Nigeria looks to untapped minerals to diversify economy.
Thursday, November 28, 2024
Video - Nigeria looks to untapped minerals to diversify economy
Video - Nigeria loses nearly 3.7 percent of forest cover annually to logging
Nigeria loses nearly 3.7 percent of forest cover annually to logging.
Wednesday, November 27, 2024
Nigeria boat accident leaves five dead, 20 missing
At least five people were killed and 20 others are missing after a speedboat struck a submerged log and capsized in Nigeria's southern state of Delta, a police spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The incident happened on Friday in the remote Gbaramatu Kingdom of the state's Warri South-West district.
Emergency responders are still conducting a search and rescue operation to find the 20 missing people. Six survivors are receiving treatment at a local hospital.
Related story: Video - Nigerian government to phase out wooden boats to reduce waterway deaths
At least 60 dead in Nigeria boat accident
Oldest Catholic priest in Nigeria dies at 104
Oleghe died in the early hours of Nov. 24, the Solemnity of Christ the King, the bishop of the Diocese of Auchi announced in a statement.
“With gratitude to God for a life well lived on earth I hereby inform you of the passage of the Rt. Rev. MSGR Thomas Oleghe the oldest Catholic priest in Nigeria as of today, to the great beyond at about 2.30 a.m. this morning on the 24th of November, 2024,” Bishop Gabriel Ghiakhomo Dunia wrote in the statement.
The bishop announced that the funeral for Oleghe will be Nov. 27.
“May his lovely and gentle soul continue to rest in perfect peace. Amen,” Dunia prayed.
Born in February 1920, Oleghe was ordained a priest in December 1957. He served in various parishes in the Auchi diocese including St. John The Apostle Igarra Parish where he initiated reforms that laid the foundations of the glorious status of the church today.
In a statement, the former Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki eulogized Oleghe as a “great missionary of the Catholic faith.”
“I am deeply saddened by the news of the passing of the oldest Catholic priest in Nigeria, Msgr. Thomas Oleghe,” Obaseki said.
“He was a dedicated and compassionate priest who worked for the growth of the Christian faith and the development of his community. He remained an inspiration to many and a model that a lot of young people looked up to,” he said.
“I celebrate his impactful service to God and humanity, working and commend his work in the Lord's vineyard in Edo State, where he served for many years promoting peace and development,” Obaseki added.
Commiserating with Bishop Dunia and the entire Nigerian Catholic community Obaseki prayed that “God will grant all the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.”
Meanwhile, the senator representing Edo North, Adams Oshiomhole, expressed sorrow over the passing of the priest.
In a statement, Oshiomhole described Oleghe as a “paragon of priestly humility and a steadfast champion of Christian values.”
He said the late Catholic priest’s life was a “shining testament to the virtues of faith, humility, and devotion.”
“His transition is a profound loss, not just to our diocese but to the nation at large. Even as we mourn him, we are comforted by the assurance that his impactful life resonated with God, who blessed him with
longevity before calling him to eternal rest,” Oshiomhole said.
By Jude Atemanke, CNA
Nigeria Raises Interest Rates Again to Curb Lofty Inflation
The Central Bank of Nigeria raised interest rates for the sixth straight time this year, intensifying its quest to curb surging inflation and support the battered naira.
Governor Olayemi Cardoso told reporters in Abuja, the capital, on Tuesday that the monetary policy committee decided to lift the benchmark rate by 25 basis points to 27.5%. The increase was smaller than the median estimate of six economists surveyed by Bloomberg, who had expected a half-point hike.
He said the decision of the 12-member MPC was unanimous and there was “no going back” in the fight against inflation.
“Members reiterated their commitment to price stability as the bedrock of a thriving Nigerian economy,” Cardoso said. “We expect to see greater results in the first quarter of 2025.”
Nigeria’s annual inflation rate climbed to 33.9% in October, near its highest level since 1996, stoked by fuel and food price increases and persistent currency weakness, which makes imports more costly.
“With Governor Cardoso sounding optimistic that the effects of petrol price hikes and the naira’s large devaluations on inflation will soon fade, we think the monetary tightening cycle is now over,” said David Omojomolo, Africa economist at Capital Economics. “That said, we do not expect a turn to interest rate cuts until the second quarter next year.”
The naira has depreciated around 46% against the dollar this year, in part due to an effort to let it float freely after years of being pegged at an artificially strong exchange rate.
The unit has also suffered from poor liquidity, despite the central bank’s efforts to provide support by supplying scarce dollars to the local market to satisfy domestic demand for the US currency.
Still, Cardoso argued that since June, the naira has been relatively stable against the dollar.
Foreign exchange reform, alongside the rollback of costly fuel subsidies, were introduced by President Bola Tinubu after he took office in May 2023. The steps received plaudits from foreign investors and cries of protest at home, where the moves have inflamed a cost-of-living crisis.
The long-term goal is to make the economy more efficient and attractive to international investors. These fruits have been slow to arrive, though Nigeria surprised with better-than-expected annual growth of 3.5% in the third quarter after its services sector expanded at its fastest pace in almost two years.
By Nduka Orjinmo and Anthony Osae-Brown, Bloomberg
Activists, lawmakers in Nigeria coalesce against gender-based violence
Hundreds of people, including women’s rights activists, Nigerian lawmakers, and other participants, chanted as they walked from the National Assembly through the streets of Abuja on Monday.
The rally was part of Nigeria's participation in the United Nations-backed "16 Days of Activism," a campaign against gender-based violence, running from November 25 to December 10.
It also was an opportunity to announce the latest efforts by authorities to address gender-based violence — also referred to as GBV — in Nigeria.
Abbas Tajudeen, Nigeria's speaker of the House of Representatives, led lawmakers to the rally. It took place on the 25th anniversary of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
"Every 10 minutes a woman is being killed across the world. This is an unacceptable trend; this is an unforgivable trend," said Tajudeen. "We in the parliament must have to unite more than ever before with relevant authorities, particularly the law enforcement in ensuring that we cut this dangerous trend to the barest minimum."
Gender-based violence is a global problem. Nigerian authorities say about one-third of women between 15 and 49 experiences physical and sexual assault in their lifetimes.
The country also accounts for approximately 20 million GBV survivors — or about 10% of the global total.
Poor awareness, a low rate of reporting, cultural and religious biases, and trust deficits in the justice system are some of the challenges hampering efforts to address GBV in Nigeria.
Raquel Kasham Daniel is the founder of the non-profit "Beyond the Classroom Foundation," which promotes the rights of girls through education and advocacy.
"I think that policies that protect women and put the perpetrators behind bars will be very helpful," said Daniel, whose foundation is championing the sexual harassment bill in tertiary education. "That will be a very good one to pass, we hope that it gets the presidential assent soon."
Nigeria had previously launched a "sex offenders” registry to name and shame perpetrators of violence against women.
On Monday, Women Affairs Minister Imaan Suleiman-Ibrahim announced the launch of a national electronic dashboard system to improve data collection and accountability.
Suleiman-Ibrahim said that besides preventive measures, authorities will review existing laws to ensure they protect survivors of gender-based violence.
"This occasion provides us yet another opportunity to renew those commitments and take deliberate actions to protect the rights, safety and dignity of women, girls and vulnerable people across Nigeria, said Suleiman-Ibrahim.
As authorities continue to make efforts to address the problem, many hope the new intervention offers a lifeline to millions of vulnerable people. Africa recorded the highest rates of intimate partner and family-related femicide last year, followed by the Americas and Oceania, according to the United Nations’ Office on Drugs and Crime.
By Timothy Obiezu, VOA
Monday, November 25, 2024
Video - Nigeria pushes to replace foreign cartoons with local ones
Nigerian officials say foreign cartoons are contributing to cultural dilution among the youth. To address this, the country's National Orientation Agency plans to support the production of more local content, a move experts believe could also create jobs and grow the film industry.
Video - Manufacturing sector weighed down by economic downturn in Nigeria
The country's local manufacturing body, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria blames the situation on inflation, the removal of petrol subsidy, and the devaluation of the local currency, which have all combined to suppress demand.
Inside the fertilitly scam in Nigeria
“I’m the owner of my baby,” she says defiantly.
She’s sitting next to her husband, Ike, in the office of a Nigerian state official who spends the best part of an hour interrogating the couple.
