A political risk consultancy, Menas Associates, says most Malians have been proclaiming the latest coup d’état of Tuesday, August 18 in their country as a popular victory. By contrast, the coup has been universally condemned internationally and especially by the African Union (AU), Mali’s neighbouring Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United Nations and France. As the news spread, anti-government protesters poured into Bamako to cheer the mutineers and celebrate the coup. On the morning of August 18, soldiers from the Kati military base just outside Bamako detained President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta (IBK) at gunpoint at his residence…
Author: Akanimo Sampson
A pro-democracy group, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), has expressed serious concern about the political situation in two member-states of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC): Edo and Ondo According to PLAC on its website, the situation in the two oil states is worrying and ‘’raises concern over the safety of the electorate, ad hoc staff of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), election observers and other stakeholders who will be participating in the electoral process.’’ PLAC is, however, an independent, non-partisan, non-profit capacity building organisation founded in 2009 that works to strengthen democratic governance and citizens’ participation in…
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration and a leading civic group, Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC), are not on the same page on the second quarters 2020 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) estimates released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). While the Buhari administration says the data agency’s report is relatively far better than many other countries recorded during the same quarter, PLAC tends to disagree, harping that the Monday report by NBS showing a shrink in Nigeria’s GDP by 6.10% year-on-year ‘’is ominous for the economy’’. President Buhari’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in a statement in…
Worried petroleum engineers in Nigeria say they are concerned about the country’s oil and gas industry. The Nigeria Council of the Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) says it is currently focusing on the challenges facing the industry. Council Chairman, Joseph Nwakwue, an engineer, says the society is ready to offer professional services and work with all stakeholders in a bid to move the industry forward. To this end, the society is busy X-raying different stakeholders’ perspectives for addressing the challenges facing the industry. In a seeming frantic bid to move the industry forward, Nwakwue says the society is focusing on…
A seeming disturbing new study has warned that the use of antibiotics in patients with COVID-19 could result in increased resistance to the drugs’ benefits among the wider population. Patients hospitalised as a result of the virus are being given a combination of medications to prevent possible secondary bacterial infections. However, research by the University of Plymouth and Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust is suggesting that their increased use during the pandemic could be placing an additional burden on wastewater treatment works. This is coming as Nigeria has so far discharged a total of 40281 COVID-19 patients in the country. The Nigeria Centre…
The rule stipulating a single specific physical distance of one or two meters between individuals to reduce the spread of COVID-19 is based on outdated science and experiences of past viruses, researchers argue in The British Medical Journal, The BMJ. This is coming as another rare research on the effects of the pandemic undertaken during an ongoing disaster shows that COVID-19 has severely affected people’s daily emotional lives and mental health, increasing their stresses the longer lockdowns, fear of getting sick and financial strains continue. Having a lower education level and speaking English as a second language further reduced resilience and…
Nigeria and 15 other African countries are currently experiencing circulating vaccine-derived polioviruses outbreaks (cVDPV2). This is coming into the open as the independent Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC) for Polio Eradication on Tuesday officially declared that the World Health Organisation (WHO) African Region is free of wild poliovirus. The other affected African countries are Angola, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Côte d’Ivoire, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Guinea, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Togo and Zambia. About circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus in African While rare, WHO says vaccine-derived polioviruses cases can occur when the weakened live virus in…
By July 2015, it was a year since Nigeria recorded any case of polio. For over 17 years before 2015, the disease was on rampage in the country, especially in the northern axis. Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country and the giant of the continent accounted for almost 50 per cent of global and 80 per cent of African polio cases. Sadly, Nigeria was the face of the disease. That unenviable status did not go down well with Chibuike Amaechi, the incumbent Transportation Minister. When he took over as Chairman of the Governors’ Forum in May 2011, health was on top…
A new study says the COVID-19 pandemic is having a profound, negative impact on nine out of ten people with experience of eating disorders. This is coming as Nigeria on Tuesday recorded 252 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and three deaths. Of the 252 fresh cases reported by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) from 18 states, Plateau took the lead with 50 cases, followed by Enugu’s 35, Rivers 27, Lagos 26, Abuja 18, Kaduna 18, Ekiti 10, Kano 10, Taraba nine, Anambra eight, Edo eight, Oyo eight, Delta seven, Ogun six, Abia five, Bayelsa five, Ebonyi, and Osun one…
President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration has come under severe attack by a civic group, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP). In an open letter to President Buhari requesting him to urgently rescind his assent to the controversial Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2020, (CAMA 2020), SERAP says his administration has consistently pursued initiatives to restrict the enjoyment of citizens’ human rights. ‘’These rights are protected from impairment by government action’’, the group said, claiming that the Buhari administration is allegedly not taking concrete measures to improve the legal environment and civic space that will ensure respect for human rights and media…
