Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Africa. Show all posts

Monday, March 4, 2019

More than 50 missing after pipeline expolsion in Nigeria

More than 50 people are missing after a leaking oil pipeline exploded and caused a stampede in southern Nigeria, a local official said on Saturday.

According to the spokesman for the the Nembe Chiefs Council, Chief Nengi James-Eriworio, the blast early on Friday caused massive oil spillage in the Nembe kingdom in Bayelsa state.

The Nembe trunk line is operated by the Port Harcourt-based Aiteo Group and carries crude oil to the Bonny export terminal. Aiteo has yet to comment on the explosion. It was not immediately clear if the pipeline has been shut down.

Video obtained by local media shows a large blaze from the ruptured pipeline at night as villagers look on. “If they turn off the oil well from the station, the pressure inside the pipeline would reduce, causing the flame to burn out,” one person is heard in the background explaining.

The Niger Delta is highly polluted. Nigerian oil companies usually assert that the majority of oil spills are caused by sabotage, theft and illegal refining.

Fatal accidents caused by leaking pipelines are common. In January, an overturned oil tanker exploded in Odukpani in Cross River state while dozens of people were scooping up the leaking fuel. Police said at least 12 people were killed while some witnesses estimated up to 60 were dead.

Hundreds of people have died in similar accidents in recent years in Africa’s largest oil producing country as impoverished people risk their lives to collect fuel leaking from pipelines or trucks.


 By Eric Oteng

Africa News

Sunday, April 3, 2016

Boko Haram kidnapped 300 children in addition to the 200 schoolgirls still missing

Boko Haram militants kidnapped some 400 women and schoolchildren in a remote Nigerian town over a year ago, and the world barely noticed.

Unlike the kidnapping of some 200 schoolgirls from Chibok a year earlier, there was no international outcry, no hashtags, no rallies and no U.S. drones scouring the Nigerian forest after the Islamic extremist group’s abductions in Damasak, in the northeastern Nigerian state of Borno.

Human Rights Watch released a harrowing new investigation into the abductions this week. At least 300 elementary school children are among those still missing, the international nonprofit organization said.

Boko Haram seized control of Damasak in November 2014 and held it for several months, locking the town’s women and children in a primary school and shooting any residents who tried to escape. Troops from the neighboring countries of Chad and Niger discovered hundreds of strewn dead bodies when they recaptured the town in March 2015. But Boko Haram had already fled with hundreds of women and children that they had captured, relatives told Reuters. “[Boko Haram] said, ‘They are slaves so we’re taking them because they belong to us,’” Souleymane Ali, a trader in Damasak whose wife and three daughters were kidnapped, told the news agency. Yet Nigeria’s government denied the kidnapping had taken place.

Several months earlier, government denials and defensiveness over another kidnapping had fueled a vociferous Nigerian protest movement, that eventually caught international attention.

Boko Haram’s six-year insurgency in northeast Nigeria escalated during 2014. Amid a string of massacres and mass abductions, the militants’ night raid on a girls boarding school in Chibok in April of that year stood out as a particular calamity. Goodluck Jonathan, who was president at the time, came under severe criticism in Nigeria and internationally for his response to the Chibok kidnappings, and failure to — as the viral hashtag urged — #BringBackOurGirls.

In March last year, a few weeks after mass kidnappings in Damasak, Nigerians elected Muhammadu Buhari as their new president. At his inauguration in May 2015, Buhari vowed his government would do “all it can” to rescue Boko Haram’s captives. “We cannot claim to have defeated Boko Haram without rescuing the Chibok girls and all other innocent persons held hostage,” he said.

During his first year in office, Nigeria and its neighbors have recaptured territory from the militant group and reportedly freed hundreds of captives. But there is still no sign of the Chibok girls, and the Nigerian government has never acknowledged the kidnapping in Damasak.

In the wake of this week’s Human Rights Watch report, parents of the abducted children finally began to speak out. They said they had been too afraid of the government to push their case.

“We kept quiet on the kidnap out of fear of drawing the wrath of the government, which was already grappling with the embarrassment of the kidnap of the Chibok schoolgirls,” a local administrator whose seven-year-old child was kidnapped told Agence France Presse news agency on Wednesday.

“Three hundred children have been missing for a year, and yet there has been not a word from the Nigerian government,” said Human Rights Watch Nigeria researcher Mausi Segun in a statement. “The authorities need to wake up and find out where the Damasak children and other captives are and take urgent steps to free them.”

