The Cross River State government on Saturday said it had closed down no fewer than 58 schools in Calabar South, Calabar Municipality, Odukpani and Yakurr local government areas of the state.

Commissioner for Education in the state, Professor Stephen Odey, disclosed this in Calabar, the state capital.

According to him, the ministry’s Department of Quality Assurance has intensified crackdown on schools operating without Approval To Operate (ATO) across the state.

He noted that the exercise was part of the state’s ongoing efforts to sanitise the education sector, enforce compliance with established regulations and ensure acceptable standards for teaching and learning.

The commissioner further explained that the exercise was aimed at protecting learners and ensuring that schools operated in safe, conducive and properly regulated environments.

Odey stressed that the government would not compromise the standards required for operating educational institutions in the state.

The commissioner explained that the exercise was not intended to witchhunt school proprietors, but rather, ensure that all schools met the prescribed minimal requirements for establishing and managing educational institutions.

He urged proprietors of unapproved schools to regularise their operations by obtaining the necessary approval, warning that any school sealed by the government and reopened without authorisation would face appropriate sanctions.

According to him, the enforcement exercise will continue across the state’s 18 local government areas, until the objectives of the sector’s ongoing cleanup are achieved.

Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), has called for a renewed commitment to Nigerian-made herbal medicines, urging Nigerians to reduce their dependence on imported traditional medicines from countries such as China and India.

The university said Nigeria’s continued reliance on foreign herbal products, despite its indigenous medicinal resources and growing research capacity, amounted to a form of economic and medical dependence that must be urgently addressed.

ABUAD said the country must build confidence in locally produced medicines, strengthen scientific research into traditional remedies and establish effective marketing strategies to make Nigerian products competitive in the domestic market.

The call was made at the AB Pharmaceuticals Business Summit, organised by ABUAD in collaboration with pharmaceutical marketers. Three pharmaceutical products developed by the university AB Mal, ABUAD Virucidine and AB Health Animation 250mg were presented as part of efforts to expand the reach of its products.

Speaking at the summit, the Deputy Director of AB Pharmaceutical Services, Afolabi Oluwatoyin, said the initiative was driven by the university founder’s vision of ensuring that Nigerians could increasingly rely on medicines developed and produced locally.

Oluwatoyin said the ultimate objective was not merely commercial profit but a broader commitment to local pharmaceutical development, research and national self-reliance.

According to her, Nigeria has continued to patronise imported traditional medicines while locally developed alternatives struggle to secure comparable public acceptance and market penetration.

She argued that the country needed a deliberate shift in attitude towards locally developed medicines, adding that effective marketing partnerships would be essential to achieving this objective.

She said, “The ultimate reason we are here today is to establish a marketing plan that will help us take these products to the Nigerian people.

“We have served the Indians enough, and we have served the Chinese enough. We have embraced different forms of multi-level marketing and imported their traditional medicines, while Nigerians continue to work hard to promote these foreign products.

“It is time for a revolution, and a revolution does not necessarily require a crowd. Sometimes, it takes one determined individual to change the world. We have seen people change the course of history, including in South Africa, and we believe that a similar change can begin here.

“The aim of Aare Afe Babalola in developing ABUAD pharmaceutical products is not money. We all know that money is not his ultimate motivation. His vision is for Nigeria to begin treating its people with medicines produced locally.

“Before the advent of orthodox doctors, our people relied on traditional medicines, including those derived from local resources, and these medicines served them. However, we have yet to embrace our own products with the same enthusiasm with which we promote Chinese medicines and other foreign alternatives.

“If you knew the volume of imported medicines entering Nigeria every day, you would be amazed. A significant amount of our economic resources goes into purchasing foreign products. We must begin to reverse this trend by investing in, producing and marketing medicines developed in Nigeria.”

In her address, the university’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Smaranda Olarinde, also emphasised the need to reduce Nigeria’s dependence on imported pharmaceutical products.

She noted that it was high time the country created an ecosystem in which universities, industry, regulators, healthcare professionals, investors and consumers worked together to move promising innovations from the laboratory to the marketplace.

In his response, the Chairman of the Association of Pharmaceutical Products Marketers of Nigeria (APPMAN) in Ekiti State, Peter Ajayi, commended Afe Babalola for his vision across various fields, saying the association would do everything within its capacity to ensure the products reached prospective consumers.

Professor Valen Emeka Obinna, Dean of the Faculty of Humanities at Imo State University, Owerri, has called for comprehensive institutional reforms and sustained public awareness campaigns to tackle child abuse and protect children’s rights and welfare.

In a paper titled “Eradicating Child Abuse Through Institutional Reforms and Public Orientation,” delivered at a programme organised at the weekend in Owerri by a human rights organisation, Stand For Humanity Foundation, the don revealed growing concerns surrounding child abuse and its devastating consequences.

The professor, who specialises in languages, literary and international studies, identified physical, emotional, psychological, sexual, educational, social and economic abuse as major threats to children’s development.

He noted that abuse could occur at home, in schools, religious institutions and other social environments, through practices such as excessive punishment, neglect, sexual violence, child labour and exploitation.

He stressed that child abuse should not be treated as a private family matter, urging parents and caregivers to adopt child-centred approaches that prioritise love, patience, guidance and positive examples rather than hostility and excessive punishment.

He said: “Children need to be taught by adult examples and not punishment”.

Obinna called on families, schools, religious organisations, government agencies, the media and other stakeholders to work together to guarantee children’s access to adequate nutrition, shelter, education, healthcare and security.

He also advocated sustained public orientation campaigns through traditional and social media, schools, churches, hospitals, motor parks and community associations.

According to him, such campaigns should be conducted in English, Nigerian Pidgin and relevant local languages to ensure that child-protection messages reach diverse communities.

He added that musicians, filmmakers and advertising practitioners could use creative content to promote responsible parenting and raise awareness about the dangers of child abuse.

The academic further urged relevant institutions to strengthen collaboration with organisations such as the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), UNICEF, UNESCO and Amnesty International to advance child protection and reduce violence against children.

The professor maintained that, although eliminating child abuse entirely might be challenging, coordinated efforts by individuals, families, institutions and society could significantly reduce its occurrence and protect the younger generation.

In his remarks, the President of Stand For Humanity Foundation, Chidiebube Okeoma, reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to protecting children, stating that the foundation would continue to clamp down on all abusers of children.

He added that the organisation would deepen its relationships with relevant institutions and stakeholders to strengthen child-protection mechanisms and curb the menace of child abuse.

Okeoma called for sustained collective action to ensure that children grow up in safe and supportive environments, while Obinna urged the foundation to sustain its advocacy and encourage children’s participation in educational, recreational, sporting and community activities under appropriate adult supervision.