Friday, February 9, 2018
Video - Nigerian army celebrates victory as militants vow revenge
Nigerian government officials have told residents in the north-east of the country it's time to celebrate. They say the military has taken control of the last Boko Haram stronghold in the country -- Sambisa Forest. However, the militant group has released a video, refuting the claims and threatening more attacks.
Air plane door of Nigerian airline Dana Air falls off on runway
A Nigerian airline has blamed a passenger after one of its aircraft doors fell off shortly after landing.
The flight from Lagos to Abuja was taxiing on the runway when the emergency exit door came away.
Dana Air denied that it was caused by a mechanical fault, and said the door could not fall off "without a conscious effort by a passenger to open it".
But one passenger told the BBC that everyone on board had denied tampering with the door.
Dapo Sanwo, from Lagos, said: "The flight was noisy with vibrations from the floor panel. I noticed the emergency door latch was loose and dangling."
"When we landed and the plane was taxiing back to the park point, we heard a poof-like explosion, followed by a surge of breeze and noise. It was terrible."
"The cabin crew tried to say a passenger pulled the hatch which everyone denied. They also tried to get us to stop taking videos or pictures."
Ola Brown, who was also travelling on the flight, said on Twitter: "Did you hear [the door] rattling the whole flight? Was so unsettling. I just thought it was a screw loose, Didn't think it would actually just fall off."
In a statement, Dana Air denied there were issues with the door during the flight.
"The emergency exit door of our aircraft are plug-type backed by pressure, which ordinarily cannot fall off without tampering or a conscious effort to open by a crew member or passenger," the company said.
"When an aircraft is airborne, it is fully pressurised and there was no way the seat or door could have been shaking as insinuated."
The airline went on to say it had been inspected by engineers alongside a Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority team and "no issue was reported".
"The [return] flight was only delayed for eight minutes as we needed to demonstrate to the regulators that the safety and comfort of our guests is at the centre of our operations," the statement added.
In 2012, a Dana Air flight crashed in a busy Lagos suburb killing all 153 people on board.
Nigeria has historically had a poor air safety record. Last year, Abuja's airport airport was closed for six weeks while major repairs were carried out on its runway.
The flight from Lagos to Abuja was taxiing on the runway when the emergency exit door came away.
Dana Air denied that it was caused by a mechanical fault, and said the door could not fall off "without a conscious effort by a passenger to open it".
But one passenger told the BBC that everyone on board had denied tampering with the door.
Dapo Sanwo, from Lagos, said: "The flight was noisy with vibrations from the floor panel. I noticed the emergency door latch was loose and dangling."
"When we landed and the plane was taxiing back to the park point, we heard a poof-like explosion, followed by a surge of breeze and noise. It was terrible."
"The cabin crew tried to say a passenger pulled the hatch which everyone denied. They also tried to get us to stop taking videos or pictures."
Ola Brown, who was also travelling on the flight, said on Twitter: "Did you hear [the door] rattling the whole flight? Was so unsettling. I just thought it was a screw loose, Didn't think it would actually just fall off."
In a statement, Dana Air denied there were issues with the door during the flight.
"The emergency exit door of our aircraft are plug-type backed by pressure, which ordinarily cannot fall off without tampering or a conscious effort to open by a crew member or passenger," the company said.
"When an aircraft is airborne, it is fully pressurised and there was no way the seat or door could have been shaking as insinuated."
The airline went on to say it had been inspected by engineers alongside a Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority team and "no issue was reported".
"The [return] flight was only delayed for eight minutes as we needed to demonstrate to the regulators that the safety and comfort of our guests is at the centre of our operations," the statement added.
In 2012, a Dana Air flight crashed in a busy Lagos suburb killing all 153 people on board.
Nigeria has historically had a poor air safety record. Last year, Abuja's airport airport was closed for six weeks while major repairs were carried out on its runway.
Thursday, February 8, 2018
Activists embark on anti-littering awareness campaign in Abuja, Nigeria
A group of activists in Nigeria has pledged to clean up the country by encouraging people not to throw their rubbish onto the streets. The campaigners say that without proper intervention, a large population such as Nigeria's may soon not be able to cope with the build-up of trash.
Nigeria ranked in the top three global online search
A recent research conducted by Google has showed a rapid increase in online search among Nigerians. The research study which ranked Nigeria among the top three countries of the world that spend quality time online in search of various goods and services, disclosed that Nigerians' passion to go online is highest among Africa countries, surpassing South Africa and Kenya, and among top three countries globally.
