The #BringBackOurGirls group yesterday, lamented the neglect of the Chibok girls by the federal government, even as the whole attention has been moved to the issue of 2015 elections.
Speaking at the daily sit-out of the group yesterday, one of its leaders and the former minister of education, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili said it has become clearer to the people that the government has no plan to bring back the girls after eight months of their abduction.
Ezekwesili further wondered why up until now, nobody has any concrete information as to where the girls are or what is being done to rescue them and other people that have been abducted or stop insurgency.
The BBOG also queried what the Ministry of Youth Development, headed by Boni Haruna is doing to educate the youths of the North against joining insurgency even as they are being neglected, terrorised and even killed by the insurgents.
"For the youths of the Northeast, particularly the Chibok girls, their various rights have been despicably and traumatically violated without adequate relief in sight. The Ministry of Youths has not firmly intervened to ensure that schools there are adquately secured.
"The BBOG is alarmed at the extent to which the state has failed these youths. It is also disheartening to note that the ministry has essentially not been seen to be proactive in the going situation. It has not also offered any worthwhile support for the growing number of displaced youths grappling for survival in displaced persons camps.
"We are extremely concerned too that the ministry whose mandate includes inculcating in the youth human rights values, social justice, equity, fairness and gender equality; has shown no discernable concern about the fate of the abducted 219 Chibok girls, even as the universally recognised season of goodwill approaches," the group explained.
The group also warned that Nigeria is becoming divided into two nations. The people in the Northeast, who are really suffering the insurgency and the other group of Nigerians, who are living their lives and not bothered about what is happening in the Northeast; and that this trend is not good for the country.
Leadership
Related stories: 11 parents of some of the kidnapped schoolgirls now dead
Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan finally meets with parents of kidnapped schoolgirls
Monday, December 15, 2014
Oil Workers go on Strike in Nigeria
Nigeria's two main oil workers' unions have begun a nationwide strike, threatening to hurt the output of Africa's largest oil producer.
BBC reporters say long queues have formed at many petrol stations.
The unions, Pengassan and Nupeng, said the strike would continue until the government addressed its concerns.
These include the adoption of the delayed Petroleum Industry Bill, aimed at overhauling the sector and maintenance work on oil refineries.
The unions frequently go on strike or threaten to strike.
This time, the two unions were initially demanding the reinstatement of representatives who had been dismissed by oil companies, but now their list of complaints has grown.
They are now protesting that the government has allowed Nigeria's oil refineries to fall into disrepair and that the poor state of the country's roads is hindering the transport of oil.
They are also asking for the price of petrol to be reduced and oil theft to be stopped.
"We've commenced the strike. It will affect oil production, since all operations are on strike," Pengassan chief Babatunde Oke told Reuters.
However, an oil executive said the strike was not expected to affect output, because it would require the co-operation of large numbers of workers at production sites who would be unwilling to go that far.
"It's very difficult to shut them down, and once they do, it would take them a week to get them back up. They never do it. That's the last thing anyone wants," an oil executive told Reuters.
The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos said most of the unions' demands seemed "unrealistic, especially with an election looming".
"The refineries are not suddenly going to be fixed because of this strike. Some oil industry watchers suggest the unions are simply trying to force the government to pay them off and get a hefty Christmas present," he added.
A strike in September had little impact on oil production.
Many Nigerians, whether Christian or Muslim, travel home over the Christmas and New Year holidays and so they are stocking up on fuel now, in case of shortages in the next couple of weeks, analysts say.
BBC
BBC reporters say long queues have formed at many petrol stations.
The unions, Pengassan and Nupeng, said the strike would continue until the government addressed its concerns.
These include the adoption of the delayed Petroleum Industry Bill, aimed at overhauling the sector and maintenance work on oil refineries.
The unions frequently go on strike or threaten to strike.
This time, the two unions were initially demanding the reinstatement of representatives who had been dismissed by oil companies, but now their list of complaints has grown.
They are now protesting that the government has allowed Nigeria's oil refineries to fall into disrepair and that the poor state of the country's roads is hindering the transport of oil.
They are also asking for the price of petrol to be reduced and oil theft to be stopped.
"We've commenced the strike. It will affect oil production, since all operations are on strike," Pengassan chief Babatunde Oke told Reuters.
However, an oil executive said the strike was not expected to affect output, because it would require the co-operation of large numbers of workers at production sites who would be unwilling to go that far.
"It's very difficult to shut them down, and once they do, it would take them a week to get them back up. They never do it. That's the last thing anyone wants," an oil executive told Reuters.
