Video - Nigerian businesses call for review of new currency trading guidelines

Operators argue the new regulation could drive many out of business after Nigeria’s Central Bank raised the minimum capital requirement for operators by over one thousand percent.

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Video - Nigeria partners with Chinese firm to invest in first lithium processing plant

A Chinese firm has opened the first lithium processing plant in Nigeria, marking a departure from the past when firms mined and exported the mineral in its raw form from the country. The processing plant located in northwest Nigeria is a joint venture between Ming Xin Mineral Separation and the Kaduna state government.

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Nigerian fishing community on edge after jihadists threaten attack

Nigerian fisherman Modu Umar has hardly slept for two weeks, torn between staying in his Baga community or fleeing after Islamist militants warned residents to leave their homes or face an attack.

Umar, a 33-year-old father of three, has known no life but fishing in nearby Lake Chad and selling his catch in the four countries around it. Now, like hundreds of other residents, he is anxious about his future.

Five Baga residents said fighters from Islamic State West Africa Province(ISWAP), a Boko Haram offshoot, attacked the community on May 27, killing 15 people and abducting many more.

Days later, the group issued a 14-day eviction notice that has rippled through Baga, which in the past has witnessed battles between the multinational forces of Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger, and jihadists.
"We are in a difficult situation and helpless," Umar told Reuters by phone. "Ever since the notice, I have been constantly worried and in fear."

Many residents have already left, although an estimate was unavailable.

President Bola Tinubu came to power last year promising to end widespread insecurity, which includes the Boko Haram insurgency that started in 2009.

Baga is part of Kukawa, one of the 27 local government areas in Borno state, the heart of the insurgency.
The town is headquarters to a brigade of the Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF). But that offers little relief for residents.

In January 2015, Boko Haram carried out a series of raids on Baga, overran the MNJTF headquarters and killed dozens of people.

Defense spokesperson Major General Edward Buba told Reuters the military had put in place "measures to ensure the people are protected from acts of terror of the terrorists."

Modu Massah Baga, 39, provides for his two wives and eight children from fishing. He is worried he may have to give up his means of support.

"How can you just leave where you have a source of livelihood and go to where you don't know? It is disheartening to us because many are afraid and worried," he said. "This is the only place we work to feed our families."

Baga has also seen intra-jihadist fighting between ISWAP and Jama'tu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad (JAS), another Boko Haram remnant that since last year has been seizing islands in Lake Chad previously controlled by ISWAP, security experts say.

This fighting could have triggered the eviction notice, the experts added.

"ISWAP is sometimes more aggressive towards civilians in the Lake Chad communities when it is facing setbacks because it has to resort to terrorizing communities in order to deter them from working with either the military or a rival faction," said James Barnett, a Hudson Institute research fellow who has written extensively on the insurgency. 

By Ope Adetayo, Reuters

Related story: Nigeria gunmen kill at least 25 in village raid, officials say

Super Eagles in World Cup disarray after qualifying loss to Benin

 Nigeria's loss to Benin has left the Super Eagles' chances of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in tatters. The Super Eagles, looking for most of the game as if they would rather be anywhere but Abidjan, lost 2-1 on Monday to finish the second qualifying window with a measly three points of a possible 12 from four their games.

This may not have sounded a death knell to their hopes of qualifying, with six games still to play, but it is tough to see them making much headway without a significant turnaround in performances.

The Super Eagles must now win all six of their remaining games to guarantee themselves a place at the World Cup; on the basis of their performances in these two games, vs. South Africa and Benin, that is as wishful as thinking gets.

Nigeria head coach Finidi George made three changes to his starting line-up after the disappointment of a home draw to South Africa, and things looked like they were going according to plan when Raphael Onyedika scored from just inside the box in the 27th minute.

But that was as good as it got. Benin took over the game completely, and were level not long after. Calvin Bassey's error let in Jodel Dossou, who beat Stanley Nwabali from close range, and Steve Mounié took advantage of a defensive walkabout in the Nigeria box to fire home from close range as the first half came to a close.

The Super Eagles offered no thing in threats for the next 45 minutes, and the Cheetahs held on for their first victory over Nigeria at this level to go top of the group, at least for a day. For Nigeria, it is time for the recriminations to begin as the once-feared giants of African football are now whimpering their way out of a place at the first 48-team World Cup.
 

Don't fix (or break) what isn't broken

Nigeria were propelled to the Africa Cup of Nations Final earlier this year by an uncharacteristically strong and disciplined defensive structure; to achieve that, however, they had to sacrifice their attacking instincts.

George was handed the job as head coach, in large part, because of his work with the team at close quarters during that time; with the defensive structure set, there was an expectation that minor tinkering would follow up front to make the team more efficient at converting the chances they created.

George largely stuck to that formula in his two friendly games as interim coach, but this World Cup qualifying window saw him abandon Jose Peseiro's solid back three base and replace it with the previous back four.

Three goals conceded in the two games suggests the change did not go well; perhaps it might have worked better had players not been deployed in various degrees of unfamiliar positions, but George had to scrape the bottom of his defensive barrel given William Troost-Ekong, Kenneth Omeruo, Zaidu Sanusi, Jamilu Collins and Bruno Onyemaechi were all absent.

Bright Osayi-Samuel, a right-back, was deployed at left-back, and Benjamin Tanimu, a centre-back, played at right-back. None of which worked. Only when Osayi-Samuel pulled up with injury in the latter stages of the Benin game, did George revert to something resembling normality -- sending left-footed Bassey to left-back, moving Tanimu central, and bringing in the natural right-back Sodiq Ismael.