Country Manager for Google Kenya, Mr. Charles Murito, who made the disclosure in South Africa, while presenting a paper on the evolution of digital advertising and the rise of online presence among African countries, said that South Africa has grown its online presence through mobile search from 61 per cent in 2014 to 67 per cent in 2017, Kenya grew its online presence through mobile search from 74 per cent in 2014 to 81 per cent in 2017, while Nigeria, which tops the African list for online presence through mobile search, grew from 76 per cent in 2014 to 86 per cent in 2017. He equally puts the growth of YouTube watch time in the past 12 months in Nigeria at 120 per cent, Kenya 110 per cent and South Africa 90 per cent.
He attributed the growth in online presence among African countries to the availability and affordability of mobile devices, occasioned by the fact that Africans are majorly mobile dependent people.
However, he said that the number could grow faster than that if the cost of mobile broadband data is drastically reduced. He said South Africa still have the highest rate of mobile broadband data in Africa, which is put at $7.6 per gigabyte, followed by Kenya at $4.9 per gigabyte and Nigeria at $3.1 gigabyte. He said Tanzania and Ghana operate at $2.3 per gigabyte each, while Egypt has the lowest rate of mobile broadband data at $1.2 per gigabyte.
Country Manager for Google Kenya, Mr. Charles Murito, who made the disclosure in South Africa, while presenting a paper on the evolution of digital advertising and the rise of online presence among African countries, said that South Africa has grown its online presence through mobile search from 61 per cent in 2014 to 67 per cent in 2017, Kenya grew its online presence through mobile search from 74 per cent in 2014 to 81 per cent in 2017, while Nigeria, which tops the African list for online presence through mobile search, grew from 76 per cent in 2014 to 86 per cent in 2017. He equally puts the growth of YouTube watch time in the past 12 months in Nigeria at 120 per cent, Kenya 110 per cent and South Africa 90 per cent.
He attributed the growth in online presence among African countries to the availability and affordability of mobile devices, occasioned by the fact that Africans are majorly mobile dependent people.
However, he said that the number could grow faster than that if the cost of mobile broadband data is drastically reduced. He said South Africa still have the highest rate of mobile broadband data in Africa, which is put at $7.6 per gigabyte, followed by Kenya at $4.9 per gigabyte and Nigeria at $3.1 gigabyte. He said Tanzania and Ghana operate at $2.3 per gigabyte each, while Egypt has the lowest rate of mobile broadband data at $1.2 per gigabyte.
Nigeria Super Eagles World Cup kit revealed
Sports manufacturers Nike have revealed the new Nigeria kits ahead of the Super Eagles' World Cup campaign.
Nike Football shared a video on their official YouTube channel which reveals several of the national team's key men catching a first glimpse of the team's new attire.
In the 1 minute 20 second clip, Wilfred Ndidi, John Obi Mikel, Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho are shown giving their verdict on what is a dazzling offering from Nike.
"I can see the players going crazy over this one," Mikel said when he was shown the national side's home shirt, in Nigeria's famous dark green with an eye-catching neon logo.
The away kit, a neon and white retro design on the body, and dark green chevrons on a white background on the arms, received a more muted response.
"This is different, you know," Iwobi added, somewhat diplomatically, while Ndidi was a little more enthusiastic, claiming he just "couldn't wait" to get the kit on in Russia this summer.
Despite the mixed reaction, the kit's similarity to the iconic shirts worn by the nation's Golden Generation in their maiden World Cup campaign in the United States in 1994 should earn it major points for nostalgia among Super Eagles supporters.
"A constant in Nigeria is an endearing love of football," NFF President Amaju Pinnick, told Nike's official website. "When football is on, everything stops. The new Nike kit designs honour our federation's rich traditions. Moreover, they celebrate everything we relish about our culture."
"With Nigeria, we wanted to tap into the attitude of the nation," added Dan Farron, Nike Football Design Director. "We built this kit and collection based on the players' full identities.
"We started to see trends in attitude and energy connecting the athletes to music, fashion and more. They are part of a resoundingly cool culture."
According to the New Telegraph Online, Nike presented the kits to the Nigeria Football Federation at a ceremony in London on Wednesday.
Nigeria are using Nike as their kit manufacturer after having been fitted by Adidas for their last two World Cup campaigns - in 2010 and 2014.
They will wear the shirts for the first time on March 23 when they face Poland in a friendly in Warsaw.
Nigeria have been pitted against Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in World Cup Group D.
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