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Healthwatch

Swimming Lessons Save Lives: What Parents Should Know

Swimming lessons help prevent drowning — the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 4.

10 things parents should know about swimming lessons

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Instablog9ja

That Is W+tchcr@ft Actor Linc Edochies Estranged Wife, Yinka, Says As She Shares The Role Rita Edochie Played To End Her Marriage

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News_Naija

ADC Targets Five Govs As Sanwo-Olu, Wike Knock Coalition Leaders

The African Democratic Congress, which is the platform of the coalition of opposition leaders, is making moves to convert no fewer than five sitting governors before the 2027 general elections, findings by Saturday PUNCH have revealed. Insiders told Saturday PUNCH that the ADC would benefit from the crisis in the Peoples Democratic Party by having some governors of the party join the coalition. This is just as five leaders of the PDP in five states have resigned from the party to join the ADC. Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, former Senate President, David Mark, and other coalition leaders on Wednesday formally adopted the ADC as the platform to challenge President Bola Tinubu in 2027. Mark and a former Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, were announced as the Interim National Chairman and Secretary of the party, respectively. Prominent members of the All Progressives Congress, including former National Chairman of the party, John Oyegun; ex-Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami; and former Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, attended the programme and subsequently resigned their membership of the APC to join the ADC. Similarly, notable PDP chieftains, including ex-National Chairman of the party, Uche Secondus; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal; and former governors of Jigawa, Cross River, Benue, Imo, Niger, and Ebonyi states—Sule Lamido, Liyel Imoke, Gabriel Suswam, Emeka Ihedioha, Babangida Aliyu, and Sam Egwu, respectively —have also aligned with the coalition. The serving senator representing the Federal Capital Territory, Ireti Kingibe, a member of the Labour Party, also attended the event. ADC faces criticism Since the unveiling of the ADC as the coalition’s platform, criticism has continued to trail its strength and the individuals behind it. The PDP Acting National Chairman, Umar Damagum, warned that there would be consequences for members undermining the party, insisting that its leaders remained united. A former presidential aide and pro-Tinubu commentator, Reno Omokri, described the ADC as a gathering of “rejected politicians and former political office holders.” The National Vice Chairman of the APC (South-East), Ijeomah Arodiogbu, on Friday, said the absence of serving governors in the opposition coalition underscored its fragility and posed a major setback to its chances of unseating Tinubu in 2027. Speaking with Saturday PUNCH, Arodiogbu said unlike the formation of the APC, which succeeded because governors joined the merger, the current coalition had attracted no sitting governor and was already showing signs of internal cracks. He said, “The coalition is already starting on a bad footing. The party they have coalesced into is already having issues. Some leaders of the party said they were not consulted and that they don’t want the newcomers. With that, it is obvious that there is already a problem.” The APC chieftain said the coalition’s foundation was built on desperation for power.  “The lowest common multiple of the people driving the coalition is simply desperation for power. It is not about the Nigerian people. All they have in their agenda is how to pull down Tinubu and the APC. They don’t have anything to offer the Nigerian people,” he stated. He also dismissed Ihedioha’s relevance in South-East politics, adding that the former Imo State governor held no electoral weight. Arodiogbu argued that those behind the coalition were only trying to replicate what Tinubu achieved through the APC merger, but without the same political traction. “One fundamental thing that worked for the merger was the joining of six sitting governors. And that is not happening now. Instead, the governors are coming to us. If the governors truly believed in the coalition, they would have joined them by now. But the big political forces are not joining them because they do not believe in them,” he added. Five PDP govs to join us — ADC insiders A credible source in the ADC disclosed that five PDP governors were expected to join the party. The insider, a former senator from Katsina State, said, “Five PDP governors have given us their commitment; they are going to join us, but they want to see the end of Wike’s drama in the PDP. Hopefully, we will meet them by the end of their next convention and review things. “What people don’t know is that some of the governors, including those in the APC, are supporting us. We started this coalition planning 18 months ago, and some APC governors were contacted about a year ago. So, they are with us, but I won’t tell you any names.” Another insider, an aide to one of the