Brain Drain: Why Nigeria is bound to lose young talents to other countries

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Standard Liege’s Nigerian striker, Imoh Ezekiel

Young players who have never played for any Nigerian national team are thinking of playing for their countries of abode because of the …

The news broke early this week that Standard Liege’s Nigerian striker, Imoh Ezekiel was desirous of changing nationality to Belgium. The 19-year old former 36 Lions striker has scored 15 goals for Liege this season and his team is almost sure to be playing in Europe next season as their playoff form has been very good.

Goal.com sought out diverse opinions on why such a promising youngster would have decided to pledge his allegiance to Belgium and not Nigeria, his country of birth.

The first question that was asked was – are there more benefits to be gained playing for the ‘Red Devils’ as the Belgian national team is called than playing for the Super Eagles, who just became African champions once again last February?

Proudly Naija: "Nigerians are doing great all over the world" - Ambassador of Nigeria to The Netherlands, Akanbi

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Dr Nimota Akanbi is the Ambassador Plenipotentiary and Extraordinaire of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to The Netherlands. She has led many trade missions to Nigeria and organised several business and investment forum with the aim of attracting foreign direct investments (FDIs) to Nigeria in line with the transformation agenda of the Federal Government. In this interview with KOLAWOLE DANIEL, she speaks on her activities and other issues. Excerpts:

WHAT is heard about some Nigerians living in Europe and other parts of the world is not too good; what is the situation in the Netherlands?
Nigerians are doing great all over the world. We have our doctors, engineers, lawyers and other professionals doing great things all over the globe. The fact that we have a few people who are not doing the right thing does not make all of us bad.

Fake drugs, unaccredited varsities, illegal buildings...Nigeria in carnival of counterfeits - Photos

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With Nigeria struggling as much as it can to redeem its image in the global community, the nation still finds it difficult to curtail the ravenous ruins caused by the army of quacks in various segments of her national life. KEHINDE OYETIMI reports.

HER situation looked hopeless and precarious. As she slept on the sofa, her mother wondered if miracles still happened. Anna’s health had deteriorated so rapidly that those who saw her a week before immediately beseeched whatever extraterrestrial powers that they knew to come to the ill girl’s aid. Weeks gave birth to months and her condition only worsened. Her father (Chukwudi), a self-proclaimed pharmacist, had dealt over the years in illicit drugs, and had sold same to many unsuspecting buyers. His family was oblivious of his dealings; they had trusted him implicitly. He had met with his friends hoping that they could help. He moved Anna to various medical centres but she was referred from one hospital to another. Anna’s father could no longer afford the bills; he took his daughter home, resorted to spiritual help and resigned to fate.

Terrorism and The Nigerian Situation

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How Did We Get Here?Before the infamous failed bid of the “Underwear Bomber”, Farouk Abdulmutallab, terrorism seemed to be alien to Nigeria. Terrorism was only heard of in the news and read about in the newspapers. Even after the failed attempt to blow up the Detroit bound flight on December 25, 2009, Nigerians were quick to denounce the act and deny the bomber. Nigerians were quick to claim that the young man schooled abroad and was initiated and indoctrinated into the ways of the sinister world of terrorism outside the shores of Nigeria. 

Not very long after, Nigeria found its way to the terror watch list. Nigeria was listed as a “country of interest”. The Nigerian government even went as far as giving the US an ultimatum to delist the country from the countries on the terror watch list. The Government even stated then that Abdulmutallab could not be used as a yardstick for the over 150 million people in Nigeria.

The Need to Renegotiate Nigeria as a State, By Bosede Olalekan Davies ( Do you Agree ?)

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By next year, this geographical entity called Nigeria would have existed for 100 years and going by reports from the Presidency, there will be a massive centenary celebrations to mark our 100 years of existence but a fundamental and germane issue needs to be addressed and it’s more desirable than rolling out the drums to celebrate.

Hundred years in the life of a nation is not a child’s play. Obviously and indisputably  a lot of things have happened. It will be of little or no use dissipating energies on discussing the inexhaustible adventures and events of this “soon to be” 100-year old nation. Rather the emphasis on the mind of any right thinking individual should be if truly the Nigerian state should still remain as one indivisible entity.

The Shell Game Ends

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BETWEEN the administrations of George Washington and Jimmy Carter, the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) lay dormant. The statute grants American district courts jurisdiction over “any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or of a treaty of the United States”. At the age of 190 it sprang back to life on April 6th 1979, when it was used to allow two Paraguayans to sue a former Paraguayan policeman in an American court for acts of torture committed in Paraguay.