The BBC's Will Ross in Lagos said most of the unions' demands seemed "unrealistic, especially with an election looming".
"The refineries are not suddenly going to be fixed because of this strike. Some oil industry watchers suggest the unions are simply trying to force the government to pay them off and get a hefty Christmas present," he added.
A strike in September had little impact on oil production.
Many Nigerians, whether Christian or Muslim, travel home over the Christmas and New Year holidays and so they are stocking up on fuel now, in case of shortages in the next couple of weeks, analysts say.
BBC
Thursday, December 11, 2014
Bomb blast in Jos, Nigeria leaves dozens dead
A twin bomb attack has taken place in a busy area of the Nigerian city of Jos, killing at least 30 people, witnesses say.
The two bombs exploded in quick succession, close to the scene of a major bombing in May.
The city of Jos has a mixed population of Muslims and Christians, and in recent years suspected Boko Haram militants have attacked churches there.
The Islamist militant group frequently carries out suicide attacks in Nigeria.
There has been no claim of responsibility for Thursday's explosions in Jos.
The blasts targeted the city's commercial district, near the Terminus bus station.
Witnesses told the Associated Press news agency that the first explosion took place at an outdoor food stand. The second blast hit a marketplace.
Separately, police in Nigeria's second-largest city, Kano, say they have arrested a 13-year-old girl wearing a suicide belt.
On Wednesday, at least four people were reported killed and seven hurt in attacks by two female suicide bombers in Kano.
And last month, more than 100 people died in a gun and bomb attack during prayers at one of the biggest mosques in the city.
Boko Haram militants are suspected of being behind the attacks.
Some 2,000 people have died in violence blamed on the Islamist militants this year.
The group has taken over several towns and villages in the north-east of the country, declaring the area under its control to be a caliphate.
Thousands of people have died and more than a million have been forced from their homes in the group's five-year insurgency.
The two bombs exploded in quick succession, close to the scene of a major bombing in May.
The city of Jos has a mixed population of Muslims and Christians, and in recent years suspected Boko Haram militants have attacked churches there.
The Islamist militant group frequently carries out suicide attacks in Nigeria.
There has been no claim of responsibility for Thursday's explosions in Jos.
The blasts targeted the city's commercial district, near the Terminus bus station.
Witnesses told the Associated Press news agency that the first explosion took place at an outdoor food stand. The second blast hit a marketplace.
Separately, police in Nigeria's second-largest city, Kano, say they have arrested a 13-year-old girl wearing a suicide belt.
On Wednesday, at least four people were reported killed and seven hurt in attacks by two female suicide bombers in Kano.
And last month, more than 100 people died in a gun and bomb attack during prayers at one of the biggest mosques in the city.
Boko Haram militants are suspected of being behind the attacks.
Some 2,000 people have died in violence blamed on the Islamist militants this year.
The group has taken over several towns and villages in the north-east of the country, declaring the area under its control to be a caliphate.
Thousands of people have died and more than a million have been forced from their homes in the group's five-year insurgency.
Wednesday, December 10, 2014
Bomb explosion near market in Kano, Nigeria
At least one bomb has exploded near a market in the northern Nigerian city of Kano, officials and residents say.
A blast hit a vehicle loading area at the Kantin Kwari textile market. Boko Haram militants are suspected of carrying out the attack.
Eyewitnesses said the market was hit by two blasts. At least seven people died and 30 were hurt, hospital sources say.
Last month more than 100 people died in a gun and bomb attack during prayers at one of the biggest mosques in Kano.
Some 2,000 people have been killed in attacks blamed on Boko Haram Islamist militants so far this year.
Two female suicide bombers were responsible for Wednesday's attack, a senior police official told Reuters news agency.
Police spokesman Musa Magaji Majia told reporters that officers were heading to the scene of the blast.
Trader Nura Sadiq told AFP news agency: "I heard a huge sound coming from the back of my shop along Unity Road. I just closed the shop and tried to leave because it's not safe."
Kantin Kwari is the biggest textile market in Kano, where people from neighbouring states and other parts of the country come for transactions, the BBC's Habiba Adamu reports from the capital Abuja.
The market is always jam-packed with people, our correspondent adds.
On 28 November, more than 100 people were killed in an attack on the Central Mosque in Kano.
No group said it had carried out the attack but officials said it bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram.
The Sunni Islamist group has been waging an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009.
BBC
A blast hit a vehicle loading area at the Kantin Kwari textile market. Boko Haram militants are suspected of carrying out the attack.
