The Tinubu Maliya Shonikan (TMS) Organisation has inaugurated its local government coordinators across Kano North Senatorial District, with a pledge to strengthen grassroots mobilisation and support the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of future political engagements.

The inauguration ceremony, which was held on Sunday at Amani Event Centre, Nassarawa GRA, Kano, was led by the organisation’s leader, Alhaji Ibrahim Yusuf Garo, popularly known as Shonikan, alongside the Kano State Chairman of TMS, Barrister Nura Abdullahi Bagwai.

Speaking at the event, the organisers said the establishment of TMS in Kano North was motivated by the desire to support and promote programmes and political activities associated with Senator Barau I. Jibril Maliya, whom they described as having contributed significantly to the development and representation of the area.

According to the organisation, the initiative is also intended to mobilise support for the APC and strengthen its grassroots structure across Kano North and the wider Kano State.

As part of the inauguration, social media agents from 141 wards across Kano North were provided with android tablet pc and data support to enable them to effectively communicate the activities, programmes and achievements of the organisation and its political allies through digital platforms.

The leadership of TMS said the provision of the devices and monthly data support formed part of a broader strategy to establish an organised and effective digital communication network across the senatorial district.

The organisation further announced plans to introduce additional programmes and initiatives aimed at strengthening grassroots mobilisation and contributing to the success of the APC from the grassroots to the state level.

The event attracted important diginataries like MD Hadejia Jama’are River Basin Development Authority, Engr. Rabi’u Suleiman Bichi whonis the Guest Speaker if rhe Occasion, APC National Vice Chairman North West Hon. Garba Datti Mohammed, the commissioner National Assembly Service Commission Hon. Yusuf A. Yusuf Tabuka, Representative of rhe State Minister Housing and Urban Development, APC leaders, members, supporters and representatives of the organisation from across Kano North.

The organisers expressed appreciation to God for the successful and peaceful conclusion of the inauguration ceremony, describing the event as an important step towards strengthening the organisation’s structure and activities across the senatorial district.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The escalating cost of healthcare in Nigeria has reached a critical inflection point, with private hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory now reportedly resorting to security protocols to prevent patients from absconding at night without settling their bills. This stark reality was brought to light on Thursday by former Kaduna Central Senator, Shehu Sani.

In a post on his Facebook page, Sani described witnessing the practice firsthand during a visit to a private clinic in Abuja.

“Some Abuja private hospitals have started taking security measures to ensure that patients don’t escape at night without completely settling their bills. That’s the case when I visited one of the private clinics today,” he wrote.

While he refrained from naming the facility or detailing the specific security steps, his observation underscores a deepening national crisis where medical care is rapidly becoming a luxury, trapping families between the desperation for treatment and the burden of debt.

This practice is merely the symptom of a systemic failure where the rising costs of drugs, diagnostic scans, surgery, and hospital admission fees are pushing citizens to the brink. For many, the choice is no longer between private and public care, but between treatment and survival.

While patients suffer, health workers argue that hospitals are also struggling under the weight of economic headwinds. With inflation eroding the naira’s value, forex challenges limiting the import of medical supplies, and the removal of fuel subsidies impacting logistics and energy costs, the operational expenses for healthcare facilities have more than doubled in the last 18 months.

While on the other hand, a health practitioner, Ummee Manson, painted a stark picture of Nigeria’s healthcare burden, citing the ordeal of a fictional mother, Mama Chinedu, who had to sell her earrings and borrow money to raise ₦185,000 for her children’s malaria treatment—a bill that, despite saving the children, left the family skipping meals for weeks.

The practitioner noted that this experience mirrors the reality for millions, as it’s documented that in 2024, out‑of‑pocket spending still accounted for 58.3% of total health expenditure, meaning families directly bear the cost of drugs, tests, and hospital care.

The practitioner further warned that such high financial exposure pushes over one million Nigerians into poverty each year, since a single illness can deplete savings, create crushing debt, or force households to abandon care altogether, locking them in a relentless cycle of worsening health and economic distress.

The statistics paint a grim picture of a broken system. Recently released data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicates that out-of-pocket spending still accounts for over 70% of total health expenditure in Nigeria. With most families lacking any form of health insurance, they are left to pay directly for services, often depleting their life savings in the process.

In response, both the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) and various patient advocacy groups are renewing their calls for urgent government intervention. They urge the Federal Government to aggressively expand the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) to cover a larger percentage of the population and to regulate the prices of essential medicines to curb exploitation.

For now, however, survival often depends on the kindness of strangers. Many Nigerians are forced to resort to crowdfunding, church donations, and social media appeals to raise funds for life-saving procedures—a precarious lifeline that is not available to everyone.

Health economists and medical professionals warn that without comprehensive reforms, the trend will only worsen, and until structural changes are made, the haunting reality remains: for millions of Nigerians, a hospital bed is a financial gamble, and the price of life is becoming too high to pay.

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.