Amosun urges more private sector participation in education development

Okhiogbe Omonblanks Omonhinmin, a creative, festival curator, producer, and programmer with 15-years of experience in music and film production, shares his view on education, Africa, and how he earned a two-year fellowship at the University of Art, Berlin without having the first degree.

Seventy-five children who were kidnapped from their school in Nigeria's northwestern state of Zamfara were freed after their abductors came under pressure from a military crackdown, a state official said on Sunday (September 12). Gunmen took the students from the village of Kaya on Sept. 1, the latest in a spate of mass kidnappings from schools across the region. More than 1,100 children have been abducted since December last year. Authorities say heavily armed gangs of bandits, seeking ransom payments, are behind the abductions.

Officials in Nigeria have said the students were freed with the help of several of their captors who had been pressured by a military crackdown to work with authorities.

Unlike most other countries, the Philippines has decided to keep schools closed for another year to contain COVID-19. Rights advocates warn millions of children without internet access are missing out on an education.

Nigerian security forces have arrested three men accused of taking part in a mass abduction on Bethel Baptist High School in July. Gunmen kidnapped 121 students who were asleep in their dorm rooms. The attack took place just outside the city of Kaduna in the north-west of the country. One hundred teens have since managed to escape or were freed, but twenty-one are still unaccounted for.

The fundamentalist group, which now rules Afghanistan, put the bodies on display to deter others. The move comes after a Taliban founder said executions and amputations will return.

Even though the Taliban's reliance on foreign aid money could moderate their stance toward women, higher education for girls and women in the country still faces many challenges.

Gunmen have killed dozens of people in two separate attacks in Nigeria. Villagers in Kaduna and security forces in Sokoto state have fallen victim to suspected islamists and criminal gangs. Also on the show: In an industry dominated by men, we bring you a report on the women workers changing the landscape of the Central African Republic. Finally, we take a look at one of Libya's cultural jewels: Leptis Magna. An archeological site shunned by tourists due to the country's insecurity.

In Nigeria, the government has launched a drive to revive the country's once thriving palm oil business, part of a bid to diversify away from petroleum and help create jobs. But small-scale producers say that loans from the Central Bank of Nigeria are only going into the pockets of bigger factory owners.

Heavily armed gangs have been stepping up raids on schools and villages in northwestern Nigeria, often taking hostages for ransom.

One year after #EndSARS protests rocked Nigeria, police have warned against a repeat to mark the anniversary. The largest protest in Nigeria's history ended after the army reportedly killed at least 12 demonstrators.

Nigerian protesters Legend, Solomon and Samuel were all injured on the night of October 20, 2020 - a night they "can never forget" - when the Nigerian army used live ammunition to disperse a peaceful demonstration at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos. Between anger, deception, and hope, the 'Soro Soke' ('Speak Up' in Yoruba) demonstrators still want their voices to be heard a year later.