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Npower Update: N-knowledge Empowers Another 1,500 Youths

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On Monday, December 20 2021, it was announced that the Federal Government of Nigeria had launched a new skill acquisition programme known as N-knowledge, a component of the Npower scheme. With the announcement of the launch, it was stated that about 3,000 Nigerian youths from the North Central geopolitical zone of the country were trained under the programme.

The N-knowledge programme has its focus on the digital job market, preparing them for the global and national digital scene, in a bid to reduce unemployment among youths in the country. Plans for N-knowledge include the empowerment of about 20,000 young Nigerians in the digital sector, to aid the creation of jobs.

In the first part of the N-knowledge programme, 3,000 Nigerian youths from the North Central region were trained, and were given some items after the training which would aid their startups, including laptops.

This new phase has seen another 1,500 Nigerian youths trained, handed certificates and subsequently equipped. These 1,500 beneficiaries were from the North East part of the country. This takes the total of Nigerian youths who have benefited from the programme to 4,500.

These new beneficiaries have been trained for three months in three different learning clusters, which include creative art (animation), computer hardware installation and repairs (specifically with Android phones), and finally scriptwriting.

This training took place at the Abubakar Tabari Ali Polytechnic (ATAP) in Bauchi for 90 days, after which the beneficiaries were handed starter packs based on their selected specialisations, as well as a small amount to help get them running.

The Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sa’adiya Umar Farouk spoke to the beneficiaries at the ATAP, imploring them to put what they have learnt from the programme to good use. The Minister was represented by a Deputy Director from the Ministry, Gidado Abubakar and also said that the Federal Government is fully committed to empowering unemployed and vulnerable Nigerian youths in order to bring them out of poverty.

One of the consultants of the programme who handled the hardware cluster, Bashir Umar Tofa stated that a total of 1,360 people signed up for the training. However, only 771 were fully certified and trained, and then given starter packs to start working. With the training acquired, these youths will be able to take on installation and repairs of computer system hardware. Tofa encouraged them to take the training seriously and engage other unemployed youths in their specialised areas in order to help bridge the unemployment gap.

Education

FG Abolishes 18-Year Age Benchmark For Admission Into Tertiary Institutions

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The new Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, has abolished the controversial 18-year admission benchmark for tertiary institutions in the country.

This is coming as the minister indicated interest in reviewing the nation’s education policy.

However, Alausa stated that there would be no reversal of the Federal Government’s decision to void over 22,700-degree certificates obtained by Nigerians from some “fake” universities in neighbouring Togo and the Benin Republic.

Alausa spoke on Tuesday at his inaugural ministerial press conference in Abuja.

He stated that practical education will help to address the unemployment situation in Nigeria, as tertiary institutions will not continue to churn out graduates every year without providing jobs for them.

He disclosed that the Federal Government will collaborate with private sector operators to train students in order to discover and unleash their potential.

Alausa added that universities of agriculture will be empowered to adopt commercial farming practices to combat food insecurity.

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Outrage in Equatorial Guinea: Government Restricts WhatsApp Multimedia Sharing Amid Scandal

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There is outrage in Equatorial Guinea as the government restricted its citizens from downloading and sharing multimedia files using mobile data on WhatsApp.

This decision followed the guidelines that the country’s government gave to telecommunications operators when it urged them to implement measures to restrict access to inappropriate content.

The country’s Director General, National Financial Investigation Agency, Baltasar Engonga, has been involved in a sex scandal involving the wives of notable people in the nation.

The scandal emerged in the course of a fraud investigation against the 54-year-old economist which resulted in the search of his house and office on impromptu notice by ANIF officials who came across several CDs that later revealed his sexcapades with different married women.

It was reported that the over 400 videos include encounters with high-profile individuals, such as his brother’s wife, his cousin, the sister of the President of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of Police’s wife, and about 20 of the country’s ministers’ wives, among others.

The footage, discovered in his office, was said to have been recorded with consent and has since been leaked online, causing a media uproar.

But, in a new development on Tuesday, it was reported that the citizens have been lamenting their inability to share photos, videos, and audio when using a mobile data connection, leading users to rely exclusively on WiFi networks to share such content.

Sources revealed that the restrictions have been affecting business and academic activities in the country.

Citizens wonder why the actions of a few individuals would result into holding thousands of other innocent ones hostage.

Earlier, the Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, Teddy Nguema, announced plans to install surveillance cameras in all state body offices.

This sweeping measure is part of an ongoing effort to ensure strict adherence to public service laws and combat misconduct among officials.

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Education

NCC Confiscates ₦23 Million Worth of Pirated Books During Bookstores Raid In Uyo

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The Nigerian Copyright Commission (NCC) on Saturday, November 2, confiscated ₦23.1 million in pirated books from local shops, including Academic Needs and Zion Bookshop during a raid in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

The raid was by the Deputy Director of Operations, Mr Macfoy Akachukwu, representing the NCC Director General, Dr. John Asein.

Akachukwu, who stated that the raid was a significant operation to combat the rampant sale of pirated books, listed the books seized during the raid to include: Basic Civic Education by Dr Merry Ukaegbu, Spectrum New Further Mathematics by T.R. Moses and Essential Christian Religious Study for Senior Secondary Schools by Orovwuje B.O and Okolie E.U.

Other books included Macmillan Brilliant English for Junior Secondary Schools by Wale Ossianwo, New General Basic Science for Junior Secondary Schools by S. Ajayi, New Oxford Secondary English Course for Secondary Schools by Ayo Banjo and New Concept Mathematics for Senior Secondary Schools by H.N. Odogwu among others.

Major publishers affected by the raid included Evans, UPL, Lantern, Longman, TONAD, and Pearson among others.

According to Asein, the operation is important as it was part of a nationwide initiative to protect authors’ rights.

“What we have done is part of the commissions mandate to protect and promote the rights of authors and other genuine investors in the copyright book industry,” he stated.

He reaffirmed that the NCC is committed to “eliminating the sale of pirated works and to establish a robust copyright framework in Nigeria”.

Asein emphasized that authors deserve to benefit from their creative work and not run into financial losses because of piracy.

“It is our duty to ensure that authors get rewards for their creative work. I have under my watch, zero tolerance for piracy and infringement of Copyright Laws,” Asein said.

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