Metro
WAEC EduStat, Game-Changer for Educators, Students – HNO Areghan
By Eric Elezuo
The New Hall of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Yaba office was a beehive of activities Wednesday as the examination council released yet another classic with the launch of the Educational Statistics Platform, EduStat, a platform designed to ease access to quality data and insights in the educational sector as well as take the edge off the manual access to data by stakeholders, improve the quality of service delivery and generate more revenue for the Council.
Revealing the benefits of the platform before a large audience of staff, pressmen, stakeholders and technical experts, the Head of National Office, Mr. Patrick Ehidiamen Areghan, said that WAEC Nigeria leveraged on technology, detailed data analysis and insights, to establish itself as a leading light in the educational sector and a future brand by introducing the Educational Statistical Platform.
Areghan maintained that to keep abreast with a world that has become smarter and more instant, WAEC has gone a step further to ensure consistency towards harnessing statistical data analysis, collation, interpretation and presentation. He added that “Businesses and organizations alike need every edge and advantage they can get to improve service delivery, thanks to the rapidly changing markets, economic uncertainties, shifting political landscape, customer-focus, and even the global Pandemic, which have made statistical analysis more sought-after by researchers, for fact analysis and findings.”
Speaking on the mission objectives of the Council, Areghan reiterated that “The West African Examinations Council is committed to its mission of remaining Africa’s foremost examining body, providing qualitative and reliable educational assessment, encouraging academic and moral excellence, and promoting sustainable human resource development and international cooperation. In meeting the growing global demands for corporate organisations, sometimes, it takes just one individual to come up with an innovative approach that gives the organisation competitive edge. Still, more often than not, it requires the collaboration of various teams and the combination of many different data sources.”
Going down memory lane, Areghan noted that Edustat is the result of years of research, development, and collaboration that will not only revolutionize how data is accessed but also leverage WAEC’s comprehensive and reliable database of over 50 million candidates who have been tested over the years.
He stated other benefits to include revamping poor infrastructure and the manual process of assessing educational insights and statistics, and also access to a comprehensive interactive Web Report. It will also provide stakeholders, such as researchers, funding agencies, government institutions, school administrators and parents with a reliable platform that provides educational insights collected from multiple sources and delivered in simplified graphs, summaries, and dashboards which help them enhance their decisions.
He noted, “the platform offers detailed and smart statistical insights into education and assessment dynamics, using historical and current data to provide detailed intelligence for stakeholders across the globe, in a smart and easily accessible manner. One of the key features of this platform is its ability to analyze data in real-time. This means that educators can get immediate feedback on how their students are performing, enabling them to adjust their teaching strategies as needed. Additionally, the platform is designed to be user-friendly and customizable, allowing educators to tailor it to their specific needs and preferences.”
He added that the platform “seeks to change views about data analysis by providing users with easy-to-use tools to analyze and visualize data. It offers a wide range of features that will benefit our users. For Government agencies, it provides detailed statistics on student enrollment, graduation rates, and academic performance at various levels of government. This information will help policy makers make data-driven decisions about education policy, funding, and program design.
“We are optimistic that our new educational statistics platform will be a game-changer for educators and students,” the WAEC boss said, while promising to continue to dish out more technology-based access to data.
Presenting a demonstration on the usage of the platform, the technical partners, Sidmach Technologies Nigeria Limited, gave a detailed outlook of what to expect and how easy accessing the platform is.
Potential users are expected to log on to www.waec.edustat.ngto sign up, select parameters, select their preferred method of report generation (Summaries, Charts, Maps, Trends), make payments, download and use the content for personal / official purpose. For further enquires, users can send an email to support@edustat.ng.
Troops of the 6 Brigade, Nigerian Army, have arrested a police officer found operating alongside bandits during a recent operation in Usmanu Village, Karim Lamido Local Government Area of Taraba State.
The arrest came amid a swift military response to renewed communal clashes between the Shomo and Wurkun communities.
The disputes had escalated into violent confrontations, resulting in property destruction, including the burning of houses.
During the operation, soldiers engaged armed assailants at the Fadama axis, neutralising four militants and recovering weapons, including three dane guns, a fabricated AK-47 rifle, twenty-five rounds of ammunition, and two motorcycles.
Investigations revealed that the arrested officer had been aiding the militia.
The officer is currently undergoing profiling to determine the extent of his involvement.
Brigadier General Kingsley Chidiebere Uwa, Commander of 6 Brigade/Sector 3 Operation Whirl Stroke, praised troops for their professionalism and swift action.
He reassured residents of Karim Lamido and Taraba State that the Army remains committed to restoring peace and urged communities to report suspicious activities.
The Nigerian Army emphasized that operations under Operation Peace Shield, Operation Lafiya Nakowa, and Operation Zafin Wuta will continue, urging citizens to cooperate fully with security agencies.
For seven remarkable decades, women have stood as pillars of courage, service, and resilience in the Nigeria Police Force. They are breaking boundaries, shaping operational excellence with gallantry, and championing the protection of vulnerable persons across the nation, National Association of Online Security News Publishers, NAOSNP can report.
