Tuesday, November 24, 2015
Video - Nigeria banning importation of electric generator
The Nigerian Government has banned the importation of one of the most popular and affordable electricity generators due to pollution and health concerns. But local businesses say the generators are crucial in keeping operations running amid the nation's chronic power outages.
Related stories: Video - Nigeria electricity crisis worsens
Video - Electricity shortage threatening Nigeria's economy
Video - Electricity tariff in Nigeria increases by 40%
Nigerians stranded in Canada due to Nigerian government's failure to pay scholarship bill
Wisdom Eji says he and his fellow Nigerians, here on scholarships for underprivileged students, have been left to fend for themselves after the government-funded program that brought them to Canada has failed to pay.
"We have been abandoned," said Eji, a University of Regina (U of R) engineering student. "We live right now like we don't have sponsors."
Across Canada, 246 Nigerian students, in 14 universities were promised their tuition and living expenses would be covered during their four-year degree program.
However, they haven't received their living allowance for the past 11 months and their tuition is millions of dollars in arrears.
"You just wish you didn't even have the scholarship in the first place," Eji said. "Like things get bad — I just wish I didn't even come here. I just wish I was at home."
Government agency owes millions
Eji is one of 40-50 students enrolled at the U of R under a scholarship paid for by the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA); an organization owned and funded by the Rivers State government in Nigeria.
The organization sponsors hundreds of poor but academically gifted students to study at universities in 14 countries, including Canada.
The students were promised tuition and a living allowance of $1,100 a month to cover their rent, food and other expenses.
"Before we left Nigeria they are like, 'Don't even work,'" Eji recalled. "''We'll give you everything you need.'"
The RSSDA owes Canadian students about $3 million in living allowance, forcing many like Eji to find jobs. He is working part-time while continuing his full-time studies.
He said he's behind on his rent and other bills, is often hungry, stressed and sleepless. He said as a result his marks have dropped 15-20 percentage points.
Canadian universities owed millions
In addition to what it owes in living allowances, the RSSDA admits it also owes $2.5 million in tuition to 14 Canadian universities. More than half of that, $1.3 million, is owed to the U of R for the 2014/15 academic year, during which 124 RSSDA sponsored students studied at the institution.
Vanessa Ikeogu, an RSSDA student who's studying criminology at the U of R, said she's angered by the behaviour of her government and sponsoring agency.
"Ignorant, reluctant, irresponsible government officials," Ikeogu said. "I just feel like I have been lied to."
However, the acting executive director of the RSSDA, Godwin Poi, said the government-owned agency will keep its promises.
RSSDA promises to pay
"It is absolutely correct to do so. It's a government, and we can't afford government obligations and responsibilities to fail," Poi told CBC's iTeam.
Nigeria has fallen on hard financial times because of the collapse of the price of oil, he said, pleading for patience.
"It is tragic and sad that we're in the situation we are in. To the best of my knowledge all the governments have done their best to fund the situation for them," Poi said. "We have gone through a very very serious phase of funding for the country and the state."
The U of R has admitted more Nigerian students through this program than any other university in Canada. At its peak, during the 2012/13 academic year, there were 155 RSSDA sponsored students at the U of R.
On average, international students pay about $10,000 in tuition per semester for a full load of classes; much higher than what Canadian students pay.
The director of executive reporting services at the U of R, Lamont Stradeski, says the university's relationship with the RSSDA dates back to 2008. And he fully expects the university will be paid.
"I guess the recourse the university has is we can stop students from registering further.," he said. "However, we wouldn't do that unless we had serious concerns that we would not receive payment, which at this point we don't."
Unpaid tuition creating stress
The RSSDA owes more than $250,000 to the University of Manitoba (U of M) and that institution appears to be taking a harder line.
Gift Amadi is sponsored by the agency to pursue a political science degree at the U of M, but his tuition bill is past due, and the university is asking him to pay.
"The school is saying you have just about 30 days left to pay what's left for this term," Amadi said. "If not I won't be able to register for the winter term."
He said the lack of scholarship funding has been "very devastating."
"Right now I'm taking classes and I'm thinking of feeding. I haven't eaten since morning and I'm in class," Amadi told CBC's iTeam, when reached in the evening at the U of M.
