Wilson Johwa, is a Regional Communications Officer at the International Organisation for Migration’s (IOM) Regional Office for East and Horn of Africa in Nairobi, Kenya. They set off early from Addis Ababa, on Monday, last April 8, on a mission to reunite seven teenagers with their families. All of them are former irregular migrants who have voluntarily returned to Ethiopia, their country of origin. Although unaccompanied minors are among the most vulnerable migrants and are always accompanied by a social worker on these re-unification missions, the actual process of re-unification with their parents and guardians has become a routine act.…
Author: Akanimo Sampson
The fang of President Muhammadu Buhari’s economic policy is likely to bite the citizenry harder after the president’s low-key second-term inauguration. Under the Buhari economics, Buharinomics, Nigeria slipped into recession in 2016 as a result of lower oil prices and production that was equally exacerbated by insurgency in the Niger Delta, the country’s main oil and region. This was coupled with detrimental economic policies, including foreign exchange restrictions. However, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth turned positive in 2017 as oil prices recovered and output stabilised. The current perception by some strategic thinkers is that President Buhari will insist on increasing transparency,…
Menas Associates, a strategic and political risk consultancy that provides actionable intelligence for clients, from country entry strategies, to due diligence, stakeholder analysis, political risk reports, market assessments, problem solving and exit strategies, has explained how Godwin Emefiele won the heart of President Muhammadu Buhari for the apex bank job. President Buhari has re-nominated Emefiele as the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to serve for a second five-year term. Emefiele was first appointed in May 2014 by former President Goodluck Jonathan to replace Muhammad Sanusi. In one sense it has been surprising that Emefiele has survived both…
A strategic and political risk consultancy, Menas Associates, has warned that as long as the international community fails to recognise how much dynamics have shifted since April 4, the longer the war in Libya will go on. Menas which also provides actionable intelligence for their clients, from country entry strategies, to due diligence, stakeholder analysis, political risk reports, market assessments, problem solving and exit strategies, says neither side appears to have the capacity for decisive victory. ‘’Instead, any state seeking to help end the conflict and stabilise Libya needs to think creatively about future conflict cessation efforts. It should be…
Food insecurity is currently a major concern in Southern Africa due to the destruction of planted crops -rice, beans, maize, and cassava- and loss of pre-cyclone harvests that were either washed away or spoiled and not fit for human consumption. At least 55,351 hectares of crops were affected by the tropical cyclone; 40 per cent of which (28,189 crops) were completely destroyed, according to humanitarian sources. There is a window until the end of this May for the planting of maize and beans. However, finding seeds of appropriate quality is expected to be challenging. About 10,000 fishermen lost their fishing…
Just two months after the World Health Organisation (WHO) last March 6, announced wide-ranging reforms, which include the creation of a new Science Division led by Chief Scientist Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the global health agency is out with an online resource. As a division with a cross-cutting mandate relevant to all levels of the organisation, the Science Division was established to perform two essential functions: Ensure WHO anticipates and stays on top of the latest scientific developments and identify opportunities to harness those developments to improve global health; and Ensure the excellence, relevance and efficacy of WHO’s core technical functions,…
The Rivers State wing of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has taken on the Commander of the Federal Anti-Special Robbery Squad, (F-SARS), Akin Fakorede, an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), saying the alleged killer police chief will have a special place in hell. Fakorede is being accused of killing of Dr. Ferry Gberegbe, a lecturer with Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnic, Bori and former Chairman of the polytechnic branch of the Association of Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ACSUP) during the March 9, Governorship election in the state. But, at the hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Army, Human Rights,…
Deputy Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for Programmes, Daniel Gustafson, on Wednesday said that eradicating hunger and malnutrition and achieving sustainable development requires strengthened global partnerships and sustainable investments to drive economic growth. He was speaking as a disastrous drought in Somalia is leaving some 2.2 million people – nearly 18 percent of the population – with severe hunger during the July-September period. FAO has already issued a special alert on Somalia, indicating that the number of hungry people in the country this year is expected to be 40 percent higher than estimates made at the beginning of 2019.…
The putrefying stench of corruption in Nigeria under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be oozing from all fronts as the president braces for the inauguration of his second term in office. The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is already charging President Buhari to, within 14 days, account for the ‘’humongous corruption and treasury looting’’, under his watch, amounting to over N14 trillion, before this coming May 29, the expiration date of what the party described as ‘’the disastrous APC-led administration’’. The PDP charge came as Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State berated …
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) that is locked in a legal battle to wrestle their alleged ‘’stolen mandate’’ from President Muhammadu Buhari and his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), has bombed the president and the APC. According to the party, the Buhari Presidency and the ruling APC are allegedly being tormented by the guilt of violating Nigeria’s electoral processes, and as such, they ‘’can no longer boldly approach the oath book on May 29, due to the burden of illegitimacy and now seeks refuge in the sanctity of June 12, our Democracy Day.’’ The PDP is also lampooning…
