Friday, April 7, 2017

Ademola Odujinrin becomes first Nigerian to fly around the world

Nigerian airline pilot Ademola Odujinrin, known as “Lola”, has become the first African to fly solo around the world, his foundation Transcend said in a statement Thursday.

The 38-year-old Nigerian left Washington in September last year abord a Cirrus SR22, a small, single engine airplane, and stopped in more than 15 countries on five continents during the journey, according to the statement.

Odujinrin landed at his starting point at Dulles Airport, just outside the American capital on March 29. “I want African children to think: ‘I can do this too!'” Odujinrin said. The website Earthrounders lists Odujinrin as the first African among the 120 pilots who have flown around the world solo since American Wiley Post became the first to do so in 1933. A commercial airline pilot since 2011, Odujinrin works for Air Djibouti, which partially financed the project.

Thursday, April 6, 2017

Video - Teenagers hope to bring Nigeria boxing glory at 2020 Olympics



Two teenage boxers have set their sights on representing Nigeria in the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. The country used to be an African boxing powerhouse, and these two young women are hoping to return the country to its glory days.

Former oil minister of Nigeria charged with money-laundering



Nigeria's Federal High Court has charged a former oil minister with money-laundering in an election bribery scandal. Diezani Allison-Madueke is the first minister from former President Goodluck Jonathan's Cabinet to be formally charged.

Prosecutors allege that she paid bribes totaling nearly $1.4 million to three electoral officials the day before the March 2015 presidential elections.

A former national security adviser has told the High Court that $2.1 billion was diverted from the war on Boko Haram Islamic extremists for bribes to ensure Jonathan won the election.

Allison-Madueke was absent when charges were read Wednesday. She has been in London since Jonathan lost the 2015 elections. British National Crime Agency officers detained her briefly in 2015 for questioning about alleged money-laundering.

Dog saves wedding guests from suicide bomber in Nigeria

A dog is being credited with saving lives by intervening to stop a suicide bomber who was attempted to enter a wedding party near Maiduguri, Nigeria.

Army radio says that the dog grappled with the teen girl bomber until the explosives went off, killing them both, as NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports.

"Most Belbelo villagers were reportedly at the wedding when the dog pounced on the would-be suicide bomber, who was reportedly hovering on the outskirts of the ceremony on Sunday morning," Ofeibea adds.

The local Vanguard newspaper states that the bomber, "whose original mission appeared to have been thwarted, detonated her explosives while battling to wriggle herself from the canine grip of the dog."

Buba Ahmed, who lives in the area, told the Associated Press that the "guests are grateful that the dog sacrificed itself to save their lives." Police spokesman Victor Isuku also confirmed the incident to the wire service.

The Nigerian military has launched a major offensive against Boko Haram militants and rolled back their territory in the north of the country, though the militants continue to mount attacks.

Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Germany to deport 12,000 Nigerians

German government has concluded plans to deport 12,000 Nigerians who are seeking asylum in the country.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on diaspora affairs, Abike Dabiri-Erewa hinted that the German embassy in Nigeria has intimated her office about the plans to repatriate 12,000 Nigerians who are seeking asylum in the country.

She describes the development as unfortunate, adding that 128 Nigerians also died while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Dabiri-Erewa disclosed yesterday at the public presentation of two books “From Libya with Tears’’ and “Practical News and Feature Writing’’ written by former Managing Editor/Director of News Agency of Nigeria, Mr Dele Bodunde. “Just some days ago, 128 Nigerians died in the Mediterranean sea out of 576. Most of them were from West African countries and they were on their way to Europe.

“Now, this is an unfortunate incident and I think it is better to remain in Nigeria and keep struggling, instead of making desperate journeys that could take their lives,’’ she said Dabiri-Erewa, who was represented by her Special Assistant on Media, Mr Abdul-Rahman Balogun said some Nigerians had been trapped in Libya and were subjected to various inhuman treatments and that only the intervention of the Federal Government had ensured the return of many. 

The Presidential aide commended Bodunde for writing a book on the travails of Nigerians in Libya, saying the work could not have come at a better time. Also speaking at the occasion, a former governor of Ogun State and a veteran journalist, Chief Olusegun Osoba, said there was the need for journalists to constantly update themselves with the requisite skills of the profession. According to Osoba, the main problem to the development of the profession is a deficit in skills.