The associate VP of Outreach and Engagement at the U of M, Leah Janzen, said she's sympathetic.
"I know some of them have accessed our student food bank," Janzen explained. "It's a very difficult situation."
Payment plans
She said the university is working with the students to develop payment plans and find other funding.
Some RSSDA students have paid their own tuition, borrowing money from friends, family or churches. But for others, time is clearly running out.
For about a dozen students, tuition hasn't been paid for the summer or fall term, putting their stay at the university in jeopardy.
"Our policy is you can't go into a third term having not been able to pay for the previous two terms in their entirety," Janzen said. "So we don't want to get to that position with these students."
If an international student on a visa is no longer registered at an educational institution, they aren't able to stay in Canada, according to immigration rules.
Recently, 19 RSSDA-sponsored students had to flee the U.K. in order to avoid deportation from that country because their tuition had not been paid by the agency.
Many students in Canada worry they may end up in the same situation.
"Terrified — because you don't know if you're the next," Eji said. "I can't get that money, so if I don't have that money the only option is going back to Nigeria."
Students take action
Amadi says ongoing political instability in Nigeria has made it easy for politicians there to ignore this problem, so he and the other students have decided to take action.
They've formed a committee to mobilize friends, family and the media to pressure the Nigerian government.
He said students are worried they may face retaliation by speaking out about this issue, but added his political science studies have taught him that sometimes it's necessary to take calculated risks.
"It may not be convenient, it may not be comfortable for you, but someone has got to stand to say 'OK, this is the right thing and we can do it if we stand for what is right and we speak up about it.'"
He said it's ironic that his government sent him to Canada on a scholarship to study political science, the knowledge he's now using to pressure that same government to keep its word.
CBC
Related story: Video - University in Canada high acceptance rate for Nigerians despite tough immigration
"We have been abandoned," said Eji, a University of Regina (U of R) engineering student. "We live right now like we don't have sponsors."
Across Canada, 246 Nigerian students, in 14 universities were promised their tuition and living expenses would be covered during their four-year degree program.
However, they haven't received their living allowance for the past 11 months and their tuition is millions of dollars in arrears.
"You just wish you didn't even have the scholarship in the first place," Eji said. "Like things get bad — I just wish I didn't even come here. I just wish I was at home."
Government agency owes millions
Eji is one of 40-50 students enrolled at the U of R under a scholarship paid for by the Rivers State Sustainable Development Agency (RSSDA); an organization owned and funded by the Rivers State government in Nigeria.
The organization sponsors hundreds of poor but academically gifted students to study at universities in 14 countries, including Canada.
The students were promised tuition and a living allowance of $1,100 a month to cover their rent, food and other expenses.
"Before we left Nigeria they are like, 'Don't even work,'" Eji recalled. "''We'll give you everything you need.'"
The RSSDA owes Canadian students about $3 million in living allowance, forcing many like Eji to find jobs. He is working part-time while continuing his full-time studies.
He said he's behind on his rent and other bills, is often hungry, stressed and sleepless. He said as a result his marks have dropped 15-20 percentage points.
Canadian universities owed millions
In addition to what it owes in living allowances, the RSSDA admits it also owes $2.5 million in tuition to 14 Canadian universities. More than half of that, $1.3 million, is owed to the U of R for the 2014/15 academic year, during which 124 RSSDA sponsored students studied at the institution.
Vanessa Ikeogu, an RSSDA student who's studying criminology at the U of R, said she's angered by the behaviour of her government and sponsoring agency.
"Ignorant, reluctant, irresponsible government officials," Ikeogu said. "I just feel like I have been lied to."
However, the acting executive director of the RSSDA, Godwin Poi, said the government-owned agency will keep its promises.
RSSDA promises to pay
"It is absolutely correct to do so. It's a government, and we can't afford government obligations and responsibilities to fail," Poi told CBC's iTeam.
Nigeria has fallen on hard financial times because of the collapse of the price of oil, he said, pleading for patience.
"It is tragic and sad that we're in the situation we are in. To the best of my knowledge all the governments have done their best to fund the situation for them," Poi said. "We have gone through a very very serious phase of funding for the country and the state."
The U of R has admitted more Nigerian students through this program than any other university in Canada. At its peak, during the 2012/13 academic year, there were 155 RSSDA sponsored students at the U of R.
