Across cassava-producing communities, women sustain one of Nigeria’s most consumed staple foods through a layered system of labour, ownership, and machinery, where survival work continues daily under trees, makeshits shelters and within processing centres
The smell of fermented cassava hangs in the air long before the work comes into view, sharp, sour, and heavy in the morning heat.
In Gabaraku in Bida Local Government Area and Gwada in Shiroro Local Government Area of Niger State, among other areas, women are already at work beneath scattered trees, sitting on bare ground with buckets, knives, and piles of cassava tubers spread around them.
A few steps away stand government-supported processing centres established under the Federal Government/ International Fund for Agricultural Development, (IFAD)-backed Value Chain Development Programme (VCDP) in the state.
They are functional with platforms, water points, and structured processing spaces. But the most visible labour is happening outside the centres.
Under the trees, the work begins
Nigeria produces more cassava than any country in the world, yet much of it is still processed by hand.
Nigeria remains the world’s largest producer of cassava, with annual output running into tens of millions of metric tonnes.
A significant portion of this is processed into garri, a staple food eaten daily across homes. In practical terms, millions of Nigerians rely on garri every day, making it one of the most consistently consumed foods in the country.
Across cassava-producing communities, women dominate the processing stage from peeling and washing to frying and drying.
In many rural clusters, they make up the overwhelming majority of the workforce, sustaining a system where production depends more on physical effort than machinery.
It is this largely unseen labour that keeps garri available in markets and homes across the country.
Economy built in layers
What unfolds is not one system, but several working at once.
Some women own cassava and bring it for processing into garri for sale.
Others do not own anything. They survive through daily labour, peeling cassava, pressing sacks, or frying garri for small payments.
A third group standing slightly apart comprises machine owners who provide grating services for a fee.
Together, they form the hidden structure behind one of Nigeria’s most consumed staple foods.
Hauwawu Under The Tree
Under a tree in Gabaraku community, 22-year-old Hauwawu sits on the bare ground, peeling cassava with steady, practiced movements.
Beside her, her four-month-old baby lies on a small cloth spread over the dust.
Around her, other women continue working with knives scraping cassava in a rhythm that does not break.
At one point during the visit, the baby is lifted briefly and held for a few minutes.
There is no pause in the work.
Moments later, the child is returned to the cloth. Hauwawu adjusts it slightly, leans forward, and continues peeling cassava as the cluster around her carries on.
Her hands do not stop.
“I don’t have anything doing,” she stated quietly, adding: “So I come out every day to peel cassava to earn something for my children.”
Halima: Years Of The Same Work
Not far from her, Halima, 45, works through her own pile of cassava, her wrapper tied tightly around her as she peels.
Her hands move steadily, though slower than the younger women around her.
“I have been doing this work for years. It is not easy, but it is what we have,” she explained.
She paused briefly to stretch her fingers before returning to the pile:
“If I don’t come out, there is no money for the day.”
Around them, cassava peels gather on the ground as dust rises in the heat.
Amina: Eight Children To Feed
Amina, a mother of eight, sits on a low stool beside a growing heap of cassava, peeling quickly as the morning heat builds.
Her work is constant, driven less by routine and more by urgency.
“I have many children to take care of,” she explained without looking up.
“If I don’t come out to work, there will be nothing at home,” she further stated.
She adjusted her wrapper and continued: “This work is what keeps us going.”
The Crushing Machine And Its Owner
At the centre of the process, the sound changes.
A machine roars as cassava is fed into it in steady batches. The machine is owned by an individual operator who charges for each use.
Women arrive with basins of peeled cassava, waiting their turn as the machine runs continuously.
Wet cassava mash spills out in thick heaps, quickly gathered by waiting hands before the next batch follows.
Some women without cassava of their own remain near the machine, assisting by feeding cassava into the grinder or carrying the mash away.
They are paid small amounts for their effort.
In the whole process, the machine owner does not peel or fry.
as his income comes from every turn of the machine.
From Pressing To Fire: The Work Does Not Slow
After grating, the cassava mash is packed into sacks and tightly pressed to remove excess water.
The liquid drains out sometimes through channels provided at the processing centres, and in other cases directly onto the surrounding ground where drainage is limited.
