Monday, October 24, 2016
Video - Nigerian government extends anti-piracy operation by 3 months
Piracy is a problem off West Africa's coast too. Nigeria has extended its anti-piracy operations there by there months. Authorities say they're determined to end attacks in its waters.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Survivors of Boko Haram risk starvation
After being forced to flee their homes, witnessing brutal violence and the destruction of their communities, many in northeastern Nigeria are now facing another pressing risk — severe malnutrition and even starvation.
It's estimated that some 2.6 million people have been made homeless by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, as they waged their seven-year long insurgency. People forced to flee headed in whichever direction was safe at the time.
Some two million have fled internally within Nigeria, moving to bigger cities in the northeast such as Maiduguri in Borno state or Yola in Adamawa state. Some fled south, or across borders into neighbouring countries.
Most crammed in with family, friends or distant relatives.
About 10 per cent, including the many unaccompanied children who saw their families slaughtered, have sought refuge in official and unofficial camps for the internally displaced.
Warnings have coming for months, with one aid agency after another expressing concern about the scale of this crisis and looming famine.
Millions of people in Nigeria need food assistance, the UN says. In Borno state alone, more than 240,000 children under the age of five are facing severe acute malnutrition.
For 65,000 people in the hard-hit north the risk is even greater — famine-like conditions and the risk of death.
Need 'will only increase'
Ghilda Chrabieh, director of humanitarian programs for Mercy Corps in Nigeria, says the situation could be particularly dire in places yet unreachable due to ongoing fighting and insecurity.
"We are projecting that the numbers of people in need will only increase as we start to access those areas."
President Muhammadu Buhari — who didn't mention the looming famine his country faces in a recent speech for Nigeria's Independence Day celebrations — recently spoke about the scope of the problem that comes with such a massive displacement of people, including many women and children.
"It is weighing heavily on government," Buhari said in a statement, noting that many of the children displaced by conflict and crises don't know their parents or where they come from.
The statement came after a meeting with Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Maurer has described the situation in Nigeria and neighbouring Niger as "a forgotten crisis."
Speaking in an ICRC video released via social media, he said this is "despite the fact that it is one of the largest ICRC operations in the world," adding that "people outside of Niger, outside of the Lake Chad region do not really offer the attention which this conflict deserves."
'Catastrophic' situation for many
The Mercy Corps director says organizations know that "people will need life-saving aid," with food and medical care to deal with malnutrition as a first priority.
"Based on the conditions we've seen as we've gained access, and based on many reports from agencies in locations like Bama, Banki, Konduga and Monguno, we know the situation is catastrophic," Chrabieh says.
Mercy Corps has been working in the town of Damboa, which was repeatedly hit by Boko Haram attacks. In 2014, there were reports that 95 per cent of the town had been destroyed, with burnt bodies left littering the charred remains of the marketplace.
The U.S.-based charity said 97 per cent of people they interviewed in Damboa reported that they were unable to afford to buy any food for the past four weeks.
The Nigerian government continues to tell people who fled the violence that they should return home to liberated towns and villages and rebuild their lives, but Boko Haram is still active in some areas and a feeling of insecurity has kept many away.
And so, hundreds of thousands of displaced people continue to lean on host families, or pour into makeshift camps for the displaced — and resources are being stretched to their limits.
Basic services such as health care, clean water and sanitation are already poor and there are concerns about the spread of disease.
Nigeria had gone two years without any reported polio cases but three have now been confirmed in Borno state and with poor drainage and stagnant water during rainy season deaths from malaria and cholera have risen.
This crisis though is not just affecting northeast Nigeria. Across the borders into Chad, Niger and Cameroon the same scenarios of hunger are being witnessed.
Some aid agencies like UNICEF have already warned that this crisis is now too big for one single government or charity to deal with alone.
As the country director of Mercy Corps Iveta Ouvry said: "This is not a crisis that will be solved with one silver-bullet solution … Put simply, the world cannot afford to wait another moment to take action."
It's estimated that some 2.6 million people have been made homeless by the Islamist militant group Boko Haram, as they waged their seven-year long insurgency. People forced to flee headed in whichever direction was safe at the time.
Some two million have fled internally within Nigeria, moving to bigger cities in the northeast such as Maiduguri in Borno state or Yola in Adamawa state. Some fled south, or across borders into neighbouring countries.
Most crammed in with family, friends or distant relatives.
About 10 per cent, including the many unaccompanied children who saw their families slaughtered, have sought refuge in official and unofficial camps for the internally displaced.
Warnings have coming for months, with one aid agency after another expressing concern about the scale of this crisis and looming famine.
Millions of people in Nigeria need food assistance, the UN says. In Borno state alone, more than 240,000 children under the age of five are facing severe acute malnutrition.
For 65,000 people in the hard-hit north the risk is even greater — famine-like conditions and the risk of death.
Need 'will only increase'
Ghilda Chrabieh, director of humanitarian programs for Mercy Corps in Nigeria, says the situation could be particularly dire in places yet unreachable due to ongoing fighting and insecurity.
"We are projecting that the numbers of people in need will only increase as we start to access those areas."
President Muhammadu Buhari — who didn't mention the looming famine his country faces in a recent speech for Nigeria's Independence Day celebrations — recently spoke about the scope of the problem that comes with such a massive displacement of people, including many women and children.
"It is weighing heavily on government," Buhari said in a statement, noting that many of the children displaced by conflict and crises don't know their parents or where they come from.
The statement came after a meeting with Peter Maurer, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Maurer has described the situation in Nigeria and neighbouring Niger as "a forgotten crisis."
Speaking in an ICRC video released via social media, he said this is "despite the fact that it is one of the largest ICRC operations in the world," adding that "people outside of Niger, outside of the Lake Chad region do not really offer the attention which this conflict deserves."
'Catastrophic' situation for many
The Mercy Corps director says organizations know that "people will need life-saving aid," with food and medical care to deal with malnutrition as a first priority.
"Based on the conditions we've seen as we've gained access, and based on many reports from agencies in locations like Bama, Banki, Konduga and Monguno, we know the situation is catastrophic," Chrabieh says.
Mercy Corps has been working in the town of Damboa, which was repeatedly hit by Boko Haram attacks. In 2014, there were reports that 95 per cent of the town had been destroyed, with burnt bodies left littering the charred remains of the marketplace.
The U.S.-based charity said 97 per cent of people they interviewed in Damboa reported that they were unable to afford to buy any food for the past four weeks.
The Nigerian government continues to tell people who fled the violence that they should return home to liberated towns and villages and rebuild their lives, but Boko Haram is still active in some areas and a feeling of insecurity has kept many away.
And so, hundreds of thousands of displaced people continue to lean on host families, or pour into makeshift camps for the displaced — and resources are being stretched to their limits.
Basic services such as health care, clean water and sanitation are already poor and there are concerns about the spread of disease.
Nigeria had gone two years without any reported polio cases but three have now been confirmed in Borno state and with poor drainage and stagnant water during rainy season deaths from malaria and cholera have risen.
This crisis though is not just affecting northeast Nigeria. Across the borders into Chad, Niger and Cameroon the same scenarios of hunger are being witnessed.
Some aid agencies like UNICEF have already warned that this crisis is now too big for one single government or charity to deal with alone.
As the country director of Mercy Corps Iveta Ouvry said: "This is not a crisis that will be solved with one silver-bullet solution … Put simply, the world cannot afford to wait another moment to take action."
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Video - Nigerian banks impose restrictions on debit and credit card payments
Nigeria's economy is battling acute dollar crisis. It has prompted banks to suspend the use of Nigerian debit and credit cards in foreign currency transactions. The government has also suspended access to forex at the central bank. Locals use this service to pay tuition fees for Nigerian students in the diaspora.
Video - Buhari vows to redouble efforts to free remaining Chibok girls
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria will double efforts to rescue the rest of the girls still missing two years after they were kidnapped by Boko Haram. Buhari spoke when he visited the 21 Chibok girls rescued this week from the militants.
Uber in Nigeria to offer drivers low-interest used-vehicle loans
According to Ebi Atawodi, General Manager for Uber in Nigeria, the used vehicle finance offering is the first of its kind to be made available to Uber driver-partners in the country and this is in keeping with Uber’s stated commitment to constantly develop forward-thinking partnerships that benefit its driver-partners.
“We are absolutely committed to making it as easy as possible for our driver-partners to start and maintain their own successful and profitable businesses,” Atawodi explains, “and these used vehicle finance options make it possible for those with a demonstrable performance commitment to build sustainable businesses without incurring the high costs often associated with new vehicle purchases.”
The move is set to create significant business growth opportunities for driver-partners by allowing them to access used-car finance from First Bank of Nigeria Limited at a very competitive interest rate of just 20% per annum over a 24 month repayment period. Alternative offers for used-vehicle finance on the Uber Vehicle Solutions Programme will attract 22% per annum, with a maximum repayment term of 36 months.
According to MD/CEO, First Bank of Nigeria Limited and Subsidiaries, Adesola Adeduntan, the Bank is committed to supporting entrepreneurs to build sustainable businesses which are pivotal in stimulating economic development. “It remains our business to foster the growth and development of small and medium scale businesses in Nigeria as the No1 SME Bank. This is the reason why we have partnered with Uber by empowering operators to own vehicles and build profitable businesses,” he further stated.
In order to qualify for this preferential used-vehicle finance from First Bank of Nigeria Limited, Uber driver-partners will need to be able to demonstrate an average driver performance rating of higher than 4.5 and have earned more than N2,400,000 in the preceding 6 months.
Atawodi is quick to emphasise that Uber’s commitment to helping its driver-partners build their businesses extends far beyond just making innovative vehicle finance available to them. Rather, these offerings come on the back of Uber’s existing range of innovative business-building solutions, including Uber Marketplace, which is a one-stop national vehicle access solution designed to connect driver-partners and investors to suitable vehicles at discounted rates. Uber Nigeria also recently launched its well-received UberMomentum Partner Rewards Programme that delivers localised discounts, preferential deals and rewards exclusively to driver-partners and small business owners.
“The growing suite of vehicle finance, business and lifestyle solutions that Uber Nigeria is making available to driver-partners and other business investors reaffirms our commitment to supporting and partnering with them to ensure their success,” Atawodi explains, “not just in terms of helping them to increase their income and profits, but more importantly by affording them every opportunity to truly transform their lives by establishing and expanding viable and sustainable businesses of their own.”
“By linking these solutions to the performance of our driver-partners, we further increase their chances of long-term business success, while at the same time building a network of transport professionals that Nigerians know they can trust to get them to their destinations safely and comfortably,” she concludes.
South Africa surpasses Nigeria as Africa's biggest economy
A new report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected Nigeria as Africa’s biggest economy, in spite of its current challenges.
Nigeria is placed ahead of South Africa and Egypt which are second and third respectively.
In August, Nigeria was reported to have lost its position as Africa’s biggest economy to South Africa, following the recalculation of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
But the IMF’s World Economic Outlook for October, puts Nigeria’s GDP at 415.08 billion dollars, from 493.83 billion dollars in 2015, while South Africa’s GDP was put at 280.36 billion dollars, from 314.73 billion dollars in 2015.
According to the report, Egypt’s 2016 data is not available, but its 2015 size remained at 330.159 dollars while that of Algeria, one of the largest economies on the continent, is put at 168.318 billion dollars.
The United States, China and Japan maintain their spots as the largest economies in the world, ahead of Germany, United Kingdom and France.
According to a review in September, the current economic recession will outlast 2016, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contraction of 1.7 per cent.
The IMF had predicted that Nigeria’s economy would grow away from a recession in 2017.
The country last witnessed a recession, for less than a year, in 1991, and experienced a prolonged one that started in 1982 and lasted until 1984.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has so far disbursed over N700 billion in capital expenditure this year, part of a record N6.06 trillion (30 billion dollars) budget for 2016.
Nigeria is placed ahead of South Africa and Egypt which are second and third respectively.
In August, Nigeria was reported to have lost its position as Africa’s biggest economy to South Africa, following the recalculation of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
But the IMF’s World Economic Outlook for October, puts Nigeria’s GDP at 415.08 billion dollars, from 493.83 billion dollars in 2015, while South Africa’s GDP was put at 280.36 billion dollars, from 314.73 billion dollars in 2015.
According to the report, Egypt’s 2016 data is not available, but its 2015 size remained at 330.159 dollars while that of Algeria, one of the largest economies on the continent, is put at 168.318 billion dollars.
The United States, China and Japan maintain their spots as the largest economies in the world, ahead of Germany, United Kingdom and France.
According to a review in September, the current economic recession will outlast 2016, with a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contraction of 1.7 per cent.
The IMF had predicted that Nigeria’s economy would grow away from a recession in 2017.
The country last witnessed a recession, for less than a year, in 1991, and experienced a prolonged one that started in 1982 and lasted until 1984.
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has so far disbursed over N700 billion in capital expenditure this year, part of a record N6.06 trillion (30 billion dollars) budget for 2016.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Video - Nigerian government expects oil production to rise by 22% by end of the year
Nigeria expects its oil production rate to jump by 22% by the end of the year to 2.2 M barrels per day. Apart from the impact of low oil prices, whose sales account for 70% of the Nigerian government's revenue, the country's energy facilities have been crippled by attacks from militants calling for a greater share of the oil wealth. Qua Iboe, Nigeria's largest export stream, and Forcados remain under force majeure. Nigeria's petroleum minister Ibe Kachikwu anticipates that oil prices will rise from current levels by December. He is meeting his Indian counterpart Dharmendra Pradhan to discuss expanding energy ties between the two countries.
Monopoly U-17 tournament in Nigeria reflects reality of the housing market
The clock was running out at the Lagos Under-17 Monopoly Championship, and the pace of play was becoming so frantic it was hard to decipher the true holder of Banana Island, Tiamiyu Savage Street and other properties on the board.
“I am the owner of this house!” shouted Ibrahim Mubarak, 14, a student from Isale Eko Junior Grammar School, his finger jabbing the property on the board.
But just after Ibrahim collected his rent, time was up: The largest Monopoly tournament in Africa’s biggest city was finished.
Crumpled and weathered Monopoly money lay scattered across 153 wobbly tables in the stuffy gymnasium, where more than 1,200 students had huddled for an hour around game boards based on Lagos. A champion was declared, only to be usurped moments later by organizers who had made a mistake and overlooked another competitor.
“The key to winning is just to have determination,” said Elizabeth Braimoh, 13, the official winner and a student at Topfield College.
