Thursday, April 28, 2016
Video - Nigerian sportswear entrepreneur competing with imported labels
A Nigerian entrepreneur is challenging traditional but imported sports apparel labels. Owu Sportswear is an indigenous Nigerian brand that creates apparel for local teams. The company is fast becoming the preferred sportswear brand amongst professional football clubs providing a cheaper, more affordable alternative to brands like Nike and Adidas.
Former Nigerian Minister of Education kidnapped
A former Minister of State for Education, Iyabo Anisulowo, has been kidnapped.
Mrs. Anisulowo was abducted late Wednesday in Ilaro in Yewa South local government area of Ogun State, police said.
The spokesperson for the state police command, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES at about 10pm Wednesday.
He said the police commissioner had deployed five teams to rescue the former minister.
Mrs. Ashimolowo was minister of state for education during the regime of late Sani Abacha. She later became a senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District. She is also a former governorship candidate in Ogun State.
”The Ogun State police command is aware of the kidnapping of Senator Iyabo Anisulowo in Ilaro area today around 6pm. The Commissioner of Police Ogun State CP Abdulmajid Ali has detailed five teams to the area to rescue her unhurt,” Mr. Adejobi said in a statement.
“The special Anti-Robbery Squad SARS, and Anti-Kidnapping Squad Commanders have been sent to the area by the CP to rescue the senator and apprehend the perpetrators. We have also embarked on scientific investigation of the matter,” he said.
The command, however, gave assurance that the kidnapped top politician would be rescued, with a call on residents of the state to give adequate support to the authority.
“We therefore assure the general public particularly the good people and Government of Ogun State that the kidnapped victim will be rescued very soon unhurt. We appeal to Nigerians and people of Ogun State to support the police command with useful information to assist the police,” Mr. Adejobi said.
Mrs. Anisulowo was abducted late Wednesday in Ilaro in Yewa South local government area of Ogun State, police said.
The spokesperson for the state police command, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the incident to PREMIUM TIMES at about 10pm Wednesday.
He said the police commissioner had deployed five teams to rescue the former minister.
Mrs. Ashimolowo was minister of state for education during the regime of late Sani Abacha. She later became a senator representing Ogun West Senatorial District. She is also a former governorship candidate in Ogun State.
”The Ogun State police command is aware of the kidnapping of Senator Iyabo Anisulowo in Ilaro area today around 6pm. The Commissioner of Police Ogun State CP Abdulmajid Ali has detailed five teams to the area to rescue her unhurt,” Mr. Adejobi said in a statement.
“The special Anti-Robbery Squad SARS, and Anti-Kidnapping Squad Commanders have been sent to the area by the CP to rescue the senator and apprehend the perpetrators. We have also embarked on scientific investigation of the matter,” he said.
The command, however, gave assurance that the kidnapped top politician would be rescued, with a call on residents of the state to give adequate support to the authority.
“We therefore assure the general public particularly the good people and Government of Ogun State that the kidnapped victim will be rescued very soon unhurt. We appeal to Nigerians and people of Ogun State to support the police command with useful information to assist the police,” Mr. Adejobi said.
President Buhari orders crackdown on cattle raiders
Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the security forces to crack down on cattle raiders accused of killing hundreds of people this year.
Soldiers and police would "go after the groups terrorising innocent people all over the country", he said.
The raids are seen as the biggest security threat facing Nigeria after the Islamist-led insurgency.
Nomadic herders from the Fulani ethnic group and farming communities often clash for control of land and water.
The announcement comes after national outrage over the killing of at least 20 people on Monday in a raid on the Ukpabi Nimbo community in south-eastern Enugu State.
In a statement, Mr Buhari said he deeply sympathised with those who had lost their lives.
He had ordered Nigeria's army and police chiefs to "secure all communities under attack by herdsmen", Mr Buhari added.
"This government will not allow these attacks to continue," the president said.
In February, about 300 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless in a tit-for-tat raid in central Benue state, local media reported.
Homes, food stores and churches were also destroyed, reports said.
More than 1, 200 people were killed in 2014 by different groups of Fulani herders, according to the Global Terrorism Index.
The Fulanis are believed to be largest semi-nomadic group in the world and are mainly based in West and Central Africa.
In Nigeria, there are two types: The semi-nomadic herders and those who live in the city.
Unlike the more integrated city dwellers, the nomadic groups spend most of their lives in the bush and are the ones largely involved in these clashes.
They herd their animals across vast dry hinterlands, something that often puts them at odds with many communities, especially farmers who accuse them of damaging their crops.
However, the Fulanis have sometimes been attacked and have their animals stolen by bandits, prompting reprisal attacks.
The conflict has been going on for about two decades, but following the upsurge in attacks this year the government is under increasing pressure to take steps to curb it.
Soldiers and police would "go after the groups terrorising innocent people all over the country", he said.
