Tuesday, November 22, 2016
Video - Nigerian musician writes, composes, sings in Chinese
Meet this Nigerian artist who not only speaks Chinese, but also sings it. Abayomi Adeagbo has performed in shows in both China and in his native Nigeria. Back home, he's become popular among the Chinese community, which books him regularly for various functions.
Monday, November 21, 2016
Video - Twin babies rescued from ritual killings in Nigerian village
Here's a look into a Sanctuary established for twins who risk execution for a bizarre traditional belief. An hour's drive away from the Nigeria capital, Bassa people believe twins are evil-as such they are killed at birth. Now Local christian group has taken the trouble to save children from that community from being killed.
Economic crisis in Nigeria worsens
Nigeria’s economic slump deepened in the third quarter as oil production continued to fall and factory output was hit by a shortage of dollars.
Gross domestic product in Africa’s most populous country contracted 2.2 percent in the three months through September from a year earlier, after shrinking 2.1 percent in the second quarter, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in an e-mailed statement Monday. The median of 15 economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for a 2 percent contraction. The economy expanded a non-seasonally adjusted 9 percent from the second quarter, the statistics office said.
Government revenue has plunged and foreign currency became more scarce with the decline of oil prices, the country’s main export, since mid-2014, and production fell as militants in the Niger River delta blew up pipelines. The authorities have struggled to manage the economic fallout, at one point pegging the exchange rate against the dollar for more than a year and more recently using law enforcement to bring down the street price of foreign currency.
“The key drag on the economy remains issues around oil production,” Wale Okunrinboye, an analyst at Asset & Resource Management Co. in Lagos, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “We do not think this reading is a trough for the economy and see downside to growth from a combination of continued militant attacks, depressed real wages and persisting dollar shortages.”
Crude production fell for the fourth consecutive quarter to 1.63 million barrels per day, from 1.69 million barrels in the three months through June, the statistics office said. The oil industry contracted by 22 percent from a year earlier. The non-oil sector, which includes manufacturing, banking and agriculture, expanded 0.03 percent. Factory output contracted 4.4 percent, the third consecutive quarter of decline, and construction shrank 6.1 percent, the fifth straight quarterly contraction.
Manufacturing was “affected by the foreign-exchange volatility and depreciation of the naira,” Damilola Akinbami, an analyst at Financial Derivatives Co. in Lagos, said by phone. “We saw significant injection in construction, but there is a time lag between when something is implemented and when you see the impact, that’s why we didn’t see the impact in the third quarter.”
The slump in oil and shortages of foreign currency and power could cause the economy to shrink 1.7 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. That would be Nigeria’s first full-year contraction since 1991, according to data from the Washington-based lender.
Budget Rejected
Nigeria’s Senate rejected the government’s spending plan for the next three years earlier this month because the proposals, which were meant to boost the economy, lacked details. Lawmakers also rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to borrow $30 billion abroad through 2018 on the same grounds.
The central bank removed its 197-199 naira per dollar peg on June 20, causing the currency to lose more than a third of its value.
The Monetary Policy Committee, which will announce its interest-rate decision on Tuesday, left the benchmark rate unchanged at a record-high 14 percent in September to help prop up the naira and fight inflation, which quickened to an 11-year high of 18.3 percent in October, even as the economic outlook deteriorated. All but two of the 18 economists in a Bloomberg survey forecast the MPC will keep the key rate unchanged.
While the third-quarter GDP data “will put pressure on the central bank as they meet, I don’t think it is going to change their stand as inflation remains very high,” Michael Famoroti, an economist at Lagos-based Vetiva Capital Management, said by phone. “Inflation is going to remain their focus, as well as the foreign-exchange market.”
Gross domestic product in Africa’s most populous country contracted 2.2 percent in the three months through September from a year earlier, after shrinking 2.1 percent in the second quarter, the Abuja-based National Bureau of Statistics said in an e-mailed statement Monday. The median of 15 economist estimates compiled by Bloomberg was for a 2 percent contraction. The economy expanded a non-seasonally adjusted 9 percent from the second quarter, the statistics office said.
Government revenue has plunged and foreign currency became more scarce with the decline of oil prices, the country’s main export, since mid-2014, and production fell as militants in the Niger River delta blew up pipelines. The authorities have struggled to manage the economic fallout, at one point pegging the exchange rate against the dollar for more than a year and more recently using law enforcement to bring down the street price of foreign currency.
“The key drag on the economy remains issues around oil production,” Wale Okunrinboye, an analyst at Asset & Resource Management Co. in Lagos, said in an e-mailed response to questions. “We do not think this reading is a trough for the economy and see downside to growth from a combination of continued militant attacks, depressed real wages and persisting dollar shortages.”
Crude production fell for the fourth consecutive quarter to 1.63 million barrels per day, from 1.69 million barrels in the three months through June, the statistics office said. The oil industry contracted by 22 percent from a year earlier. The non-oil sector, which includes manufacturing, banking and agriculture, expanded 0.03 percent. Factory output contracted 4.4 percent, the third consecutive quarter of decline, and construction shrank 6.1 percent, the fifth straight quarterly contraction.
Manufacturing was “affected by the foreign-exchange volatility and depreciation of the naira,” Damilola Akinbami, an analyst at Financial Derivatives Co. in Lagos, said by phone. “We saw significant injection in construction, but there is a time lag between when something is implemented and when you see the impact, that’s why we didn’t see the impact in the third quarter.”
The slump in oil and shortages of foreign currency and power could cause the economy to shrink 1.7 percent this year, according to the International Monetary Fund. That would be Nigeria’s first full-year contraction since 1991, according to data from the Washington-based lender.
Budget Rejected
Nigeria’s Senate rejected the government’s spending plan for the next three years earlier this month because the proposals, which were meant to boost the economy, lacked details. Lawmakers also rejected President Muhammadu Buhari’s plan to borrow $30 billion abroad through 2018 on the same grounds.
The central bank removed its 197-199 naira per dollar peg on June 20, causing the currency to lose more than a third of its value.
The Monetary Policy Committee, which will announce its interest-rate decision on Tuesday, left the benchmark rate unchanged at a record-high 14 percent in September to help prop up the naira and fight inflation, which quickened to an 11-year high of 18.3 percent in October, even as the economic outlook deteriorated. All but two of the 18 economists in a Bloomberg survey forecast the MPC will keep the key rate unchanged.
While the third-quarter GDP data “will put pressure on the central bank as they meet, I don’t think it is going to change their stand as inflation remains very high,” Michael Famoroti, an economist at Lagos-based Vetiva Capital Management, said by phone. “Inflation is going to remain their focus, as well as the foreign-exchange market.”
Friday, November 18, 2016
Video - Nigeria Chibok girls' parents eagerly await for their return
Parents in northeastern Nigeria plead for the return of their girls who have been kidnapped by Boko Haram.
Video - Nigeria asks Brazilian Pele to refund appearance fee due to no-show
Brazilian legend Edson Arantes do Nascimento -- popularly known as Pele -- is being asked to refund a $300,000 appearance fee at the inauguration of Uyo stadium in southern Nigeria. Akwa Ibom state government claims it advanced the money to Pele in 2014 but the soccer legend didn't show up at the sports complex.
Mob in Nigeria beat and burn boy to death
The boy was set upon after being accused of repeatedly robbing local residents and businesses, and even threatening to kill people, according to reports.
The incident took place in the Badagry district of the city of Lagos in the south-western Nigerian Lagos State.
The shocking footage shows the boy with a bloodied face holding his hands up as the mob surrounds him as he sits on the ground with his legs tied together.
He is beaten over and over again as he begs for his life, and a man can be seen trying to place a tyre around his neck to necklace him.
Necklacing is when a tyre full of flammable liquid is placed around someone’s neck and the fluid is then set alight, causing them to burn to death.
The boy, however, appears to manage to throw the tyre off.
As the pictures show, however, he was then apparently set alight anyway and burnt to death, despite the fact that some residents called for him to be handed over to police, according to reports.
The video clearly shows him being savagely beaten and later the images show him being burnt alive.
The gruesome scene was shared on social media, with reports about his age varying wildly, with some suggesting he was 15 years old, but with others saying he could be as young as seven.
Netizen ‘Oladipupo Raphael Dare’ was one of those who spread the footage, writing: "Lagos thief rest in bad. Good bye to you oooo..."
The boy had allegedly been caught in a supermarket trying to steal food, which he had been caught doing before on more than one occasion, as well as robbing locals.
The police have not yet commented on the matter.
Nigeria settles $5.1 billion debt with oil companies
Nigeria reached a $5.1 billion settlement to reimburse foreign oil companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. and Royal Dutch Shell Plc for past operating costs.
The amount, less than the $6.8 billion previously discussed, will be settled through crude-oil sales over five years and will be interest free, Petroleum Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu told reporters in the capital, Abuja, Thursday.
“What we have been able to put together has enabled us to shave about $1.7 billion in savings for the federal government from the $6.8 billion that was owed,” he said. “The barrels to pay those will come from incremental barrels generated by the oil companies, not from the current 2.2 million-barrel-a-day production.
