Nigerian Army Resource Centre (NARC) Weekly Subject Experts’ Presentation was held at Hall C, TY Buratai Block, Abuja. There were five presentations made by the Subject Experts on West Africa, Gulf of Guinea, Central America, Nigeria, Western Europe and India Sub-continent.
The first presentation by Maj Gen OO Adeleke (Rtd) subject expert on West Africa and Gulf of Guinea, discussed how 12-Year-Old Girl Who Married High Priest, 63, Taken Into Police Protection. Rebekah Scanlan reported on 3 April 2024 that a 12-year-old girl who was married to a 63-year-old high priest has been placed under police protection in Ghana. Nuumo Borketey Laweh Tsuru XXXIII, a spiritual leader in the Nungua area of the capital, Accra, wed the unidentified child in a huge ceremony on Saturday. Images of the wedding ceremony, which were attended by many in the priest’s community, triggered a public outcry by many Ghanaians who pointed out the practice was illegal.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Gen OO Adeleke (Rtd) pointed out that, Child marriage in Nigeria is driven by gender inequality and the belief that girls are somehow inferior to boys. “Child marriage is also exacerbated by poverty as girls are frequently married off as a way to lessen the economic burden for their families”. Although the FGN and a few NGOs are working on community-driven solutions and strategies for increased support for ending child marriage, these efforts cannot produce the desired results unless sincere efforts are made to amend relevant sections of the Nigerian constitution, which provides the backing for Child Marriage in the country.
He recommended that the National Assembly should consider amending the provisions of Part 1 Section 61 of the 1999 Constitution in favour of the CRA in order to stamp out child marriage in Nigeria and also the Federal Ministries of Education and information and National orientation should evolve innovative ways to educate and empower the girl child against child marriage.
The second presentation by Brig Gen ED Idimah Subject Experts on Central America, centered his presentation on, China-Honduras Corporation Expanded after a Year of Diplomatic ties. The Honduran Secretary of State in the Office of the Presidency, Rodolfo Pastor, on Thursday, 04 April 2024 disclosed that the diplomatic ties between China and Honduras have led to significant progress in reciprocal cooperation and exchanges. The opening of embassies in Tegucigalpa and Beijing has facilitated more trade and mutually beneficial cooperation.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Brigadier General Idimah noted that, Nigeria can draw several lessons from this cooperation, such as building trust with international partners, promoting economic growth through trade, seeking strategic partnerships, prioritizing infrastructure development, addressing poverty and promoting inclusive development, fostering cultural and academic exchanges, and improving the investment climate. The implications of Nigeria-China relations on national security are both positive and negative, with economic cooperation and infrastructure development contributing transparency, Chinese influence, cyber security, and resource exploitation need to be addressed.
He recommended that, the Federal Government of Nigerian should diversify and expand trade and investment relationships with other countries to reduce reliance on single partner in order to mitigate potential economic vulnerabilities and also invest in building robust cyber security capabilities to protect critical information infrastructure as ensure data privacy.
The third presentation by Maj Gen GU Chibuisi subject expert on Western Europe, Centered his presentation on, Manchester United Defender Claims Heading Has Damaged His Body. The BBC on 2 April 2022 reported the comments of Manchester United Defender, Raphael Varane, of France, that heading footballs have damaged his body. Varane’s initial comments were made in an interview with French media outlet – L’Equipe. Varane complained that he once finished a France World Cup game in 2014 on “autopilot” after playing on with concussion. He called for greater protection and better awareness of the issue.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Maj Gen GU Chibuisi pointed out that, though comprehensive data on the prevalence rate of injuries or deaths caused by concussions in football in Nigeria is yet to be established the above cases show the issue should get the attention of policy makers to make football safer for players both in the short and long terms. Nigerian Sports Administrators could key into current international efforts towards addressing the problem.
He recommended that, Federal Government of Nigeria should through the Fed Ministry of Youths and Sports Development sponsor concussion (head injuries) related researches to ascertain the level of damage on players, with a view to improving care for players in both short and long terms and the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) should direct the Nigeria Premier Football League (NPFL) to strictly implement intentional best practices in concussion management at all levels of the sport in the country.
The fourth presenter Brig Gen WD Nasiru Subject Expert on Indian Sub – Continent discussed, UN says Household’s Wastes 1 Billion Meals a Day “Global Tragedy”. According to the “Global Food Waste Index Report 2024″ published by the Nairobi-based United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) on 27 March 2024. Households around the world threw away one billion meals every single day in 2022. In what UN called “Global Tragedy”. In the report, over 14.10 million tons of food is wasted yearly by households in Bangladesh.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Brig Gen Nasiru pointed out that, food waste is a complex and multifaceted issue that requires collective action at all levels to address effectively. In Nigeria, tackling food waste presents an opportunity to improve food security, reduce environmental degradation, and promote sustainable development. Learning from the causes of food waste, implementing targeted interventions, and fostering collaboration among stakeholders, Nigeria can make significant strides towards a more resilient and equitable food system for future generations.
He recommended that, FGN and the subnational governments should allocate resources to improve food storage, transportation, and distribution infrastructure across the country to include building and upgrading cold storage facilities, improving rural road networks and rural electrification programme and also the Fed Min of Agriculture in collaboration with the National Orientation Agency, and relevant stakeholders should launch nationwide awareness campaigns to educate citizens about the economic, environmental, and social impacts of food waste.
The fifth presenter Brig Gen CC Ogbu Subject Expert on Nigeria, focused on NITDA Urges Nigerians to Ensure Backup of Data. On Monday, 1 April 2024, Daily Nigerian Newspaper, amongst other media outlets, reported that the National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, has advised Nigerians to prioritize data backup to avoid loss of information. In commemoration of the World Backup Day, Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head, Corporate Affairs, and External Relations of the agency, gave the advice.
In his analysis and lessons for Nigeria, Brig Gen Ogbu stressed that, in commemoration of the World backup day on 31 March 2024, the NITDA has advised Nigerians to prioritize data backup to avoid loss of information. Mrs Hadiza Umar, Head, Corporate Affairs, and External Relations of the agency, said that the backing up of data places an organization one step ahead of any cyber threat that might cause loss of data. “Data is indeed very important as it provides the basis for reporting the information required in the governance of nations, states, and in the administration of any establishment and all forms of business operations”.
He recommended that, the Federal Government of Nigeria should ensure that all her MDAs back up their data, keeping at least three copies on different storage media, with one copy offsite or in the cloud and the NSA should harmonize the data from all relevant military, paramilitary and other data collecting agencies for higher analytical procedures towards the accurate and timely tracking of criminals.