Since then, roughly 150 lawsuits have been filed against American and foreign corporations for actions committed around the world. Four local plaintiffs used the ATS to sue Unocal in a federal court in Los Angeles for human-rights violations allegedly committed during the construction of an oil pipeline in Myanmar. A human-rights organisation used it to sue Yahoo on behalf of two Chinese democracy activists for actions committed in China by a subsidiary. ATS suits against DaimlerChrysler and Rio Tinto, among others, are pending. Though most ATS cases have been dismissed or settled, the costs of settlements can be high and the negative publicity damaging

Nigeria: Kidnapped high-ranking Lagos govt. official released unhurt

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Security - Mr. Kehinde Bamigbetan, Chairman of the Ejigbo Local Council Development Area, a suburb of Lagos, the commercial capital of Nigeria, who was abducted by gunmen Monday, has been released unhurt, according to local media reports.

The reports said the Head of the Council’s Information Unit, Rabiu Hassan, confirmed the release of the Chairman who was kidnapped Monday.

The reports said Mr. Bamigbetan, who was abducted a few metres from his home, was released over night Friday after the kidnappers collected over 20 million Naira (about US$ 133,000) in ransom.

The reports said the kidnappers had asked for a ransom of US$ 1 million.

Family members said Mr. Bamigbetan, a former Chief Press Secretary to former Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is in good health.

Obasanjo Had a Killer Squad As President - Former Associate

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A former associate of ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Mr. Richard Odusanya, on Saturday alleged that the former chairman of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party’s Board of Trustees was in charge of a killer squad that was formed under the military regime of late Gen. Sani Abacha.

 

Odusanya reportedly worked behind the scenes when Obasanjo was in power.

In a live interview, with an online news portal, Sahara Reporters, Odusanya  alleged that the former President lodged the killer squad at a State Security Service headquarters, known as ‘Yellow House.’

16-year-old American school student, Olufolabi Adeniji, kidnapped

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16-year-old Olufolabi Adeniji (pictured above right), a student of American International School, Lagos, is missing. He was last seen in the early hours Tuesday April 16th on his way to school with his mother's driver. The SUV was later found abandoned at the Palms shopping Mall, Lekki with his school bag inside the vehicle.

The driver who took Olufolabi to school that morning has not been heard from since that day...and the schoolboy's abductors are yet to make contact with his family. Anyone with any useful information should please contact the nearest police station. And please watch the people you leave your children with. Kidnapping is on the rise now. God protect us all! 

Brazil Receives Spot LNG Cargo From Nigeria at Guanabara Bay

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Petroleo Brasileiro SA (PETR4), Brazil’s importer of liquefied natural gas, received a spot cargo from Nigeria, according to ship-tracking data.

The Trinity Glory, with a capacity of 152,675 cubic meters, arrived April 17 at Rio de Janeiro, according to ship transmissions captured by IHS Fairplay on Bloomberg. The tanker sailed from Nigeria LNG’s Bonny Island terminal, where it loaded the supercooled natural gas March 26.

Sacked Air Nigeria Workers May not Get their Pension

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Chinedu Eze

There are indications that the over 700 workers of the now-rested Air Nigeria who were sacked last year may not secure the 25 per cent of their pension deposits.

This is because they were not issued with disengagement letters and the company which relieved them of their jobs did not communicate to the Pension Commission (PENCOM) that they have been sacked, THISDAY has learnt.

The workers are eligible to receive 25 per cent of their contributions to the scheme after they have remained unemployed six months after their sack, but that hope seems to have been dashed as the workers who lost their jobs when the company closed on September 10, 2012 may not receive the contributions, unless the Chairman of the company, Mr. Jimoh Ibrahim, intervenes.

PDP Is Responsible For Nigeria’s Underdevelopment – Omoworare ( True Or False ?)

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Senator Babajide Omoworare, representing Osun East Senatorial District in the National Assembly has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being responsible for the misfortune of the country.

According to Omoworare, the PDP which had clinched to power since 1999, has no meaningful plan for the country, adding that the party leadership has milk-dried the country with its- self-centeredness, budget for frivolity and economic mismanagement.

Omoworare stated this while delivering a lecture titled: “Sustainable Infrastructural Development and the Future of the State of Osun” at the Orientation Week of the National Association of Osun State Students (NAOS), held at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding in Osogbo, last Saturday.

Nigeria regulator says lifts capital market ban on Ecobank

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Nigeria's stock market regulator said on Thursday it had lifted a suspension on Ecobank from capital market activities, imposed last month because of irregularities surrounding a margin loan.

"The suspension on Ecobank has been lifted ... they can now participate in capital market activities," Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spokesman, Yakubu Olaleye, said.

