Friday, October 2, 2015
Video - Unemployment leads to rise in entrepreneurship in Nigeria
Rising unemployment has left many a young person in Nigeria, with limited options for a career. Many wait for often promised but rarely delivered jobs to be created in the public and private sectors, but others have taken matters into their own hands. Sophia Adengo tells the story of Emmanuel Ngene who has taken up his entrepreneurial skills to make a living.
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Suicide bombers attack Nigerian cities on Independence Day
A series of explosions rocked the city of Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria on Thursday, with casualties feared, witnesses and police said.
It was not immediately clear how many blasts hit the Borno state capital but one police officer said as many as seven went off and locals reported at least two bombs were strapped to teenage girls.
Boko Haram Islamists have increasingly used suicide bombers to target civilians, including in Maiduguri, where on 20 September dozens of people were killed in a wave of attacks.
“The first bomb was strapped to the body of a teenage girl, who wanted to kill worshippers at Ajilari Cross,” said Bashir Ali, a driver in the area.
Ajilari Cross, near Maiduguri airport, where there is also a military base, was one of several places in the city hit 10 days ago.
Ali said the girl’s target appeared to have been a mosque, just as worshippers were preparing for evening prayers at about 7:30pm (1830 GMT).
“Tragedy was averted because there was a little delay as the prayers did not commence in earnest and the bomb strapped to the body of the girl went off and killed her,” he added.
“It did not affect any other person.”
Maiduguri has been on edge since the last round of bombings, with locals fearing further bloodshed. The sound of the first explosion saw many flee their homes.
Bakura Ajiya, a butcher, said there were three blasts as people left the area, killing a number of people. He did not specify how many.
He added that there was another teenage girl carrying explosives who targeted a separate gathering in Ajilari but her bomb failed to go off.
“When she attempted to flee, the police shot her in the leg,” he said.
A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed: “In all, there were about seven explosions but we are trying to get the details. I cannot tell you the casualty figures for now.”
Exact details of the blasts and casualties are unlikely to emerge until Friday, as Maiduguri is subject to a nighttime curfew.
Nigeria’s military on Thursday said one man was arrested after troops discovered and raided what it said was a Boko Haram fuel dump in the Abbaganaram area of Maiduguri on Wednesday.
“The fuel depot was used to stockpile petroleum, oil and lubricants by Boko Haram terrorists and their equally heartless collaborators for onward movement to the terrorists’ camps in Sambisa forest,” army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement.
Separately, Usman said 80 Boko Haram fighters had surrendered to troops in the town of Bama, some 70km (45 miles) southeast of Maiduguri.
Military commanders, who in early August were given a three-month deadline to end the insurgency, this week said they were holding 315 Boko Haram fighters who had given up their weapons.
Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, has said he was hopeful of an end to “conventional” fighting by early November but guerrilla-style attacks on civilians may continue.
Amnesty International on Wednesday said more needed to be done to protect civilians, with at least 1,600 killed in Boko Haram violence in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger since the start of June, taking the toll to some 3,500 this year.
At least 17,000 people have been killed in the conflict since 2009 and 2.5 million made homeless, mainly in Nigeria.
The UN’s regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel region, Toby Lanzer, said in New York on Wednesday the effects of the insurgency had created “the fastest-growing crisis in Africa”.
Guardian
It was not immediately clear how many blasts hit the Borno state capital but one police officer said as many as seven went off and locals reported at least two bombs were strapped to teenage girls.
Boko Haram Islamists have increasingly used suicide bombers to target civilians, including in Maiduguri, where on 20 September dozens of people were killed in a wave of attacks.
“The first bomb was strapped to the body of a teenage girl, who wanted to kill worshippers at Ajilari Cross,” said Bashir Ali, a driver in the area.
Ajilari Cross, near Maiduguri airport, where there is also a military base, was one of several places in the city hit 10 days ago.
Ali said the girl’s target appeared to have been a mosque, just as worshippers were preparing for evening prayers at about 7:30pm (1830 GMT).
“Tragedy was averted because there was a little delay as the prayers did not commence in earnest and the bomb strapped to the body of the girl went off and killed her,” he added.