Transportation Minister, Chibuike Amaechi, has been ranked as one of the few performing ministers in Nigeria. His vigorous pursuit of the railway programme that was initiated by the Goodluck Jonathan administration earned him a high rating. Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development Minister, Sadiya Farouq, is however, ranked the best-performing minister in the first year of President Muhammadu Buhari’s second term administration. Besides Amaechi, Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, came third in an interim scorecard signed by Transparency Watch’s President, Maxwell Gowon, a lawyer. Transparency Watch claims that the ministers were graded on organisational strength, performance of agencies under their…
United Nations migration agency, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) says this August 25 marks three years since hundreds of thousands of Rohingya men, women, boys and girls sought safety in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. According to the UN agency, they were forcibly displaced from Rakhine, Myanmar, due to violence and fear of persecution. Since then, the Rohingya refugees have been at the centre of the response, working with host communities, government officials, donors, and humanitarian and development partners to ensure their protection and the well-being of host communities, until sustainable solutions for safe, dignified, and voluntary return and reintegration in Myanmar can be…
Murdoch University’s Australian National Phenome Center (ANPC) that is working with researchers at the University of Cambridge has developed a predictive metabolic model for COVID-19 infection that shows multi-organ effects. This is coming as the presence of two or more long term health conditions—known as multi-morbidity—is linked to a 48% higher risk of a positive COVID-19 test. While it is well recognised that the risk of a severe COVID-19 infection is linked to certain long-term health conditions, little is known, so far, about the effects of multi-morbidity and poly-pharmacy (taking multiple medications) on the risk of a serious coronavirus infection. Now, a new…
Nigeria’s oil industry appears to be the safest haven in the world for corruption, and with what the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown up, the country is immersed in a financial crisis. Nigeria has also fallen foul of the ‘resource curse’; a situation where an abundance of natural resources is breeding corruption, stagnation, and economic contraction. Ironically, Nigeria is the richest economy in Africa, but despite having large resources of oil and gas millions of its political sovereigns are poor. The Military Writers Society of Nigeria (MWSN) is raising serious concern on alleged huge revenue loss in Nigeria’s oil and gas…
Governor Udom Emmanuel of Akwa Ibom State is advocating for the unbundling of the oil and gas sector of Nigeria in a bid to widen job opportunities and rapid growth of the country’s economy. He is also demanding for a petroleum depot to assist his administration re-jig the state economy and open up job opportunities for the army of unemployed youths. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reveal that Akwa Ibom has an unemployment rate of 1.14 million people. The state’s underemployed population is about 551,000 people while the unemployment and underemployment rates combined are 66.9%. Though the Udom…
With the proposed shipyard in Brass Island, Bayelsa State, the Buhari administration is aiming to save more than N120 billion ($600 million) annually for Nigeria. Already, Abuja has begun a feasibility study for the construction of the shipyard for the maintenance and repair services of cargo vessels, oil tankers and Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) carrier. The project will also serve as a major boost to the country’s oil and gas sector. Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, made this development public while chairing a kick-off meeting of the proposed shipyard project. Sylva said the project which will be…
Michigan State University (MSU) researchers have created for the first time a miniature human heart model in the laboratory, complete with all primary heart cell types and a functioning structure of chambers and vascular tissue. In the United States, heart disease is the number one cause of death. The study’s senior author and assistant professor of biomedical engineering at MSU’s Institute for Quantitative Health Science and Engineering, Aitor Aguirre, says “mini-hearts constitute incredibly powerful models in which to study all kinds of cardiac disorders with a degree of precision unseen before.” This study, “Generation of Heart Organoids Modeling Early Human Cardiac Development…
Talks between the Federal Government and China Railway Construction Corporation Limited (CRCC) on a dry port project in Oyo State, Western Nigeria, is nearing conclusion. CRCC is the preferred bidder for the implementation of the over $111million dry port project. The Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) however, says the proposed Ibadan Inland Dry Port in Olorisa-Oko, is moving closer to construction. The shippers’ council Head of Public Relations, Mrs. Rakiya Zubairu, says at the end of the talks, an updated Full Business Case Compliance report’’ will be produced. She explains that after that, ‘’a draft agreement will be presented to the…
Mercy, a pseudonym for privacy protection, has been living with HIV for more than a decade. She painstakingly maintains good hygiene knowing firsthand that people with HIV have impaired immune responses, making it more challenging to fight viral infections such as influenza or perhaps COVID-19. Those who know better say HIV may result in increased susceptibility to secondary illnesses such as pneumonia, heart and lung diseases and death. “I took all the precautions to protect myself, so I never thought I would get it”, Mercy says. She is right. Every day, she donned a mask and was vigilant about washing…
Once a month, Nolwazi Myeni, receives a message on her mobile phone notifying her that family planning services are available despite the pandemic-related lockdown. “I felt very encouraged to be assured that I could visit any clinic amid COVID-19 for my contraceptive needs”, the 24-year-old said. This service has encouraged thousands of women in Eswatini to access contraceptives and also provided welcome monthly reminders lest they forget. The Kingdom of Eswatini also known as Swaziland was officially renamed in 2018. Eswatini is a landlocked country in Southern Africa, bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its north, west, and south. At no more than 200 kilometres…