It is unclear whether George was trying to distance himself from Peseiro's tactics with his formation changes, but smart money says he should have stuck with what was not broken.
 

Lessons unlearned

George said after the game vs. South Africa that the team would carry the lessons learned from an inspiring second-half performance into the game vs, Benin. That proved to be wishful thinking. Barring the first half half-hour, when they bossed the game and got their goal, the Super Eagles were on the back foot for all but the final five minutes of added time. There was no spirit, no sense of urgency, no attempt to fight back.

With time running out, players passed the ball all the way back to the goalkeeper, and then stood around looking lost. When Nwabali hoofed the ball all the way up front, they could barely win it back let alone keep possession.

The insipid nature of the performance, more than anything else, is what has left fans with the stunned disbelief that this team can turn things around even with six games to play.

The team showed a shocking lack of character or belief, and questions have to be asked of the players. The coach will take the blame for everything, of course, and rightfully so, but the players must also accept accountability for their listless displays.

George indirectly called it out in his post game comments.

"We have to see how the players will start the new season, and see how we can the best out of them," he said. "Everybody must be committed. With that commitment, we will win games. I believe we are going to win games, and if we can win games the battle will still be there. We can't throw in the towel because we have only three points. We have to find a way to get these payers back in a way for them to perform."
 

Baffling substitutions

George made a number of substitutions across both games in his attempt to steady the ship. Against South Africa, they worked a peach and Nigeria were unfortunate not to win. Against Benin, the substitutions did not work quite so well; hooking the duo of Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze did not appear to be the best decisions from the bench.

Iwobi has taken plenty of flak from Nigerians, including some especially horrid abuse after the Nations Cup, but it was clear over these two games that he was the most energetic of the players whom George had sent out on the pitch.

The Fulham midfielder was involved in almost every play by Nigeria, closing down channels, making tackles, hunting down the opposition in possession, winning balls, and making passes.

In one passage of play against South Africa, Iwobi went from deep left to chase down a misplaced pass, won the ball back, found Chukwueze with a pass then made himself available for a return ball up in an advanced position. When it did not come, he slipped back into midfield then rotated deep into defence to receive the ball and progress it, all in a 40-second spell. No other player did that. He carried that running into the Benin game. So it came as a surprise when he was hauled off in the second half as Nigeria made a rash of changes.

Without Iwobi, Nigeria lost any semblance of midfield ball circulation and resorted to route-one football.
 

Gernot Roht gets his pound of flesh

In the final days of his five-year tenure as Nigeria coach, Gernot Rohr got the Super Eagles to the last round of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup but was fired before he could play for a chance to take them to Qatar 2022. Now Benin coach, he made a point of not dwelling on any thoughts of revenge, and specifically said he was not going for it, but this must feel really special for him. And the manner in which he was picked up and carried around the pitch in celebration by his players after the final whistle showed just how much this result meant to the coach.

There are Nigerians who are now definitely wishing Rohr was on their side of the touchline.
 

How does Finidi George survive

This is the big question.

Finidi George could end up serving the shortest tenure of any Super Eagles coach, as Nigeria has already entered panic stations. Immediately after the game, national sports minister John Owan Enoh demanded an explanation from the Nigeria Football federation (NFF), saying "the Super Eagles have underperformed".

The tone of the demand was anything but unambiguous.

"The recent results are unacceptable," the minister said in a statement. "The NFF must provide a comprehensive technical report explaining the reasons behind this poor showing, and give cause why there mustn't be consequences."

The ominous tone suggests the minister himself is under fire from the presidency, which means George will be in some hot okro soup himself from the NFF.

Whether he survives in the job is touch and go; expect a lot of movement over the coming days.

By Colin Udoh, ESPN

Nigeria gunmen kill at least 25 in village raid, officials say

At least 25 people have been killed and others abducted by gunmen in Nigeria’s northwestern Katsina state, authorities say.

Dozens of gunmen on motorbikes stormed Yargoje in Kankara late on Sunday, the state commissioner for security affairs, Nasiru Babangida Mu'azu, told BBC Hausa.

Attacks by armed gangs - referred to locally as bandits - in north-west and central Nigeria have become almost routine, with authorities seemingly powerless to stop them, despite claims by the government and security forces that they are working to end the widespread insecurity.

Residents told the BBC that dozens of gunmen on motorbikes rode into the community, shooting indiscriminately and looting shops before abducting an unspecified number of villagers.

“The people killed by bandits are more than 50, because some dead bodies are still being recovered from the bush," said a resident, who did not want to be named.

"They killed children, women and men, and kidnapped a huge amount of people. They injured more than 30 residents who are currently receiving treatment at the general hospital."

Another resident, Abdullahi Yunusa Kankara, told Reuters that he narrowly escaped the onslaught, which he said continued into the early hours of Monday.

“Our town has turned into a death zone. Almost every house in the village has fallen victim to this attack. More dead bodies were recovered this [Monday] morning," he said.

Surviving residents are trying to ascertain how many people have been abducted.

In December 2020, more than 300 pupils were kidnapped from a boys' secondary boarding school on the outskirts of Kankara by a gang of gunmen on motorcycles. They were later freed, a week after the Katsina state government confirmed they were in talks with the kidnappers.

In March this year, dozens of passengers were kidnapped in a broad daylight attack also in the same area of Katsina, the state where former Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari hails from.

By Chris Ewokor, BBC

Related story: At least 40 villagers shot dead in Nigeria