BBC launches services in Igbo and Yoruba

Two new language services have been launched by the BBC World Service for Igbo and Yoruba speakers in Nigeria and West and Central Africa.

Their digital content is mainly aimed at audiences who use mobile phones.

Igbo is primarily spoken in south-east Nigeria and Yoruba in the south-west, as well as in Benin and Togo.

The new services are part of the World Service's biggest expansion since the 1940s, following a government-funding boost announced in 2016.

In total, 12 services are being launched by the BBC in Africa and Asia.

Igbo - seven things

. Best-known Igbo speaker was Chinua Achebe, regarded as the founding father of African literature

. Estimated to have more than 30 million speakers, mainly in south-eastern Nigeria

. A word with the same spelling can have different meanings, for example "akwa" is bed, egg, cloth or burial rights - depending on its tone

. An Igbo secessionist movement sparked a brutal civil war in 1967

. The caffeine-rich kola nut is all important in Igbo culture - always offered to welcome guests

. A famous proverb: "Onye wetara ọjị, wetara ndụ" meaning: "He who brings kola, brings life"

. bbc.com/igbo is also on Facebook and Instagram

The BBC's expansion in Nigeria - Africa's most populous country where more than 200 languages are spoken - began last year with BBC Pidgin, which targets those who use the regional English-based lingua franca.

It is primarily an oral language, without a standard agreed written form.

The BBC Igbo and Yoruba teams have also faced challenges to standardise their written languages for modern audiences - and have sought advice from academics.

"Yoruba can be very confusing for younger readers because it has so many inflections, so we using a less complex system to appeal to them," says Yoruba service editor Temidayo Olofinsawo.

Yoruba - seven things

. Best-known Yoruba speaker is Wole Soyinka, Nobel Prize-winning playwright and poet

. More than 40 million speakers, mainly in south-western Nigeria

. A word with the same spelling can have different meanings, for example "owo" is money, honour, hand or broom - depending on the tone

. More people practise the traditional Yoruba religion in South America and the Caribbean than in 

. Nigeria - as a result of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

. A thriving Yoruba film and music industry powers Nollywood

. A famous proverb: "Ile laawo k'a to s'ọmọ lorukọ" meaning: "You should name your child to reflect your family background".

. bbc.com/yoruba is also on Facebook and Instagram

There are very few news publications in Igbo and Yoruba in Nigeria, so it is hoped the new BBC services will be popular with Nigerians at home - and in the diaspora.

"This is the first time the Igbo language will be written and broadcast for international consumption," says Adline Okere, editor of the Igbo service.

"Igbos are known for their entrepreneurial spirit - and they are spread all over the world," she says.
What is on offer?

The teams will produce a twice daily bulletin of BBC Minute - an audio round-up of stories as well as news, analysis, explainers and features on the web and social media.

The BBC's head of West Africa, Oluwatoyosi Ogunseye, says the focus will be on original journalism.

"Delivering content and engaging with the Igbo and Yoruba audiences in their mother tongues is authentic, exciting and refreshing," she says.

"We have had BBC Hausa [mainly spoken in northern Nigeria] for decades and we've seen the impact it had with its audience.

"When we look at Nigeria we have a multicultural society and the BBC felt that it was very important to give all the cultures a platform to communicate, a platform to interact."

BBC

Nigerian court frees 475 Boko Haram suspects

When mechanics Taye and Kehinde Hamza agreed to service a vehicle at their workshop in Nigeria's Bauchi State in 2010, they could never have imagined the years of hell which would follow.

The car, it turned out, belonged to a Boko Haram fighter, and the job was enough to get the twins arrested.

It would be another eight years until they were free again, cleared along with 473 others of terrorism charges.

Theirs is one tale among many emerging from a mass trial currently under way.

Four judges have been hearing cases since last Monday in the town of Kainji, in the central Niger State. So far, those released for lack of evidence far outweigh those convicted of being members of Islamist militant group Boko Haram.

Married to a militant at 11

Among those cleared of all charges last week were children and the elderly. Some, like the Hamza twins, had been detained since 2010.

Mariam Mohammed, a Shua Arab from Borno State, was caught by soldiers as she tried to flee the Sambisa Forest - Boko Haram's base - back in 2014.

She had been lured into the forest and married off to a fighter at the age of 11, an official statement from the Nigerian Justice Ministry said.

Last week, she turned up in court cradling a three-month-old baby.

The long term impact of their imprisonment is not yet known. According to the Justice Ministry, some are suffering from mental illnesses - although whether the conditions existed before their arrests was unclear.

At a previous mass trial, held in October, more than 400 suspects were released, with just 45 jailed for their roles in the Boko Haram insurgency which has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced millions of others.

Chibok 'mastermind'

Justice Minister Abubakar Malami told the BBC that the released suspects would be rehabilitated before being allowed to return to their families.

But while these judges are making headway into the backlog of people awaiting trial, there are still another 5,000 people are still waiting for their own dates to be set.

The judges have found 205 people guilty of terror-related offences - including the "mastermind" behind the abduction of the Chibok girls.

Judges had originally found Haruna Yahaya, 35, guilty of taking part in the 2014 kidnapping - despite his arguments he was an unwilling participant. On Friday, they handed him an additional sentence for planning the mass kidnapping.

In total, he was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

But while convictions like this offer the hope of justice for Boko Haram's many victims, campaign group Amnesty International has questioned the method of the trial.

"Mass trials of this nature provide insufficient guarantees for fair trial and risk failing to realize justice," Amnesty's Nigeria's director, Osai Ojigho, said.

"This is particularly so in this case, given that Amnesty International has previously documented how the security forces routinely rounded up and detained hundreds of young men as 'Boko Haram suspects' with no evidence."

The Nigerian authorities always insist that the suspects are being given fair hearing at the trials with lawyers provided to defend them through the Nigeria Legal Aid Council, according to the Justice Ministry.

BBC

Video - Man involved in 2014 Chibok kidnappings in Nigeria jailed for 15 years

A senior member of Boko Haram has been convicted in connection with the abduction of hundreds of girls from Chibok. The young women were kidnapped back in 2014 and many are still missing.

Video - Nigerians closely watching political events in South Africa

People around the world but especially in Africa are watching the political developments in South Africa closely. One of the country's biggest allies is Nigeria. And the two economies are the strongest in Africa.

Video - Nigerian visual artist wins international acclaim

Nigerian artist, Laolu Senbanjo, has won international acclaim by turning the human body into a canvas. Just a few years ago, he was working as a lawyer but he can now add music star Beyoncé to a list of people who have commissioned his work. Now he's set to open his first major exhibition in New York.

Video - Nigeria's US$1 billion Ogoniland clean-up project grinds to a halt

More than a year after the Nigerian government launched a billion-dollar Ogoniland clean-up project, the region remains severely polluted. It turns out the initial clean-up activities didn't last long, reportedly due to a lack of funds.

Mass trial of hundreds of Boko Haram suspects resumes

Hundreds of people suspected of links to Boko Haram stood trial in a detention center in central Nigeria on Monday in a resumption of the country’s biggest legal investigation of the militant Islamist insurgency, authorities said.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and two million forced to flee their homes in northeastern Nigeria since Boko Haram began an insurgency in 2009 aimed at creating an Islamic state.

The justice ministry said the suspects appeared in open court, after rights groups criticized earlier hearings in which more than 1,000 people stood trial in secret.

On Monday four judges presided over the trial of another several hundred people accused of links to the group, the justice ministry said.

“Unlike the first phase which was restricted, this phase is opened with some civil society groups, including human rights organizations and journalists invited to witness the proceedings,” the ministry added in a statement.

There were no immediate reports from journalists or rights activists said by the ministry to have been invited to attend.

Kainji detention facility is about eight hours’ drive from Minna, the main town in Nigeria’s Niger state, itself about three hours’ drive from the capital Abuja, along roads often plagued by kidnapping gangs.

In October, the ministry of justice said 45 suspects suspected of Boko Haram links had been convicted and jailed. A further 468 suspects were discharged and 28 suspects were remanded for trial in Abuja or Minna.

The other trials were adjourned.

Reuters

Chibok schoolgirl kidnapper jailed in Nigeria

A Nigerian court has jailed a Boko Haram militant involved in the 2014 kidnapping of the Chibok girls.

Haruna Yahaya, 35, is the first member of the group to be sentenced for playing a part in the mass abduction.

