Population
Ever-present Boko Haram threat casts shadow in Niger
Seven years after the first Boko Haram attacks in southeastern Niger, people in the city of Diffa, dare not even speak the group’s name. Residents live in a state of siege, frightened and struggling with the economic impact of the Islamist threat. For fear of reprisals, people speak of “insecurity”, of the “problems” or the “current situation”. The fear is well-founded, according to one security source who says Boko Haram sympathisers in the city pass on information to the group. Among the poorest countries in the world, Niger, which is holding presidential elections on Sunday, faces jihadist groups from the Sahel in the west and Boko Haram in the east. “I don’t have 1,000 CFA francs (1.5 euros) in my pocket. I have been unemployed for four years,” says Abdou Maman, 46, who has two wives a...
UK says new coronavirus strain ‘out of control’
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Sunday that the government has imposed a strict Christmas lockdown in London and southeast England because a new strain of the coronavirus was “out of control”. Hancock warned that the strict measures could stay in place until the virus vaccine is fully rolled out. “We acted very quickly and decisively,” Hancock told Sky News, justifying the “stay at home” order and closure of non-essential shops affecting around a third of England’s population. “Unfortunately the new strain was out of control. We have got to get it under control.” Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that millions must cancel Christmas plans and stay home because the new strain was spreading far more quickly. Hancock told Sky News that the situation was “deadly seri...
NIMC insists on deadline for linking of NIN to mobile numbers
File Photo Despite criticisms from many Nigerians of the two-week ultimatum for the registration and linking of National Identity Number (NIN) to mobile numbers, the federal government has insisted on the deadline. The director-general of the National Identity Management Commission, (NIMC), Aliyu Abubakar, in an interview with newsmen on Friday said there was no extension for the announced deadline. “Right now, the way it is, there is no extension. We should not be complaining, rather we should see how it can be done,” he said. “It is until after 10 to 12 days then we will see how far it has gone before we beg the government for anything.” When the agency issued a two-week ultimatum for the enrolment, Nigerians took to social media platforms to kick against such a deadline. “In the whole o...
Mozambique jihadists push masses to Pemba
The population has soared in Pemba, a northern Mozambique port known for its wide bay, but rather than tourists coming for a swim, the newcomers have fled Islamic extremists. In the past few months, boatloads of people with little but the clothes they wear have landed under the palm trees after their homes fell prey to Al-Shabaab gunmen swearing allegiance to the Islamic State group (IS). In October, the violent rebellion entered its fourth year and has reportedly killed more than 2,400 people and displaced half a million, according to the government. Their villages were torched, many men killed and many young women kidnapped. After seizing coastal zones that host natural gas installations, Islamist fighters have begun to push to the inland districts of Cabo Delgado province. The last offi...
Nigerian government to implement NIPSS recommendations on population growth
President Muhammadu Buhari has assured that his administration will look into the 12-point recommendations by graduates of National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS) on Population Growth and Human Capital Development in Nigeria, with view of implementing them. The President gave the assurance at the graduation ceremony of the Senior Executive Course 42, held Saturday at the Institute in Jos. The President, represented by Plateau State Governor, Simon Lalong, charged the graduates to live up to expectations of leading Nigeria out of its problems. “The times levy a demand on institutions such as this one and on its graduates for innovation and creative intelligence in addressing our national challenges. “It is my conviction that the elites both individually and collectively ...
President Buhari condemns bandits’ attack on Katsina school, orders reinforcement of security
President Muhammadu Buhari has condemned the attack carried out by bandits’ at the Government Science Secondary School, Kankara, Katsina State, charging the security agencies to go after the attackers to ensure that no student gets missing or harmed. The president made the remarks in a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday. He urged the school authorities to carry out an audit of the population of the students following shootings in and around the school that sent hundreds of them fleeing and scrambling over perimeter walls. He also advised parents who rushed to evacuate their children and wards from the school to notify the school and police authorities in order to have a full account of the school population. “I strongly...