Eyewitnesses said the market was hit by two blasts. At least seven people died and 30 were hurt, hospital sources say.
Last month more than 100 people died in a gun and bomb attack during prayers at one of the biggest mosques in Kano.
Some 2,000 people have been killed in attacks blamed on Boko Haram Islamist militants so far this year.
Two female suicide bombers were responsible for Wednesday's attack, a senior police official told Reuters news agency.
Police spokesman Musa Magaji Majia told reporters that officers were heading to the scene of the blast.
Trader Nura Sadiq told AFP news agency: "I heard a huge sound coming from the back of my shop along Unity Road. I just closed the shop and tried to leave because it's not safe."
Kantin Kwari is the biggest textile market in Kano, where people from neighbouring states and other parts of the country come for transactions, the BBC's Habiba Adamu reports from the capital Abuja.
The market is always jam-packed with people, our correspondent adds.
On 28 November, more than 100 people were killed in an attack on the Central Mosque in Kano.
No group said it had carried out the attack but officials said it bore the hallmarks of Boko Haram.
The Sunni Islamist group has been waging an insurgency in Nigeria since 2009.
BBC
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
6 Nigerians make Forbes list of youngest power women in Africa
Every year since 2011, Forbes has enlisted readers’ help to identify 20 young, extraordinary and inspiring African women, aged 45 and under, who are making the most dramatic impact in individual African countries in the world of politics, business, technology, policy, diplomacy and media for the annual tally of the 20 Youngest Power Women In Africa. Now in its 4th year, the list celebrates 20 influential female leaders, groundbreakers and ceiling crashers who are transforming the continent from their communities.
Here are the Nigerians who made the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa: the continent’s emerging power brokers, the Amazons to watch, and the custodians of tomorrow.
Ada Osakwe, Nigerian, Adviser to the Minister Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria
Nigeria’s agricultural sector has attracted more than $4 billion in private sector investment commitments over the last year, and Ada Osakwe is an integral reason why. Osakwe, 34, currently serves as the Senior Investment Adviser to Nigerian Minister of Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adesina. She works directly with the minister, advising him on his policies regarding private sector investments into the food and agriculture sector. Osakwe also interacts with current and prospective agribusiness investors and champions innovative approaches to channel sustainable private sector engagements in the sector. Previously, she served as Vice President of Kuramo Capital, a New York-based investment management firm. She also worked in various capacities at the African Development Bank.
Amy Jadesimi, Nigerian, Managing Director, LADOL
The 39-year-old Nigerian businesswoman is the Managing Director of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), Nigeria’s only indigenous-owned deep offshore logistics base. Jadesimi earned a BA in physiological sciences at Oxford University, and then went on to work for the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs in London. She subsequently attended Stanford Business School, where she earned her MBA, and returned to Nigeria to set up a financial consultancy outfit before joining LADOL (a company founded by her father) as Managing Director. Since it was founded in 2001, LADOL has turned a former industrial wasteland into a $500 million industrial village and specialised port facility, providing an environment in which high value operations, such as oil and gas drilling and production support, ship building and repairs, specialised manufacturing and engineering can take place 24/7 in a secure Free Zone. The second phase of the LADOL development is currently ongoing and it includes Nigeria’s single largest local content development – a $300 million investment in West Africa’s largest vessel fabrication and integration yards. LADOL Free Zone was created to make Nigeria the hub for West African maritime and oil and gas activities through long-term investment in world class facilities and services. Jadesimi is spearheading this vision.
Rimini Makama, Nigerian, Director, Africa Practice
Rimini Makama, 34, is the Communications Director at Africa Practice, Africa’s foremost strategy and communications consultancy. Over the last half a decade, Makama has successfully introduced some of the largest international institutions on the continent and beyond into the Nigerian market, simultaneously helping to strategically position them as key players in their industry and encouraging foreign investment in the country. Some of her clients include BlackBerry, Union Bank, Renaissance Capital, Bloomberg, Western Union, World Economic Forum Africa, The Africa Union and Paypal. Rimini has a background in law and after obtaining a BL from the Nigerian Law School and an LLM in International Law and World Order. Prior to a career in communications, she joined the Office of Legal Affairs at the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) in Lyon, France where she worked as a lawyer primarily reviewing notices and individual requests safeguarding international security and safety across borders. She also drafted cooperation agreements among the 190 member countries.
