NAIJAFEED

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Video report on the fight against malaria

CNN's Christian Purefoy covers the fight against malaria in Nigeria.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Ikechukwu Uche out for Super Eagles

Ikechukwu Uche will unfortunately miss the last two World Cup qualifying matches for the Super Eagles due to injury. A scan showed the 25-year-old striker damaged the lateral and anterior cruciate ligaments of his left knee during Real Zaragoza's 4-1 loss to Sevilla in Spanish La Liga on Saturday.

Here's what he told the BBC in an interview:

"It's a terrible setback for me as it turned out to be worse than earlier thought,"

"I should be undergoing an operation in the next couple of days and the doctor said I could be out for at least five months.

"There's a chance that I could be back earlier but it's very remote."

His injury adds extra pressure for Nigeria to qualify for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa seeing that Uche is the top scorer for the Super Eagles.

Football Legend Pele predicts Africa has a great chance of making it to the World Cup Final

Monday, September 14, 2009

Chimuanya ‘Aroma’ Ufodike makes history on who wants to be a millionaire

In it's sixth year. Chimuanya "Aroma" Ufodike has become the first person to win the 10 million naira grand prize ($65,160) on Nigeria's Who Wants To Be a Millionaire.

The 36-year old bachelor won in spectacular fashion, with only having to use his lifelines for the last 2 questions. He capped his awesome performance by mimicking Usain Bolt as he celebrated being the first to win the biggest cash prize on the show. Here are the questions that cemented Mr. Ufodike's place in Nigerian television history:

1. Which of these is the name of a British Football Club?
A. Blackburn Losers
B. Blackburn Rovers
C. Blackburn Lovers
D. Blackburn Wanderers

2. An establishment where money can be deposited or withdrawn is called what?
A. Fridge
B. Bank
C. Market
D. Shoe

3. Name given to a boy born on Sunday in Ghana is what?
A. Bassey
B. Kwesi
C. Abiodun
D. Ejima

4. Which of the following refer to the word fire?
A. Inferno
B. Domino
C. Stiletto
D. Tornado

5. According to the constitution a public officer is not allowed to do which of these?
A. Marry a wife
B. Bury a dead parent
C. Have thanksgiving in church
D. Accept gifts or favour in kind

6. The process by which genetic traits are transmitted from parents to offspring is called what?
A. Tenacity
B. Verifiability
C. Hereditary
D. Validation

7. Roland Garros stadium is in which city?
A. Paris
B. Copenhagen
C. New York
D. Madrid

8. Where is Tiananmen Square?
A. Mumbai
B. Beijing
C. Rio de Janeiro
D. Seville

9. The word supersonic denotes which of these?
A. A speed equal to that of sound
B. A speed greater than that of sound
C. A speed equal to that of light
D. A speed greater than that of light

10. Which of these holds bones together at the joints of the body?
A. Nephrons
B. Nerves
C. Ligaments
D. Stitches

11. Linus Mbah achieved fame in Nigerian sporting circles as what?
A. Swimmer
B. Referee
C. Football Fan
D. Judoka

12. DAX refers to the stock market of which country?
A. France
B. United States
C. Germany
D. India

13. Who won the Academy Award for directing the movie ‘Million Dollar Baby’?
A. Clint Eastwood
B. Oliver Stone
C. Peter Jackson
D. Morgan Freeman

14. In which country is the Galeras Volcano?
A. Lebanon
B. Columbia
C. Japan
D. Eritrea

15. Professor Maathai Wangari won the Nobel Prize for which of these?
A. Literature
B. Economics
C. Peace
D. Medicine

Nigerian lottery winner gives entire cash prize to beggar

Sunday, September 13, 2009

The Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Lagos

Sahara Reporters check out the Sunborn Yacht Hotel in Lagos, Nigeria. It's been almost a year since the yacht was purchased from the UK but still hasn't been put to use. From what you can see in the video it's in pretty bad shape due to lack of maintenance. As the multi-million dollar purchase remains derelict, homeless people litter around it.

Nation in Darkness

Nigeria's Federal Fire Service

Saturday, September 12, 2009

Alarming increase of Nigerian girls trafficked to Italy

Italy has recorded an alarming increase of the number of Nigerian girls being trafficked into their country. In 2007 the count of young Nigerian girls trafficked to Italy was 166. In 2008 the number increased to 1,782 according to human rights organisations. An Island called Lampedusa located between Tunisia and Sicily is used as a holding centre for migrants mostly from Africa.

The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) published a report that states human trafficking has become the third largest source of income for criminal organisations globally, followed by drugs and arms. The report also says that 80 percent of people trafficked are women who have been sexually exploited.

The U.N. report also says women are the majority among perpetrators in 30 percent of the countries that provided evidence on the gender of traffickers.

"These women, who we call maman, force us on the streets for days without pause, also when we have our period, also when we are pregnant...and a few days after childbirth we are pushed on the street again, or the maman would steal babies from us," Isoke said.

Isoke Aikpitanyi is 30 year-old woman from Nigeria. In 2000 she left home with plans to get a job in London but was 'sold' to a criminal group and sent to Italy where she was forced into prostitution:

"Here I found true hell, a world of daily violence perpetrated by men, and by other women, and also by our own families who pretend they're not aware, and take their part of money."

Isoke said she raised $40,000 from her work for the people who arranged her trip. How it works is these criminal organisations lend women money to pay for their trip, and then the women are forced to pay the money back through prostitution. "Today, girls are asked for $80,000" she said.

"Girls who are forced into prostitution say that for each woman victim of human trafficking, an Italian woman is safe from rape," according to Isoke.

A roommate of Isoke's was murdered after she reported to Italian police. Isoke managed to escape in 2003, she informed the police and was later beaten into a coma.

She later found protection from a women's organisation which guided her to build her own organisation to help Nigerian victims and former victims of trafficking. The group is called Girls from Benin City.

The minister for women's promotion and child protection Barry Bibata made the following statements:

"The government of Nigeria is doing a lot to stop human trafficking. In 2003 we enacted a law providing for a very severe sentence for anybody caught trafficking in persons, and we set up an agency for the prohibition of human trafficking (Naptip) that secures shelters and protections to victims. These girls are often very young, they are not mature enough to decide about their future," Bibata said.

According to Bibata the Nigerian government is cooperating with Italy to identify victims, assist them when they come back, and integrate them back within their family.

IPS