Africa

Nigeria: Nigeria’s former ICT Minister, Omobola Johnson Joins World Wide Web Foundation board
Africa, News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Nigeria’s former ICT Minister, Omobola Johnson Joins World Wide Web Foundation board

After a 3-year tenure as an Honorary Chairperson of the Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) where she provided guidance and advocacy to help drive down internet costs, Dr. Omobola Johnson is joining the Web Wide Web Foundation as a board member. The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) — a global coalition, led by the Web Foundation, working to make broadband affordable for all. While the World Wide Web Foundation was founded in 2009 by Sir Tim Berners-Lee to ‘advance the open web as a public good and a basic right.’ A part of an official statement by the A4AI reads: “As the second Honorary Chair of A4AI — a role she assumed on September 1, 2015 — Omobola has provided invaluable policy guidance and has led high-level advocacy efforts to drive down the cost of internet. In t...
Nigeria: Presidency Describes Punch Newspapers as “Disrespectful of the President and His Office”
Fulani Herdsmen, Human Rights, News, Nigeria, Security, Terrorism

Nigeria: Presidency Describes Punch Newspapers as “Disrespectful of the President and His Office”

The Presidency has described the Punch Newspapers as "disrespectful of the President and his office". This was in response to an editorial published by the Punch Newspapers on the 4th of September. In the editorial, the paper had accused President Buhari of being indifferent to the killings by the herdsmen. Responding to this editorial, Malam Garba Shehu, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and publicity said "We reject the September 4th, 2018, editorial of the media house which alleged that President Buhari had sympathy for criminality perpetuated by a misguided group. "The editorial was not only disrespectful of the President and his office, but was also reckless, thoughtless, inflammatory and totally irresponsible. "It is steadily becoming clear from the views, n...
Nigeria: Boko Haram Strikes Again, Hijacks Bus with about 20 Passengers
Boko Haram, News, Nigeria, Security, Terrorism

Nigeria: Boko Haram Strikes Again, Hijacks Bus with about 20 Passengers

About 20 people have been abducted by Boko Haram terrorists when their bus was hijacked at Maiduguri, Borno State on Wednesday. According to reports, the hijacked bus had about 20 persons on board. There has been no official statement on the incident but local residents have confirmed it. One of the residents who confirmed the incident reported that his uncle was among those abducted. He said the abducted passengers were a mix of men and women. Source Punchng
Wedding Ends as Mother-In Law and Bride Fight Over Food on Wedding Day
Lifestyle, Nigeria

Wedding Ends as Mother-In Law and Bride Fight Over Food on Wedding Day

Wonders they say shall never end. What should have been a happy and joyous celebration ended in fisticuffs as a mother-in law and her daughter-in law to be exchanged slaps and blows on the wedding day. This sad but interesting story was shared on Twitter by a user with the handle @seehausaboy. Enjoy his story: "I asked a colleague how her weekend went and she said she went for a wedding in Lagos and something dramatic happened Guys! I can’t laugh alone Issa Thread "My colleague is a friend to the groom and as such, had to represent. They worked back in day as bankers in one of the top generation Banks. There was lotsa food and drinks, DJ was on point, everything was going on smoothly. "But then again, both the groom and the bride cooked separately to ensure the meal gets to all...
Biafra: Security Operatives Call on Nigerians to Ignore IPOB’s Sept. 14th Sit-at-Home Protest
Biafra, Human Rights, Justice, News, Nigeria, Security

Biafra: Security Operatives Call on Nigerians to Ignore IPOB’s Sept. 14th Sit-at-Home Protest

Following a high-powered meeting of Nigerian security operatives, South-easterners have been directed to ignore the sit-at-home directive issued by IPOB. They are advised to go about their normal business, assuring them of their safety. IPOB had earlier issued a directive, calling for a sit-at-home on the 14th of September to protest the mass killings of innocent easterners during the Operation Python Dance 2. Issuing the directive, IPOB's publicity secretary, Emma Powerful said "at a time when we are still burying those Operation Python Dance 2 killed and dumped in mass graves across Biafraland in September 2017, here we are today with Nigeria military once again poised to invade the South East, to slaughter the weak and innocent in their annual genocidal ritual in the name of yet a...
Opinion: Chris Ngige Fights for Oppressive Multinational ExxonMobil Instead of Oppressed Nigerians Workers Femi Aribisala.
Economy, Justice, News, Nigeria

Opinion: Chris Ngige Fights for Oppressive Multinational ExxonMobil Instead of Oppressed Nigerians Workers Femi Aribisala.