The former trader, who confessed to his role in taking the 276 schoolgirls, argued he was made to act under duress.

But judges sitting at a military court in Kanji, who are hearing the cases of more than 1,000 suspected Boko Haram militants, dismissed his excuse.

They were also unmoved by his pleas for leniency on the grounds of his disability, which has left him with a paralysed arm and deformed leg, BBC News' Ishaq Khalid reports.

Justice ministry spokesman Salihu Isah confirmed to news agency AFP that Yahaya was given a 15-year jail sentence.

Yahaya, who came from Potiskum, in Yobe state, north-east Nigeria, was captured by a vigilante group called Civilian JTF in 2015 - a year after the girls were snatched from Government Girls Secondary School in Borno state.

Of the 276 girls taken in April 2014, 112 are still in captivity.

This week, some 700 of the suspected militants are due to appear before the judges in Kanji, according to sources at the court.

On Monday, 20 were found guilty of crimes associated with Boko Haram, while two were discharged for lack of evidence.

BBC

Video - U.N. seeks $1 billion for humanitarian aid in Nigeria in 2018

The United Nations says it requires more than a billion dollars to help Nigerians affected by the Boko Haram insurgency. While launching the world body's 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan, the U.N. country representative - Edward Kallon - says the initiative identifies more than 6.1 million people in need of assistance.

Video - Nigerian army celebrates victory as militants vow revenge

Nigerian government officials have told residents in the north-east of the country it's time to celebrate. They say the military has taken control of the last Boko Haram stronghold in the country -- Sambisa Forest. However, the militant group has released a video, refuting the claims and threatening more attacks.

Air plane door of Nigerian airline Dana Air falls off on runway

A Nigerian airline has blamed a passenger after one of its aircraft doors fell off shortly after landing.

The flight from Lagos to Abuja was taxiing on the runway when the emergency exit door came away.

Dana Air denied that it was caused by a mechanical fault, and said the door could not fall off "without a conscious effort by a passenger to open it".

But one passenger told the BBC that everyone on board had denied tampering with the door.

Dapo Sanwo, from Lagos, said: "The flight was noisy with vibrations from the floor panel. I noticed the emergency door latch was loose and dangling."

"When we landed and the plane was taxiing back to the park point, we heard a poof-like explosion, followed by a surge of breeze and noise. It was terrible."

"The cabin crew tried to say a passenger pulled the hatch which everyone denied. They also tried to get us to stop taking videos or pictures."

Ola Brown, who was also travelling on the flight, said on Twitter: "Did you hear [the door] rattling the whole flight? Was so unsettling. I just thought it was a screw loose, Didn't think it would actually just fall off."

In a statement, Dana Air denied there were issues with the door during the flight.

"The emergency exit door of our aircraft are plug-type backed by pressure, which ordinarily cannot fall off without tampering or a conscious effort to open by a crew member or passenger," the company said.

"When an aircraft is airborne, it is fully pressurised and there was no way the seat or door could have been shaking as insinuated."

The airline went on to say it had been inspected by engineers alongside a Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority team and "no issue was reported".

"The [return] flight was only delayed for eight minutes as we needed to demonstrate to the regulators that the safety and comfort of our guests is at the centre of our operations," the statement added.

In 2012, a Dana Air flight crashed in a busy Lagos suburb killing all 153 people on board.

Nigeria has historically had a poor air safety record. Last year, Abuja's airport airport was closed for six weeks while major repairs were carried out on its runway.

BBC

Activists embark on anti-littering awareness campaign in Abuja, Nigeria

A group of activists in Nigeria has pledged to clean up the country by encouraging people not to throw their rubbish onto the streets. The campaigners say that without proper intervention, a large population such as Nigeria's may soon not be able to cope with the build-up of trash.

Nigeria ranked in the top three global online search

A recent research conducted by Google has showed a rapid increase in online search among Nigerians. The research study which ranked Nigeria among the top three countries of the world that spend quality time online in search of various goods and services, disclosed that Nigerians' passion to go online is highest among Africa countries, surpassing South Africa and Kenya, and among top three countries globally.

Country Manager for Google Kenya, Mr. Charles Murito, who made the disclosure in South Africa, while presenting a paper on the evolution of digital advertising and the rise of online presence among African countries, said that South Africa has grown its online presence through mobile search from 61 per cent in 2014 to 67 per cent in 2017, Kenya grew its online presence through mobile search from 74 per cent in 2014 to 81 per cent in 2017, while Nigeria, which tops the African list for online presence through mobile search, grew from 76 per cent in 2014 to 86 per cent in 2017. He equally puts the growth of YouTube watch time in the past 12 months in Nigeria at 120 per cent, Kenya 110 per cent and South Africa 90 per cent.

He attributed the growth in online presence among African countries to the availability and affordability of mobile devices, occasioned by the fact that Africans are majorly mobile dependent people.

However, he said that the number could grow faster than that if the cost of mobile broadband data is drastically reduced. He said South Africa still have the highest rate of mobile broadband data in Africa, which is put at $7.6 per gigabyte, followed by Kenya at $4.9 per gigabyte and Nigeria at $3.1 gigabyte. He said Tanzania and Ghana operate at $2.3 per gigabyte each, while Egypt has the lowest rate of mobile broadband data at $1.2 per gigabyte.

This Day

Nigeria Super Eagles World Cup kit revealed

Sports manufacturers Nike have revealed the new Nigeria kits ahead of the Super Eagles' World Cup campaign.

Nike Football shared a video on their official YouTube channel which reveals several of the national team's key men catching a first glimpse of the team's new attire.

In the 1 minute 20 second clip, Wilfred Ndidi, John Obi Mikel, Alex Iwobi and Kelechi Iheanacho are shown giving their verdict on what is a dazzling offering from Nike.

"I can see the players going crazy over this one," Mikel said when he was shown the national side's home shirt, in Nigeria's famous dark green with an eye-catching neon logo.

The away kit, a neon and white retro design on the body, and dark green chevrons on a white background on the arms, received a more muted response.

"This is different, you know," Iwobi added, somewhat diplomatically, while Ndidi was a little more enthusiastic, claiming he just "couldn't wait" to get the kit on in Russia this summer.

Despite the mixed reaction, the kit's similarity to the iconic shirts worn by the nation's Golden Generation in their maiden World Cup campaign in the United States in 1994 should earn it major points for nostalgia among Super Eagles supporters.

"A constant in Nigeria is an endearing love of football," NFF President Amaju Pinnick, told Nike's official website. "When football is on, everything stops. The new Nike kit designs honour our federation's rich traditions. Moreover, they celebrate everything we relish about our culture."

"With Nigeria, we wanted to tap into the attitude of the nation," added Dan Farron, Nike Football Design Director. "We built this kit and collection based on the players' full identities.

"We started to see trends in attitude and energy connecting the athletes to music, fashion and more. They are part of a resoundingly cool culture."

According to the New Telegraph Online, Nike presented the kits to the Nigeria Football Federation at a ceremony in London on Wednesday.

Nigeria are using Nike as their kit manufacturer after having been fitted by Adidas for their last two World Cup campaigns - in 2010 and 2014.

They will wear the shirts for the first time on March 23 when they face Poland in a friendly in Warsaw.

Nigeria have been pitted against Croatia, Iceland and Argentina in World Cup Group D.

ESPN

The 'cattle colony' problem in Nigeria

Since the New Year, more than 80 people have been killed in clashes between nomadic herdsmen and farmers in Nigeria's central Benue, Taraba and Nasarawa states. Herders, mostly from the Fulani ethnic group, and farmers often clash over the use of fertile land.

For a very long time, the Nigerian government did not offer a concrete plan to solve the problem, doing little more than giving cliche political sermons, condemning the killings and issuing palliatives.

But after the latest killing spree in early January, the government announced that they have finally found a solution that would end these clashes once and for all: "cattle colonies".

"We have to deal with an urgent problem, cattle rearing and the conflicts between farmers and herdsmen, and actually bring it to a halt … Let us do our own duty by eliminating the conflict by creating cattle colonies," the government's Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh said.

The Nigerian public's initial reaction to the announcement was one of disinterest and confusion, as no one seemed to understand what a "cattle colony" was. Eventually, many communities realised that implementing this policy could lead to a disaster and outright rejected it. While to the government it might make sense to allocate land for pastures to cattle herders, to many Nigerians it doesn't.