The mash is then left to ferment briefly before further processing.
From here, it is sieved to remove fibres and lumps, breaking it into fine granules ready for frying.
Processing takes different directions at this stage depending on use.
Some batches are taken straight to the frying stage to produce garri commonly used for making eba, a staple swallow eaten in many homes.
Others are allowed to ferment longer, developing the sour taste preferred by those who soak garri in water for drinking.
Near the frying area, Kaka, 50, stands over a wide pan, turning garri over firewood.
Smoke circles her face as heat rises sharply from the stove.
“This work needs strength,” she noted without stopping, adding: “If you are tired and you stop, the garri will burn”
She adjusted her stance slightly and continued stirring.
“We have been doing it like this for a long time,” she added.
After frying, garri is spread out to dry.
Some women use elevated platforms provided within the processing centres.
Others spread theirs on sacks or bare ground under the sun, depending on where they work.
Children move in and out of the workspace. Some helping, others sitting quietly beside their mothers.
Not all women occupy the same position in this system.
Cassava owners carry the risk and eventual profit of production.
Labourers depend on daily earnings from peeling, frying, and processing while machine owners earn from service.
But across all three, income remains uncertain.
The Price Of The Day’s Work
Gogo sits beside a sack of finished garri, tying it carefully as others prepare theirs for sale.
Her work for the moment is done, but the uncertainty remains.
“The problem is selling,” she observed, adding: “You can work all day and still not get good money.”
She tightens the sack and looks toward the others.
“Sometimes buyers come and price it low. We don’t have a choice,” she stated.
Inside And Outside The Structure
Inside the processing centres, cooperative members work with training, shared facilities, and access to organised markets under the VCDP programme.
One beneficiary, Patience Jeremiah, says the training has improved her processing methods and helped her access better market opportunities.
But just beyond the centres, independent women continue differently.
They are not part of cooperatives.
“We want to be on our own,” one woman says.
They rely on daily labour, informal buyers, and flexible arrangements that allow them to earn as they work.
Both systems exist in the same communities — side by side, but not together.
The End Of The Day
As evening approaches, the rhythm begins to slow.
Sacks of garri are tied and lifted.
Firewood smoke fades into the air just as the smell of cassava lingers across both the processing centres and the open spaces under trees.
Each sack represents hours of labour, peeling, crushing, pressing, sieving, frying, and drying and carried out through multiple hands and multiple systems.
In Nigeria’s cassava economy, garri is not just produced, it is worked into existence daily.
And under trees and inside processing centres alike, the same labour begins again when morning returns.
US President Donald Trump said Friday he is sending envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Moscow and Kyiv with a plan to end more than four years of war in Ukraine.
The move marks Washington’s latest bid to break a diplomatic stalemate in Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II, which began with Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP the envoys were due in Kyiv on Sunday.
US outlet Axios reported they would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Saturday, and then President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday. The Kremlin declined to comment.
Trump told reporters that the two negotiators would seek to gauge whether progress towards peace was possible.
Peace efforts have stalled due to Washington’s war with Iran, while Moscow and Kyiv have intensified long-range attacks, driving up civilian casualties to levels not seen since the start of fighting.
“I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They’ve done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we’ll do it,” Trump said.
“They’re bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” he said.
The US president would not say whether the plan involved Ukraine ceding territory as he has previously suggested, but added: “We have an idea for peace.”
It will be the first time that Trump’s businessman friend Witkoff and son-in-law Kushner have visited war-torn Kyiv since Trump returned to office last year with a pledge to resolve the conflict.
Witkoff and Kushner, who have been involved in negotiations for ceasefires in Gaza and Iran, have travelled repeatedly to Moscow in previous attempts at diplomacy.
– Grinding war –
The renewed push for diplomacy comes as Russia and Ukraine pummel each other with long-range missile and drone attacks.
Just hours before Trump’s announcement, a Russian drone struck the headquarters of Ukraine’s SBU security service in central Kyiv, according to Zelensky.
The strike, which Zelensky said was aimed at the office of the agency’s acting chief, was the first on its headquarters since the start of the invasion.
