Boko Haram attacks Maiduguri, Nigeria

Suspected Boko Haram fighters attacked the city of Maiduguri in northeast Nigeria on Wednesday, the Islamist militant group's most serious assault on the regional capital in a year and a half.

The raid comes six months President Muhammadu Buhari said Boko Haram had "technically" been defeated by a military campaign that had pushed many jihadists deep into the remote Sambisa forest, near the border with Cameroon.

Aid workers and Reuters witnesses reported explosions and heavy gunfire for at least 45 minutes in the southeastern and southwestern outskirts of the city. Thousands of civilians fled the fighting, according to Reuters witnesses.

Nigeria's military said it had contained the attack.

"The situation in Maiduguri is under control," it said in a statement, urging the city's inhabitants not to panic.

Maiduguri in Borno state has been the epicenter of the eight-year fight against Boko Haram but has been relatively free of violence since the beginning of 2016, barring sporadic suicide bombs on its outskirts.

Fighter jets roared overhead as soldiers and police sped toward the scene, the Reuters witnesses said. Three children were hit by bullets, one witness said.

More than 20,000 people have been killed in Boko Haram's campaign to establish a mediaeval caliphate in the Lake Chad basin. A further 2.7 million have been displaced, creating one of the world's largest humanitarian emergencies.

Despite the military's success in liberating cities and towns, much of Borno remains off-limits, hampering efforts to deliver food aid to nearly 1.5 million people believed to be on the brink of famine.

Reuters

Video - International African hair summit kicks off in Nigeria

Nigeria holds an International African Hair Summit is catering to the growing retail industry in natural haircare. Vendors are also confronting the health risks associated with many beauty products on the market.

Video - Nigeria introduces new law to ease access to bank loans

Nigeria's acting president Yemi Osinbajo has signed a new law intended to ease access to bank loans for small and medium businesses. The legislation makes it possible for entrepreneurs to use cars and electronic appliances as collateral security for business loans.

Video - Nigerian government has succeeded in diminishing terror threat

In Nigeria, Islamist extremist group Boko Haram was once reputed to be the deadliest terrorist outfit in the world. But the Nigerian military has pushed the insurgents out of virtually all the territories it once controlled in the country's north-east. Presently, a weakened Boko Haram has resorted to sporadic suicide bombings. CGTN's Deji Badmus explains just how the Nigerian government was able to curb an insurgency that used to threaten an entire sub-region.

Nigeria unemployment rate rises to 14.2 percent

Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose to 14.2 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), has said.

The bureau disclosed that the rate rose from the 13.9 per cent recorded in the preceding quarter of the year under review.

According to the data released Monday by the NBS, the latest unemployment rate is 4.2 per cent higher than the rate recorded at the fourth quarter of 2015.

The NBS noted that as the number of unemployed people in the economy is growing, the number of underemployed people is also rising.

According to the report, the underemployed rate rose to 21.0 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2016 from 19.7 per cent recorded in the third quarter of the same year.

Analysts said the rise in the unemployment and underemployment rate was due to the negative economic growth recorded by the nation in 2016.

The economically active population or working age population (persons within ages 15 and 64) increased from 108.03 million to 108.59 million, which represents a 0.5 per cent increase over the previous quarter and a 3.4 per cent increase when compared to Q4 2015.

In Q4 2016, the labour force population increased to 81.15 million from 80.67 million in Q3 2016, representing an increase of 0.6 per cent in the labour force during the quarter.

Meanwhile, the total number of persons in full time employment decreased by 977,876 or 1.8 per cent when compared to the previous quarter, and decreased by 1.92 million or 3.5 per cent when compared to fourth quarter of 2015.

The number of underemployed in the labour force (those working but doing menial jobs not commensurate with their qualifications or those not engaged in fulltime work) increased by 1,109,551 or 7.0 per cent, resulting in an increase in the under-employment rate from 19.7 per cent (15.9 million persons) in third quarter 2016 to 21.0 per cent (17.03 million persons) in fourth quarter of 2016.

Similarly, in the fourth quarter of 2016, there were a total of 28.58 million persons in the Nigerian labour force that were either unemployed or under-employed compared to 27.12 million in the third quarter, 26.06 million in second quarter and 24.5 million in first quarter 2016.

The report also revealed that the unemployment and under-employment rates were higher for women than men in the fourth quarter of 2016.

During the quarter, 16.3 per cent of women in the labour force were unemployed, and a further 24.2 per cent of women in the labour force were under-employed.

On the other hand, 12.3 per cent of males were unemployed, while 17.9 per cent of males in the labour force were under-employ.

Premium Times