“In other words, if we do not meet those thresholds we will not pay the $5.1 billion,” he said.
Exxon, Shell, Chevron Corp., Total SA and Eni SpA are owed money for costs incurred from 2010 to 2015. Nigeria still owes the companies $2.6 billion from operations this year.
Shell and Total declined to comment. The other producers didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
Nigeria could pay more than its share of costs from October to December this year to reduce the outstanding bill for 2016 to $1.5 billion, Kachikwu said.
Revenues Squeezed
Crude’s collapse has hurt the economies of oil-producing countries including Venezuela and even Saudi Arabia. Lower government revenues have prevented state-run companies from contributing their share of expenses and foreign producers -- also hurt by the slump -- in some cases haven’t been paid.
In Nigeria, the debt has been a point of contention for the oil companies, and the settlement could unlock investment. The agreement is likely to result in $15 billion of spending by the international oil companies, which may be announced within weeks, the minister said. That could bring back some of their projects in the country, he said.
Nigeria surpassed Angola as Africa’s biggest oil producer in October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country is restoring output shuttered by militant attacks and is exempt from any potential production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is due to meet in Vienna later this month.
Kachikwu sees oil production rising to 2.5 million barrels a day by 2019 and 3 million by 2021. The country also plans to reduce production costs to $18 a barrel in two years from $27 now, and to $15 a barrel in four years.
The amount, less than the $6.8 billion previously discussed, will be settled through crude-oil sales over five years and will be interest free, Petroleum Minister Emmanuel Kachikwu told reporters in the capital, Abuja, Thursday.
“What we have been able to put together has enabled us to shave about $1.7 billion in savings for the federal government from the $6.8 billion that was owed,” he said. “The barrels to pay those will come from incremental barrels generated by the oil companies, not from the current 2.2 million-barrel-a-day production.
“In other words, if we do not meet those thresholds we will not pay the $5.1 billion,” he said.
Exxon, Shell, Chevron Corp., Total SA and Eni SpA are owed money for costs incurred from 2010 to 2015. Nigeria still owes the companies $2.6 billion from operations this year.
Shell and Total declined to comment. The other producers didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
Nigeria could pay more than its share of costs from October to December this year to reduce the outstanding bill for 2016 to $1.5 billion, Kachikwu said.
Revenues Squeezed
Crude’s collapse has hurt the economies of oil-producing countries including Venezuela and even Saudi Arabia. Lower government revenues have prevented state-run companies from contributing their share of expenses and foreign producers -- also hurt by the slump -- in some cases haven’t been paid.
In Nigeria, the debt has been a point of contention for the oil companies, and the settlement could unlock investment. The agreement is likely to result in $15 billion of spending by the international oil companies, which may be announced within weeks, the minister said. That could bring back some of their projects in the country, he said.
Nigeria surpassed Angola as Africa’s biggest oil producer in October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country is restoring output shuttered by militant attacks and is exempt from any potential production cuts by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, which is due to meet in Vienna later this month.
Kachikwu sees oil production rising to 2.5 million barrels a day by 2019 and 3 million by 2021. The country also plans to reduce production costs to $18 a barrel in two years from $27 now, and to $15 a barrel in four years.
Nigerian executed in Singapore for drug trafficking
Singapore on Friday executed two foreigners convicted of drug trafficking, authorities said, a day after the city-state’s highest court rejected final bids for both men to escape the gallows.
The Nigerian and Malaysian were hanged after their last minute appeals were thrown out.
“A 38-year-old male Nigerian national, Chijioke Stephen Obioha, had his death sentence carried out on 18 November 2016 at Changi Prison Complex,” the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said in a statement.
Obioha, who came to Singapore hoping to be a footballer, was convicted of trafficking 2.6 kilograms of cannabis in 2008. Under Singapore law, anyone caught with more than 500 grams of cannabis can be sentenced to death.
A change in the law in 2013 meant that Obioha could apply to be re-sentenced, opening up the possibility of a life sentence, but he turned it down, the CNB said.
Just before he was to be hanged in 2015, Obioha’s lawyer filed for a stay in execution, which was allowed by Singapore’s highest court, marking the start of a legal rollercoaster which saw Obioha applying and withdrawing several legal options.
On Thursday, his lawyers launched a final bid to have his sentence commuted to life in prison but were turned down by a three-judge court.
Separately, the CNB also confirmed the execution of 31-year-old Malaysian Devendran Supramaniam, who was convicted of trafficking heroin.
He was arrested in May 2011 at Singapore’s border checkpoint with Malaysia carrying 2.7 kilograms of a powdery substance that contained 83.36 grams of pure heroin.
Like Obioha, Devendran launched an eleventh-hour appeal on Thursday to stay his execution, but was turned down.
Singapore takes a strong stand against crime and imposes the death penalty on offences such as murder and drug trafficking.
But human rights groups, which have called on Singapore to abolish capital punishment, condemned the execution.
“By executing people for drug-related offences, which do not meet the threshold of most serious crimes, Singapore is violating international law,” Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific said in a statement Wednesday calling for a halt to Obioha’s execution.
Singapore executed four people in 2015, one for murder and three for drug offences, according to prison statistics.
Malaysia also uses capital punishment, executing murderers and drug traffickers by hanging, a system which, like that in Singapore, dates back to British colonial rule.
The Nigerian and Malaysian were hanged after their last minute appeals were thrown out.
“A 38-year-old male Nigerian national, Chijioke Stephen Obioha, had his death sentence carried out on 18 November 2016 at Changi Prison Complex,” the Central Narcotics Bureau (CNB) said in a statement.
Obioha, who came to Singapore hoping to be a footballer, was convicted of trafficking 2.6 kilograms of cannabis in 2008. Under Singapore law, anyone caught with more than 500 grams of cannabis can be sentenced to death.
A change in the law in 2013 meant that Obioha could apply to be re-sentenced, opening up the possibility of a life sentence, but he turned it down, the CNB said.
Just before he was to be hanged in 2015, Obioha’s lawyer filed for a stay in execution, which was allowed by Singapore’s highest court, marking the start of a legal rollercoaster which saw Obioha applying and withdrawing several legal options.
On Thursday, his lawyers launched a final bid to have his sentence commuted to life in prison but were turned down by a three-judge court.
Separately, the CNB also confirmed the execution of 31-year-old Malaysian Devendran Supramaniam, who was convicted of trafficking heroin.
He was arrested in May 2011 at Singapore’s border checkpoint with Malaysia carrying 2.7 kilograms of a powdery substance that contained 83.36 grams of pure heroin.
Like Obioha, Devendran launched an eleventh-hour appeal on Thursday to stay his execution, but was turned down.
Singapore takes a strong stand against crime and imposes the death penalty on offences such as murder and drug trafficking.
But human rights groups, which have called on Singapore to abolish capital punishment, condemned the execution.
“By executing people for drug-related offences, which do not meet the threshold of most serious crimes, Singapore is violating international law,” Rafendi Djamin, Amnesty International’s director for Southeast Asia and the Pacific said in a statement Wednesday calling for a halt to Obioha’s execution.
Singapore executed four people in 2015, one for murder and three for drug offences, according to prison statistics.
Malaysia also uses capital punishment, executing murderers and drug traffickers by hanging, a system which, like that in Singapore, dates back to British colonial rule.
Thursday, November 17, 2016
Video - Nigeria's inflation rises from 9% to 18% in 12 months
Nigeria's National Bureau of Statistics indicates that the cost of living in the country rose to an 11 year high last month. Inflation was pegged at 18 percent at the end of October compared to 9 percent at the same time last year. Sophia Adengo looks at how this is affecting people on the street.
Video - Nigeria holds unique beauty pageant to promote peace
Nigeria's beauty pageant with a difference. The contest aims to promote peace, in a country that's seen ongoing conflict lead to one of the biggest humanitarian crises in Africa.
Video - Piracy in Nigeria
People and Power investigates the rise of piracy in the oil-rich Niger Delta region.
Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Video - Nigerian Petroleum minister debunks claims that gov't will scrap NNPC
Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu has allayed fears that the government plans to scrap the country's oil monopoly, the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation. In the past week, Nigerian media has been awash with reports that the NNPC will be dissolved and replaced with a new National oil Company.
Video - Nigerian businessman transforms food vending in Lagos
A young Nigerian is now redefining the traditional way of hawking food in a typical African society. Rasheed Salami's Prestigious Meals, basically hawks prepared food in the city of Lagos but in completely different way. He uses specially made tricycle to sell cooked meals across the city. More like taking the restaurant to people and not wait for them to come to you.
Video - Followers of Judaism and number of synagogues rise in Nigeria
Judaism is finding its voice in Nigeria. According to the country's Inter-Religious Council, the number of synagogues across Nigeria has risen over the past two decades. As Sophia Adengo reports, the religion is still very much a minority in the country, where 60-percent of the nearly 180-million people are Muslim.
Militants bomb 3 oil pipelines in Nigeria
Nigerian militants and a local leader say attackers have bombed oil pipelines 100 kilometers (60 miles) apart, the fifth attack this month in response to a military campaign in Nigeria's southern, petroleum-producing Niger Delta.