The message Chris Ngige delivered to ExxonMobil loud and clear is that it does not have to be subject to Nigerian laws. It can operate here in Nigeria as a law unto itself. Last week, I complained that 860 Nigerian workers at ExxonMobil (Nigeria) are being treated like orphans in Nigeria; their home-country. They have fought this injustice with fortitude and resilience in the courts for 18 long years, during which 171 of them have died along the way (one more since last week). In court, ExxonMobil denied that the workers are its employees. It claimed instead that they are “SPY Police” in the attempt to circumvent its lawful commitments to them. The Nigerian workers, on the other hand, maintained they are directly employed by ExxonMobil and, therefore, should be treated as ExxonMobil ...
Biafra: IPOB Blames, Ohaneze, South-east Governors for Operation Python Dance 3
Biafra, Human Rights, Justice, News, Nigeria, Security

Biafra: IPOB Blames, Ohaneze, South-east Governors for Operation Python Dance 3

The Indeginous People of Biafra (IPOB) has declared Ohaneze Ndigbo and the South-East Governors complicit in the recently announced Operation Python Dance 3 by the Nigerian Army. Speaking on behalf of IPOB, its publicity secretary, Emma Powerful wondered why the governors and Ohaneze Ndigbo have kept silent on the issue of the operation the army again plans to carry out in the South-East. The group had earlier given a directive for a sit-at-home protest on September 14th 2018 to protest the alleged mass killings of innocent easterner by the Nigerian army. He added that, despite the fact that they were still burying their dead from the last operation, they were once again faced with yet another Operation Python Dance meant to kill more innocent and defenceless easterners. He sai...
Opinion: Removing Buhari Alone Will Not Solve All Our Problems – Fani-Kayode
News, Nigeria

Opinion: Removing Buhari Alone Will Not Solve All Our Problems – Fani-Kayode

Election fever has gripped our country and many want to be President. Some are serious contenders whilst others are not. Yet the truth is that our problems cannot be solved simply by a Presidential  election. It is a good start but it is not a cure all. We need to do far more than just electing a new President if we want lasting peace, if we want to flourish as a people and if we want to grow as a nation. Anyone that believes that removing Buhari alone will solve all our problems is naive and shortsighted. We need to go much further than that. The reality is that the problems of Nigeria can only be solved by having a credible and all-encompassing referendum and ensuring that our so-called federation is properly and thoroughly restructured. Anything short of that means we are simpl...
Opinion: Why Nigeria Under Buhari is World Headquarters for Extreme Poverty – Reno  Omokri
News, Nigeria

Opinion: Why Nigeria Under Buhari is World Headquarters for Extreme Poverty – Reno Omokri

On Wednesday the 29th of August, 2018, British Prime Minister, Theresa May, visited Nigeria with a plane full of business people to help Britain make money in Nigeria. So meticulously choreographed was her visit, that she came with businessmen and women that sold or manufactured every item you could imagine from air fresheners to Scotch whiskey. Mrs May, who I met twice last year, demonstrated the main thrust of her visit by travelling with David Schwimmer, the Chief Executive of the London Stock Exchange. Her entourage to Nigeria was chockfull of business and industry folk and very lean on civil servants and politicians. In fact, only two members of her cabinet joined her on her African trip. If there was any spare space on the Royal Airforce Jet that flew her to Africa, that space ...
Nigeria: Saraki Declares Intention to Run for President
News, Nigeria

Nigeria: Saraki Declares Intention to Run for President

Amidst the political upheaval with himself and his former party the APC, the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki has declared his intention to run for President. In a simple announcement shared on social media, Saraki said "I have decided to answer the call of teeming youth who have asked me to run for President. Accordingly, I hereby announce my intention to run for the office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria." In his speech, he asked "if we look around today, what do we see? What is the condition of our citizens? Where are we as a nation? How are we perceived locally and internationally? Why are we not making the expected progress? Why are we not growing? There's no time to waste." He noted that this was the time to bring about growth. He also reminded Nigerians that ...