Canada salvages draw with Nigeria

Shelina Zadorsky shone among the brightest at Starlight Stadium on Monday night.

The centre back for Canada’s women’s soccer team scored the tying goal in the 88th minute to salvage a 2-2 draw for her team in a friendly against Nigeria in Victoria, B.C.

Zadorsky connected on a header on a cross from Janine Beckie, just after a Canadian corner kick. It was her third international goal in her 80th appearance for Canada.

“I think Shelina had a great game. Set play goals are what she wants to be known for, and for her to deliver that – it was a great header,” head coach Bev Priestman told the media after the game.

Zadorsky not only delivered on offence but was also a steadying presence on the Canadian backline, shutting down numerous Nigerian opportunities.

“I've just been training really hard, working on set pieces and really set goals for myself to be a game-changing centre back,” she said postgame.

It’s this positive attitude that has been Zadorsky’s guiding light for the past year as she adjusts to a new role with the national team.

Monday was just her third start and fifth total appearance in the past 12 games for Canada. The native of London, Ont., was a mainstay on the Canadian backline for many years, playing every minute for her country at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup.

But that changed at the start of the knockout round of the Tokyo Olympics, when Priestman opted to start Vanessa Gilles (who at that point had seven caps to her name) alongside Zadorsky’s long-time partner at centre back, Kadeisha Buchanan.

Gilles ended up becoming a breakout star for Canada at the tournament, and she and Buchanan have now become Priestman’s go-to pairing to anchor the team’s backline.

After the tournament, Canada’s coach said the decision not to start Zadorsky was a difficult one, calling the 29-year-old “one of the most consistent players” for the team.

“Every player has challenges in their career,” Zadorsky told TSN before Monday’s game. “I think it's a privilege to be on a team with so many – first and foremost, great centre backs – but also just great players who are fighting to be on the pitch.”

It’s an adjustment no player at the top level wants to endure, especially one who was playing key minutes on the international stage for many years.

“It's absolutely a grind,” she said. “But I think that's where I've really challenged myself – to look at my stats, look at where I can get better, where are the growths I can make. I'm the craziest critic of myself, so, I'm always pushing to get better.”

Priestman said she and Zadorsky have had a lot of frank conversations about how to get the defender to the best level on the pitch. After February’s Arnold Clark Cup, Priestman sat down with all her players for in-depth evaluations.

“She's not going to accept not being a starter, and I love that,” Priestman told TSN last week. “I'm incredibly lucky. I think we've got some top, top centre backs. It's a great problem to have.”

For Zadorsky’s detailed assessment, Priestman compared her to some of the best centre backs in the world and outlined what she believes the Canadian defender needs to target on both ends of the pitch.

“I think the most important thing for me is I'll always be honest, and I think that's my philosophy. When I tell a player that they're not starting… I just feel like my job is to be completely honest,” Priestman said.

“Bev and I have a great relationship,” Zadorsky said. “I'm a mature player in the sense that I've had a lot of experience. I always speak my mind, and I'm always honest with my own performances and whatnot. Bev's pushing me in a way that is good and positive.”

Even though Zadorsky is fighting to reclaim a role as a starer, she believes the Canadian team is never about the individuals, but the collective.

“We have so many good characters. It's not a team where anyone wants someone to do poorly. We all want to get the best out of each other, and I think that's what got us on the podium – being a team,” she said.

Part of Zadorsky’s character is being a leader for her teammates, whether she’s on or off the pitch. Photos of Canada’s gold-medal run in Tokyo show Zadorsky being among the most vocal cheerleaders for her team, especially during penalties against Brazil and Sweden.

“That's how I like to go about life – just trying my best to bring the best out of other people,” she said. “Ultimately, I love playing football because I love being in a team. So, I always try and bring the good energy and really just help people perform to their best.”

Zadorsky has carried that leadership to her club at Tottenham, where she has captained the team for the past year. She made the move to the Women’s Super League in England in 2020 after playing four seasons in the National Women’s Soccer League.

“To be able to play in one of the best leagues in the world is incredible,” she said. “I think it's challenged me in new ways, against incredible international forwards, week in and week out.”

Zadorsky said the coaches at Tottenham have a close relationship with Priestman and her staff at Canada, and the two sides have been working together to push her to new heights.

“It's just being ready for the opportunities,” she said. “And when they do come, being able to absolutely put your best foot forward.”

Just like she did on Monday night.

By Meaghen Johnson

TSN

VP Osinbajo finally declares to run for president

Nigeria’s Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has finally declared to run for president, ending months of speculations and tepid denials.

“I formally declare my intention to run for the office of the President, Federal Republic of Nigeria, on the platform of our great party, the All Progressives Congress,” Osinabjo said in a video posted to his social media handles Monday morning, shunning the fanfare that characterised the declarations by some aspirants.

The VP will be squaring up against APC bigwigs including his political benefactor and former governor of Lagos State Bola Tinubu, transportation minister Rotimi Amaechi, former governor of Imo State Rochas Okorocha and governors of Kogi and Ebonyi states Yahaya Bello and Dave Umahi.