In their rejection of the policy, some Nigerians resorted to sarcasm. "What is cattle colony? We have been colonised by the colonial masters, and now we will be colonised by cows?" quipped Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice of Taraba state Yusufu Akirikwen.

So what is the "cattle colony" policy and why are many Nigerians rejecting it?

Why is there a conflict between farmers and herders?

Competition for land is fierce in Nigeria, and originally this had nothing to do with farmers or herders. In Nigeria's south, land ownership is a sign of wealth, prosperity and power. A man's possession of land can also be a measure of his authority. This perception is strong in rural communities, and so, fights and aggression over land acquisition have become common.

Now, cattle herders have introduced a new dimension to the issue. Over the past few decades, three parallel processes have put a huge strain on Nigeria's fertile land.

First, the population of Nigeria has doubled in the past decade and a half and will double again by the year 2050; this has increased the demand for agricultural products.

Second, the expansion of urban centres to accommodate internal migration and population growth has taken up huge swaths of arable land from farmers.

Third, gradual desertification in the north, due to climate change and other factors, has rendered massive tracts of land unusable for agriculture or cattle herding; currently, 11 out of 19 states in the north are severely threatened by soil erosion.

All this has not only shrunk the amount of land available for farming and pastures but has also pushed cattle herders further south.

In the past, farmers and herders were able to manage disputes, primarily through the community justice system that employs dialogue and small peace talks in village squares.

But that inter-community conflict resolution process no longer works because grievances have increased in number and dimension. Individual resentment transformed over timeinto large-scale violence. The issue eventually assumed an ethnic dimension and has been presented as a problem between the north and the south.

It is important here to point out that land disputes happen all over the country and are not necessarily always related to cattle-herding. For instance, in July 2017, clashes between two communities over land in River state - Nigeria's oil-producing delta - left close to 150 people dead and thousands displaced.

What is the 'cattle colony' policy?

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the "cattle colony" policy is going to solve the ongoing problems between herdsmen and farmers by designating vast tracts of lands in each state as herding grounds.

Herdsmen will use these designated herding grounds, or "cattle colonies" to feed their livestock, and as a result will not feel the need to disturb the fertile agricultural lands that belong to farming communities.

Of course, the situation is not as simple as the government presents it to be. First of all, the government's proposal does not explain how it will prevent herdsmen from encroaching on farmlands as they move between "cattle colonies". Also, according to the proposal, every state retains the discretion to decline the federal government's call for land donation. In other words, local governments can simply refuse to host a "cattle colony" within their borders.

The government responded to these criticisms by saying that 16 of Nigeria's 36 states had already agreed to host cattle colonies. Yet, in Nigeria, local authorities only have limited control over farmland and indigenous populations, and in the end, local groups can simply refuse to comply with decisions taken by state governments.

 

Why will the 'cattle colony' policy not work?

Beyond these obvious reasons that are driving the rebellion against the policy, there is also another grievous problem with this policy.

In most communities in Nigeria, the land is fundamentally managed by families and communities, although the government has enacted laws to try to weaken the grip of tradition on land-related issues.

For many, land is sacred and no single person, in most customs, can sell, transfer or use lands without violating societal norms in the process. This spiritual dimension to land in Nigeria sometimes even warrants that certain rituals be involved in land transfer or acquisition. So, ceding land to any person other than a community kinsman, especially in rural communities, requires a careful, long, and relatively sacred process.

The Land Use Act of 1978 that regulates land acquisition, ownership and transfer in Nigeria has not truly replaced these customs because - like most government policies - it failed to reach rural communities in any meaningful way. Sadly, federal law in Nigeria is mostly seen as a collection of "elitist" texts that have little influence on the status-quo on the ground.

Local community leaders from some states that seemingly subscribed to this policy have already warned the state governments to "stay clear of their land". In Kogi state, a community leader, Chief Alhassan Ejike, said the governor "cannot allocate a land that doesn't belong to [him] to foreigners."

In a separate petition, Igala Project - an association of one of Nigeria's largest tribes - warned, "our people, who are largely farmers, are not prepared to host herdsmen or cattle colony masters in our land."

 

What should the government do?

The government can explore alternatives other than the "cattle colony" policy, including cattle ranching. Northern states could build ranches for herders, facilitate acquisition of cattle fodder and implement land reclamation projects for desert areas.

This would alleviate migration to the south and limit clashes. Besides, it makes more economic sense with potential job creation and other incentives for middlemen and farmers. It would also calm ethnic tensions and disputes between the south and north.

In the end, whether the government opts for cattle ranching or another solution, it should give up the "cattle colonies" idea. Nigeria's President Muhammadu Buhari pleading "I ask you in the name of God to accommodate your country men" will not convince the Nigerian people.

Al Jazeera

Cryptocurrency craze unfazed in Nigeria despite bitcoin plung

While bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have suffered precipitous falls in recent weeks, the units remain popular in Nigeria where they make it easier to do business.

On the surface, digital coins may not seem like a good idea in a country where corruption is rampant and stacks of hard cash are often smuggled overseas.

Yet West Africa's biggest economy has the world's third-largest bitcoin holdings as a percentage of gross domestic (GDP), behind Russia and New Zealand, according to Citigroup.

That may be because blockchain technology -- public, online ledgers that underpin cryptocurrencies -- is liberating Nigerians sidelined by the global financial system as it dramatically improves the ease of doing business.

Olaoluwa Samuel-Biyi, a slight 27-year-old entrepreneur, looks the part of an aspiring corporate disrupter, dressed in skinny jeans with dishevelled hair.

He first considered using cryptocurrency when credit card firms and other established payment providers refused to partner with his global remittance company, deeming the venture too risky.

"They said the markets were too high risk and that people could finance terrorism," he told AFP, laughing. "It's ridiculous."

He realised that the only way he could solve the problem was to use cryptocurrency.

"It's so hard to send money from Nigeria to Zimbabwe, or from the United States to Sudan," he explained. Banks were "very tedious" and payment companies "generally exploitative", he said.

"There's heavy discrimination, definitely. We have to go all around them to succeed."

- 'Financial inclusion' -

Samuel-Biyi's company, SureRemit, developed its own virtual token -- a kind of custom cryptocurrency like bitcoin or one of the many alternatives such as ether.

The tokens are used to buy vouchers, which may be used to purchase goods and pay bills at participating merchants anywhere in the world, cutting out cumbersome middlemen and eliminating fees.

In January, SureRemit held its "initial coin offering" (ICO), a form of online crowdfunding where people purchase the tokens to be put in circulation for use in eight countries, mostly in Africa and the Middle East.

The 500 million tokens, each worth two US cents, sold out in just two days and were snapped up by major cryptocurrency players, including South Korea's Hashed, raising $7 million for the company.

"We were expecting scam allegations," said Samuel-Biyi, referring to Nigeria's unenviable reputation for online financial fraud. "But the world really accepted it."

If the token system works, SureRemit stands to take a chunk of the world's remittance market, which was worth $429 billion in 2016, according to the World Bank.

It's hardly surprising that SureRemit was conceived in Nigeria: remittance flows that year were worth $19 billion -- more than four percent of GDP.

Sub-Saharan Africa has some of the highest remittance costs in the world, with the most expensive fees seen within the continent.

To send money from France to Mali incurs a five percent fee, a quarter of how much it costs to send from Nigeria to Mali.

Such high fees have for years forced Nigerians to find alternative, sometimes risky, ways to transfer money.

"I remember back in 2004, e-gold (a defunct digital currency) was the only option anyone in Nigeria had to make online payments," said Tim Akinbo, the founder of Tanjalo, a Nigerian exchange where people can buy bitcoin with the local naira currency.

"There are still African countries cut off from international commerce online. Bitcoin is technology that allows financial inclusion."

- Naira volatility -

The depreciation of the naira, which has sunk to 305 against the US dollar from 169 in 2015, has made cryptocurrencies even more attractive -- and the authorities are paying attention.

Nigeria's central bank governor Godwin Emefiele warned recently that "cryptocurrency or bitcoin is like a gamble", though the Senate has launched an investigation into "the viability of bitcoin as a form of investment".

Stern warnings haven't made an impact on trading, said Owenizi Odia, Nigeria spokesman for Luno, another cryptocurrency exchange operating in the country.

"I think there's an acknowledgement that this technology is the future, going beyond bricks and mortar to improve cost efficiency," added Muyiwa Oni, an analyst at Stanbic IBTC Holdings in Lagos.

"For now we're still trying to distinguish who the main players will be."

