Friday, July 22, 2016
Video - Abuja choking on its own garbage
Nigeria is not only hurting from a rapidly weakening currency. Its capital, Abuja, is a mere shadow of what it was intended to be. Founded in the 1970s during Nigeria's oil boom, planners had a dream of a model city for Africa. But as Nigeria faces a reversal of fortunes with falling oil prices, Abuja is struggling to keep the city clean and stick to its original design.
Video - Naira falls to an all time low
The Nigerian local currency has fallen to an all-time low against the U.S. Dollar. The Naira has passed the 300 mark for the first time. Last month, the central bank lifted its peg on the currency to allow it to trade freely on the interbank market. Nevertheless, the Naira fell 5.4 percent against the greenback to hit a record low of 309 in early trade on Thursday, following dollar supply shortages.
Video - Financial crunch cripples Nigeria's Olympic preparations
Nigeria's Olympic teams have been dogged by controversy with allegations of mismanagement and a lack of finances. As a result, training only got under way a few months ago.
Muslims in Nigeria applaud lifting ban on hijab in Lagos schools
A leading Muslim group in Nigeria has welcomed a court ruling lifting the ban on girls wearing the headscarf in government schools in Lagos state.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MRC) said the Lagos Court of Appeal's ruling was a victory for the rule of law.
The judges said the ban violated the religious rights of Muslim girls, overturning a lower court's ruling.
Girls had been barred from wearing the headscarf, or hijab, because it was not part of school uniforms.
The state government has not yet commented on whether it intends to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court.
Nigeria's population is roughly divided between Muslims and Christians, with both groups being staunch believers.
The majority of Muslims live in the north and Christians primarily are in the south - though the southern state of Lagos has a more religious mix.
In June, the High Court in the southern state of Osun also lifted the ban on Muslims girls wearing the headscarf.
It caused religious tension in the state, with some Christian boys insisting on wearing church robes to school.
Two Muslim girls challenged the ban in Lagos state, taking their case to its Court of Appeal after the High Court ruled against them in 2013.
"The fact that the judgment was unanimous and only two of the five judges are Muslims leaves a firm stamp of authority on the legality of the use of hijab not only by female Muslim students but also by all Muslim women in the country," it added.
The Muslim Rights Concern (MRC) said the Lagos Court of Appeal's ruling was a victory for the rule of law.
The judges said the ban violated the religious rights of Muslim girls, overturning a lower court's ruling.
Girls had been barred from wearing the headscarf, or hijab, because it was not part of school uniforms.
The state government has not yet commented on whether it intends to challenge the ruling at the Supreme Court.
Nigeria's population is roughly divided between Muslims and Christians, with both groups being staunch believers.
The majority of Muslims live in the north and Christians primarily are in the south - though the southern state of Lagos has a more religious mix.
In June, the High Court in the southern state of Osun also lifted the ban on Muslims girls wearing the headscarf.
It caused religious tension in the state, with some Christian boys insisting on wearing church robes to school.
Two Muslim girls challenged the ban in Lagos state, taking their case to its Court of Appeal after the High Court ruled against them in 2013.
"The fact that the judgment was unanimous and only two of the five judges are Muslims leaves a firm stamp of authority on the legality of the use of hijab not only by female Muslim students but also by all Muslim women in the country," it added.
Reasons Niger Delta Avengers are crippling Nigeria's oil sector
The vast wetlands of the Niger Delta region are home to Nigeria's vast oil resources, but are once again at the centre of a security crisis.
The militants or the "boys" are back in the creeks, destroying pipelines, attacking oil installations, and kidnapping workers.
The violence has slashed Nigeria's oil production by a third.
As we snake our way through the mangrove swamps in a speedboat we are entering a world where outsiders are no longer welcome.
With pipelines and a huge oil export terminal on the horizon, every so often we flash by a fishing community with its wooden huts clustered close to rickety, wooden pier.
The chaos here is dealing a serious blow to the Nigerian government who are dependent upon oil sales for most of its revenues. It has also helped push up the global oil price to almost $50 (Ј38) a barrel.