As the commissioner for women affairs and social welfare in Anambra state, Ify Obinabo has plenty of experience in resolving family disputes - but this is no ordinary disagreement.
Five members of Ike’s family, who are also present in the room, do not believe Hope is the couple’s biological child, as Chioma and Ike claim.
Chioma claims to have “carried” the child for about 15 months. The commissioner and Ike’s family are in disbelief at the absurdity of the claim.
Chioma says she faced pressure from Ike’s family to conceive. They even asked him to marry another woman.
In her desperation, she visited a “clinic” offering an unconventional “treatment” - an outlandish and disturbing scam preying on women desperate to become mothers that involves the trafficking of babies.
The BBC was allowed by authorities to sit in on the commissioner's discussion with Chioma as part of our investigation into the cryptic pregnancy scam.
We have changed the names of Chioma, Ike and others in this article to protect them from reprisal in their communities.
Nigeria has one of the highest birth rates in the world, with women often facing social pressure to conceive and even ostracisation or abuse if they cannot.
Under this pressure, some women go to extremes to realise their dream of motherhood.
For over a year, BBC Africa Eye has been investigating the “cryptic pregnancy” scam.
Scammers posing as doctors or nurses convince women that they have a “miracle fertility treatment” guaranteed to get them pregnant. The initial “treatment” usually costs hundreds of dollars and consists of an injection, a drink, or a substance inserted into the vagina.
None of the women or officials we spoke to during our investigation know for sure what is in these drugs. But some women have told us they led to changes in their bodies - such as swollen stomachs - which further convinced them they were pregnant.
Women given the “treatment” are warned not to visit any conventional doctors or hospitals, as no scan or pregnancy test would detect “the baby”, which the scammers claim is growing outside the womb.
When it’s time to “deliver” the baby, women are told labour will only begin once they are induced with a “rare and expensive drug”, requiring further payment.
Accounts of how the “delivery” happens vary, but all are disturbing. Some are sedated only to wake up with a Caesarean-like incision mark. Others say they are given an injection that causes a drowsy, hallucinatory state in which they believe they’re giving birth.
Either way, the women end up with babies they are supposed to have given birth to.
Chioma tells commissioner Obinabo that when her time to “deliver” came, the so-called doctor injected her in the waist and told her to push. She does not spell out how she ended up with Hope, but says the delivery was “painful”.
Our team manages to infiltrate one of these secretive “clinics” - connecting with a woman known as “Dr Ruth” to her clients - by posing as a couple who have been trying to conceive for eight years.
This so-called "Dr Ruth" runs her clinic every second Saturday of the month in a dilapidated hotel in the town of Ihiala, in the south-eastern Anambra state. Outside her room, dozens of women wait for her in the hotel corridors, some with visibly protruding stomachs.
The whole atmosphere is buzzing with positivity. At one point, huge celebrations erupt inside the room after a woman is told she is pregnant.
When it’s our undercover reporters’ turn to see her, "Dr Ruth" tells them the treatment is guaranteed to work.
She offers the woman an injection, claiming it will enable the couple to “select” the sex of their future baby - a medical impossibility.
After they turn down the injection, "Dr Ruth" hands them a sachet of crushed pills as well as some more pills for them to take at home, along with instructions on when to have intercourse.
This initial treatment costs 350,000 naira ($205; £165).
Our undercover reporter neither takes the drugs nor follows any of "Dr Ruth’s" instructions and returns to see her four weeks later.
After running a device that looks like an ultrasound scanner across our reporter’s stomach, a sound like a heartbeat is heard and "Dr Ruth" congratulates her on being pregnant.
They both cheer with joy.
After delivering the good news, "Dr Ruth" explains how they’ll need to pay for a “scarce” and expensive drug needed for the baby to be born, costing somewhere between 1.5 and two million naira ($1,180; £945).
Without this drug, the pregnancy could extend beyond nine months, "Dr Ruth" claims with disregard for scientific fact, adding: “The baby will become malnourished - we’d need to build it up again.”
"Dr Ruth" has not responded to allegations the BBC has put to her.
The extent to which the women involved genuinely believe the claims is unclear.
But clues as to why they would be susceptible to such brazen lies can, in part, be found in online groups where disinformation around pregnancy is widespread.
A network of disinformation
Cryptic pregnancy is a recognised medical phenomenon, in which a woman is unaware of her pregnancy until the late stages.
But during our investigation, the BBC found widespread misinformation in Facebook groups and pages about this type of pregnancy.
One woman from the US, who dedicates her entire page to her “cryptic pregnancy", claims to have been pregnant “for years” and that her journey cannot be explained by science.
In closed groups on Facebook, many posts use religious terminology to hail the bogus “treatment” as a “miracle” for those who’ve been unable to conceive.
All of this misinformation helps solidify women’s belief in the scam.
Members of these groups are not only from Nigeria, but also from South Africa, the Caribbean, and the US.
The scammers also sometimes manage, and post in, these groups, enabling them to reach out to women expressing an interest in the "treatment".
Once someone expresses readiness to start the scam process, they are invited into more secure WhatsApp groups. There, admins share information about “cryptic clinics” and what the process involves.
‘I’m still confused’
Authorities tell us that to complete the “treatment”, the scammers need new-born babies and to do that they seek out women who are desperate and vulnerable, many of them young and pregnant, in a country where abortion is illegal.
In February 2024, the Anambra state health ministry raided the facility where Chioma “delivered” Hope.
The BBC obtained footage of the raid, which showed a huge complex made up of two buildings.
In one were rooms containing medical equipment - apparently for clients - while in the other were several pregnant women being kept against their will. Some were as young as 17.
Some tell us they were tricked into going there, unaware their babies would be sold to the scammer’s clients.
Others, like Uju, which is not her real name, felt too scared to tell their family they were pregnant and sought a way out. She said she was offered 800,000 naira ($470; £380) for the baby.
Asked if she regrets her decision to sell her baby, she says: “I’m still confused.”
Commissioner Obinabo, who has been part of efforts in her state to crack down on the scam, says scammers prey on vulnerable women like Uju to source the babies.
At the end of a tense interrogation, commissioner Obinabo threatens to take away baby Hope from Chioma.
But Chioma pleads her case, and the commissioner eventually accepts her explanation that she is a victim herself and that she hadn’t realised what was going on.
On this basis she allows Chioma and Ike to keep the baby - unless the biological parents come forward to claim him.
But unless attitudes towards women, infertility, reproductive rights and adoption change, scams like this will continue to thrive, experts warn.
By Yemisi Adegoke, Chiagozie Nwonwu, and Lina Shaikhouni, BBC
Video - Baby trafficking syndicate arrested in Imo state
A coastal community in Nigeria fears extinction
The two would walk, sometimes hand in hand, past lush vegetation before settling down to gather a bountiful harvest of fish. But that’s now a distant memory in the coastal village in Nigeria’s Lagos.
“This place used to be very beautiful,” the 40-year-old fisherman laments, sitting on the verandah of his house from where he can see the ocean in its blue, choppy glory. “[Now] all the coconut trees are no more, they have been taken by the water. The ocean used to be very far away, but now it is just a stone’s throw from us.”
The coconut belt used to be part of a scenic shoreline that brought economic gains for the fishing community and served as a natural buffer against the weather and natural disasters. But now, thousands of trees have been swallowed by the ocean.
Globally, coastal communities are grappling with the consequences of rising sea levels brought on by worsening climate change. Villages along Nigeria’s 853km (530-mile) coastline are no different, battling extreme weather events and accelerated sea level rise. Among the worst hit is Akodo-Ise, as it loses land to ocean encroachment.
Every day, Malik carries a heavy thought in his mind – that it is only a matter of time before the ocean surges and coastal erosion destroys everyone’s homes, handicaps the economy and washes away important community landmarks for good.
‘We do not have rest of mind’
The fishermen suffer the most.
Most of the violent ocean surges happen at night while people are asleep. The morning after, fisherfolk often find their boats and nets are gone.
“We the fishermen in this area do not have rest of mind at all … Before we know it, we have lost some properties like our net, our engine, boat,” says Malik, who has taken to dragging his boat close to the house and keeping his engine indoors. “It is always too late before we’d wake up to try and save our net and boat engines.”