Samuel-Biyi hopes to be one of them.

"Whether or not the authorities call it gambling, Nigerians are just looking for any opportunity to get ahead of the curve," he said. "It's part of the hustle."

Sowetan

Video - Nigerian community leader fears more attacks in Macerata, Italy

A Nigerian community leader in Macerata says he fears further violence against Africans in the Italian city - despite migrants' integration into the local community.

Nigeria defeated in CHAN Final

Ayoub el Kaabi scored his ninth goal of the2018 African Nations Championship (CHAN) asMorocco became the first hosts to triumph by thrashing 10-man Nigeria 4-0 Sunday in a Casablanca downpour.

With Nigeria in disarray and the final long over as a contest, the previously little known striker completed his record-extending goal haul by firing into the net from close range.

Zakaria Hadraf put the home team ahead at Stade Mohammed V on the stroke of half-time and added the match-clinching third goal midway through the second half.

In between the first goals of the tournament for Hadraf, fellow midfielder Mohamed el Karti netted soon after Nigerian attacker Eneji Moses was red-carded following a second caution.

Before the biennial tournament kicked off last month, Achraf Bencharki from 2017 CAF Champions League winners Wydad Casablanca was the centre of attention.

His five goals were instrumental in the success of Wydad and he was expected to spearhead the Moroccan CHAN challenge.

But Bencharki was a shock absentee from the line-up for the tournament opener while lone striker El Kaabi bagged a brace in a 4-0 mauling of Mauritania.

He followed up with a hat-trick -- only the third in the history of the tournament -- against Guinea, put one past Namibia and scored twice in the semi-final victory over Libya.

His nine goals comfortably surpassed the previous record of five from Zambian Given Singuluma in the first CHAN finals nine years ago.

El Kaabi helped Racing Casablanca win promotion to the Moroccan top flight last season, then joined Renaissance Berkane, a relatively successful but low-profile elite division outfit.

After his CHAN exploits, national coach Herve Renard is likely to give the 24-year-old a chance as Morocco prepare to face Iran, Portugal and Spain at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

The destruction of Nigeria created a record winning margin for a CHAN final, bettering the three-goal victories of Tunisia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Morocco pocketed a record $1.25 million (about one million euros) having justified their pre-tournament role as favourites to win the fifth CHAN.

Sudan performed best of the four previous host nations, finishing third. Rwanda reached the quarter-finals and the Ivory Coast and South Africa exited after the first round.

Morocco also became the first champions to win five of the six matches -- defeating Mauritania, Guinea, Namibia and Libya before overwhelming Nigeria.

The only blemish was partly self-inflicted as they fielded a virtual reserve side in a goalless draw with Sudan after both nations had secured last-eight places.

El Kaabi had a goal disallowed and struck the woodwork before Hadraf sidefooted a cut-back between the legs of goalkeeper Oladele Ajiboye for a 45th-minute lead.

After Moses had been sent off, Morocco took control and Nigeria fell apart with some comical defending contributing to their downfall.

El Karti made it 2-0 just past the hour, Hadraf completed his brace three minutes later and player-of-the-tournament El Kaabi completed the rout with 73 minutes gone.

AFP

Suicide bomb attack kills 6 in Nigeria

Six people were killed and 39 others injured in a suicide attack Wednesday night in northeastern Nigeria.

A female suicide bomber infiltrated the Dalori Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) camp in the city of Maiduguri and detonated an explosive device, killing herself and five other people, Satomi Ahmad, head of the State Emergency Management Agency told reporters late on Wednesday.

Minutes after the first attack, a second bomber launched another suicide attack, which caused no casualties or any fatalities when she blew herself up into pieces, according to Satomi Ahmad.

The Boko Haram militant group has stepped up its campaign of suicide bombing using girls, usually veiled, to blow up targets in Nigeria's northeast.

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari recently said Boko Haram's wicked methods of using innocent children for suicide bomb attacks on soft targets are "the last kicks of a dying horse."

Buhari reiterated that Boko Haram had been degraded. But attacks have continued regardless of the country's military efforts.

The group has been trying since 2009 to establish an Islamic state in northeastern Nigeria. More than 15,000 people have been killed and millions displaced.

Xinhua

Nigeria beat Sudan to advance to CHAN 2018 Final

Nigeria survived a sending-off to edge past Sudan 1-0 in the semi-finals of the African Nations Championship and set up a final against hosts Morocco.

They also lost first-choice goalkeeper, captain Ikechukwu Ezenwa, to injury after just 11 minutes.

They played the last half hour with only 10 men, after Ifeanyi Ifeanyi was dismissed following a nasty challenge.

Okechukwu Gabriel got the only goal of the game.

But Nigeria had to rely on some excellent saves from replacement keeper Oladele Ajiboye and some poor finishing from Sudan, who also had a man sent off late on.

Just five minutes after Ezenwa, who has also been first-choice keeper for the full national team, was forced off, Kalu Okugbue launched a long ball forward that was headed on by Anthony Okpotu into the path of Gabriel, who guided his shot home.

One of Ajiboye's first impressive saves came on the stroke of half-time as he dived to push a header on to the post, with the Sudanese claiming the ball had crossed the line. Replays showed it had not.

Thirteen minutes after the break Nigeria were reduced to 10 men as Ifeanyi slid in with both feet on his opposite number Mohamed Hashim Idris to get his second yellow card, which means he will miss Sunday's final.

Sudan created numerous chances to score an equaliser but poor finishing let them down as Ajiboye made good saves to deny Abdelrahman Maaz and Abdellatif Boya among others.

Sudan also ended the match with 10 players as Bakri Bashir was shown a straight red card as the referee adjudged he pulled Dayo Ojo just outside the area to deny him a clear goalscoring opportunity.

The Sudanese were then denied twice in injury time as Ajiboye made another good save, then he and a defender managed to scramble the ball off the line.

Awaiting Nigeria in Sunday's final are the hosts Morocco, who earlier needed extra time to beat Libya 3-1.

The last action at the tournament for Sudan will be the third-placed play-off against Libya on Saturday in Marrakech.

BBC

Video - Nigeria advance to CHAN 2018 semi-finals

Nigeria and Libya have sailed into the semi-finals of the African nations championships. Nigeria beat Angola two-one while Libya downed Congo in the penalty kicks.

Lassa fever outbreak kills 21 in Nigeria

Lassa fever has claimed a total of 21 lives in its latest outbreak in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, said Director General of the Nigeria Center for Disease Control Chikwe Ihekweazu.

A total of 77 confirmed cases have so far been recorded since the disease, which affected 10 health workers, broke out, the official said Tuesday in Abuja.

He described the situation as sober, adding that it had resulted in serious emotional trauma, fear, anxiety and sometimes anger among stakeholders.

Ihekweazu said it was high time stakeholders came together and addressed the challenges of hemorrhagic fevers, including Lassa fever.

The national coordinator said NCDC has distributed more Ribavirin drugs used in the treatment of the disease to the affected states than it had ever done in the past.

Lassa fever is a viral infection caused by the Lassa fever virus and the disease occurs all year round but more cases are recorded during the dry season.

It is spread through direct contact with urine, faeces, saliva or blood of infected rats, eating food or drinking contaminated water.

The disease can be prevented through enhanced personal hygiene, avoidance of all contact with rats (dead or alive) and keeping the house and surrounding clean.

Xinhua

Video - Analysts recognize Buhari's efforts to fight graft in Nigeria

Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, has lived up to his election promise, the fight against corruption. Several former senior government officials, former military chiefs and serving judges are standing trial for alleged corruption.

French journalist asks acclaimed Nigerian author Adichie 'are there bookshops in Nigeria?'

When Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie was supposed to be answering questions pertaining to feminism and the #MeToo movement, the world gravitated towards her interviewer’s “retrograde” questions.

On January 25 at “La Nuit des Idees” (The Night of Ideas) in Paris, French journalist Caroline Broue asked the author of several award-winning books, including Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus and Americanah, whether her books were read in her home country of Nigeria, and if there were bookshops.


“I think it reflects very poorly on French people that you have to ask me that question … You’ll be shocked to know that they are, yes ... They are read and studied, not just in Nigeria but across the continent of Africa,” Adichie responded.

The author was then asked to speak about her country, as Broue admitted that the French know very little about Nigeria, “certainly not enough”, and when the French do speak about Nigeria “it’s about Boko Haram and the problems of violence and security”.