This milestone celebration also provides a worthy moment to honour the transformative leadership of the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Adeolu Egbetokun, whose administration has become widely recognized for its unprecedented commitment to gender inclusion and professional empowerment of women in the Force. Under his watch, female officers are not only rising to senior leadership positions but also leading innovations in policing strategy, operations, and public engagement.
Further, the strategic guidance of the Force Gender Advisor, Assistant Inspector-General of Police, AIG Aishatu Abubakar Baju, has opened new frontiers for Policewomen to contribute their full potential to national security.
To commemorate the 70 Years of Women Policing in Nigeria, the Zone 2 Police Command (comprising Lagos and Ogun States) used the opportunity to emphasize that gender-based violence, child molestation, rape, intimidation, and every form of abuse must have no place in our society. This was marked by a 5km sensitization walk around Onikan down to Falomo in Lagos on Friday, 28th November. Other events will continue till Monday, 1st of December, 2025.
The Assistant Inspector-General of Police in charge of Zone 2, AIG Adegoke Fayoade speaking shortly after the Policewomen Walk celebrated the women in Police and urged the general public to shun gender based violence. ‘We say no to gender-based violence. We want gender mainstreaming, let all gender be given their proper place in the affairs of the nation. Our Policewomen are very gallant, supportive, professional, and innovative.’
A top female officer and AC X-Squad Zone 2, ACP Edinor Justice said: ‘We are grateful to God for the strength and commitment. We went out to create awareness on gender-based violence. We all know it is a menace not only in Nigeria but worldwide. It is not something that we cannot overcome, that is why we have created awareness to individuals, organizations, and institutions that we should come together to say no to violence, no to rape, and no to GBV. We pray that as we are celebrating the past, we are committing to the present, and inspiring the future.’
Another senior female officer, ACP Amina Yakubu added: ‘I am excited because today, women in Nigeria Police are celebrating 70 years anniversary of women policing in Nigeria. We say no to every form of gender-based violence.’
The Zonal PRO, Zone 2, CSP Ayuba Tunni Umma indicated: ‘We commend the initiator of this program, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun and our mother in person of AIG Force Gender Advisor, AIG Aishatu Abubakar Baju, for this great initiative. This has never been and it’s kind of first time, we want to say a very big thank you, because this has never been in the history of Nigeria Police, and it’s a good thing that we’re celebrating 70 years of women in policing. Just like my fellow colleagues have said, it is not easy being a woman, being a mother, and then pursuing a career in the police job. You know, you have a lot of challenges, but we’re grateful that women are growing, and then we’re soaring above and rising to the peak of our career in this it has not been so in the history but, with the present administration, women have been given the opportunities to play their strategic roles, to exhibit their full potentials in different areas of the police. We want to say a big thank you to IGP Kayode Egbetokun for being gender friendly IGP. We say a very big thank you to AIG Aishatu Baju for being the architect behind this new gender-inclusivity, then to our own father, the AIG in charge of Zone 2 command, AIG Adegoke Fayoade for his support always.’
‘The 5-km walk is more of a sensitization on gender based violence. We want to say women are important. We want to say no to violence against our children, because our children are leaders of tomorrow, We don’t want to begin to groom and raise our children in this kind of manner.’
The Minister of Police Affairs, Senator Ibrahim Gaidam, has charged Police graduands to uphold the highest standards of discipline, integrity, and service to humanity.
He stated this, according to a statement made available to the National Association of Online Security News Publishers (NAOSNP), during the convocation ceremony of Regular Courses 1 to 7 of the Nigeria Police Academy, Wudil, Kano, where he was represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Police Affairs, Dr. Anuma Ogbonnaya Nlia.
The Minister said the Academy remains a critical institution in Nigeria’s security architecture, producing officers equipped with world-class knowledge, ethical grounding, and operational competence.
“The badge they wear is not merely a symbol of authority; it is a reminder of the trust the Nigerian people place in them. Let your conduct reflect the values of transparency, accountability, respect for human rights, and strict adherence to the rule of law,” Gaidam stressed.
He added, “Today is not only a celebration of academic achievement but a reaffirmation of our commitment to building a modern, highly skilled, and professional Police Force capable of meeting the evolving security needs of our nation.”
The Minister pointed out that the graduands are joining the Force at a time when the nation faces complex security challenges, including insurgency, banditry, cybercrime, kidnapping, and violent extremism. “The responsibility is enormous, but the training has prepared them to confront these challenges with professionalism, courage, and sound judgment,” he said.
Gaidam expressed the Ministry’s commitment to the ongoing reform, modernization, and repositioning of the Nigeria Police Force, citing policy reforms, strategic capacity-building initiatives, improved welfare packages, enhanced training infrastructure, and technology-driven policing as key areas of focus.
He congratulated the graduands, their families, and all who have supported them on this journey, commending the Commandant, Academy Management, faculty members, instructors, and support staff for their dedication to grooming the next generation of police leaders.