“It did not affect any other person.”
Maiduguri has been on edge since the last round of bombings, with locals fearing further bloodshed. The sound of the first explosion saw many flee their homes.
Bakura Ajiya, a butcher, said there were three blasts as people left the area, killing a number of people. He did not specify how many.
He added that there was another teenage girl carrying explosives who targeted a separate gathering in Ajilari but her bomb failed to go off.
“When she attempted to flee, the police shot her in the leg,” he said.
A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed: “In all, there were about seven explosions but we are trying to get the details. I cannot tell you the casualty figures for now.”
Exact details of the blasts and casualties are unlikely to emerge until Friday, as Maiduguri is subject to a nighttime curfew.
Nigeria’s military on Thursday said one man was arrested after troops discovered and raided what it said was a Boko Haram fuel dump in the Abbaganaram area of Maiduguri on Wednesday.
“The fuel depot was used to stockpile petroleum, oil and lubricants by Boko Haram terrorists and their equally heartless collaborators for onward movement to the terrorists’ camps in Sambisa forest,” army spokesman Sani Usman said in a statement.
Separately, Usman said 80 Boko Haram fighters had surrendered to troops in the town of Bama, some 70km (45 miles) southeast of Maiduguri.
Military commanders, who in early August were given a three-month deadline to end the insurgency, this week said they were holding 315 Boko Haram fighters who had given up their weapons.
Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, has said he was hopeful of an end to “conventional” fighting by early November but guerrilla-style attacks on civilians may continue.
Amnesty International on Wednesday said more needed to be done to protect civilians, with at least 1,600 killed in Boko Haram violence in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger since the start of June, taking the toll to some 3,500 this year.
At least 17,000 people have been killed in the conflict since 2009 and 2.5 million made homeless, mainly in Nigeria.
The UN’s regional humanitarian coordinator for the Sahel region, Toby Lanzer, said in New York on Wednesday the effects of the insurgency had created “the fastest-growing crisis in Africa”.
Guardian
Wednesday, September 30, 2015
President Muhammadu Buhari finally names people to serve in his cabinet
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari on Wednesday finally submitted names to serve in his cabinet, four months since taking office and after announcing he intended to take personal charge of the country's crucial oil portfolio.
The long-awaited list of nominees was submitted to Senate president Bukola Saraki at the National Assembly buildings in Abuja, the leader of the upper chamber of parliament wrote in a tweet.
Names of the nominees were not immediately disclosed.
Thursday is a public holiday in Nigeria to mark the 55th anniversary of independence from Britain, meaning senators will not reach a decision to approve the candidates before parliament resumes next Tuesday.
Buhari, who has been running the country with permanent secretaries (civil servants) at government ministries, on Tuesday evening said he would appoint himself minister of petroleum resources.
A junior minister will oversee the day-to-day affairs in the sector, which provides the majority of government revenue, his spokesman Femi Adesina confirmed to AFP.
Buhari, 72, has made stopping the rot in the oil sector a priority, as he seeks to cut graft and put the country's crippled, crude-dependent finances on a firmer footing.
OPEC-member Nigeria -- Africa's number one crude producer and biggest economy -- has been hit badly by a slump in global oil prices since last year, squeezing government revenue.
Oil accounts for some 90 percent of Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings.
The president has vowed to recover "mind-boggling" sums of stolen oil cash, starting with a drastic overhaul of state-run oil firm the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
The NNPC has become a byword for corruption and last year was accused of failing to remit $20 billion (18 billion euros) in revenue to the central bank.
Former military ruler Buhari has vowed that corruption and the corrupt will have no place in his government and vetting of candidates has been seen as delaying his nomination of senior ministers.
- 'Maximum power' -
Buhari has prior experience of dealing with the oil industry. In 1977, he was oil minister under General Olusegun Obasanjo and helped establish the NNPC.
He was later in charge of the Petroleum Trust Fund during the time of General Sani Abacha in the 1990s.
A committee advising Buhari on policy before he took office has recommended he streamlines the number of ministries and ministers.
He has already moved to revamp the NNPC, sacking the entire board, announcing a probe into opaque accounting practices and appointing a new boss to make the company more transparent and profitable.
