Two siblings, Zainab Bashir Muhammad (Hibba) and Ummu Salma Bashir, aged 7 and 5, have been confirmed dead in a fire outbreak that occurred in the Madina Quarter of Bauchi.

The unfortunate incident occurred at a house close to Barden Gabas Primary School adjacent to Tirwun quarters, a suburb of Bauchi metropolis around 11:00am on Sunday, March 17, 2024.

It was gathered that the incident occurred after the mother of the two deceased children locked them in the house and went for errands.

“When we noticed the fire from the house, myself and some neighbours rushed to the house, but our efforts to forcefully open the gate into the house proved abortive,” a witness narrated.

“In the process, we were able to get rid of the door with the use of some carpentry tools and gained entry into the house, but that was when the fire overpowered the room where the two children were sheltered.

“When we entered the house, we tried to force open the room where the children were staying, it was a real fire with heavy dark smoke, making it difficult for us to gain entry.”

Another neighbour to the inferno, Usman Abdullahi (Dan Usmanu) said that "This thing is already destined by God, but it was not the habit of the bereaved mother to lock -up the children and go on errands. Most of the time, whenever she was going out, she used to drop the children in my house, because our houses are close to each other.

"Her husband, Bashir Muhammad was not at home when the incident occurred. Up to this time I am talking to you, we don’t know the actual cause of the fire incident.”

Men of the state fire service have tried their best to fight the fire to stop it from spreading to the surrounding houses and structures considering that it is dry season.

Meanwhile, the children have been buried according to Islamic rites.

A man, Okon Edet has been arrested by the Akwa Ibom State Police command for allegedly beating his father to death during an argument over a plot of land.

The unfortunate event was confirmed by the Command’s spokesman, Odiko Macdon, while parading the suspect and 55 individuals who were arrested for various crimes.

While 54 of the suspects were nabbed for crimes ranging from kidnapping to robbery and cultism, Edet and another were accused of killing their parents.

According to the police mouthpiece, Edet murdered his 75-year-old father, Chief Edet Okon Oyoho, with a machete after confirming that he sold a plot of land he had already gifted to him.

Macdon said the other murder suspect, Nkereuwem Umoren Ekpo, also macheted his 90-year-old grandmother, Martina Udoudo Akpan, to death and absconded with her N16,750.

The police spokesperson revealed: “On March 13, 2024, following reliable intelligence, operatives of Okobo division arrested one Okon Edet ‘M’ of Uruting Village in Okobo LGA for killing his father, one Chief Edet Okon Oyoho, ‘M’, aged 75, of the same address, by beating him mercilessly with a machete, leading to his demise. The suspect confessed to the crime.

“His reason for perpetrating the heinous crime was that he got information that his father, now late, who owns many parcels of land in their community in Okobo LGA, had sold many of the lands, including the one he gave to him as his son to build a house.

“So, he confronted his father and confirmed that the information was true, and he asked his father for the money he got from selling the land, and the father replied that the buyers hadn’t paid. So, he got angry and beat him to death.

“Similarly, on February 25, 2024, at about 1400Hrs, one Nkereuwem Umoren Ekpo ‘M’ of Adiasim Ikot Udo Village in Essien Udim LGA, was arrested for the murder of his grandmother, one Martina Udoudo Akpan ‘F’ of Onuk Nkop Ekpo village, aged about 90 years.

“The suspect was alleged to have used a machete to cut his grandmother’s neck while they were cutting cassava stem in the farm, which eventually led to her death, and untied the sum of N16,750 from the deceased’s wrapper and absconded.”

The PPRO highlighted that 54 individuals were apprehended for a range of offences, including kidnapping, robbery, and cultism.

Additionally, it was emphasized that the Commissioner of Police, Waheed Ayilara, is dedicated to ensuring the provision of efficient security in the state, aligning with global standards of excellence.

“In the last month, a total of four kidnap victims have been rescued including a woman who faked her own kidnap; 18 arrested for armed robbery, 11 for murder including two young men who killed their fathers, and 23 arrested for cultism and other vices,” Daily Trust quoted the police PPRO saying.

Shade Ladipo has spoken about how her marriage crashed.

The Nigerian media personality opened up in a recent interview.

Recall that the radio host tied the knot with Jide in 2018.

But speaking with Daddy Freeze in an Instagram live session, Ladipo revealed that lack of s3xual intercourse for six months made her marriage fail in 2020.

She said when she relocated with Jide to Canada, they resided in his brother’s home.