Nigerians have a fondness for board games. Chess and ayo, a game similar to mancala, are popular here. And the nation’s prowess at Scrabble went global this year when a Nigerian player, Wellington Jighere, captured the world championship.
But playing Monopoly is appealing for another reason: It mimics the chaos of the real estate market in Lagos. Buying property is a tangled affair, plagued by bribery, scams and even machete-wielding gangsters.
“It’s a true reflection of what is on the ground in Lagos,” said Tarba Fatai Oladele, a physical education teacher at Ipakodo Senior Grammar School.
Monopoly began to take off about four years ago here, when Lagos got its own version of the game. The new board replaced staples of the American game, like Park Place and Boardwalk, with local properties like Bourdillon Road, a street in the Ikoyi neighborhood lined by luxury apartments, and Agege, an area near the main airport that is home to a government affordable housing project.
In August, the Lagos State Sports Commission named Monopoly an officially recognized sport. Officials quickly organized the late-September tournament, hoping to break a world record for the number of competitors simultaneously playing the game — 605 people at Universal Studios in Singapore in March, according to Guinness World Records. The Lagos event has been submitted to Guinness for verification.
The commission hopes to host more tournaments, with the added aim of teaching children strategies for saving money and making good investments.
“Real estate is an asset class that everyone should aspire to have,” said Nimi Akinkugbe, chief executive of Bestman Games, which distributes the Lagos version of Monopoly and helped organize the tournament.
Yet outside the gymnasium, on the streets of sprawling and hectic Lagos, the actual real estate market rivals the chaos of 1,200 raucous teenagers rocking tables and screaming, “Pay, pay, pay!”
“It’s a big mess,” said Megan Chapman, a founder of the Justice & Empowerment Initiatives, a Nigerian nonprofit that monitors land rights issues.
Nigerians, like many people around the world, dream of owning property. In a country that has one of the biggest economies on the continent and brags of a nascent middle class, the staple of owning real estate should seem within reach.
But the country is struggling through a recession. Inflation is at levels not seen in 11 years. Interest rates are so high that most home loans are unaffordable for average buyers.
The real estate market operates on a buyer-beware system starkly visible across the metropolis, where spray-painted signs on numerous homes shout warnings: “This house is not for sale.” The messages try to thwart a longtime con game in which scammers sell homes they don’t actually own to unsuspecting buyers.
Buyers must also navigate corruption even at official levels. Government workers have long demanded bribes in order to obtain official documents needed for buying property.
Even once a deal is done, problems emerge. Armed with machetes, criminal gangs so well established they have a name, omo onile, roam Lagos building sites looking to extort money before allowing construction to begin.
Also, the government makes liberal use of eminent domain, regularly seizing property, sometimes with extreme consequences. This month, nearly 33,000 people were evicted from a seaside community in the Lekki suburb of Lagos.
Officials razed part of a slum near the city’s main port in 2013, forcing 9,000 people from their homes. The year before, the state cleared part of Makoko, a waterside slum, which appears on the Lagos version of the Monopoly board as the cheapest property.
The Nigerian judicial system offers little relief from scams and property takeovers; dockets are so clogged that land disputes take years to resolve. Petitioners’ homes in Lagos are sometimes flattened before judgments can be handed down.
Matthew Ottah, a top property rights lawyer in Lagos who specializes in detecting land scams, estimated that this year alone he investigated more than 200 deals for clients hoping to buy property and found less than a quarter of them to be legitimate.
“There’s one story or the other that makes it impossible for us to approve it,” said Mr. Ottah, adding that he sometimes gets calls from omo onile gang members who threaten his life.
Mr. Ottah himself was once a victim of a land scam, losing the equivalent of about $25,000 after handing over cash for a piece of property from a seller who turned out to be a fraudster.
During the Monopoly tournament, the haphazard nature of real-life real-estate transactions was lost on the students who focused on the top prize, which amounted to about $2,000. Playing the board game was chaotic enough.
Players had only an hour to snap up as much property as they could. The game grew more pitched as the minutes ticked by, with students rolling the dice so fast that the teachers and state officials who were acting as volunteer bankers had trouble keeping track.
The student landlords shook their hands in opponents’ faces and demanded payment while harried bankers tried to keep up with the cries for cash.
“Fast, fast, give me two naira,” one student demanded of another who had landed on his property. (Naira is the local currency.)
For most students, a strategy emerged: hoarding.
“On this table,” complained Adeleke Olayinka Bello, a student at St. Jude, a private school, “no one wanted to sell their property.”
The organizers appealed to the students to negotiate with one another, a staple ability in Nigeria’s haggling-centric economy.
The champion, 13-year-old Elizabeth, bargained her way to control of the yellow properties: Silverbird Cinemas, 35 Marina and Falomo Shopping Center.
With two houses on each property and seven other players orbiting the board, Elizabeth sat back and watched her fortune grow to more than 17,000 naira.
“Using that,” she said, “I can win the game.”
“I am the owner of this house!” shouted Ibrahim Mubarak, 14, a student from Isale Eko Junior Grammar School, his finger jabbing the property on the board.
But just after Ibrahim collected his rent, time was up: The largest Monopoly tournament in Africa’s biggest city was finished.
Crumpled and weathered Monopoly money lay scattered across 153 wobbly tables in the stuffy gymnasium, where more than 1,200 students had huddled for an hour around game boards based on Lagos. A champion was declared, only to be usurped moments later by organizers who had made a mistake and overlooked another competitor.
“The key to winning is just to have determination,” said Elizabeth Braimoh, 13, the official winner and a student at Topfield College.
Nigerians have a fondness for board games. Chess and ayo, a game similar to mancala, are popular here. And the nation’s prowess at Scrabble went global this year when a Nigerian player, Wellington Jighere, captured the world championship.
But playing Monopoly is appealing for another reason: It mimics the chaos of the real estate market in Lagos. Buying property is a tangled affair, plagued by bribery, scams and even machete-wielding gangsters.
“It’s a true reflection of what is on the ground in Lagos,” said Tarba Fatai Oladele, a physical education teacher at Ipakodo Senior Grammar School.
Monopoly began to take off about four years ago here, when Lagos got its own version of the game. The new board replaced staples of the American game, like Park Place and Boardwalk, with local properties like Bourdillon Road, a street in the Ikoyi neighborhood lined by luxury apartments, and Agege, an area near the main airport that is home to a government affordable housing project.
In August, the Lagos State Sports Commission named Monopoly an officially recognized sport. Officials quickly organized the late-September tournament, hoping to break a world record for the number of competitors simultaneously playing the game — 605 people at Universal Studios in Singapore in March, according to Guinness World Records. The Lagos event has been submitted to Guinness for verification.
The commission hopes to host more tournaments, with the added aim of teaching children strategies for saving money and making good investments.
“Real estate is an asset class that everyone should aspire to have,” said Nimi Akinkugbe, chief executive of Bestman Games, which distributes the Lagos version of Monopoly and helped organize the tournament.
Yet outside the gymnasium, on the streets of sprawling and hectic Lagos, the actual real estate market rivals the chaos of 1,200 raucous teenagers rocking tables and screaming, “Pay, pay, pay!”
“It’s a big mess,” said Megan Chapman, a founder of the Justice & Empowerment Initiatives, a Nigerian nonprofit that monitors land rights issues.
Nigerians, like many people around the world, dream of owning property. In a country that has one of the biggest economies on the continent and brags of a nascent middle class, the staple of owning real estate should seem within reach.
But the country is struggling through a recession. Inflation is at levels not seen in 11 years. Interest rates are so high that most home loans are unaffordable for average buyers.
The real estate market operates on a buyer-beware system starkly visible across the metropolis, where spray-painted signs on numerous homes shout warnings: “This house is not for sale.” The messages try to thwart a longtime con game in which scammers sell homes they don’t actually own to unsuspecting buyers.
Buyers must also navigate corruption even at official levels. Government workers have long demanded bribes in order to obtain official documents needed for buying property.
Even once a deal is done, problems emerge. Armed with machetes, criminal gangs so well established they have a name, omo onile, roam Lagos building sites looking to extort money before allowing construction to begin.
Also, the government makes liberal use of eminent domain, regularly seizing property, sometimes with extreme consequences. This month, nearly 33,000 people were evicted from a seaside community in the Lekki suburb of Lagos.
Officials razed part of a slum near the city’s main port in 2013, forcing 9,000 people from their homes. The year before, the state cleared part of Makoko, a waterside slum, which appears on the Lagos version of the Monopoly board as the cheapest property.
The Nigerian judicial system offers little relief from scams and property takeovers; dockets are so clogged that land disputes take years to resolve. Petitioners’ homes in Lagos are sometimes flattened before judgments can be handed down.
Matthew Ottah, a top property rights lawyer in Lagos who specializes in detecting land scams, estimated that this year alone he investigated more than 200 deals for clients hoping to buy property and found less than a quarter of them to be legitimate.
“There’s one story or the other that makes it impossible for us to approve it,” said Mr. Ottah, adding that he sometimes gets calls from omo onile gang members who threaten his life.
Mr. Ottah himself was once a victim of a land scam, losing the equivalent of about $25,000 after handing over cash for a piece of property from a seller who turned out to be a fraudster.
During the Monopoly tournament, the haphazard nature of real-life real-estate transactions was lost on the students who focused on the top prize, which amounted to about $2,000. Playing the board game was chaotic enough.
Players had only an hour to snap up as much property as they could. The game grew more pitched as the minutes ticked by, with students rolling the dice so fast that the teachers and state officials who were acting as volunteer bankers had trouble keeping track.
The student landlords shook their hands in opponents’ faces and demanded payment while harried bankers tried to keep up with the cries for cash.
“Fast, fast, give me two naira,” one student demanded of another who had landed on his property. (Naira is the local currency.)
For most students, a strategy emerged: hoarding.
“On this table,” complained Adeleke Olayinka Bello, a student at St. Jude, a private school, “no one wanted to sell their property.”
The organizers appealed to the students to negotiate with one another, a staple ability in Nigeria’s haggling-centric economy.
The champion, 13-year-old Elizabeth, bargained her way to control of the yellow properties: Silverbird Cinemas, 35 Marina and Falomo Shopping Center.
With two houses on each property and seven other players orbiting the board, Elizabeth sat back and watched her fortune grow to more than 17,000 naira.
“Using that,” she said, “I can win the game.”
Ken Saro-Wiwa's son has passed away
The son of renowned Nigerian environmental activist Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed more than 20 years ago, has died in London.
Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr, 47, passed away after suffering a stroke, his family say.
He was a journalist who became an adviser to three presidents.
The 1995 execution of his father by a military government for leading protests against environmental degradation caused by the oil industry sparked global outrage.
Saro-Wiwa Sr led the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), which accused oil multinational Shell of destroying the environment in his home region of Ogoniland in south-eastern Nigeria.
His execution after a secret trial under Gen Sani Abacha led to Nigeria being suspended from the Commonwealth.
Noo Saro-Wiwa, sister of the late journalist, told the BBC: "It is with great sadness that we announce that Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr passed away suddenly. His family are devastated and request privacy at this difficult time."
Funeral arrangements are yet to be worked out, the family says.
Ken Saro-Wiwa was first appointed in 2006 as a special adviser on peace and conflict resolution by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He later served Mr Obasanjo's successor, President Umaru Yar'Adua, as an adviser on international affairs and stayed on under President Goodluck Jonathan until he lost last year's election.
His willingness to work with the federal government marked him out as less militant than his father.
But like his father, he was committed to the cause of the Ogoni people.
In a 2015 opinion piece for the UK's Guardian newspaper, he wrote that the effects of the oil pollution on Ogoniland had still not been cleared up.
"If my father were alive today he would be dismayed that Ogoniland still looks like the devastated region that spurred him to action.
"There is little evidence to show that it sits on one of the world's richest deposits of oil and gas."
A 2011 UN report said Nigeria's Ogoniland region could take 30 years to recover fully from the damage caused by years of oil spills. The study said complete restoration could entail the world's "most wide-ranging and long-term oil clean-up".
It added that communities faced a severe health risk, with some families drinking water with high levels of carcinogens.
Shell has accepted liability for two spills and said all oil spills were bad for Nigeria and the company.
Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr, 47, passed away after suffering a stroke, his family say.
He was a journalist who became an adviser to three presidents.
The 1995 execution of his father by a military government for leading protests against environmental degradation caused by the oil industry sparked global outrage.
Saro-Wiwa Sr led the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (Mosop), which accused oil multinational Shell of destroying the environment in his home region of Ogoniland in south-eastern Nigeria.
His execution after a secret trial under Gen Sani Abacha led to Nigeria being suspended from the Commonwealth.
Noo Saro-Wiwa, sister of the late journalist, told the BBC: "It is with great sadness that we announce that Ken Saro-Wiwa Jr passed away suddenly. His family are devastated and request privacy at this difficult time."
Funeral arrangements are yet to be worked out, the family says.
Ken Saro-Wiwa was first appointed in 2006 as a special adviser on peace and conflict resolution by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.
He later served Mr Obasanjo's successor, President Umaru Yar'Adua, as an adviser on international affairs and stayed on under President Goodluck Jonathan until he lost last year's election.
His willingness to work with the federal government marked him out as less militant than his father.
But like his father, he was committed to the cause of the Ogoni people.
In a 2015 opinion piece for the UK's Guardian newspaper, he wrote that the effects of the oil pollution on Ogoniland had still not been cleared up.
"If my father were alive today he would be dismayed that Ogoniland still looks like the devastated region that spurred him to action.
"There is little evidence to show that it sits on one of the world's richest deposits of oil and gas."
A 2011 UN report said Nigeria's Ogoniland region could take 30 years to recover fully from the damage caused by years of oil spills. The study said complete restoration could entail the world's "most wide-ranging and long-term oil clean-up".
It added that communities faced a severe health risk, with some families drinking water with high levels of carcinogens.
Shell has accepted liability for two spills and said all oil spills were bad for Nigeria and the company.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
Video - Nigerian student runs taxi service outside school hours for income
A young man in Nigeria who was frustrated with the lack of job opportunities, has taken his future into his own hands. Research by the United Nations Population Fund shows that the rapid growth of Nigeria's cities has led to a scarcity of jobs. It's prompted many young people to start their own businesses.
Video - Nigeria's Shooting Stars defender Izu Joseph killed in shooting
Nigerian footballer Joseph Izu has been killed in the Niger Delta, after being caught up in the crossfire between the Nigerian army and oil militants.