Security agencies in Nigeria are currently combing for the arrowheads of an alleged coup plot against President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) that has been dominating the affairs of the country since 2015. While the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) on Tuesday dissociated the Armed Forces of Nigeria (AFN) from a document calling for the overthrow of the Buhari democratically-elected administration, the DHQ pointed out that all relevant law enforcement agencies had been advised to unravel those behind the seditious document for appropriate actions. Deputy Director of Defence Information, Navy Capt. Muhammed Wabi, is already accusing a group, Nigerian…
Wellbore Integrity Solutions (WIS), an affiliate of private equity firm Rhône Capital, and Schlumberger on Tuesday jointly announced that they have entered into an agreement for WIS to acquire the businesses and associated assets of DRILCO, Wellbore has been established as a customer focused platform to acquire assets and technologies with the goal of providing a comprehensive suite of products and services that reduce the life cycle risk of oil, gas and geothermal wells. As a standalone independent company with a vertically integrated structure, WIS focuses on providing quality US manufactured products delivered via a global engineering and field services…
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) is launching an emergency response project in the Tillabéry region of Niger Republic with funding from the Government of Japan. The effort is designed to last for nine months and aims to provide 1,000 emergency shelters and 1,000 Non-Food Item (NFI) kits to 14,500 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other conflict-affected households along the Niger-Mali border. Funding for the project is $850,000. This cheery news came as Dr. Samir Howlader, was busy recalling less than two years ago when most health services were delivered on foot or in rented ambulances to the hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees streaming into Bangladesh…
The four new emirs Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State appointed to reduce the might of the royal father of the ancient emirate of the groundnut pyramid, have received their staff of office following the recent controversial breakup of the Kano emirate. The Kano Emirate Council, according to Wikipedia, was formed in 1903 after the British pacification of the Sokoto Caliphate. Ado Bayero became the emir in 1963, reigning for 50 years until his death in 2014, he oversaw the transformation of the Emirate under Nigeria’s federal constitution that subjects Northern Nigeria’s Emirates to political leaders. The emir of Kano serves as the leader…
The Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC) is currently most concerned about the unending ‘’reckless statements’’, credited to a splinter group of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). Chairman of the coalition, Anyakwee Nsirimovu, in an e-mail this Tuesday to this reporter said the alleged ‘’reckless statements’’ areaimed at obfuscating the gains of the Hydrocarbon Pollution Remediation Project (HYPREP), and indeed, the integrity of the membership of its policy making organs, the Governing Council and Board of Trustees; with a view to blackmailing it. Nsirimovu spoke as a faction of MOSOP on Monday described the response…
Schlumberger, the world’s leading provider of technology for reservoir characterisation, drilling, production, and processing to the oil and gas industry, says she has renewed and significantly expanded her agreement with Google Cloud to develop cloud-native E&P applications to help her customers derive actionable insights from data and harness the power of Google’s cloud infrastructure and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. With product sales and services in more than 120 countries, including Nigeria, and employing approximately 100,000 people who represent over 140 nationalities, Schlumberger supplies the industry’s most comprehensive range of products and services, from exploration through production, and integrated pore-to-pipeline solutions…
A Rael-Science post says by deciphering the genetic programmes of neurons of the cerebral cortex, Swiss and Belgian researchers have unraveled the mechanisms controlling the genesis of cells in one of the most essential parts of our brain. The cortex is a complex brain region that allows us to perceive the world and interact with objects and beings around us. The diversity of the tasks it can perform is reflected in the diversity of the neurons that compose it. Indeed, several dozen cells types with distinct functions come together during embryogenesis to form the countless circuits that shape the basis…
Most local government councils in Zamfara State would soon run out of funds to pay their workers salaries and foot tangible development projects. A large chunk of their revenue is currently being utilised in settling suspected terrorists. The Federal Government of Nigeria under the watch of President Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) appears to be aware of where councils’ revenue in the troubled state is going. Vice-Chairman of Shinkafi Local Government Area, Sani Galadima, told Minister of Interior, Abdurrahman Dambazau, a retired Army General, on Monday that the council was paying terrorists ransoms daily in a seeming…
The Public Accounts Committee of the Green Chamber of Nigeria’s bicameral Legislature has found out that the country is still a big theatre for reckless spending in spite of all the deafening noise by the All Progressives Congress (APC) against the 16 years of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) dominance. According to the House of Representatives’ panel, Nigeria has not been witnessing prudent use of government resources under the APC administration of President Muhammadu Buhari. The president came to power in 2015 with a larger than life image of a progressive messiah. Before the finding of the Reps’ panel, a…
The Management of Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has been busy providing relief materials of diverse forms to internally displaced persons across 20 states in the six geo-political zones of the country. Insiders say the agency is doing so in response to President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration that has consistently encouraged interested philanthropists and non-governmental organisations to partner with government in order to adequately cater for the needs of citizens who are affected by one form of disaster or another. Apparently impressed with what NIMASA is doing, Governor Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State is urging corporate organisations in Nigeria…