Human Rights Watch said the Damasak kidnapping is Boko Haram’s largest ever documented abduction of schoolchildren. Yet, the chilling question remains — how many more other Chiboks and Damasaks are there?

A local Nigerian senator told the BBC at the time of the Damasak kidnapping that such mass abductions were typical of the region, and many hundreds more children were missing.

A full count of Nigeria’s missing is incredibly difficult. Towns have repeatedly changed hands, and many families are on the run following Boko Haram’s rampage. Few journalists reach Nigeria’s isolated and impoverished northeast, and news about attacks often takes time to travel outside of the region, if at all.

Amnesty International estimated last year that the Islamic extremist group had kidnapped more than 2,000 children forced many into combat or sex slavery. Some 2 million have been displaced and 20,000 killed in the insurgency.

Buhari claimed in December that Boko Haram had been “technically defeated,” after troops from Nigeria and its neighbors pushed Boko Haram out of several strongholds. But the group continues its deadly campaign of suicide attacks and militant raids, and some residents say the militants still control parts of northeast Nigeria.

After the Chadian and Nigerian troops withdrew from Damasak, Boko Haram came back to repeatedly attack the town. Damasak is now back in the militants’ hands, displaced residents told Human Rights Watch.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Video - Super Eagles Legend Kanu calls Nigeria's failure to qualify for AFCON 2017 a disaster


Nigerian football legend Nwanko Kanu has dubbed his country's failure to qualify for the AFCON 2017 tournament a disaster.

Nigeria were held to a draw at home by Egypt before losing by a solitary goal in the return leg, the result meaning they failed to qualify for the tournament for a second consecutive time.

Related story: Nigeria Super Eagles fail to qualify for AFCON 2017 after defeat to Egypt

Friday, November 20, 2015

Report says Boko Haram is world's deadliest terror group

France has yet to recover from the Paris attacks. Everyday news about ISIS beheadings and onslaught are abound. World powers are joining forces conducting airstrikes against the terrorist group. Political rivals like Russia and U.S. are willing to set aside differences in order to fight the ISIS. And yet a more terrifying group than the ISIS has risen.

The world’s deadliest terrorist group is not the ISIS, but the Boko Haram in Nigeria,according to a report released Wednesday by the Institute of Economics and Peace. The Global Terrorism Index, a study of terrorist activity around the world, found that Boko Haram was responsible for 6,664 deaths in 2014 alone – more than any other terrorist group in the world. The ISIS, on the other hand, killed 6,073 people in 2014. Worse, the Boko Haram had pledged allegiance to the ISIS (now known as Daesh) this year. Together, they were responsible for half of all global deaths attributed to terrorism, the report said.

Nigeria has also been battling another terrorist organization aside from the Boko Haram, the Fulani militants. Hence, it has experienced the largest increase in deaths from terrorism in 2014, the report stated. There were 7,512 fatalities in thecountry from terrorist attacks in 2014 alone, an increase of over 300 percent.

On Thursday, another deadly blast killed 11 persons and injured 57 in Kano, Nigeria. According to a report from Vanguard, the blast also killed the two female suicide bombers at a local market. The incident took place just days after 30 persons were killed in a separate blast in Yola, Adamawa state.

Muhammad Katsina, Commissioner of Police, said six suspects rode a Sharon Space Wagon vehicle. They dropped two females at the market. The females then went inside the market and the suspects detonated the bombs.

Boko Haram was responsible for kidnapping as many as 300 girls in 2014. Although the group had freed 200 of these girls, the fates of the others remain unknown today.


Morning News USA

Tuesday, November 17, 2015

Video - Nigeria Super Eagles make light fun of Obi Mikel during penalty kicks practice


The Super Eagles tried their legs at penalty kicks ahead of their second leg, second round 2018 World Cup qualifier against Swaziland in Port Harcourt. Players involved in the shootout were Obafemi Martins, Elderson Echiejile, Efe Ambrose, Sylvester Igbonu, Moses Simon and John Obi Mikel against goalkeepers Carl Ikeme and Ikechukwu Ezenwa.

Monday, November 16, 2015

Video - Highlights of the 2015 African Music Awards hosted in Nigeria



The All Africa Music Awards 2015 took place in Nigeria over the weekend. The event which aims to preserve the African music culture saw East africa dethrone Nigeria as the region took more awards this year. Diamond Platinumz from Tanzania stole the night taking home three awards and being crowned the african artist of the year.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

Video - FIFA U17 World Cup winners receive heroes welcome in Nigeria


Nigeria's Under-17 team returned home on Wednesday to a rapturous reception after their World Cup success in Chile.