The radio host said during their stay with her in-laws, “we were not able to communicate, function, or able to find our footing”.

Ladipo said six months into their stay, she moved out of the house, leaving her ex-husband who wanted to stay back because “he had debts”.

She added that the natural separation resulted in their official divorce in 2020.

“The biggest issue in Canada is the cold. When we landed we landed in in-law’s house. We could not have s3x in my in-laws house. Like six months in my in-laws’ house. I am telling you,” she said.

“The plan was we were going to be in the in-laws house for six months. We are not able to reduce the tension. We were not able to communicate. We were not able to really function. We were not able to find our footing. We could not use the bathroom because there was only one. The in-laws were also at home plus their two-year child.

“Again, the plan was that after six months, we would leave the brother’s house and then find our footing. By the end of the six months, he said did not want to leave. And I had to leave. He said he owes debt. He was working a contract job. He wanted to get a permanent job. He was happy with everything. Me I just needed to be happy first.

“He was a nice boy. We moved in together in the estate (in Nigeria). We were living together. People do not understand that when you have the right connection with your partner, even with kids, you go find where you will have s3x.

“I entered Canada as a married woman. Single as a pringle now. Covid happened and life happened. People in my life know. I have been officially divorced since 2020.”.

A suspected bandit informant, Dan Abba, has been arrested by vigilantes at Bishini village market in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The suspect was apprehended while attempting to sell a stolen cow at the village market.

A resident of Azzara, Ahmadu Sajo, was said to have informed the local security men about Dan Abba’s presence at the market square.

The suspect is believed to be associated with bandits who have been responsible for the abduction of herders and the theft of their cattle in various areas, including Kuchimi, Haying-Dam, and the Gidan-Makeri region of Kagarko town.

It was gathered that the suspect had been declared wanted by the troops in the vicinity, along with other suspects who were fleeing.

However, luck evaded him until last Thursday when he was apprehended at the village market while in possession of a stolen cow.

The informant mentioned that the suspect, along with the stolen cow, was handed over to the troops. Additionally, he informed that the vigilantes were actively trying to track down the whereabouts of some of the other stolen cows.

“The vigilantes suspected that the cow the suspect brought to the market might be among those cows that were stolen two weeks ago at a village in Kagarko LGA,” Daily Trust quoted Sajo saying.

However, the state police command has not issued an official statement regarding the development yet.

Ernest Umakihe, the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD), has disclosed that Nigeria might soon start importing yam from China, for local consumption.

Umakihe stated this while speaking at a stakeholders workshop on repositioning yam as an export crop, with the theme, ‘Prospects and Challenges of yam export in Nigeria.' 

Leadership reports that Umakihe lamented that despite accounting for 67% of global yam output, it was unfortunate that Nigeria is nowhere on the map of yam exporting countries.

He expressed concerns that with China delving into yam exportation, and considering Nigerian's taste for imported goods, Chinese yam may soon be found in Nigerian kitchens if care is not taken, thereby pushing more Nigerians into the unemployment market and reducing the income of yam farmers.

Umakihe said Nigeria’s first attempt at exporting yam was by Nasarawa State Government in 2009 with 8.5 metric tonnes and within the same month another 66 metric tonnes were exported in two shipments, followed by Oyo State, but without success. He also said that the Ministry’s attempt to revive yam export in 2017 was poorly handled.

“It was only in 2017 that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture under the leadership of Chief Audu Ogbeh, then Minister, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development organised the first flag-off ceremony (of yam) with a batch of 72 tons to UK and USA. I believe these were done without proper planning before the execution. Aside the mentioned attempts, nothing much has been heard of the yam export from Nigeria,” he said.

Umakihe said it is the duty of Nigerians to find out what went wrong and how to address.

Four suspects including three Nigerian men, Igboke Okwuchukwu Stephen, Ilo Ebuka Titus and Kanu Arinze, were arrested on Saturday night, March 16, 2024, in a crackdown on drug traffickers and peddlers in Nairobi, Kenya.

The crackdown is being conducted by a joint operation spearheaded by Anti-Narcotics and Transnational Organized Crimes detectives.

The first suspect, Igboke Okwuchukwu Stephen was found with several pellets of brown powdery substance concealed in his house at Nasra Estate, Nairobi. He was booked at Muthaiga Police Station.

In a stop-and-search operation in Ruaka, Kiambu County, 25-year-old Njuguna Karumo was arrested after a similar substance were found hidden under the mats of his motorbike. He was taken to DCI’s Mazingira Complex for questioning.