The Niger Delta Avengers say on Tuesday night they blew up three Nembe Creek trunk lines carrying 300,000 barrels a day to the Bonny export terminal of Dutch-British producer Shell.
Community leader Stephen Igwe says two other explosions blasted Italian company Agip's Tebidaba-Brass pipeline.
Earlier this month, militants carried out three attacks on the Trans Forcados network carrying crude from Shell's Forcados export terminal.
An Avengers statement warns of "continuous attacks" in retaliation for military raids.
It questions the sincerity of government negotiations to address demands for justice and development in the oil-polluted region.
Oil companies do not comment on attacks.
The Niger Delta Avengers say on Tuesday night they blew up three Nembe Creek trunk lines carrying 300,000 barrels a day to the Bonny export terminal of Dutch-British producer Shell.
Community leader Stephen Igwe says two other explosions blasted Italian company Agip's Tebidaba-Brass pipeline.
Earlier this month, militants carried out three attacks on the Trans Forcados network carrying crude from Shell's Forcados export terminal.
An Avengers statement warns of "continuous attacks" in retaliation for military raids.
It questions the sincerity of government negotiations to address demands for justice and development in the oil-polluted region.
Oil companies do not comment on attacks.
75,000 at risk of starving to death in Nigeria
Some 75,000 children in north-eastern Nigeria risk dying of hunger in "the few months ahead", the UN says.
UN humanitarian co-ordinator Peter Lundberg said that overall 14 million people needed humanitarian assistance in a region that was the former stronghold of Boko Haram militants.
He warned that the UN did not have enough funds to avert the crisis.
Boko Haram jihadists laid waste to the region before being pushed back by Nigerian forces in recent months.
"Currently our assessment is that 14 million people are identified as in need of humanitarian assistance" by 2017, Mr Lundberg said in Nigeria's capital Abuja on Tuesday.
He added that this figure included some 400,000 children, and that 75,000 of them "are going to die in the few months ahead of us... if we don't do something rapidly and seriously".
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million displaced since Boko Haram began its military operations in 2009 in the Borno state and other areas.
In July, the UN warned that almost a quarter of a million children in parts of Borno were suffering from severe malnutrition.
UN humanitarian co-ordinator Peter Lundberg said that overall 14 million people needed humanitarian assistance in a region that was the former stronghold of Boko Haram militants.
He warned that the UN did not have enough funds to avert the crisis.
Boko Haram jihadists laid waste to the region before being pushed back by Nigerian forces in recent months.
"Currently our assessment is that 14 million people are identified as in need of humanitarian assistance" by 2017, Mr Lundberg said in Nigeria's capital Abuja on Tuesday.
He added that this figure included some 400,000 children, and that 75,000 of them "are going to die in the few months ahead of us... if we don't do something rapidly and seriously".
Tens of thousands of people have been killed and more than two million displaced since Boko Haram began its military operations in 2009 in the Borno state and other areas.
In July, the UN warned that almost a quarter of a million children in parts of Borno were suffering from severe malnutrition.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Lagos - Former tourist haven in Lagos threatened by rising sea levels
Nigeria's sprawling commercial capital Lagos is already feeling the impact of climate change. Rising sea levels pose a threat to the city's sustainability. And some coastal communities are on the verge of being wiped out. CCTV's Deji Badmus has more.
Video - Famine in Nigeria threatens thousands
Famine is threatening more than 70,000 people in northern Nigeria. Aid agencies warn that 200 children could die every day. The emergency is also increasing the suffering of more than 2.5 million people displaced by the conflict with Boko Haram.
Monday, November 14, 2016
Video - Nigeria Football Federation struggling with unpaid and mounting expenses
Despite good performances on the pitch, Nigeria's National soccer federation says its is heavily indebted and only commitment and understanding from coaches and players will allow its national teams keep international obligations. The federation is struggling to get enough money for national team engagements.
Nigerian preacher TB Joshua explains wrong U.S. election prophecy
Nigerian preacher T.B. Joshua has sought to explain his unfulfilled prophecy on the U.S. presidential election.
The popular pastor predicted on November 6 that the election would be won by “a woman,” presumably Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton. Joshua’s message, posted on his Facebook page, indicated that the new president would face many challenges, including “passing bills” and a possible no confidence vote.
Following Republican candidate Donald Trump’s surprise victory, the post was temporarily deleted from Joshua’s Facebook page before later being restored.
The mega-preacher, whose services often attract tens of thousands of worshippers from Africa, posted an explanatory message Sunday.
“We have seen the outcome of the election in America. Having read, you will notice that it is all about the popular vote, the vote of the majority of Americans,” Joshua said.
The statement seems to be a nod to Clinton’s lead in the so-called popular vote—i.e. the individual votes collected by a candidate, rather than the number of states won under the U.S. electoral college system. The former U.S. Secretary of State is likely to end up with around 2 million more votes than the business mogul, according to The New York Times, once all provisional and absentee ballots are counted.
Joshua also appeared to suggest that his pre-election prophecy had been misinterpreted.
“In this case, we need the spirit of a prophet to recognize or to know a prophet. Our levels are different. We are not on the same level,” he said. “I see many people trying to interpret prophets on the basis of their own minds and ideas. The prophecy seems to cause uproar, to many who gave it different meaning and interpretation.”
After the election result was announced, many Nigerians took to social media to question Joshua’s credentials after his prophecy appeared to be proven false.
Joshua is one of Africa’s most popular preachers, but also one of its most controversial. In September 2014, a guesthouse belonging to his Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) in the Nigerian city of Lagos collapsed, killing more than 100 people, mostly South Africans who had traveled to Nigeria to hear Joshua preach. Joshua, along with several engineers and SCOAN trustees, is facing charges of criminal negligence for the incident, but his trial has suffered multiple delays. Joshua has rejected accusations that he was criminally responsible.
The preacher claims to predict various world events on a regular basis. He has previously said that he predicted the November 2015 militant attacks in Paris and the death of music legend Michael Jackson.
The Nigerian pastor is also estimated to be one of Africa’s richest preachers. In 2011, Forbes estimated his fortune at between $10-15 million. Joshua supports various charitable initiatives, including the rehabilitation of former militants in the oil-rich Niger Delta region of Nigeria.
Friday, November 11, 2016
Chelsea are punishing Mikel - Gernot Rohr
Mikel, 29, captained his country to bronze in Brazil this summer but has not played for the Blues this season.
Rohr said: "There is a reason why Mikel is not playing for Chelsea right now and that reason is because he played for Nigeria at the Olympics."
Mikel will play in Saturday's World Cup qualifier against Algeria.
The Super Eagles, who failed to qualify for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations, have set the pace in Group B, winning their opening game against Zambia while Algeria could only draw with Cameroon.
Rohr added: "I cannot punish a player who loves his country and shows that he loves the green jersey.
"He is here with us and he is fit and I hope he can play for 90 minutes against Algeria but if it is not possible, we shall see."
Chelsea declined to comment on Rohr's statement, but when asked about Mikel last week, Chelsea manager Antonio Conte said: "Mikel is working very well now.
"In the past he's sometimes had some injuries. But now he's working very hard, and I'm pleased with his work-rate."
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Video - Nigerians react to Donald Trump's victory
Nigerians have been reacting to the outcome of the U.S. presidential election. Our correspondent in the country's commercial capital of Lagos has been sampling opinions.
TB Joshua reinstates deleted Clinton win prophecy after backlash
Following much backlash from Nigerians over the prophesy by influential Nigerian TV evangelist, TB Joshua that Hillary Clinton would win the US presidential election which later turned out otherwise, Pastor Joshua has reinstated the post on his Facebook page after deleting it yesterday when the backlash became too hot.
The post containing the prediction was “mistakenly removed and has been reposted as such is not our policy”, according to an email sent to the BBC from the Social Media Department of TBJMinistries on Facebook.
“Ten days ago I saw the president of America with a narrow win… What I frankly saw was a woman,” said the post, reiterating comments made by Joshua in an address to his congregation on Sunday. TB Joshua was widely mocked on social media when people noticed that the post had been removed, though many of his supporters on Facebook said they still considered him a prophet despite calling the election wrong.
“Ten days ago I saw the president of America with a narrow win… What I frankly saw was a woman,” said the post, reiterating comments made by Joshua in an address to his congregation on Sunday. TB Joshua was widely mocked on social media when people noticed that the post had been removed, though many of his supporters on Facebook said they still considered him a prophet despite calling the election wrong.
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
Video - NIgerian security authorities to boost number of women in their ranks
Nigerian security authorities will boost the number of women in their ranks, in response to calls to do more to protect women and girls against sexual assaults within Internally Displaced Camps.
Nigerian preacher TB Joshua deletes Clinton win prophecy from facebook
Mr Joshua told his congregation on Sunday that he "saw" a woman winning.
After Donald Trump convincingly won Tuesday's vote, visitors to the preacher's Facebook page noticed the prophecy had been removed.
The wealthy pastor is known as "the prophet" to his many followers.
He is one of Nigeria's best-known and influential evangelists - and is popular across Africa, with many top politicians among his flock.
