The National Orientation Agency (NOA), Kano State Directorate, has pledged to deepen collaboration with the Kano State Multi Joint Task Force on Drug Abuse and Other Related Crimes to strengthen efforts aimed at curbing drug abuse and related criminal activities across the state.

The commitment was made during a courtesy visit by officials of the NOA Kano State Office to the Chairman of the Task Force, Barrister Muhuyi Magaji, in what both parties described as a congratulatory and strategic engagement focused on enhancing inter-agency cooperation.

Speaking on behalf of the NOA State Director, Hajiya Mero Idi Waziri commended the Task Force leadership for including the Agency in the committee and reaffirmed NOA’s readiness to contribute actively to the initiative. She emphasized that the Agency’s extensive grassroots presence across Kano State’s 44 local government areas places it in a strategic position to support public enlightenment and community engagement.

Waziri also highlighted the availability of the Agency’s Special Marshals as an additional resource for grassroots mobilization and public education. According to her, the NOA is prepared to extend the committee’s activities to communities across the state by leveraging its existing structures to promote awareness and prevention. “We are ready to extend the committee’s activities to the local government areas and beyond, leveraging our structures to reach communities where prevention and awareness are required most,” she said.

Responding, the Chairman of the Task Force, Barrister Muhuyi Magaji, described the fight against drug abuse as a shared responsibility that requires sustained collaboration among government agencies, traditional and community leaders, religious institutions, and civil society organizations. He expressed concern over the growing prevalence of drug abuse and related crimes in Kano State, stressing that coordinated efforts are essential to reverse the trend.

Barrister Muhuyi reaffirmed the Task Force’s commitment to impartial enforcement, warning that offenders would be dealt with strictly in accordance with the law regardless of their status or background. “Whoever is found guilty will be treated without fear or favor,” he stated, adding that while enforcement would remain firm, the committee would also expand non-kinetic approaches centered on prevention, advocacy, and rehabilitation.

During the meeting, both organizations agreed that sustained public sensitization and education are critical to complementing law enforcement efforts. They identified several areas of collaboration, including community awareness campaigns across all 44 local government areas using NOA’s grassroots structures, outreach programmes in schools, religious institutions and youth organizations to discourage substance abuse, and the deployment of NOA Special Marshals to support public education and community engagement initiatives.

The meeting ended with a shared commitment to strengthen institutional partnerships aimed at integrating enforcement, prevention and community mobilization in the fight against drug abuse. Both the Task Force and the National Orientation Agency pledged to maintain close communication and jointly develop a schedule of activities designed to reduce drug abuse and other related crimes across Kano State.

Sports Journalists under the aegis of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has congratulated the news editor and publisher of Sahel sports newspaper, Mr Abdulgafar Oladimeji, on his induction into the Diplomatic Assembly.

The SWAN President, Comrade Isaiah Benjamin, speaking at SWAN National Secretariat, at the MKO Abiola stadium in Abuja, in his congratulatory message described Mr. Abdulgafar as a selfless Sports Technocrat and Legal Consultant.

He said, “I want to congratulate one of our own, that we are very proud of at all times, Abdulgafar Oladimeji, on his induction as a Fellow of the African Transformers Institute, ATI and his induction into the Diplomatic Assembly.”

“We are confident and rest assured that, the Assembly has a resource person in its new cohort, as a sports journalist, he is well travelled and his experience in the fields of journalism and the justice sector will be of immense benefit to the Assembly.

“We are going to give him all the support that he requires to excel, we are hopeful that his involvement and participation will open a new chapter in the route of sports diplomacy in Nigeria and the continent at large.”

When contacted, Abdulgafar Oladimeji, simply said, “My mission is to project sports diplomacy, my vision is to berth sports diplomacy to its rightful place in Nigerian growth history.

Sports diplomacy is the strategic use of sports, athletes, and games by nations to build bridges, ease political tensions, and improve global relations. It relies on the shared love of physical activities to connect people across borders when formal politics fail.

Sports diplomacy uses competitions and events to build bridges, improve global images, and foster international cooperation.

In a statement by Ikenna Okonkwo ANIPR the secretary general of SWAN said  Key benefits include cultural exchange, conflict resolution, and economic growth.

By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

President Bola Tinubu on Monday declined to receive a special delegation from South African President, Cyril Ramaphosa, over the ongoing xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa, directing the visiting team to instead meet with the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Sola Enikanolaiye.

Multiple credible Presidency sources with knowledge of the development confirmed to PUNCH Online that the delegation, led by South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola, had sought an audience with the President after arriving in Abuja on Friday.

Instead, Tinubu instructed them to engage with Enikanolaiye, who was appointed Minister of State for Foreign Affairs in June 2026 after Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu was elevated to the substantive ministerial position following the exit of Yusuf Tuggar.

The development comes amid a diplomatic row between both countries over renewed xenophobic attacks targeting Nigerians and other African nationals in South Africa, which forced the evacuation of nearly 600 Nigerians back home.

One Presidency source said, “They actually came here on Friday wanting to see the President. But there was no prior notice.

“And we said we can’t just allow you to see the President without first asking him if he is available. So we asked, and the President said they could come on Monday.

“But when Monday came, he simply said they should go and meet the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Enikanolaiye, and whatever they discuss, the Minister would come and brief him.”

A second source confirmed the President’s decision, saying, “I just confirmed it. He is not seeing them. The meeting is not happening.”

A third Presidency official added, “We don’t have that on the schedule today.”

The South African delegation reportedly remained in Abuja throughout the weekend after arriving on July 24, carrying a message from Ramaphosa.

Sources further disclosed that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu, who is attending official engagements in Addis Ababa, had advised that it was not an appropriate time for the President to personally receive the South African delegation while attacks on Nigerians and their businesses were still ongoing.

Receiving the South African delegation in Abuja, Enikanolaiye said Tinubu directed him to engage the envoys on resolving the crisis, stressing that the longstanding relationship between Nigeria and South Africa should not be undermined by attacks on African migrants.

“It is with profound pleasure that I welcome our brothers from South Africa. President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had actually asked us to meet with you and exchange views and perspectives on how to address and resolve the ongoing Afrophobic attacks in South Africa, of which Nigerians, and other citizens of Africa, have been victims,” he said.

The minister lamented the recurring attacks on Nigerians, recalling that such incidents had persisted for decades.

“We have seen a pattern emerge as early as 1995, 1998, 2006, 2015, 2016, 2019, 2021, 2024 and 2026. It is on record that from 2022 alone, 98 Nigerians have died in mob actions, in hate-related actions that we have called Afrophobia, because we found that the preponderant victims of this ugly situation are Africans and Nigerians in particular,” he said.

Enikanolaiye recalled Nigeria’s role in supporting South Africa’s liberation from apartheid and said the violence was inconsistent with the relationship both countries had built over the years.

He stressed that while Nigeria does not support criminality, anyone accused of committing offences should face due process rather than mob violence.

“If someone is, quote-unquote, a criminal for drug trafficking, there are rules, there are regulations for when they are arrested, prosecuted, and jailed.”