Despite the unprecedented nature of the strike, the Ukrainian president proposed observing a ceasefire with Russia for the duration of the US envoys’ trip.
“There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire — without its own airstrikes — for the duration needed to conduct these talks,” he said in his evening address.
Russia did not immediately comment on the proposal.
Hours later, Oleksandr Ganzha, head of the Dnipropetrovsk regional military administration, said a Russian strike killed four people and wounded five in the southeastern city of Kamianske.
Zelensky had said on Wednesday that Russian airspace would be “completely unsafe” and filled with Ukrainian drones as long as Moscow continued its war.
Witkoff and Kusher’s trip comes more than week after a rare visit to Moscow by CIA director John Ratcliffe, who warned Russia against any attack on NATO member states, according to US media.
Earlier this week, the United States welcomed the Russian finance minister at a G20 gathering in North Carolina.
Lewis Hamilton says he has been reflecting on the significance of potentially becoming the first black Formula 1 driver to win for Ferrari at the Italian Grand Prix as he targets his maiden victory for the team at Monza this weekend.
The seven-time world champion, in his second season with Ferrari, said the possibility of breaking new ground at the team’s home race had been among his thoughts ahead of the Italian Grand Prix.
According to Sky Sports News on Thursday, Hamilton had already won at Monza five times in his career, but none of those victories came in Ferrari colours.
“Winning in Monza for the first time with Ferrari is something I’ve witnessed Charles [Leclerc] win in 2019, when I was on the podium with him. But to do it while I’m here would be phenomenal.
“And the thought of if I did do that, probably I would be the only black driver to ever do that for Ferrari in Italy probably in history, maybe, and so just like a lot of those thoughts have been through my mind,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton’s first Ferrari Grand Prix victory came in Barcelona in June, boosting his hopes of challenging for the championship in his second campaign with the Italian team.
He currently trails Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli by 59 points with 11 rounds remaining, while his prospects at Monza have been further strengthened by Antonelli’s grid penalty for exceeding his permitted engine-part allocation.
Reflecting on the significance of another potential victory at the circuit, Hamilton said: “I’ve really thought coming into this weekend, as I pondered, just thinking of the sheer magnitude of the concept that I’m coming to this Grand Prix, I didn’t even know that I had I was equal with Michael [Schumacher] on [five Monza] wins, for example.”
“But the thought that there’s a first ahead of me, in the sense that potentially, if I was to win, you go into new territory.
Hamilton also acknowledged the pressure that comes with racing Ferrari at its home event, where thousands of passionate supporters known as the Tifosi are expected to attend.
“The pressure is high. You also want to deliver for the team. There’s all those people at the factory, many of them will get to come to this race, the Tifosi, who come in huge numbers and the passion is unmatched, and you want to deliver for them as well,” he said.
Hamilton will also have his mother at Monza, adding another personal dimension to the weekend.
The F1 hero said, “And my mum’s here this weekend because I don’t think she’s been to Monza, but also particularly on a Ferrari weekend. I wanted her to experience that and you know bring any of the lucky dust she can bring.”
Engine upgrade won’t recover ‘whole gap’
Hamilton’s chances of challenging for victory have also been boosted by Ferrari’s latest engine upgrade, with the team confirming it had used its second permitted opportunity of the season to improve its power unit.
Ferrari’s engine deficit to Mercedes has been one of its weaknesses this season, and Hamilton said the upgrade could help narrow the gap, although he did not expect it to eliminate the deficit entirely.
“Every little helps, and I think up until this point of the year we’ve been losing, even in the last race on such a short circuit we were losing four tenths a lap through the race. That’s a huge deficit and we’ve carried that through the year to this point.
He praised the work being done by Ferrari’s staff, saying he had noticed a greater sense of direction within the team compared with his first season.
“What I can say is I’m really proud when I go back to the factory and see how hard everyone is working. They’re really just heads down, and everyone’s so enthusiastic.
“I see a different focus this year to last year. Last year, I felt like there wasn’t really a north star. We were doing the best we could, but not really knowing exactly what we were trying to aim for. Now we have a north star, and we know where we need to work towards,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton said the latest upgrade represented progress but acknowledged that Ferrari still had ground to make up.