Osinbajo served 8 years as attorney-general and commissioner for justice in Lagos State when Tinubu was the governor between 1999 and 2007. He was nominated as the running mate to Muhammadu Buhari in December 2014, the then-candidate of the APC for the 2015 presidential election.

Osinbajo has since served about seven years as vice president to President Muhammadu Buhari, whom he described as a “true Nigerian patriot”.

He said he and Buhari spent the last seven years working through some of the most difficult times in the history of the country, focusing on securing the country, providing infrastructure and growing its economy.

Osinbajo said being Nigeria’s VP since 2015 has afforded the opportunities to understand the “diverse experiences and yearnings” of Nigerians.

“In these seven years, I have served the government in several capacities and I have, at the direction of Mr President, represented our country in sensitive high-level international engagements.

“I’ve been to practically all local governments in Nigeria. I’ve been in markets, in factories, in schools, in farms.

“I’ve been in agricultural, mining and oil-producing communities in the Delta, in Kebbi, in Enugu, in Borno, in Rivers, in Plateau and Ondo and in all other states of the federation, listening to the diverse experiences and yearnings of our people.

“I’ve visited our gallant troop in the Northeast and brothers and sisters in the IDP camps. I’ve felt the pain and anguish of victims of violent conflicts, terrorist attacks, flooding, fire and other disasters.

“I’ve been in the homes of many ordinary Nigerians in various parts of the country. I’ve sat with our techpreneurs in Lagos, Edo and kaduna, with our Nollywood and Kannywood actors, with sour musicians from Lagos, Onitsha and Kano, and I’ve spoken to small and large businesses.

“I stood where they stood and I sat where they sat. I know their hopes and their aspirations and their fears. And in I believe that in those hopes and aspirations are the seeds for the great Nigeria that we all desire.”

The Guardian

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Nigeria's ex-president unhurt in road crash, two security aides killed

Former Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was unhurt in a crash involving his motorcade but two of his security aides were killed in the incident on Wednesday, his media office said Thursday.

Two other security aides of Jonathan also sustained injuries in the accident which involved a car carrying the security men in the vicinity of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, while the former president was on his way out of the city on Wednesday evening, the media office said in a statement.

"The former president who described the incident as painful and heart-rending stated that the sudden death of the two security details has thrown him into deep mourning," the statement said, without revealing the cause of the accident.

The deceased were police officers attached as security details to Jonathan, who was the Nigerian leader from 2010 to 2015.

Jonathan described the deceased aides as "fine officers who were dedicated to their duties and service to the nation," according to the media office's statement.

Xinhua

Train attackers release hostage video

More than a week after an Abuja-Kaduna train was attacked, gunmen released a hostage video depicting the captors and one of the abducted passenger who has since been freed.

Gunmen who carried an attack on a passenger train on March 28 before abducting an undiclosed number of passangers have released a video. In the footage, Alwan Ali-Hassan, a bank manager in Nigeria is surrounded by four masked gunmen in military uniform.

The hostage calls on the authorities to meet the demands of his captors to secure the release of other hostages who "are in a desperate situation," he says. Some may have returned home and failed to contact the authorities.


The AFP couldn't independently authenticate the video but Ali-Hassan relatives confirmed he was now free since Wednesday.
 

Propaganda

So far, no armed group or jihadist group has claimed responsibility for this attack, or for the video, which was shot in a forest area. Armed men locally called bandits have terrorised communities, conducting mass kidnappings for ransom, raiding villages and stealing cattle in the northwest and central Nigerian states.

Although criminal gangs used not to make ideological claims, there is growing concern about the infiltration of jihadists into these gangs. In the video visible elements are reminiscent of the propaganda footage fabricated by jihadist groups operating in northeastern Nigeria, hundreds of miles away.

One week after the men attacked a train with explosives in northwestern Nigeria, the whereabouts of 168 passengers are still unknown, according to the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC). 8 Passengers died during the attack.

Africa News

Related story: Video - Rail staff killed in ‘unprecedented’ attack on train in Nigeria

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Nigeria is experiencing nationwide power outages caused by poor electricity generation and distribution. Businesses and homes are relying on generators, but the rising cost of diesel is adding to the problems. In the past 10 years, its electricity grid has had 200 system failures. Despite having four refineries, Africa’s biggest oil producer does not refine its crude oil. Instead, it imports fuel. Nigeria’s current electricity supply is only 4,000 megawatts for a population of more than 200 million. As the electricity supply worsens, thousands of industries have stopped working, throwing millions out of their jobs. Al Jazeera’s Ahmed Idris reports from Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos.

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Nigeria’s luxury home markets soared in 2021, record increase in sale prices

The Nigerian luxury real estate market is getting a significant boost from increasing number of wealthy individuals, who are seeking to own multiple homes and new portfolios.

