Education

Nobel peace prize awarded to Japanese atomic bomb survivors’ group

Published

1 year ago

October 11, 2024

Survivors of the atomic bombings of Japan almost eight decades ago have won the Nobel peace prize for their campaign to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

The Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organisations – commonly known as Nihon Hidankyo – received the accolade one year before the 80th anniversary of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and at a time of growing concern about the possible use of nuclear weapons.

The Nobel committee said it had decided to award the prize to Nihon Hidankyo “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again”.

The Norwegian committee said testimony by hibakusha – survivors of the August 1945 bombings by the US – had “helped to generate and consolidate widespread opposition to nuclear weapons around the world by drawing on personal stories, creating educational campaigns based on their own experience, and issuing urgent warnings against the spread and use of nuclear weapons”.

It added: “The hibakusha help us to describe the indescribable, to think the unthinkable, and to somehow grasp the incomprehensible pain and suffering caused by nuclear weapons.”

Japan’s prime minister, Shigeru Ishiba, who is attending the East Asia summit in Laos, told reporters: “It’s extremely meaningful that the organisation that has worked toward abolishing nuclear weapons received the Nobel peace prize.”

While the committee noted that nuclear weapons had not been used since the end of the second world war, it said the “taboo” against their use was “under pressure”.

The Russian president, Vladimir Putin, has refused to rule out the use of tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine, while North Korea has continued to develop nuclear weapons that some experts believe are capable of striking the US mainland.

Some will see the prize as a rebuke to Japan’s conservative government, which is dependent for its defence on the US nuclear umbrella and is not among the more than 60 countries that have ratified a 2021 treaty to ban the possession and use of nuclear weapons.

“At this moment in human history, it is worth reminding ourselves what nuclear weapons are: the most destructive weapons the world has ever seen,” the Nobel committee said.

Between 60,000 and 80,000 people died instantly after the Enola Gay, a US B-29 bomber, dropped a 15-kiloton nuclear bomb on Hiroshima on the morning of 6 August 1945, with the death toll rising to 140,000 by the end of the year. Three days later, the Americans dropped a plutonium bomb on Nagasaki, killing 74,000.

Today, the number of people officially recognised as having died from the effects of the bombings stands at 344,306 in Hiroshima and 198,785 in Nagasaki. The average age of the 106,000 survivors is almost 86, according to Japan’s health ministry.

“One day, the hibakusha will no longer be among us as witnesses to history,” the Nobel committee said. “But with a strong culture of remembrance and continued commitment, new generations in Japan are carrying forward the experience and the message of the witnesses.”

Nihon Hidankyo’s co-chair, Toshiyuki Mimaki, 81, told a news conference in Hiroshima that the group’s recognition would give a major boost to its efforts to demonstrate that the abolition of nuclear weapons was possible, Reuters and Agence France-Presse reported.

“It would be a great force to appeal to the world that the abolition of nuclear weapons can be achieved,” Mimaki said. “Nuclear weapons should absolutely be abolished.”

He said the idea that nuclear weapons brought peace was a fallacy. “It has been said that because of nuclear weapons, the world maintains peace. But nuclear weapons can be used by terrorists,” he said. “For example, if Russia uses them against Ukraine, Israel against Gaza, it won’t end there. Politicians should know these things.”

MG Sheftall, the author of Hiroshima: The Last Witnesses, which was published last month, said he was “absolutely elated” by the news. “Since the nadir of the cold war, I don’t think the world has needed renewed awareness of the horror of nuclear weapons more than it needs it now,” he said.

Education

Nigerian Law School Student Reportedly Takes His Own Life Following Disqualification From Bar Final Exam In Yola

Published

1 day ago

December 7, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

Ayomiposi Ojajuni, a Nigerian Law School student, has passed away after reportedly being barred from taking the Bar Final examinations at the Yola Campus.

According to SaharaReporters, sources said that Ojajuni, a graduate of Olabisi Onabanjo University, became visibly distressed on Saturday morning, December 6, upon learning he had been barred from participating in the professional examination, which began that day.

He was later said to have ingested a harmful substance shortly after receiving the news.

It was further gathered that the decision to deny him access to the exam was taken as a disciplinary action, following multiple queries previously issued to him by the institution.

Ojajuni was rushed to the Modibbo Adama University Teaching Hospital, Yola, where he died on Sunday.

Education

Borno Kids Stole The Show At NYSC Camp With Flawless March Past (Video)

Published

2 days ago

December 6, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

A group of primary school pupils from host communities in Borno State captivated participants at the NYSC orientation camp in Maiduguri with a precise and energetic marching display during the inter-platoon parade competition.

The viral footage shows four children marching confidently beside corps members, sparking loud cheers from onlookers who were visibly delighted by their coordination and enthusiasm.

The heartwarming moment quickly gained traction on social media, where users applauded the Army and the NYSC for creating an atmosphere of joy and normalcy in a region often defined by insecurity.

The children later received warm praise and encouragement from military officials and corps members at the camp, rounding off a memorable day marked by wide smiles and excitement.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DR4aCOMAh4d/?igsh=dnZtdHN1azZqcnJq

Education

Teachers strike looms in Kwara over unmet demands

Published

2 days ago

December 6, 2025

Ekwutos Blog

A statewide industrial action by the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT, looms in Kwara State as a result of unmet demands to the state government.

The national body of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) criticised the state government for what it described as continued failure to address long-standing welfare concerns affecting teachers across the state.

In a letter addressed to Governor Abdulraham Abdulrazaq, the union condemned the government’s refusal to implement the 27.5% Teachers Specific Allowance (TSA) and the National Harmonized Teachers Retirement Age Act, 2022.

The letter, dated November 13, 2025, and acknowledged by the Governor’s Office on November 17, was jointly signed by the NUT National President, Comrade Audu Titus Amba, and the Secretary-General, Dr Clinton Ikpitibo.

The NUT stated in the letter that several engagements with government officials between 2023 and 2025 did not yield any positive outcome.

The union expressed disappointment that while the government had approved consolidated salary structures for medical workers, nurses, and judiciary staff, the long-standing demands of teachers remained unaddressed.

It warned that the refusal to implement the 27.5% TSA for TRCN-certified teachers and 21% for non-TRCN-certified teachers had pushed teachers in the state “into a riotous mode,” noting that frustration within the system had reached breaking point.

The NUT also criticized the government’s failure to implement the National Harmonized Teachers Retirement Age Act, which extends teachers’ retirement age to 65 years or 40 years in service.

The letter added that over 25 states had already complied with the law, lamenting that Kwara State despite being led by the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, had failed to follow suit.

The union called on the governor to convene an emergency meeting before December 13, 2025, stressing that there was still room for peaceful resolution if the government acted promptly.

“We do hope that our interventionist approach is accepted, because to jaw-jaw will be better than to war-war,” the NUT said.

Copies of the letter were sent to the Acting Head of Service, the Commissioner for Education and Human Capital Development, the State Controller of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, and the Kwara chapters of the Nigeria Labour Congress and the NUT.

With tension rising among teachers, the union warned that failure to address the issues urgently, could trigger a fresh industrial action that may disrupt academic activities across the state.