From conversation to institutional change.
We’re happy to share that through the Bridging the Gaps (BtG) Project, the Mentally Aware Nigeria Initiative (MANI), in collaboration with the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), has successfully supported the development of a draft student Mental Health Policy for the institution..
This milestone was achieved through a multi-stakeholder steering committee comprising key university personnel working alongside MANI to design a framework that prioritises mental health, wellbeing, and psychosocial support within the campus community.
What makes this significant is that this is more than a campaign or a one-time intervention; it is a step towards embedding mental health into institutional systems and culture.
The draft policy is now being advanced for institutional adoption, marking a major step toward creating safer, more supportive learning environments for students and staff alike.
At MANI, we believe sustainable impact happens when mental health moves beyond awareness and becomes policy, structure, and practice.
#PolicyDevelopment #YouthMentalHealth #MentalHealthAdvocacy
STATEMENT BY PRESIDENT BOLA AHMED TINUBU (GCFR) ON THE THIRD ANNIVERSARY OF HIS ADMINISTRATION, MAY 29, 2026
My fellow compatriots,
Three years ago, you entrusted me with the sacred responsibility of leading our beloved nation at a defining moment in our history. I accepted that responsibility, fully aware of the magnitude of the challenges before us, but also deeply confident in the resilience and potential of the Nigerian people.
Today, on the occasion of the third anniversary of our administration, I speak to you not only as your President but also as a fellow citizen who understands the sacrifices many families have made in recent years and shares your hopes for a better Nigeria.
When this administration assumed office, our nation faced profound economic and structural difficulties. Mounting fiscal pressures, unsustainable fuel subsidies, declining revenues, exchange-rate distortions, rising debt-servicing costs, insecurity in several parts of the country, energy supply constraints, and declining public confidence in institutions all threatened our progress.
At the height of the subsidy regime, Nigeria was spending as much as ₦18.4 billion daily to sustain petrol subsidies—over ₦4 trillion in 2022 alone—resources that could have been invested in roads, healthcare, education, housing, and critical infrastructure. Multiple exchange rate windows and forex arbitrage created massive distortions, with Nigeria losing more than ₦8 trillion over three years to rent-seeking and speculative practices.
The situation demanded urgent and courageous action. Difficult but necessary decisions had to be taken to stabilise the economy and prevent a deeper national crisis. The easy choices would have been politically convenient. But leadership demands courage, especially when the right decisions are difficult.
Had we refused to act, our nation would have drifted toward fiscal breakdown, worsening poverty, and severe economic uncertainty. Together, we chose reform over ruin and decisiveness over hesitation. We chose long-term national recovery over short-term comfort.
These decisions came with sacrifice. The rising cost of living triggered by our measures placed enormous pressure on families, workers, and businesses. Young people searching for jobs felt discouraged. Many questioned whether these difficult decisions would lead to a better future.
I remain deeply conscious of those sacrifices, and I assure you: your sacrifice has not been in vain. And today, I can say with confidence that Nigeria has stabilised and is moving forward again. Across the country, visible progress is taking shape.
VISIBLE PROGRESS AND ECONOMIC GROWTH
Our economy is now more competitive and better positioned for sustainable growth than it was in 2023. Public finances are improving. States and local governments have greater resources to invest in their people. Investor confidence is growing. The stock market is booming, with the All Share Index rising from 53,000 and market capitalisation of N30 trillion in 2023 to a record All Share Index of 250,000 and market capitalisation of N160 trillion this year. Companies are declaring record profits and dividends.
Critical infrastructure projects are advancing at an unprecedented scale. Over 2,700 kilometres of highways and major roads are under construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation, including the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the Sokoto-Badagry Super Highway, the Abuja-Kaduna-Zaria-Kano Road, the East-West Road, and many rural access roads. Significant sections are already completed or nearing completion, improving transportation, reducing travel time, boosting regional trade, and creating thousands of jobs.
Rail modernisation projects are ongoing to improve connectivity, logistics, and economic integration across the federation.
On this Children’s Day, I celebrate every Nigerian child. I celebrate the child who is excelling in school. I celebrate the child who is learning a trade. I celebrate the child living with disability and still pressing forward with courage. I celebrate the child who has lost much but has not lost hope.
Today belongs to you. It is a day to celebrate your innocence, your strength, your creativity, your aspirations, and the immeasurable value you bring to our nation. You are the pride of our Republic, the custodians of tomorrow’s promise, and the living reminder that we can shape the future of Nigeria by the opportunities we create for our children today.
The theme for this year’s celebration, “Future Now: Promoting Inclusion for Every Nigerian Child,” speaks powerfully to the soul of our national conscience. It reminds us that the future is not a distant promise; it is already here.
As we mark this special day, which coincides with Eid-el-Kabir, some Nigerian children and their teachers in Oyo and Borno should be with their families, but are being held captive by criminals. Some children have been forced into fear. Some parents cannot join today’s celebration because their hearts are set on one prayer: ‘Bring our children home.’
To those children, their parents, and their teachers, I say this as a father and your President: you are not forgotten. You are not abandoned.
To the families grieving and despondent, your government will not turn your pain into ceremony. We will continue to work until children taken from their homes, schools and communities are returned safely, and until those who profit from this cruelty are brought to justice.
I have directed all relevant security agencies to sustain and intensify coordinated rescue operations for abducted children and other vulnerable citizens across the country. These operations must be intelligence-led, carefully executed and focused first on the safe recovery of our children.
I have also directed the strengthening of school protection measures in high-risk areas. This will include updated school vulnerability mapping, closer coordination between state governments and security commands, rapid response links between schools and local security units, and stronger community-based early warning systems.
The Federal Ministry of Education, working with state governments, is to deepen the implementation of the Safe Schools framework with clear reporting, clear responsibility and clear timelines. Every school in a vulnerable area must know who to call, what to do, where to move, and how to protect children when danger is identified.
We will also improve support for children who have survived abduction, violence and displacement. Rescue is not the end of the government’s duty. A child who returns from trauma must return to care, medical attention, counselling, education and dignity. I have directed the relevant ministries and agencies to ensure that recovered children receive proper reintegration support, not temporary attention.
Let me also state that protecting children cannot be left solely to the government. Parents, teachers, traditional rulers, religious leaders, community leaders, youth groups, transport unions, local vigilantes and the media all have a role to play. When a community sees strange movement around a school and keeps quiet, a child is placed at risk. When warning signs are ignored, families suffer. When information is shared quickly and responsibly, lives can be saved.
This is why we will continue to strengthen the link between communities and security agencies. The fight to protect children must begin before an attack happens, not after one has already occurred.
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BREAKING: President Tinubu has won the APC presidential primary election and now becomes the APC's presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
Full Results:
President Tinubu: 10.9 million
Stanley Osifo: 16,503
"I think about how many times someone's kindness landed on me on a day I really needed it. A message. A tone of voice. Someone just being gentle, for no particular reason, not knowing what it meant." - Today's #RuminationsAt5 by @msdems_ for @mentallyawareng.
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"Maybe the disappearing act isn't a personal failure; it's just what happens when life gets heavy, and nobody handed us a script for how to carry it.
Maybe recognising it, even quietly, even just to yourself, is already something.
Not the end of the story. Just the part where you finally look up.” - Today's #RuminationsAt5 by @msdems_ for @mentallyawareng.
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When Pst Tani was teaching during midweek service, she said something that really stayed with me:
“Marry someone you can tell God, ‘Speak to Your son or daughter’ not someone you’re constantly praying for the salvation of their soul.”
And honestly.. no truer words were spoken.