Thousands were at Abuja's international airport to greet the team, who beat Mali 2-0 in Sunday's final.

Fans cheered and hugged the Golden Eaglets players and officials, who also posed for pictures with supporters.

"It gives us great joy to see Nigerians come out in big numbers to celebrate the team's success," coach Emmanuel Amuneke told BBC Sport.

"Football is a powerful force and the win in Chile shows how successful we can be as a nation if we all work together for a common goal.

"We thank everyone for a great welcome and their incredible support during and after the tournament."

Players and officials were driven round the Federal Capital Territory in a motorcade before the convoy arrived at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel.

The squad had dinner with the country's new sports minister Solomon Dalong on Wednesday night at the hotel.

They are expected to reconvene for a presidential reception with president Muhamadu Buhari on a date yet to be announced.

The Golden Eaglets not only successfully defended their crown in Chile, they also took centre stage when it came to the individual honours.

Captain Kelechi Nwakali made his mark on the competition by winning the Golden Ball as the tournament's best player. His three goals and three assists also earned him the bronze boot as the third highest scorer.

With 10 goals - a new tournament record - striker Victor Osimhen won the golden boot as well as the silver ball as the competition's second best player.

BBC

Related story: Video - Nigeria defend title and defeat Mali in 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup Final

Monday, November 9, 2015

Video - MTN CEO resigns due to $5.2 billion fine imposed by Nigeria


MTN Group Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Sifiso Dabengwa unexpectedly resigned from Africa’s biggest mobile-phone operator to take responsibility for a $5.2 billion fine in Nigeria that’s wiped almost a fifth off the market value of the company.

Dabengwa will be replaced by former CEO and Chairman Phuthuma Nhleko, 55, for as many as six months while the company searches for a permanent successor, Johannesburg-based MTN said in a statement on Monday. Nhleko, who led MTN for almost nine years until 2011 and increased subscriber numbers 30-fold through rapid international expansion, said he will deal with the Nigerian Communications Commission personally about the penalty. Talks are at an advanced stage, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as discussions are private.

Nhleko said he will “pro-actively deal with the Nigerian regulator and will continue to work with them in addressing the issues.” MTN shares traded 1.8 percent higher at 160.35 rand as of 11:43 a.m. in Johannesburg.

Dabengwa, 57, resigned over the weekend after consultation with the board and his financial compensation hasn’t been decided, spokesman Chris Maroleng said by phone, describing the move as an “honorable gesture.” The company has until Nov. 16 to pay the Nigerian fine, which was imposed for missing a deadline to disconnect 5.1 million unregistered subscribers and is based on a charge of 200,000 naira ($1,008) for each unregistered customer.

“We’ve been anticipating this but not the timing,” Arthur Goldstuck, an analyst at World Wide Worx, said by phone. “One can only assume his role in the negotiations was not effective.”

MTN shares have declined about 16 percent since the Nigeria penalty was made public two weeks, valuing the company at 289 billion rand ($20.4 billion).

“The departure of Sifiso Dabengwa is the beginning of a clearing out that is necessary to regain the confidence of investors,” Goldstuck said.

MTN expanded into markets such as Iraq and Syria under Nhleko and now has more than 230 million customers in 22 countries. Nigeria is the company’s biggest market with more than 62 million subscribers, or almost a quarter of the total. The NCC last week approved the renewal and extension of MTN’s license for another five years until 2021 pending the payment of $94.2 million.

“Due to the most unfortunate prevailing circumstances occurring at MTN Nigeria, I, in the interest of the company and its shareholders, have tendered my resignation with immediate effect,” Dabengwa said in the statement. He didn’t answer calls to his mobile-phone seeking further comment.

“Sifiso leaving is a loss to the industry,” Shameel Joosob, CEO of MTN competitor Vodacom Group Ltd., said by phone. “I see this issue as a bump in the road. They will probably negotiate a settlement on the fine.”


Bloomberg

Nigeria wins World Scrabble Championship

Nigerians have been congratulating countryman Wellington Jighere, who has become the first African to win the English-language World Scrabble Championship.

The 32-year-old beat Englishman Lewis MacKay 4-0 in the final in Australia.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was among those to congratulate him, saying he has "done the country proud".