The US election prediction was broadcast on Mr Joshua's TV channel Emmanuel TV, which an individual uploaded to YouTube.
A section of that "prophecy" was posted on the preacher's Facebook page but is no longer available.
"Ten days ago I saw the president of America with a narrow win... What I frankly saw was a woman," it said.
Aliko Dangote plans $20bn investment in Nigeria
The Dangote Group has announced plans to invest $20bn in Nigeria over the next five years.
The investment, according to the group, is expected to generate 250,000 jobs over the next five to 10 years.
The Group Executive Director, Stakeholder Management & Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, Mansur Ahmed, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that the aim of the conglomerate in investing the sum in the country was to give support to the diversification drive of the present administration.
To this end, he said the group would in the nearest future focus on agricultural expansion in the areas of commercial rice production and sugar cane plantations in Jigawa, Kwara, Kogi, Kebbi and Adamawa states.
“Consequently, the company has acquired 12,000 acres of land in Adamawa and arrangement is on to acquire more in other parts of the country,” Ahmed said.
According to him, the policy trust of the present administration is to reduce importation and achieve food security, adding that it was only necessary for the group to key in to the agenda in line with its corporate responsibility.
Ahmed also disclosed that the tomato paste manufacturing company in Kano would soon resume production as issues surrounding it stoppage had been resolved.
The group is also planning to raise its cement production from the current 40 million tonnes to between 75 million and 80 million tonnes per annum by the year 2020.
Ahmed explained that the cement manufacturing arm of the group was currently expanding its production capacity with new factories coming on stream across Africa in order to meet the ever growing demand for the product.
“It is our intention to continue to grow; by 2020, we should have at least 75-80 million tonnes of cement, 40 million tonnes of which should be in our plants here in Nigeria,” he stated.
The director explained that the current price of the company’s cement was dictated by the rising energy costs occasioned by the unavailability of gas.
This, he said, had forced it to rely on Premium Motor Spirit and coal as the main fuel for energy generation.
The investment, according to the group, is expected to generate 250,000 jobs over the next five to 10 years.
The Group Executive Director, Stakeholder Management & Corporate Communications, Dangote Group, Mansur Ahmed, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that the aim of the conglomerate in investing the sum in the country was to give support to the diversification drive of the present administration.
To this end, he said the group would in the nearest future focus on agricultural expansion in the areas of commercial rice production and sugar cane plantations in Jigawa, Kwara, Kogi, Kebbi and Adamawa states.
“Consequently, the company has acquired 12,000 acres of land in Adamawa and arrangement is on to acquire more in other parts of the country,” Ahmed said.
According to him, the policy trust of the present administration is to reduce importation and achieve food security, adding that it was only necessary for the group to key in to the agenda in line with its corporate responsibility.
Ahmed also disclosed that the tomato paste manufacturing company in Kano would soon resume production as issues surrounding it stoppage had been resolved.
The group is also planning to raise its cement production from the current 40 million tonnes to between 75 million and 80 million tonnes per annum by the year 2020.
Ahmed explained that the cement manufacturing arm of the group was currently expanding its production capacity with new factories coming on stream across Africa in order to meet the ever growing demand for the product.
“It is our intention to continue to grow; by 2020, we should have at least 75-80 million tonnes of cement, 40 million tonnes of which should be in our plants here in Nigeria,” he stated.
The director explained that the current price of the company’s cement was dictated by the rising energy costs occasioned by the unavailability of gas.
This, he said, had forced it to rely on Premium Motor Spirit and coal as the main fuel for energy generation.
Gunmen kill 36 Nigerian gold miners in Zamfara state
Gunmen have killed 36 gold miners in north-west Nigeria, police say.
The attackers overran a mining camp in the Maru district of Zamfara state, in the latest in a series of similar raids in the region.
The gunmen's motive is unclear. Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar called the attack an "act of terrorism".
In July Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari sent special military units to fight armed gangs in based in the forests of Zamfara.
Hundreds of people have been killed in villages in the area over the past three years.
The attackers overran a mining camp in the Maru district of Zamfara state, in the latest in a series of similar raids in the region.
The gunmen's motive is unclear. Zamfara governor Abdulaziz Yari Abubakar called the attack an "act of terrorism".
In July Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari sent special military units to fight armed gangs in based in the forests of Zamfara.
Hundreds of people have been killed in villages in the area over the past three years.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Video - Nigerian government launches crackdown on criminal gangs sabotaging oil trade
Nigeria loses an estimated 8 billion dollars per year to oil thieves operating in the Niger region. For years the shadowy criminal syndicates have eluded security agencies but latest efforts to end the costly illegal trade are beginning to pay off. CCTV's Kelechi Emekalam reports on the ongoing crackdown on oil smugglers.
Video - Young Nigerians use oral art form to voice their grievances
Young Nigerians are using poetry to express their grievances with the state of affairs in their country.Through spoken word - an oral art form that is slowly finding its place in the country, Nigerians are openly talking about issues ranging from corruption to lack of development and the rising cost of living.
Vicious cycle turns Nigerian sex slaves in Italy into traffickers
Sitting on the floor surrounded by vials, animal bones and sheets stained crimson with blood, spiritual doctor Olor Elemian described how he scares girls into blind obedience with potions and spells known as "juju".
Pimps, madams, smugglers and even parents bring girls to his shrine in Amedokhian village near the southern Nigerian city of Uromi, where they drink concoctions brewed with pieces of their own fingernails, pubic hair, underwear or drops of blood.
"I can make sure she never sleeps well or has peace of mind until she pays what she owes," said the 39-year-old spiritual priest known in his neighborhood as "Doctor".
"Something in her head will keep telling her: 'Go and pay!'"
Juju is a potent ingredient in a cocktail of coercion that keeps thousands of Nigerian women and girls in sex slavery in Europe, mostly in Italy, after making the treacherous journey across North Africa and the Mediterranean in search of better lives.
Combined with crippling debt and threats of violence, it helps perpetuate a cycle of exploitation in which many victims then become perpetrators, returning to Nigeria as "madams" to recruit more girls, police and rights groups say.
In Edo state - a southern Nigerian hub for human trafficking - many girls begin their journey into prostitution willingly. Most have little clue of the nightmare to follow.
Some even visit native doctors like Elemian of their own accord, hoping juju will help them prosper while selling sex in Italy.
"It's not how hard a person works that determines how much money she will make," he said, showing off his new mobile phone and modern bungalow, which stands out amid his neighbors' mud huts.
These trappings of wealth are all funded by grateful clients from Italy, he said.
MANAGED BY MADAMS
According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), more than nine in 10 Nigerian women smuggled to Europe come from Edo, a predominantly Christian state with a population of 3 million.
Traffickers in Nigeria are exploiting Europe's migration crisis, moving girls to lawless Libya, before crossing the Mediterranean to Italy, anti-slavery activists say.
"Edo women started going to Italy to buy gold and beads in the early 1980s and saw a thriving market in prostitution," said Kokunre Eghafona, a professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Benin and a consultant researcher for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
"They came back and started taking family and friends."
These women, known as "madams" - who make up around half of Nigeria's traffickers, UNDOC says - are mostly former victims-turned-brokers who prey on others to escape prostitution.
Many such traffickers believe they are being helpful rather than doing harm, calling themselves sponsors rather than madams, a more positive title, according to Eghafona.
Speaking from her home in the city of Warri with her one-year-old son crying in the background, madam "Mama Anna" said that with so many girls looking for traffickers to take them to Italy, she no longer needed to deceive or trick them into going.
"Some ask me what they will do when they get there," said Mama Anna, boasting of her reputation as a broker who sends interested girls to Italy to work for her older sister, also a madam.
"I tell them they will go and hustle," she said. "They ask: 'What kind of hustle?' I tell them. Some refuse to go, others agree."
BONDED BY DEBT
For an insight into what drives young women to travel to Italy and sell sex, look no further than Uromi, with its pothole-ridden roads and derelict buildings with wells in front yards – evidence of the town's lack of running water.
One neighborhood stands out. Its nickname is "Little London" and it is known for sleek, modern houses behind imposing iron gates, many said to be funded from the proceeds of prostitution.
Faith, a 23-year-old hairdresser, traveled more than 300 km (almost 200 miles) to Uromi from her home in Akwa Ibom, dreaming of joining the ranks of thousands of sex workers smuggled to Europe each year.
"I want to go to Italy because I want to make money," she said. "If it is prostitution, I'll do it."
In the past, girls like Faith would have been tricked into prostitution, promised jobs like hairdressing or supermarket before being forced to work for pimps.
"Before, nobody knew - it was a secret thing," said 30-year-old Anita, who was sex trafficked to Italy in 2011, after being deceived into thinking she was going to work as a hairdresser.
"But now, even children know that when you get there, it is prostitution."
After escaping her traffickers, Anita spent days on the streets. She was finally arrested and deported back to Nigeria.
Before arranging their passage through contacts in Libya, traffickers like "Mama Anna" make the girls sign a contract to finance their move - leaving them with debts that can spiral to tens of thousands of dollars and take years to pay off.
