Yakubu retires from football

Former Super Eagles forward, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, who played mostly in England and made his name with Portsmouth and Everton FC, has retired from professional football on his 35th birthday.

Aiyegbeni, who also played for Middlesbrough and Blackburn Rovers, made 250 Premier League appearances and scored 96 goals in a career spanning 20 years.

He however also featured three times for English fourth-tier side, Coventry City this year before being released.

“I will like to officially announce my retirement from professional football today,” Aiyegbeni said on Wednesday.

The powerful striker scored 21 goals in 57 appearances for Nigeria and took part in four Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) as well as the 2010 World Cup.

“The Yak… is third-best all-time scorer of the senior national team. Thank you for the memories,” the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) tweeted in a reaction.

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Facebook launches tech hub in Nigeria

Facebook is launching a "community hub" and training program in Nigeria, its biggest market in Africa. 

The hub will offer support to tech startups and will also train 50,000 young people and SMEs in digital skills across the country.

Opening in 2018, it will be Facebook's first tech space in Africa as the social media company follows in the footsteps of search giant Google who in July launched an ambitious initiative to train 10 million young people in online skills over five years.

Emeka Afigbo, Head of platform partnerships, Middle East & Africa told CNN: "What we aim to do at the incubator is to provide support for high tech startups that do not ordinarily get investments, until they can develop a proof of concept, which will attract other investors."
With an eye on growing their user base, US technology companies are increasingly turning to Africa's large youth population.
In Nigeria alone, there are 22 million monthly Facebook users; 10 million of them log in daily to the platform, all on mobile devices, Facebook says.

Afigbo added that Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, was an important market for Facebook. "Everybody knows about the country's entrepreneurial drive," he says.
"Its creativity, large population, and that a lot of this population is young people, more important is that we think the investment in Nigeria will spread and have impact across the continent," he added.

Facebook has been investing heavily in Africa, recently appointing a regional director based in South Africa.

In August, founder Mark Zuckerberg visited Nigeria and Kenya for the first time and visited the Co-Creation (CCHub). He met with developers and entrepreneurs and spent time learning about the startup ecosystem in Nigeria. 

"The energy here is amazing and I'm excited to learn as much as I can," he said during his visit.
During that visit, Zuckerberg announced an investment of 24 million dollars through his Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in Andela, a tech startup that trains software developers in Africa and gives them full-time roles in international companies.

CNN

Video - Nigerian artists showcase their works in Lagos

The Art in the Park initiative has come to the city of Lagos. It's a concept that's been growing in popularity around the world. Now, Nigerian artists have the opportunity to bring their art to the public.

Nigerian Army gives deadline for all soldiers to learn Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba

The Nigerian Army has directed all its officers and men to immediately commence the learning of the three major Nigerian languages.

A statement by army spokesperson, Sani Usman, on Wednesday morning said all personnel are expected to be proficient in Hausa, Igbo, and Yoruba by December 2018.

Mr. Usman, a brigadier general, said the directive is part of the new language policy by the army.

Read full statement below.

NIGERIAN ARMY INTRODUCES NEW LANGUAGE POLICY FOR OFFICERS AND SOLDIERS

1. The Nigerian Army has introduced a new Language Policy. The study of foreign and local languages is world-wide practice among armies, in which officers and soldiers are encouraged to be multi-lingual. The Policy will foster espirit-de-corps and better communication with the populace to enhance information gathering, civil-military relations, increase understanding between militaries when operating abroad and assist officers and soldiers to perform their duties professionally.

2. It is to be noted that English remains the official language in the Nigerian Army. Yoruba, Igbo and Hausa languages could be used during Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) activities or interrogation. Therefore all Nigerian Army personnel have been given one year to learn the three major Nigerian languages. Invariably, by December 2018, all Nigerian Army personnel are expected to learn the three major Nigerian languages. The standard of proficiency to be attained is the basic level. Certificated proficiency level will attract Language Allowance.

3. The ability to speak the 3 major Nigerian languages will be an added advantage to those applying for recruitment or commissioning into the Nigerian Army. Therefore, prospective candidates are encouraged to learn Nigerian languages other than their mother tongues.

4. Before now, the Nigerian Army officially encouraged the learning of French, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese and Swahili. French language is an assessed subject in some career courses and examinations for Nigerian Army personnel.

Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman
Director Army Public Relations

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Video - Nigeria to ramp up tax collection to support 2018 budget

Nigeria is hoping that a substantial portion of money it needs to fund its $28 billion budget for next year will come from tax. Before now, authorities did not reckon much with revenue from tax -- given what the country earns from oil. However the global oil glut has changed that thinking. The government now wants to ramp up tax collection. But it faces a daunting task, as Deji Badmus explains.