The luxury residential market increased last year as a result of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, as many in the working class saw the need for better homes with access to facilities that encourage Work From Homes (WFH) policies.

Such facilities, include steady electricity supply and stable internet connections. Besides, increase in insecurity drove many to seek more secure neighbourhoods within gated communities.

The fall of the Naira relative to the dollar has also made purchase of houses more affordable for those in the diaspora, leading to an increase in demand, with its upward effect on the price of the residential units.

According to Knight Frank Nigeria, Port Harcourt, Abuja and Lagos recorded an increase in sale prices between 10 per cent to 12 per cent across the prime neighbourhoods in these cities.

“The motivations for price increase include adequate security and power supply as well as the quality of houses in these areas.

In 2022, Knight Frank anticipates a gradual increase in the demand for prime real estate, but not necessarily the super luxury class. “An expanding middle class desirous of quality housing will fuel increase in demand,” Chief Executive Officer, Knight Frank Nigeria, Mr. Frank Okosun said.

“As long as the offerings continue to match the expectations of the home purchasers, demand will remain sustainable. The growth of this demand is likely to be muted by the state of the wider national and global economy,” he said.

The Director, School of Environmental Studies, Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, Ogun State, Dr. Samson Agbato, said despite the country’s struggling economy and general unease, overall market activity in various residential sub-asset classes remained strong in the first half of the year.

Agbato, an estate surveyor and valuer, said Lagos and Abuja recorded an average of 25-30 per cent increase in price. The Lagos Island residential real estate market in H1 2021, for example, was characterised by the short let bubble, and the millennials’ rule.

“The increase in prices can be attributed to the all-time high price of land in prime locations on the Lagos Island (particularly in gated communities like Banana Island, Shoreline Estate, Cowrie Creek, and Pinnock Beach Estate).

“Fast-rising off-plan development activities, continuous rule of millennials, a short-let market bubble, an increasing number of off-market listings,” he said.

In 2022, Agbato said the residential real estate market would remain mostly unchanged from where it was in 2021 as fewer rooms will continue to be demanded in city centres as against four to five bedrooms.

“Short-term rentals will continue to receive upward reviews. Therefore, developers will make every effort to meet the highest possible standards in their projects, and some transactions will be completed for much more than the asking (and market) price, even though few ones may close for undisclosed sums,” he said.

The Guardian learnt there was “unexpected increase in demand for luxury homes,” while wealth creation also played a big role in driving price and demand growth in 2021. There were five million new millionaires in the world in 2021, according to the yearly Knight Frank Wealth Report.

This newly generated wealth led more buyers to make real estate investments of varying kinds. “Access to technology and the digital democratisation of investments, including private equity, have led to greater levels of wealth creation and growth. This is something that will gain momentum over the coming years,” the report said.

MEANWHILE, Dubai saw the biggest gain in luxury-home prices of any major global city in 2021, as values around the world increased, according to a new report.

The increase in demand and rise in prices across 100 major hubs for luxury real estate were fueled by many factors including low mortgage rates, shifts in lifestyle choices due to the pandemic and more flexible working patterns.

Dubai led the list with a 44.4per cent increase in high-end sale prices from December 2020 to December 2021, according to the report.

“The U.A.E’s handling of the pandemic, strong take-up of the vaccine, the delivery of high-end turnkey projects as well as innovative new visa initiatives and economic reforms, have together boosted Dubai’s profile in the eyes of international buyers,” said Kate Everett-Allen, head of international residential research at London-based Knight Frank.

In the Middle Eastern city, sales above $10 million have historically accounted for two per cent of all transactions but in 2021, they equated to seven per cent, according to Ms. Everett-Allen.

Moscow was in second place with a 42.4 per cent yearly change, mainly due to Russia’s mortgage subsidy programme and tight supply, the report noted.

The next three spots were filled by U.S. cities: San Diego, California, with 28.3 per cent, Miami with 28.2 per cent and New York’s Hamptons with 21.3 per cent increase in luxury home prices.

“We are seeing increasing interest in both indirect exposures, by way of real estate investment trusts for example and direct investment in physical real estate, especially as a hedge against potential inflation,” Pierre-Yves Lombard, managing director and deputy head of private banking at Lombard Odier for the Asia region, said in the report.

The luxury housing remains on track for another boom year in 2022, according to experts.

“Dubai, Miami and Zurich lead our 2022 forecast, with prime prices expected to end the year between 10per cent and 12 per cent higher. Asian cities are expected to trail slightly, but even here, prices will grow,” Liam Bailey, global head of research at Knight Frank, said in the report.
“Key themes to watch: Agents will complain about stock shortages, buyers will complain about rising taxes and cooling measures, and city markets will be back in demand.”

The world’s affluent population—those with a net worth of more than $5 million—grew by nearly 20per cent in 2021, according to The Report: 2022 Global Luxury Market Insights, produced by Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC and the Coldwell Banker Global Luxury programme. In the U.S. alone, the wealth growth rates pressed even higher, rising nearly 25 per cent during that period.