The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), is currently battling with ‘’strategic policies’’ that will assist Nigeria to emerge as a strong economy in a post-fossil fuel era. Management of the agency says the move is aimed at a smooth transition from the regime of intense wet cargo operations, which is the major source of income for the maritime sector in the country, to the inevitable era of renewable energy which is likely to see less activities in crude oil exploration and exploitation in Nigeria. NIMASA Director General and a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dakuku…
Debt is currently preventing migrant workers in the Greater Mekong Sub-region from maximising the benefits of their migration, and leaving them worse off economically and socially when they return home, according to a study by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM). This is coming into the open as the Government of Japan has allocated $27 million to support IOM operations this year. IOM has already started using the funding to help vulnerable migrants, including displaced people, refugees, returnees and communities affected by conflict and crises around the world. The donation will also help to build the capacity of governments in humanitarian…
Kano State Government says they did not receive any court order halting Governor Abdullahi Ganduje from further action concerning the newly appointed First Class Emirs of Rano, Karaye, Gaya and Bichi Emirates. This was made public by the Chief Press Secretary to Ganduje, Abba Anwar, in a statement on Saturday. According to him, the court order was reportedly issued around 5pm on Friday May 10, 2019, long after the new emirs had formally accepted the appointment. “Letters of the Notification of Appointment were written from the office of the Secretary to the State Government, Alhaji Usman Alhaji, since Thursday, May…
Pope Francis at the weekend pleaded with participants at the International Union of Superiors General meeting to be praying for him. The Catholic pontiff received in audience, 850 participants from 80 countries who were attending the meeting held in Rome on the occasion of the 21st Plenary Assembly entitled Sowers of Prophetic Hope. His Full Address Dear Sisters: I’m very happy to receive you today, on the occasion of your General Assembly, and to wish you a paschal time full of peace, joy and passion to take the Gospel to all corners of the earth. Yes, Easter is all this, and it…
This week, May 6-12, is United Nations Global Road Safety Week, dedicated to raising awareness worldwide about road safety. Did you know that every year an estimated 1.3 million people are killed in road accidents? Injuries on roadways are the number one killer of children and young people aged 5-29. Unsafe roads and practices also take a heavy toll on the United Nations family– between 2009 and 2015, 91 United Nations personnel died in traffic crashes. That is more than double the number of UN staffers killed by acts of terrorism. But the global body is making progress. This past February, the UN…
Heads of the eight United Nations organisations constituting the Executive Committee of the UN Network on Migration have established the Start-up Fund for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, the first financing instrument of its kind, to support international cooperation on migration. Also referred to as Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund (Migration MPTF), this mechanism will help to jumpstart projects and foster greater cooperation in pursuit of well-managed migration policies. While safe, orderly and regular migration brings benefits to migrants and communities of origin, transit and destination, unregulated migration presents various challenges, including the risk that migrants become vulnerable to abuse and exploitation. Given…
Senior Special Assistant to Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, has dragged the Afenifere and the Ohanaeze socio-cultural groups into the country’s killers’cult. He is likening them to the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria. The Shehu outburst has sparked off a storm. For the Buhari spokesperson, the herders group should not be criminalised because they are in the same league with Afenifere and Ohanaeze Ndigbo. Shehu, a former Atiku Abubakar loyalist turned Buharist, was speaking as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Tuesday, where he also urged Nigerians not to politicise the deal between…
The Cross River State wing of African Action Congress (AAC) is currently unsettling Governor Ben Ayade with a potentially dangerous allegation of corruption. Insiders say the governor is deeply worried. State Chairman of the party, Agba Jalingo, is alleging that about N4.00 billion was hurriedly withdrawn from the state and Local government joint accounts, just before the last elections, to fund what the governor called ‘quick win projects’ in the 18 local government areas of the state. AAC is also claiming that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor did not receive the backing of his cabinet on the purported quick…
Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje of Kano State has taken a seeming radical action against the Emir of Kano, Muhammadu Sanusi 11, by breaking up the legendary emirate into five. He gave a legal muscle to his politically inspired action on Wednesday by signing into law a bill for the creation of four new emirates for Gaya, Rano, Karaye and Bichi, all of which used to be districts under the Kano Emirate Council. The hitherto Kano Emirate was a religious state in Northern Nigeria. It was formed in 1805 during the Fulani jihad, when the old Hausa Sultanate of Kano became subject to the Sokoto Caliphate.…
Over the years, a simple injection that can help regrow damaged tissue has long been the dream of physicians and patients alike. According to a Rael-Science post, a new study from researchers at UBC Okanagan is moving that dream closer to reality with a device that makes encapsulating cells much faster, cheaper and more effective. “The idea of injecting different kinds of tissue cells is not a new one,” says Keekyoung Kim, assistant professor of engineering at UBC Okanagan and study co-author. “It’s an enticing concept because by introducing cells into damaged tissue, we can supercharge the body’s own processes…