In the past year, the community has lost more than 30 boats, 25 boat engines, and 50 bundles of net.
“This is our only source of income,” says Malik, whose family includes his wife, two children, two brothers and an aged mother – all of whom he must support. “If we don’t go to sea, how can we feed our family?”
Last year, he had made more than 500,000 naira ($300) in monthly profits by September, but he says this year his income has depleted as he has been making fewer trips to reduce the chances of losing his boat.
Finding a fair catch also takes more effort nowadays.
In the past, fishermen could fish nearby; now, with the rougher seas, they must travel further, consuming more fuel.
“In the past, we could use five to 10 litres [2.64 gallons] for a round trip, but now we use 35 to 40 litres [9.3 to 10.6 gallons],” Malik says.
Fuel is also more costly than it used to be since President Bola Tinubu removed a petrol subsidy upon taking office last year. A litre (0.26 gallons) of petrol that used to cost 165 naira ($0.10) last May now sells for 1100 naira ($0.65).
‘Beyond repair’
Standing by the shore, Johnson Igbokoyi helps his friends who have been out fishing pull in their boats, though he has not been to sea in more than three weeks as he bides time for a calmer ocean.
“You can fish today and tomorrow – then the day after that, your boat is destroyed. Then you start looking for money to buy a new one or mend it if it is not beyond repair,” says the 49-year-old father of two.
He has lost more than five boats to the ocean, most recently in July. Every time he has lost a boat, he has been able to find money for a new one, but now, he has no savings left.
For assistance, he took to a cooperative society – an organised monetary contribution scheme popular among working-class people in Nigeria – to borrow 3 million naira ($1,772) for a boat and a pre-owned engine. Every week, he must pay 10,000 naira ($6) to the cooperative until he repays the loan.
Rising inflation, currently at 32.7 percent, has also compounded his woes; previously, the same engine cost 700,000 naira ($414) but is now 2.5 million naira ($1,477). Brand new ones go for as high as 3.8 million naira ($2,245). Fishing nets also cost 85,000 naira ($50), up from 30,000 naira ($18).
“I do not have money should something happen,” Igbokoyi laments, saying his wife has also been struggling to adjust as she is unable to buy many of the things the family needs. “After the loan has been repaid, we can go back to the way we were living,” he says.
Like most fishermen in Akodo-Ise, Igbokoyi feels he cannot change careers. “This is the job passed down to me by my ancestors so I cannot just leave it for something else now. I did not even go to school at all; what career can I start now?” he asks.
Some 80 percent of African coastal communities depend on nature for their livelihoods, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Meanwhile, other local fishermen, like Kadiri Suluka, have faced more than just financial disaster. Last year, he and a coworker were out at sea when waves slammed against his boat and broke it into pieces. He feared he was going to die as the boat sank quickly.
“[We] could have died but we were spared. We swam back to shore because we had not gone very far,” says Suluka.
Now, with Suluka unable to work and his savings depleted, his family survives on charity. Sometimes colleagues give him fish or money and he also buys food on credit.
“The only thing it has not taken from me is my life,” he says with a sigh.
Development accelerating climate change?
On the road leading to Akodo-Ise, once-full mangrove forests are also depleting quickly – more evidence of the escalating climate disaster.
Less than 30 minutes up the road, there is the Lekki free trade zone, the Dangote oil refinery – the seventh-largest in the world – and the Lekki deep sea port, all grand economic ventures that signal the bubbling economic pulse of the area. But some of these projects have been accused of accelerating the climate challenges in nearby communities.
Lateef Shittu, the village chieftain, told Al Jazeera many problems started at about the time construction of the Dangote refinery began in 2004, and that dredging activities have forced water to push against their village.
Experts say the claims from Akodo-Ise about the effect of dredging and large-scale developments on its coastline are grounded in scientific evidence and observable impacts.
These projects “disrupt sediment flow along the coast, destabilising the shoreline and making it more vulnerable to erosion”, Adenike Adesemolu, the director of The Green Institute, a Lagos-based sustainability think tank, told Al Jazeera.
Dredging, in particular, can be highly destructive to coastal stability, she explained. By removing large amounts of sand and sediment from the seabed, dredging prevents the natural replenishment of beaches. When waves strike the shore, they need that sand as a barrier to dissipate their energy. Without it, waves hit the coastline harder, leading to faster erosion and violent sea incursions. This leaves the community defenceless against the sea’s natural force.
Large construction also alters the natural landscape by creating imbalances in water flow and wave patterns. Construction along the coast redirects waves which causes sediments to pile up, unevenly amplifying the risk of flooding, intensified erosion and violent sea incursions in nearby communities.
“We cannot ask them to stop developmental activities but they must have known it could have this kind of effect and they should have made provisions to cushion its impact on us,” Chieftain Shittu says.
Al Jazeera reached out to the Dangote refinery and the commissioner for waterfront communities to respond to the claims, but did not receive a reply.
Jenty Ibrahim, vice chairman of the local youth association, said young people – who make up the bulk of the fishermen – have tried to write letters to the authorities and have met with the Dangote refinery and the deep sea port to no avail. They have also held protests that have yet to yield any change.
With the future of fishing uncertain, many are turning to bricklaying or carpentry as professions out of desperation, Ibrahim says,” to make some money so they can feed [their families]”.
Chukwumerije Okereke, the director of the Centre for Climate Change and Development at Alex Ekwueme Federal University, told Al Jazeera that “the government has to learn to rise up and protect the livelihoods of these people and put up measures that can help to cushion the impact of the erosion on the local people.”
‘Heartbreaking’
Forty-five-year-old Oluwaseyi Obadiya and her family have been in dire straits recently. An ocean surge in September destroyed their wooden home, spoiled her fisherman husband’s boat, ruined her kitchen and nearly drowned her daughter.
To earn money, her husband would catch fish and she would smoke some of it to sell at the weekly market. But since her husband cannot work, she has been out of business too.
With their home also gone, she found a room in a nearby house to rent until the family could figure out their next steps while living off meagre savings.
“We eat so little in a day and I no longer ask the children if they are satisfied, I only make sure they have eaten something however small,” she says. “They [children] complain of stomach ache but it is because they are hungry, not because they are sick.”
Shittu, the village chieftain, was another victim of the ocean surge in September, which cracked open half his house. He was out of town and someone called him in the middle of the night to inform him. He begged them to break down his door and salvage his essentials, but half the appliances, as well as vital documents, were destroyed by the water.
Now he and his wife can no longer live in their home and are temporarily staying in a room in Malik’s house.
“It is really heartbreaking for me. I used to be a homeowner and now I am living in somebody else’s house,” the chieftain says. “When issues happen in the community, they bring it to me to settle and now I don’t have a home to entertain the issues any more.
“Our people cannot sleep with both eyes closed; they are always anxious [that] something might happen.”
Not even the dead have been spared in Akodo-Ise. The coastal erosion washed away some of the graves in the village, leaving relatives without a memorial to honour their deceased.
Many have since started reburying their dead in locations safe from erosion. However, culturally, it is a delicate and sometimes costly process. According to Yoruba traditions, the family must kill an animal as part of a sacrifice and reburying ceremony.
In most cases, the family buys a ram or goat to be used in the reburying ritual. But many cannot afford it – with some buying sweets and biscuits as substitutes.
Chieftain Shittu is one of those who has had to rebury the remains of a relative.
“My grandfather died in 1956, I was not even born then but I have had to dig his grave and rebury him,” he says. “With which mouth will we say we can no longer find the graves of our forefathers?”
Future ‘in jeopardy’
Though resilient, the community is helpless in the face of an ocean coming very quickly to take everything they know and love, said Doyinsola Ogunye, a coastal restoration expert who has been working to highlight the community’s plight.
“The future of this community, if nothing is done to support and help to rebuild, is in jeopardy. I don’t think the children will have anywhere to live or learn. The school is being overturned by the encroachment of the sea,” she said.
The school building, shared with four nearby communities, has leaky roofs, the floors are damaged and there is discolouration on the parts more exposed to the water.
Meanwhile, Akodo-Ise’s plight is spreading across Lagos, with different parts of the city battling climate disasters such as flooding. In October, the government said Lagos is sinking and might be uninhabitable by the end of this century as experts warned that the sea level may rise faster than earlier said.