Monday, October 17, 2016
Video - Nigeria's government aims to privatise stadium management
Nigeria's government says it will move to privatise management of its national sports stadiums. Sports minister Solomon Dalung says the federal government can no longer afford the maintenance costs of the stadiums spread across the vast west African country.
Nigerian football player Izu Joseph shot dead
Nigerian footballer Izu Joseph has been killed after being shot in the south of the country.
Joseph, a central defender with Premier League club Shooting Stars (3SC), was hit by a stray bullet when gunmen attacked a market in his hometown of Okaki in Bayelsa State.
"Today is a very sad day for us," Rasheed Balogu, 3SC's general manager, told ESPN FC: "This was a young boy with a lot of promise and we are devastated.
"We are still getting confusing reports about what happened exactly but we have been told that the stray bullet came from the JTF [Nigerian Joint Task Force]."
The club's official account tweeted on Monday: "A Shooting STAR is gone! Izu Joseph is gone! Flamboyant defender is gone! RIP, brother. What a life! May God strengthen his family #Tragedy."
Jubril Arowolo, media officer for the club, told sportingtribune.com: "The news came as a shock to us around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday that Izu Joseph was shot by gunmen, though we are yet to get details from the family, hopefully we will make an official statement once we get across to his family later in the day,"
The player, who was home on holiday after the end of the Nigerian football league season, was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Joseph, a central defender with Premier League club Shooting Stars (3SC), was hit by a stray bullet when gunmen attacked a market in his hometown of Okaki in Bayelsa State.
"Today is a very sad day for us," Rasheed Balogu, 3SC's general manager, told ESPN FC: "This was a young boy with a lot of promise and we are devastated.
"We are still getting confusing reports about what happened exactly but we have been told that the stray bullet came from the JTF [Nigerian Joint Task Force]."
The club's official account tweeted on Monday: "A Shooting STAR is gone! Izu Joseph is gone! Flamboyant defender is gone! RIP, brother. What a life! May God strengthen his family #Tragedy."
Jubril Arowolo, media officer for the club, told sportingtribune.com: "The news came as a shock to us around 11:00 p.m. on Sunday that Izu Joseph was shot by gunmen, though we are yet to get details from the family, hopefully we will make an official statement once we get across to his family later in the day,"
The player, who was home on holiday after the end of the Nigerian football league season, was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.
Video - Released Chibok girls reunite with their families
Some of the 21 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by the armed group Boko Haram have reunited with their families, following their release after 30 months in captivity.
Cries of joy filled the room as the freed girls, who had been kidnapped along with more than 200 other pupils in the town of Chibok in April 2014, met their relatives in Abuja on Sunday.
The girls were freed on Thursday, but it took days for most of the families to reach the capital for the reunion.
At the meeting, the parents of one of the girls spoke of their excitement at seeing their daughter.
"When we heard they found some of the girls, and that our daughter was among them, we slept as if the day is not going to break," Muta Abana, a father of one of the Chibok girls, told The Associated Press news agency.
"We wanted the day to break quickly, to see if the government is going to call us, to come and see that our daughter was among them."
Hawa Abana, the mother, said that Boko Haram abducted her daughter and hundreds of other schoolgirls, because "they did not want them to succeed in life".
"By God's grace she is back," she said. "She will go back to school. Boko Haram has no power again."
Eleanor Nwadinobi, women and girls manager at the Nigeria Stability and Recognition Programme, said the girls will now undergo treatment which must be tailored to individual needs, including trauma counselling and health and nutritional requirements.
"It is important that they are not attended to in isolation," she told Al Jazeera.
"They will need individual attention as the needs of one girl will differ from the other."
Also on Sunday, a presidential spokesman said a splinter branch of Boko Haram is now willing to negotiate the release of 83 more of the girls.
"The faction said it is ready to negotiate if the government is willing to sit down with them," Garba Shehu, spokesman for President Muhammadu Buhari, told Reuters news agency.
Brokered deal
Boko Haram seized 276 pupils from the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok in northeastern Borno state on April 14, 2014. Fifty-seven managed to escape in the immediate aftermath of the abduction, but nearly 200 other girls are still missing.
The deal for the release of the girls was brokered by the Swiss government and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Following their release, they were then taken from the northeastern city of Maiduguri and flown to Abuja to meet state officials.
On Thursday, Lai Mohammed, Nigeria's information minister, denied reports that the state had swapped captured Boko Haram fighters for the release of the girls.
He also said that he was not aware of any ransom being paid.
Mohammed said that a Nigerian army operation against Boko Haram would continue.
In recent days, the Nigerian army has been carrying out an offensive in the Sambisa forest, a stronghold of Boko Haram.
The armed group controlled a swath of land around the size of Belgium at the start of 2015, but Nigeria's army has recaptured most of the territory.
The group still stages suicide bombings in the northeast, as well as in neighbouring Niger and Cameroon.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Boko Haram release 21 kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls
Nigerian officials say 21 Chibok schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram extremists more than two years ago have been freed.
Presidential spokesman Mallam Garba Shehu tweeted Thursday that the girls are in the custody of Nigeria's Department of State Services.
He said the release is a result of negotiations between the government and Boko Haram, brokered by the Swiss government and the International Red Cross. He said negotiations will continue.
The abduction of 276 schoolgirls in April 2014 brought international condemnation of Boko Haram, Nigeria's home-grown Islamic extremist group. Dozens of the girls escaped, but most remain missing.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has said the girls would only be released if the government swaps them for detained extremist leaders.
Presidential spokesman Mallam Garba Shehu tweeted Thursday that the girls are in the custody of Nigeria's Department of State Services.
He said the release is a result of negotiations between the government and Boko Haram, brokered by the Swiss government and the International Red Cross. He said negotiations will continue.
The abduction of 276 schoolgirls in April 2014 brought international condemnation of Boko Haram, Nigeria's home-grown Islamic extremist group. Dozens of the girls escaped, but most remain missing.
Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau has said the girls would only be released if the government swaps them for detained extremist leaders.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Nigeria set to enjoy zero interest on all IMF loans
Nigeria will now enjoy zero interest on all concessional facilities of the International Monetary Fund until 2018. The IMF's Managing Director, Christine Lagarde, disclosed this yesterday at the ongoing IMF/ World Bank 2016 General Meeting in Washington D.C. Nigeria's Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, has been negotiating to borrow from multilateral institutions to fund capital projects in the country. The cheap loans will be used to bridge the nation's infrastructure deficit in critical sectors.
Nigeria Super Eagles escape gunfire at airport
Four Premier League stars reportedly escaped a shooting after an armed man claiming to be a police officer opened fire on their group in Nigeria.
The Nigerian football team, including Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel and Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, were on international duty with Nigeria on Monday morning when two men saying they were police officers reportedly confronted their party.
The men are said to have told the group they were under instructions to arrest Shehu Dikko, the Nigeria Football Federation's second vice president.
But after team officials demanded to see a warrant and identification, one of the men is alleged to have become angry and fired shots into the air.
A witness told the Sun: “One of the detectives pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot anyone interfering with his job.
“With tempers flaring, he repeatedly fired shots into the sky.”
The team, which also included Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho and Leicester forward Ahmed Musa, were quickly scrambled into a bus outside Abuja airport, which raced away from the scene.
No-one is thought to have been injured in the incident.
The alleged shooting followed Nigeria's world cup qualifier win in Zambia, with Iwobi and Iheanacho scoring in their 2-1 victory.
The Nigerian football team, including Chelsea’s John Obi Mikel and Arsenal’s Alex Iwobi, were on international duty with Nigeria on Monday morning when two men saying they were police officers reportedly confronted their party.
The men are said to have told the group they were under instructions to arrest Shehu Dikko, the Nigeria Football Federation's second vice president.
But after team officials demanded to see a warrant and identification, one of the men is alleged to have become angry and fired shots into the air.
A witness told the Sun: “One of the detectives pulled out his gun and threatened to shoot anyone interfering with his job.
“With tempers flaring, he repeatedly fired shots into the sky.”
The team, which also included Manchester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho and Leicester forward Ahmed Musa, were quickly scrambled into a bus outside Abuja airport, which raced away from the scene.
No-one is thought to have been injured in the incident.
The alleged shooting followed Nigeria's world cup qualifier win in Zambia, with Iwobi and Iheanacho scoring in their 2-1 victory.
Baby trafficking on the rise in Nigeria
As 16-year-old Maria strained under the anguish of labour in southeastern Nigeria, a midwife repeatedly slapped her across the face - but the real ordeal began minutes after birth.
"The nurse took my child away to be washed. She never brought her back," the teenager said, gazing down at her feet.
Maria said she learned her newborn daughter had been given up for adoption for which she received 20,000 naira ($65.79) - the same price as a 50 kilogram bag of rice.
And Maria is far from alone.
A Thomson Reuters Foundation investigative team spoke to more than 10 Nigerian women duped into giving up their newborns to strangers in houses known as "baby factories" in the past two years or offered babies whose origins were unknown.
Five women did not want to be interviewed, despite the guarantee of anonymity, fearing for their own safety with criminal gangs involved in the baby trade, while two men spoke of being paid to act as "studs" to get women pregnant.
Although statistics are hard to come by, campaigners say the sale of newborns is widespread - and they fear the illegal trade is becoming more prevalent with Nigeria heading into recession this year amid ongoing political turbulence.
"The government is too overstretched by other issues to focus on baby trafficking," said Arinze Orakwue, head of public enlightenment at the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Record numbers of baby factories were raided or closed down in the southeastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo this year, NAPTIP said.
A total of 14 were discovered in the first nine months of 2016, up from six in 2015 and 10 in 2014, the data showed.
But despite the growing number of raids, the scam exploiting couples desperate for a baby and young, pregnant, single women continues with newborns sold for up to $5,000 in Africa's most populous nation where most people live on less than $2 a day.
Cultural barriers are also a factor in the West African nation, with teenage girls fearing they will be publicly shamed by strict fathers or partners over unwanted pregnancies if they do not give up their children, experts say.
"In southeastern Nigeria a woman is deemed a failure if she fails to conceive. But it is also taboo for a teenager to fall pregnant out of wedlock," said Orakwue.
Maria said in the home in Imo state where she gave birth pregnant teenagers were welcomed by a maternal nurse who liked to be called "mama" but went on to sell the babies they delivered.
"(After I gave birth) somebody told me that mama collected big money from people before giving them other people's babies," Maria told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in the grounds of a school compound in her village.
"I do not know where my baby is now," said Maria, using a false name for her own protection.
A lot of the trade is carried out in Nigeria but authorities suspect babies are also sold to people from Europe and the United States because many foreigners continue to seek infants there despite the controversy around Nigerian adoptions.
HIDDEN PROBLEM
The U.S. Department of State alerted prospective adoptive parents to the issue of child buying from Nigeria in June 2014 after Nigerian media warned that people were posing as owners of orphanages or homes for unwed mothers to make money.
"The State Department is aware of a growing number of adoption scams," an alert on its website read.
Over 1,600 children have been adopted from Nigeria by U.S. citizens since 1999, according to the State Department website, about a third of them aged between one and two years old.
The U.S. State Department did not respond to requests for information on whether any scams affected U.S. adoptive parents.
In Britain a couple was found by the High Court to have "fallen under the spell" of an elaborate fraud after paying 4,500 pounds ($5,600) for herbal treatment in Nigeria that caused the woman's stomach to swell, media reported in 2014.
The couple only realised they had been duped nine months later when presented with a baby in Nigeria that actually was not theirs, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.
Babies, whose biological parents or backgrounds are unknown, are offered to women who have not been able to conceive naturally, according to NAPTIP and interviews with three women.
The British government said it was committed to stamping out what it calls the "miracle babies" phenomenon.
"Specially-trained teams are working at the UK border to identify and safeguard babies and children who may be at risk of trafficking," said a spokesman for the Home Office (UK interior ministry) in a statement.
Denmark suspended adoptions from Nigeria in 2014 citing concerns over forgery, corruption and lack of control by the authorities.
Apart from the illicit trade in babies, Nigeria also faces the problem of domestic and international trafficking in women and children.
Human trafficking, including selling children, is illegal in Nigeria, but almost 10 years ago a UNESCO report identified the industry as the country's third most common crime after financial fraud and drug trafficking - and the situation appears to be getting worse, according to campaigners.
The Nigerian government has not ratified an internationally recognised set of rules known as the Hague Adoption Convention which meant the laws governing adoptions remain murky and complicated, campaigners said.
"There is corruption in the adoption process and that is the individual (Nigerian) states' responsibility," said NAPTIP's Orakwue in a phone interview
"But central government should step up its funding to NAPTIP so we can increase support to victims," Orakwue said.
HERBAL TREATMENT
Sophie, who was not able to conceive, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation she started to develop the symptoms of pregnancy after visiting a herbalist in Enugu state in 2014.
However the traditional doctor told Sophie her swollen stomach contained gas resulting from the herbal treatment rather than a foetus - but she could arrange to buy a baby.
"(The herbalist) said that she would bring me a newborn baby, girl or boy, depending on which one I wanted," she said in the grimy sitting room of her apartment in southeastern Nigeria.
The woman said a girl would cost 380,000 naira ($1,250) while a boy would cost 500,000 naira ($1,645), said Sophie who opted for a girl.
But a sense of obligation to the woman who brought her a child prevented her from reporting the crime, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"I considered everything and thought to myself 'why should I report (the herbalist) to the police?' She had helped me," she said.
NAPTIP does not have data on the number of domestic adoptions that have taken place, a figure it says is not held by central government.
"In the southeastern states, the sale of babies is unarguably very prevalent as recorded by the agency," said Cordelia Ebiringa, NAPTIP's commander in Enugu state.
DEADLY GAME
Men are also involved in the process of illicit baby trafficking, with sperm donors impregnating surrogate mothers who then sell their babies, according to two Nigerian men.
Surrogacy is illegal in Nigeria.
Jonathan, 33, said he was paid 25,000 naira ($82) by his boss or "madam" every time he conceived a child.
"I don't see it as somebody exploiting me. The madams pay me for my work," said Jonathan, who withheld his full name.
Jonathan said he did not know whether the women gave their babies away or went on to sell them although he was concerned what he was doing could be illegal.
"I often think 'what if the police catch me?'"