“I think they’ve done a tremendous job to really pull together and deliver. This is a step forward, it’s not the whole gap that we need but we knew that would be the case.
“But to see bits coming each weekend, adding to the car, it’s exciting to see that we are pushing and I strongly still believe that we’ve got what it takes to win,” he concluded.
The Lagos State Ministry of Health has debunked claims that officials of Randle General Hospital delayed treatment and attempted to extort money from a vulnerable patient, saying the woman who made the allegation also gave the wrong age of her daughter.
The ministry, in a statement signed by the Commissioner for Health, Prof. Akin Abayomi, on Thursday, said its investigation established that the patient, Alimat Oshodi, is 21 years old and not 13 as claimed in a viral social media post.
According to the ministry, Alimat first presented at the hospital’s Mother and Child Centre on August 4, 2026, as an emergency case requiring immediate medical intervention.
It said she received life-saving emergency care under the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care programme at no cost to her family and was discharged on August 11.
“The initial value of the emergency care provided was ₦75,950, free of charge,” the statement said.
The ministry said Alimat returned to the hospital on August 27 for follow-up care and investigations, after which the hospital’s Social Welfare Unit provided ₦5,000 on August 28 and another ₦13,000 on August 31 towards subsequent investigations.
It added that the patient contributed ₦10,000, while the total state assistance provided to her stood at ₦93,950.
Explaining the controversy over a Point of Sale transaction, the ministry said the patient sought a refund of the ₦13,000 already paid on her behalf by the Hospital Welfare Fund after an NGO offered to cover the cost.
“She was informed that Social Welfare payments could not be refunded at the Paypoint in accordance with established procedure,” the ministry said.
The ministry said the case demonstrated that the state’s social health protection mechanisms had been applied to ensure that financial difficulties did not prevent the patient from receiving necessary care.
It listed the mechanisms as Ilera Eko, hospital-based Social Welfare support and the Comprehensive Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care programme.
“This investigation has established the facts surrounding the incident and confirms that the State’s social health protection mechanisms work seamlessly and, in this case, provide timely support at no cost to the patient when she required emergency care to the tune of ₦93,950,” Abayomi said.
He said the findings were contrary to the impression created by the social media post that a Lagos State government hospital was trying to delay access to care and extort money from a vulnerable patient.
PUNCH Online had reported that controversy followed a social media post by Mrs Oshodi, who alleged that hospital officials delayed treatment and demanded money from her daughter, whom she claimed was 13 and in need of urgent medical intervention.
The post went viral on social media, prompting the Lagos State Ministry of Health to investigate the circumstances surrounding the patient’s treatment.
The ministry said its investigation established that the patient was 21 and had received emergency treatment as well as subsequent financial assistance from the government.
It added that it was improving payment processes across public hospitals through the rollout of the Smart Health Information Platform and regular audits of fee collection practices.
The Lagos State Sports Commission also intervened in the case of her daughter, a young squash player, Mariam Oshodi, who missed a tournament after she complained that some officials of a local government allegedly locked up her shop where her daughter’s sports equipment was kept.
The Director-General of the commission, Lekan Fatodu, on Wednesday met with Mrs Oshodi and her daughter, following the viral video in which she expressed frustration over the circumstances that prevented her daughter from participating in a regional tournament.
Mariam, who represents Lagos State in squash in the U-15 category, was reportedly unable to assess her squash racket after the shop where it was kept was locked by officials of Surulere Local Government.
According to the mother, the officials usually cite environmental concerns for such actions, despite their efforts to keep the surroundings clean.
In the viral TikTok video, Kafayat alleged that while she was out of town, her daughter took some of the medals she had won in previous competitions to the local government office in an attempt to convince the officials of the importance of the racket to her sporting career.
She alleged that the officials nevertheless refused to give the young athlete access to the shop.
Responding to the concerns, Fatodu assured the family that the commission would immediately engage the government entity involved in the incident to prevent a recurrence.
He also outlined mid- and long-term measures, including the activation of a robust policy framework to mitigate similar circumstances, improved communication channels between the commission, parents and young athletes, and increased awareness among ministries, departments and agencies on the need to protect and support emerging sporting talents.