On average, international students pay about $10,000 in tuition per semester for a full load of classes; much higher than what Canadian students pay.
The director of executive reporting services at the U of R, Lamont Stradeski, says the university's relationship with the RSSDA dates back to 2008. And he fully expects the university will be paid.
"I guess the recourse the university has is we can stop students from registering further.," he said. "However, we wouldn't do that unless we had serious concerns that we would not receive payment, which at this point we don't."
Unpaid tuition creating stress
The RSSDA owes more than $250,000 to the University of Manitoba (U of M) and that institution appears to be taking a harder line.
Gift Amadi is sponsored by the agency to pursue a political science degree at the U of M, but his tuition bill is past due, and the university is asking him to pay.
"The school is saying you have just about 30 days left to pay what's left for this term," Amadi said. "If not I won't be able to register for the winter term."
He said the lack of scholarship funding has been "very devastating."
"Right now I'm taking classes and I'm thinking of feeding. I haven't eaten since morning and I'm in class," Amadi told CBC's iTeam, when reached in the evening at the U of M.
The associate VP of Outreach and Engagement at the U of M, Leah Janzen, said she's sympathetic.
"I know some of them have accessed our student food bank," Janzen explained. "It's a very difficult situation."
Payment plans
She said the university is working with the students to develop payment plans and find other funding.
Some RSSDA students have paid their own tuition, borrowing money from friends, family or churches. But for others, time is clearly running out.
For about a dozen students, tuition hasn't been paid for the summer or fall term, putting their stay at the university in jeopardy.
"Our policy is you can't go into a third term having not been able to pay for the previous two terms in their entirety," Janzen said. "So we don't want to get to that position with these students."
If an international student on a visa is no longer registered at an educational institution, they aren't able to stay in Canada, according to immigration rules.
Recently, 19 RSSDA-sponsored students had to flee the U.K. in order to avoid deportation from that country because their tuition had not been paid by the agency.
Many students in Canada worry they may end up in the same situation.
"Terrified — because you don't know if you're the next," Eji said. "I can't get that money, so if I don't have that money the only option is going back to Nigeria."
Students take action
Amadi says ongoing political instability in Nigeria has made it easy for politicians there to ignore this problem, so he and the other students have decided to take action.
They've formed a committee to mobilize friends, family and the media to pressure the Nigerian government.
He said students are worried they may face retaliation by speaking out about this issue, but added his political science studies have taught him that sometimes it's necessary to take calculated risks.
"It may not be convenient, it may not be comfortable for you, but someone has got to stand to say 'OK, this is the right thing and we can do it if we stand for what is right and we speak up about it.'"
He said it's ironic that his government sent him to Canada on a scholarship to study political science, the knowledge he's now using to pressure that same government to keep its word.
CBC
Related story: Video - University in Canada high acceptance rate for Nigerians despite tough immigration
500 Nigerians scheduled to be deported from U.K. today
Nigerians at home are currently bracing for a blazing diplomatic row with Britain as the United Kingdom plans to deport over 500 Nigerians who have been resident in that country today.
For over two weeks now, the affected Nigerians in the UK have been crying out to the Nigerian Government to come their rescue,but it appears their cry for help has fallen on deaf ears.
Some of these Nigerians are married to British nationals, and deporting now will mean that they may never get to see their families and loved ones in the UK again.
Sad enough too, the Nigerian Government has been uncomfortably silent on the allegation of Nigerian High Commission officials in the UK taking £3,000 bribe from UK officials to issue travel certificates to the affected Nigerians.
The families of the affected Nigerians at home here are wondering why the government is not taking any action on the issue, when of course,it is common knowledge that the British Government will never condone its own citizens being treated in the manner Nigerians are being treated in the UK.
Leadership
For over two weeks now, the affected Nigerians in the UK have been crying out to the Nigerian Government to come their rescue,but it appears their cry for help has fallen on deaf ears.
Some of these Nigerians are married to British nationals, and deporting now will mean that they may never get to see their families and loved ones in the UK again.
Sad enough too, the Nigerian Government has been uncomfortably silent on the allegation of Nigerian High Commission officials in the UK taking £3,000 bribe from UK officials to issue travel certificates to the affected Nigerians.