As a result, luxury real estate is growing. The sales of single-family luxury homes, defined as the top 10 per cent of any given market, climbed nearly 15 per cent in 2021, and prices increased 20 per cent from 2020, according to the report.

“Stock market gains, rising home equity, increased savings and the cryptocurrency boom have all contributed to a massive expansion of wealth and the sheer number of affluent individuals across the globe,” says Michael Altneu, vice president at Coldwell Banker Luxury. “This—combined with a renewed focus on home for fulfilling a range of needs from security, escape, community, work, and wellness—has led to unprecedented demand for bigger and better homes in new locations. As a result, luxury is no longer concentrated in a few major cities; it’s everywhere and we’ll continue to see the growth of secondary markets for years to come.”

International buyers are expected to add to luxury markets, returning to U.S. real estate as pandemic-led travel restrictions loosen. About 83 per cent of real estate pros surveyed by Coldwell Banker anticipate international buyers coming back to the U.S. market. They believe foreign buyers will most be drawn to turnkey properties that offer additional space and privacy. Real estate pros also believe they will target secondary or suburban areas.

Secondary markets are becoming an increasing draw to the luxury market. For example, markets like Denver; Boise, Idaho; Sacramento, Calif.; San Antonio; Raleigh, N.C.; and Salt Lake City are seeing increasing interest from luxury buyers, according to the report.

“Work-from-home opportunities, climate change considerations, and accessibility to dream locations mean luxury may continue to expand throughout the country as consumers search for the home that best fits their needs and desires,” the report says.

Also, secondary home purchases are increasing as the wealthy add to their real estate portfolios. About 70 per cent of individuals with a net worth of $5 million or more own two or more properties. More affluent buyers also are purchasing getaway homes—about 32 per cent in 2021, up from 23 per cent in 2020, according to the report.

“Double-digit wealth and affluent population gains have happened concurrently with a once-in-a-generation change in living patterns and migrations,” says Liz Gehringer, president of Coldwell Banker Affiliate Business and chief operating officer for Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC.

“As luxury real estate represents a larger percentage of the total housing market than ever before, it is absolutely crucial that luxury real estate professionals have a firm grasp of all factors influencing wealthy buyers and sellers today. The agent has become the affluent buyer’s connection point to new locations around the world.”

By Chinedum Uwaegbulam

The Guardian 

After Nigeria train attack, families contacted over ransom

Suspected bandits have contacted some Nigerian families to say they are holding relatives who went missing following an attack on a passenger train this week and that they will demand a ransom, the families said on Thursday.

Authorities in the northern Kaduna state said eight people died and 26 were hospitalised when armed gangs blew up train tracks on the Abuja-Kaduna route and kidnapped an unknown number of passengers on Monday night.

Ibrahim Abba told Reuters that unknown men called his family on Tuesday evening, informing them that they were holding his brother, who he said has not been seen since the attack on the train.

"They... assured us that (he) is safe with them," said Abba, adding that the men said they would call back with instructions for a ransom.

A Kaduna journalist whose mother and sister are among the missing passengers said the suspected bandits made contact on Wednesday night.

"This has confirmed that my mother and sister are alive. They asked us to expect further calls on a ransom demand," the journalist said.

Another relative, Malama Hadiza Gogo, told Reuters that she too received a call on Tuesday night and was told to stand by for a ransom demand for two missing family members.

Armed gangs roaming north-western Nigeria have spread terror among communities by kidnapping school children and villagers while also attacking security forces.

Reuters

Related story: Video - Rail staff killed in ‘unprecedented’ attack on train in Nigeria

 

Video - Rail staff killed in ‘unprecedented’ attack on train in Nigeria

 

Gunmen have attacked a train travelling from the Nigerian capital, Abuja, to the city of Kaduna, in an “unprecedented” act of violence that will heighten concerns about a breakdown of security in the country’s troubled northern region.

The death toll is unclear but a local security official told Reuters two train staff and five security personnel had been killed. A senator in Kaduna state separately said three cleaning staff on the train had died. Many others were injured and there were fears that an unknown number had been abducted.


Authorities could not immediately confirm the number of passengers on the train but local media reported that nearly 1,000 people were onboard.

The attackers used explosives to blow up the rail track before opening fire, according to Fidet Okhiria, the chief executive of the state-owned Nigerian Railway Corporation. “There were casualties but we have not been able to confirm the number,” Okhiria told Associated Press, describing the nature of the attack as unprecedented.

The attack occurred in Katari in Kaduna state, 55 miles from Abuja, on Monday evening. Many Nigerians use the railway as a safer alternative to the road route between Abuja and Kaduna, which for years has been one of the most dangerous in Nigeria because of kidnappings and armed bandits.

No group has claimed responsibility for Monday night’s attack but suspicion will fall on bandit groups.A Kaduna government official said passengers trapped on the train and others who had escaped to nearby forests were evacuated on Tuesday morning.