The renewed militancy was triggered late last year by the cash-strapped government's decision to cancel lucrative security contracts and reduce the budget to pay former militants by 70% .
The payments were part of an amnesty programme agreed upon in 2009 that largely ended the previous bout of militancy, which had crippled the oil industry a decade ago.
As part of the agreement, tens of thousands of militants gave up their arms in return for a monthly stipend worth around $400 at the time and the opportunity to retrain as divers, welders and boat builders at colleges overseas.
Critics regarded the deal as little more than a "bribe for peace".
Now with the payments drying up, many fighters with a grievance and a gun feel they have little to lose.
'Taken for granted'
A group called the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) says it is behind a series of attacks including one attack on a pipeline that shut down one of Nigeria's main oil export terminals.
One militant leader, who says he fights alongside the NDA, agreed to meet us.
Commander Johnson Biboye, his pseudonym, told me his group were responsible for several recent attacks. He refused to give more details citing operational security.
He said his men had little choice but to return to militancy.
"You cannot sleep in the creeks and have the mosquitoes sucking your blood and say you're happy," he told me.
"But the government needs to know we've been taken for granted for several years, enough is enough."
Mr Biboye says he has 300 fighters under his command. He denies he is holding the government "hostage" or that he leads a "terrorist" organisation.
"We've are demanding our rights," he said.
"We have been slaves for many years. We are doing this so our communities get developed. We want to control the oil resources".
He called on the government to negotiate sincerely with the militant groups and warned that if they did not the situation would only get "worse".
'Broken promises'
Oil was first discovered in the Niger Delta in the 1950s. It should have been a blessing but many locals see it as a curse.
Thousands of oil spills have ruined fishing grounds, contaminated water supplies, and destroyed croplands.
There have been widespread allegations of corruption, with accusations that politicians and local leaders siphon off cash that should be spent on building schools, hospitals and providing electricity.
Locals also complain that the jobs in the oil industry are frequently given to outsiders.
It is hard to ignore the painful irony that communities lying on top of some of the world's richest oil deposits are mostly living in abject poverty.
"The Niger Delta is the goose that lays the golden egg but never benefits from it," Chief Dan Ekpebide told me as we wandered through the village of Kurutie.
We were there to see the temporary site of the Nigerian Maritime University - the first of its kind in the area.
There were a dozen buildings including a large lecture hall, student dormitories, and an enormous 12m diving tank to be used to train divers how to weld under water.
It was designed to give young people an opportunity and an alternative to a life of militancy.
But there are no staff or students and for Mr Ekpebide it is a symbol of broken government promises.
"We feel seriously neglected. It speaks volumes about how the federal government thinks about the people in Delta," he said.
Like many in this part of the country he expresses anger towards the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Palace in ruins
The largely Christian south of Nigeria warned there could be trouble if President Buhari who is from the predominantly Muslim north of the country, beat Goodluck Jonathan during last year's presidential elections.
The former President was from the Niger Delta and spread his largesse around the region.
The university campus was built by Government Ekpemupolo, a prominent former militant leader turned businessman.
But now Mr Ekpemupolo also known by the alias "Tompolo" is on the run from the authorities accused of massive corruption.
Some Nigerians believe Tompolo is the mastermind behind the recent spate of attacks in the Delta. His supporters deny the accusation.
A short boat ride up the creek, Mr Ekpebide took me to the seat of the traditional Gbaramatu Kingdom, a prominent Ijaw group in the region.
The palace was bombarded during deadly clashes between the army and militants in 2009.
It now lies in ruins: The roofs were ripped off, windows smashed and statues toppled.
Shortly afterwards the amnesty was signed that has largely held until this year.
But Mr Ekpebide told me the palace will not be repaired.
"It is a reminder of what the government did to the people," he said.
Few here are willing to forget the past and the anger felt in the Niger Delta will only divide the country further.
The militants or the "boys" are back in the creeks, destroying pipelines, attacking oil installations, and kidnapping workers.
The violence has slashed Nigeria's oil production by a third.
As we snake our way through the mangrove swamps in a speedboat we are entering a world where outsiders are no longer welcome.
With pipelines and a huge oil export terminal on the horizon, every so often we flash by a fishing community with its wooden huts clustered close to rickety, wooden pier.