Nigeria's anti-human trafficking agency said it did not have data or information on the role of sperm donors, but many women they spoke to did not want to reveal how they fell pregnant.
"NAPTIP has no records of studs that impregnate the women at the baby factories as most of the pregnant women rescued and interviewed in such cases claimed unplanned pregnancies," said Ebiringa.
Little information was made available by the Nigerian police or authorities in southeastern states about the number or identity of the people who run the "baby factories".
No data was provided on the number of arrests by police in southern states of Enugu and Abia on baby trafficking offences despite repeated requests by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
But the dangers involved, both from the law and from trafficking gangs, are palpable, according to Jonathan, who estimates he has fathered about 15 children as a "stud".
"These (baby traffickers) can be dangerous," said Jonathan, who was once threatened by a group of thugs who found out what he was doing. "They are ready to kill anybody if you stand in their way."
"The nurse took my child away to be washed. She never brought her back," the teenager said, gazing down at her feet.
Maria said she learned her newborn daughter had been given up for adoption for which she received 20,000 naira ($65.79) - the same price as a 50 kilogram bag of rice.
And Maria is far from alone.
A Thomson Reuters Foundation investigative team spoke to more than 10 Nigerian women duped into giving up their newborns to strangers in houses known as "baby factories" in the past two years or offered babies whose origins were unknown.
Five women did not want to be interviewed, despite the guarantee of anonymity, fearing for their own safety with criminal gangs involved in the baby trade, while two men spoke of being paid to act as "studs" to get women pregnant.
Although statistics are hard to come by, campaigners say the sale of newborns is widespread - and they fear the illegal trade is becoming more prevalent with Nigeria heading into recession this year amid ongoing political turbulence.
"The government is too overstretched by other issues to focus on baby trafficking," said Arinze Orakwue, head of public enlightenment at the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP).
Record numbers of baby factories were raided or closed down in the southeastern states of Abia, Anambra, Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo this year, NAPTIP said.
A total of 14 were discovered in the first nine months of 2016, up from six in 2015 and 10 in 2014, the data showed.
But despite the growing number of raids, the scam exploiting couples desperate for a baby and young, pregnant, single women continues with newborns sold for up to $5,000 in Africa's most populous nation where most people live on less than $2 a day.
Cultural barriers are also a factor in the West African nation, with teenage girls fearing they will be publicly shamed by strict fathers or partners over unwanted pregnancies if they do not give up their children, experts say.
"In southeastern Nigeria a woman is deemed a failure if she fails to conceive. But it is also taboo for a teenager to fall pregnant out of wedlock," said Orakwue.
Maria said in the home in Imo state where she gave birth pregnant teenagers were welcomed by a maternal nurse who liked to be called "mama" but went on to sell the babies they delivered.
"(After I gave birth) somebody told me that mama collected big money from people before giving them other people's babies," Maria told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in the grounds of a school compound in her village.
"I do not know where my baby is now," said Maria, using a false name for her own protection.
A lot of the trade is carried out in Nigeria but authorities suspect babies are also sold to people from Europe and the United States because many foreigners continue to seek infants there despite the controversy around Nigerian adoptions.
HIDDEN PROBLEM
The U.S. Department of State alerted prospective adoptive parents to the issue of child buying from Nigeria in June 2014 after Nigerian media warned that people were posing as owners of orphanages or homes for unwed mothers to make money.
"The State Department is aware of a growing number of adoption scams," an alert on its website read.
Over 1,600 children have been adopted from Nigeria by U.S. citizens since 1999, according to the State Department website, about a third of them aged between one and two years old.
The U.S. State Department did not respond to requests for information on whether any scams affected U.S. adoptive parents.
In Britain a couple was found by the High Court to have "fallen under the spell" of an elaborate fraud after paying 4,500 pounds ($5,600) for herbal treatment in Nigeria that caused the woman's stomach to swell, media reported in 2014.
The couple only realised they had been duped nine months later when presented with a baby in Nigeria that actually was not theirs, the Daily Mail newspaper reported.
Babies, whose biological parents or backgrounds are unknown, are offered to women who have not been able to conceive naturally, according to NAPTIP and interviews with three women.
The British government said it was committed to stamping out what it calls the "miracle babies" phenomenon.
"Specially-trained teams are working at the UK border to identify and safeguard babies and children who may be at risk of trafficking," said a spokesman for the Home Office (UK interior ministry) in a statement.
Denmark suspended adoptions from Nigeria in 2014 citing concerns over forgery, corruption and lack of control by the authorities.
Apart from the illicit trade in babies, Nigeria also faces the problem of domestic and international trafficking in women and children.
Human trafficking, including selling children, is illegal in Nigeria, but almost 10 years ago a UNESCO report identified the industry as the country's third most common crime after financial fraud and drug trafficking - and the situation appears to be getting worse, according to campaigners.
The Nigerian government has not ratified an internationally recognised set of rules known as the Hague Adoption Convention which meant the laws governing adoptions remain murky and complicated, campaigners said.
"There is corruption in the adoption process and that is the individual (Nigerian) states' responsibility," said NAPTIP's Orakwue in a phone interview
"But central government should step up its funding to NAPTIP so we can increase support to victims," Orakwue said.
HERBAL TREATMENT
Sophie, who was not able to conceive, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation she started to develop the symptoms of pregnancy after visiting a herbalist in Enugu state in 2014.
However the traditional doctor told Sophie her swollen stomach contained gas resulting from the herbal treatment rather than a foetus - but she could arrange to buy a baby.
"(The herbalist) said that she would bring me a newborn baby, girl or boy, depending on which one I wanted," she said in the grimy sitting room of her apartment in southeastern Nigeria.
The woman said a girl would cost 380,000 naira ($1,250) while a boy would cost 500,000 naira ($1,645), said Sophie who opted for a girl.
But a sense of obligation to the woman who brought her a child prevented her from reporting the crime, she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
"I considered everything and thought to myself 'why should I report (the herbalist) to the police?' She had helped me," she said.
NAPTIP does not have data on the number of domestic adoptions that have taken place, a figure it says is not held by central government.
"In the southeastern states, the sale of babies is unarguably very prevalent as recorded by the agency," said Cordelia Ebiringa, NAPTIP's commander in Enugu state.
DEADLY GAME
Men are also involved in the process of illicit baby trafficking, with sperm donors impregnating surrogate mothers who then sell their babies, according to two Nigerian men.
Surrogacy is illegal in Nigeria.
Jonathan, 33, said he was paid 25,000 naira ($82) by his boss or "madam" every time he conceived a child.
"I don't see it as somebody exploiting me. The madams pay me for my work," said Jonathan, who withheld his full name.
Jonathan said he did not know whether the women gave their babies away or went on to sell them although he was concerned what he was doing could be illegal.
"I often think 'what if the police catch me?'"
Nigeria's anti-human trafficking agency said it did not have data or information on the role of sperm donors, but many women they spoke to did not want to reveal how they fell pregnant.
"NAPTIP has no records of studs that impregnate the women at the baby factories as most of the pregnant women rescued and interviewed in such cases claimed unplanned pregnancies," said Ebiringa.
Little information was made available by the Nigerian police or authorities in southeastern states about the number or identity of the people who run the "baby factories".
No data was provided on the number of arrests by police in southern states of Enugu and Abia on baby trafficking offences despite repeated requests by the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
But the dangers involved, both from the law and from trafficking gangs, are palpable, according to Jonathan, who estimates he has fathered about 15 children as a "stud".
"These (baby traffickers) can be dangerous," said Jonathan, who was once threatened by a group of thugs who found out what he was doing. "They are ready to kill anybody if you stand in their way."
Car bomb kills 8 in Maiduguri, Nigeria
About eight people were killed and 15 wounded when a car laden with explosives hit a taxi in northeastern Borno state's capital of Maiduguri, birthplace of a seven-year-old Islamist insurgency, military and medical sources said.
Five people were inside the taxi in a convoy to Gamboru, a town near the Cameroon border, police said in a statement. Cars in Borno state often travel in convoys organized by the military to minimize the risk of Boko Haram ambushes in rural areas.
The army has retaken much of the territory initially lost to the militants but Boko Haram still stages suicide bombing attacks and plants roadside bombs.
"We evacuated eight dead bodies and about 20 other injured persons," said a rescue worker. A hospital official put the number of wounded at ten.
Boko Haram, which has pledged alliance to Islamic State, has killed about 15,000 people and displaced more than 2 million in its attempt to create a state adhering to strict Islamic laws.
It controlled a swathe of land in northeast Nigeria about the size of Belgium at the end of 2014 but was pushed out early last year by Nigerian troops, supported by soldiers from neighboring countries: Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
Five people were inside the taxi in a convoy to Gamboru, a town near the Cameroon border, police said in a statement. Cars in Borno state often travel in convoys organized by the military to minimize the risk of Boko Haram ambushes in rural areas.
The army has retaken much of the territory initially lost to the militants but Boko Haram still stages suicide bombing attacks and plants roadside bombs.
"We evacuated eight dead bodies and about 20 other injured persons," said a rescue worker. A hospital official put the number of wounded at ten.
Boko Haram, which has pledged alliance to Islamic State, has killed about 15,000 people and displaced more than 2 million in its attempt to create a state adhering to strict Islamic laws.
It controlled a swathe of land in northeast Nigeria about the size of Belgium at the end of 2014 but was pushed out early last year by Nigerian troops, supported by soldiers from neighboring countries: Niger, Cameroon and Chad.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Video - Thousands in Nigeria affected by insurgency in need of psychosocial support
In Nigeria, millions of people displaced or affected by the Boko Haram insurgency are in dire need of support. And this doesn't only mean food, shelter or medical care. As Kathryn Omwandho discovers, some of the survivors are in desperate need of psycho-social support.
Judges arrested in Nigeria for corruption charges released
Senior Nigerian judges arrested as part of a corruption investigation have been released, the head of the country's bar association and a security agency official said on Tuesday.
The Department of State Services (DSS), the country's security agency, on Saturday said it seized $800,000 in cash found during raids targeting judges from the supreme, appeal and high courts.
Abubakar Mahmoud, who heads the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), on Tuesday said all of the judges held had been released, although he did not confirm the number or when they were freed.
A DSS official, who did not want to be named, said seven judges were released on bail on Sunday and reported to the security agency on Monday.
"I cannot say when they will be arraigned in court but as soon as we are done with investigations, we will send the files to the attorney general's office which will advise accordingly and act," said the official.
The judiciary has been the subject of longstanding corruption allegations but the nature of the raids has been criticized as being unconstitutional, with the NBA accusing the DSS of a "Gestapo-style operation".
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler, has pledged to crack down on corruption since taking office last year but critics say he is conducting a witch-hunt against his political opponents.
His spokesman said the raids were part of an anti-corruption drive and were not an attack on the judiciary.
The Department of State Services (DSS), the country's security agency, on Saturday said it seized $800,000 in cash found during raids targeting judges from the supreme, appeal and high courts.
Abubakar Mahmoud, who heads the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), on Tuesday said all of the judges held had been released, although he did not confirm the number or when they were freed.
A DSS official, who did not want to be named, said seven judges were released on bail on Sunday and reported to the security agency on Monday.
"I cannot say when they will be arraigned in court but as soon as we are done with investigations, we will send the files to the attorney general's office which will advise accordingly and act," said the official.
The judiciary has been the subject of longstanding corruption allegations but the nature of the raids has been criticized as being unconstitutional, with the NBA accusing the DSS of a "Gestapo-style operation".
President Muhammadu Buhari, a former military ruler, has pledged to crack down on corruption since taking office last year but critics say he is conducting a witch-hunt against his political opponents.
His spokesman said the raids were part of an anti-corruption drive and were not an attack on the judiciary.
Related story: Nigeria seizes $800,000 in cash from judges
Banks in Nigeria in credit crisis
Seven Nigerian banks may be under-capitalised and in deficit The Nigeria’s banking industry is said to be experiencing a “full-blown financial crisis” as failed fiscal and monetary policies lead to a credit crunch, according to Arqaam Capital. According to the Bloomberg report Monday, two banks are close to being insolvent, while lenders anthor two “will need a dilutive capital hike,” Jaap Meijer and Tarek Sleiman, analysts at the Dubai-based investment bank and brokerage, said in an e-mailed note on Monday.
Capital ratios are set to worsen because of currency depreciation and souring loans, they said Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN in July replaced the management of Skye Bank after the lender breached liquidity thresholds, spurring concerns about the health of small- and medium-sized lenders, and reviving memories of bank rescues by the government after the financial crisis in 2009.
Nigerian banks are grappling with a devaluation of the naira, rising bad loans and an oil-dependent economy that’s set to record its first annual contraction in more than two decades. “Our acid test reveals seven under-capitalized banks” with a deficit of as much as 1 trillion naira ($3.2 billion) in the financial system, Meijer and Sleiman said.
A stress test identified one of the banks as the most under capitalized lender with Unity, Diamond Bank Plc, Skye, FCMB Group Plc, Sterling and Fidelity Bank Plc also showing deficits if they were to fully provide for non-performing loans, according to Arqaam. “Our bank is strong,” Ikechukwu Mike Omeife, a spokesman for Diamond Bank, said by phone from Lagos. “Our capital-adequacy ratio and non-performing loans are within the statutory requirements.”
Common Challenges
Moody’s Investors Service said on Monday that Nigeria’s five biggest banks share common credit challenges related to the economic slowdown. Moody’s expects non-performing loans to increase to about 12 percent over the next 12 months.
The ratio of non-performing loans to total credit rose to 11.7 percent at the end of June from 5.3 percent at the end of 2015, the Abuja-based Central Bank of Nigeria, which requires banks keep the measure below 5 percent, said in a report on its web site The five largest lenders, which together hold 57 percent of the country’s banking assets, “are able to absorb all losses under our severe stress scenario,” Moody’s said. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc showed “the greatest resilience” and the other four banks were Zenith Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc and First Bank of Nigeria Ltd., the ratings company said.
To create a capital buffer, Sterling Bank is planning to issue a 27 billion-naira bond and “if the interest rate looks better, we will do it this year,” Abubakar Suleiman, the lender’s chief financial officer, said on phone. “We will do it if the rate goes down to around 15 percent or 16 percent. We don’t want to raise it at a very high rate. If we do it, it will take our capital adequacy ratio to over 15 percent.”
