Tuesday, May 5, 2020
Video - Businesses reopen as Nigeria eases coronavirus lockdown
Nigeria has joined a host of countries easing coronavirus restrictions following a five-week lockdown. But medical workers still fighting against the virus say the large crowds now returning to the streets could lead to a spike in cases in the country. Ahmed Idris reports from Abuja, Nigeria.
Nigeria to evacuate 270 citizens from US
Nigerian government has said it will begin the evacuation of about 270 Nigerians willing to return to the country from the United States.
This is coming amidst the coronavirus pandemic that has caused many countries to shut down airports. Nigeria has seen shut its airport sin late March to curb the spread of the ravaging virus.
The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York in a statement said a one-way flight has been arranged for the evacuation of stranded Nigerians in the US and would take off on Sunday night.
The statement added that evacuation would on travellers’ expense while they all fly on economy class.
The flight, Ethiopian Airlines with a 270-passenger capacity, will depart for Abuja from Newark (EWR) Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, United States, and is expected to arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport bank on Monday next week.
It said over 700 citizens have registered with the Nigerian Missions in the US but only 270 people could be accommodated, adding that applications to be evacuated would be considered on a ‘first-come, first-served basis.
It said those who have proofs of short-stay visas, the elderly, families with children, and returning students would also be given special attention.
By Timileyin Omilana
The Guardian
This is coming amidst the coronavirus pandemic that has caused many countries to shut down airports. Nigeria has seen shut its airport sin late March to curb the spread of the ravaging virus.
The Consulate General of Nigeria in New York in a statement said a one-way flight has been arranged for the evacuation of stranded Nigerians in the US and would take off on Sunday night.
The statement added that evacuation would on travellers’ expense while they all fly on economy class.
The flight, Ethiopian Airlines with a 270-passenger capacity, will depart for Abuja from Newark (EWR) Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, United States, and is expected to arrive at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport bank on Monday next week.
It said over 700 citizens have registered with the Nigerian Missions in the US but only 270 people could be accommodated, adding that applications to be evacuated would be considered on a ‘first-come, first-served basis.
It said those who have proofs of short-stay visas, the elderly, families with children, and returning students would also be given special attention.
By Timileyin Omilana
The Guardian
Nigeria’s President Buhari Calls for Debt Forgiveness
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari urged international financial institutions to cancel the debt obligations of member states to help them withstand the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic.
In a meeting with other heads of state from the Non-Aligned Movement, Buhari urged official lenders to help cushion the pandemic fallout with “outright debt cancellation,” according to a statement sent by his office.
Nearly half of Nigeria’s outstanding external debt is with multilateral lenders, led by the World Bank Group with $10.1 billion. Beijing-based Export-Import Bank of China is the second-biggest creditor with loans totaling $3.2 billion, while Eurobonds account for $10.86 billion or 39% of external debt.
In April, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said the government is seeking a temporary suspension from multilateral and bilateral creditors to unlock funds to battle the illness that is spreading fast in Africa’s most populous country.
The West African country received $3.4 billion in emergency financing from the International Monetary Fund last week, but currently holds no outstanding debt with the global lender.
Bloomberg
In a meeting with other heads of state from the Non-Aligned Movement, Buhari urged official lenders to help cushion the pandemic fallout with “outright debt cancellation,” according to a statement sent by his office.
Nearly half of Nigeria’s outstanding external debt is with multilateral lenders, led by the World Bank Group with $10.1 billion. Beijing-based Export-Import Bank of China is the second-biggest creditor with loans totaling $3.2 billion, while Eurobonds account for $10.86 billion or 39% of external debt.
In April, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said the government is seeking a temporary suspension from multilateral and bilateral creditors to unlock funds to battle the illness that is spreading fast in Africa’s most populous country.
The West African country received $3.4 billion in emergency financing from the International Monetary Fund last week, but currently holds no outstanding debt with the global lender.
Bloomberg
Forty percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line
Forty percent of people in Nigeria live in poverty, figures published by the statistics office on Monday showed, highlighting the low levels of wealth in a country that has Africa's biggest economy.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in a report about poverty and inequality from September 2018 to October 2019, said 40 percent of people in the continent's most populous country lived below its poverty line of 137,430 naira ($381.75) a year. It said that represents 82.9 million people.
Nigeria is the top oil exporter in Africa, which has helped to create wealth related to crude sales that account for more than half of government revenue. But a failure to diversify the economy and build much-needed transport and power infrastructure has stymied growth and the spread of wealth beyond a rich elite.
Rapid population growth outstrips economic growth, which stands at about 2 percent. The United Nations estimates that Nigeria will have a population of 400 million by 2050.
Nigeria was already struggling to shake off the effect of a 2016 recession before the new coronavirus pandemic hit economies worldwide.
"In Nigeria, 40.1 percent of total population were classified as poor. In other words, on average four out of 10 individuals in Nigeria has real per capita expenditures below 137,430 naira ($352) per year," it said.
The statistics office said it did not include Borno, the state worst hit by the decade-long Boko Haram armed uprising, because many areas there were not safe to reach.
A total of nearly eight million people need humanitarian assistance across Borno and two neighbouring states affected by the attacks, according to the UN.