former ministers and ex-governors, said he was aware that leaders of the coalition, including his principal, were in touch with seven governors on the move to sway them to the ADC. But the source didn’t mention the political parties of the said governors. “Why are you interested in knowing the governors we’re talking to? You want us to put everything we’re doing on the pages of a newspaper? No! But I can tell you that we are talking to seven governors, and they are from the southern and northern parts of the country,” the source said. When contacted, the immediate past National Chairman of the ADC, Ralph Nwosu, declined to comment on the governors’ planning to join the ADC. “That is a top-secret matter. You can’t hear it from me. If you ask about other matters regarding the coalition, you are very welcome,” he said. This comes barely a month after a chieftain of the ADC in Plateau State, Dr Sani Dawop, disclosed that about seven APC governors had secretly been funding “an opposition coalition” against Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election. Dawop, in an interview with Trust TV News on June 9, said, “There are about six to seven APC governors who are funding the coalition. Go and check and do your investigation. There are lots of issues happening, and even within the APC, there are those who are not happy with the way things are going.” More PDP leaders join coalition Since Wednesday, when opposition coalition leaders formally adopted the party as their platform for the 2027 presidential race, fear of mass defections has gripped the PDP, particularly in Northern Nigeria. Findings by Saturday PUNCH revealed that five more leaders of the party joined the ADC from Benue, Niger, Kano, Gombe, and Borno states. In a letter dated July 2, 2025 and addressed to the PDP chairman in Mbabur Council Ward, Gwer LGA of Benue State, a former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Alex Adum, said he was leaving the party to “rescue Nigeria.” Adum, a PDP member since 1998, stated, “As a loyal party man, I do not wish my new partisan endeavours to conflict with that of the PDP since the party leadership has elected not to formally join the National Coalition Movement.” Another former Benue commissioner, Olofu Samuel, who served under the Ortom administration, also announced his resignation in a letter to the Edikwu Ward 2 chairman in Apa LGA, which he personally signed in Makurdi. In Kano, a PDP chieftain, Ibrahim Amin, cited prolonged internal crises and lack of party cohesion. In his letter to the PDP chairman in Tundun Wada Ward, Nasarawa LGA, Amin wrote, “The unending crisis arising from leadership tussles has seriously undermined the internal cohesion required for the party to progress. Furthermore, the lack of respect for internal democracy and the disregard for the party’s founding principles have made it impossible for me to remain in the PDP in good conscience. “In view of the foregoing, I have decided to withdraw my membership and join the coalition movement committed to saving our country and restoring genuine democratic values.” Also, in a letter dated July 3, 2025 and addressed to the PDP ward chairman in Suleja, Niger State, a party chieftain, Mohammed Mukhtar, said his decision came after “deep personal reflection and consultations with associates.” Another Kano PDP leader, Mukhtar Adam, also quit on Thursday. In his letter to the Tundun Wada Ward chairman, he cited “persistent internal crises at both the national and state levels.” Also on Thursday, the PDP’s 2023 governorship candidate in Gombe State, Air Vice Marshal Shehu Adamu (retd), resigned from the party. It is hallucination – PDP But the spokesperson for the PDP, Debo Ologunagba, described the reported plan by some PDP governors to join the ADC as “hallucination.” He said the focus of the party’s governors and other leaders remained on the upcoming national convention. Ologunagba said, “Whoever told you that (PDP governors will join ADC) is hallucinating. Our governors are united, and the PDP is united. If anybody is imagining that there will be defection (of governors) from our party (to ADC), it will be in the realm of hallucination.” Anti-Tinubu coalition will fail, says Sanwo-Olu fumes Also, the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has lashed out at the growing opposition against President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid, insisting that their “ambition will fail”. Sanwo-Olu made the statement on Friday while addressing a gathering of journalists and political stakeholders in the state. He dismissed the adoption of the ADC by the coalition leaders as a mere ploy to distract the President. “The target is to distract the Commander-in-Chief and derail the social and economic gains that we can see and feel, but President Tinubu knows the game and will never fall for their bait,” the governor said. He maintained that despite the moves by the ADC-led coalition, Nigerians will still stand behind Tinubu in 2027 as the results of his bold reforms continue to unfold.  Sanwo-Olu stressed that Tinubu’s track record, achievements, and reform-driven agenda were more than enough to counter any narrative aimed at weakening his administration or his re-election prospects.