Buy and sell rating:
Arqaam rates FBN, Skye, Sterling, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Unity and Ecobank Transnational Inc. as sell, according to the analysts’ report. Zenith, Access and United Bank are rated buy. CBN’s spokesman Isaac Okorafor didn’t immediately answer his phone or respond to text messages. Diamond, Unity and Fidelity didn’t answer calls. Moses Obajemu, a Lagos-based spokesman for Skye, didn’t immediately reply to questions sent to him by text message, as per his request. Meanwhile, Diamond Bank , Fidelity Bank , Wema Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc, United Bank and Skye recorded declines in their shares traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, with Zenith ranking as the most traded stock among the 171 securities on the exchange.
Diamond Bank fell 5.5 percent, Fidelity dropped 4.3 percent, Skye Bank slid 4.6 percent and Unity Bank slipped 4.1 percent. Union Bank Nigeria Plc, which is part owned by London-based Atlas Mara Ltd., was the second-biggest gainer.
Monday, October 10, 2016
Nigeria selling two presidential jets
President Muhammadu Buhari, after months of being questioned about its size, is finally pruning Nigeria’s presidential air fleet which includes several jets and helicopters. While it is unclear how many aircraft the fleet currently holds (reports suggest there are 10), the president has put two of the jets—a Dassault Falcon 7x executive jet and a Beechcraft Hawker 4000—up for sale.
The presidency is branding the sale as part of efforts to “cut waste” in government spending but, given Nigeria’s difficult times (its first recession in decades, a spiraling currency and falling oil exports), Nigerians will likely see the move more as a desperate attempt to raise foreign exchange (interested buyers will be quoted in dollars) amid a biting shortage.
BudgIT, an advocate for transparency in Nigerian government, has suggested that the government currently spends more on maintaining the presidential fleet than is allocated to any of the federal universities.
It could be argued the president’s office has enough planes to start a national carrier which would be ironic given reports president Buhari has asked the ministry of aviation look into restarting a national carrier.
Typically, cost-cutting moves by government are lauded in Nigeria but this has been met with a lukewarm reception as many see the move as being several months late. Buhari’s presidential campaign, hinged on a strong anti-corruption message and championing his austere lifestyle, led many Nigerians to hope that the government’s excesses would be quickly reduced under his administration. But much of that enthusiasm has slowly sipped away. Nigeria’s senate, the poster-child of the high cost of government in Nigeria, has so far refused to cut its annual $364 million budget despite ranking among the world’s best paid lawmakers.
Under Buhari, the cost of running the presidential state house has also gone up, with millions budgeted for line items repeated from last year, such as the “installation of electrical lighting and fittings.”
The presidency is branding the sale as part of efforts to “cut waste” in government spending but, given Nigeria’s difficult times (its first recession in decades, a spiraling currency and falling oil exports), Nigerians will likely see the move more as a desperate attempt to raise foreign exchange (interested buyers will be quoted in dollars) amid a biting shortage.
BudgIT, an advocate for transparency in Nigerian government, has suggested that the government currently spends more on maintaining the presidential fleet than is allocated to any of the federal universities.
It could be argued the president’s office has enough planes to start a national carrier which would be ironic given reports president Buhari has asked the ministry of aviation look into restarting a national carrier.
Typically, cost-cutting moves by government are lauded in Nigeria but this has been met with a lukewarm reception as many see the move as being several months late. Buhari’s presidential campaign, hinged on a strong anti-corruption message and championing his austere lifestyle, led many Nigerians to hope that the government’s excesses would be quickly reduced under his administration. But much of that enthusiasm has slowly sipped away. Nigeria’s senate, the poster-child of the high cost of government in Nigeria, has so far refused to cut its annual $364 million budget despite ranking among the world’s best paid lawmakers.
Under Buhari, the cost of running the presidential state house has also gone up, with millions budgeted for line items repeated from last year, such as the “installation of electrical lighting and fittings.”
UAE stops issuing visas to Nigerians
Indications have emerged that the authorities of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have stopped issuing visas to Nigerians, following the stabbing of a police officer by a group of six boys.
The incident which took place in Deira, the hub of business in Dubai, resulted in the massive arrest of blacks irrespective of their nationalities.
The officer was said to have died immediately from the injuries he sustained from the incident. A source who in the region during the incident, warned Nigerians to careful in order to avoid arrest. "Those of you have relatives in Dubai should be warned. The atmosphere is so hot especially for those without permit," he said.
The incident which took place in Deira, the hub of business in Dubai, resulted in the massive arrest of blacks irrespective of their nationalities.
The officer was said to have died immediately from the injuries he sustained from the incident. A source who in the region during the incident, warned Nigerians to careful in order to avoid arrest. "Those of you have relatives in Dubai should be warned. The atmosphere is so hot especially for those without permit," he said.
Nigeria seizes $800,000 in cash from judges
Nigeria's security agency says it has seized $800,000 (Ј645,200) in cash in raids targeting senior judges suspected of corruption.
The DSS agency says the raids were carried out in recent days and several judges were arrested.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) accused the authorities of carrying out a "Gestapo-style" operation, demanding the release of those arrested.
President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to tackle widespread corruption.
In a statement, the DSS said: "The searches have uncovered huge raw cash of various denominations, local and foreign currencies, with real estate worth several millions of naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these judges.
"We have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the judges as well as complaints from the concerned public over judgment obtained fraudulently and on the basis (of) amounts of money paid."
The statement said the judges were from the supreme, appeal and high courts.
The names of the suspects have not been released.
Reacting to the raids, the NBA called on President Buhari to "immediately caution all the state security agencies and to respect the rule of law".
NBA head Abubakar Mahmoud told reporters: "We are not under military rule and we cannot accept this unholy event and Gestapo-style operation."
Since taking office last year, Mr Buhari has vowed to tackle the rampant official corruption, which has stunted economic growth across the country, the BBC's Martin Patience in Nigeria says.
As part of that campaign a number of former senior officials have been charged. But their cases have largely stalled in the courts.
Widespread corruption within the legal system makes it extremely difficult to convict powerful individuals, our correspondent adds.
The DSS agency says the raids were carried out in recent days and several judges were arrested.
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) accused the authorities of carrying out a "Gestapo-style" operation, demanding the release of those arrested.
President Muhammadu Buhari has pledged to tackle widespread corruption.
In a statement, the DSS said: "The searches have uncovered huge raw cash of various denominations, local and foreign currencies, with real estate worth several millions of naira and documents affirming unholy acts by these judges.
"We have been monitoring the expensive and luxurious lifestyle of some of the judges as well as complaints from the concerned public over judgment obtained fraudulently and on the basis (of) amounts of money paid."
The statement said the judges were from the supreme, appeal and high courts.
The names of the suspects have not been released.
Reacting to the raids, the NBA called on President Buhari to "immediately caution all the state security agencies and to respect the rule of law".
NBA head Abubakar Mahmoud told reporters: "We are not under military rule and we cannot accept this unholy event and Gestapo-style operation."
Since taking office last year, Mr Buhari has vowed to tackle the rampant official corruption, which has stunted economic growth across the country, the BBC's Martin Patience in Nigeria says.
As part of that campaign a number of former senior officials have been charged. But their cases have largely stalled in the courts.
Widespread corruption within the legal system makes it extremely difficult to convict powerful individuals, our correspondent adds.
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Video - Nigeria's tertiary education fees vary according to type of institution
In Nigeria, tertiary education is not free. However the amount students pay depends on whether they are studying at a university owned by the federal government a state government or a private institution.
Nigeria projected to get out of recession by 2017
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has projected that Nigeria’s economy will be out of recession in 2017, growing by 0.6 percent that year.
According to the IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO) released on Tuesday in Washington, the fund projects that the current economic recession will outlast 2016, with a gross domestic product (GDP) contraction of 1.7 percent.
“Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economies continue to struggle with lower commodity revenues, weighing on growth in the region,” IMF said.
“Nigeria’s economy is forecast to shrink 1.7 percent in 2016, and South Africa’s will barely expand. By contrast, several of the region’s non resource exporters, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Senegal, are expected to continue to grow at a robust pace of more than 5 percent this year.”
IMF also forecasted a GDP contraction and subsequent recession for Russia and Brazil throughout 2016.
The fund added: “Growth in emerging Asia and especially India continues to be resilient. India’s gross domestic product is projected to expand 7.6 percent this year and next, the fastest pace among the world’s major economies.”
Maurice Obstfeld, IMF chief economist and economic counsellor, who spoke on the outlook, said global economic growth would remain subdued in 2016, following a slowdown in the United States and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Obstfeld also stated that the fund forecasted a slight pickup in 2017 and beyond, driven mainly by emerging market strength.
“Taken as a whole, the world economy has moved sideways,” he said. “We have slightly marked down 2016 growth prospects for advanced economies while marking up those in the rest of the world.”
Nigeria’s economy was earlier projected to contract by 1.8 percent in 2016, but the October version of the WEO has seen that reviewed positively to a contraction of only 1.7 percent.
The country has recorded a 0.36 and 2.06 percent contraction in the first and second quarter of 2016 respectively, plunging into its worst recession in 29 years.
According to the IMF World Economic Outlook (WEO) released on Tuesday in Washington, the fund projects that the current economic recession will outlast 2016, with a gross domestic product (GDP) contraction of 1.7 percent.
“Sub-Saharan Africa’s largest economies continue to struggle with lower commodity revenues, weighing on growth in the region,” IMF said.
“Nigeria’s economy is forecast to shrink 1.7 percent in 2016, and South Africa’s will barely expand. By contrast, several of the region’s non resource exporters, including Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Senegal, are expected to continue to grow at a robust pace of more than 5 percent this year.”
IMF also forecasted a GDP contraction and subsequent recession for Russia and Brazil throughout 2016.
The fund added: “Growth in emerging Asia and especially India continues to be resilient. India’s gross domestic product is projected to expand 7.6 percent this year and next, the fastest pace among the world’s major economies.”
Maurice Obstfeld, IMF chief economist and economic counsellor, who spoke on the outlook, said global economic growth would remain subdued in 2016, following a slowdown in the United States and Britain’s vote to leave the European Union.
Obstfeld also stated that the fund forecasted a slight pickup in 2017 and beyond, driven mainly by emerging market strength.
“Taken as a whole, the world economy has moved sideways,” he said. “We have slightly marked down 2016 growth prospects for advanced economies while marking up those in the rest of the world.”
Nigeria’s economy was earlier projected to contract by 1.8 percent in 2016, but the October version of the WEO has seen that reviewed positively to a contraction of only 1.7 percent.
The country has recorded a 0.36 and 2.06 percent contraction in the first and second quarter of 2016 respectively, plunging into its worst recession in 29 years.
Nigeria selling two presidential jets 'to cut waste'
Nigeria is selling two of its 10 presidential jets in a bid to "cut down on waste", President Muhammadu Buhari's spokesman has said.
Adverts for the Falcon 7X executive jet and Hawker 4000 are to appear in newspapers, Garba Shehu said.
Some of the other presidential aircraft are be handed to the Nigerian air force to boost its operations, he said.
The country is one of Africa's leading economies but it is now suffering from its worst economic crisis in years.
In a Facebook post, Mr Shehu said the downsizing of the president fleet had been a campaign promise made by Mr Buhari before his election last year.
The president had requested a compact and reliable aircraft for transporting government officials on special missions, he said.
"This exercise is by no means complete," the spokesman added.
BBC Abuja bureau editor Naziru Mikailu says the advert for the jets will ask potential buyers to bid in US dollars, not the local naira currency.
Nigeria's economy slipped into recession in August.
The government depends on oil sales for about 70% of its revenues - and the slump in global oil prices has hit the West African nation hard.
A planned luxury 4bn rand (Ј185m) aircraft for South Africa's Jacob Zuma was widely criticised last year as were plans by Swaziland's King Mswati to acquire a second private plane. By contrast, former Malawian President Joyce Banda was widely praised when she auctioned her official jet in 2013 and vowed to hitch rides with other leaders.
The need for a US presidential jet, nicknamed Air Force One, is rarely questioned.
But not every country has a private jet for their leader.
The first jet for a British prime minister was inaugurated in July. The UK had been the only country in the G20 group of the world's major economies not to have one.
Adverts for the Falcon 7X executive jet and Hawker 4000 are to appear in newspapers, Garba Shehu said.
Some of the other presidential aircraft are be handed to the Nigerian air force to boost its operations, he said.
The country is one of Africa's leading economies but it is now suffering from its worst economic crisis in years.
In a Facebook post, Mr Shehu said the downsizing of the president fleet had been a campaign promise made by Mr Buhari before his election last year.
The president had requested a compact and reliable aircraft for transporting government officials on special missions, he said.
"This exercise is by no means complete," the spokesman added.
BBC Abuja bureau editor Naziru Mikailu says the advert for the jets will ask potential buyers to bid in US dollars, not the local naira currency.
Nigeria's economy slipped into recession in August.
The government depends on oil sales for about 70% of its revenues - and the slump in global oil prices has hit the West African nation hard.
A planned luxury 4bn rand (Ј185m) aircraft for South Africa's Jacob Zuma was widely criticised last year as were plans by Swaziland's King Mswati to acquire a second private plane. By contrast, former Malawian President Joyce Banda was widely praised when she auctioned her official jet in 2013 and vowed to hitch rides with other leaders.
The need for a US presidential jet, nicknamed Air Force One, is rarely questioned.
But not every country has a private jet for their leader.
The first jet for a British prime minister was inaugurated in July. The UK had been the only country in the G20 group of the world's major economies not to have one.
Tuesday, October 4, 2016
Video - Made in Nigeria festival kicks off in the country
Nigeria has launched a week-long Made in Nigeria festival. It's promoting the idea that the country could look inward to lift itself out of recession. The campaign encourages Nigerians to buy locally produced items. It's also aimed at urging producers to export items made in Nigeria, reducing pressure on the country's foreign exchange reserves.
Militants in Nigeria are getting ready to strike again
If the Nigerian government wants to fight militants blowing up oil pipelines, it should send troops into the creeks and mangrove swamps of the Niger River delta. Not the city.
That’s the suggestion of Babalola Olarewaju, a taxi driver who plies the airport route in Port Harcourt, the largest city in the restive oil-rich region.
“We’re talking about people who blow up pipelines in the night and then disappear,” said Olarewaju, 41, as he perched on the hood of his rickety cab outside the Le Meridien Hotel in the city center, referring to three T-72 tanks, Nigeria’s main battle tank, parked about a mile away. “What has a tank got to do here in the city?”