Okereke of the Centre for Climate Change and Development said the climate issues Lagos faces are due to bad planning, mismanagement, lack of efficient drainage systems and human refusal to respect the ocean.
Adesemolu of The Green Institute believes “it’s the result of unchecked development that overlooks the vulnerability of communities dependent on these lands.”
According to the World Bank, up to 70 percent of the world’s sandy beaches are expected to erode significantly by 2100 if current coastal practices continue, and 100 million people worldwide may face displacement by 2050 due to climate-related erosion.
Experts say reversing this damage requires urgent action: strategic environmental management, better regulation of dredging activities, and development that protects – rather than harms – coastal ecosystems.
Local-based approaches, such as mangrove restoration and planting, should be prioritised by the government, Okereke feels.
Akinsemolu agrees, adding that climate education sessions should be held for people in coastal areas, and the government should invest in community-specific early warning systems and emergency preparedness to help people safeguard their homes.
‘Are we going to become strangers?’
At his house overlooking the encroaching ocean, Malik sits mending a fishing net.
He is overwhelmed by sadness over his inability to help the community and can only watch as things erode day by day, concerned that if nothing is done, in a few years, the community may not exist at all.
“In two years’ time, are we going to be able to remain in this community or are we going to relocate to another community to become strangers? That is going to be a bad history,” he says.
He worries that his grandchildren will not have a place to point to as their grandfather’s homeland.
“This is my father’s burial ground,” Malik says sombrely, pointing in the direction of a grave. “Where am I going to take him to? Am I going to leave him to get washed away by the ocean surge?
“The government should come to our aid,” he adds quietly, “because we do not have the power to stop it.”
By Pelumi Salako, Al Jazeera
Friday, November 22, 2024
Brazilian meatpacker JBS agrees to invest $2.5 bln in Nigeria, build six factories
Brazilian meatpacker JBS said on Thursday it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Nigeria's government for a $2.5 billion investment plan in the African country, including the building of six new factories.
In a statement, JBS said three of the factories would deal in poultry, two in beef and one in pork.
Based on the memorandum of understanding, JBS said it will build up a five-year investment plan in Nigeria, including feasibility studies, budget estimates and an action plan for local supply chain development.
The government of Nigeria, in turn, would ensure the economic, sanitary and regulatory conditions needed for the project's viability, JBS added.
Nigerians Are Switching Cars to Compressed Natural Gas After Petrol Prices Surge
Long queues of cars are a common sight at petrol stations across Nigeria, but for some drivers turning to compressed natural gas, pumps are becoming a thing of the past.
A fivefold increase in petrol prices since the rollback of fuel subsidies last year has convinced them to make the switch to CNG, which is much cheaper and far kinder to the environment.
At the NIPCO Plc station on the outskirts of Abuja, the capital, business is also brisk for retrofitting cars to run on compressed gas. It’s built a dedicated workshop, where mechanics install the cylinders and inject systems to make the switch.
“We are booked until the end of January at least,” said Chris Uche, the technician in charge. “There are so many cars waiting to be converted.”
The CNG shift reflects a push by Africa’s top oil producer to ease its reliance on crude by promoting investment in the country’s largely unexploited 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves, most of which are burned off or re-injected into wells.
Incentives are being offered to gas companies, tariffs and taxes have been waived on CNG equipment, taxis and other commercial drivers can get discounts, and a 10 billion naira ($6 million) credit facility has been set up for private car owners to take the plunge.
The “mission is to enhance Nigeria’s energy security, lower transportation costs, and reduce carbon emissions,” said Toyin Subair, vice-chairman of a presidential committee on CNG, which has set a goal of converting 1 million vehicles by 2027.
The country is on track to meet its initial goal for 100,000 commercial vehicles by end-2024, he said, “bringing substantial cost savings to transporters, reducing public transport fares for Nigerians, and advancing Nigeria’s clean energy objectives.”
While that’s a modest goal given Nigeria’s 12 million vehicles, and low when compared to Egypt’s 500,000 CNG cars, it signifies the nation’s clean energy ambitions.
The conversion involves installing a high-pressure gas tank and fuel lines, a pressure regulator and injectors. When CNG is injected into the engine, it is ignited by the car’s spark plugs, similar to how gasoline is burned in a conventional engine.
Vehicles driven for rideshare platforms Uber and Bolt, distinctive in their elderly Toyota Corollas, Honda Civics and Peugeot 206s, have been keen customers. Their cars are now being retrofitted to run on CNG that retails for 230 naira per liter, one fifth of the price of petrol. Some drivers have seen profits surge more than 400% a month.
“The only disadvantage it has cost me is the space in the boot. Passengers with luggage have proved to be an issue,” said Bolt driver Clement Sunday, whose gold-colored 2002 Peugeot 206 runs on both petrol and CNG. Also, it “doesn’t drive as fast because gas burns slowly, but the oil is cleaner, the smokes are gone. This is a cleaner option,” he said.
The bulky yellow gas cylinder in his boot takes up a third of the space but can power the car for 150 kilometers (93 miles) on a single 3,500 naira fill.
Sunday spent 800,000 naira to modify the car, an amount that was a third less than the starting price thanks to the government subsidy, and says he has since recovered the investment in full.
While such drivers are just discovering the appeal of CNG, it’s been used in the trucking industry for years, including by billionaire Aliko Dangote. His tanker fleet has been retrofitted to make the 700 kilometer journey between Abuja and the commercial hub Lagos, where his oil refinery is located.
Nigeria hopes that a combination of Dangote’s refinery and the push into CNG will help end its costly need to import refined petroleum. That’s paid for in dollars, straining the country’s foreign exchange reserves and weakening the naira.
Despite the incentives, the promotion of CNG remains a work in progress.
Gas is produced in southern Nigeria by oil majors including Shell Plc and TotalEnergies SE, and is distributed to filling stations nationwide. But outside big cities, CNG use is low and even finding a station that sells it in Lagos or Abuja can he hard.
“We have to drive for two three hours to find a station, and as more cars are converted, the queues have lengthened,” said Sunday.
Also, other than the state-owned oil company and its partners like NIPCO, most gas distribution firms are staying away, describing the retail cost of CNG for cars as currently unprofitable because of price regulation.
Subsidy Substitution
“It is like replacing one subsidy with another, but we see the market settling at 50% - 60% of the price of petrol and diesel,” said Sumeet Singh, the chief executive officer of Powergas Africa Ltd, who prefers to sell CNG to factories and other industrial users where the price is unregulated.
The government says there are more than 90 conversion centers nationwide, with $450 million earmarked for investment in CNG infrastructure. Another 88 smaller stations are in development and mobile units to refuel up to 40 vehicles per hour are planned.
But the biggest hurdle to embracing the hybrid cars is probably safety concerns over driving with a gas cylinder on board. Unlike petrol, CNG reacts to temperature and risks exploding if not handled properly.
Its image wasn’t helped by a recent incident in the southern city of Benin when a car exploded while being filled up, injuring three people. The government, pushing back on what it claimed was misinformation on social media, said the accident was caused by an illegally-modified vehicle.
By Nduka Orjinmo and Ruth Olurounbi, Bloomberg
Related story: Video - Nigerian drivers face hurdles in the transition to natural gas-powered vehicles
Thursday, November 21, 2024
Starlink suspends new orders across Nigeria
The company, however, allows orders for its high-end Business Plan, in which it is allowed to charge N159,000 for a monthly subscription compared with the Residential Plan which costs N38,000 per month.
“We’re committed to providing high-speed internet in Nigeria and are working closely with regulators to make adjustments that will improve the customer experience.
“Until these changes are approved, we are placing new Residential orders on hold,” the company stated in response to an attempt to order its kits.
Starlink sold out in some cities
Earlier, Starlink had stopped new orders in five major cities including Lagos, Abuja, Port-Harcourt, Benin City and Warri because it was at capacity in those areas.
However, the current suspension cuts across Nigeria and it is hinged on the need to increase prices; a move that the regulator had frowned at.
Demand for Starlink services in Nigeria has soared since the Space X-linked company officially launched in the country in January last year.
Starlink had on the last day of September announced a 97% price increase for its monthly subscription from N38,000 to N75,000.
For new users, the company also increased the Starlink kits (hardware) by 34% from N440,000 to N590,000.