Malte Liewerscheidt, senior Africa analyst at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said Buhari's decision "furnishes him with maximum power to push through necessary reforms" in the oil sector.
It also demonstrated the importance he places on overhauling the industry but the analyst cautioned that concentrating powers "could send the wrong signal for the reform path ahead".
"Concentration of powers is among the chief reasons for the poor performance of Nigeria's oil sector governance," Liewerscheidt said in an email.
"Buhari will need to make clear that combining the roles of president and petroleum minister will only be an extraordinary and temporary measure to accelerate reforms."
Obasanjo also oversaw the oil ministry when he was civilian president from 1999 to 2007 and Buhari will have to guard against the perception of a potential for abuse.
"Buhari's self-appointment is a high-risk strategy, as it links his fate as president with successful reform of the oil and gas sector," he added.
"If he fails to deliver tangible successes soon, there will be no minister to shift the blame to."
AFP
The long-awaited list of nominees was submitted to Senate president Bukola Saraki at the National Assembly buildings in Abuja, the leader of the upper chamber of parliament wrote in a tweet.
Names of the nominees were not immediately disclosed.
Thursday is a public holiday in Nigeria to mark the 55th anniversary of independence from Britain, meaning senators will not reach a decision to approve the candidates before parliament resumes next Tuesday.
Buhari, who has been running the country with permanent secretaries (civil servants) at government ministries, on Tuesday evening said he would appoint himself minister of petroleum resources.
A junior minister will oversee the day-to-day affairs in the sector, which provides the majority of government revenue, his spokesman Femi Adesina confirmed to AFP.
Buhari, 72, has made stopping the rot in the oil sector a priority, as he seeks to cut graft and put the country's crippled, crude-dependent finances on a firmer footing.
OPEC-member Nigeria -- Africa's number one crude producer and biggest economy -- has been hit badly by a slump in global oil prices since last year, squeezing government revenue.
Oil accounts for some 90 percent of Nigeria's foreign exchange earnings.
The president has vowed to recover "mind-boggling" sums of stolen oil cash, starting with a drastic overhaul of state-run oil firm the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC).
The NNPC has become a byword for corruption and last year was accused of failing to remit $20 billion (18 billion euros) in revenue to the central bank.
Former military ruler Buhari has vowed that corruption and the corrupt will have no place in his government and vetting of candidates has been seen as delaying his nomination of senior ministers.
- 'Maximum power' -
Buhari has prior experience of dealing with the oil industry. In 1977, he was oil minister under General Olusegun Obasanjo and helped establish the NNPC.
He was later in charge of the Petroleum Trust Fund during the time of General Sani Abacha in the 1990s.
A committee advising Buhari on policy before he took office has recommended he streamlines the number of ministries and ministers.
He has already moved to revamp the NNPC, sacking the entire board, announcing a probe into opaque accounting practices and appointing a new boss to make the company more transparent and profitable.
Malte Liewerscheidt, senior Africa analyst at risk consultancy Verisk Maplecroft, said Buhari's decision "furnishes him with maximum power to push through necessary reforms" in the oil sector.
It also demonstrated the importance he places on overhauling the industry but the analyst cautioned that concentrating powers "could send the wrong signal for the reform path ahead".
"Concentration of powers is among the chief reasons for the poor performance of Nigeria's oil sector governance," Liewerscheidt said in an email.
"Buhari will need to make clear that combining the roles of president and petroleum minister will only be an extraordinary and temporary measure to accelerate reforms."
Obasanjo also oversaw the oil ministry when he was civilian president from 1999 to 2007 and Buhari will have to guard against the perception of a potential for abuse.
"Buhari's self-appointment is a high-risk strategy, as it links his fate as president with successful reform of the oil and gas sector," he added.
"If he fails to deliver tangible successes soon, there will be no minister to shift the blame to."
AFP
Video - President Buhari promises to free kidnapped schoolgirls at UN General Assembly
President Buhari seemed to lament on the lack of adequate support from the international community in fighting the Boko Haram insurgency at the UN General Assembly.
President Muhammadu Buhari to become oil minister of Nigeria
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
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