Dozens of tanks and 3,000 more troops have joined existing forces in and around Port Harcourt in the past month, a sign the government is pulling out the stops to quell a new wave of violence in Africa’s second-largest oil producer. So worrisome are the attacks that OPEC allowed Nigeria to be exempt from production curbs the cartel agreed on last week, the oil ministry said.
A six-week-old cease-fire show signs of weakening: The Niger Delta Avengers, responsible for more than 90 percent of all attacks this year, on Sept. 23 claimed responsibility for an attack, its first since July 24, on a key supply pipeline to Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Bonny export terminal, a few miles outside Port Harcourt, in a statement on its website. The authenticity of the website, which has proved reliable before, couldn’t be verified.
There’s a lot at stake. Exxon Mobil Corp. is planning to resume some shipments at its Qua Iboe terminal, the country’s largest, at the end of September and expects repairs on the 400,000 barrel-a-day main export line will be completed in December. Shell also expects its Forcados terminal, out since February, to come back on line any time now. The company earlier this month lifted a delivery halt on its Bonny terminal shipments it had imposed in August after saboteurs breached its main supply pipeline.
The crucial challenge for the government is to appease a plethora of militant groups, some of whom never signed on to the cease-fire, such as the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate. President Muhammadu Buhari, elected last year, is loathe to negotiate with the militants and is skeptical they are adhering to the truce. While Oil Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu, who helped broker the truce and also hails from the delta region, favors peace talks, the country’s security chiefs are averse to negotiation. Army chief Lieutenant-General Tukur Burutai would rather deploy more troops to put down the conflict. At least an additional 10,000 will be sent out in 2017, he said Sept. 9.
More Troops
“I do not see a willingness to engage,” said Ledum Mitee, a lawyer and Niger delta minority rights activist who’s part of the peace talks. “The response of the government is to send more troops to the region. There is a growing frustration within various groups that the government is not ready for negotiations and this may lead them back to attacking pipelines.”
In all, output is now estimated to average about 1.5 million barrels a day “at best,” Kachikwu said on Aug. 12. That’s potentially 23 percent lower than last year.
The resurgence of armed conflict in the delta mirrors a 2006 to 2009 campaign by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND. Attempts by then-president Umaru Yar’Adua to quell the militancy using troops escalated the violence. Attacks were curbed only after a state pardon and monthly stipend was granted to fighters willing to disarm. Violence resurfaced after Buhari stopped the payments and ended pipeline security contracts worth millions of dollars that former President Goodluck Jonathan negotiated with the militants.
Pipeline Knowledge
This has come to haunt the government. The militants today are more sophisticated and their attacks more precise. Led by the Niger Delta Avengers, the groups, now familiar with the layout of oil pipeline networks from their security operations, have in six months struck companies including Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp. and Eni SpA where it hurt most: hard-to-fix export pipelines and oil-gathering hubs. So far this year, Forcados, Qua Iboe, Brass River and Bonny oil terminals have made declarations of force majeure -- a legal term that allows companies to miss export commitments -- after attacks on crude supply pipelines.
“A resumption of hostilities in the Niger delta would be disastrous for the government,” said Malte Liewerscheidt, senior Africa analyst at U.K. security consultants Verisk Maplecrost. “Sending the military is no solution.”
The conflict, combined with lower oil prices, has blighted the economy, sending it into a recession for the first time since 1991. Output contracted by 2.1 percent in the second quarter compared with 2.35 percent growth a year earlier. The oil industry shrank by 17.5 percent as production fell to 1.69 million barrels a day from 2.05 million barrels in the period. Nigeria depends on oil receipts for two-thirds of government revenue and more than 90 percent of foreign-currency income.
Brent, the benchmark for half the world’s crude trading, has lost about 45 percent in the past two years. Prices were down 0.3 percent at $50.75 a barrel as of 12:43 p.m. Singapore time on Tuesday.
Buhari, a former military ruler who came into office on an anti-corruption platform, pledged to boost security across Africa’s second-largest economy and most populous nation. He’s vowed to “deal” with the militants “as we dealt with Boko Haram,” a reference to a military offensive against a seven-year Islamist insurgency in the country’s northeast.
Security operations in the delta “are aimed at getting rid of all forms of criminal activities” in the region, according to army spokesman Sani Kukasheka Usman.
Shell will continue to monitor the security situation and take all necessary precautions, said Precious Okolobo, a Lagos-based spokesman. “The safety of our staff and contractors in Nigeria remains our highest priority.” Ogechukwu Udeagha, an Exxon Mobil spokesman, said “all inquiries on security be referred to government security agencies.” Chevron Corp., Total SA and Eni SpA didn’t immediately respond to inquiries seeking comments.
With troops already thinly stretched fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast and violent clashes between nomadic herders and farmers across the country’s central region in recent months, the government risks dragging the army into another protracted campaign, said Pabina Yinkere, energy analyst and head of research at Lagos-based Vetiva Capital Management Ltd., as the militants are on home turf with better knowledge of the delta terrain.
Nigeria military spokesman Brigadier-General Rabe Abubakar didn’t respond to calls and text message.
“The government needs to come up with a concrete plan to develop the Niger delta and create economic opportunities for the people,” Yinkere said. “The security situation is still fluid and if the government does not approach this tactfully, it risks further escalating the tension.”
That’s the suggestion of Babalola Olarewaju, a taxi driver who plies the airport route in Port Harcourt, the largest city in the restive oil-rich region.
“We’re talking about people who blow up pipelines in the night and then disappear,” said Olarewaju, 41, as he perched on the hood of his rickety cab outside the Le Meridien Hotel in the city center, referring to three T-72 tanks, Nigeria’s main battle tank, parked about a mile away. “What has a tank got to do here in the city?”
Dozens of tanks and 3,000 more troops have joined existing forces in and around Port Harcourt in the past month, a sign the government is pulling out the stops to quell a new wave of violence in Africa’s second-largest oil producer. So worrisome are the attacks that OPEC allowed Nigeria to be exempt from production curbs the cartel agreed on last week, the oil ministry said.
A six-week-old cease-fire show signs of weakening: The Niger Delta Avengers, responsible for more than 90 percent of all attacks this year, on Sept. 23 claimed responsibility for an attack, its first since July 24, on a key supply pipeline to Royal Dutch Shell Plc’s Bonny export terminal, a few miles outside Port Harcourt, in a statement on its website. The authenticity of the website, which has proved reliable before, couldn’t be verified.
There’s a lot at stake. Exxon Mobil Corp. is planning to resume some shipments at its Qua Iboe terminal, the country’s largest, at the end of September and expects repairs on the 400,000 barrel-a-day main export line will be completed in December. Shell also expects its Forcados terminal, out since February, to come back on line any time now. The company earlier this month lifted a delivery halt on its Bonny terminal shipments it had imposed in August after saboteurs breached its main supply pipeline.
The crucial challenge for the government is to appease a plethora of militant groups, some of whom never signed on to the cease-fire, such as the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate. President Muhammadu Buhari, elected last year, is loathe to negotiate with the militants and is skeptical they are adhering to the truce. While Oil Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu, who helped broker the truce and also hails from the delta region, favors peace talks, the country’s security chiefs are averse to negotiation. Army chief Lieutenant-General Tukur Burutai would rather deploy more troops to put down the conflict. At least an additional 10,000 will be sent out in 2017, he said Sept. 9.
More Troops
“I do not see a willingness to engage,” said Ledum Mitee, a lawyer and Niger delta minority rights activist who’s part of the peace talks. “The response of the government is to send more troops to the region. There is a growing frustration within various groups that the government is not ready for negotiations and this may lead them back to attacking pipelines.”
In all, output is now estimated to average about 1.5 million barrels a day “at best,” Kachikwu said on Aug. 12. That’s potentially 23 percent lower than last year.
The resurgence of armed conflict in the delta mirrors a 2006 to 2009 campaign by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, or MEND. Attempts by then-president Umaru Yar’Adua to quell the militancy using troops escalated the violence. Attacks were curbed only after a state pardon and monthly stipend was granted to fighters willing to disarm. Violence resurfaced after Buhari stopped the payments and ended pipeline security contracts worth millions of dollars that former President Goodluck Jonathan negotiated with the militants.
Pipeline Knowledge
This has come to haunt the government. The militants today are more sophisticated and their attacks more precise. Led by the Niger Delta Avengers, the groups, now familiar with the layout of oil pipeline networks from their security operations, have in six months struck companies including Shell, Exxon Mobil, Chevron Corp. and Eni SpA where it hurt most: hard-to-fix export pipelines and oil-gathering hubs. So far this year, Forcados, Qua Iboe, Brass River and Bonny oil terminals have made declarations of force majeure -- a legal term that allows companies to miss export commitments -- after attacks on crude supply pipelines.
“A resumption of hostilities in the Niger delta would be disastrous for the government,” said Malte Liewerscheidt, senior Africa analyst at U.K. security consultants Verisk Maplecrost. “Sending the military is no solution.”
The conflict, combined with lower oil prices, has blighted the economy, sending it into a recession for the first time since 1991. Output contracted by 2.1 percent in the second quarter compared with 2.35 percent growth a year earlier. The oil industry shrank by 17.5 percent as production fell to 1.69 million barrels a day from 2.05 million barrels in the period. Nigeria depends on oil receipts for two-thirds of government revenue and more than 90 percent of foreign-currency income.
Brent, the benchmark for half the world’s crude trading, has lost about 45 percent in the past two years. Prices were down 0.3 percent at $50.75 a barrel as of 12:43 p.m. Singapore time on Tuesday.
Buhari, a former military ruler who came into office on an anti-corruption platform, pledged to boost security across Africa’s second-largest economy and most populous nation. He’s vowed to “deal” with the militants “as we dealt with Boko Haram,” a reference to a military offensive against a seven-year Islamist insurgency in the country’s northeast.
Security operations in the delta “are aimed at getting rid of all forms of criminal activities” in the region, according to army spokesman Sani Kukasheka Usman.
Shell will continue to monitor the security situation and take all necessary precautions, said Precious Okolobo, a Lagos-based spokesman. “The safety of our staff and contractors in Nigeria remains our highest priority.” Ogechukwu Udeagha, an Exxon Mobil spokesman, said “all inquiries on security be referred to government security agencies.” Chevron Corp., Total SA and Eni SpA didn’t immediately respond to inquiries seeking comments.
With troops already thinly stretched fighting the Boko Haram insurgency in the northeast and violent clashes between nomadic herders and farmers across the country’s central region in recent months, the government risks dragging the army into another protracted campaign, said Pabina Yinkere, energy analyst and head of research at Lagos-based Vetiva Capital Management Ltd., as the militants are on home turf with better knowledge of the delta terrain.
Nigeria military spokesman Brigadier-General Rabe Abubakar didn’t respond to calls and text message.
“The government needs to come up with a concrete plan to develop the Niger delta and create economic opportunities for the people,” Yinkere said. “The security situation is still fluid and if the government does not approach this tactfully, it risks further escalating the tension.”
GE to invest $150 million in Nigeria
U.S. industrial firm General Electric (GE.N) plans to invest around $150 million in Nigeria by 2017, a senior executive said on Monday.
"There are development projects where we are investing," Jay Ireland, chief executive of General Electric in Africa told the FT Africa Summit in London. GE would also invest in oil and gas industry projects.
Growth in Nigeria - an OPEC member whose economy, the largest in Africa, is in recession for the first time in more than 20 years due to low oil prices - has been stunted for decades by a lack of investment in its road and rail network.
Ireland said the Nigeria investment was part of a plan to spend $2 billion in Africa in coming years.
But the $150 million Nigerian investment falls short of the sum Nigeria's government has said GE would invest.
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday in a speech marking Nigeria's independence day, said GE was "investing $2.2 billion in a concession to revamp, provide rolling stock, and manage" some of the country's railway lines.
"There are development projects where we are investing," Jay Ireland, chief executive of General Electric in Africa told the FT Africa Summit in London. GE would also invest in oil and gas industry projects.
Growth in Nigeria - an OPEC member whose economy, the largest in Africa, is in recession for the first time in more than 20 years due to low oil prices - has been stunted for decades by a lack of investment in its road and rail network.
Ireland said the Nigeria investment was part of a plan to spend $2 billion in Africa in coming years.
But the $150 million Nigerian investment falls short of the sum Nigeria's government has said GE would invest.
President Muhammadu Buhari, on Saturday in a speech marking Nigeria's independence day, said GE was "investing $2.2 billion in a concession to revamp, provide rolling stock, and manage" some of the country's railway lines.
Nigerian actress banned after on-screen hug
A leading Nigerian actress has been banned from the Hausa-language film industry because of her "immoral" behaviour, the main industry body says.
Rahama Sadau caused offence by "hugging and cuddling" pop star Classiq in a video, it added.
The industry, commonly known as Kannywood, has been under fire from conservative Muslim clerics who accuse it of corrupting people's values.
They regard it as taboo for men and women to hold hands or kiss in public.
Ms Sadau, who is said to be on a holiday in India, has not yet commented on the ban imposed by Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (Moppan).
Its chairman, Muhammadu Kabiru Maikaba, told the BBC Hausa service that the ban was "total".
"This is not the first time that she has been doing these wayward things. We have been warning her, but she still went ahead to dent our image," he said.
The Kannywood star appeared in the video with Classiq, in a song entitled I Love You.
In it, the Nigerian pop star is smitten with a vegetable seller in a market, acted by Ms Sadau.
Initially, she rejects his advances, batting him away with a bunch of vegetables, but he eventually wins her over.
They hold hands and engage in a bit of cuddling that would be considered demure in a Western film.
In a statement, Moppan said it hoped Ms Sadau's expulsion would serve as a deterrent for other actors.
Its code of conduct requires actors to avoid doing anything which violates Islamic and Hausa culture, reports the BBC's Isa Sanusi from the capital, Abuja.
Many people in northern Nigeria felt she had gone too far with Classiq in the music video, he adds.
Classiq cannot be banned because he is not a member of Moppan.
Rahama Sadau caused offence by "hugging and cuddling" pop star Classiq in a video, it added.
The industry, commonly known as Kannywood, has been under fire from conservative Muslim clerics who accuse it of corrupting people's values.
They regard it as taboo for men and women to hold hands or kiss in public.
Ms Sadau, who is said to be on a holiday in India, has not yet commented on the ban imposed by Motion Pictures Practitioners Association of Nigeria (Moppan).
Its chairman, Muhammadu Kabiru Maikaba, told the BBC Hausa service that the ban was "total".