The company in a message to its customers in Nigeria cited “excessive inflation” as the reason for the increment.
The announcement had sparked controversy in the Nigerian telecom sector as local operators accused the NCC of double standard for allowing Starlink to increase price, which they are not allowed to do despite years of appeal to the regulator.
The NCC, however, responded saying it did not approve Starlink’s price increment.
The telecom regulator pointed out that Starlink’s action contravened sections 108 and 111 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003, and its license conditions regarding tariffs.
NCC’s Director of Public Affairs, Dr Reuben Muoka, later announced that the commission had commenced pre-enforcement actions against Starlink for implementing price increments without the approval of the regulator.
With the rebuttal from the telecoms regulator, Starlink suspended the announced increment with a warning that “without these approvals, our ability to continue delivering service is at risk.”
The company noted that while it is committed to providing high-speed internet in Nigeria, it would need regulatory support to make the improvements necessary for a better customer experience.
At least 50 insurgents killed, seven Nigerian officers missing after convoy attack
At least 50 Boko Haram fighters were killed on Tuesday and seven members of Nigeria's infrastructure security force were missing following an insurgent ambush on a convoy monitoring the country's power grid installations, a spokesperson said.
Boko Haram, which has waged an insurgency for 15 years mainly in the northeast, has been weakened by the military and internal fighting but remains a threat as it makes deadly attacks against civilians and government targets.
Babawale Afolabi, spokesperson for the Nigerian Civil Defence Corp, a government agency set up to protect infrastructure, said security operatives were ambushed by about 200 Boko Haram fighters during the patrol mission.
Afolabi said more than 50 insurgents were killed in the fighting but seven operatives were missing, adding that efforts are underway to find them in the bush. He said "a few others" of the security force were wounded.
Although Boko Haram mainly operates in the northeast, Nigerian authorities say the group has cells in the largely Muslim Niger state, where they have previously carried attacks against the military and civilians.
In a separate attack in northeast Borno state, a military spokesperson said five soldiers were killed by suspected insurgents last Saturday.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Dangote Plant Buys US Oil for First Time in 3 Months
Nigeria’s giant Dangote refinery purchased its first shipment of US oil after a hiatus of three months as the site continues to ramp up production.
The plant purchased about two million barrels of WTI Midland crude from Chevron Corp., according to people with knowledge of the transaction who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. The cargo is due to be delivered to the refinery near Lagos next month.
Earlier this year, Dangote was typically receiving one or two supertankers of US crude every month alongside domestic supplies. But the flows waned in the summer as the refinery switched to taking more local output, amid an agreement to take up to 400,000 barrels a day of Nigerian crude paid for in local currency.
Dangote is taking a growing role in US and European oil markets, after gradually raising purchases of crude from Nigeria and the US. The plant’s pull on those barrels increases the competition for the oil faced by traditional buyers in Europe.
Chevron booked the supertanker Azure Nova to load crude from the US Gulf around Dec. 5 to Dangote, according to tanker fixtures seen by Bloomberg. It wasn’t clear why the refinery had returned to purchasing US barrels. Earlier this week though, Sparta Commodities said in a note that cheaper shipping costs were the main factor in WTI Midland landing cheaply into Europe recently.
The refinery is also beginning to shake up regional fuel markets, hauling gasoline beyond Nigeria’s borders to Togo earlier this month.
By Sherry Su and Bill Lehane, Bloomberg
Mining Week sharpens focus on long-neglected sector in Nigeria
The conference, attended by government officials, mining industry players and international investors, was part of the Nigerian government's campaign to boost not only mining, but also local processing of the minerals extracted.
Earlier this year, the Nigerian government said new investors will be required to set up local processing plants if they want to obtain a mining license.
Mary Ogbe, permanent secretary of the mining and solid minerals industry, spoke about the impending changes.
"Before now, people will come in, cart away our minerals and go and refine [them] and bring [them] back and then we're paying so much on what belongs to us,” she said. “Now, with the local value addition, no one is allowed to legally carry out our products without adding value. Now, this is creating jobs.”
Nigeria has rich deposits of more than 40 minerals, including tin, iron ore, lead, zinc and gold. The country is also a new source of lithium, a metal used in batteries and electric vehicles.
But the country's minerals are often illegally exploited and exported without generating much revenue locally.
At the summit authorities pledged to address the problem by investing in mining technologies, surveillance, data gathering, community enlightenment and enforcement of mining laws.
In March, authorities deployed 2,500 agents to police unauthorized mining activities.
This week, the government said the “Mining Marshal Corps” has arrested more than 300 illegal miners, including foreign nationals.
But economist and founder of the Center for Social Justice Eze Onyekpere said authorities are still not doing enough to boost income from the mining sector.
"It's been a mantra of successive governments to improve government revenue by diversifying into the solid minerals sector, but we're getting very infinitesimal sum of money from solid minerals mining,” he said. “And it's not as if we don't have enough solid minerals or that mining is not taking place, it is because solid minerals mining has been converted to a criminal activity especially in those areas where there's security threats and crisis but the federal government has not taken it seriously."
Despite the government's lofty goals, the mining sector contributed only about 0.77% of Nigeria’s GDP last year.
Onyekpere says until the government gets more serious, Nigeria's mining industry will not be able to reach its potential.
By Timothy Obiezu, VOA
Related story: Nigeria government cracks down on illegal Lithium mining operations
Wednesday, November 20, 2024
Video - Health workers relieved as mpox vaccination campaign starts in Nigeria
The government started the long-delayed program on Monday. The effort targets medics and those with low immunity. Now fully protected, many health workers say they feel confident they can help curb the spread of the virus.
Video - Entrepreneur introduces reverse vending machines to help curb plastic pollution in Nigeria
The machines collect and sort plastic bottles and other items. In return, people receive money for every bottle they bring in for recycling.
Related stories: Women in Nigeria lead drive to upcycle plastics
Video - Lagos state government bans single-use plastics and Styrofoam
Tuesday, November 19, 2024
Stop Sextortion - bereaved parents' appeal to criminals in Nigeria
Murray Dowey, from Dunblane, was only 16 when he ended his life last year.
It is thought he had been tricked by criminals in West Africa into sending intimate pictures of himself and then blackmailed.
Murray’s mother and father also condemned social media companies for not doing enough to protect young people, saying they have "blood on their hands."
Sextortion often involves victims being sent a nude picture or video before being asked to send their own in return.
They then receive threats the material will be shared with family and friends unless they meet the blackmailer's demands - pressure it is believed led Murray to take his own life.
Mark and Ros Dowey have now recorded a video message regarding the "cruel" crime.
They said: “You’re abusing children. You've ended Murray's life.
“How would they feel if it was their child or their little brother or their friend? I mean, it's so cruel, and this is children, and it's abuse”.
“You're terrorising people, children, for some money, and I don't think in any society that is in any way acceptable”.
Sextortion has become big business in Nigeria involving thousands of young men nicknamed “yahoo boys”.
Guides on how to get involved in the crime are openly for sale online, as a BBC News investigation revealed earlier this year.
BBC News Investigations spent months communicating with a man in Nigeria actively involved in sextortion, persuading him to give an insight into this world.
He spoke to our colleagues in Lagos on condition of anonymity.
He told them: “I know that it's bad, but I just call it survival of the fittest.”
He described sextortion as like an “industry” and admitted he treats it like a game.
He added: “It depends on the fish you catch. You might throw the hook in the sea. You might catch small fish or big fish."
However he was then played Ros and Mark’s recorded message and appeared shocked by it.
He said he was "almost crying" and felt "very bad”.
However Murray’s parents don’t only blame the criminals for their son's death.
They hold tech companies responsible too.
Sextorters find their victims by targeting individuals on social media then using their list of friends and followers in their blackmail attempts.
Ros told BBC News: “I think they've got blood on their hands. The technologies are there for them to stop so many of these crimes.”
Mark believes Silicon Valley could do more but that they won't as it would cost them money.
He added: "It will stop them making more billions than they're making”.
'No chance to intervene'
Analysis by the UK’s National Crime Agency found that all age groups and genders are being targeted, but that a large proportion of victims are boys and aged between 14 and 18.
Police believe there is underreporting of the crime because victims are too scared or embarrassed to come forward.