The attack is the most significant on the railway line from the capital since it began operating in 2016. It came two days after gunmen attacked Kaduna airport, killing a security guard before soldiers intervened.

Details of the latest incident emerged on Monday night, when passengers posted on social media that they were being shot at. One passenger who posted on Twitter during the attack that she had been shot later died, her colleagues said.

Some passengers complained that the attack continued for at least an hour before soldiers arrived to rescue them.

Video footage broadcast by local media showed passengers with bullet wounds and damaged carriages.

It has not been possible to establish a precise death toll. A senator in Kaduna, Shehu Sani, said passengers and police reported multiple deaths.

“Police officers confirmed that three train cleaners were killed. My friend’s wife, who was on the train, also said many people in her carriage were killed and injured and many kidnapped and taken away into the bush,” he said. “I got distress calls from some of the passengers. Even from the call you can hear the gunshots.”

The security situation in Kaduna had been gradually deteriorating, Sani said. “We used to travel by road, and the bandits blocked the road. Then we resorted to using the trains. Now this incident.”

Samuel Aruwan, a commissioner for defence at the Kaduna state government, said injured passengers had been taken to hospitals and that the government would cover the cost of their treatment. Relatives of the injured have made public appeals for people in Kaduna to donate blood.

Federal authorities have yet to release a statement.

Much of north-west and central Nigeria has been in the grip of attacks by so-called bandit groups, proscribed terrorists in Nigeria, who have carried out mass killings mainly in villages, rural towns and motorways. The groups – mostly ethnic Fulanis – have kidnapped thousands of people for ransom as well as killing, stealing and committing acts of sexual violence.

They emerged from a historical conflict that has worsened dramatically, between largely Fulani pastoralists and farmers of varying ethnic groups, over access to water and land and the boundaries between private farmland and grazing areas.

In recent years, the groups have overwhelmed communities and been more heavily armed than local police forces and vigilante groups. Kidnaps for ransom, targeting schoolchildren, ordinary civilians, prominent figures and their relatives have boomed in recent years.

The groups have in effect occupied many communities in north-west and central Nigeria, punishing communities that cooperate with authorities and demanding levies.

Jihadist groups have also become increasingly active in north-west Nigeria, exploiting the lack of security and in some cases working with bandits to carry out kidnaps.

Airstrikes have been launched on the hideouts of armed groups in a forested expanse stretching from northern Nigeria into Niger but the attacks have continued.

The Guardian

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Nigerian billionaire Dangote launches $2.5 billion fertilizer plant as prices soar

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote opened a 3-million-tonne fertilizer plant at a cost of $2.5 billion on Tuesday to target African and foreign markets even as the war in Ukraine has driven up prices for natural gas, a key ingredient for making urea.

Dangote said exports from the plant will go to Brazil, which relies heavily on Russia for imports of fertilizer. Shipments will also go to the United States, India and Mexico, he said at the launch.

Fertilizer prices have been rising at a time when planting usually picks up around the world, especially after Russia, the world's biggest exporter of fertilizer, invaded Ukraine last month. The war has also disrupted shipping.

The plant, commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari and located at the Lekki Free Zone in Lagos State, is designed to produce 3 million tonnes of urea per year and supply all the major markets in sub-Saharan Africa.

Many in Nigeria hope the Dangote plant will help alleviate chronically low crop yields in Africa's most populous country, partly due to insufficient access to fertilizer.

Agriculture accounts for 20% of Nigeria's gross domestic product, with crop production contribution the highest with the farming subsector.

However, low fertilizer production and the high cost of importing fertilisers has reined in seed production. Fertilizer consumption in Nigeria ranks below its African peers.

According to the World Bank, Nigeria consumed around 20 kg of fertiliser per hectare of arable land in 2018, compared with 73 kg in South Africa and 393 kg in China.

The Central Bank of Nigeria has barred the use of its foreign exchange for fertiliser imports as part of a raft of controls aimed at boosting domestic production.

Other producers in Nigeria include Notore (NOTORE.LG), which has the capacity to produce 500,000 metric tonnes per annum of urea, and Singapore-owned Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Ltd, which plans to double its annual output of urea fertilizer to 2.8 million tonnes.

Reuters

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Nigeria has banned foreigners from purchasing agricultural products directly from local farmers. This means that only registered local buyers can purchase from farm gates - and then sell to foreigners. The government says the policy is geared towards mitigating the exploitation of local farmers. CGTN's Kelechi Emekalam reports.

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Increased Power Shortages Compounds Nigeria’s Fuel Scarcity Woes

Nigerians are experiencing even less reliable electricity supply than usual amid gasoline scarcity that has caused long queues at gas stations for over a month in the West African nation.

In recent weeks, provision of power to Nigerian homes and businesses has been especially patchy, leaving them ever more reliant on expensive and polluting generators that run on gasoline and diesel.

The deterioration in the electricity supply is due to “very low power generation” by the nation’s power plants, the state-owned Transmission Company of Nigeria, or TCN, said last week. More than a dozen gas-powered facilities were either not operating or producing limited output at various points during the past two months, it said.