Mr Jighere said on his Facebook page that he felt he was playing with the "whole continent" behind him.

He added that it "still baffles" him that he managed to win, given how tired he felt as he had "not slept well in about a week".

Wellington Jighere put down:
Dacoit - a member of a class of robbers in India and Burma
Yow - Australian slang for keeping a look-out
Katti - an alternative spelling for a weight used in China
Aah - an expression of surprise

Lewis MacKay put down:
Jomo - an alternative spelling for zhomo, an animal bred from a yak and a cow
Yex - an Old English word for sobbing
Guiro - a musical instrument made from a gourd
Wemb - an obsolete alternative spelling of womb
Onely - an obsolete alternative spelling of only

He told the Guardian newspaper that he had training to deal with the fatigue from the jet lag, but also had to cope with 32 rounds of matches in four days before getting to the final in Perth.

Mr Jighere and the five other members of the Nigerian team only arrived in Australia the day before the tournament started, so had little chance to get over the 20-hour flight or the seven-hour time difference.

President Buhari phoned him in Perth to "rejoice" with him over the performance and pass on his congratulations to all the players, who finished the competition as the best team.

According to the president's spokesman, Mr Jighere "pledged to bring more glory to his fatherland".

Mr Jighere will be coming home with a $10,000 (£6,600) prize but now has to find a job.

He recently finished his national service following his graduation from university, but took a few months off from looking for work in order to prepare for the championship.

President of Nigeria's Scrabble federation Sulaiman Gora told the BBC on the telephone from Nigeria that Mr Jighere is a quiet person whose "greatest strength is humility".

Mr Gora, who also heads the Pan-African Scrabble federation, said that the "whole country and the whole of Africa is celebrating this success".

In 2008, Ivorian Elisee Poka won the French-language Scrabble World Championship and this year Schelick Ilagou Rekawe from Gabon reached the final of that competition. He lost to New Zealander Nigel Richards, who does not speak French.


BBC

Video - Nigeria defend title and defeat Mali in 2015 FIFA U17 World Cup Final



A very good Final at the FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 between the Nigerians and Malians was a worthy end to a fantastic event.

Friday, November 6, 2015

South African government concerned about $5.2 billion imposed by Nigeria on MTN



The South African government has expressed concerns about the $5.2 billion fine imposed on MTN by the Nigerian communications regulator.

Friday, October 9, 2015

Ebola scare in Nigeria after man dies in Calabar

An Ebola scare has been reported in southern Nigeria, a year after the country was declared free of the virus.

Ten people have been quarantined after coming into contact with a man showing Ebola-like symptoms, officials said.

The man reportedly died shortly after being admitted to hospital in Calabar.

On Wednesday, the three countries worst affected by Ebola - Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia - recorded their first week with no new cases since the outbreak began in March 2014.

More than 11,000 people died in the West African Ebola outbreak, the worst known occurrence of the disease in history.

New cases have fallen sharply in 2015, but the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the disease could break out again.

The latest scare happened when a patient arrived at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital on Wednesday.

"We have sent blood samples for testing and quarantined identified contacts," said Queeneth Kalu, the hospital's chief medical director.

Those quarantined included nurses who had attended to the patient, he added.

Ebola arrived in Nigeria in July 2014 when a Liberian businessman collapsed at Lagos airport.

But the outbreak was contained with seven deaths - far fewer cases than in the worst-hit countries.


BBC

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

President Muhammadu Buhari to become oil minister of Nigeria

President Muhammadu Buhari will hold Nigeria’s oil portfolio in his new cabinet, rather than trust anyone else with the source of most of Nigeria’s revenue, he said on Tuesday.

Buhari, who took office at the end of May promising to fight corruption, has made it clear he wants to overhaul the oil sector in Africa’s biggest economy, which provides the government with about 70% of its revenue.

“I intend to remain the minister of petroleum resources,” Buhari said in an interview on the sidelines of the annual meeting of world leaders at the UN general assembly in New York.

A minister of state would oversee the day-to-day running of the petroleum sector.

Buhari has not named a cabinet but is expected to submit candidates to parliament in the coming days.

A former general who briefly ruled Nigeria 30 years ago said Buhari has deep knowledge of the oil sector, having been head of the petroleum trust fund under the military ruler, Sani Abacha, in the 1990s and oil minister in the 1970s under president Olusegun Obasanjo.

A collapse in global oil prices has damaged Nigeria’s public finances and weakened its naira currency, delaying public salaries and fuelling inflation.