Girls are then taken to a spiritual priest, who conducts the "juju" rituals designed to bind them to their traffickers.
Such rites instil fear in victims, who believe that they or their relatives may fall ill or die if they disobey their traffickers, go to the police or fail to pay off their debts.
Fearful that the juju "spell" may be turned on them, many Nigerian parents become complicit, insisting that their daughters obey their traffickers, testimony from Italian court documents shows.
It's then on to Europe via well-trod smuggling routes through Niger and Libya.
"PUBLIC ENEMIES"
At Uromi market, several stalls display secondhand winter jackets and mittens, which one trader, Linus, described as a thriving market due to the number of people heading to Europe.
More than 12,000 Nigerian women and girls have reached Italy by sea over the past two years - a six-fold increase over the previous two-year period - with around four in five of them trafficked into sex work, according to data from the IOM.
Human trafficking by Nigerian organized crime gangs is one of the greatest challenges facing police forces across Europe, according to the EU's law enforcement agency, Europol.
For Nigeria's anti-trafficking agency, NAPTIP, efforts to combat the traffickers are being thwarted not only by the criminals themselves, but also by members of the public.
"Everybody believes that the streets of Europe are paved with gold," said Arinze Orakwe, an official at NAPTIP. "People see us as a problem, as stopping them from reaching El Dorado.
"One mother asked me if I would prefer her daughter to have sex with a young boy in Edo and get pregnant, when she can do the same thing in Europe and earn foreign currency," he said.
NAPTIP officials have been attacked by mobs in Edo while informing people of the dangers of trafficking, and angry relatives often snatch their daughters away from training or rehabilitation centers and threaten the staff, Orakwe added.
"These people, they are enemies, because this country is too rough now," said Igose, a mother-of-eight who relies on money sent by her 22-year-old daughter in Italy to feed her family.
While Igose in Benin City, the capital of Edo state, fears for the future of her family, in neighboring Uromi, Faith is still searching for a madam to arrange her passage to Italy.
Sometimes she is tempted to abandon her dream.
"I see pictures on my phone of people drowning in the sea," she said. "It is risky".
Pimps, madams, smugglers and even parents bring girls to his shrine in Amedokhian village near the southern Nigerian city of Uromi, where they drink concoctions brewed with pieces of their own fingernails, pubic hair, underwear or drops of blood.
"I can make sure she never sleeps well or has peace of mind until she pays what she owes," said the 39-year-old spiritual priest known in his neighborhood as "Doctor".
"Something in her head will keep telling her: 'Go and pay!'"
Juju is a potent ingredient in a cocktail of coercion that keeps thousands of Nigerian women and girls in sex slavery in Europe, mostly in Italy, after making the treacherous journey across North Africa and the Mediterranean in search of better lives.
Combined with crippling debt and threats of violence, it helps perpetuate a cycle of exploitation in which many victims then become perpetrators, returning to Nigeria as "madams" to recruit more girls, police and rights groups say.
In Edo state - a southern Nigerian hub for human trafficking - many girls begin their journey into prostitution willingly. Most have little clue of the nightmare to follow.
Some even visit native doctors like Elemian of their own accord, hoping juju will help them prosper while selling sex in Italy.
"It's not how hard a person works that determines how much money she will make," he said, showing off his new mobile phone and modern bungalow, which stands out amid his neighbors' mud huts.
These trappings of wealth are all funded by grateful clients from Italy, he said.
MANAGED BY MADAMS
According to the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNDOC), more than nine in 10 Nigerian women smuggled to Europe come from Edo, a predominantly Christian state with a population of 3 million.
Traffickers in Nigeria are exploiting Europe's migration crisis, moving girls to lawless Libya, before crossing the Mediterranean to Italy, anti-slavery activists say.
"Edo women started going to Italy to buy gold and beads in the early 1980s and saw a thriving market in prostitution," said Kokunre Eghafona, a professor of sociology and anthropology at the University of Benin and a consultant researcher for the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
"They came back and started taking family and friends."
These women, known as "madams" - who make up around half of Nigeria's traffickers, UNDOC says - are mostly former victims-turned-brokers who prey on others to escape prostitution.
Many such traffickers believe they are being helpful rather than doing harm, calling themselves sponsors rather than madams, a more positive title, according to Eghafona.
Speaking from her home in the city of Warri with her one-year-old son crying in the background, madam "Mama Anna" said that with so many girls looking for traffickers to take them to Italy, she no longer needed to deceive or trick them into going.
"Some ask me what they will do when they get there," said Mama Anna, boasting of her reputation as a broker who sends interested girls to Italy to work for her older sister, also a madam.
"I tell them they will go and hustle," she said. "They ask: 'What kind of hustle?' I tell them. Some refuse to go, others agree."
BONDED BY DEBT
For an insight into what drives young women to travel to Italy and sell sex, look no further than Uromi, with its pothole-ridden roads and derelict buildings with wells in front yards – evidence of the town's lack of running water.
One neighborhood stands out. Its nickname is "Little London" and it is known for sleek, modern houses behind imposing iron gates, many said to be funded from the proceeds of prostitution.
Faith, a 23-year-old hairdresser, traveled more than 300 km (almost 200 miles) to Uromi from her home in Akwa Ibom, dreaming of joining the ranks of thousands of sex workers smuggled to Europe each year.
"I want to go to Italy because I want to make money," she said. "If it is prostitution, I'll do it."
In the past, girls like Faith would have been tricked into prostitution, promised jobs like hairdressing or supermarket before being forced to work for pimps.
"Before, nobody knew - it was a secret thing," said 30-year-old Anita, who was sex trafficked to Italy in 2011, after being deceived into thinking she was going to work as a hairdresser.
"But now, even children know that when you get there, it is prostitution."
After escaping her traffickers, Anita spent days on the streets. She was finally arrested and deported back to Nigeria.
Before arranging their passage through contacts in Libya, traffickers like "Mama Anna" make the girls sign a contract to finance their move - leaving them with debts that can spiral to tens of thousands of dollars and take years to pay off.
Girls are then taken to a spiritual priest, who conducts the "juju" rituals designed to bind them to their traffickers.
Such rites instil fear in victims, who believe that they or their relatives may fall ill or die if they disobey their traffickers, go to the police or fail to pay off their debts.
Fearful that the juju "spell" may be turned on them, many Nigerian parents become complicit, insisting that their daughters obey their traffickers, testimony from Italian court documents shows.
It's then on to Europe via well-trod smuggling routes through Niger and Libya.
"PUBLIC ENEMIES"
At Uromi market, several stalls display secondhand winter jackets and mittens, which one trader, Linus, described as a thriving market due to the number of people heading to Europe.
More than 12,000 Nigerian women and girls have reached Italy by sea over the past two years - a six-fold increase over the previous two-year period - with around four in five of them trafficked into sex work, according to data from the IOM.
Human trafficking by Nigerian organized crime gangs is one of the greatest challenges facing police forces across Europe, according to the EU's law enforcement agency, Europol.
For Nigeria's anti-trafficking agency, NAPTIP, efforts to combat the traffickers are being thwarted not only by the criminals themselves, but also by members of the public.
"Everybody believes that the streets of Europe are paved with gold," said Arinze Orakwe, an official at NAPTIP. "People see us as a problem, as stopping them from reaching El Dorado.
"One mother asked me if I would prefer her daughter to have sex with a young boy in Edo and get pregnant, when she can do the same thing in Europe and earn foreign currency," he said.
NAPTIP officials have been attacked by mobs in Edo while informing people of the dangers of trafficking, and angry relatives often snatch their daughters away from training or rehabilitation centers and threaten the staff, Orakwe added.
"These people, they are enemies, because this country is too rough now," said Igose, a mother-of-eight who relies on money sent by her 22-year-old daughter in Italy to feed her family.
While Igose in Benin City, the capital of Edo state, fears for the future of her family, in neighboring Uromi, Faith is still searching for a madam to arrange her passage to Italy.
Sometimes she is tempted to abandon her dream.
"I see pictures on my phone of people drowning in the sea," she said. "It is risky".
Monday, November 7, 2016
Video - Abducted Chibok schoolgirl found with baby by Nigerian army
Another Chibok girl has been rescued by the Nigerian Army. The girl, found with a child, was discovered at a screening centre in the Sambisa forest in Borno state.
Western Union commends Nigeria on resilience
With a record of remittances from Nigerians in Diaspora, Western Union has lauded assessed resilience and spirit of hard work, which it noted, cut across economic spheres globally.
The Regional Vice President of Western Union-Africa, Aida Diarra, while speaking at its 20th anniversary in the country, said Nigeria has become one of the most connected countries in the world when it comes to receiving and sending money.
According to him, the Nigerian spirit of hard work and resilience can be found around the world across all economic spheres.
“Western Union recognises that, at the start and end of every transaction are two people, and they rely on each other, just as much they rely on us to move their money reliably. It is this dual belonging that remains at the heart of our innovation to make it easy for Nigerians to send or receive money,” he said.
Referring to Western Union as the global leader in payments, Diara noted that Nigeria is the fifth largest remittance receiver globally, as attested by the World Bank.