Mark told the BBC his son was "a really lovely kid" and that his parents had no idea anything was wrong.
He said: "He went up to his room, and he was absolutely fine. And you know, we found him dead the next morning”.
His mother Ros added: “We had no chance to intervene, to notice there was something wrong and try and help and fix it”.
The Dowey family were involved in a campaign launch in Edinburgh, which warns young people about the dangers of sextortion.
The Fearless campaign brings together Police Scotland, Crimestoppers and the Scottish government. It highlights the risks of sharing intimate images online and offers advice on what to do and where to go for help if someone is targeted by criminals.
Assistant Chief Constable Steve Johnson said it was "difficult but not impossible" to track offenders - and that it was important for people to report crimes to police to help with evidence gathering.
He added the force would target criminals no matter where they are in the world.
Mark and Ros told BBC News they had a message for any young person who finds themselves a victim of sextortion.
The couple stated: “There's nothing that is worth taking your own life for so if something happens to you, put that phone down and go and get somebody you trust and tell them it's happened.”
“We can’t have this happening to more children, what happened to Murray."
By Angus Crawford and Tony Smith, BBC
Related stories: Nigerian brothers get 17 years for sextortion that led to Michigan teen's death
How sextortion scammers in Nigeria targeted my son
Two arrested in Nigeria for sextortion after Australian boy's suicide
Nigeria’s Chidimma Adetshina emerges second at Miss Universe 2024
The final moments of the prestigious event at the Arena CDMX in Mexico City, Mexico announced early Sunday morning saw an electrifying face-off between Nigeria and Denmark, as the two women stood poised to claim the crown.
The competition, described as one of the most thrilling in recent years, celebrated the talents, intelligence, and elegance of women from around the globe.
In a post via Instagram, the organisers said, “The final two! Nigeria and Denmark, two incredible women, one unforgettable moment.”
Miss Denmark, Victoria Kjaer Theilvig, ultimately won the crown taking over from Miss Universe 2023, Sheynnis Palacios of Nicaragua.
Meanwhile, Adetshina’s exceptional performance and grace earned her widespread admiration from judges and audiences alike.
Earlier, Adetshina’s official withdrawal from the Miss South Africa 2024 contest, which she had advanced to the final stage of, caused controversy a few months ago.
She made the decision in response to worries expressed by some South Africans who questioned her nationality.
Nevertheless, Adetshina went on to represent Taraba State and win the title of Miss Universe Nigeria.
This is not the first time a Nigerian has achieved this feat.
On November 16, 2001, Nigeria’s Agbani Darego became the first Black African to win the coveted Miss World title at the age of 18.
As a result of her success, “Agbani” became a phrase linked to slender beauty in Nigeria, where many women looked up to her appearance.
As the first Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria winner to win Miss World, Agbani’s triumph rippled throughout Nigeria and was a great moment for the continent.
By Makua Ubanagu,Punch
The world's largest drawing is a love letter to Nigeria
At 1,004.7 square metres — or nearly as big as four tennis courts — Unity of Diversity is a map of Nigeria filled with the country's many different styles of food, dance, music, art, history and more.
It took David six days to draw it in black marker, hunched over in front of a crowd at the Mobolaji Johnson Arena, a football stadium in Lagos, in July.
But before he even started drawing, he travelled all over his home country to experience its myriad of cultures first hand.
"It did change me," David, who lives in Lagos, told As It Happens host Nil Köksal. "It broadened my knowledge on Nigeria. It broadened my knowledge of myself, of what I can achieve if, you know, I set my mind to something."
The artwork, done with permanent marker on canvas, broke the Guinness World Record for largest drawing by an individual, previously held by Indian artist Ravi Soni for his 629.98 square-metre drawing, Tree of Life.
Drawing in front of 'the whole world'
David, an artist and medical doctor whose real name is Adefemi Gbadamosi, is known for his speed painting. He says he first got the idea to go for the Guinness record nine years ago.
"I usually paint in front of a large crowd or audience," he said. "I wanted to see what it would be like to paint in front of the whole world."
Over time, he began to realize this piece could be more than a personal challenge. It could be a love letter to Nigerian culture.
But he says that's no easy feat, as there is no single Nigerian culture. The West African country is home to more than 200 million people, from more than 250 ethnic groups, speaking more than 500 languages.
David secured funding from Tolaram, a Singapore-based company that does business in Nigeria, to spend three months travelling the country during this past spring and summer in preparation for the drawing.
"I spoke to the political leaders. I spoke to cultural leaders to learn about these cultures. And then I spent time eating their food, listening to the music, the dance, the ceremonies they have," he said.
"Nigeria is just so diverse, and I fell in love with so many different parts of the country."
Doubled in size
The final piece was drawn over dozens of canvasses stitched together on the field, which took David and his collaborators two days to set up.
Among the imagery depicted are a Yoruba cooking pot and cultural attire; periwinkle sea snails, a southern Nigerian delicacy; Benin bronze work; an Efik dancer, a mask of Queen Idia, historic leader of the Edo people; and the Ada and Abere, the state swords of Yorubaland.
At first, David says, he planned to fill roughly 800 square metre of canvas. But as he looked at the blank pages laid out on the field, he quickly realized it was too small for what he wanted to do.
"So I told everybody to get every single support they had out and increase the size," he said. "We almost doubled it."
Those pieces, he says, have since been dismantled and put into storage.
"It's very big," he said. "We had to cut it up."
David says he's working with his sponsor to create a permanent viewing centre for the piece. But in the meantime, he's just glad to have reached the culmination of nearly a decade of dreaming.
"The people I met on my journey, the amount of time I'd spent as an artist, made this possible," he said. "I feel very relieved and, you know, enlightened and just generally happy."
By Sheena Goodyear, CBC
Monday, November 18, 2024
Nigeria's richest man Aliko Dangote takes on the 'oil mafia'
But many Nigerians will judge its success on two key questions - firstly: "Will I get cheaper petrol?"
Sorry, but probably no - unless the international price of crude drops.
And secondly: "Will I still have to spend hours watching my hair turn grey in a hypertension-inducing fuel queue?"
Hopefully those days are gone but it might partly depend on the behaviour of what Mr Dangote calls "the oil mafia".
For much of the time since oil was first discovered in Nigeria in 1956, the downstream sector, which includes the stage when crude is refined into petrol and other products, has been a cesspit of shady deals with successive governments heavily involved.
It has always been impossible to follow the money, but you know there is something dreadfully wrong when the headline "Nigeria’s state-owned oil firm fails to pay $16bn in oil revenues", pops up on your news feed, as it did in 2016.
It is only in the last five years that the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) has been publishing accounts.
The Africa head at the Eurasia Group think-tank, Amaka Anku, hails the Dangote refinery, in which the NNPC has a 7% stake, as "a very significant moment" for the West African state.
"What you had in the downstream sector was an inefficient, corrupt monopoly," she says.
"What the local refinery allows you to do is have a truly competitive downstream sector with multiple players who will be more efficient, profit making and they’ll pay taxes."
To put it bluntly, the population of this oil-rich nation has been conned on a colossal scale for many years.
Oil revenue accounts for nearly 90% of Nigeria’s export earnings but a relatively small number of business people and politicians have gorged themselves on the oil wealth.
Aspects of the business model have been baffling, including that of Nigeria’s four previously existing oil refineries.
Built in the 1960s, 70s and 80s, they have fallen into disrepair.
Last year Nigeria’s parliament reported that over the previous decade the state had spent a staggering $25bn trying and failing to fix the moribund facilities.
So Africa’s largest oil producer has been exporting its crude which is then refined abroad, much to the delight of some well-connected traders.
It would be like a bakery with a broken oven. But rather than fix it, the owner sends balls of dough to another firm that shoves them in a working oven and sells the loaves back to the baker.
The NNPC swaps Nigeria’s crude oil for the refined products, including petrol, which are shipped back home.
Exactly how much money changes hands and who benefits from these "oil swaps" is just one of the unknowns in these deals.
"No-one has been able to nail down who exactly has benefited. It’s almost like a beer parlour gossip about who is getting what," says Toyin Akinosho of the Africa Oil+Gas Report.
The NNPC began subsidising the price of petrol in the 1970s to cushion the blow when global prices soared. Every year it clawed this money back by depositing lower royalty payments - the money it received for every barrel pumped out of the ground - with the Nigerian treasury.