Last month, the SEC said an Ecobank client Arian Capital Management had used capital from another company as collateral for a margin loan from Ecobank. After suspending Arian, the SEC also suspended Ecobank pending an explanation.

Ecobank said at the time the ban would not affect it because its Nigeria arm no longer deals in secondary markets. The sum of the loan was just 11 million naira ($69,400), the bank said. ($1 = 158.5000 naira) (Reporting by Chijioke Ohuocha; editing by Tim Cocks and James Jukwey

(Reuters)

Shell shuts down Nigeria oil pipeline over thefts

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LAGOS, Nigeria — Royal Dutch Shell PLC says it has shut down a major pipeline in Nigeria’s oil-rich southern delta to remove points that thieves are using to steal crude from it.

Shell said Wednesday that its Nigerian subsidiary shut down the Nembe Creek Trunkline, halting production of around 150,000 barrels of oil a day. Shell said it had issued a force majeure warning on its Bonny Light crude oil exports — meaning that it is unable to meet the contracted demand for the crude.

Despite a government amnesty deal, crude oil thefts continue to rise in Nigeria.

HYPOCRISY: US Supreme Court Rejects Nigeria Shell Rights Case

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The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts do not have jurisdiction to hear lawsuits against foreign companies accused of human rights abuses abroad.

In a decision issued Wednesday, the justices ruled unanimously that a federal court in New York could not hear a case involving Nigerian activists who said the Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell was complicit in rights abuses committed by the Nigerian government.

The case centered around the killing of Nigerian environmental activists during a crackdown on protesters in the oil-rich Ogoni region between 1992 and 1995.

Nigeria: The Lottery Revolution in Nigeria

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OPINION

The television documentary "Window On Our World: NLRC", produced by Picture Post and aired on NTA International, on Saturday, 6th April, 2013, was a stimulating and informative production. For most Nigerians who knew close to nothing about lottery, it was an excursion into a whole new world of an industry that is just sprouting in Nigeria. Before this documentary, there had been a series of media coverage on the history and operations of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC), all leading to the conclusion that lottery will be one of the alternatives to oil in terms of income generation in the country.

Nigeria: Court Grants Nnamani Leave to Travel for Medical Check-Up

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Lagos — Justice Mohammed Yunusa of a Federal High Court, Lagos, on Wednesday granted conditional leave to Chimaroke Nnamani, to travel overseas for a medical check-up.

Nnamani, a former governor of Enugu State, is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), alongside seven others, on 105-counts of money laundering.

The others are: Sunday Anyaogu, Rainbownet (Nigeria) Ltd., Hillgate (Nigeria) Ltd., Cosmos FM, Capital City Automobile (Nigeria) Ltd., Renaissance University Teaching Hospital and Mea Mater Elizabeth High School.

Nigeria: Meet Nigerian Who is First African Parliamentarian in Poland

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John Abraham is a Member of Parliament in Poland where he is the chairman of the parliamentary team on Africa, chairman, sub-committee on development of internet technology, chairman, Polish-British bi-parliamentary group, and chair, Polish-Nigeria bi-parliamentary group. The Umuahia, Abia State born Polish MP in this interview reveals to Daily Trust how he climbed the ladder into his various posts and what it's like to be a Polish lawmaker. Excerpts;

Controversy trails N20m seized fake drugs in Lagos

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The last may not have been of a businessman currently held in custody over possession of fake drugs which he, in connivance of others, repackaged and sold to the public.

Already, a drug store operator in Okokomaiko (names withheld) is seeking the protection of law enforcement agents from some of his customers who are allegedly threatening to kill him for selling fake drugs to them.

It was gathered that two of the children of the consumers are currently ill in a private hospital at Iba area of the state after being administered with the drugs.

Ibeabuchi, an eight-year-old girl, is reported to be hospitalised following a drug her father purchased from the shop of the drug dealer and the same fate now befalls one Abigael, a 10-yearold girl.

Estate agent, 35, arraigned for alleged cheating

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A 35-year-old estate agent, Olowude Akeem, on Friday appeared in a Kubwa Senior Magistrates’ Court for alleged cheating. The Police Prosecutor, Mr Igonor Ocholi, told the court that the case was reported to the Kubwa police station on Jan. 15 by Ifeanyi Tobi.

“Tobi, a resident of No.2, Billing way, Oregun, Lagos, told the police that the accused, resident in Gado Nasko Road, Kubwa offered him a one-room self-contained apartment in Kubwa at N270,000 per annum.

“After collecting the money, the accused failed to remit same to the landlord,” Ocholi alleged. He said that failure of the accused to remit the money made it impossible for Tobi to occupy the room.