The families of the affected Nigerians at home here are wondering why the government is not taking any action on the issue, when of course,it is common knowledge that the British Government will never condone its own citizens being treated in the manner Nigerians are being treated in the UK.
Leadership
Monday, November 23, 2015
8 dead in suicide bombing in Nigeria
Eight people were killed and eight others injured Sunday in a suicide bombing in Nigeria, an army spokesman said.
The bomb detonated among people displaced by Boko Haram violence in the city of Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria, according to Col. Sani Usman.
The victims, mostly women and children from Dikwa, were undergoing security screening at a military checkpoint.
Nigerian troops liberated Dikwa from Boko Haram in July, allowing people from the town to return home, and residents from nearby villages to move to the town for military protection against deadly raids. But a lack of food and other basic necessities forced people to flee.
Boko Haram, which operates mainly in Nigeria, has become the most deadly terrorist group in the world, according to the Global Terrorism Index 2015, compiled by the Institute for Economics and Peace. The militant Islamist group has pledged allegiance to ISIS.
CNN
Friday, November 20, 2015
Report says Boko Haram is world's deadliest terror group
France has yet to recover from the Paris attacks. Everyday news about ISIS beheadings and onslaught are abound. World powers are joining forces conducting airstrikes against the terrorist group. Political rivals like Russia and U.S. are willing to set aside differences in order to fight the ISIS. And yet a more terrifying group than the ISIS has risen.
The world’s deadliest terrorist group is not the ISIS, but the Boko Haram in Nigeria,according to a report released Wednesday by the Institute of Economics and Peace. The Global Terrorism Index, a study of terrorist activity around the world, found that Boko Haram was responsible for 6,664 deaths in 2014 alone – more than any other terrorist group in the world. The ISIS, on the other hand, killed 6,073 people in 2014. Worse, the Boko Haram had pledged allegiance to the ISIS (now known as Daesh) this year. Together, they were responsible for half of all global deaths attributed to terrorism, the report said.
Nigeria has also been battling another terrorist organization aside from the Boko Haram, the Fulani militants. Hence, it has experienced the largest increase in deaths from terrorism in 2014, the report stated. There were 7,512 fatalities in thecountry from terrorist attacks in 2014 alone, an increase of over 300 percent.
On Thursday, another deadly blast killed 11 persons and injured 57 in Kano, Nigeria. According to a report from Vanguard, the blast also killed the two female suicide bombers at a local market. The incident took place just days after 30 persons were killed in a separate blast in Yola, Adamawa state.
Muhammad Katsina, Commissioner of Police, said six suspects rode a Sharon Space Wagon vehicle. They dropped two females at the market. The females then went inside the market and the suspects detonated the bombs.
Boko Haram was responsible for kidnapping as many as 300 girls in 2014. Although the group had freed 200 of these girls, the fates of the others remain unknown today.
Morning News USA
The world’s deadliest terrorist group is not the ISIS, but the Boko Haram in Nigeria,according to a report released Wednesday by the Institute of Economics and Peace. The Global Terrorism Index, a study of terrorist activity around the world, found that Boko Haram was responsible for 6,664 deaths in 2014 alone – more than any other terrorist group in the world. The ISIS, on the other hand, killed 6,073 people in 2014. Worse, the Boko Haram had pledged allegiance to the ISIS (now known as Daesh) this year. Together, they were responsible for half of all global deaths attributed to terrorism, the report said.
Nigeria has also been battling another terrorist organization aside from the Boko Haram, the Fulani militants. Hence, it has experienced the largest increase in deaths from terrorism in 2014, the report stated. There were 7,512 fatalities in thecountry from terrorist attacks in 2014 alone, an increase of over 300 percent.
On Thursday, another deadly blast killed 11 persons and injured 57 in Kano, Nigeria. According to a report from Vanguard, the blast also killed the two female suicide bombers at a local market. The incident took place just days after 30 persons were killed in a separate blast in Yola, Adamawa state.
Muhammad Katsina, Commissioner of Police, said six suspects rode a Sharon Space Wagon vehicle. They dropped two females at the market. The females then went inside the market and the suspects detonated the bombs.
Boko Haram was responsible for kidnapping as many as 300 girls in 2014. Although the group had freed 200 of these girls, the fates of the others remain unknown today.
Morning News USA
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