Afua Osei (Ghanaian and Yasmin Belo-Osagie (Nigerian), Co-Founders, She leads Africa
Yasmin Belo-Osagie and Afua Osei, both 27, are co-founders of She Leads Africa, a platform that provides the most talented female entrepreneurs across the continent with access to the knowledge, networks and financing needed to build and scale strong businesses. Their goal is to jumpstart female entrepreneurs from SMEs to pan-African industry leaders, and they are certainly on the way. Within less than a year, and while juggling full-time positions at McKinsey & Company, Yasmin and Afua successfully launched an entrepreneurship showcase competition which drew close to 400 applications from 27 countries and multiple industries. To date, the two have recruited nearly 1,000 women-led start-ups into their network; their goal is to engage at least 10,000 female entrepreneurs in 2015. She Leads Africa is set to become a staple of the African investment community with VC funds already seeking access to its database of female entrepreneurs. It has the potential to become the 500 Startups of Africa. Its leaders are two young women who are positioned to significantly increase the volume and impact of female entrepreneurs.
Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, Nigerian, Social entrepreneur
Ogunsiji, 31, is the Founder of RISE NETWORKS, a Nigeria-based private and public sector funded youth interest social enterprise with a primary focus on wholesome youth and education development. The organisation focuses on creating intellectual development and capacity building programmes for young Nigerians between 16 and 30 and receives generous support from several state governments and blue-chip companies. Ogunsiji is an alumnus of the United States government’s International Visitor Leadership Program.
Adiat Disu, Nigerian, Founder, African Fashion Week
Adiat Disu, 27, is an international publicist and founder of Adirée, a New York-based communications and brand strategy company. In 2009, Adirée launched the annual Africa Fashion Week in New York, one of the most popular international African-focused fashion events, in an effort to place structure around Africa’s fashion industry and promote international economic partnerships while promoting brands from Africa on a global scale. It has been a resounding success. Disu and Adirée are also working on hosting other international African Fashion Weeks in other fashion capitals of the world including Paris, Milan, London and Tokyo.
Other women from the African continent who made the list are:
•Fatima-Zahra Mansouri, Moroccan, Mayor of Marrakech
•Naisula Lesuuda, Senator, Kenya
•Jamila Abass, Linda Kwamboka, and Susan Oguya, Kenyan, Co-founders, MFarm
•Tabetha Kanengoni Malinga, Zimbabwean, Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
•Amira Elmissiry, Zimbabwean, Special Assistant to the President of the African Development Bank
•Phumzile Van Damme, South African, Member Of Parliament
•Tebogo Mashego, South African, Entrepreneur
•Naadiya Moosajee, South African, Co-founder, Women In Engineering
•Irene Koki Mutungi, Kenyan, Pilot
•Yvonne Khamati, Kenyan, Deputy Head of Mission at Kenya Embassy, Somalia
•Kamayirese Germaine, Rwandese, State Minister for Energy and Water, Rwanda
Tribune
Related stories: Video - More women taking the lead in Nigeria's oil sector
Nigeria petroleum Minister appointed OPEC President
Here are the Nigerians who made the 20 Youngest Power Women in Africa: the continent’s emerging power brokers, the Amazons to watch, and the custodians of tomorrow.
Ada Osakwe, Nigerian, Adviser to the Minister Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Nigeria
Nigeria’s agricultural sector has attracted more than $4 billion in private sector investment commitments over the last year, and Ada Osakwe is an integral reason why. Osakwe, 34, currently serves as the Senior Investment Adviser to Nigerian Minister of Agriculture, Akinwunmi Adesina. She works directly with the minister, advising him on his policies regarding private sector investments into the food and agriculture sector. Osakwe also interacts with current and prospective agribusiness investors and champions innovative approaches to channel sustainable private sector engagements in the sector. Previously, she served as Vice President of Kuramo Capital, a New York-based investment management firm. She also worked in various capacities at the African Development Bank.
Amy Jadesimi, Nigerian, Managing Director, LADOL
The 39-year-old Nigerian businesswoman is the Managing Director of the Lagos Deep Offshore Logistics Base (LADOL), Nigeria’s only indigenous-owned deep offshore logistics base. Jadesimi earned a BA in physiological sciences at Oxford University, and then went on to work for the investment banking division of Goldman Sachs in London. She subsequently attended Stanford Business School, where she earned her MBA, and returned to Nigeria to set up a financial consultancy outfit before joining LADOL (a company founded by her father) as Managing Director. Since it was founded in 2001, LADOL has turned a former industrial wasteland into a $500 million industrial village and specialised port facility, providing an environment in which high value operations, such as oil and gas drilling and production support, ship building and repairs, specialised manufacturing and engineering can take place 24/7 in a secure Free Zone. The second phase of the LADOL development is currently ongoing and it includes Nigeria’s single largest local content development – a $300 million investment in West Africa’s largest vessel fabrication and integration yards. LADOL Free Zone was created to make Nigeria the hub for West African maritime and oil and gas activities through long-term investment in world class facilities and services. Jadesimi is spearheading this vision.