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Worldnews

End Is Near: Will Kabul Become First Big City Without Water By 2030?

The city of six million people could soon run out water, amid climate change, sanctions and governance failures, say experts. Kabul, a city of over six million people, could become the first modern city to run out of water in the next five years, a new report has warned. Groundwater levels in the Afghan capital have dropped drastically due to over-extraction and the effects of climate change, according to a report published by nonprofit Mercy Corps. So, is Kabul’s water crisis at a tipping point and do Afghan authorities have the resources and expertise to address the issue? Kabul’s aquifer levels have plummeted 25-30 metres (82 – 98 feet) in the past decade, with extraction of water exceeding natural recharge by a staggering 44 million cubic metres (1,553cu feet) a year, the report, published in April this year, noted. If the current trend continues, Kabul’s aquifers will become dry by 2030, posing an existential threat to the Afghan capital, according to the report. This could cause the displacement of some three million Afghan residents, it said. The report said UNICEF projected that nearly half of Kabul’s underground bore wells, the primary source of drinking water for residents, are already dry. It also highlights widespread water contamination: Up to 80 percent of groundwater is believed to be unsafe, with high levels of sewage, arsenic and salinity. Experts point to a combination of factors behind the crisis: climate change, governance failures and increasing pressures on existing resources as the city’s population has expanded from less than one million in 2001 to roughly six million people today. Two decades of US-led military intervention in Afghanistan also played a role in the crisis, as it forced more people to move to Kabul while governance in the rest of the country suffered. “The prediction is based on the growing gap between groundwater recharge and annual water extraction. These trends have been consistently observed over recent years, making the forecast credible,” said Assem Mayar, water resource management expert and former lecturer at Kabul Polytechnic University. “It reflects a worst-case scenario that could materialise by 2030 if no effective interventions are made,” he added. Najibullah Sadid, senior researcher and a member of the Afghanistan Water and Environment Professionals Network, said it was impossible to put a timeline on when the capital city would run dry. But he conceded that Kabul’s water problems are grave. “Nobody can claim when the last well will run dry, but what we know is that as the groundwater levels further drop, the capacity of deep aquifers become less – imagine the groundwater as a bowl with depleting water,” he said. “We know the end is near,” he said. A vast portion of the Afghan capital relies on underground borewells, and as water levels drop, people dig deeper or in different locations looking for sources of water. According to an August 2024 report by the National Statistics Directorate, there are approximately 310,000 drilled wells across the country. According to the Mercy Corps report, it is estimated that there are also nearly 120,000 unregulated bore wells across Kabul. A 2023 UN report found that nearly 49 percent of borewells in Kabul are dry, while others are functioning at only 60 percent efficiency. The water crisis, Mayar said, exposes the divide between the city’s rich and poor. “Wealthier residents can afford to drill deeper boreholes, further limiting access for the poorest,” he said. “The crisis affects the poorest first.” The signs of this divide are evident in longer lines outside public water taps or private water takers, says Abdulhadi Achakzai, director at the Environmental Protection Trainings and Development Organization (EPTDO), a Kabul-based climate protection NGO. Poorer residents, often children, are forced to continually search for sources of water. “Every evening, even late at night, when I am returning home from work, I see young children with small cans in their hands looking for water … they look hopeless, navigating life collecting water for their homes rather than studying or learning,” he said. Additionally, Sadid said, Kabul’s already depleted water resources were being exploited by the “over 500 beverage and mineral water companies” operating in the capital city,” all of which are using Kabul’s groundwater”. Alokozay, a popular Afghan soft drinks company, alone extracts nearly one billion litres (256 million gallons) of water over a year — 2.5 million litres (660,000 gallons) a day — according to Sadid’s calculations. Al Jazeera sent Alokozay questions about its water extraction on June 21, but has yet to receive a response. Kabul, Sadid said, also had more than 400 hectares (9,884 acres) of green