“I do not expect a French person to know almost everything about Nigeria. I don’t know almost everything about France. But to be asked to ‘tell French people that you have bookshops in Nigeria because they don’t know’ is to cater to a wilfully retrograde idea – that Africa is so apart, so pathologically ‘different,’ that a non-African cannot make reasonable assumptions about life there,” Adichie responded

Adichie said that she was taken aback when her “Intelligent, thoughtful and well prepared” interviewer asked a question that was “far below the intellectual register of her previous questions.”

“I know now that she was trying to be ironic ... it was a genuine, if flat, attempt at irony and I wish she would not be publicly pilloried,” Adichie said.

Mail & Guardian

Herdsmen, farmers continue fight over farmland in Nigeria

Tensions between farmers and herdsmen in Nigeria is heightening, at the center of the conflict is the shrinking grazing and farming land available. Climate change and threats of Boko Haram attacks have led to herdsmen encroaching on farming land.

Nigeria defeat Angola to advance to CHAN semis

Nigeria needed an injury-time goal and another in extra-time as they came from behind to beat Angola in the quarter-finals of the African Nations Championship (CHAN) on Sunday in Morocco.

Angola took the lead in Tangiers with a fortuitous ricochet off the chest of their forward Va as Timothy Danladi tried to clear.

In the 92nd minute Anthony Okpotu stabbed home the equaliser to make amends for the earlier chances he missed and then Okechukwu Gabriel scored the winner in the 109th minute of the match.

Nigeria now play Sudan in Wednesday's second semi-final in Marrakech at the tournament only for players in domestic leagues on the continent.

The Nigerians dominated the opening exchanges while the Angolans were happy to rely on counter-attacks and set pieces.

Indeed, their efforts almost paid dividends in the first half as Nigeria keeper and captain Ikechukwu Ezenwa had to make the more difficult saves, firstly tipping over a fierce shot from Mano and then a double stop from the same player at closer range.

Okpotu's first missed chance came on the stroke of half-time as he had an effort headed off the line by Angola's Nary after goalkeeper Landu failed to catch a cross from Ikouwem Utin.

His next chance came just after the break, when he took advantage of hesitation between Landu and a defender on the edge of the area, but his shot went wide of a gaping goal.

Angola broke the deadlock 10 minutes after half-time when Danladi's attempted clearance hit the chest of Va and looped over Ezenwa into the goal.

Nigeria must have thought luck was against them in the 76th minute but Gabriel headed against the post from Dayo Ojo's cross.

With the seconds ticking away, Nigeria sent a free kick from inside their own half into the Angolan penalty box and Rabiu Ali's flicked header fell to Okpotu who this time put away the equaliser and sent his team-mates into wild celebrations.

Just after the break in extra-time, Gabriel drove across the area, finding himself some space, and managed to cut his shot back across goal and in, to seal the win for Nigeria.

The only downside for Nigeria were three players having to leave the pitch with injuries and coach Salisu Yusuf will be hoping that Emeka Ogbugh and Kalu Orji Okugbue can all recover in time to face Sudan in the last four, while Sunday Felaye is now a doubt for the rest of the tournament with an arm injury.

BBC

Video - High unemployment level in Nigeria attributed to last year's recession

Nigeria's unemployment rate has hit its highest levels in five years. Analysts attribute the latest statistics to a struggling economy after a recession last year. It has forced many Nigerians to look at alternative ways to make a living.

Nigerian prophet arrested for drug trafficking

Zambian authorities have arrested a Nigerian pastor for allegedly trafficking 26.29 kilogram of ephedrine, a medication and stimulant drug, a spokesperson said on Thursday.

Prophet Isaac Julius Amata, 42, is known for having predicted that President Edgar Lungu will win Zambia's 2016 general elections.

He was arrested by anti-drug officers on Wednesday upon arrival at the Kenneth Kaunda International Airport in Lusaka, the country's capital, according to Drug Enforcement Commission (DEC) spokesperson Theresa Katongo.

She said the Nigerian pastor was arrested upon arrival at the airport from Nigeria aboard a South African Airways plane.

The suspect is currently in police custody and will appear in court soon, she added.

Xinhua

Di Maria blames missing Messi for loss to Nigeria

Paris Saint-Germain Argentina international Angel Di Maria has explained that the South Americans were humiliated by Nigeria in an international friendly last November because of the absence of Lionel Messi.

The former Manchester United winger revealed that the Argentina team is filled with stars and the presence of Messi makes the team tick. Without the Barcelona number ten in the squad, Nigeria recovered from a two-goal deficit to thrash Argentina 4-2, with Alex Iwobi, Kelechi Iheanacho and Brian Idowu finding the net for the three-time African champions in Krasnodar.

“I love playing with him (Messi), the best thing that can happen to a player is to play with the best and with the aliens, you value playing with him...,” said Angel Di Maria to Fox Sports Radio.

“Everybody has a good time in the clubs and in the national team when Leo is not there all of us want to assume that role, but being so used to playing with him it is difficult when he is not in.

“We all try to do our best, good first half against Nigeria and then the game got away, it got out of hand but at times we do things right.”

Angel Di Maria has faced the Super Eagles four times in his career, including the 2010 and 2014 World Cups.

Daily Trust

Video - Nigeria senate rejects new subsidies, fuel shortage report

Nigeria's Senate has rejected a freshly imposed fuel subsidy by the state owned NNPC to ease the crisis across the West African country. The Senate has also rejected a report by a committee it appointed to investigate the current fuel shortage.

Google honours Nigerian soccer legend Stephen Keshi with doodle

Google is celebrating Stephen Keshi, former captain and coach of the Super Eagles, Nigeria’s soccer national team, with a doodle on Google Nigeria on what would have been his 56th birthday.

Keshi is famous for being the one of the two people, alongside Egypt’s Mahmoud El-Gohary, to have won the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), Africa’s biggest soccer tournament, as a player and manager. Keshi first won the title in 1994 as captain of the Super Eagles and, 19 years later, won it again as manager leading a less-than-fancied Super Eagles side. He died in June 2016.

In a soccer-mad nation where the sport is a national pastime and often a unifying event, Keshi was well-loved and is fondly remembered for his decades of service to the national team. His career as a player with the Super Eagles spanned 14 years during which he made 60 appearances—the second highest ever by any player at the time of Keshi’s retirement in 1995.

In 2011, Keshi took over as a manager of the Super Eagles at a time when the national team was at a low ebb and barely living up to its reputation as one of the continent’s best teams. Indeed, the Super Eagles had not won an international title since Keshi last lifted the AFCON trophy in 1994. In 2014, Keshi further sealed his legacy with the Super Eagles at the World Cup in Brazil, matching the team’s best ever performance at the event with a round of 16 finish.

Notably, Keshi remains popular among players in Nigeria’s local soccer league. During his time with the Super Eagles, Keshi broke a ceiling of sorts by insisting on inviting promising players from the local league to the senior national team—a gutsy move given that Nigeria had several big name players at popular European soccer clubs at the time. Keshi’s team at the 2013 AFCON comprised of six home-based players. His decision eventually paid off when, in the final against Burkina Faso, Nigeria’s lone goal was scored by a home-based star.

His 19-year club career spanned five countries and four continents, including a four-year stint at Anderlecht, Belgium’s most successful club, where he won the league title in 1991. Keshi’s managerial career also saw him make history outside Nigeria as he qualified Togo for the World Cup in 2006—the country’s first ever appearance at the global event.

Quartz

Video - Boko Haram still staging deadly attacks despite Nigeria's military assurances

Nigeria's biggest threat to the its security is the Boko Haram militant group. Both government and the military claim the insurgency is over. But the group recently released a video showcasing its strength.

2 Canadians and 2 Americans rescued from kidnappers in Nigeria

Two Americans and two Canadians who were kidnapped in Nigeria's north-central Kaduna state on Tuesday have been freed and are in good condition, police said Saturday.

Police and a special anti-kidnapping squad rescued the foreigners in the Kagarko local government area Friday night after a massive manhunt, state police commissioner Agyole Abeh said.

"No ransom was paid. It was the efforts of the police through the directives of the Inspector General of Police that led to their release," he said.

One suspect was arrested in connection with the kidnapping and police were on the trail of remaining suspects, Abeh said. The foreigners have been taken to the capital, Abuja, Kaduna state police spokesman Mukhtar Aliyu said.

"They are in good condition but due to trauma they have to undergo medical observation." Aliyu said.