He revealed that more than 195 countries and territories sent money into Nigeria, and 160 received money from Nigeria in 2015, reflecting the extraordinary global connections brought about by the rise in migration of Nigerians to many parts of the world.
“Migration destinations have remained steady since a decade ago, according to Western Union’s own trend analysis. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, France and Netherlands continued to be the favourite destinations, while United Arab Emirates and Malaysia moved to the top 10, replacing Switzerland and Spain.
“Western Union bridges geographical gaps by diversifying the options to send and receive money with reliability, convenience, and speed. From a single location with the First Bank of Nigeria in the heart of Lagos in 1996, Western Union has expanded its walk-in retail Agent location count to more than 5,200, with a presence in every one of Nigeria’s 36 states.
“The company’s channel diversification focus also allows Nigerians to receive money into 2.2 million mobile wallets and into more than 50 million bank accounts.
“More than 20 majority-owned Nigerian businesses form the foundation of an Agent network that connects Nigerians no matter what distance exists between them and the world.
“It is an honour to have served Nigerians for the past 20 years and connect them to and from nearly every corner of the world, moving the money that funds education, healthcare, everyday living and the dreams and aspirations of their families,” he said.
The Regional Vice President of Western Union-Africa, Aida Diarra, while speaking at its 20th anniversary in the country, said Nigeria has become one of the most connected countries in the world when it comes to receiving and sending money.
According to him, the Nigerian spirit of hard work and resilience can be found around the world across all economic spheres.
“Western Union recognises that, at the start and end of every transaction are two people, and they rely on each other, just as much they rely on us to move their money reliably. It is this dual belonging that remains at the heart of our innovation to make it easy for Nigerians to send or receive money,” he said.
Referring to Western Union as the global leader in payments, Diara noted that Nigeria is the fifth largest remittance receiver globally, as attested by the World Bank.
He revealed that more than 195 countries and territories sent money into Nigeria, and 160 received money from Nigeria in 2015, reflecting the extraordinary global connections brought about by the rise in migration of Nigerians to many parts of the world.
“Migration destinations have remained steady since a decade ago, according to Western Union’s own trend analysis. The United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Italy, Australia, France and Netherlands continued to be the favourite destinations, while United Arab Emirates and Malaysia moved to the top 10, replacing Switzerland and Spain.
“Western Union bridges geographical gaps by diversifying the options to send and receive money with reliability, convenience, and speed. From a single location with the First Bank of Nigeria in the heart of Lagos in 1996, Western Union has expanded its walk-in retail Agent location count to more than 5,200, with a presence in every one of Nigeria’s 36 states.
“The company’s channel diversification focus also allows Nigerians to receive money into 2.2 million mobile wallets and into more than 50 million bank accounts.
“More than 20 majority-owned Nigerian businesses form the foundation of an Agent network that connects Nigerians no matter what distance exists between them and the world.
“It is an honour to have served Nigerians for the past 20 years and connect them to and from nearly every corner of the world, moving the money that funds education, healthcare, everyday living and the dreams and aspirations of their families,” he said.
Minister of Petroleum Kachikwu faults NNPC on fuel price increase
Nigeria Minister of Petroleum, Ibe Kachikwu on Sunday condemned the recent increase in fuel price in Nigeria National Petroleum (NNPC) filling station.
Kachikwu made the statement after receiving an award at an event organized by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
“First, I am not aware that the NNPC has increased price. I need to look into that. It is a bit of surprise for me, because there are processes in doing this, if they have done that, it means they are doing it wrongly.
“Let me find out what the facts are,” he told journalists
According to him, the government cannot fix a new price for petrol without putting into cognizance the market variables that gave rise to the current petroleum pricing template.
“What we ought to be doing was watching the prices, making sure that they are not taking advantage of the common man; making sure that the template is respected.
“One of the things I think we had hoped to do, which we should still do, before we embark on any price increase is to work on those templates,” he said.
NNPC had been selling fuel at N141 but on Thursday, increased it by N4 to the government benchmark of N145.
The pump price of petrol in Nigeria rose to N145 per litre earlier this year after President Muhammadu Buhari removed fuel subsidy.
The government said the decision to remove the subsidy was as a result of the fall in oil price and non-availability of foreign exchange.
The government however, said the liberalization of petrol supply and distribution will allow marketers and any Nigerian entity willing to supply PMS to source for their forex and import PMS to ensure availability of products in all locations of the country.
According to the government, the resultant fuel scarcity has created an abnormal increase in price, resulting in Nigerians paying between N150 and N300 per litre as prevalent hoarding, smuggling and diversion of products have reduced volumes made available to citizens.
Kachikwu made the statement after receiving an award at an event organized by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
“First, I am not aware that the NNPC has increased price. I need to look into that. It is a bit of surprise for me, because there are processes in doing this, if they have done that, it means they are doing it wrongly.
“Let me find out what the facts are,” he told journalists
According to him, the government cannot fix a new price for petrol without putting into cognizance the market variables that gave rise to the current petroleum pricing template.
“What we ought to be doing was watching the prices, making sure that they are not taking advantage of the common man; making sure that the template is respected.
“One of the things I think we had hoped to do, which we should still do, before we embark on any price increase is to work on those templates,” he said.
NNPC had been selling fuel at N141 but on Thursday, increased it by N4 to the government benchmark of N145.
The pump price of petrol in Nigeria rose to N145 per litre earlier this year after President Muhammadu Buhari removed fuel subsidy.
The government said the decision to remove the subsidy was as a result of the fall in oil price and non-availability of foreign exchange.
The government however, said the liberalization of petrol supply and distribution will allow marketers and any Nigerian entity willing to supply PMS to source for their forex and import PMS to ensure availability of products in all locations of the country.
According to the government, the resultant fuel scarcity has created an abnormal increase in price, resulting in Nigerians paying between N150 and N300 per litre as prevalent hoarding, smuggling and diversion of products have reduced volumes made available to citizens.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Video - High cost of feed pushes Nigeria fish farmers out of business
Fish farmers in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, have had to scale back on production. They say the cost of fish feed is simply too high - making the business unprofitable. Deji Badmus spoke to some that have chosen to hang in there.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Video - Suspected militants attack yet another oil facility in Nigeria
Suspected militants in the Niger Delta have attacked yet another oil facility - just one day after peace talks held by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Linda Ikeji launches social network
Since starting her blog in 2006, Linda Ikeji has become one of Nigeria’s most prominent online voices.
The 36-year-old former model’s blog, known simply as Linda Ikeji’s Blog, is the 13th most popular website in Nigeria, according to analytic company Alexa—ahead of any official news publications or sites.
Ikeji has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter—half a million more than Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari—and almost 800,000 on Instagram. Her name was the most Googled term in Nigeria, a country of 180 million people, in 2014.
The blogger has now launched her own social network—known as Linda Ikeji Social (LIS)—which she is marketing as “Facebook meets Linda Ikeji Blog meets eBay.”
Ikeji had announced in August that she intended to expand her media empire into four more platforms—an online television station, an online radio station, a music website and LIS, which she declined to identify until it was launched on Tuesday.
The platform has a similar functionality to Facebook, allowing users to post stories and chat with friends. The twist, according to Ikeji, is that the platform has been monetized for users. The platform will pay users 1,000 naira ($) for exclusive “stories,” which Ikeji said could consist of eyewitness photos or video. Ikeji said that the site would also place advertisements on pages belonging to users with more than 50,000 followers, with the users then earning 20 percent of the revenue.
Ikeji said that the idea for the site came after an encounter with two fans in April, who told her that Facebook and her site were the only websites on the internet that they used. “I wondered, and then the idea came to me: why can’t I have a website that’s a combination of both blogging and social networking? The answer to that burning question is LIS.”
Nigeria has the biggest Facebook user base in sub-Saharan Africa, with the social network saying in February that 16 million Nigerians used the platform each month, with 100 percent of users accessing the site via mobile.
Ikeji shares a variety of content across her platforms. Her Instagram functions as a style and fashion guide for followers, while her blog shares Nigerian news and recirculates international stories.
Google took down Ikeji’s blog—which runs on the Google-owned Blogger platform—for a brief period in October 2014 amid allegations of plagiarism and intellectual property theft, which Ikeji denied.
She has also been involved in public spats with other Nigerian celebrities, including rapper Wizkid—who collaborated with Drake on the hit song “One Dance”—who allegedly threatened to have Ikeji beaten up after she wrote a derogatory post about him.
The 36-year-old former model’s blog, known simply as Linda Ikeji’s Blog, is the 13th most popular website in Nigeria, according to analytic company Alexa—ahead of any official news publications or sites.
Ikeji has more than 1.3 million followers on Twitter—half a million more than Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari—and almost 800,000 on Instagram. Her name was the most Googled term in Nigeria, a country of 180 million people, in 2014.
The blogger has now launched her own social network—known as Linda Ikeji Social (LIS)—which she is marketing as “Facebook meets Linda Ikeji Blog meets eBay.”
Ikeji had announced in August that she intended to expand her media empire into four more platforms—an online television station, an online radio station, a music website and LIS, which she declined to identify until it was launched on Tuesday.