In Nyamakima, Nairobi CBD, an intelligence-led operation led to the arrest of Ilo Ebuka Titus and Kanu Arinze who were cornered and escorted to their residence at Sunton, Kasarani.

On searching the house, suspected bhang and a package of brown powdery substance were found and seized.

“Kanu and Ebuka were also taken to Muthaiga P/Station pending testing of the drugs and possible prosecution for use and peddling,” the DCI says.

The DCI says that the operation, which extends to all counties, is aimed at fighting the vice from the grassroot, with the police firmly enforcing anti-narcotic laws.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has selected Hon. Dennis Idahosa as its deputy governorship candidate in the September 21 Edo governorship election.

Idahosa will serve as a running mate for the APC candidate in the state, Senator Monday Okpebholo.

Recall that Idahosa was one of the aspirants who vied for the APC ticket for the Edo governorship election during the party primaries but lost to Okpebholo, who eventually emerged as the party’s flag bearer for the November 21, 2024 election.

At a meeting on Sunday night, Idahosa was unveiled in the presence of the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, former Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, Okpebholo himself, and several other party chieftains.

Ganduje, along with the party’s National Secretary, Sen. Ajibola Bashiru, is scheduled to present Okpebholo and Idahosa to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the villa today.

Idahosa is slated to take the place of Hon. Omoregie Ogbeide-Ihama, who was named by the governorship candidate last week as his running mate.

That Nigeria’s economy is in bad shape, is no longer news. Food and other necessities are hard to come by.

However, no matter what turn the economy takes, Nigerians, by their unique nature, will always find survival alternatives.

That is why although it sounds unthinkable to see, anywhere in the world, where bamboos are used in place of irons to cast pillars and decking of building constructions, Nigeria has found in convenient.

The high cost of building materials is making many homeowners go for cheap alternatives for construction.

While many Nigerians whose buildings are under construction are abandoning them, waiting for when prices of materials will go down, most frustrated ones are selling off their uncompleted properties to interested buyers.
But others have decided to invent conventional means by replacing iron rods with bamboo.

Economy&Lifestyle discovered that home construction engineers now use bamboo, laced with construction wires to cast decking and pillars of buildings.

Usually, for such buildings, Iron rods are used in these areas to create rigidity and firmness.
Bamboo, a woody plant with hollow stems is in the grass family. It is always used for scaffolding in tall buildings replacing steel irons merged together with screws.

According to Mr. Andrew Asaga, a building engineer, 12mm, 16mm, 20mm, 25mm, 10mm, or 8mm iron rods are recommended for building apartments depending on the strength of the material and the designs specified.

He added: “Bamboo can also do the job of an iron rods to an extent.
“Some persons now use only bamboo for the pillars.
“Some mix bamboo with iron rods for the decking to save cost.
“Others now use only bamboo for decking.

“An iron rod costs between N10,000 to N30,000 depending on the size.
“This was twice the price it was sold for last year.

Few weeks ago, a client who wanted to build a bungalow asked that I use bamboo mixed with iron rods to build the pillars because the cost of iron rods has increased.

“He wanted me to construct 8 pillars for the building and would need four 12 mm iron rods for a pillar.
“A ton of 12mm (93 pieces) is now over N1.3 million .

“I don’t know where this country is heading to.”

Mr. Atanaza Godbless, an engineer said: ” Building developers are no longer making profits in the business.
” This is because the cost of building materials are increasing daily.

“When you make a quotation for clients today and they respond next week, you get to the market and discover that the prices of the materials you quoted have increased tremendously.

“You are left with nothing to settle with your workers.
“At the end you see engineers running away leaving workers unpaid.
“And such a person is being labelled bad.
“People are now settling for less alternatives of building materials.
“The cost of iron rods for instance, is making people use bamboo.

“The government is seeing all these and nothing is being done to reduce the cost of building materials.
“The result of these alternatives is having inferior buildings and increased building collapse.”

The strong bonds between concrete and the iron rods ensure stronger constructions as external forces cannot easily break these bonds and the concrete will not slip away from these rods as they are tied together during construction.

Mrs. Fatimetu Momoh, a bamboo seller said the price of a piece of bamboo has also increased from N400 per bamboo to N1500.

She added: “Even used ones now go for N900 which was sold for N200.

“Those supplying the bamboo are complaining of logistics and levies paid on the road.

“This is not something we import. Or do we start importing bamboo? Something we have in our country.
“There is no business that is not frustrated in today’s economy. I pray God will save us from this horrible situation.”