Security forces in Nigeria search house to house in Maiduguri

Nigerian security forces are conducting a house-to-house search for weapons in the northeastern city of Maiduguri in a bid to end attacks by Islamic militants.

The operation started on Nov. 1 after the expiration of a deadline for residents to turn in illegal weapons and explosives at designated centers, Colonel Hassan Mohammed, spokesman for the Joint Military Task Force, said today by phone from the city. More than 1,000 light weapons were handed in at just one collection center, he said.

“We made arrests in large numbers of those that refused to hand in their illegal weapons and they are going to be prosecuted,” Mohammed said.

Authorities in Nigeria blame Boko Haram, a militant group inspired by the Taliban, for a spate of attacks in the past year in Africa’s top oil producer that targeted government buildings and the security forces. The group claimed responsibility for an Aug. 26 suicide car-bomb attack on a United Nations building that killed 23 people in the capital, Abuja.

Boko Haram today criticized the weapons-gathering exercise, describing it as a ploy to disarm residents before a government crackdown.

“The federal government wants to disarm you and later launch attacks on you,” Abu Qaqa, a spokesman for the group, said today in a statement handed to reporters in the city. “Don’t surrender your weapons.”

The joint task force plans to expand the search to the suburbs and villages around Maiduguri, Mohammed said.

Bloomberg

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Nigeria is 156th out of 187 countries in UN quality of life index

Nigeria is placed 156 out of 187 countries in a new UN study, which ranks countries on their education, income and life expectancy.

The 2011 Human Development Index (HDI) released on Wednesday by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) put Norway, Australia and the Netherlands on the top three countries to live in.

Nigeria placed 142 out of 169 a year ago, was listed among "least human development" countries in terms of wealth and low educational ranking.

However, the 2011 HDI covered a record 187 countries and territories, up from 169 in 2010 and according to the authors the 2011 country rankings "are therefore not comparable" to last years figures.

The 2011 report entitled "Sustainability and Equity: A Better Future for All", put Nigeria's life expectancy at 51.9, below that of Libya 74, Mauritus 73.4, Gabon 62.7 and South Africa, 52.8.

The UN ranks a country's life expectancy by the number of years a newborn infant could expect to live if prevailing pattern of age specific mortality rates at the time of birth stay the same throughout the infants life.

A country's educational achievements is assessed by combining adult literacy rates along with enrolment in primary, secondary and university institutions.

On education, the index on Nigeria shows that the average number of years of schooling received by people's ages 25 and older is 5.0.

The report puts the highest possible years of schooling for a child in Nigeria at 8.9, if the prevailing patterns of age-specific enrolment rates persist throughout the child's life.

With a Gross national income (GNI) per capita of 2,069 dollars, Nigeria lags behind countries like Equatorial Guinea (17,608 dollars), Botswana (13,049 dollars) and Gabon (12,249 dollars).

However the report shows Nigeria to be among sub-Saharan Africa countries that recorded the highest average HDI improvement over the past decade of any region in the world.

Between 1970 and 2010, countries in the lowest 25 per cent of countries ranked--the majority of them African improved their overall HDI achievement by 82 per cent, twice the global average.

There have been many important gains at the national level.

The report shows that extreme poverty has declined in both Kenya and Nigeria, noting that these advances are attributable in part to improvements in water, sanitation, health and other living standards.

Mauritius is the highest HDI achiever in sub-Saharan Africa followed by Gabon Botswana, Namibia and South Africa.

Nonetheless, sub-Saharan Africa is still home to the 10 countries with the lowest HDI levels of the 187 nations and territories included in the 2011 index.

The 10 countries that place last in the 2011 HDI are all in sub-Saharan Africa: Guinea, Central African Republic, Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Liberia, Chad, Mozambique, Burundi, Niger, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

These low-HDI nations still suffer from inadequate incomes, limited schooling opportunities, and life expectancies far below world averages, partly due to deaths from preventable and treatable diseases such as malaria and AIDS.

The report added that in many of these countries lingering armed conflict had further compounded the problem. 

