By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The National Association of Nigerian Students has hinted that payment of its proposed annual ₦200 dues may become a requirement for students seeking mobilisation for the National Youth Service Corps scheme.

The NANS National President, Akinteye Babatunde, disclosed this in a Facebook post on Sunday and Monday while discussing the organisation’s finances and plans to change how its dues are collected.

Babatunde had earlier said NANS would work with the NYSC, and that students might need proof of payment of the association’s dues to be mobilised for camp.

He wrote, “We will be working with NYSC and one of the criteria to be mobilised for camp is NANS dues receipt.”

However, in a video posted on Monday, Babatunde explained that the association was considering a system that would allow it to collect its dues directly from students rather than relying on student union governments and institutional managements.

He said the annual dues were only ₦200 per student.

According to him, the proposed system was not intended to place an additional financial burden on students but to ensure that NANS had the resources needed to operate independently and represent students effectively.

He said, “This is not an avenue to stress the students further because the due is as low as 200 Naira per student in a year, 200 Naira one year per student.”

Babatunde said the dues were meant to be distributed among the various structures of NANS, including the zonal level, state structures and affiliated student bodies.

He explained that the organisation had struggled to receive its expected capitation from student union governments in recent years.

He said, “We are considering moving from getting the due to capitation to get it to have a platform where we can get it directly from students.”

The NANS president alleged that about 80 to 90 per cent of student union governments were no longer in control of their dues, claiming that some institutions released only a fraction of the money collected to their student unions.

He said this had weakened NANS financially and affected its ability to intervene in student-related issues.

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Kano Emirate Council has dismissed as false a viral video alleging that Emir Muhammadu Sanusi II obtained a carry-over in one of his law courses at Northwest University, Kano.

The video, which circulated widely on social media platforms on Sunday, purportedly suggested that the former Central Bank of Nigeria governor had failed to meet the academic requirements for one of his courses.

Mr Sanusi is currently enrolled as a 200-level undergraduate student in the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) programme in Common Law and Sharia at the university.

However, Muhammad Ado, Secretary in the Office of the Emir, said the claim was untrue, insisting that the Emir remained on course to graduate with a first-class degree.

According to him, the Emirate’s records showed that Sanusi needed only one additional point to attain a first-class grade.

“We attended a programme organised by Law Students in the university on Saturday, and a student took the video. But it’s not true.

“In our calculations, it remains only one point for the Emir to attain first class. Sunday Dare was a visiting lecturer at the programme,” Ado said.

A student of the university, Ibrahim Abubakar-Danmasani, also dismissed the claim, saying examinations at the institution had not commenced as of Sunday.

He said the examinations were expected to begin on Monday.

Sources within the university also corroborated the position of the Emirate Council, saying the viral video did not reflect the true academic situation of the Emir.

The sources attributed the video to some youths who allegedly recorded and circulated it as a prank.

The Northern Reform Organisation (NRO) has thrown its weight behind the Catholic Bishops of Nigeria’s call for urgent national reflection and corrective action, describing the bishops’ assessment of the country’s worsening conditions as courageous, forthright and deeply patriotic.

In a statement signed by its Chairman, Gidado Mukhtar, the Northern Reform Organisation said the Catholic Bishops had demonstrated exemplary moral leadership by publicly drawing attention to the severe hardships confronting Nigerians and the broader challenges facing the country across virtually every sector of national life.

The NRO said it particularly commended the bishops for choosing to speak openly about the country’s challenges rather than restricting their concerns to private engagements with government officials, arguing that their intervention reflected a strong sense of national responsibility.

According to the Northern Reform Organisation, the bishops’ intervention goes beyond partisan or sectional interests and represents a sincere concern for the welfare of Nigerians, the preservation of national unity and the long-term stability and success of the present administration.

The organisation said it fully identified with the concerns expressed by the Catholic Bishops and endorsed their demand for urgent national introspection, arguing that the issues raised by the bishops correspond with realities being experienced daily by millions of Nigerians.

The NRO identified widespread economic hardship, growing insecurity, governance deficits and declining public confidence in state institutions among the major concerns that require immediate attention. The organisation cautioned against dismissing such concerns as mere political criticism or subjecting them to what it described as sophisticated arguments from government officials and political actors.

The Northern Reform Organisation therefore appealed to well-meaning Nigerians, civil society organisations, professional bodies and other patriotic stakeholders to support the bishops’ intervention and add their voices to the call for meaningful national action.

The organisation maintained that addressing Nigeria’s current difficulties cannot be left to government alone, stressing that rescuing the country from its present challenges requires collective responsibility, honesty, courage and constructive engagement from citizens and stakeholders across the country.

The NRO also urged the Federal Government to undertake a deep and honest reflection on the issues raised by the Catholic Bishops and to look beyond what it described as reassuring narratives frequently presented through official channels.

According to the organisation, genuine leadership requires more than acknowledging difficult realities; it also requires responding to those realities with sincerity, transparency, urgency and decisive policy action.

The Northern Reform Organisation warned that Nigeria is currently at a critical point in its history and argued that the concerns raised by the Catholic Bishops should not be interpreted as criticism for its own sake.

Rather, the NRO described the bishops’ intervention as a timely and patriotic contribution to the national conversation, saying it should be treated as an opportunity to identify effective solutions to the country’s mounting social, economic, security and governance challenges.

The organisation expressed hope that the bishops’ intervention would become a catalyst for meaningful reforms capable of restoring public trust and confidence in democratic governance, while advancing equity, justice and national cohesion.

The NRO further called for reforms that would place Nigeria on a stronger path towards economic and social recovery, national renewal and shared prosperity, recalling the commitments made by President Bola Tinubu during his campaign for office.

The Northern Reform Organisation said it remained convinced that Nigeria’s current challenges could be addressed through responsible leadership, constructive public engagement and policies that respond directly to the difficulties confronting ordinary citizens.

The statement was signed by Gidado Mukhtar, Chairman of the Northern Reform Organisation, and dated August 10, 2026.

The organisation’s Board of Trustees listed in the statement includes Gidado Mukhtar, Abulrahman Umar, Musa Magami, Ado Mohammed Umar, Paroug Abdulwahab, Bello Masu, James Magaji, Mainako Umar-Shiiten, Muhammad Sani Hassan, Murtala Abubakar Gaca, Kiyawa, Mujaba Isa, GsauL Fassan, Zanna Boguna and Yusuf Abdallah.