In 2022 the subsidy cost the government $10bn, more than 40% of the total money it collected in taxes.
On his second day in office Nigeria’s Vice-President Kashim Shettima referred to "the fuel subsidy scam" being "an albatross around the neck of the economy".
Nigerian oil expert Kelvin Emmanuel says in 2019 the country’s official petrol consumption "jumped by 284% to 70m litres per day without empirical evidence to justify such a sharp increase in demand".
Parliament has previously reported that - at least on paper - importers were being paid to bring in far more petrol than the country consumed. There was a lot of money to be made exporting some of the subsidised petrol to neighbouring countries where prices were far higher.
The NNPC earned billions of dollars a year from the crude oil production. But for many years, under previous governments, some of its profits never reached the treasury as it was accused by state governors and federal lawmakers of including these inflated subsidy costs on its balance sheet.
The NNPC did not respond to a request for an interview or a response to these allegations but in June denied it had ever "inflated its subsidy claims with the federal government".
It may have been the main source of revenue for successive governments but for decades, until 2020, the board did not disclose its audited accounts. Its press release from March this year promised more transparency and accountability.
After coming to power in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu said the subsidy was unsustainable and suddenly cut it - pump prices immediately tripled.
He also stopped the policy of artificially propping up the value of the local currency, the naira, and let market forces determine its value.
When he took over, the exchange rate was 460 naira to the US dollar. In November 2024 it was over 1,600.
The triple shock of higher fuel prices, sporadic shortages of supply and a depreciating currency has been a tough body blow for people across the country, many of whom are forced to run generators to keep the lights on and phones charged.
"Beyond the financial burden, the uncertainty and stress of constantly dealing with fuel shortages have added a layer of anxiety to everyday tasks," is how one Lagos resident summed it up.
"I feel like I’m always navigating through crisis mode. It’s exhausting."
As the naira plunged and pump prices increased several times, the government, aware of the potential danger of protests, continued to pipette some medicine to the masses.
In a move which could be likened to swallowing half a paracetamol for acute appendicitis, the government made sure people were paying slightly less than the market rate for a litre of petrol.
In other words, the NNPC was selling at a loss and the subsidy was still alive.
But with two recent increases in October, Nigerians are now paying market prices for fuel for the first time in three decades. In the main city Lagos it went up from 858 naira ($0.52) to 1,025 naira per litre.
One of the major factors in Nigeria’s economic crisis has been a limited supply of foreign currency. The country does not export enough products and services to bring in the dollars.
But lots of people, including fuel traders, have been chasing the same limited supply of foreign currency, which leads to the naira losing even more value.
The good news is that Mr Dangote’s facility is going to buy crude and sell refined fuels in Nigeria in the local currency, which will leave more dollars available for everyone else.
The bad news for those hoping this will mean cheaper fuel is that the price Mr Dangote pays for a barrel of local crude will still be the naira equivalent of the international cost in dollars.
So if the price of crude goes up on the world market, Nigerians will still be forced to fork out more naira. Refining locally will mean less freight costs but that’s a relatively small saving.
It is hoped that the arrival of Mr Dangote’s oil refinery will help bring a measure of transparency to the sector.
He knew he would be upsetting some of those who benefit from the murky status quo when the $20bn project began. But, he says, he underestimated the challenge.
"I knew there would be a fight. But I didn’t know that the mafia in oil, they are stronger than the mafia in drugs," Mr Dangote told an investment conference in June.
"They don’t want the trade to stop. It’s a cartel. Dangote comes along and he’s going to disrupt them entirely. Their business is at risk,” says Mr Emmanuel, the oil expert.
The fact that there have been some public disagreements with the regulator has only fuelled that suspicion.
Mr Dangote’s refinery near Lagos is thirsty, with a capacity of 650,000 barrels of crude a day.
You would have thought being located in Nigeria would make supply easy but then up pops this headline: "Nigeria’s Dangote buys Brazilian crude".
It follows a row over supply and pricing. The regulatory authority has complained about Mr Dangote’s negotiating tactics.
Nigeria’s crude oil is low in sulphur and, as one of the most prized in the world, fetches a higher price than many of its competitors.
When discussions over price began, Farouk Ahmed, the chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), accused Mr Dangote of "wanting a Lamborghini for the price of a Toyota".
Mr Dangote has complained of not being allocated as much crude as earlier agreed but even when the price issue is resolved, he will still need to import some crude.
“NNPC doesn’t have enough crude for Dangote. Despite all this instruction to give ample supply of crude to the refinery, NNPC can’t supply Dangote with more than 300,000 barrels per day," says Mr Akinosho of the Africa Oil+Gas Report.
He says this is partly because the NNPC has pre-sold millions of barrels of oil for loans.
In August 2023 it secured a $3bn loan from the Afreximbank financial institution. In return it is due to supply 164 million barrels of crude.
In September the NNPC admitted it was significantly in debt. It was reported to be owing its suppliers around $6bn for fuel brought into the country.
Nigeria’s oil production has plummeted in recent years from around 2.1 million barrels per day in 2018 to around 1.3 million barrels per day in 2023.
The NNPC has been stressing oil theft as the number one reason why production has dropped.
It says in just one week - from 28 September to 4 October - there were 161 incidents of oil theft across the Niger Delta and 45 illegal refineries were "discovered".
But Ms Anku believes that "the theft problem is overrated by the NNPC and the oil sector".
"It’s a convenient excuse,” she adds.
She points to other contributing factors causing the drop in production, including international oil companies selling their on-shore oil fields - some of which may no longer be viable having pumped oil for 60 years.
The 66-year-old Dangote, who is listed by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index as the second wealthiest person in Africa, made his fortune in cement and sugar.
He has always denied the suggestion that his empire benefitted from links to politicians in power who helped ensure he had a monopoly.
Today there are those who are critical of Mr Dangote’s tactics and amid tension with the regulatory authorities, the same accusation has resurfaced when it comes to the supply of fuel in Nigeria.
"Mr Dangote asked me to stop issuing licences for importation and that everyone should buy from him. To which I said 'No' because it’s not good for the market. We have energy security interests," says Mr Ahmed of the regulatory authority.
Mr Dangote has not commented on the accusation but has said it makes business sense for the traders to buy from his refinery rather than from outside.
A feud between the regulator and Mr Dangote over supplies and pricing has rumbled on and morphed into another row with local fuel traders refusing to buy from the new refinery.
The mud slinging has also included allegations that some traders have been buying up substandard fuel from Russia which is then blended with other products before being shipped into Nigeria.
But not everyone is worried or surprised by the disagreements.
Ms Anku points to lessons learnt from US businessmen back in the 19th Century.
"The JP Morgans and the Stanfords – they didn’t have it easy either. That’s why they had to go and get government support and subsidies to build their railways and so on.
"I see the drama as a very normal process as you’re changing the structure of the economy. There are losers, they lash out. There’s no chance they’ll stop the refinery from working or selling its products to the Nigerian markets… in my view."
The modern, local refinery has also led to a debate over the quality of fuel on the market. It is an important issue given the vast number of generators belching out fumes across Nigeria as a result of the woeful power supply.
"Every day I wake up to the smell of what I’m sure [could] kill me. It’s because of the quality of the diesel," says Mr Akinosho.
He sees Mr Dangote’s refinery as a real opportunity for higher quality petroleum products in Nigeria which would be better for both car engines and people’s lungs.
But right now, Nigerians being hit hard in the pocket may find it difficult to be optimistic.
Arguments between officials at the Dangote refinery, the oil marketers and the regulators are batted back and forth in the media. All sides have been accused of hiding some facts and figures which leaves people guessing what is going on inside this still somewhat opaque industry.
"Everyone is a villain. There are no heroes here," concludes Mr Akinosho.
By Will Ross, BBC
Related stories: Dangote refinery finally reveals petrol prices
Dangote Says Nigeria can become refining hub
Video - Billionaire Dangote on Nigeria's Fuel Subsidy, Oil Prices, Arsenal
Delivering lifesaving health services for flood-displaced families in Nigeria
Borno state, in northeastern Nigeria, has been severely impacted by recent floods, which have displaced more than 400 000 people and led to 37 deaths. The flooding, mostly affecting the municipal area of Maiduguri, the state’s capital, has also caused significant damage to agricultural land and infrastructure, including health facilities. Almost 90 000 vulnerable people have been forced to take shelter in temporary camps with limited access to food, clean water and health services.