Nigerians are already contending with shortages of gasoline that have resulted in long queues outside filling stations for more than a month since the authorities rejected imported cargoes of the fuel for containing too much methanol.

More than 40% of the country’s approximately 200 million people don’t have access to grid electricity, according to the World Bank. Those that are connected to the grid endure frequent outages forcing them to rely on self-generated backup power with an estimated capacity of 40,000 megawatts.


The generation companies acknowledge they are struggling but attribute their current difficulties to the dilapidation of Nigeria’s transmission infrastructure -- the national grid collapsed twice in two days this week -- and years of being underpaid for their power. While the electricity plants could produce an average of about 7,100 megawatts between 2016 and 2021, the grid was able to receive less than 3,800 megawatts over the same period, according to the Association of Power Generation Companies, or APGC.


The power stations have lost out on 1.7 trillion naira ($4.1 billion) since 2015 by being unable to dispatch this “stranded capacity,” APGC Executive Secretary Joy Ogaji told reporters on March 13. The state-owned Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Co., or NBET, also owes the generation companies “huge sums” for electricity that was sent out to the grid and supplied to customers.

While data about the outstanding arrears owed to the generation firms wasn’t available, Nigeria’s electricity distribution companies paid NBET, which buys power from generating firms and sells it on, less than 30% of invoices worth 730 billion naira in 2020. This leaves NBET unable to remit full payment to its suppliers.

The government transferred most of Nigeria’s generation and distribution assets to private ownership in 2013, while retaining the transmission network and NBET under state control. The country’s privatization agency said last year it would propose the unbundling and sale of the TCN.

ByWilliam Clowes

Bloomberg

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Nigerian parliament rescinds decision on gender equality bills

Nigeria’s lower house of parliament has rescinded its decision on three bills that it discarded at a constitutional amendment session.

The decision, announced by the House of Representatives on Tuesday, was a volte-face on parliament’s March 1 decision to reject the proposed bills. It will now reconsider the bills in a month when it reconvenes for another parliamentary session.

One of the amendments was to grant citizenship to foreign-born husbands of Nigerian women; the Nigerian constitution already confers automatic citizenship on foreign-born wives of Nigerian men. Another would have given a woman the right to become indigenes of their husband’s state after five years of marriage.

The third provision was to assign 35 percent of legislative seats to women, as well as reserve 35 percent of political party leadership, for women.

The parliamentary decision came hours after women protested across three states and the commercial capital of Lagos, on International Women’s Day. It was the second such protest within a week.
“A slap to the face of Nigerian women”

Tuesday morning’s protests, the second in a week, came on the heels of the federal parliament’s rejection of five bills to promote gender equality. The demonstrations were also a call for justice after recent reports of sexual violence and ritual killings targeting women

In Lagos, women had gathered at the government secretariat at Ikeja, the city’s seat of power, singing loudly and chanting multiple grievances against society and government.

‘’It was a march organised to create awareness that women are no longer sitting on the sidelines to demand to be included in government,’’ Stephanie Etiaka, a Lagos-based tech operations manager, told Al Jazeera. “The recent bills that have been turned [down] by the legislative arm of government are a slap to the face of Nigerian women, saying we know that the system is rigged against you and we are not doing anything to create inclusivity.”

Experts and activists have pointed to a lack of women’s participation in government as a factor responsible for the downscaling of women’s rights, as well as a high rate of gender-based violence and economic inequality in Nigeria.

“There is a reason this country is not working,” Kadaria Ahmed, director of Radio Now 95.3 FM, told Al Jazeera at the Lagos protest. ‘’One of them is the lack of female participation. You cannot deny 50 percent of your population the chance to govern themselves to make laws and policies for themselves and expect that the country will make progress.’’

Womanifesto, a coalition of pro-gender equality women organisations in Nigeria, sent a petition to the state and federal parliaments stressing that “women decry this denial and consider [it] a death knell for everything female and for women’s rights.”

The petition demanded the “urgent re-convening, reconsideration and immediate passage of the five women/gender-related bills’’, among other requests.
“Retrogression”

In Lagos, a plot twist ensued after a march to the governor’s office. Politician after politician gave speeches about their lobbying efforts within government to ensure equality. And then the crowd began booing the speakers, mostly male members of the state parliament and a few female politicians.

Ireti Bakare, a member of the Womanifesto group and lead organiser of the Lagos rally, expressed disappointment at what she considered a hijacking of the protest by the political elite, for posturing.

‘’It is ridiculous,’’ she said. “[The protest] has been taken over by Lagos state.”

Protesters on the ground said the change in dynamics highlighted the struggle between civil organisations working towards gender equality and the political class. The protest ended with the civil organisations staging a walkout.

Half of Nigeria’s population is female but women’s representation in politics and government is still very low. Despite years of lobbying and activism, political spaces for women continue to shrink. Female legislators currently make up 4 percent of the legislature, a decrease from 5.8 percent in 2015.

