Nigeria violence drives 23,000 into neighbouring Niger: UNHCR

Violence in northwest Nigeria has forced about 23,000 refugees to flee to Niger since April and raised concerns about the deteriorating security situation, the United Nations has said.

The numbers fleeing to neighbouring Niger have almost tripled from last year when the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported the first influx of 20,000 people following a rebellion and banditry in northern Nigeria, which killed hundreds and displaced thousands.

The latest influx of mostly women and children came after attacks by gunmen in Nigeria's Katsina, Sokoto and Zamfara states during April.

The deadliest attack killed 47 people in Katsina State, the UN refugee agency said, prompting air attacks by the Nigerian security forces already stretched tackling a 10-year-long rebellion by the Boko Haram in the northeast.

"We are working closely with authorities in Niger to relocate at least 7,000 refugees to safety ... where water, food, shelter, access to health and other essential assistance can be provided," UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch told a media briefing on Tuesday.

"Discussions are also ongoing with the authorities to recognise on a prima facie basis the refugees fleeing Nigeria and arriving in the region," he said.

Nigeria closed all land borders in March to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected more than 4,600 people in the country with 150 deaths.

It first shut parts of its borders last year to fight smuggling, but people could still cross both ways.

The agency said refugees from Nigeria are being allowed to seek protection in Niger despite border closures with people in need of food, shelter and basic services including healthcare.

Overall, Niger hosts more than half a million refugees from Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, according to a recent UN report.

Baloch said approximately 19,000 Niger nationals have been displaced in their own country as they fled, fearing insecurity in border areas. The refugees are found in Niger's southern Maradi region, the agency said.

Many have also been caught up in clashes blamed on farmers and herders over dwindling land in Nigeria which have killed more people than the Boko Haram conflict.

Al Jazeera

Universal Music Group strikes partnership with Nigeria-based Aristokrat group

Universal Music Group’s presence in Africa has steadily grown in recent years, with highlights including its expansion into Nigeria in 2018, plus its acquisition of a majority stake in Kenyan label AI Records.

Today (May 11) brought a new headline in this story: Universal Music France (UMF) has struck a strategic partnership with Lagos, Nigeria-based The Aristokrat Group, which is best known for discovering and developing breakout African talent Burna Boy.

The partnership consists of both a label deal, as well as a publishing deal through Universal Music Publishing Group (UMPG).

Founded in 2009, The Aristokrat Group currently houses a record label, touring and event production company, film and television production company, music publishing company, and digital media company.

Aristokrat Group and Universal Music Group say they will work closely together to “discover and develop exciting new African talent, giving artists and songwriters the opportunity to reach global audiences with support from Universal Music Group companies around the world”.

All Aristokrat Records artists will be signed and distributed in partnership with Caroline France, a Universal Music France label.

The first recording artists signed to the label are Kel P, Jujuboy Star and Tneeya.

Kel P is a respected Nigerian producer, who worked with Burna Boy on his Grammy-nominated album African Giant, and recently worked with Wizkid on his Starboy, The Soundman Vol 1 EP.

Jujuboy Star is a Nigerian singer, songwriter and producer, while T’neeya is a Cameroonian singer and songwriter.

The first publishing signings to the partnership are Kel P, Jujuboy Star and Saszy Afroshii, a fast-rising female producer from Lagos.

Olivier Nusse, CEO, Universal Music France, said, “I am very proud that Aristokrat Group has chosen Universal Music France as its strategic partner to reach a global audience. We are convinced that Aristokrat represents the sound of New Africa and we look forward to working with our UMG labels globally to ensure that people around the world, can discover and dance to this sound!”

Bertil David, MD, Universal Music Publishing France, said, “Aristokrat is one of the most important voices in Africa right now. The quality of their A&R, their artistic and creative vision and entrepreneurship is both unique and progressive. We are very proud at UMPG to be able to partner with Aristokrat to help them achieve the global presence they deserve.”

Piriye Isokrari, Founder and CEO, The Aristokrat Group, said, “This is an exciting time for African musicians, producers and companies such as ours.

“Over the last decade, we’ve been at the forefront of cultivating this sound and building sustainable structures locally and we are happy to be able to bring our music and culture to the global market through this partnership with the Universal Music Group.”

Pictured L-R:Jean-Charles MARIANI, Chief Digital Officer, Universal Music France / Bertil DAVID, MD, Universal Music Publishing France / Eneibimo APULU, Chief Operating Officer, The Aristokrat Group / Tinu ADESUGBA, EVP Content & Communications, The Aristokrat Group / Piriye ISOKRARI, CEO, The Aristokrat Group / KEL-P, Producer / Olivier NUSSE, CEO, Universal Music France / Steve JERVIER, A&R Consultant, The Aristokrat Group]

By Tim Ingham


MusicBusinessWorldwide

68-year-old Nigerian woman gives birth 46 years into marriage

After 46 years of marriage, a 68-year-old woman has finally given birth to twins in Nigeria’s Lagos state, an act that has brought her immense joy. Margaret Adenuga and her 77-year-old husband, Noah Adenuga,.

Nigeria records 248 new coronavirus cases

Nigeria Centre for Disease Control on Sunday confirmed 248 new COVID-19 cases bringing the total confirmed cases to 4,399.