Buhari has said he would trace and recover what he has called “mind-boggling” sums of money stolen over the years from the oil sector.

The dealings inside the state-owned company Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation are so opaque that PricewaterhouseCoopers, commissioned to conduct an audit over the missing funds, said it was unable to obtain sufficient account documentation.

Not only is oil money stolen through accounting gymnastics and oversight gaps, but oil goes missing at unmetered oilfield wellheads, pipeline taps and export terminals.

Buhari has already split the NNPC into two, and said on Tuesday he was considering breaking up the company further to improve efficiency and better root out corruption.

“I haven’t absolutely made up my mind about that,” he said. “We want to see what we have done in reducing the size and redeploying most of the management. We want to see the impact of that before we decide further.”

He would re-evaluate in about 18 months.

Guardian

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Nigeria wins big at the Africa Movie Academy Awards

A total of seven awards were given to Nigeria at the Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA), which was held in South Africa over the weekend.


Of the 28 categories, Kunle Afolayan’s ‘October 1′ got best Nigerian film, best actor in leading role for Sadiq Daba and best costume for Adeola Sagoe.

Comedian, Ayo Makun’s ’30 Days in Atlanta’ won best comedy film while Kemi Akindoju got best young promising actor for her role in ‘Dazzling Mirage’ in a joint win with a Ugandan actor, Hassan Insigoma.

Destiny Ekeragha won the best first feature film by a director for the movie ‘Gone Too Far’ and the ‘Legacies of Rubbies’ won Nigeria her first AMAA prize in animation.

Full List Of Winners

Best Short Film: Twaaga – Burkina Faso

Best Animation: The Legacies of Rubbies – Nigeria

Best Documentary: Egypt Modern Pharaohs ‘Nasser’ – Egypt

Best Film in an African Language: Timbuktu – Mauritania

Best film by an African living abroad: Fevers – France/Morocco

Best diaspora short film: Sound of Tears – Canada

Best diaspora documentary: The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution – USA

Best diaspora feature: Supremacy – USA

Best Production design: iNumber Number – South Africa

Best costume design: October 1 – Nigeria

Best Make-Up Njinga: Queen of Angola – Angola

Best soundtrack: Triangle Going to America – Ethiopia

Best visual effects: iNumber Number – South Africa

Best Sound: Lobraz Khan – Mauritius

Best Cinematography: Lobraz Khan – Mauritius

Best Editing: Timbuktu

Best Screen Play: Le President

Best comedy film: 30 Days in Atlanta

Best Nigerian Film: October 1

Best Child Actor: Layla Walet Mohammed and Mehdi A.G Mohammed – Timbuktu

Best young promising actor (Joint winners): Kemi Lala Akindoju – Dazzling Mirage Hassan Spike Insingoma – Boda Boda Thieves

Best actor in a supporting role: Samson Tadesa – Triangle Going to America

Best actress in a supporting role: Ama Amphofo – Devil in a Detail

Best actor in a leading role: Sadiq Daba – October 1

Best actress in a leading role: Lesliana Pereira – Njinga: Queen of Angola

Best first feature film by a director: Destiny Ekeragha – Gone Too Far (British-Nigerian)

Best Director: Abderrahmane Sissako – Timbuktu

Best Film: Timbuktu – Mauritania

ChannelsTV

Monday, September 21, 2015

Video - Nigeria under President Muhammadu Buhari



It’s now been more than 100 days since Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in as Nigerian president, and he’s already showed renewed vigour in the War against Boko Haram and clamped down on government corruption. But Africa’s biggest economy is still in a slump, and Buhari is yet to appoint a cabinet. So what exactly has been achieved under the APC? And has life been made better in Nigeria Under Buhari?

Video - Entrepreneur redefines garri productions and distribution in Nigeria


If you are from West Africa, chances are that you not only know Garri but you might have consumed it. Garri is a popuplar West African staple food made from cassava.

It's quite popular and widely consumed in Nigeria. It's sold virtually everywhere in the open market.

Thursday, September 17, 2015

Nigeria's richest woman Folorunso Alakija says oil taxation is too high

 Nigeria’s 85 percent tax on onshore crude oil production is dissuading local investors from taking over assets from international oil companies, said Folorunso Alakija, an energy tycoon and the nation’s richest woman.