"This is not the first time that she has been doing these wayward things. We have been warning her, but she still went ahead to dent our image," he said.
The Kannywood star appeared in the video with Classiq, in a song entitled I Love You.
In it, the Nigerian pop star is smitten with a vegetable seller in a market, acted by Ms Sadau.
Initially, she rejects his advances, batting him away with a bunch of vegetables, but he eventually wins her over.
They hold hands and engage in a bit of cuddling that would be considered demure in a Western film.
In a statement, Moppan said it hoped Ms Sadau's expulsion would serve as a deterrent for other actors.
Its code of conduct requires actors to avoid doing anything which violates Islamic and Hausa culture, reports the BBC's Isa Sanusi from the capital, Abuja.
Many people in northern Nigeria felt she had gone too far with Classiq in the music video, he adds.
Classiq cannot be banned because he is not a member of Moppan.
Monday, October 3, 2016
Video - Nigeria marks 56 years of independence
Africa's most Populous Nation, Nigeria, rolled out drums to celebrate its 56th Independence Anniversary. However, it was a Low keyed Ceremony held at the Presidential Villa.
Friday, September 30, 2016
Video - Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate claims responsibility
Nigerian militant group the Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate has claimed responsibility for the latest attack on a pipeline in the oil-producing region. The Niger Delta has been plagued by vandalism, which has seen the country's oil production plummet. Together with other economic factors, it's plunged Nigeria into a recession.
Thursday, September 29, 2016
Video - MTN denies it repatriated $13.92 billion from Nigeria
Telecoms giant MTN has denied accusations of illegaly moving $13.92 B out of Nigeria, saying the claim has no merit. The allegation threatens to raise tensions between Nigeria and MTN, yet again. It's just three months since the company agreed to pay a reduced fine of $ 1 B, for failing to have cancelled millions of unregistered SIM cards. MTN is the largest mobile phone operator in Nigeria, and the country accounts for around one third of MTN's revenues. The company had threatened to pull out of Nigeria during the unregistered SIM card dispute. MTN shares fell by over 3% on Tuesday. So far this year, MTN's JSE-listed share are 10% lower.
Nigeria can't afford to participate in World Cup qualifier
As it stands, Nigeria's 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign may be over before it even begins.
With the country in the midst of a crippling recession triggered by weak oil prices, funding for its men's national football team has suffered to the point that it risks World Cup disqualification.
Although the Super Eagles -- who are led by Chelsea star John Obi Mikel -- have had their bonuses suspended for six months, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) now says it is so broke that it cannot afford to fly its players to Zambia for next month's third-round qualifier.
Although many of its squad earn lucrative salaries playing for clubs in Europe, the NFF is courting a sponsor to raise $270,000 in order to charter a plane to Ndola, Zambia for the match on October 9, according to Nigeria's Guardian newspaper.
"As we speak, we don't have any kobo (a denomination of Nigeria's naira currency) in our purse," an unnamed member of the NFF told the newspaper, adding that they were appealing to regional telco giant Globacom for aid.
"The charges for the Airline alone is $200,000 for a 140-seater plane, and it will be on ground with the team for two days," the spokesman added. "We need between $6,000 and $10,000 for flight ticket(s) to bring in the players (from Europe)."
The NFF member also noted that players will be due a further $95,0000 each in bonuses, and said the only way forward is to receive stronger backing from the Nigerian government.
"The federal government still has to play its part, because this is the beginning of our campaign for the 2018 World Cup qualifying ticket. If we must get it right, every hand must be on deck," he told The Guardian.
The Nigerian Statehouse did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment on the matter.
Nigeria has been one of the most successful African countries when it comes to the World Cup, reaching the round of 16 in three out of its five appearances -- most recently in 2014.
The Super Eagles have had even greater success at the Olympics, winning a gold medal at Atlanta in 1996, a silver at the 2008 Beijing Games, and a recent bronze medal at Rio 2016.
Reaching the bronze medal match in Rio de Janeiro prompted one Super Eagles superfan to donate $390,000 as charitable aid.
Learning of the team's financial hardship, Japanese plastic surgeon Katsuya Takasu flew in from Tokyo for Nigeria's bronze medal match against Honduras, which it won 3-2.
"I was so happy and cried for their winning. Japanese are sentimental," Takasu told CNN in August.
Takasu personally delivered the checks to Nigeria's captain, Mikel and coach Samson Siasia after being impressed by the team's resilience when they emerged victorious in the Olympic football group stage despite nearly missing the tournament.
The team were stranded at their Atlanta training base and arrived just seven hours before their opening match against Japan, which they won 5-4, due to a logistical mix up -- the airline hired to charter the team to Brazil, it turned out, had not been paid on time.
With the country in the midst of a crippling recession triggered by weak oil prices, funding for its men's national football team has suffered to the point that it risks World Cup disqualification.
Although the Super Eagles -- who are led by Chelsea star John Obi Mikel -- have had their bonuses suspended for six months, the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF) now says it is so broke that it cannot afford to fly its players to Zambia for next month's third-round qualifier.
Although many of its squad earn lucrative salaries playing for clubs in Europe, the NFF is courting a sponsor to raise $270,000 in order to charter a plane to Ndola, Zambia for the match on October 9, according to Nigeria's Guardian newspaper.
"As we speak, we don't have any kobo (a denomination of Nigeria's naira currency) in our purse," an unnamed member of the NFF told the newspaper, adding that they were appealing to regional telco giant Globacom for aid.
"The charges for the Airline alone is $200,000 for a 140-seater plane, and it will be on ground with the team for two days," the spokesman added. "We need between $6,000 and $10,000 for flight ticket(s) to bring in the players (from Europe)."
The NFF member also noted that players will be due a further $95,0000 each in bonuses, and said the only way forward is to receive stronger backing from the Nigerian government.
"The federal government still has to play its part, because this is the beginning of our campaign for the 2018 World Cup qualifying ticket. If we must get it right, every hand must be on deck," he told The Guardian.
The Nigerian Statehouse did not immediately respond to CNN's request for comment on the matter.
Nigeria has been one of the most successful African countries when it comes to the World Cup, reaching the round of 16 in three out of its five appearances -- most recently in 2014.
The Super Eagles have had even greater success at the Olympics, winning a gold medal at Atlanta in 1996, a silver at the 2008 Beijing Games, and a recent bronze medal at Rio 2016.
Reaching the bronze medal match in Rio de Janeiro prompted one Super Eagles superfan to donate $390,000 as charitable aid.
Learning of the team's financial hardship, Japanese plastic surgeon Katsuya Takasu flew in from Tokyo for Nigeria's bronze medal match against Honduras, which it won 3-2.
"I was so happy and cried for their winning. Japanese are sentimental," Takasu told CNN in August.
Takasu personally delivered the checks to Nigeria's captain, Mikel and coach Samson Siasia after being impressed by the team's resilience when they emerged victorious in the Olympic football group stage despite nearly missing the tournament.
The team were stranded at their Atlanta training base and arrived just seven hours before their opening match against Japan, which they won 5-4, due to a logistical mix up -- the airline hired to charter the team to Brazil, it turned out, had not been paid on time.
Alex Iwobi wished he played for Nigeria in the 2016 Olympics
Alex Iwobi wishes Arsenal would have let him play at the Olympics with Nigeria, but realises that going to Rio may also have hampered his progress with the Gunners.
Iwobi, 20, was blocked from joining the Nigeria squad for the Rio de Janeiro Games in August as it would have ruled him out of the start of the Premier League season, a decision that Iwobi accepted.
"I would like to have played in the Olympics -- doing that would have been a big thing for me," Iwobi told the London Evening Standard. "If I had gone, I would have missed a couple of Arsenal games at least and the boss [Arsene Wenger] didn't want that. I wish I did go but at the end of the day I did what the boss wanted and I am happy to be where I am. If I had gone, I might not be where I am now."
Iwobi started Arsenal's season-opening game against Liverpool only to sustain a thigh injury that ruled him out for three weeks. But he has been an integral part of the team's success since his return to fitness, including in the 3-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday.
After breaking into the first team last spring, he is now a regular first-choice starter for Wenger and seems to still have plenty of room for development.
"I don't even look at how far I've come. I wouldn't say I'm in a daze right now but I'm just enjoying it as it comes and whatever happens, happens," Iwobi said.
The attacking midfielder was born in Lagos but his family moved to London when he was four years old and he joined the Arsenal academy while still in primary school. Despite playing for England's youth teams, Iwobi opted to represent Nigeria internationally after being first called up in 2015.
And his uncle, Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha, still offers him advice on how to deal with his newfound success.
"When I was growing up, he helped me a lot on the pitch," Iwobi said. "He gave me game advice a lot but the older I am getting, he is helping me off the pitch more so I can be professional and focus on the football.
"He's always telling me what could happen, what you are about to face. He always says 'concentrate on the football first -- the rest is just luxury stuff that comes with it."
Iwobi, 20, was blocked from joining the Nigeria squad for the Rio de Janeiro Games in August as it would have ruled him out of the start of the Premier League season, a decision that Iwobi accepted.
"I would like to have played in the Olympics -- doing that would have been a big thing for me," Iwobi told the London Evening Standard. "If I had gone, I would have missed a couple of Arsenal games at least and the boss [Arsene Wenger] didn't want that. I wish I did go but at the end of the day I did what the boss wanted and I am happy to be where I am. If I had gone, I might not be where I am now."
Iwobi started Arsenal's season-opening game against Liverpool only to sustain a thigh injury that ruled him out for three weeks. But he has been an integral part of the team's success since his return to fitness, including in the 3-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday.
After breaking into the first team last spring, he is now a regular first-choice starter for Wenger and seems to still have plenty of room for development.
"I don't even look at how far I've come. I wouldn't say I'm in a daze right now but I'm just enjoying it as it comes and whatever happens, happens," Iwobi said.
The attacking midfielder was born in Lagos but his family moved to London when he was four years old and he joined the Arsenal academy while still in primary school. Despite playing for England's youth teams, Iwobi opted to represent Nigeria internationally after being first called up in 2015.
And his uncle, Nigeria legend Jay-Jay Okocha, still offers him advice on how to deal with his newfound success.
"When I was growing up, he helped me a lot on the pitch," Iwobi said. "He gave me game advice a lot but the older I am getting, he is helping me off the pitch more so I can be professional and focus on the football.
"He's always telling me what could happen, what you are about to face. He always says 'concentrate on the football first -- the rest is just luxury stuff that comes with it."
Militants blow up oil pipeline in Niger Delta
A Nigerian militant group claimed an attack on Thursday on a crude pipeline operated by state oil firm NNPC in the Niger Delta.
Attacks on Nigeria's energy facilities by groups calling for the Delta region to receive a greater share of the OPEC member's oil wealth have cut crude production, which stood at 2.1 million barrels per day at the start of the year, by a third.
The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate said it bombed the Unenurhie-Evwreni delivery line in Ughelli, Delta state, at around 01:00 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Thursday. The line is operated by NPDC, a subsidiary of NNPC.
A military source said dynamite was used to blow up the pipeline. An NNPC spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
It comes days after Niger Delta Avengers, which has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on energy facilities in the region since the start of the year, said it carried out its first attack since declaring a break in hostilities in August to pursue talks with the government.
The Avengers said on Saturday there had been no progress in meeting their demands.
The Greenland Justice Mandate, which has never agreed to cease hostilities, said in a statement it had blown up the pipeline "to prove to the wicked and ungrateful multinational oil companies and their Nigerian military allies... that we own our lands".
Attacks on Nigeria's energy facilities by groups calling for the Delta region to receive a greater share of the OPEC member's oil wealth have cut crude production, which stood at 2.1 million barrels per day at the start of the year, by a third.
The Niger Delta Greenland Justice Mandate said it bombed the Unenurhie-Evwreni delivery line in Ughelli, Delta state, at around 01:00 a.m. (0000 GMT) on Thursday. The line is operated by NPDC, a subsidiary of NNPC.
A military source said dynamite was used to blow up the pipeline. An NNPC spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
It comes days after Niger Delta Avengers, which has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks on energy facilities in the region since the start of the year, said it carried out its first attack since declaring a break in hostilities in August to pursue talks with the government.
The Avengers said on Saturday there had been no progress in meeting their demands.
The Greenland Justice Mandate, which has never agreed to cease hostilities, said in a statement it had blown up the pipeline "to prove to the wicked and ungrateful multinational oil companies and their Nigerian military allies... that we own our lands".
Monday, September 26, 2016
Video - Nigerian currency trading at 440 Naira to the U.S. dollar
The Nigerian Naira traded much lower on Monday in the unofficial black market at 440 to the green back. This comes as dollar shortages persist in the economy. Despite removing the peg and floating its currency in July, forex shortages continue to be a serious challenge. Deji Badmus looks at what is driving the rapid depreciation of the naira.
Believed to be dead again Boko Haram leader resurfaces in new video
Nigeria's most wanted man is making the headlines again. Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau surfaced in a video over the weekend - at least the fifth time he's disproved official claims that he's dead. The military now says Shekau is mentally unstable.
Nigeria urges US to lift ban on crude oil
THE Federal Government has pleaded with the United States to lift its ban on the importation of Nigeria’s crude, describing the action as antithetical to the flourish of trade and economic cooperation upon which Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA, was founded.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Nigige, who made the plea, also told the American government to demonstrate stronger commitment to improve economic ties with African nations through balanced trade relations.
Senator Ngige made the plea at a Ministerial Roundtable meeting on Africa Growth and Opportunity Act at the Department of Labour Building, Washington D.C, United States. He said the stoppage of Nigeria’s crude importation had led to low foreign exchange receipts and consequent technical recession in some African countries.
Ngige, who led Nigeria’s delegation at the meeting to the round table, titled Trade and Worker Rights: Inclusive Economic Growth in Africa Through Trade on the Day One of the Roundtable, said the capacity of Nigeria to tackle anti-labour practices, such as child labour, cheap labour and human trafficking, was being hampered by dwindling resources, which the stoppage of the import of the Nigerian crude by the US had accentuated. He said poverty at the low income levels made the fight against anti-labour practices at the base difficult.
He urged the US to assist African countries in the entire agricultural value food chain of production, processing and preservation as well as give increase educational assistance to farmers. He said: “The founding ideal of AGOA is to foster a symbiotic economic cooperation between Africa and the United States. However, the capacity of the Africa nations such as Nigeria to effectively tap into the full potentials of the body is being checkmated by limited resources.