At the rally, public officers including the state commissioner for women affairs called for patience, but those present insisted that they had reached the tipping point.

‘’Nigeria has been independent since 1960 and that is a long time to be patient,” Ahmed said. “What we have seen in the last 10 years is retrogression.”

By Ope Adetayo and Eromo Egbejule

Al Jazeera

Video - Fourth Batch of Nigerian Evacuees Arrives Nigeria

 

Another set of Nigerians fleeing the crisis in Ukraine, have been successfully evacuated by the Nigerian Government. The 306 Nigerians arrived at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport this morning bringing the total number of Nigerians returned to the country to 1,149.

Agriculture Remains Backbone of Nigeria's Economy, Says CBN

Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, says agriculture remains a strong pillar and saving grace for the Nigerian economy. Emefiele said this at the weekend while addressing journalists during an inspection tour of a palm plantation at Odighi Village in Ovia North East Local Government Area of Edo State.

The CBN governor expressed satisfaction with the level of interest shown in agriculture and the tremendous impact the sector had had in the last six years. He wondered how the country could have coped with the rising prices of food and commodity items across the world without the foresight to revamp agriculture.

Emefiele said the central bank had assumed a pivotal role in agriculture since 2015, when President Muhammadu Buhari directed that "we produce what we eat and eat what we produce". The apex bank had come up with several initiatives aimed towards repositioning the sector with a view to creating employment opportunities as well as growing the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), he said.

Shortly after the assessment of farm, Emefiele attested to the giant strides already being recorded in the production of maize and cassava and expressed optimism that in the next 12 months, palm produce harvests would have commenced. He acknowledged the significant role played by Edo State Government, under the leadership of Governor Godwin Obaseki, who he said had matched words with action by making sure that arable land was made available to those genuinely interested in agriculture.

He appealed to other state governors to emulate Edo State, which had so far made available about 70 per cent of the promised arable land.

On the socio-economic impact of the CBN interventions, Emefiele mentioned the Anchor Borrowers' Programme (ABP), among other interventions schemes, which revolutionised agricultural practice whereby smallholder farmers, who hitherto could not approach commercial banks for loans. He said the farmers were now being granted credit facilities in the form of inputs, like seedlings, fertiliser, and herbicides.

He said the smallholder farmers could now cultivate and produce enough for their families and sell produce for loan repayment with ease.

Emefiele also commended the efforts of the promoting company, Agri-Allied Resources and Processing Limited and its parent company, Tolaram Limited, for heeding the clarion by the CBN to source their critical raw materials locally. He pointed out that the company had painstakingly embraced backward integration principle by acquiring farmland, measuring about 18,000 hectares, for the cultivation of oil palm, cassava, and maize - the critical raw materials used by the group.

Earlier, Managing Director of Agri-Allaied Resources, Mr. Madhukar Khetan, said the company had so far accessed a 10-year loan in the sum of N15 billion at single-digit interest rate with two-year moratorium, under the Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS), for the project.

The farm currently has a workforce of about 1,000.

By James Emejo

This Day

‘5G to create deals for digitally inclined Nigerians, firms’

Airtel supports families of Nigerians in Ukraine with free calls

Indications have emerged that businesses and corporations in Nigeria are warming up to leverage the high-speed, capacity and low latency features of the impending Fifth-Generation (5G) network rollout in Nigeria to strike beneficial and useful partnership between their organisations and digitally-inclined Nigerians.

This notion resonated at the weekend at the concluding sessions of the 2022 edition of AfricaNXT conference in Lagos.
Panel discussants from different organisations expressed optimism to drastically reduce unemployment in Nigeria by partnering with willing Internet-compliant Nigerians on various projects ahead of the deployment of 5G being driven by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).

At a panel session titled: Built to Last: Hardcoding Resilience Into the DNA of Your Business, discussants revealed that the organisation created digital work tools and employment opportunities by partnering with result-oriented individuals on various financially rewarding technology projects, products and solutions.

It was also noted that this was a way to retain talents, who wish to leave the organisation but can still be partners delivering results remotely by leveraging the world of possibilities that will be unleashed by extant and next-gen technologies and remunerated for work done. They believe that, these smart contracts will reduce unemployment and ensure continuous socio-economic development in Nigeria.

At another panel session on Disruptive Public Relations in the Imminent Metaverse Era, discussants noted that although not completely developed and fully deployed, the Metaverse (a metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection) would allow its users to engage in shared experiences.

Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta, noted that Nigerians should expect a lot of amazing things with the deployment of 5G services in the country, which he said, would positively impact Nigeria’s socio-economic development.

MEANWHILE, Airtel Nigeria has said that customers on its network could now call their loved ones, family members and friends in Ukraine for free and without any conditions attached, noting that it is important to provide unhindered access to everyone who needs to reach out to their loved ones in Ukraine.