Gunmen ambushed the foreigners Tuesday as they traveled from Kafanchan in Kaduna state to Abuja. Two police escorts were killed in what police called a "fierce gun battle." They were ambushed in a forested area, the BBC reports.

The Americans and Canadians have not been publicly identified. Aliyu earlier said they are investors setting up solar stations in villages around Kafanchan.

Kidnapping for ransom is common in Nigeria, especially on the Kaduna to Abuja highway. Two German archaeologists were seized at gunpoint last year less than 100 kilometers northeast of Abuja and later freed unharmed. Sierra Leone's deputy high commissioner was taken at gunpoint on the highway in 2016 and held for five days before he was let go.

In October, four Britons were abducted in the Niger Delta region, the BBC reports. Three were released and one was killed.

Victims typically are released unharmed after ransom is paid, though security forces have rescued a few high-profile abductees. A number of bandits, including herdsmen, have been arrested.

KHOU

Nigerians beating bitcoin scams

Depending on your feelings about Bitcoin, it may seem appropriate that Nigeria’s love for the cryptocurrency began with a scam. Mavrodi Mondial Moneybox (MMM), a 30-year-long global Ponzi scheme that began in Russia, roped in millions of Nigerians from late 2015 to the end of 2016 with promises of 30 percent returns in as little as 30 days. When the government began to crack down on bank accounts linked to the scheme, MMM’s operators cut the banks out and started requiring victims to use Bitcoin. By the time MMM suspended its payouts, shortly before Christmas 2016, it had robbed an estimated 3 million people in Nigeria—where the per capita annual income is less than $3,000—of $50 million.

It had also convinced many of them that, the scam notwithstanding, Bitcoin was the future. “It was MMM that made Nigerians understand how Bitcoin worked,” says Lucky Uwakwe, co-founder of Blockchain Solutions Ltd., a cryptocurrency consulting firm in Lagos. Today, Nigerians are trading about $4.7 million in Bitcoin a week, Uwakwe says, up from about $300,000 per week a year ago. That’s No. 23 globally, according to researcher CryptoCompare—far below the more than $1 billion traded daily in U.S. dollars or Japanese yen, but comparable to the volume of activity in Chinese yuan or Indian rupees. “The growth has been crazy,” says David Ajala, who runs NairaEx, one of about a dozen digital currency exchanges in Nigeria. “It took us two years to get 10,000 customers. Within the last year, we’ve added 90,000.”

The scams have kept pace. Phony traders have flooded Nigeria’s cryptocurrency exchanges, messaging apps, and even the streets of Lagos and other cities, promising people fast money and disappearing once they’ve taken theirs. “A lot of people have had their fingers burned,” says Adeolu Fadele, founder of the Cryptographic Development Initiative of Nigeria, a group that aims to educate regulators and the public about digital currency.

The scams follow a pattern familiar to anyone who’s ever received a message from a supposedly beleaguered Nigerian prince: The target is asked to wire over naira, the local currency, in exchange for Bitcoin. In some cases the scammer uses the name and photo of a real dealer and creates a trading profile on a local exchange that’s good enough to pass a cursory background check, a technique known as cloning. Others will make an offer not of Bitcoin, but of “billion coin” or some other nonexistent cryptocurrency. “Everybody I know has been scammed in one way or another,” says Bashir Aminu, a digital-security expert and Bitcoin enthusiast in Lagos.

So Nigeria, unlike other Bitcoin hubs, has begun to develop informal groups of traders who take an old-school approach to verifying transactions. After several friends of Aminu’s lost thousands of dollars to scammers between them, they set up an informal exchange on the messaging app Telegram, trading among themselves. When other friends sought to join the group, Aminu would review their identification and banking documents—comparing passports and papers with the faces in front of him. Sometimes he’d even act as a trusted broker, holding a buyer’s money in escrow until the seller came through with the Bitcoin transfer. Over the past year, he says, his group has grown to almost 800 members. There are dozens of similar networks, Aminu says, with varying degrees of security procedures. Some arrange face-to-face meetings in homes, the backs of small shops, and other private places, where a buyer hands over hard cash and watches the seller make the Bitcoin transfer on a smartphone.

This sort of facilitator is essentially a digital aboki, the kind of black-market money-changer who lurks outside high-end Nigerian hotels to swap plastic sacks full of weather-beaten naira for stacks of $100 bills and euros. As these informal Bitcoin-centric networks grow and multiply, Aminu says, they’re increasingly populated by people who trade digital currency as a full-time occupation. Because of all this informal trading, the size of Nigeria’s market is probably much bigger than what the public exchanges report, says Uwakwe, the consultant.

Aminu says the occasional scammer still sneaks into his Telegram network, and he recently booted more than 100 people he deemed untrustworthy. For many, the potential profit is too good to pass up, says “Ambassador” Smart Oluwadola, a cryptocurrency peddler in Kano, a desert city in the north. In August a friend persuaded Oluwadola to ditch a job hawking health supplements for a suspiciously pyramidal Philippine “business club” and buy a couple hundred dollars’ worth of Bitcoin. Now he’s an evangelist, with thousands of dollars’ worth, a local radio ad urging others to buy Bitcoin, and a series of investing seminars at a local hotel. “If you don’t take a risk, you can’t get anything,” he says. “And if it’s going to be the future of currency, then you better start now.”

Bloomberg

Related story: Bitcoin blooming in Nigeria

Video - Nigeria's Government to review tax compliance records of all its contractors

The Nigerian government has started reviewing a tax compliance record of its contractors within all ministries and agencies. The Federal Inland Revenue Service also known as FIRS is responsible for customs and excise and says these steps are necessary to improve the country's revenues.

Nigeria to participate in five 2018 World Cup friendlies

Nigeria will play friendly internationals against Poland, Serbia, DR Congo, England and Czech Republic as preparation for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Gernot Rohr's side will face Poland on 23 March and Serbia four days later, before the home fixture against DR Congo in Abuja on 28 May.

World Cup-bound England will be Nigeria's opponents on 2 June at Wembley ahead of the final warm-up fixture against Czech Republic on 6 June.

Jairo Pachon of Eurodata Sport, Nigeria Football Federation (NFF)'s official match agent, said much planning had gone into the fixtures.

"We've worked closely with the coach and the great support of the NFF to finalise these games," Pachon told BBC Sport.

"Coach (Rohr) stressed the importance of playing teams with a similar style to their World Cup opposition and we've got two going to Russia from eastern Europe.

"The game against DR Congo in May will afford the fans, media and everyone the opportunity to see the Super Eagles play before they fly out to Europe to conclude preparations," Pachon added.

Nigeria have chosen the eastern European oppositions Poland, Serbia and Czech Republic with the hope that they will provide ideal preparation for their opening Group D game against Croatia in Russia on 16 June.

"The opening game is the most important match and we hope to prepare for it - against opponents similar to Croatia," Rohr had confirmed to the BBC.

Nigeria will then face Iceland on 22 June before finishing with Argentina four days later.

The Super Eagles will be making a sixth appearance at the World Cup tournament in Russia.

They reached the round of 16 in 1994, 1998 and 2014 but exit the 2002 and 2010 tournaments in the group stages.

Nigeria World Cup friendlies

Nigeria vs Poland (23 March in Poland)

Nigeria vs Serbia (27 March in the UK)

Nigeria vs DR Congo (28 May in Abuja)

Nigeria vs England (2 June in London)

Nigeria vs Czech Republic (6 June in Austria)

BBC

U.S. ambassador summoned by Nigeria over President Trump's 'shithole" comment

Nigeria’s government on Monday summoned a representative of the the U.S. ambassador to explain reported remarks by President Donald Trump that immigrants from Africa and Haiti come from “shithole countries”, the foreign ministry said.

Foreign Minister Geoffrey Onyeama “sought clarification on the veracity or otherwise of the substance of the remarks, stressing that if they were true, they were deeply hurtful, offensive and unacceptable”, the ministry said in a statement.

Trump reportedly made the remarks at a private meeting with lawmakers on immigration on Thursday. A U.S. senator who attended the gathering said the president used “vile, vulgar” language, including repeatedly using the word “shithole” when speaking about African countries. 

The Nigerian foreign ministry statement noted the “very warm and cordial relations that presently exist” between Nigeria and the U.S. The United States, represented by Deputy Chief of Mission David J. Young as the ambassador was not in Nigeria, said there were contradictory accounts as to whether the remarks were made, the statement said. 