“There is need therefore for America to rethink initiatives that once made AGOA attractive to African countries. ‘’Rescinding her decision on Nigerian crude is one of such steps that could be taken to buoy up our economy and regain enough capacity to protect workers rights and promote decent work in an inclusive economic growth.
“The US must do more to assist junior partners by extending some labour projects and technical aide being executed in some African countries such as Madagascar, Zambia and Kenya to Nigeria.”
Speaking further on Nigeria’s initiatives for improving internationally recognized workers right, the Minister said Nigeria had ratified and domesticated eight core conventions of the International Labour Organization, ILO, dealing with child rights and fair labour practices, drawing the attention of the international community to the strong backing for fundamental freedoms and labour rights enshrined in the constitution, especially in section 40. Earlier in his address of welcome, the US Secretary of Labour, Tom Perez, pledged the commitment of the United States to the growth of AGOA and urged African countries to strive towards the recognition of workers rights as an essential element of inclusive economic growth.
Leader of Boko Haram Abubakar Shekau mocks Nigeria army
Boko Haram's embattled leader, Abubakar Shekau, appears in a new video to deny reports of his death and to taunt the parents of the nearly 300 school girls the group kidnapped from their boarding school in 2014.
"To the despot Nigerian government: Die with envy. I'm not dead," Shekau says in the video.
An ISIS flag is visible in the background. That terrorist organization has said it is supporting Shekau's rival, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, as the legitimate leader of the Nigerian ISIS-affiliated terrorist movement.
The video was a response to the Nigerian army's claim that it "fatally wounded" Shekau in a raid August 19. The army dismissed the video Sunday as evidence of Shekau's desperation.
"The video has shown beyond all reasonable doubt the earlier suspicion that the purported factional terrorists' group leader is mentally sick and unstable," the army statement said.
CNN cannot independently confirm when the video was shot, or confirm its claims.
The attack that brought Boko Haram international notoriety was when Shekau's forces captured approximately 300 girls -- between the ages of 16 and 18 -- from a boarding school in the town of Chibok in Borno state in April 2014.
Boko Haram, which opposes western education, wants to set up an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria.
In the video, Shekau teases parents of the Chibok schoolgirls about whether their daughters will be released and insists detained Boko Haram fighters must be released for the return of the schoolgirls.
The kidnapping sparked global outrage and prompted global figures, including activist Malala Yousafzai and US first lady Michelle Obama, to support the campaign to #BringBackOurGirls.
For a year after they were taken, the abducted girls were kept together, Amina Ali, an escaped schoolgirl told CNN in August. Then some of the teenagers -- including her -- were "given" to the terrorists as wives.
"To the despot Nigerian government: Die with envy. I'm not dead," Shekau says in the video.
An ISIS flag is visible in the background. That terrorist organization has said it is supporting Shekau's rival, Abu Musab al-Barnawi, as the legitimate leader of the Nigerian ISIS-affiliated terrorist movement.
The video was a response to the Nigerian army's claim that it "fatally wounded" Shekau in a raid August 19. The army dismissed the video Sunday as evidence of Shekau's desperation.
"The video has shown beyond all reasonable doubt the earlier suspicion that the purported factional terrorists' group leader is mentally sick and unstable," the army statement said.
CNN cannot independently confirm when the video was shot, or confirm its claims.
The attack that brought Boko Haram international notoriety was when Shekau's forces captured approximately 300 girls -- between the ages of 16 and 18 -- from a boarding school in the town of Chibok in Borno state in April 2014.
Boko Haram, which opposes western education, wants to set up an Islamic caliphate in Nigeria.
In the video, Shekau teases parents of the Chibok schoolgirls about whether their daughters will be released and insists detained Boko Haram fighters must be released for the return of the schoolgirls.
The kidnapping sparked global outrage and prompted global figures, including activist Malala Yousafzai and US first lady Michelle Obama, to support the campaign to #BringBackOurGirls.
For a year after they were taken, the abducted girls were kept together, Amina Ali, an escaped schoolgirl told CNN in August. Then some of the teenagers -- including her -- were "given" to the terrorists as wives.
Shekau, however, is still shrouded in mystery. A Boko Haram insider told CNN in August the group had split after new leader al-Barnawi broke with Shekau and left with some followers, a move which the insider said left Shekau with most of the fighters in the Sambisa forest and also in control of the schoolgirls, a powerful bargaining chip for the group.
The army contends Boko Haram is significantly weakened and has been "irrational and unreliable" in negotiations over the schoolgirls.
The army contends Boko Haram is significantly weakened and has been "irrational and unreliable" in negotiations over the schoolgirls.
Friday, September 23, 2016
Video - Nigerian military still engaged in the battle for Mallam Fatori
Fighting is still underway to drive Boko Haram from a town near the Nigerian border with Chad. Troops from the region's multinational force are engaged in the battle for Mallam Fatori. Both sides claim to have inflicted heavy casualties.
Suicides in Nigeria on the rise due to bad economy
In the past few months, there have been six reported cases of Nigerians committing suicide, and two attempts. This trend is troubling many in a country where suicide rates are usually low.
Some Nigerians seem to have resigned themselves to fate, believing there was no option to hold on to, to keep afloat. A member of a family living in Akwa Ibom State killed himself recently. His body was found hanging from a rope tied to the ceiling of his bedroom.
When the man's younger brother, David (shown above), hadn't seen him for a while, he became very worried.
When I didn't see him for three days, I sent a small boy to look around for him. The boy found his door locked and saw him through the door hanging," he said.
Relatives and friends of the victim believe that it is the poor economic situation in the country that drove him to suicide.
Many asking 'why?'
There are disagreements in the local community as to whether the man left a suicide note. One camp argued that he wrote about economic challenges caused by President Muhammadu Buhari's administration as reasons for his suicide. Another camp said that there was, in fact, no suicide note at all.
"Two people broke the door and didn't find any note. Now you hear wrong stories everywhere, saying that man left a note, saying he killed himself because of the bad situation in this country," said Oturu Odaibo, a local youth leader.
Before he ended his life, the man sold local wine and cigarettes in his community. A local chief, Edet Asoquor Iyang, said that he knew why the man decided to kill himself.
"He hanged himself and broke his neck because things are difficult in Nigeria today. No job, no money, nothing. Nigeria has turned upside down and everybody is a beggar," he said.
Whether the man committed suicide to escape his difficulties is still unclear. What is clear, however, is the increasing number of suicide deaths in the country. In the past month alone, there are reports of five people who have committed suicide due to economic hardship.
According to a 2012 report from the World Health Organization, an estimated 6.5 people kill themselves each year in Nigeria per 100,000 people compared to 9.1 in Germany, 12.1 in the US and 19.5 in Uganda.
Everyday hardship
The current economic crisis in Nigeria has forced businesses to close. Many blame the government's policy to ration foreign currencies for the recession. This crisis has now trickled down to the ordinary man and woman. Many are now living below the poverty line which leads to anxiety, depression and frustration.
Emmabong Eme Effiong, a local farmer in Akwa Ibom State, said she hasn't experienced this level of difficulties in her entire life.
"I am a farmer and I if I do not farm, I won't eat. I want the government to help us live because this is too difficult for us. Just two cups of rice costs over 100 naira (29 dollar cents or 32 euro cents). I want the government to make the price of rice go down," said Effiong.
Maru Godwin Worlu, an economist and lecturer at the Port Harcourt Polytechnic in Rivers State said the difficulties are being felt in every corner of the country.
"For you to really understand if the government is doing well or not, just look at the ordinary people on the street," said Worlu.
He went on to recount the story of a woman with three children who was forced to beg for money to feed them. One day she had had enough and went and bought sleeping pills and gave them to the children.
"All three children died in their sleep. They just died," he said.
Some Nigerians seem to have resigned themselves to fate, believing there was no option to hold on to, to keep afloat. A member of a family living in Akwa Ibom State killed himself recently. His body was found hanging from a rope tied to the ceiling of his bedroom.
When the man's younger brother, David (shown above), hadn't seen him for a while, he became very worried.
When I didn't see him for three days, I sent a small boy to look around for him. The boy found his door locked and saw him through the door hanging," he said.
Relatives and friends of the victim believe that it is the poor economic situation in the country that drove him to suicide.
Many asking 'why?'
There are disagreements in the local community as to whether the man left a suicide note. One camp argued that he wrote about economic challenges caused by President Muhammadu Buhari's administration as reasons for his suicide. Another camp said that there was, in fact, no suicide note at all.
"Two people broke the door and didn't find any note. Now you hear wrong stories everywhere, saying that man left a note, saying he killed himself because of the bad situation in this country," said Oturu Odaibo, a local youth leader.
Before he ended his life, the man sold local wine and cigarettes in his community. A local chief, Edet Asoquor Iyang, said that he knew why the man decided to kill himself.
"He hanged himself and broke his neck because things are difficult in Nigeria today. No job, no money, nothing. Nigeria has turned upside down and everybody is a beggar," he said.
Whether the man committed suicide to escape his difficulties is still unclear. What is clear, however, is the increasing number of suicide deaths in the country. In the past month alone, there are reports of five people who have committed suicide due to economic hardship.
According to a 2012 report from the World Health Organization, an estimated 6.5 people kill themselves each year in Nigeria per 100,000 people compared to 9.1 in Germany, 12.1 in the US and 19.5 in Uganda.
Everyday hardship
The current economic crisis in Nigeria has forced businesses to close. Many blame the government's policy to ration foreign currencies for the recession. This crisis has now trickled down to the ordinary man and woman. Many are now living below the poverty line which leads to anxiety, depression and frustration.
Emmabong Eme Effiong, a local farmer in Akwa Ibom State, said she hasn't experienced this level of difficulties in her entire life.
"I am a farmer and I if I do not farm, I won't eat. I want the government to help us live because this is too difficult for us. Just two cups of rice costs over 100 naira (29 dollar cents or 32 euro cents). I want the government to make the price of rice go down," said Effiong.
Maru Godwin Worlu, an economist and lecturer at the Port Harcourt Polytechnic in Rivers State said the difficulties are being felt in every corner of the country.
"For you to really understand if the government is doing well or not, just look at the ordinary people on the street," said Worlu.
He went on to recount the story of a woman with three children who was forced to beg for money to feed them. One day she had had enough and went and bought sleeping pills and gave them to the children.
"All three children died in their sleep. They just died," he said.
Thursday, September 22, 2016
Video - Nigeria and U.S. Presidents vow to end Boko Haram insurgency
U.S. President Barack Obama and his Nigerian counterpart Mohammadu Buhari have met and discussed ways of countering the Boko Haram militant group. The two leaders held a bilateral meeting on the side lines of the 71st edition of the UN General Assembly. While thanking America for help rendered in the area of security President Buhari said the country was open to support in combating the humanitarian crisis currently ravaging the region. President Obama then went on to commend Buhari on his achievements in combatting Boko Haram, promising to help him end their insurgency.
Video - Nigeria holds exhibition held to popularize local health care
Nigeria’s health service providers have joined hands to showcase their capabilities and discourage the massive departure of patients seeking specialized care abroad. The providers held a healthcare exhibition in the capital Abuja and CCTV's Kelechi Emekalam was there.
Nigeria looking to ease recession by taxing internet use
Making phone calls, surfing the web and watching TV in Nigeria could be about to become more expensive.
With national revenues shrinking due to the global crash in oil prices over the last couple of years, Nigeria has been forced to consider how to diversify its revenue sources. In a search for a new pot of gold, the government appears to have settled on squeezing its communications industry as lawmakers are discussing a bill to tax communications services, including phone calls, texts, internet data and cable television. Nigeria’s telecoms sector alone is responsible around 8% of GDP.
It’s not the first time the Nigerian government has been accused of leaning on its vibrant telecoms industry for new revenue. Late last year it fined Africa’s largest mobile operator, MTN, $5.1 billion for SIM card irregularities. Both sides settled in June for $1.7 billion.
Making phone calls, surfing the web and watching TV in Nigeria could be about to become more expensive.
With national revenues shrinking due to the global crash in oil prices over the last couple of years, Nigeria has been forced to consider how to diversify its revenue sources. In a search for a new pot of gold, the government appears to have settled on squeezing its communications industry as lawmakers are discussing a bill to tax communications services, including phone calls, texts, internet data and cable television. Nigeria’s telecoms sector alone is responsible around 8% of GDP.
It’s not the first time the Nigerian government has been accused of leaning on its vibrant telecoms industry for new revenue. Late last year it fined Africa’s largest mobile operator, MTN, $5.1 billion for SIM card irregularities. Both sides settled in June for $1.7 billion.
But amid Nigeria’s first recession in decades, low-income Nigerians are likely to be most affected. Ojobo Atuluku, country director of advocacy group, ActionAid says if passed, the bill and increased strain on low income Nigerians will be “akin to punishing the poor for the sins of the rich.“
With national revenues shrinking due to the global crash in oil prices over the last couple of years, Nigeria has been forced to consider how to diversify its revenue sources. In a search for a new pot of gold, the government appears to have settled on squeezing its communications industry as lawmakers are discussing a bill to tax communications services, including phone calls, texts, internet data and cable television. Nigeria’s telecoms sector alone is responsible around 8% of GDP.
It’s not the first time the Nigerian government has been accused of leaning on its vibrant telecoms industry for new revenue. Late last year it fined Africa’s largest mobile operator, MTN, $5.1 billion for SIM card irregularities. Both sides settled in June for $1.7 billion.
Making phone calls, surfing the web and watching TV in Nigeria could be about to become more expensive.
With national revenues shrinking due to the global crash in oil prices over the last couple of years, Nigeria has been forced to consider how to diversify its revenue sources. In a search for a new pot of gold, the government appears to have settled on squeezing its communications industry as lawmakers are discussing a bill to tax communications services, including phone calls, texts, internet data and cable television. Nigeria’s telecoms sector alone is responsible around 8% of GDP.
It’s not the first time the Nigerian government has been accused of leaning on its vibrant telecoms industry for new revenue. Late last year it fined Africa’s largest mobile operator, MTN, $5.1 billion for SIM card irregularities. Both sides settled in June for $1.7 billion.
But amid Nigeria’s first recession in decades, low-income Nigerians are likely to be most affected. Ojobo Atuluku, country director of advocacy group, ActionAid says if passed, the bill and increased strain on low income Nigerians will be “akin to punishing the poor for the sins of the rich.“
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