions seemed to have spread from the epicenter in the North East region.

“We, at CAN, are after a secured Nigeria from North to South. FG should be humble enough to rejig our security architecture and change those in charge for more effective delivery. “We are praying for President Buhari and for a better future and a more secure nation,” he said.

In a similar vein, a Christian leader and peace advocate for the release of Leah Sharibu, Revd. Gideon Para-Mallam said he received news of the release of the schoolboys with a cocktail of joy and sadness. In a separate interview, he said: “They are young innocent children, and everything is needed to be done to secure their freedom. I am happy this was done in the shortest time possible. Yet, this news brought sadness to my heart as I thought about many Christians who are still in captivity.

“Is Nigeria truly one country? Are the citizens having the same value in the eyes of our government? Are Muslim captives and victims more favourably treated by the government than their Christian counterparts?

“Think about the Chibok girls, about 103 of whom have been missing for over six years now. Leah Sharibu and Alice Ngaddah, both held for almost three years; Grace Tuka for one and a half years; Lilian Gyang for one year by January 9. Yet, there is no sign of freedom for these innocent lives.”

Vanguard.

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Alake Inaugurates Nigeria-US Solid Minerals Committee, Dismisses $700bn Claim, Says No Assets Sold

Published

10 hours ago

October 28, 2026

The Gleamer

Joel Ajayi

The Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake, on Tuesday inaugurated the Nigeria-United States Committee on Strategic Cooperation in the Solid Minerals Sector in Abuja, dismissing reports that Nigeria sold $700 billion worth of solid minerals to the US.

The inauguration followed the strategic cooperation framework established between Nigeria and the United States during the 81st United Nations General Assembly in New York.

In a statement issued on Wednesday by the Head PRESS and Public Relations Department Mrs. Kania Maliki Andeyaba stated that, Alake in the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, signed with the US is a government-to-government platform to facilitate business-to-business engagements between American investors and Nigerian local operators, not a sale of assets.

Harping on the importance of the solid minerals sector to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s economic diversification agenda, he noted that the administration was committed to reducing dependence on a mono-product economy through the sustainable development of Nigeria’s vast mineral resources.

According to him, the Nigeria–US partnership as a strategic initiative to attract investment, promote technology transfer, strengthen local mineral processing and create employment opportunities.

“There is no sale of any Nigerian asset. There’s nothing exchanging hands,” Alake declared.

“We created a platform to facilitate mingling of US investment ventures with Nigeria’s local operators. It is in the public domain. We signed it in public and published it in four or five national newspapers.”

The Minister said reports claiming the US was coming to take over Nigeria’s minerals and security architecture were untrue at best and products of riotous imagination at worst.

Explaining the policy thrust, Alake said Africa has historically held the short end of the stick in global economic transactions, and Nigeria is determined to change that model.

“We have the resources, the critical elements the world needs to transit to clean energy. So we are creating a new paradigm — you bring your capital, expertise and technology, to match with our natural resources and create a win-win situation . The investor gains, Nigeria gains.’’he said.

Nigeria, he stressed, had operated a mono-cultural economy dependent on oil, while solid minerals were exploited informally — with ores taken “from pit to port” without value addition.

Alake said government has now made local processing mandatory, refusing to grant mineral titles to investors without a clear pathway to processing in Nigeria.

He said the policy led to the springing up of processing factories, including the largest lithium processing plant in West Africa commissioned recently in Nasarawa by the Vice President, and informed the formation of the African Minerals Strategy Group.

Alake noted that investor confidence has returned due to macro-economic reforms by President Bola Tinubu that guarantee security of tenure and repatriation of profits.

He charged the committee to discharge its assignment responsibly, saying its work is strategic to achieving the President’s $1 trillion economy target.

To this end, he told the Committee to ensure effective coordination, identify investment opportunities and translate the framework into measurable outcomes capable of positioning Nigeria as a competitive player in the global solid minerals industry.

In his welcome address, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Engr. Faruk Yusuf Yabo, said the inauguration translates growing bilateral engagements into a structured framework for practical cooperation and investment mobilization

Economic Officer at the US Embassy, Jonathan Baas, said President Donald Trump has prioritized three areas for US embassies — energy, artificial intelligence/super intelligence, and critical minerals.

Baas said Washington’s direction is to work with partners to secure critical supply chains while ensuring partners capture value.

“We just signed a contract today on looking into building AI data centres in Nigeria at the Nigerian Economic Summit. That’s the direction Washington wants us to go,” he said.

In his vote of thanks, CEO/Managing Director of Nigeria Solid Minerals Company, NSMC said that the committee

is expected to coordinate implementation, facilitate investment and monitor progress towards achieving the objectives of the Nigeria–US cooperation framework.

The inauguration reinforces the Federal Government’s commitment to repositioning the solid minerals sector as a key driver of economic diversification, industrial development and national prosperity under President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

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