The statistics office said 52 percent of people in rural areas live in poverty, compared with 18 percent in urban parts of the country.
It said the highest poverty levels were in the northwest state of Sokoto, where 87.7 percent of people live under the poverty line compared with 4.5 percent in commercial hub Lagos state, which had the lowest rate.
Al Jazeera
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in a report about poverty and inequality from September 2018 to October 2019, said 40 percent of people in the continent's most populous country lived below its poverty line of 137,430 naira ($381.75) a year. It said that represents 82.9 million people.
Nigeria is the top oil exporter in Africa, which has helped to create wealth related to crude sales that account for more than half of government revenue. But a failure to diversify the economy and build much-needed transport and power infrastructure has stymied growth and the spread of wealth beyond a rich elite.
Rapid population growth outstrips economic growth, which stands at about 2 percent. The United Nations estimates that Nigeria will have a population of 400 million by 2050.
Nigeria was already struggling to shake off the effect of a 2016 recession before the new coronavirus pandemic hit economies worldwide.
"In Nigeria, 40.1 percent of total population were classified as poor. In other words, on average four out of 10 individuals in Nigeria has real per capita expenditures below 137,430 naira ($352) per year," it said.
The statistics office said it did not include Borno, the state worst hit by the decade-long Boko Haram armed uprising, because many areas there were not safe to reach.
A total of nearly eight million people need humanitarian assistance across Borno and two neighbouring states affected by the attacks, according to the UN.
The statistics office said 52 percent of people in rural areas live in poverty, compared with 18 percent in urban parts of the country.
It said the highest poverty levels were in the northwest state of Sokoto, where 87.7 percent of people live under the poverty line compared with 4.5 percent in commercial hub Lagos state, which had the lowest rate.
Al Jazeera
Nigeria reports record infections hours after lockdown was eased
Nigeria has recorded its highest single-day infection rate of COVID-19, the day Africa's biggest economy began a six-week phase-out period of the emergency lockdown measures.
A total of 245 new cases were confirmed on Monday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 73 of them in the country's commercial capital Lagos.
The total number of infections in the country stood at 2,802 on Tuesday, including 93 deaths and 417 recoveries.
The update came just hours after the government relaxed restrictions in Abuja, Ogun and Lagos states, after more than four weeks of lockdowns imposed to contain the new coronavirus.
These densely populated regions will come into line with the rest of the country in which slightly looser restrictions introduced last week by President Muhammadu Buhari included an overnight curfew, mandatory face masks in public and a ban on non-essential interstate travel.
On Monday, the usually frenetic streets of the coastal megacity Lagos, largely empty during the lockdown, were busy again with cars, buses and tricycle taxis.
Despite rules banning groups of more than 20 people and stipulating that individuals remain two metres (6.6 feet) apart, large groups of people often gathered by the road waiting for public transport.
Social distancing rules were largely ignored.
Distinctive yellow minivans used as buses were full, with some passengers struggling to find space to enter vehicles.
However, in a crucial difference to pre-lockdown life, most people on the streets of Lagos wore face masks.
In the capital Abuja, in central Nigeria, many businesses were still closed.
Businesses have been allowed to reopen provided they have decontaminated their offices, can enable social distancing and offer hand sanitiser and hand washing.
The decision to begin a phased lifting of the lockdown despite the recent sharp rise in cases was criticised by some medical experts, including the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
The NMA president, Francis Faduyile, said on Friday the move was "very premature" and risked driving up the rate of infections, which he called a "frightening scenario".
Chike Ihekweazu, the head of NCDC, warned that crowded scenes seen on Monday would result in more infections.
Al Jazeera
A total of 245 new cases were confirmed on Monday by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), 73 of them in the country's commercial capital Lagos.
The total number of infections in the country stood at 2,802 on Tuesday, including 93 deaths and 417 recoveries.
The update came just hours after the government relaxed restrictions in Abuja, Ogun and Lagos states, after more than four weeks of lockdowns imposed to contain the new coronavirus.
These densely populated regions will come into line with the rest of the country in which slightly looser restrictions introduced last week by President Muhammadu Buhari included an overnight curfew, mandatory face masks in public and a ban on non-essential interstate travel.
On Monday, the usually frenetic streets of the coastal megacity Lagos, largely empty during the lockdown, were busy again with cars, buses and tricycle taxis.
Despite rules banning groups of more than 20 people and stipulating that individuals remain two metres (6.6 feet) apart, large groups of people often gathered by the road waiting for public transport.
Social distancing rules were largely ignored.
Distinctive yellow minivans used as buses were full, with some passengers struggling to find space to enter vehicles.
However, in a crucial difference to pre-lockdown life, most people on the streets of Lagos wore face masks.
In the capital Abuja, in central Nigeria, many businesses were still closed.
Businesses have been allowed to reopen provided they have decontaminated their offices, can enable social distancing and offer hand sanitiser and hand washing.
The decision to begin a phased lifting of the lockdown despite the recent sharp rise in cases was criticised by some medical experts, including the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA).
The NMA president, Francis Faduyile, said on Friday the move was "very premature" and risked driving up the rate of infections, which he called a "frightening scenario".
Chike Ihekweazu, the head of NCDC, warned that crowded scenes seen on Monday would result in more infections.
Al Jazeera
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