In a separate statement, a U.S. embassy spokesman said Young “reiterated the excellent relations that exist between the United States and Nigeria and they discussed future cooperation between the two countries”. The U.S. president on Friday denied using such derogatory language. But he has been widely condemned in many African countries and by international rights organisations. African Union countries demanded an apology on Friday.

Standard Digital

Two Americans and two Canadians kidnapped in fatal ambush in Nigeria

Two Americans and two Canadians have been kidnapped in an ambush in Kaduna state, northern Nigeria, in the latest abduction targeting foreigners.

State police spokesman Mukhtar Aliyu said that “unknown armed men” seized the four on the road to Abuja at 7pm local time on Tuesday.

“They engaged in a fierce gun battle with the two police escorts attached to the expatriates, who unfortunately lost their lives,” he added.

No further details were given and Aliyu said “every possible means” were being employed to rescue the four abductees and arrest the kidnappers.

A spokesman for the US embassy in Abuja said he had no comment to make when contacted by AFP. There was no immediate response from the Canadian high commission.

Kidnapping has long been a problem in Nigeria’s southern states, where high-profile individuals, including the families of prominent politicians, are frequently seized. Victims are usually released after several days once a ransom is paid.

In recent years the crime has spread across the country as the economy has stalled. A crackdown on cattle rustling has been blamed for rising numbers of abductions in the north.

In October last year, an armed gang seized four British missionaries working for a medical charity in the oil-rich but impoverished state of Delta in the south. One of the hostages was killed while the three other hostages were later released.

Also in October, the Vatican said an Italian priest was kidnapped near Benin City, the capital of Edo state, which borders Delta state to the north. He was also later released.

Last February, two German archaeologists from the Goethe University in Frankfurt were kidnapped from an excavation site in Kaduna state. The site was off the main road linking the airport north of the state capital, Kaduna city, with Abuja, 137 miles away. The pair were freed after several days.

Safety on the Kaduna-Abuja road came under intense scrutiny last year when the federal government announced the closure of the capital’s only airport for essential runway repairs.

The Guardian

Video appears to show Chibok girls don't want to be rescued

Boko Haram has released another video purporting to show some of the remaining Chibok girls it's holding hostage. In the unverified footage, the more than a-dozen young women claim they don't want to return home.

Video - Nigeria has released 244 repentant Boko Haram suspects

Nigeria's Military have released 244 of what the army calls repentant Boko haram suspects who have been undergoing a de-radicalisation programme. The group was handed over to the Borno state government and would later be integrated into the society.

Niger Delta Avengers threaten to attack Nigeria's oil sector

Nigerian militant group Niger Delta Avengers said on Wednesday it planned to launch attacks on the country’s oil sector in the next few days.

The group claimed responsibility for most attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta in 2016, which cut Nigeria’s crude production from a peak of 2.2 million barrels per day to near 1 million barrels per day. That was the lowest level seen in Africa’s top oil producer in at least 30 years.

“This round of attacks will be the most deadly and will be targeting the deep sea operations of the multinationals,” it said in a statement on its website.

The group, which wants a greater share of Nigeria’s energy wealth to go to the impoverished Delta region, said its targets would include Bonga Platform, Agbami, EA Field, Brittania-U Field, Akpo Field. In November, the group said it had ended a ceasefire.

In 2016 the Niger Delta Avengers bombed the Forcados sub-sea pipeline, a strike which involved the use of divers.

Since January 2017 no substantial attacks have been carried out by any groups in the Delta, Nigeria’s southern oil production heartland.

Reuters

Bill Gates charity to pay off $76 milion of Nigeria's debt

Bill Gates’ charitable foundation has agreed to pay Nigeria’s debt to Japan so the African nation can become polio-free.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced it will shoulder the $76m debt for Africa’s largest economy, which is recoveringfrom its first recession in 20 years.

Nigeria originally took the loan in 2014 and payments are set to start this year and will be repaid over a 20-year period.

The loan was part of Overseas Development Assistance (ODA) provided by the Japanese government in 2014 for increased polio eradication efforts.

According to Quartz Africa, the Gates Foundation agreed to pay the loan on Nigeria’s behalf after the country “achiev[ed] more than 80% vaccination coverage in at least one round each year in very high risk areas across 80% of the country’s local government areas.”

Nigeria had completed a full year in 2017 without any reported polio cases.

However Paulin Basinga, Country Director Nigeria, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, told The Independent that the Gates Foundation is “pleased to repay the loan to the Government of Japan thanks to the strong leadership of the Nigerian government in polio eradication.”

However, Mr Basinga warned that though the country has not seen a polio case in over a year, there is an “ongoing risk” because the virus has not been completely eradicated.

Only six years ago, Nigeria accounted for nearly half of all polio cases so even if there are concerns it appears the country is progressing.

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The country came close to a polio-free year in 2016 - there were no reported cases between mid-2014 and August 2016 - but then the World Health Organisation reported two cases in the remote and volatile northeast of the country, a region notoriously out of reach to medical professionals.

Polio eradication is one the Gates Foundation’s steadfast priorities, having helped India eradicate the disease nearly seven years ago. It even pledged to double-match funds of other charity groups like Rotary International meaning up to $450m could be raised in order to fight the virus.

There is no cure for the disease but it has been shown to not be able to survive in animals and can only live outside of humans for two months.

The key is widespread vaccination.

The Independent

Video - Boko Haram claims new video shows some Chibok hostages

Boko Haram has released a video purportedly showing some of the remaining girls who were kidnapped from the north-eastern Nigerian town of Chibok in 2014. Around one-hundred of the 2-hundred and 70 abducted schoolgirls remain in captivity. The 21-minute video clip has yet to be verified. Let's take a look.

Video - Nigerian stock market in three year high, forex reserves hit US$40 bln

Nigeria's Central Bank says that the country's foreign reserves reached $40.4 billion as of January 5th, marking an increase of roughly $1 billion from December. [TAKE: Gfx] Successful debt sales, including multiple Eurobond offerings last year, have helped the government accrue billions of dollars in foreign reserves, although they remain far from the peak of $64 billion in August 2008. The country's stock exchange also recorded a high of 40,000 points on Tuesday, a level was last experienced in October 2014.

Video - West African countries join forces to fight Boko Haram

Three West African countries -- Cameroon, Niger and Chad -- have again teamed up with Nigeria to fight Boko Haram. The joint forces claim to have killed scores of militants and forced more than a-thousand to surrender since the regional offensive began.

Fuel scarcity continues in Nigeria

Barely a week after the fuel scarcity across Nigeria subsided in major cities, long queues of motorists have resurfaced at filling stations in Abuja, Lagos and other parts of the country.

The fuel scarcity lasted through the Christmas and New Year celebrations forcing thousands of motorists to spend hours queuing for petrol. Although things appeared to return to normal in Lagos and Abuja after the celebrations, motorists in many other states have been forced to buy petrol at prices far above the official N145 per litre.

On Thursday, officials of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, made frantic efforts to assure Nigerians all was well.

“As far as NNPC is concerned, there is a robust stock of fuel for Abuja, Lagos and other parts of the country, sufficient to serve for more than 30 days,” NNPC spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, told PREMIUM TIMES in a telephone interview.

“Our plea is for motorists not to engage in panic buying of any petroleum products. We are just watching out to see what is going on.

“All I can say is that there is enough stock of petrol in all our depots. More truck-outs from our depots are coming into Abuja,” Mr. Ughamadu added.

However, he said the NNPC was suspicious that the bulk of products sent out for distribution across the country were being diverted to states where they are being sold above the approved retail pump price of N145 per litre.

During the last fuel crisis, the NNPC Group General Manager, Maikanti Baru, alleged that over 4,500 trucks of petroleum products were diverted to unknown destinations by unnamed marketers.

Mr. Baru made the allegation when he appeared before the joint Committee on Petroleum (Downstream) of the National Assembly.

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ibe Kachikwu, also told the same committee that internal and external diversion of petroleum products was a cause of the scarcity.

He explained that the external diversion involved fuel being smuggled to neighbouring countries, while the internal involved products taken to the hinterlands and sold at almost double the approve pump price, despite ex-depot price remaining at N133.25 per litre.

One of the independent marketing firms, MATRIX Energy, also told our correspondent that the reason for the current scarcity defied explanation.