Commenting on the initiative, Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Surendran Chemmenkotil, said: “Airtel understands that many Nigerians are anxious about the safety and whereabouts of their friends, family members and loved ones in Ukraine and want to stay connected real time with them.”

By Adeyemi Adepetun

The Guardian

Nigerians blocked from volunteering to support Ukraine’s fight against Russia

The Nigerian government on Monday said it will not tolerate the recruitment of its citizens as mercenaries to support Ukraine fighting Russia.

Nigeria’s foreign affairs ministry spokesman Francisca Omayuli in a statement said Nigeria is in talks with Ukrainian counterparts to forestall such an occurrence.

“As a responsible member of the international community and consistent with our obligations under international law, Nigeria discourages the use of mercenaries anywhere in the world and will not tolerate the recruitment, in Nigeria, of Nigerians as mercenaries to fight in Ukraine or anywhere in the world,” Omayuli said.

“The Federal Government will continue to engage with the Embassy of Ukraine in Nigeria and other relevant authorities to prevent this possibility.”

Nigeria’s opposition to hiring its citizens to fight Russia in Ukraine comes days after media reports suggested that Nigerian volunteers were being drafted for the ongoing war.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky last week called on foreign nationals who are “friends of peace and democracy” to travel to the country to fight against the Russian invasion.

“Anyone who wants to join the defence of Ukraine, Europe and the world can come and fight side by side with the Ukrainians against the Russian war criminals,” Zelensky said.

About 115 Nigerians volunteered to join the Ukrainian forces after Zelensky made the call.

But Omayuli said Nigeria will prevent Nigerians from volunteering as mercenaries in the European country despite media reports that Nigerians were asked to pay $1000 for visas and travel tickets before they could be allowed to volunteer.

The Nigerian official, however, said the Ukraine Embassy refuted the reports that any money was demanded from Nigerian volunteers.

“Furthermore, the Embassy clarified that the Ukrainian government is not admitting foreign volunteer fighters and as such dissociated itself from the claim that it is requesting $1,000 from each Nigerian volunteer for air ticket and visa,” Omayuli said.

By Dennis Erezi

The Guardian

Nigerian volunteer ‘fighters’ besiege Ukraine embassy

At a time Nigerians in Ukraine are struggling to return home, about 115 young men, yesterday, offered to join Ukraine in its fight against Russia.

The men, who besieged the Ukraine Embassy in Abuja, also put down their names in a register provided by the embassy.

Although, The Guardian was barred from taking their photographs, the Second Secretary, Ukraine Embassy, Bohdan Soltys, confirmed the development, adding that no step had yet been taken to that effect.

The volunteers may have been responding to a recent call by Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, urging people around the world to join the fight.

In a statement released last Sunday, the President accused the Russian army of killing civilians and praised Ukrainians for having the courage to defend themselves.

He said that the assault by Russia was not just “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine” but also the beginning of a war against democracy and basic human rights.

Zelensky had called on anyone who wished to join the defense of Ukraine, Europe and the world to come and fight side by side with Ukrainians.

This came as rights group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), faulted the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari for its response to the evacuation of Nigerians in Ukraine.

In a statement by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said:

“Like other aspects, President Muhammadu Buhari’s Presidency fumbled again. This time, woefully, because it failed to effectively and timeously evacuate Nigerians from Ukraine many weeks before the eventual war started, following the needless invasion of Ukraine by Russia on the illegal orders of President Vladimir Putin.”

In another development, the Federal Government expressed readiness to solidify bilateral ties with the state of Israel, especially in the areas of Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and socio-economic development.

Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Ogbonnaya Onu, stated this when he received the new Ambassador of the State of Israel to Nigeria, Michael Freeman, in his office in Abuja, yesterday.

Onu informed the newly appointed envoy of the Federal Government’s desire to make Nigeria’s economy more diversified and knowledge-based.

He said: “Nigeria is blessed with natural resources and we have some of the most intelligent people in the world. We want to diversify our economy because we believe, with the huge human capital, we can add value to our raw materials and create jobs for our youths.”

The minister hailed the historical diplomatic ties between both nations, adding that the relationship has yielded positive fruits over the years.

Earlier, Freeman said his country is willing to collaborate further with Nigeria on many socio-economic areas, especially challenges that can be solved using STI.

By Bridget Chiedu Onochie and Sodiq Omolaoye and Ernest Nzor, Abuja 

The Guardian

Video - Nigeria encourages family planning to curb population explosion

 

The Nigerian government is urging its citizens to use contraceptives as a way of controlling the expanding population. Health workers say a lack of education and religious beliefs are the main reasons hampering the widespread use of family planning methods in the most populous country in Africa.

Video - Nigeria board game aims to help preserve traditional language

It is "International Mother Language Day" - the annual United Nations commitment to promoting the preservation and protection of dialects worldwide. Nigeria is one of the most linguistically diverse countries which is pushing to keep traditional languages alive. Helping that happen is the inventor of a board game - who says the key to his success is simply having fun. Al Jazeera's Jillian Wolf reports.