The platform has a similar functionality to Facebook, allowing users to post stories and chat with friends. The twist, according to Ikeji, is that the platform has been monetized for users. The platform will pay users 1,000 naira ($) for exclusive “stories,” which Ikeji said could consist of eyewitness photos or video. Ikeji said that the site would also place advertisements on pages belonging to users with more than 50,000 followers, with the users then earning 20 percent of the revenue.
Ikeji said that the idea for the site came after an encounter with two fans in April, who told her that Facebook and her site were the only websites on the internet that they used. “I wondered, and then the idea came to me: why can’t I have a website that’s a combination of both blogging and social networking? The answer to that burning question is LIS.”
Nigeria has the biggest Facebook user base in sub-Saharan Africa, with the social network saying in February that 16 million Nigerians used the platform each month, with 100 percent of users accessing the site via mobile.
Ikeji shares a variety of content across her platforms. Her Instagram functions as a style and fashion guide for followers, while her blog shares Nigerian news and recirculates international stories.
Google took down Ikeji’s blog—which runs on the Google-owned Blogger platform—for a brief period in October 2014 amid allegations of plagiarism and intellectual property theft, which Ikeji denied.
She has also been involved in public spats with other Nigerian celebrities, including rapper Wizkid—who collaborated with Drake on the hit song “One Dance”—who allegedly threatened to have Ikeji beaten up after she wrote a derogatory post about him.
Wole Soyinka says he will 'cut up' US green card if Trump wins
The green card is a permanent residence permit for the US - prized by many African immigrants to the US.
His comments emerged in the video of a conversation with students at Oxford University in the UK.
The famous author appears to be taking a swipe at Mr Trump over his radical stance on immigration.
American voters go to the polls next Tuesday and latest polls show the two candidates are neck and neck.
Mr Trump is famous for his promise to build a wall to keep Mexican immigrants out of the US if he makes it to the White House.
Under his hard-line proposals, every illegal immigrant currently in the US would be subject to deportation if he wins the election.
He says there will be no pathway to citizenship or even legal status for them unless they leave the country and get in line with everyone else who wants to enter the US, subject to the normal immigration procedures.
Mr Soyinka said he feared the Republic candidate would ask all green-card holders to reapply to come back into the US.
"Well, I'm not waiting for that," the Nigerian author told his student audience.
"The moment they announce his [Trump's] victory, I will cut my green card myself and start packing up," he added.
France and Japan to help develop Nollywood
The Federal Government has expressed its readiness to partner with Japan and France to develop the movie industry through animated movies in line with its diversifying the economy.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, said this on the sideline of the second edition of the Animated Film Festival organised by the Japanese and French Embassies in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mohammed told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that government was set to partner with japan and France to build the capacity of the country’s movie industry.
“What we have seen here is another genre of movie making and I am sure we will be able to partner with both Japanese and French embassies in the capacity we are building for our movie industry.
“We agreed to work together because the Japanese are developing this animation industry quite tremendously and they promised to partner with us again in capacity building.
“With technology in the movie industry, the potentials are limitless,” he said.
French Ambassador to Nigeria Denys Guaer explained that animated films had become an important part of the movie industry globally, adding that it created jobs and promoted the images of countries.
Gauer said cooperating with Nigeria in that sector would give more visibility to animated films in the country, which he noted, “has still not been developed”.
“Animated film is very well developed in many parts of the world that is why we organised this festival with the Japanese Embassy, bringing Japanese and French production and screening them here in Abuja. Animation in France occupies a lot of people and in Japan it is a trademark.
“So, you see how important it has become even for the image of modernity and of creativity of a country and at the same time it is a business.
“It brings in money and there is a new market to occupy in Nigeria; that is why we want to make it more visible and cooperate to develop that segment in Nigeria.”
He also added that the country’s history and culture could be promoted through the art of animated movies.
Earlier, Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria Sadanobu Kusaoke said that “the animated film festival is a good starter” of cultural cooperation between both countries.
Kusaoke further said the three countries could share experience they had in the movie industry.
“I hope this (the festival) can start a trilateral exchange in animated film and creation among Nigeria, France and Japan.
“I am sure there is much we can learn from Nollywood’s and Nigeria’s filmmaking,” he said.
This second edition of the Animated film festival will close on Nov. 5 and will show French, Japanese and Nigerian animated films.
The festival will include some short film screenings and a panel discussion in partnership with some Nigerian animation studios based in Abuja.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, said this on the sideline of the second edition of the Animated Film Festival organised by the Japanese and French Embassies in Abuja on Wednesday.
Mohammed told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that government was set to partner with japan and France to build the capacity of the country’s movie industry.
“What we have seen here is another genre of movie making and I am sure we will be able to partner with both Japanese and French embassies in the capacity we are building for our movie industry.
“We agreed to work together because the Japanese are developing this animation industry quite tremendously and they promised to partner with us again in capacity building.
“With technology in the movie industry, the potentials are limitless,” he said.
French Ambassador to Nigeria Denys Guaer explained that animated films had become an important part of the movie industry globally, adding that it created jobs and promoted the images of countries.
Gauer said cooperating with Nigeria in that sector would give more visibility to animated films in the country, which he noted, “has still not been developed”.
“Animated film is very well developed in many parts of the world that is why we organised this festival with the Japanese Embassy, bringing Japanese and French production and screening them here in Abuja. Animation in France occupies a lot of people and in Japan it is a trademark.
“So, you see how important it has become even for the image of modernity and of creativity of a country and at the same time it is a business.
“It brings in money and there is a new market to occupy in Nigeria; that is why we want to make it more visible and cooperate to develop that segment in Nigeria.”
He also added that the country’s history and culture could be promoted through the art of animated movies.
Earlier, Japanese Ambassador to Nigeria Sadanobu Kusaoke said that “the animated film festival is a good starter” of cultural cooperation between both countries.
Kusaoke further said the three countries could share experience they had in the movie industry.
“I hope this (the festival) can start a trilateral exchange in animated film and creation among Nigeria, France and Japan.
“I am sure there is much we can learn from Nollywood’s and Nigeria’s filmmaking,” he said.
This second edition of the Animated film festival will close on Nov. 5 and will show French, Japanese and Nigerian animated films.
The festival will include some short film screenings and a panel discussion in partnership with some Nigerian animation studios based in Abuja.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Video - Nigerian government trying to appease communities in the Niger Delta region
Nigeria president Muhamadu Buhari has been holding talks to end the troubles in the country's oil-rich Niger Delta. He's met leaders from the region at his Presidential villa in Abuja. They've set 16 separate demands for peace. Buhari has asked for more time.
Video - Military claims dozens of civilians rescued from Boko Haram
Nigeria's army says it's rescued at least 36 women and children from Boko Haram militants. The rescues took place in the North-eastern Borno State. The rescues are part of the army's efforts to clear the militants along the border between Nigeria and Niger. The army says six members of Boko Haram have been killed in the operation. Several others escaped with gunshot wounds. The insurgents also reportedly left behind items like motorcycles and flags. It's not clear where the rescued women and children have been taken at this stage.
Militants blow up oil pipeline in Nigeria
Suspected militants have bombed a state-run oil pipeline near the southern Nigerian oil hub of Warri in the latest blow to the industry, a security source and community leader said Wednesday.
The Trans Forcados export line was attacked late Tuesday, they said, just hours after President Muhammadu Buhari met with representatives of militant groups in the oil-rich Niger delta to discuss how to end the unrest plaguing the region.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack.
“The attack was carried out with the aid of dynamite and it is coming less than 48 hours after the resumption of operations at the flow station,” a security official, who declined to be named, told AFP.
The pipeline was attacked in July and had only resumed operation at the weekend following repairs.
Dickson Ogugu, chairman of Batan community where the pipeline is based, confirmed the incident, saying a surveillance team had identified the site of the attack.
“The entire river is flooded with contents from the damaged trunkline and we are at the receiving end.”
The line is operated by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and receives crude from Batan near Warri.
Since February, several militant groups have attacked oil facilities, slashing the nation’s output and hammering revenues.
The groups claim to be seeking a fairer share of Nigeria’s multi-billion-dollar oil wealth for residents of the region — as well as greater political autonomy.
Following peace talks in Abuja chaired Tuesday by the president, junior oil minister Emmanuel Kachikwu said the country’s oil production was returning to normal.
“The reality is that as of today and this morning, we are at 2.1 million barrels production. That’s substantial,” he said, adding that efforts to secure peace were succeeding.
Nigeria normally produces around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), but output dropped to a low of 1.4 bpd this year due to rebel attacks.
The Trans Forcados export line was attacked late Tuesday, they said, just hours after President Muhammadu Buhari met with representatives of militant groups in the oil-rich Niger delta to discuss how to end the unrest plaguing the region.
No group has yet claimed responsibility for Tuesday’s attack.
“The attack was carried out with the aid of dynamite and it is coming less than 48 hours after the resumption of operations at the flow station,” a security official, who declined to be named, told AFP.
The pipeline was attacked in July and had only resumed operation at the weekend following repairs.
