Thursday, July 27, 2017
Video - Nigerian state oil firm says 10 employees abducted by Boko Haram
10 geological researchers have been kidnapped by suspected Boko Haram militants in Nigeria. According to the National Petroleum Corporation, geologists and surveyors from the University of Maidugiri were ambushed near Jibi village in Borno state. They are contracted to work on oil exploration in nearby Lake Chad. Some local media are reporting that many people were killed in the ambush. But this has yet to be confirmed.
More young people to participate in the house of senate in Nigeria
Nigeria’s next general elections might still be two years away but there’s already a good reason for young citizens to be excited.
In a session today (July 26), the Nigerian senate voted to lower the age limit for contesting for elections for the offices of state governors and president. The age limit for candidates for president has been reduced from 40 to 35 and, for governorship positions, from 35 to 30. To take effect, the vote still requires endorsement by 24 of Nigeria’s 35 state assemblies as well as the president’s assent. Regardless, the landmark vote marks a triumph for the “Not Too Young To Run” campaign led by a coalition of youth advocacy groups.
The vote comes at a time when public perception favours a younger generation of leaders with a recent survey by NOIPolls showing that a majority of Nigerians hope to elect a president younger than 50 in the 2019 elections. At 53, Goodluck Jonathan was Nigeria’s youngest president at time of taking office since 1999, the start of the current democratic era.
Nigeria is a particularly young country with a median age of 18. UN predicts that while 2.2 billion people could be added to the global population by 2050, Africa will account for more than half of that growth. Nigeria will account for some of that growth spurt as it is projected to become the world’s third largest country with a population of over 300 million.
The current debacle around the health status of Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, 74, also serves as a timely reminder to the perils of electing older presidents. Buhari is currently away in London on his second medical leave in 2017 where he’s spending time getting treatment for an undisclosed ailment. The president has spent more time away getting treatment than he’s been at work this year. A photo of president Buhari released earlier this week was the first time he’d been seen in public in nearly three months.
The Senate also voted to allow independent candidates to run for office, reversing a decades-old trend which has required aspirants to be members of political parties, thus needing the backing Nigeria’s political establishment to seek and possibly win votes.
However, running as an independent candidate, while encouraging more participation, is hardly a guarantee of victory as aspirants will still be up against the deep pockets and network of the country’s largest parties. But, if nothing else, the move is seen as bringing local politics in line with global trends. Long-term, the Senate’s votes today will likely further galvanize young Nigerians who, after becoming more involved in politics, have witnessed repeatedly underwhelming governments and may have become cynical or apathetic.
In a session today (July 26), the Nigerian senate voted to lower the age limit for contesting for elections for the offices of state governors and president. The age limit for candidates for president has been reduced from 40 to 35 and, for governorship positions, from 35 to 30. To take effect, the vote still requires endorsement by 24 of Nigeria’s 35 state assemblies as well as the president’s assent. Regardless, the landmark vote marks a triumph for the “Not Too Young To Run” campaign led by a coalition of youth advocacy groups.
The vote comes at a time when public perception favours a younger generation of leaders with a recent survey by NOIPolls showing that a majority of Nigerians hope to elect a president younger than 50 in the 2019 elections. At 53, Goodluck Jonathan was Nigeria’s youngest president at time of taking office since 1999, the start of the current democratic era.
Nigeria is a particularly young country with a median age of 18. UN predicts that while 2.2 billion people could be added to the global population by 2050, Africa will account for more than half of that growth. Nigeria will account for some of that growth spurt as it is projected to become the world’s third largest country with a population of over 300 million.
The current debacle around the health status of Nigeria’s president Muhammadu Buhari, 74, also serves as a timely reminder to the perils of electing older presidents. Buhari is currently away in London on his second medical leave in 2017 where he’s spending time getting treatment for an undisclosed ailment. The president has spent more time away getting treatment than he’s been at work this year. A photo of president Buhari released earlier this week was the first time he’d been seen in public in nearly three months.
The Senate also voted to allow independent candidates to run for office, reversing a decades-old trend which has required aspirants to be members of political parties, thus needing the backing Nigeria’s political establishment to seek and possibly win votes.
However, running as an independent candidate, while encouraging more participation, is hardly a guarantee of victory as aspirants will still be up against the deep pockets and network of the country’s largest parties. But, if nothing else, the move is seen as bringing local politics in line with global trends. Long-term, the Senate’s votes today will likely further galvanize young Nigerians who, after becoming more involved in politics, have witnessed repeatedly underwhelming governments and may have become cynical or apathetic.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Video - Women take the stage in Nigeria's floating slum
Nigeria's floating Makoko slum - a vast settlement of houses on stilts in a Lagos lagoon was the stage for this year's showing of the popular play - "Hear Word" - a performance targeting issues affecting women. The cast of Makoko residents, with no acting experience, alongside Nollywood veterans delivered powerful scenes on a stage that will later be converted to a community center for the women of the slum.