Canada approves Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine
Canadian health officials have authorised the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, hailing the development as a “critical milestone” and paving the way for the inoculant to be administered across the country. The authorisation on Wednesday comes a day after the United Kingdom became the first country to begin giving the vaccine to the public. Emergency use authorisation (EUA) is also pending in the United States, with officials saying the first doses could be administered as early as next week. The US Food and Drug Administration is scheduled to consider its EUA on Thursday. Bahrain has also authorised the vaccine for public use. “Canadians can feel confident that the review process was rigorous and that we have strong monitoring systems in place,” Health Canada, the department responsible fo...
AU welcomes Nigeria ahead of AfCFTA kick-off
The African Union Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Albert Muchanga, said in Addis Ababa on Friday that instruments signifying Nigeria’s entry into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will be received at the commission’s headquarters shortly ahead of next year’s kick-off of trading. Speaking during the AfCFTA Business Forum 2020 to discuss the status of preparations to launch the continental trading, Muchanga said the launch of trading will facilitate the growth of African enterprise and enhance the capacity of industries producing goods to a wider population. Nigeria, which signed the AfCFTA agreement in 2019, officially ratified the agreement on 12 November. The instruments of ratification are expected to be received at the AU on Saturday, 5 December, the deadline for the...
No official data of persons living with disability – minister
The Federal Government has said the country does not have an official data of persons living with disability, maintaining that the 25 million number being bandied around should be taken with a pinch of salt. Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, stated this yesterday, in Abuja at an event to mark the 2020 International Day for Persons with Disability. “The Disability Data in the Country is not comprehensive and there is lack of generally accepted estimate for the number of Persons With Disabilities in Nigeria. “The world report on Disability published in 2011, said about 25 Million Nigerians had at least one disability while 3.6 million of these had very significant difficulties in function. “The 2006 Nigerian Census reported 3,25...
France: Coronavirus vaccine will be free for all
France will ensure free COVID-19 vaccinations for all who are in its social security system and has earmarked 1.5 billion euros of next year’s social security budget to cover the cost, Prime Minister Jean Castex said on Thursday. Castex said the vaccination campaign would begin in a matter of weeks, pending regulatory approval by the European Medicines Agency. The inoculation programme would be staggered over three categories of people, he said, commencing with the most vulnerable in nursing homes. “The vaccination will be free for all,” Castex told a press conference. France has ordered some 200 million doses from different pharmaceutical companies developing vaccines, Castex said, enough to inoculate 100 million people – more than France’s population. The COVID-19 vaccination will be vol...
Senator Omo-Agege: Why National Assembly cannot produce new constitution for Nigeria
Deputy President of Senate Ovie Omo-Agege has declared that the National Assembly has no power to replace the current constitution with new one. Omo-Agege’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Yomi Odunuga, in a statement on Wednesday said the deputy senate president made the remark when he hosted members of the Alliance of Nigerian Patriots led by Amb. Umunna Orjiako. Omo-Agege, who is Chairman, Senate Ad hoc Committee on Constitution Review, said the National Assembly had no powers to replace the current constitution, but could only amend it. He cited advanced democracies, such as the U.S., where Nigeria’s presidential system of government was modelled after and sections 8 and 9 of the 1999 Constitution as amended to buttress his argument. The lawmaker said what was only obtainabl...
United Nations, Ethiopia reach aid pact for war-hit Tigray
Ethiopia and the United Nations reached an agreement on Wednesday to channel desperately needed humanitarian aid to a northern region where a month of war has killed, wounded and uprooted large numbers of people. The pact, announced by U.N. officials, will allow aid workers access to government-controlled areas of Tigray, where federal troops have been battling the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and captured the regional capital. The war is believed to have killed thousands, sent 45,000 refugees into Sudan, displaced many more within Tigray, and worsened suffering in a region where 600,000 people were already dependent on food aid even before the flare-up from Nov. 4. Aid agencies had sounded the alarm about a growing humanitarian crisis and been pressing for access, after hundred...