Displaced populations are at especially high risk from malnutrition, and diseases such as cholera, malaria and measles, in a region where already fragile health systems are under considerable additional strain.
Aisha Mafa, a mother of five, relocated to Gubio camp on the outskirts of Maiduguri, after floods displaced her family from their home in Old Maiduguri district in September 2024. Soon afterwards, one of her children fell ill with a high fever. "My friends advised me to take him to the clinic at the camp, where services were free," Mafa recalls.
Recognizing the urgent health needs of displaced people, World Health Organization (WHO), with financial support from USAID and the Government of Germany, deployed five mobile health teams comprising 35 public health experts, to assist local health authorities in Gubio, as well as four other temporary camps in Maiduguri municipal area.
The health workers quickly diagnosed Mafa’s son with malaria and provided treatment. Within days, his condition has improved. "Without the health workers, I don’t know what would have happened to my son," Mafa says. “I take comfort to know that my children and I can get free health services here.”
“Since we started, we’ve treated around 9000 people,” says Martha Sini, the Local Government Area Facilitator for the mobile health team in Gubio camp, which is currently home to more than 36 000 displaced people. “Routine immunization, maternal care and clinical services are vital for protecting the health of the community, especially women and children.”
Children in temporary camps like Gubio are at particularly high risk from vaccine-preventable diseases. To address this, mobile health teams have conducted regular vaccination drives, reaching over 12 300 children since the start of the floods in mid-September 2024. Vaccines include those recommended in the current state routine immunization schedule and coverage includes children who have missed doses because of being displaced.
Such efforts have been integrated into the state government’s existing cholera, measles and vitamin A vaccination campaigns, ensuring more comprehensive protection for these vulnerable populations.
Maternal health is another key focus for the mobile health teams. In Gubio camp’s two-room clinic, health teams provide prenatal check-ups, postpartum care, routine immunization and nutritional support to pregnant women while educating them on the importance of skilled birth attendance. Since the start of the floods, these services have been integral to helping to ensure safe pregnancies and deliveries for over 20 000 displaced women in the absence of hospital access.
Huawa Ali, who is seven months pregnant and was displaced by the floods from her home in the Gwange district of Maiduguri, is one of the many health clients to visit the antenatal clinic. “I am so grateful for this care. Without it, I wouldn’t have known if my baby was safe. Now, I feel more confident about my pregnancy,” she says.
Beyond immediate medical care, WHO also supports Borno state in enhancing surveillance activities. Over 150 community health volunteers have been deployed to conduct active case finding for priority diseases and house-to-house sensitization to improve health-seeking behaviour within the camps and host communities.
So far, 34 camps and over 93 000 households have been reached and sensitized on preventive measures for epidemic-prone diseases and good household practices.
"For the families in temporary camps, the presence of our mobile health teams offers more than just medical care, it provides hope for a healthier future, for their children’s well-being, and hope that they will overcome the challenges of displacement,” says Dr Walter Mulombo, WHO Representative for Nigeria.
India says Nigeria is 'natural' partner as Modi visits
New Delhi said Modi's trip represented a meeting of the largest democracy in the world and the largest one in Africa, dubbing the two as "natural partners."
The visit comes amid a revived push by both India and Nigeria for permanent representation on the UN Security Council and as India seeks to find its place in a multipolar world.
"Together we will also continue to highlight at the global level the priorities of the Global South and thanks to our joint efforts, we will achieve success as well in this," Modi said.
During the meeting, both leaders said they sought to usher in a new chapter in the two countries' relationship in the areas of defense, energy, technology, trade and development.
Modi and Tinubu also pledged greater collaboration in counterterrorism, maritime security and intelligence sharing. It is meant to help both countries cope with growing threats in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf of Guinea, which is one of the world's most dangerous areas for piracy.
New title for Modi in Nigeria
Modi was welcomed to the Nigerian presidency by a military pipe band and honor guard, before entering closed-door talks with Tinubu and senior officials at his Aso Rock residence.
The Nigerian president conferred on Modi the title of the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, the country's second-highest national honor, describing Modi as a representation of a "very strong commitment to democratic values and norms."
"Nigeria values its excellent relationship with India and will work to broaden the same for the mutual benefits of our two friendly countries," Tinubu said.
As Africa has become a theatre of competition between the US, Europe, as well as Russia, Turkey and especially China, India too has sought to make some inroads in the continent.
Ahead of the trip, Modi's office boasted that more than 200 Indian companies had invested $27 billion (€25.6 billion) in Nigerian manufacturing, becoming major employers.
Nigeria is also India's largest trading partner in Africa with total bilateral trade estimated at $14.9 billion in 2022.
At least 60,000 Indian nationals and 200 Indian companies are present in Nigeria, authorities say.
Friday, November 15, 2024
Nigeria lifts oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day
Nigeria's state oil firm NNPC said on Thursday it had increased oil production to 1.8 million barrels per day (bpd), with the possibility of getting to two million bpd by year-end.
Oil production at Africa's top crude exporter was estimated at 1.3 million bpd in October, according to producer group OPEC's latest report. Nigeria often counts condensate production of around 250,000 bpd as part of its production.
The NNPC said the increase was a result of collaborative efforts with its joint venture operators and its partners on production-sharing contracts, alongside security agencies and the government.
"The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders," NNPC CEO Mele Kyari told a press briefing.
Nigeria has been battling crude theft in its Niger Delta production region, sabotage, and local unrest, which has hampered output growth.
In June, NNPC set up a 'war room' to coordinate efforts of oil partners, the government and private security personnel to stem crude theft. Since then, several vessels used in stealing crude have been destroyed and some illegal refiners arrested.
Kyari said the interventions across every segment of the production chain, supported by rigorous pipeline monitoring from security agencies, had been critical to the recovery.
By Camillus Eboh, Reuters
Convicted Nigerian Pirate Charged Again for Second Hijacking
A Nigerian pirate who was convicted and sentenced for hijacking a Dutch freighter has been charged again in connection with a previous piracy incident in 2017.
The case has been in motion for more than six years. South African police arrested pirate action group leader Itoruboemi Benson Lobia at an airport in Johannesburg in late 2018, acting on an Interpol warrant issued by the Netherlands. A South African court approved his extradition, and in 2022, a Dutch court convicted Lobia of the hijacking and kidnapping attack aboard the FWN Rapide. The Dutch-flagged freighter was attacked by pirates off Port Harcourt in 2018, and the criminals held the 11 crewmembers hostage during a month-long series of ransom negotiations. The operator, ForestWave, reportedly paid a ransom of $340,000 to secure the release of the crew - a fraction of the $2 million reportedly sought by Lobia.
The Rotterdam District Court ruled that Lobia was the operational leader of the hijacking gang, and he was sentenced to a term of 8.5 years in Dutch prison for the FWN Rapide attack. He may yet receive a longer penalty: Last week, he was "arrested" a second time while in prison, and he will be tried on additional charges related to an earlier hijacking - the attack on the German merchant ship BBC Caribbean.
On February 5, 2017, BBC Caribbean was operating off Nigeria when she was boarded by armed pirates, who abducted eight members of the crew. The hostages were transferred back to Nigeria in skiffs and hidden at a compound in the creeks of the Niger Delta. Several crewmembers managed to hide and evade capture aboard the ship, and they navigated the BBC Caribbean safely to Las Palmas, 2,500 nautical miles to the northwest.
After a month of hostage negotiations, which the pirates reportedly spent in a state of constant and severe inebriation, the kidnapped crewmembers were ransomed and released. The amount of the payment was not disclosed.
Meanwhile, the BBC Caribbean was searched on arrival at Las Palmas, and forensic investigators collected extensive evidence - including fingerprints and DNA traces from cigarette butts. One set of DNA eventually turned up a positive match: it was Lobia's.
The Dutch Public Prosecution Service and the National Expertise and Operations Unit (LX) launched a second investigation after finding this link, and have asked authorities in South Africa - where Lobia was first arrested - for permission to prosecute him a second time for the additional crime. An examining magistrate granted a custody order to start the case last Thursday.
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