Nigeria has highest number of children out of school in the world
Nigeria has the largest number of children in the world who are not being educated, the government has said.
Acknowledging the scale of the problem the education ministry's permanent secretary Adamu Hussaini said it was "sad to note" that Nigeria had 10.5 million children out of school.
This is the first time senior officials have admitted the size of the problem.
Cultural factors have been blamed but critics point to a lack of money going to publicly funded schools.
The UN's children's agency, Unicef, has been campaigning on this issue as well as a number of other groups.
On a visit to the country last week, education activist Malala Yousafzai met acting president Yemi Osinbajo and asked him to declare what she called "an education state of emergency in Nigeria".
Mr Hussaini said those most affected were girls, street children and the children of nomadic groups and added that economic prosperity can only be achieved with an "inclusive and functional education system".
But BBC Hausa editor Jimeh Saleh says the failure in the education system is due to a lack of government funding, rather than any cultural factors as suggested by the ministry.
"Government funded schools in Nigeria have practically collapsed over the years because of poor funding leaving children from poor homes with nowhere to go but the streets," he says.
Unicef estimates that 60% of Nigerian children not attending school live in the north of the country.
Acknowledging the scale of the problem the education ministry's permanent secretary Adamu Hussaini said it was "sad to note" that Nigeria had 10.5 million children out of school.
This is the first time senior officials have admitted the size of the problem.
Cultural factors have been blamed but critics point to a lack of money going to publicly funded schools.
The UN's children's agency, Unicef, has been campaigning on this issue as well as a number of other groups.
On a visit to the country last week, education activist Malala Yousafzai met acting president Yemi Osinbajo and asked him to declare what she called "an education state of emergency in Nigeria".
Mr Hussaini said those most affected were girls, street children and the children of nomadic groups and added that economic prosperity can only be achieved with an "inclusive and functional education system".
But BBC Hausa editor Jimeh Saleh says the failure in the education system is due to a lack of government funding, rather than any cultural factors as suggested by the ministry.
"Government funded schools in Nigeria have practically collapsed over the years because of poor funding leaving children from poor homes with nowhere to go but the streets," he says.
Unicef estimates that 60% of Nigerian children not attending school live in the north of the country.
Shell shuts down major oil pipeline in Nigeria
Anglo-Dutch energy giant Shell said Tuesday it has shut down a key crude supply pipeline in Nigeria’s restive south because of a leak.
Shell subsidiary the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) said the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) was shut on July 21 at B-Dere in Ogoniland.
“Efforts are ongoing for a joint investigation visit to determine the cause of the leak and repair of the pipeline,” the company said in a statement. The volume of production shut-in was not disclosed. The TNP feeds the Bonny Light export terminal, which has a production capacity of 225,000 barrels per day of oil. Militants and oil thieves in the region have repeatedly attacked the pipeline. Community unrest forced Shell to quit oil production in Ogoniland in 1993 but the company still runs a network of pipelines criss-crossing the area.
Shell subsidiary the Shell Petroleum Development Corporation of Nigeria Ltd (SPDC) said the Trans Niger Pipeline (TNP) was shut on July 21 at B-Dere in Ogoniland.
“Efforts are ongoing for a joint investigation visit to determine the cause of the leak and repair of the pipeline,” the company said in a statement. The volume of production shut-in was not disclosed. The TNP feeds the Bonny Light export terminal, which has a production capacity of 225,000 barrels per day of oil. Militants and oil thieves in the region have repeatedly attacked the pipeline. Community unrest forced Shell to quit oil production in Ogoniland in 1993 but the company still runs a network of pipelines criss-crossing the area.
A spokesman for the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People (MOSOP) pressure group said it was not responsible for the latest shutdown. “We are not involved in the incident we only heard about it. Our position however remains that Shell is not welcome on our land,” Fegalo Nsuke told AFP. He called on Shell to address the issues of environmental degradation, neglect, injustice and under-development before considering the resumption of production in Ogoniland.
“If they want our oil, they have to take care of the people,” he added. MOSOP founder Ken Saro-Wiwa was executed with eight other activists by Nigeria’s then-military government in November 1995 on trumped-up murder charges at a secret trial. Many believed his conviction was politically motivated because of his opposition to Shell’s presence in Ogoniland, where there have been repeated oil spills. In 2015, Shell agreed to pay £55 million ($72 million, 61 million euros) in compensation to more than 15,500 people in Ogoniland and agreed to start a clean-up of two major spills.
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