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Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria$

By Leslie Varenne, MondAfrique: The American strikes carried out in Nigeria on Christmas Day raise serious questions. Beyond the confusion surrounding the objectives of the operation, inconsistencies in official statements, and the unclear nature of the targets, the...

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By Alexandre Martins Lopes: Nigerians are struggling with surging fuel prices after newly elected President Bola Tinubu declared an end to popular subsidies, a move analysts and experts said was long overdue. On his first day in office, Tinubu kept to his campaign...

Nigeria: Another strike of health workers over benefitsF

Posted On 14 September 2020

Nigerian health workers launched a strike Monday over pay, Covid-19 bonuses and inadequate facilities, union leaders said, in the latest work stoppage in the West African country. The industrial action under the auspices of the Joint Health Workers  Union (JOHESU) came just four days after resident doctors called off their strike. JOHESU, comprising pharmacists, nurses, midwives and radiographers, are frontline workers in the battle against the coronavirus pandemic.

JOHESU said it called the strike after a meeting with the authorities failed to meet its demands on back pay, a virus hazard allowance as well as badly needed hospital repairs. “It was unanimously agreed that since nothing concrete was achieved at the said meeting with the federal government, that the strike notice is still germane and alive,” the union said.

As of midnight Sunday, “our members shall withdraw their services due to the federal government’s inability to meet their demands,” it added in a statement. The government has condemned the strike as unnecessary, ill-timed and illegal. “Any strike now is inimical to an equable settlement of the dispute, bearing in mind especially that this is a grave period of a pandemic,” the labour ministry said in a statement late Sunday.

Authorities fear any reduction in capacity could harm the country’s ability to tackle the pandemic as its caseload continues to rise. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation with 200 million inhabitants, has so far recorded 56,256 cases and 1,082 deaths. Around 1,000 health workers have been infected, according to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.

AFP

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Nigeria is modifying how it conducts air operations against armed groups under a revised security arrangement with the United States. The new framework places greater emphasis on U.S. intelligence and reconnaissance support while shifting operational responsibility to Nigerian forces. The approach reflects Abuja’s effort to balance external assistance with domestic control amid ongoing security challenges in the country’s northwest.

Nigeria: Questions Mount Over U.S. Airstrikes in Northern Nigeria$

The U.S. airstrikes carried out in northern Nigeria on Christmas Day have triggered confusion and skepticism across the region. Conflicting statements from Washington and Abuja, uncertainty over the identity of the targeted groups, and reports from strike locations where no militants were found have raised serious questions about the operation’s objectives. In an already fragile security environment, the lack of clarity risks adding instability rather than addressing Nigeria’s complex security challenges.

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