Okonjo-Iweala departs World Bank, resumes as Finance Minister next week

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala departed the World Bank as managing directorFriday and said her biggest challenge as Nigeria's new economic chief will be to develop an economy that is less dependent on oil and gas.

Okonjo-Iweala, who will take up the role of Nigeria's Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance next week, has been a steady hand at the world's largest development institution since 2007, where she has had unique insights into the growing role of developing nations in the global economy.

Nigerian government needs to curb spending in order to put the country on a "better fiscal path. We need to tighten fiscal policy," Okonjo-Iweala said, adding that she is in favour of the central bank pegging the naira to provide stability for businesses. Monetary and fiscal policy must be supportive of each other, she added."Nigeria has to make some fundamental changes, it has to really diversify its economy," Okonjo-Iweala told Reuters in an interview on Thursday. "The time is now because investors are interested in the country," she said.She said the country's manufacturing sector had lost competitiveness due to increasing power shortages and bureaucratic hurdles, while its agriculture and services sectors had a lot more room to grow, and a flourishing entertainment industry held great potential. One lesson Okonjo-Iweala takes with her is that consistent policies and a stable political environment are essential for any economy to flourish.

"We have to show policy consistency in all kinds of ways. It builds trust in the economy, it builds a resilience and that helps enormously," Okonjo-Iweala said.

"There is a lack of political will by all actors worldwide to try to secure peace" in Somalia," Okonjo-Iweala said. "You cannot help farmers, and you cannot help pastoralists, unless there is peace," she added.

She said the situation in the Horn of Africa "should not color the success" Africa has had in recovering from the last financial crisis.

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Chelsea star John Mikel Obi's father kidnapped

Fears are growing over the safety of the Chelsea midfielder Mikel John Obi's father after is was revealed that he is being held by kidnappers in his native Nigeria.

Michael Obi, who runs an inter-state transport company, has not been seen or heard from since he failed to return home from work last Friday in Jos, the capital of Plateau state. Calls to his mobile telephone apparently went unanswered before the device was unreachable from Saturday but, while no ransom demands have as yet been received, his management company have confirmed that he has been abducted.

Mikel was informed of his father's disappearance on Saturday morning and played in Chelsea's draw at Stoke City on Sunday, with his family back in Nigeria "hopeful" that Obi Sr will be found safe and well. "It's been tough for the young man," said the player's agent, John Ola Shittu. "The family in Jos reported [Obi Sr] missing at the police station, as expected, but we're taking all necessary measures to find him. We've told John to be brave and to stay calm.

"He is totally devastated. We were not sure whether to tell him before the game. But after speaking to the manager [André Villas-Boas], and [the Chelsea sporting director] Mike Emenalo, we agreed that he had a right to be informed of such a serious incident. He was under a lot of stress, but he showed a lot of character and mental strength to play against Stoke."

Kidnappings, more often of figures associated with the oil industry, are a common occurrence in Nigeria but high-profile footballers and their families have been targeted. In July 2008, the elder brother of the Everton defender Joseph Yobo, Nornu, was abducted in Port Harcourt. He was released some 12 days later though it is unclear whether a ransom was ever paid.

Chelsea released a statement on Monday which read: "Everyone at Chelsea Football Club was very concerned to hear that John Mikel Obi's father has been reported as missing and possibly abducted. We will give Mikel and his family our full support at this most difficult time."

A statement from Mikel's management company SEM said: "SEM confirms that client John Obi Mikel's father was abducted in Nigeria on Friday, 10 August. Thus far no ransom (demand) has been received. Mikel was informed by his manager prior to the Stoke v Chelsea match and decided to play so as not to let down his team and family."

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Woman delivers headless baby

A middle-aged woman (names withheld) delivered  a headless baby at the General Hospital, Iyin-Ekiti, Ifelodun/Irepodun Local government Area, Ekiti State.

The baby was delivered around 2.15 p.m. at the weekend through caesarean operation.

Ekiti State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Wole Olugboji, who confirmed the strange occurrence to newsmen yesterday, said the headless baby died but the mother was alive.

According to him, 'There was a woman who gave birth to a baby without a head at General Hospital, Iyin. The baby is dead but the mother is okay.'

Olugboji said the mother of the baby, who was still unconscious due to the sedation before the caesarean section, did not see the baby, which was quickly disposed of in order to save the parents from the embarrassment that the strange baby might have caused them.

The father of the baby, a reliable source said, was present in when it was born and he approved of the quick burial of the baby. The hospital source said: 'The baby did not have a brain. His head was open at the back and you could see mucus inside the head instead of brain. It was strange, nobody in the hospital had seen such a baby before.

Another source added that the strange baby was very small at birth. He said the delivery was abnormal as the fluid that was drained out of the mother's body was in excess of normal quantity.

The woman was said to have gone for a series of scans in some private hospitals, where she was told that she was going to deliver a set of twins. It was gathered that officials of the General Hospital, Iyin, told the parents that the woman was carrying only one fetus and it was headless.

They believed that the baby must have been deformed due to the effects of some drugs or herbs.

'That is why we always ask pregnant women not to take any drugs unless they were prescribed by doctors. We can't also rule it out that the deformity might have been caused by concoctions. It is possible,' he said.

Speaking with The Moment on the occurrence, Dr. Philips Kanemo, of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Edo State, said it could be the result of congenital malformation or abnormality, which is a medical condition where a child is born without a brain.

According to him, 'It makes the entire head appear malformed or almost invisible, with a very small skull, and not that there is total absence of head.'

On the likely causes of such malformation, Kanemo said the condition could be idiopathic, that is, with 'no known cause.'

'It could be from toxic drugs taken by the mother at pregnancy or even alcohol. Many other substances can cause it.

'Because we are in Africa, some might attach it to witchcraft; but whatever is not scientifically proven is not a fact and has no basis,' he said.

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