From October 15, 2020, a new Chief Executive Officer will be taking charge at Mercy Corps. She is Tjada D’Oyen McKenna. Tjada will be joining the group from her current role as Chief Operating Officer (COO) for CARE, where she oversees the organisation’s programming and global operations. Previously the COO at Habitat for Humanity International, Tjada spent more than a decade working to end world hunger in roles with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the US government. The self-proclaimed ‘food security geek’ also brings a passion for innovation–something she developed early in her career through various roles at…
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipri Sylva, has explained why President Muhammadu Buhari is starting his administration’s refineries rehabilitation programme with those of Port Harcourt, Rivers State. Sylva who said plans have reached an advanced stage to rehabilitate refineries in the country, disclosed that the Buhari administration decided to start the rehabilitation programme from the two refineries in Port Harcourt because Rivers is the headquarters of the hydrocarbon industry in Nigeria. Nigeria last September announced that it was set to commence the rehabilitation of four oil refineries in Port Harcourt, Warri and Kaduna in January this year. Group Managing Director of…
Almost 19 million Indians lost their jobs within four months due to COVID-19-related economic crisis as Nigeria on Friday logged 340 new positive cases of the virus, and recorded four deaths. Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that announced the figures pointed out, ‘’till date, 51304 cases have been confirmed, 37885 cases have been discharged and 996 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.’’ Of the 340 fresh cases reported from 19 states, Kaduna topped the log chart with 63 cases, followed by Abuja’s 51, Plateau 38, Lagos 33, Delta 25, Gombe 21, Adamawa…
More than three million people are currently facing acute food insecurity as Burkina Faso grapples with COVID-19 and conflict. This is happening as a $3.5 million contribution from the IKEA Foundation is supporting efforts by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) to empower refugees and their host communities in one of the world’s largest displacement crises. The partnership will help vulnerable populations in Kenya and Uganda to generate a reliable source of income, by helping them to cultivate in-demand crops and connecting them to market opportunities. Eastern Africa is currently home to one the world’s largest…
The United Arab Emirate (UAE) is witnessing an alarming increase in new COVID-19 infections. Health Minister, Abdul Rahman Al Owais, is blaming it on social and family gatherings and the failure to adhere to COVID-19 precautionary measures by the public. In Africa, Reuters, however, reports that the continent is beginning to slowly “bend the curve” of COVID-19 infections as measures like mask-wearing and social distancing slow down the spread of the pandemic on the continent, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said on Thursday. Although the spread of the COVID-19 outbreak was slow in Africa in the early stages of the…
Mercy Corps, a global team of humanitarians, working together on the front lines of today’s biggest crises to create a future of possibility, where everyone can prosper has explained why it’s working with governments and informal governance institutions. According to the group, it is working with them on all levels in a bid to better serve their constituents and foster growth in their communities. ‘’Good governance is critical to successful development outcomes’’, Mercy Corps says, pointing out that weak governance is one of the biggest roadblocks to effective, lasting development. ‘’It compounds every other issue we’re working to address, like…
There is a serious concern in the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that the probe of Niger Delta Affairs Minister, Godswill Akpabio, by the anti-graft agency might be stalled. Akpabio and the Acting Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, who have been under heat since June over allegation of over N86 billion contract scam, silently landed in EFCC probe. The leakage of their investigation at the anti-graft agency is causing some serious unease among EFCC’s top investigators. The agency is suspecting the Leader of Foundation for True Freedom and Good Governance, Deji Adeyanju, to…
The Uyo Correctional Service Centre, better known as Uyo Prisons in Akwa Ibom State, has turned into a little Colombia as far as its thriving narcotic drug deals is a concern. Colombia is notorious for its criminal groups producing and distributing illegal drugs. According to Wikipedia, Colombia had four major drug trafficking cartels and several bandas criminales, which eventually created a new social class and influenced several aspects of Colombian culture and politics. The Colombian government efforts to reduce the influence of drug-related criminal organisations is one of the origins of the Colombian conflict, an ongoing low-intensity war among rival narco-paramilitary groups, guerrillas and…
Working with the South Sudan National Malaria Control Programme (NMCP) and Population Services International (PSI), Malaria Consortium says it has completed a successful long-lasting insecticidal net (LLIN) distribution campaign in Northern Bahr el Ghazal state of South Sudan. The campaign distributed 980,000 LLIN, reaching more than 1.8 million people in over 300,000 households. In South Sudan, the COVID-19 pandemic brings additional complexity to an existing humanitarian crisis caused by prolonged conflict and instability, in particular a fragile health system. Malaria is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in South Sudan and pregnant women and children under five are the…
The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) and its partners have perfected strategies to actualise the Institute’s Integrated Agribusiness Hub project. A virtual workshop on the project goals has been organised as well as a ceremonial workshop to officially launch the project and create an avenue for partners and representatives of donor organisations to share views on intended project operations and receive feedback from stakeholders on improving the project plan. The Integrated Agribusiness Hub is a five-year project funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) in collaboration with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). It aims to empower…