Rimini Makama, Nigerian, Director, Africa Practice
Rimini Makama, 34, is the Communications Director at Africa Practice, Africa’s foremost strategy and communications consultancy. Over the last half a decade, Makama has successfully introduced some of the largest international institutions on the continent and beyond into the Nigerian market, simultaneously helping to strategically position them as key players in their industry and encouraging foreign investment in the country. Some of her clients include BlackBerry, Union Bank, Renaissance Capital, Bloomberg, Western Union, World Economic Forum Africa, The Africa Union and Paypal. Rimini has a background in law and after obtaining a BL from the Nigerian Law School and an LLM in International Law and World Order. Prior to a career in communications, she joined the Office of Legal Affairs at the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) in Lyon, France where she worked as a lawyer primarily reviewing notices and individual requests safeguarding international security and safety across borders. She also drafted cooperation agreements among the 190 member countries.
Afua Osei (Ghanaian and Yasmin Belo-Osagie (Nigerian), Co-Founders, She leads Africa
Yasmin Belo-Osagie and Afua Osei, both 27, are co-founders of She Leads Africa, a platform that provides the most talented female entrepreneurs across the continent with access to the knowledge, networks and financing needed to build and scale strong businesses. Their goal is to jumpstart female entrepreneurs from SMEs to pan-African industry leaders, and they are certainly on the way. Within less than a year, and while juggling full-time positions at McKinsey & Company, Yasmin and Afua successfully launched an entrepreneurship showcase competition which drew close to 400 applications from 27 countries and multiple industries. To date, the two have recruited nearly 1,000 women-led start-ups into their network; their goal is to engage at least 10,000 female entrepreneurs in 2015. She Leads Africa is set to become a staple of the African investment community with VC funds already seeking access to its database of female entrepreneurs. It has the potential to become the 500 Startups of Africa. Its leaders are two young women who are positioned to significantly increase the volume and impact of female entrepreneurs.
Toyosi Akerele-Ogunsiji, Nigerian, Social entrepreneur
Ogunsiji, 31, is the Founder of RISE NETWORKS, a Nigeria-based private and public sector funded youth interest social enterprise with a primary focus on wholesome youth and education development. The organisation focuses on creating intellectual development and capacity building programmes for young Nigerians between 16 and 30 and receives generous support from several state governments and blue-chip companies. Ogunsiji is an alumnus of the United States government’s International Visitor Leadership Program.
Adiat Disu, Nigerian, Founder, African Fashion Week
Adiat Disu, 27, is an international publicist and founder of Adirée, a New York-based communications and brand strategy company. In 2009, Adirée launched the annual Africa Fashion Week in New York, one of the most popular international African-focused fashion events, in an effort to place structure around Africa’s fashion industry and promote international economic partnerships while promoting brands from Africa on a global scale. It has been a resounding success. Disu and Adirée are also working on hosting other international African Fashion Weeks in other fashion capitals of the world including Paris, Milan, London and Tokyo.
Other women from the African continent who made the list are:
•Fatima-Zahra Mansouri, Moroccan, Mayor of Marrakech
•Naisula Lesuuda, Senator, Kenya
•Jamila Abass, Linda Kwamboka, and Susan Oguya, Kenyan, Co-founders, MFarm
•Tabetha Kanengoni Malinga, Zimbabwean, Deputy Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture
•Amira Elmissiry, Zimbabwean, Special Assistant to the President of the African Development Bank
•Phumzile Van Damme, South African, Member Of Parliament
•Tebogo Mashego, South African, Entrepreneur
•Naadiya Moosajee, South African, Co-founder, Women In Engineering
•Irene Koki Mutungi, Kenyan, Pilot
•Yvonne Khamati, Kenyan, Deputy Head of Mission at Kenya Embassy, Somalia
•Kamayirese Germaine, Rwandese, State Minister for Energy and Water, Rwanda
Tribune
Related stories: Video - More women taking the lead in Nigeria's oil sector
Nigeria petroleum Minister appointed OPEC President
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