The Brief: Repentant Boko Haram; cholera ordeals; AFCON draws

They suffered it and they conquered. It is the outbreak that’s already killed hundreds across the country. In Plateau, some survivors are recounting their tales of horror – and hope to live on.

It is the famous draw at the 2021 AFCON – the Super Eagles drawing Sudan, Egypt and Guinea Bissau. The game just got interesting!

Over a hundred commanders of Boko Haram, last weekend, surrendered to troops of the Nigeria Army, and have asked Nigerians to forgive them.

Is their repentance genuine? Should they be reaccepted by the people they terrorised? In this episode of Nigeria Daily, we talk about the possible repercussion of this development. Download or listen to the podcast here.

Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, has said the present National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) cannot lead it to victory in the 2023 general elections. The quest of Wike and some key members of the leading opposition party to remove its National Chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, has created a crack in the party.

Governors, elders and various organs of the party are sharply divided over the fate of Secondus and other members of the NWC.

Exactly three years and one month after the unveiling of the name and logo of the proposed national carrier known as Nigeria Air, the airline is yet to take off.

While the federal government is insisting that the national carrier would come on stream next year, stakeholders and experts in the industry doubt the possibility with just a five percent contribution from the government.

The recent cholera outbreak in Plateau State has continued to stir anxiety among the people as most residents have been living in fear and uncertainty as the rains intensify generating the condition for the disease.

Many people in the state suffered from cholera disease, but thankfully most of the victims survived with only a few deaths recorded. Surprisingly too, many of those who suffered from the disease could not afford to go to hospital but attended to themselves at home with the help of family members.

Armed men who kidnapped pupils from an Islamiyya school in Tegina, Niger State and those that kidnapped students from Federal Government College (FGC), Birnin-Yauri, are still holding on to their victims with one group making stringent demand and the other shifting the goal post, Daily Trust can report.

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Three-time African champions, the Super Eagles have been drawn with seven time champions, Egypt, Sudan and Guinea Bissau in Group D of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations to be staged from January 9 to February 6 in Cameroon.

The Super Eagles who placed third at the 2019 edition will open their campaign in the delayed 2021 AFCON against heavyweights, the Pharaohs of Egypt on January 11.

The curfew imposed on Jos North, Jos South and Bassa local government areas by the Plateau State Government is taking its toll on the residents as most of them yesterday complained of running out of food.

Our correspondent reports that the city centre remains quiet and security personnel including soldiers, police and vigilantes were patrolling along major roads and streets to ensure compliance to the governor’s directive.

An 11-year-old boy, Shekpami Saidu, got drowned in a river at Dafa community in Kundu Ward of Kwali Area Council of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

A resident of Dafa simply identified as Dogara said the incident happened on Monday afternoon during a heavy downpour when the Shekpami was crossing the river to get to Tunga-Gwomani.