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Kano Hosts Launch of ‘The Alternative’: A New Dawn for Nigerian Leadership

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In a bold bid to address Nigeria’s democratic challenges, Otunba Segun Showunmi, convener of the National Opposition Movement Coalition (NOMC), has launched “The Alternative”—a platform to galvanize grassroots participation in the selection of future leaders. Speaking at the North West Regional Town Hall meeting in Kano State on Thursday, the former Ogun State governorship aspirant called for a reorientation of democracy to empower ordinary Nigerians.

Showunmi decried the erosion of ideological clarity in Nigerian politics, criticizing the current system as a “cult of human personality” rather than an avenue for national service. “Political parties have abandoned ideologies, becoming vehicles for individuals, not ideas,” he lamented. He warned that this instability undermines governance and leaves Nigerians increasingly disillusioned.

Highlighting the urgent need for reform, Showunmi called for a shift from tribal and religious politics to addressing critical issues like poverty, inflation, and unemployment. “Our democracy risks becoming a conversation about tribe and religion rather than national service and governance,” he said.

“The Alternative” seeks to rally citizens through town hall meetings, focus groups, and dialogues to identify a consensus candidate for the presidency—someone who embodies competence and integrity. The movement has already gained momentum with town halls held in Jos, Bauchi, and Kano.

Showunmi also criticized the influence of money in politics, denouncing vote-buying as a betrayal of democracy. “Nigerians must reject politicians who exploit economic hardship to buy votes. Democracy belongs to the people, and they must protect it,” he urged.

Prominent stakeholders echoed his call for reform. Hon. Jafaar Sani Bello emphasized prioritizing competence over ethnicity in leadership selection. Hajiya Khadija Dahiru urged women to take an active role in shaping Nigeria’s future, while Hon. Aminu Ashiru Kwalam advocated for deliberate vigilance in the electoral process.

As the 2027 elections approach, “The Alternative” has sparked a vital conversation about reclaiming democracy and ensuring governance serves all Nigerians. Whether this ambitious movement will achieve its goals remains to be seen, but its message resonates deeply with a nation yearning for change.

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FG graduates 744 repentant terrorists under Safe Corridor programme

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A total of 744 repentant terrorists have graduated from the Federal Government’s De-radicalisation, Rehabilitation and Reintegration Camp under Operation Safe Corridor.

Most of the participants were from Borno (597), followed by Yobe (58), Kano (15), Bauchi (12), and Adamawa (10), Abia (2), Akwa Ibom (1), Anambra (2), Ebonyi (3), Enugu (1), Katsina (3), Kebbi (1), Kogi (5), Nasarawa (4), Niger (2), Plateau (2), and Sokoto (2).

The group also included foreign nationals: one each from Burkina Faso and Cameroon, two from Chad, and four from the Niger Republic.

At the graduation ceremony held in Gombe, the Chief of Defence Staff, General Olufemi Oluyede, said the programme is a strategic effort to address the root causes of insurgency, stressing it is not an amnesty but a measure to reduce reoffending and curb extremist recruitment.

“This is not a reward but a deliberate approach to reducing violence, weakening recruitment pipelines, and fostering long-term stability,” he said.

He noted that combining military operations with rehabilitation is key to achieving lasting peace, urging the graduates to embrace reintegration and shun violence.

The coordinator of Operation Safe Corridor, Brigadier General Yusuf Ali, said participants underwent psychosocial support, vocational training, and reorientation programmes to prepare them for reintegration, describing it as a collective responsibility.

“This process is about rebuilding identity, restoring values, and preparing individuals to return as responsible members of society,” he said.

Ali added that the programme equips participants with the skills needed to reintegrate and contribute positively to national development, noting that reintegration requires collective support from government, communities, and families.

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It’s not just you — Bluesky is (sorta) down

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Bluesky’s website and app are still struggling on Thursday after experiencing service interruptions that COO Rose Wang attributed to a denial-of-service attack.

According to the social network’s status page, the issues began around 2:42 a.m. ET time on Thursday and have continued since.

ScreenshotImage Credits:screenshot of Bluesky

Currently, the Bluesky site and app will load at times, slowly, and other times will throw error messages.

For instance, switching to a particular feed within the app displays a message that says “This feed is currently receiving high traffic and is temporarily unavailable. Please try again later. Message from server: Rate Limit Exceeded.”

Popular feeds like Discover or the official Bluesky Team’s feed are seeing this problem, though users’ own personal feeds may launch.

Other times, like when trying to visit a user’s profile, the site will just display an error message, forcing you to refresh and try again.

ScreenshotImage Credits:screenshot of Bluesky

Bluesky protocol engineer Bryan Newbold remarked around 3:46 a.m. ET, “oof, our services are getting pretty hard tonight.”

The company has not officially shared what’s causing the slowdown or provided an estimated time for a fix.

Bluesky has not yet responded to a request for comment.

The service disruptions are impacting Bluesky, but other communities running their own infrastructure on the underlying protocol that powers the decentralized social network appear to be functioning for the time being.

ScreenshotImage Credits:Bluesky screenshot

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