With Sunday’s update, Nigeria fatalities increased from 128 to 143, while recoveries increased from 745 to 778 persons.

Lagos had the highest with 81 new cases while Kigawa recorded 5 new cases of the virus. Borna also confirmed 26 new cases.

In Kano, NCDC said 26 were recorded and 20 new cases were confirmed in Bauchi while Abuja got 13 new cases.

NCDC also confirmed 12 new cases in Edo, Sokoto had 10 new cases and Zamfara recorded seven new cases of the virus.

Kwara and Kebbi recorded four new cases each and Gombe, Taraba, Ekiti and Ogun confirmed two new cases each.

Osun and Bayelsa had one case each.

A five-week lockdown declared by the Nigerian Government in Lagos, Ogun and the FCT was relaxed on May 4, 2020.

While the NCDC has mulled the lockdown might be reenacted, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Saturday said if residents refused to adhere to the guidelines issued for preventing the spread of the virus, there would be another lockdown.

“As a Government elected to uphold security of its citizens, which include health security, we will not hesitate to review the terms of the easing of lockdown if we do not see an improvement in adherence to our public health guidelines in the next couple of days,” Sanwo-olu said.

“We will be forced to take a painful decision of bringing the entire system under lockdown if we continue to see evidence that Lagosians are determined to flout the rules.”

The Guardian

Medic who discovered Nigeria's first confirmed Covid-19 case: 'It was scary'

As Dr. Amarachukwu Allison examined the Italian patient who walked into her consulting room in Ogun state, southwest Nigeria, complaining of fever, headache and fatigue, she suspected instantly what his ailment was.

It was February and the world was just waking up to the realities of Covid-19 as the highly contagious disease ravaged nations and locked down economies.

"I had been following the news trends at the time so when he walked into my consulting room with his complaints, he had a fever, it was high grade, headache, muscle pain and fatigue. I took his medical history and he said he had just come from Italy ... so I knew it was likely Covid-19," she told CNN in an Instagram live interview.

The unnamed Italian man had arrived in the country from Milan just 48 hours before he visited the private medical center where Allison worked.

Trying not to panic about the risk of contracting the disease herself, Allison said she counseled the man and gave him a face mask.
"I told him I would need to isolate him and he was very cooperative," she said.

'A scary experience'

She didn't know it at the time but Allison, 32, had just detected Nigeria's first confirmed case of coronavirus and her quick thinking has attracted praise from many Nigerians who hailed her a hero for helping to contain the spread of the virus in Africa's most populous nation.

The Ogun state government recently celebrated Allison and hailed her "singular brilliance."
"The Ogun State Government appreciates the young female doctor who suspected the index case in Nigeria in our State, Dr. Amarachukwu Karen Allison of Lafarge Nigeria. Her singular brilliance led to the early diagnosis and rapid containment of the first Covid-19 infection," the statement read.

The man was later transferred to an isolation center in the neighboring city of Lagos and Allison was promptly placed in quarantine.

"It was a really scary experience and I am so thankful that I tested negative," recalled Allison, who said it was her third experience of being quarantined.

"Strangely it was my third time going into quarantine because during the Ebola period, I had secondary contact and was quarantined and then I was exposed to viral hemorrhagic fever in November and was also quarantined.

"When I had to go at this time, I thought to myself, 'What is happening?' and I had to call my parents. My organization brought a psychologist to call in every day to support us and I cried a lot," she told CNN.

A sharp rise in cases

Despite her best efforts, Nigeria's cases have risen sharply from one case in February to 3526 confirmed cases as of May 8, with 601 recovered cases and 107 deaths, according to data from the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

Many fear the official numbers don't present the true picture of cases in the country as the NCDC says that just over 22,000 samples have been tested, which is less than 1% of the estimated 200 million population.

"The pandemic is a really difficult time for any government and anybody anywhere," Allison said.
"Everybody is trying to do the best that they can and as much as they can to handle things. ... We are not only dealing with the pandemic but also the poverty crisis, and getting information across to people is somewhat of a problem," she said, highlighting the challenges the country faces in the pandemic.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari ordered a lockdown in key states in March, including Ogun state where she works, but five weeks later, that lockdown has now been eased to get Nigeria's economy going again.

"I think that as the lockdown is being eased, we the people need to play a role in stopping the spread by wearing our face masks, washing our hands with the right technique under running water with soap, respiratory etiquette covering your cough, sneezing and social distancing," she said.

A newfound 'hero' status

Allison has drawn comparisons to another Nigerian female doctor, Stella Adadevoh, who detected Nigeria's first case of Ebola in July 2014 and consequently saved Africa's most populous nation from a mass outbreak of Ebola.

Adadevoh suspected Liberian national Patrick Sawyer had Ebola when he arrived at her hospital in Lagos, and successfully kept him there despite resistance from him and pressure from government officials to release him from the hospital.

Adadevoh succumbed to the Ebola virus while in quarantine and died August 19, 2014.
"It makes me feel humbled and honored. I am thankful to her for what she did," said Allison when asked about the comparisons to Adadevoh.

"It's been overwhelming and it makes me happy when my fellow human beings appreciate me. I feel loved," she said.

CNN