The chaos here is dealing a serious blow to the Nigerian government who are dependent upon oil sales for most of its revenues. It has also helped push up the global oil price to almost $50 (Ј38) a barrel.
The renewed militancy was triggered late last year by the cash-strapped government's decision to cancel lucrative security contracts and reduce the budget to pay former militants by 70% .
The payments were part of an amnesty programme agreed upon in 2009 that largely ended the previous bout of militancy, which had crippled the oil industry a decade ago.
As part of the agreement, tens of thousands of militants gave up their arms in return for a monthly stipend worth around $400 at the time and the opportunity to retrain as divers, welders and boat builders at colleges overseas.
Critics regarded the deal as little more than a "bribe for peace".
Now with the payments drying up, many fighters with a grievance and a gun feel they have little to lose.
'Taken for granted'
A group called the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) says it is behind a series of attacks including one attack on a pipeline that shut down one of Nigeria's main oil export terminals.
One militant leader, who says he fights alongside the NDA, agreed to meet us.
Commander Johnson Biboye, his pseudonym, told me his group were responsible for several recent attacks. He refused to give more details citing operational security.
He said his men had little choice but to return to militancy.
"You cannot sleep in the creeks and have the mosquitoes sucking your blood and say you're happy," he told me.
"But the government needs to know we've been taken for granted for several years, enough is enough."
Mr Biboye says he has 300 fighters under his command. He denies he is holding the government "hostage" or that he leads a "terrorist" organisation.
"We've are demanding our rights," he said.
"We have been slaves for many years. We are doing this so our communities get developed. We want to control the oil resources".
He called on the government to negotiate sincerely with the militant groups and warned that if they did not the situation would only get "worse".
'Broken promises'
Oil was first discovered in the Niger Delta in the 1950s. It should have been a blessing but many locals see it as a curse.
Thousands of oil spills have ruined fishing grounds, contaminated water supplies, and destroyed croplands.
There have been widespread allegations of corruption, with accusations that politicians and local leaders siphon off cash that should be spent on building schools, hospitals and providing electricity.
Locals also complain that the jobs in the oil industry are frequently given to outsiders.
It is hard to ignore the painful irony that communities lying on top of some of the world's richest oil deposits are mostly living in abject poverty.
"The Niger Delta is the goose that lays the golden egg but never benefits from it," Chief Dan Ekpebide told me as we wandered through the village of Kurutie.
We were there to see the temporary site of the Nigerian Maritime University - the first of its kind in the area.
There were a dozen buildings including a large lecture hall, student dormitories, and an enormous 12m diving tank to be used to train divers how to weld under water.
It was designed to give young people an opportunity and an alternative to a life of militancy.
But there are no staff or students and for Mr Ekpebide it is a symbol of broken government promises.
"We feel seriously neglected. It speaks volumes about how the federal government thinks about the people in Delta," he said.
Like many in this part of the country he expresses anger towards the current administration of President Muhammadu Buhari.
Palace in ruins
The largely Christian south of Nigeria warned there could be trouble if President Buhari who is from the predominantly Muslim north of the country, beat Goodluck Jonathan during last year's presidential elections.
The former President was from the Niger Delta and spread his largesse around the region.
The university campus was built by Government Ekpemupolo, a prominent former militant leader turned businessman.
But now Mr Ekpemupolo also known by the alias "Tompolo" is on the run from the authorities accused of massive corruption.
Some Nigerians believe Tompolo is the mastermind behind the recent spate of attacks in the Delta. His supporters deny the accusation.
A short boat ride up the creek, Mr Ekpebide took me to the seat of the traditional Gbaramatu Kingdom, a prominent Ijaw group in the region.
The palace was bombarded during deadly clashes between the army and militants in 2009.
It now lies in ruins: The roofs were ripped off, windows smashed and statues toppled.
Shortly afterwards the amnesty was signed that has largely held until this year.
But Mr Ekpebide told me the palace will not be repaired.
"It is a reminder of what the government did to the people," he said.
Few here are willing to forget the past and the anger felt in the Niger Delta will only divide the country further.
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