Vanguard

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Ship with 5000 tons of stolen oil seized by Nigerian forces

Nigeria's military said on Monday it has seized a ship laden with 5000 tons of stolen oil and 30 barges amid rising cases of crude theft in one of the world's main oil producing regions.

The spokesperson of the Joint Task Force deployed in the Niger Delta, Timothy Antigha, said in a statement they impounded a "vessel engaged in the lifting of illegally refined petroleum products" in Bayelsa state on Friday.

He said they arrested the two-member crew on the Nigerian-flagged ship.

In a separate raid conducted at the weekend along the Imo River which lies on the border of nearby Rivers and Abia states, the military reported seizing 30 barges with unspecified quantities of crude and illegally refined oil.

"The JTF have discovered that there is a booming trade in stolen crude oil and illegally refined petroleum products along the Imo River, which recently caused a multi-national oil company to suspend production in the area," said Antigha.

Stolen crude and illegally refined petroleum products are regularly exported and sold on the lucrative black market.

Thieves often sabotage pipelines in order to gain access to crude, resulting in oil spills.

The military said it has arrested dozens of suspected oil thieves in recent months and destroyed some 2000 illegal make-shift refineries.

Seven Nigerians and two Ghanaians were this month sentenced to 10 years on each of nine charges filed against them by Nigeria's anti-graft agency for illegal dealing in petroleum products.

news24

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Newcastle's Shola Amoebi to play for Nigeria Super Eagles

World football-governing body, FIFA has finally cleared Foluwashola Ameobi and Victor Moses to play for Nigeria at the senior level.

In separate documents on the two players sent to the Nigeria Football Federation yesterday evening, FIFA declared that both players have been cleared based on the entire documentation remitted by the NFF and the Football Association.

Ameobi, of English Premiership side Newcastle United FC, and Moses, who also plays in the Premiership with Wigan Athletic, have been on the verge for some months now and would be glad with the decision of FIFA's Single Judge on eligibility.

"After having thoroughly examined the entire documentation remitted by the Nigerian Football Federation, the Single Judge concluded that the player Victor Moses fulfils the objective prerequisites as provided for in art. 18 par. 1 of the regulations. In particular, the player has never represented the Football Association representative team at "A" international level.

"Furthermore, the Single Judge also took due note of the fact that, based on the document dated 7 July 2011, issued by the "National population commission" in Garki-Abuja, Nigeria, the player in question already held the Nigerian nationality before representing England for the first time in an international match in an U-17 official competition on March 23, 2007 as he is a Nigerian citizen by birth".

The same statement was made in the case of Shola Ameobi.

The decision was made on October 26, 2011 by the Single Judge of the Players' Status Committee, Mr. Chuck Blazer (USA). He underscored: "The request made by the Nigeria Football Federation and the player for change of Association team is accepted".

Daily Trust

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Artist of the day - Ola Onabule

There are two words that sum up Ola Onabule’s career and music – passion and perseverance.

For nearly two decades, Ola has blazed a trail, leaving behind an education in law to become a singer/songwriter. Then he decided to work outside of the mainstream system of big record labels, setting up his own studios and his own record label.

 “Though my music is of a different idiom, I write with the heart of a folk songwriter and the desire for my lyrics to be heard and read.” – Ola Onabule

Ola was born in London, the eldest of six children born to Nigerian parents. When he was seven his parents returned to their homeland where he spent the next 10 years of his life. He was a natural performer, both at drama and with music. His friends called him Gramaphone, such was his love of music and natural talent.

He later returned to the UK to study law, leaving in his final year to take up a degree in art. He bought himself a guitar and did a few gigs around London, inspired by the music of James Brown and Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Electra Records (US) spotted his talents and signed him to an album deal, which ended a year later.culminating in Ola setting up his own label, Rugged Ram Records.

Ola has since released six albums of original, self-produced material, with the latest album, SEVEN SHADES DARKER to be released internationally in the Spring of 2012 which will  take him on tour dates to theatres and Jazz festivals across the world.

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