Famfa Oil Ltd., founded in 1991 by Alakija, 64, has sought to acquire stakes in onshore oil fields, yet sees the tax regime as a deterrent, she said in an interview in her office in Lagos, the commercial capital. Onshore producers pay 30 percent corporate tax and 55 percent tax on petroleum profit, while offshore producers who bought stakes in the 1990s are exempt of corporate tax and pay 50 percent profit tax.

“The 85 percent that those who are onshore are having to pay is going to be too high for indigenous companies to be able to stand on their own two feet,” said Alakija, who has a fortune of $1.8 billion, according to an estimate by Forbes magazine. Famfa’s 60 percent stake in Agbami, an offshore field with an output of about 250,000 barrels a day, is the main source of her wealth.

Famfa was among dozens of Nigerian companies granted oil licenses in the early 1990s as the military regime of General Ibrahim Babangida sought to wrest some control from multinationals.

Investment in Africa’s largest oil producer has been held up by uncertainty over Nigeria’s Petroleum Industry Bill, a law that has been delayed in parliament for almost seven years due to political wrangling and opposition from international energy companies to proposed tax and royalty terms.

International producers have agreed to sell off $10 billion of mainly onshore assets over the past three years, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. Those assets are largely being taken over by local companies, such as Seplat Petroleum Development Co. Most of the country’s crude is pumped by international companies, including Royal Dutch Shell Plc. and Chevron Corp., which run joint ventures with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corp.

Tax Relief

“It would be a good idea when the Petroleum Industry Bill does come out that it would have looked at tax relief for onshore, to help our people to be able to continue running their businesses and investing in that area,” said Alakija. “Nobody knows what is going to be the outcome of that bill.”

Only local companies producing for more than eight years are paying 85 percent tax, said Dolapo Oni, the Lagos-based head of energy research at Ecobank Transnational Inc. A “major reason” international producers have protested one of the latest versions of the bill is that it raised the offshore tax to 85 percent, Oni said.

“Nigerian companies who acquire onshore fields can apply for pioneer status, which means they don’t pay taxes for the first three years and even when they start paying taxes, they start at 65 percent for the first five years,” he said by phone. “The issue is that we don’t know what the PIB looks like now.’

Emmanuel Kachikwu, the group managing director of the NNPC, said last month that a new version of the bill should be ready in a year. President Muhammadu Buhari’s party has recommended scrapping the PIB and replacing it with a new reform law based on discussions with producers.

Tough Financing

With the international companies selling off their onshore assets due to rampant theft and spillages, the output of indigenous producers could rise to up to 25 percent of Nigeria’s overall output from about 10 to 15 percent, Alakija said. Nigeria pumped an average 1.94 million barrels of oil per day in August, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

When Famfa was founded, the government was “wooing the international oil companies to give up some of the fields that they have; they couldn’t force them,” Alakija said. About twenty years later, “they are giving them up willingly. That gives opportunity for the indigenous companies to be able to buy into some of the smaller acreages,” she said.

Getting financing for fields may prove tough, said Alakija, who expects more mergers and acquisitions in the industry. Most of the smaller companies obtained financing based on a price of $70 a barrel, compounding the difficulties since a halving of oil prices in the past year, Kola Karim, chief executive officer of Nigerian energy company Shoreline Group, said in an interview in February. Brent crude traded at $49.5 a barrel as of 9:47 a.m. in London on Thursday.

“There’s no indigenous company that can say they can stand on their own in an offshore block,” said Alakija, whose Famfa operates in partnership with Chevron and Petrobras Brasileiro SA.

Alakija is looking to diversify into other industries. Already owning real estate in Nigeria, Brazil and the U.K., along with a printing business, Alakija said she’s considering investments in agriculture and power, declining to elaborate.


Bloomberg

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Video - Documentary on Nigeria's top fashion designer Deola Sagoe


Nigerian fashion has broken out, gracing the catwalks of New York, Johannesburg and Monaco.Deola Sagoe was one of the designers who led this Nigerian fashion expansion.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Video - Life in the shadow of Boko Haram




The Nigerian military claims it has weakened Boko Haram militants. The humanitarian crisis as a result of the insurgency is far from over. More than 2 million people are displaced and many lack the very basics for survival.

Video - Possibility of Nigeria falling into a recession


Nigeria became Africa's biggest economy after it surpassed South Africa last year but soon its economy started suffering a downward trend. The worst blow followed the steep decline in the price of crude, from highs of over 100 dollars a barrel to the current under 50 dollars a barrel. Oil revenue accounts for 70% of government revenue.