Dickson Ogugu, chairman of Batan community where the pipeline is based, confirmed the incident, saying a surveillance team had identified the site of the attack.
“The entire river is flooded with contents from the damaged trunkline and we are at the receiving end.”
The line is operated by the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) and receives crude from Batan near Warri.
Since February, several militant groups have attacked oil facilities, slashing the nation’s output and hammering revenues.
The groups claim to be seeking a fairer share of Nigeria’s multi-billion-dollar oil wealth for residents of the region — as well as greater political autonomy.
Following peace talks in Abuja chaired Tuesday by the president, junior oil minister Emmanuel Kachikwu said the country’s oil production was returning to normal.
“The reality is that as of today and this morning, we are at 2.1 million barrels production. That’s substantial,” he said, adding that efforts to secure peace were succeeding.
Nigeria normally produces around 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd), but output dropped to a low of 1.4 bpd this year due to rebel attacks.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Video - Real estate developers continue to build despite recession
Despite a nasty recession, some property developers in Nigeria are pushing ahead to build even more. One developer in Abuja is doubling down on investments in a sector that has seen an unprecedented slowdown after decades of rapid growth.
Officials raping Boko Haram refugees according to Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Nigerian officials of sexually exploiting women and girls living in camps for victims of Boko Haram in the war-torn northeast.
HRW said in a report published on Monday that it documented 43 cases of women and girls in seven internally displaced persons' camps in Maiduguri, the epicentre of a seven-year battle with Boko Haram, who had been abused by camp leaders, policemen and soldiers.
"It is bad enough that these women and girls are not getting much-needed support for the horrific trauma they suffered at the hands of Boko Haram," said Mausi Segun, senior Nigeria researcher at HRW.
"It is disgraceful and outrageous that people who should protect these women and girls are attacking and abusing them," she added.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement that he was "worried and shocked" by the report and directed police to "immediately commence investigations into the issue".
"The welfare of these most vulnerable of Nigerian citizens has been a priority of his government," presidency spokesman Garba Shehu said, adding that the allegations raised by the HRW "are not being taken lightly".
Four of the victims told HRW they were drugged and raped, while 37 were coerced into sex through false marriage promises and material and financial assistance.
"Many of those coerced into sex said they were abandoned if they became pregnant. They and their children have suffered discrimination, abuse, and stigmatisation from other camp residents," the global rights body said.
HRW spoke to one 17-year-old girl who was raped and made pregnant by a policeman.
"One day he demanded to have sex with me," she said. "I refused but he forced me. It happened just that one time, but soon I realised I was pregnant.
"When I informed him about my condition, he threatened to shoot and kill me if I told anyone else. So I was too afraid to report him."
HRW said irregular supplies of food, clothing, medicine and other essentials in camps were making the women vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
"In some cases, men used their positions of authority and gifts of desperately needed food or other items to have sex with women," it said.
Boko Haram has devastated northeast Nigeria, killing more than 20,000 people and displacing 2.6 million from their homes. Since taking up arms against the Nigerian government in 2009, the group has also disrupted trade routes and farms.
Now, nearly 50,000 children face death by starvation if they don't get food and almost 250,000 more are severely malnourished in Borno state, according to UNICEF.
HRW said in a report published on Monday that it documented 43 cases of women and girls in seven internally displaced persons' camps in Maiduguri, the epicentre of a seven-year battle with Boko Haram, who had been abused by camp leaders, policemen and soldiers.
"It is bad enough that these women and girls are not getting much-needed support for the horrific trauma they suffered at the hands of Boko Haram," said Mausi Segun, senior Nigeria researcher at HRW.
"It is disgraceful and outrageous that people who should protect these women and girls are attacking and abusing them," she added.
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement that he was "worried and shocked" by the report and directed police to "immediately commence investigations into the issue".
"The welfare of these most vulnerable of Nigerian citizens has been a priority of his government," presidency spokesman Garba Shehu said, adding that the allegations raised by the HRW "are not being taken lightly".
Four of the victims told HRW they were drugged and raped, while 37 were coerced into sex through false marriage promises and material and financial assistance.
"Many of those coerced into sex said they were abandoned if they became pregnant. They and their children have suffered discrimination, abuse, and stigmatisation from other camp residents," the global rights body said.
HRW spoke to one 17-year-old girl who was raped and made pregnant by a policeman.
"One day he demanded to have sex with me," she said. "I refused but he forced me. It happened just that one time, but soon I realised I was pregnant.
"When I informed him about my condition, he threatened to shoot and kill me if I told anyone else. So I was too afraid to report him."
HRW said irregular supplies of food, clothing, medicine and other essentials in camps were making the women vulnerable to abuse and exploitation.
"In some cases, men used their positions of authority and gifts of desperately needed food or other items to have sex with women," it said.
Boko Haram has devastated northeast Nigeria, killing more than 20,000 people and displacing 2.6 million from their homes. Since taking up arms against the Nigerian government in 2009, the group has also disrupted trade routes and farms.
Now, nearly 50,000 children face death by starvation if they don't get food and almost 250,000 more are severely malnourished in Borno state, according to UNICEF.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Video - Nigerian labour unions protest sacking of oil workers by foreign operators
Labor union officials in Nigeria are calling on the government to file a protest with foreign oil operators who they say have sacked about 3,000 oil workers. President of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Igwe Achese says the government has 21-days to order multinationals to stop the exercise. The unions are threatening to down tools unless the matter is resolved within the period.
Nigeria to spend $10bn in ending conflict in Nigeria Delta
Nigeria will invest $10bn (Ј8bn) in its oil-rich south to end an insurgency by militants, the oil minister has said.
The money would be used to build infrastructure, including roads and railways, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said.
Militant attacks have severely disrupted oil production, fuelling a recession in the West African state.
The militants have been demanding that the government spend more of its oil wealth on tackling widespread poverty in a region, known as the Niger Delta.
They also accuse multinational firms of polluting the environment, destroying the livelihoods of farming and fishing communities.
Mr Kachikwu said that President Muhammadu Buhari would meet the militants and community leaders next week.
"Our target is to ensure zero militancy in the area," he said.
"This planned meeting shows the level of interest the president has to ensure peace in the area."
The $10bn would "not necessarily" come from the federal government, but from "oil companies, investors, individuals", he is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
A new militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), emerged after President Buhari, a northerner, took office last year after winning elections.
It has carried out a spate of attacks on oil plants and pipelines, causing a sharp fall in oil production and worsening the financial crisis in Africa's most populous state.
Mr Buhari's predecessor Goodluck Jonathan came from the Niger Delta, and managed to broker a peace deal with militants in the region.
The militants accuse Mr Buhari of reneging on the deal, an allegation he denies.
Oil is the Nigerian government's main source of income.
The money would be used to build infrastructure, including roads and railways, Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu said.
Militant attacks have severely disrupted oil production, fuelling a recession in the West African state.
The militants have been demanding that the government spend more of its oil wealth on tackling widespread poverty in a region, known as the Niger Delta.
They also accuse multinational firms of polluting the environment, destroying the livelihoods of farming and fishing communities.
Mr Kachikwu said that President Muhammadu Buhari would meet the militants and community leaders next week.
"Our target is to ensure zero militancy in the area," he said.
"This planned meeting shows the level of interest the president has to ensure peace in the area."
The $10bn would "not necessarily" come from the federal government, but from "oil companies, investors, individuals", he is quoted by Reuters news agency as saying.
A new militant group, the Niger Delta Avengers (NDA), emerged after President Buhari, a northerner, took office last year after winning elections.
It has carried out a spate of attacks on oil plants and pipelines, causing a sharp fall in oil production and worsening the financial crisis in Africa's most populous state.
Mr Buhari's predecessor Goodluck Jonathan came from the Niger Delta, and managed to broker a peace deal with militants in the region.
The militants accuse Mr Buhari of reneging on the deal, an allegation he denies.
Oil is the Nigerian government's main source of income.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Video - Nigeria is adopting policy interventions to address maternal and child health
Nigeria - Africa's most populous nations, with nearly 180 million people -- is adopting policy interventions to address maternal, new-born and child health.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
Video - Warning sounded over fate of Nigeria's Hausa language
Language experts in Nigeria warn that one of Africa's leading languages is losing its creativity.
Every week, dozens of books are published in Hausa but many Nigerians complain that they are not well researched and that it is difficult to find classical writing.
Video - Young Nigerian advocates for the 'Buy Made in Nigeria' campaign
A young Nigerian is taking the fashion industry in that country by storm. Adebayo Bankole Thomas only started out in the fashion business just three years ago after earning a degree in Economics. Today, his Bankole Thomas brand is one of the positive stories propelling the Buy Made in Nigeria campaign, aimed at getting Nigerians patronize locally made products more.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Video - Kingdom of Benin crowns new monarch in age-old ceremony
In Nigeria, around 100,000 people have gathered to celebrate one of Africa's oldest and most prestigious realms. The Kingdom of Benin dates back to the 13th century and is famous for its vast wealth, sophisticated urban design and intricate bronzes. And this week the kingdom crowned its new Oba, or king, Ewuare the second.
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