houses to grow vegetables, which suck up 4 billion litres (1.05 billion gallons) of water every year, according to his calculations. “The list [of entities using Kabul water] is long,” he said. The water shortage is further compounded by climate change. Recent years have seen a significant reduction in precipitation across the country. “The three rivers — Kabul river, Paghman river and Logar river—that replenish Kabul’s groundwater rely heavily on snow and glacier meltwater from the Hindu Kush mountains,” the Mercy Corps report noted. “However, between October 2023 to January 2024, Afghanistan only received only 45 to 60 percent of the average precipitation during the peak winter season compared to previous years.” Mayar, the former lecturer at Kabul Polytechnic University, said that while it was difficult to quantify exactly how much of the crisis was caused by climate change, extreme weather events had only added to Kabul’s woes. “Climate-related events such as repeated droughts, early snowmelts, and reduced snowfall have clearly diminished groundwater recharge opportunities,” he said. Additionally, increased air temperature has led to greater evaporation, raising agricultural water consumption, said Sadid from the Afghanistan Water and Environment Professionals Network. While several provinces have experienced water scarcity, particularly within agrarian communities, Kabul remains the worst affected due to its growing population. Sadid argued Kabul’s crisis runs deeper than the impact of climate change, compounded by years of war, weak governance, and sanctions on the aid-dependent country. Much of the funds channelled into the country were diverted to security for the first two decades of the century. Since the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, funding has been used to tackle an escalating humanitarian crisis. Western sanctions have also significantly stymied development projects that could have helped Kabul better manage the current water crisis. As a result, authorities have struggled with the maintenance of pipelines, canals and dams — including basic tasks like de-sedimentation. “The crisis is already beyond the capacity of the current de facto authorities,” Mayar said, referring to the Taliban. “In well-managed cities, such impacts are mitigated through robust water governance and infrastructure. Kabul lacks such capacity, and the current authorities are unable to address the problem without external support,” he added. As a result, environmental resilience projects have taken a backseat. “Several planned initiatives, including projects for artificial groundwater recharge, were suspended following the Taliban takeover,” Mayar pointed out. “Sanctions continue to restrict organisations and donors from funding and implementing essential water-related projects in Afghanistan,” he said. Sadid pointed out one example: An Awater supply project -funded by the German Development bank KfW, along with European agencies – could have supplied 44 billion litres (11 billion gallons) of water annually to parts of Kabul from Logar aquifers. “But currently this project has been suspended,” he said, even though two-thirds of the initiative was already completed when the government of former President Ashraf Ghani collapsed in 2021. Similarly, India and the Ghani government had signed an agreement in 2021 for the construction of the Shah-toot dam on the Kabul River. Once completed, the dam could supply water to large parts of Kabul, Sadid said, “but its fate is uncertain now.” Experts recommend the development of the city’s water infrastructure as the starting point to address the crisis. “Artificial groundwater recharge and the development of basic water infrastructure around the city are urgently needed. Once these foundations are in place, a citywide water supply network can gradually be developed,” Mayar recommended. Achakzai agreed that building infrastructure and its maintenance were key elements of any fix. “Aside from introducing new pipelines to the city from nearby rivers, such as in Panjshir, there needs to be an effort to recharge underground aquifers with constructions of check dams and water reservoirs,” he said, adding that these structures will also facilitate rainwater harvesting and groundwater replenishment. “[The] Afghan government needs to renew ageing water pipes and systems. Modernising infrastructure will improve efficiency and reduce water loss,” he added. Yet all of that is made harder by Afghanistan’s global isolation and the sanctions regime it is under, Achakzai said. “Sanctions restrict Afghanistan’s access to essential resources, technology, and funding needed for water infrastructure development and maintenance,” he said. This, in turn, reduces agricultural productivity, and increases hunger and economic hardship, forcing communities to migrate, he warned. Follow Al Jazeera English:...