Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Video - Nigerian Chinedu Harrison breaks Guiness World Record for longest distance walked with balancing a football on the head
Nigerian footballer Chinedu Harrison has broken the Guiness World Record for the farthest distance walked with a football on the head, walking a distance of 48.040 kilometers with the ball never leaving his head or touching the ground for a single moment. The previous record was 45.64 kilometers, set by an Indian soldier Naib Singh in 2014. The new record will officially enter the Guiness Book of World Records once it is ratified by the organisation. Chinedu's journey to setting the new record began nearly 46 kilometers outside of Lagos. He walked with the ball on his head through the major Lagos/Ibadan expressway before hitting the major streets of the commercial city with crowds cheering him on. He eventually reached his finish line at the national stadium in Lagos after almost ten hours of trekking.
Africa's richest man Aliko Dangote says Nigeria's economic crisis exaggerated
The business mogul argued that the current situation cannot be described as a crisis because while some businesses faced serious challenges, others did not. "It all depends on the business," he said.
Dangote stated his view at the The Economist Forum in Lagos, yesterday, while answering questions on the potentials of the Nigeria economy in the face of the current economic challenge.
He said: "I think people are underrating the economy of Nigeria. They just go and look at foreign exchange because oil has gone down and believe that everything has gone out of the window. That is not correct."
He said that the Dangote Cement, as at January and February, recorded 47 per cent growth. The company, he said, estimated that in the next three months, it will witness 60 per cent growth. "We have seen growth in our sugar business of about 20 per cent" he said.
"If your business model is to import 100 per cent of your component and just be an assembly plant, then definitely you will face challenges because the influx of foreign exchange is not like what it used to be a year and half ago when we used to receive about 3.2 billion dollars on monthly basis and our outflow was around two billion dollars. Today, we are receiving just about a billion dollars.
"In our cement sector, we had that vision and we said let us properly industrialise. By this, we mean that our raw materials are almost 90 percent locally sourced. So we only need foreign exchange to buy spare parts, pay some of our expatriate staff salaries in dollars and a get a little bit of gipson which is not readily available here."
He said that the only option left for businesses in Nigeria was to export. "We now have capacity to export cement worth about 500 million dollars on an annual basis. With that, it means that we are self-sufficient.
"If you look at most of our projects, they are all very transformational projects because we saw this coming. In the last ten years, we said we want to do things in a manner that by 2018, we don't have to go to the Central Bank of Nigeria to ask for foreign exchange. We want to be people who will sale forex to the market."
Daily Trust
Ex-defence chief accused of stealing $20m
A former Nigerian chief of defence has been accused of stealing $20m (£14m) from the air force and buying a mansion.
Retired Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh denies 10 charges of fraud, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
He was appointed chief of defence two years ago.
The BBC's Martin Patience says ACM Badeh is the latest of several officials accused of stealing billions of dollars from the armed forces.
ACM Badeh is accused of using the funds to buy a mansion in the capital Abuja along with a string of other properties.
More than $1m in cash was also reportedly found at one of his homes.
Our correspondent said he was appointed when the military was coming under sustained criticism over its fight against Boko Haram militants.
Under former President Goodluck Jonathan, front-line troops complained that they were ill-equipped to fight the militants and discipline in the army was breaking down as soldiers refused to carry out orders.
An investigation has alleged that a total of $2bn (£1.3bn) meant to buy arms to fight Boko Haram had gone missing.
The former national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, was charged in December in connection with the case involving $68m that is alleged to be missing. He was accused of awarding phantom contracts to buy helicopters, fighter jets and ammunition, which he denied.
Twelve other senior Nigerian army officers were handed over to the anti-corruption agency in February for their alleged involvement in the arms scandal.
Muhammadu Buhari won elections a year ago on promises to tackle both Boko Haram and corruption.
BBC
Retired Air Chief Marshal Alex Badeh denies 10 charges of fraud, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
He was appointed chief of defence two years ago.
The BBC's Martin Patience says ACM Badeh is the latest of several officials accused of stealing billions of dollars from the armed forces.
ACM Badeh is accused of using the funds to buy a mansion in the capital Abuja along with a string of other properties.
More than $1m in cash was also reportedly found at one of his homes.
Our correspondent said he was appointed when the military was coming under sustained criticism over its fight against Boko Haram militants.
Under former President Goodluck Jonathan, front-line troops complained that they were ill-equipped to fight the militants and discipline in the army was breaking down as soldiers refused to carry out orders.
An investigation has alleged that a total of $2bn (£1.3bn) meant to buy arms to fight Boko Haram had gone missing.
The former national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, was charged in December in connection with the case involving $68m that is alleged to be missing. He was accused of awarding phantom contracts to buy helicopters, fighter jets and ammunition, which he denied.
Twelve other senior Nigerian army officers were handed over to the anti-corruption agency in February for their alleged involvement in the arms scandal.
Muhammadu Buhari won elections a year ago on promises to tackle both Boko Haram and corruption.
BBC
Monday, March 7, 2016
Video - 76 Boko Haram militants surrender to Nigerian army due to starvation
It appears there's a new weapon in the fight against Boko Haram militants. Authorities have managed to cut off some fighters from their supply routes - and the militants are slowly starving.
Three kidnapped schoolgirls rescued in Lagos, Nigeria
Three secondary school students who were kidnapped from their school in Nigeria’s biggest city, Lagos, have been found, police toldAFP on Sunday.
“From midnight to the early hours today (Sunday) we were able to rescue them,” Lagos State police spokeswoman Dolapo Badmus said.
The three girls were seized from a dormitory last Monday at the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in the eastern suburb of Ikorodu.
The abduction sparked a massive search for the teenagers and the prompted the state government to tighten security at schools across the megacity, which is home to some 20 million people.
No further details were immediately available and police have previously refused to comment on local media reports of demands for a 200-million-naira (nearly $1 million) ransom.
Abductions from schools are rare in Lagos, although kidnapping for ransom by armed criminals is common in southern states.
AfricaNews
Related story: Video - Gunmen kidnap 3 schoolgirls in Lagos, Nigeria
“From midnight to the early hours today (Sunday) we were able to rescue them,” Lagos State police spokeswoman Dolapo Badmus said.
The three girls were seized from a dormitory last Monday at the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary School in the eastern suburb of Ikorodu.
The abduction sparked a massive search for the teenagers and the prompted the state government to tighten security at schools across the megacity, which is home to some 20 million people.
No further details were immediately available and police have previously refused to comment on local media reports of demands for a 200-million-naira (nearly $1 million) ransom.
Abductions from schools are rare in Lagos, although kidnapping for ransom by armed criminals is common in southern states.
AfricaNews
Related story: Video - Gunmen kidnap 3 schoolgirls in Lagos, Nigeria
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)