The raids are seen as the biggest security threat facing Nigeria after the Islamist-led insurgency.
Nomadic herders from the Fulani ethnic group and farming communities often clash for control of land and water.
The announcement comes after national outrage over the killing of at least 20 people on Monday in a raid on the Ukpabi Nimbo community in south-eastern Enugu State.
In a statement, Mr Buhari said he deeply sympathised with those who had lost their lives.
He had ordered Nigeria's army and police chiefs to "secure all communities under attack by herdsmen", Mr Buhari added.
"This government will not allow these attacks to continue," the president said.
In February, about 300 people were killed and tens of thousands left homeless in a tit-for-tat raid in central Benue state, local media reported.
Homes, food stores and churches were also destroyed, reports said.
More than 1, 200 people were killed in 2014 by different groups of Fulani herders, according to the Global Terrorism Index.
The Fulanis are believed to be largest semi-nomadic group in the world and are mainly based in West and Central Africa.
In Nigeria, there are two types: The semi-nomadic herders and those who live in the city.
Unlike the more integrated city dwellers, the nomadic groups spend most of their lives in the bush and are the ones largely involved in these clashes.
They herd their animals across vast dry hinterlands, something that often puts them at odds with many communities, especially farmers who accuse them of damaging their crops.
However, the Fulanis have sometimes been attacked and have their animals stolen by bandits, prompting reprisal attacks.
The conflict has been going on for about two decades, but following the upsurge in attacks this year the government is under increasing pressure to take steps to curb it.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Video - Nigeria struggling to treat malaria in remote areas
Africa's most populous nation, Nigeria, has over the years been working hard to contain the spread of malaria. But Nigeria struggles with treating the disease in more remote areas.
Nigerian professor becomes first African scholar to lecture at the University of London
A Nigerian academic, Professor Abiodun Alao, will today deliver inaugural lecture at King’s College, University of London, making him the first black African scholar to deliver such lecture since the institution was established in 1829.
Alao, a professor of African Studies, was conferred with professorial title about two years ago alongside his Nigerian counterpart in the institution’s African Leadership Centre, Prof. Funmi Olonisakin, making them first black Africans to attain professorial cadre at the institution since its establishment.
The appointments have been confirmed in a letter by the institution’s President and Principal, Prof. Edward Byrne AC, justifying their elevations based on their contributions to African peace and security. According to a statement obtained by Vanguard yesterday, Alao had published several single-authored books, well-researched journal articles and occasional papers, among others, which findings and recommendations “have largely helped establish peace and boost security in many African countries.”
In an institution that produced 12 Nobel Laureates among its professors, the statement said Alao had distinguished himself, citing about 100 widely recognized 100 academic articles and encyclopedia entries he had published, all of which were assessed to accord him professorial title. As an academic tradition globally, the statement said the Nigerian academic would today deliver his inaugural lecture, titled, “Africa: A Voice to be Heard, Not a Problem to be Solved” at the Edward Safra Lecture Theatre at the college’s main campus.
The statement said the inaugural lecture, holding at the institution’s Edward Lecture Theatre on the Strand, “will be attended by many people from different parts of the world, including from the United States, Australia, Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria.” Aside his academic contributions, Alao joined the long list of globally renowned academics the institution had produced and whose research works had produced answers to different challenges of humanity and society since its establishment.
The statement pointed diverse assignments Alao had undertaken for international institution, which include the United Nations (UN), African Union (AU), European Union (EU), World Bank, ECOWAS and for many individual countries in Africa and beyond. It added that Alao was part of the 4-person team that undertook “a comprehensive threat assessment for Rwanda immediately after the 1994 genocide and was on the team of academic experts that advised former UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan on the civil war in Sierra Leone. “He also co-authored the Concept Note for the Common Defence and Security Policy for the Africa Union and was the co-author of the first post-Civil War National Security Strategy Framework for Liberia.
He was a member of the team that worked on the Development of Donor Countries Effectiveness in Fragile States, the statement said. Ranking among the top 20 universities in the world, King’s College London holds a unique position in global scholarship, which the statement said, was evident in the landmark research works the institution’s professors and alumni had conducted since its establishment several decades ago.
Among its landmark research works, the statement cited the research that led to the discovery of the famous genetic testing, DNA undertaken at the College by Prof. Maurice Wilkins, while another retired scholar of the institution, Prof. John Lister, developed Antiseptic Surgery. It cited the researches of Prof. Charles Wheatstone, who “invented the first working telegraphs line and Prof. James Maxwell, who began humanity’s first steps towards a unified theory of physics by bringing magnetism and electricity together in a research that paved way for radio, television, radar and mobile phones. “The College also has among its former Professors, Thomas Hodgkin, who discovered the Hodgkin disease that was named after him and John Danrell who invented the world’s first battery,” the statement added.
Vanguard
Vanguard
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)