“There is sufficient fuel everywhere. Nobody knows what is causing it. There is massive loading from the depots. Even in our depot, about eight million litres of products was loaded Wednesday. Today, we have about 31 million litres. We are doing 24 hours loading of products,” Aliu Adisa, Chief Executive of the company said in a telephone interview late Thursday night.

Although the NNPC advised motorists to report to the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, any marketer found either hoarding petrol or selling above the official price, PREMIUM TIMES reporters in many states of the federation found the price of the commodity remains high, just as the scarcity persists.

NORTH CENTRAL

In Jos, the scarcity has created the environment for petty fuel hawkers to thrive on the roadsides.

‎Long queues, which had been a common feature in most filling stations since late last year In Plateau State, has remained.

On Thursday, only Albabatou Oil filling station on Bukuru Express-way, along Nasco Foods Limited, sold fuel in Jos. The other stations stopped business shortly before noon.

The NNPC mega filling station along Secretariat Roundabout/Dogon Kerfe Road, Jos, was the only station selling at government approved pump price of N145 per litre.

But, only vehicles belonging to security agencies and those bearing government registered number plates received preference in service.

Other members of the public were forced to join long queues stretching up to three kilometres.

Most filling stations, from Mararaban Jama’ar roundabout, to Plateau State Polytechnic, Jos campus, did not have or sell petrol.

The stations included two belonging to Total at Jeney, two NNPC mega stations, Mobil, Tayan, Dipdat, Rito, Oando and Bok.

The only independent petroleum marketer, Basaco filling station, which had fuel had long queues of motorists, despite selling at N195 per litre.

In contrast, the population of roadside petrol vendors, including women, particularly at night, has continued to grow.

A four litre gallon now attracts about N1,200 with the emergency vendors, despite complaints about the quality of such fuel and the impact on engines.

Despite the obvious risks consumers face using fuel bought from the illegal sources, officials of the regulatory authorities, the DPR, were nowhere to be found in most locations visited throughout Plateau State.

Regardless, head of the DPR field office in Plateau State, Jeremiah Mashat, said the agency recently sealed one filling station in Barkin ladi Local Government Area for selling petrol above government approved pump price.

In Abuja, Total and Azman filling stations along Sultan Abubakar Way in Wuse Zone 2 did not have fuel on Thursday.

The attendants at the Total filling station, who said they just ran out of products a few hours earlier, said they were expecting another truck.

At Azman, the attendants said the station last had fuel Thursday last week.

Although Total filling station at Wuse Zone 2 junction had fuel, a long queue of anxious motorists stretched almost down to Wuse market.

The story was the same at Oando filling station at Herbert Macaulay Way, off Sudan Street. Customers impatient due to the long queues could be seen lobbying, while black marketers were offering their products to potential buyers.

None of the filling stations within Berger axis had fuel. The few that had were chocked up with unending queues causing mild grid locks on the roads. All the stations visited still fixed pump price at N145.

NORTH WEST

In Kaduna State, only few filling stations belonging to major marketers in Kaduna metropolis sold at official N145 pump price, with long queues stretching into the distance.

Although Mobil filling station along Independence Way, which opened earlier in the day closed at about noon after exhausting its stock, anxious motorists continued to wait in queues outside the station in anticipation of the next supply.

“I will rather leave my vehicle in this queue, no matter how many days it takes for the next supply to come, because this is the only filling station in Kaduna that is reliable in terms of accurate gauge and orderliness,” a motorist told our correspondent.

At Oando, another major marketer’s filling station, located at Ungwan Sarki, fuel also sold at N145 per litre, with about 50 vehicles waiting on the queue.

“I have been on this queue for more than six hours, yet only three vehicles have been ahead of mine,” one of the motorists on the queue lamented.

“It’s so frustrating. The station attendants are doing business. They collect money and sell to those who are not on queue and black marketer operators with big jerry.”

At NIPCO filling station, Kawo, a truck was seen discharging petrol into the underground tanks, the first consignment for the week.

With many of the independent marketers’ filling stations without fuel, the number of those involved in black market fuel business on the streets kept increasing. A gallon of four litres sold for between N1,500 and N1,700 on Thursday.

Other independent filling stations along Ali Akilu Road, which claimed not to have products in the day time, were selling at night at about N220 per litre.

The National Financial Secretary and former Chairman, Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, Gambo Tuge, advised the DPR to focus their monitoring on private depots, instead of filling stations.

“Many of these private depots in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Warri are the major factors that DPR should focus on. They are the ones hoarding millions of litres in their depots and not these petty filling stations that DPR is always invading.

“These depots have two accounts, they will ask for deposit of money for official price per litre in a separate account and give another account for extra money per litre they charge . So, how do you expect somebody who bought a litre at the rate of between N180-N200 to sell at official pump price?” he asked.

SOUTH WEST

In Ondo and Ekiti, most filling stations sell above N145 per litre.

In Akure, the Ondo State capital, some of the marketers still sell between N190 and N200 per litre.

Sieve Petroleum located along Oda Road had been selling at N195 per litre, whereas Mercyway Petrol sells for N200.

However, Bovas and Oando in the township sell at N145, but there were long queues.

The situation remains the same in Ekiti, where only Bovas and NNPC mega stations sell at the normal price and were attracting very long queues.

In Osun, the situation is slightly different as most of the fuel stations sell at N145.

PREMIUM TIMES, however, learnt that some fuel stations collect additional money for every 10 litres purchased.

Premium Times

Mass burial in Nigeria for 73 killed in violence between herdsmen and farmers

Seventy-three people killed since the start of the year in communal violence between semi-nomadic herdsmen and farmers were buried in Nigeria on Thursday highlighting a bloody conflict over fertile land that is taking on political significance.

The mass burial took place in Makurdi, in the central state of Benue, where thousands of mourners took to the streets to watch the funeral procession. The killings occurred in remote parts of Benue, the state worst hit by clashes that have killed at least 83 people since Dec. 31.

Thousands of herdsmen mainly from the Fulani ethnic group have moved southwards in the last few years to flee spreading desertification in the north, putting pressure on dwindling fertile land amid rapid population growth.

The spike in violence has become increasingly political ahead of elections in February 2019 with critics of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is Fulani, accusing him of failing to get tough with the herdsmen.

Feelings ran high on the streets of Makurdi where thousands of people, many clad in black, waved wreaths as coffins on lorries passed by carrying the dead who were mainly from rural communities of Benue.

Some mourners held banners featuring pictures of victims and the words: “President act now: your people are killing us”.

“Something that is disturbing that I have heard about is linking those developments to the fact that a Fulani man is president and so, he is brooking such kind of evil acts,” said the president’s spokesman, Femi Adesina, this week, adding that such violence predated Buhari’s administration.

The herdsmen are mostly Muslim and the settled farmers are often Christian.

Despite the recent outbreaks of violence, Nigerians, split roughly equally between Christians and Muslims from around 250 different ethnic groups, mostly live peacefully together.

Clashes in the last few months have occurred in parts of the northwest and southeast, but the middle belt - where differing religious, ancestral and cultural differences frequently ignite conflict - has been worst hit in the latest flashpoints.

Peter Zion,31, a member of a state government task force set up to defend farms, was recuperating in hospital after being shot and cut across his face and torso by herdsmen wielding guns and cutlasses on Jan. 2 in the state’s Guma district.

“They killed some of my colleagues and the neighbors that were there all died,” said the father-of-two whose face had been cut and whose hands and legs were heavily bandaged. He described attackers going door-to-door shooting people.

The executive secretary of the Benue emergency agency, Emmanuel Shior, on Thursday said around 80,000 people who had fled herdsmen attacks were living in four camps located across the state.

Herdsmen traditionally roam freely across West Africa, entering and leaving Nigeria through porous borders with Benin, Niger and Cameroon. They have also accused Nigerian farmers of violent attacks in the last few years.

Improving security was a key promise in Buhari’s successful 2015 presidential election campaign. The 75-year-old has not yet said whether he will seek re-election next year.


“Security of life and property continues to be top of our agenda, in line with our election pledge and promises,” said Buhari in a tweet on Thursday, which linked to a list of ways in which the government has responded to the killings.

He bolstered the police presence in Benue on Monday and ordered the head of police to relocate to the state.

The violence is likely to further stretch security forces already contending with Boko Haram’s Islamist insurgency in the northeast and the threat of attacks on oil facilities in the southern Niger Delta of the type that in 2016 helped to push Africa’s largest economy into recession.

Reuters

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