The Nation Newspaper

Category: Online Special

  • Healing hidden scars

    Healing hidden scars

    We all have scars, and all of those scars are twinged with memories. I do have scars, from my early years.

    Deep cuts from heavy falls on pavements, bruises from falls on the field, a tear from a glass table in a parlour, burns when I tried helping mum out in the kitchen, I’ve literally lost count of it all.

    Oh yeah, I had one recently, when I  had a surgery. This one’s way bigger than every of the scars on my skin. The thing is, I know the story behind each one of them. 

    Days before I had the surgery, I and the doctor in charge got talking. I had been placed under observation, because they were kinda unsure of what was really on with my system.

    I gave him my ‘very sad’ look every time he walked into the ward.

    I had high hopes of him coming in to say ‘hey, we discovered it really isn’t a big issue yet, you’re discharged’. That didn’t happen.

    Back to our small talk, he was telling me they might have to carry out the operation eventually, if the pain I was feeling persisted. He made this statement I’ll always remember, ‘You’ll be fine at the end of it all, trust my abilities and God’s. Cuts do heal but you give it time. It’s all that required’.

    I was scared, hell yeah!  But I loosened up a bit, after he said those words.

    Scars mark the skin permanently. Due to the traumatic procedure in which they are formed on the skin, It sure takes time to heal. It did take time honestly, I can vividly remember.

    I just couldn’t contain the joy I felt exploding through my veins, the very day the nurse told me my dressings for the wound won’t be necessary anymore. 

    We all carry scars believe it or not. It might not be the ‘dark distinctive spot’ on your arm. But the ones scattered around our hearts. Emotional ‘wounds’ best defines them.

    They don’t heal up quickly, some take our whole lifetime before turning into scars.

    Scars make us thankful in ways that’s beyond normalcy. Just mere thoughts of how they came to be on that clean/spotless surface makes you appreciate God more.

    You’re stronger, delicate but more willful, bolder and more graceful in the way we carry them. And so we never have to hide them.

    They are testimonies unspoken meant for the world to see you’re a wonder.  You’re a survivor who bore those pains.

    But like light bursting through the dark, you outshone darkness and defeated it.

    You became the wonder everyone couldn’t just overlook, cos you shone so bright like the sun that’s never ignored…. 

    You became MADE. Those scars made ‘You’ you and brought you this far.

  • Working to drive away hunger in Nigeria

    Working to drive away hunger in Nigeria

    The story of Victoria Madukaji, a wife, mother, student and a professional driver, who says driving away hunger from Nigeria and challenging gender stereotypes is her mission.

    Millions of Nigerian women own and drive cars but being a woman and a professional driver does not carry the highest job appeal for many. Victoria, who works for the World Food Programme (WFP) in Abuja, is one of a few women who are breaking the myth that driving is a man’s job.

    “Many people are very surprised when they see me working as a driver,” says Victoria. “I hear them argue: ‘It’s a man’; ‘no, it’s a woman’. When I come down from the vehicle and they see that it is truly a woman at the wheels, some are like ‘wow!’”

    Since her first employment as a driver in 2011 with ACTIONAID Nigeria, Victoria has learned to live with being the centre of attention, especially in rural areas. She focuses on her work and impressed her former employers when she even undertook missions where she drove from Nigeria to other countries including neighbouring Cameroon and Benin Republic.

    Since she joined WFP in March 2017 she is even more motivated because of what she views as the organisation’s grand purpose for humanity.

    “What pushes me is that I am a humanitarian worker,” she says. “A lot of people are hungry. The work we are doing at WFP helps to reduce hunger and I am helping to drive out hunger from the land,” Victoria adds with determination.

    Her colleagues at WFP — both men and women — recognise her dedication, courtesy and humility. They treat her with dignity and respect. She explains that she has not suffered from gender-based discrimination or bias.

    But the journey has not been without challenges. When she got her first driving job, it took her several weeks to muster courage to announce it to her husband because of the perception that professional driving is reserved for men. He was initially unhappy but later gave her support and encouragement.

    Victoria has been able to strike a delicate balance between her work and her family life.

    “It is not easy for a woman but I manage to balance everything,” says the mother of three children. “After work, I create time for my kids. I check their homework and prepare the things they need for school. My husband is very understanding and very supportive.”

    At WFP, the work schedule is also adapted to encourage her to continue with her career. As a breastfeeding mother she is exempted from night shifts and field assignments.

    “I am very happy with my work. My work does not affect my family life in any negative way…my work has changed a lot of things for me,” says Victoria.

    Her ambition is to become a United Nations international staff member in the next 10 years and possibly an ambassador of her country someday. She is taking a bachelor’s degree programme in education and is also studying part time for a degree in food and nutrition from the National Open University of Nigeria.

    She would like to encourage more Nigerian women to be daring, self-reliant and not entirely financially dependent on their spouses and men.

    “Women should not shy away from so-called men’s jobs — like driving, shoe-making, motor mechanics, and so on. A woman can do any job.”

    One of Victoria’s three children is a girl — whom she is training to be independent-minded like herself, in an environment dominated by men.

    “I’m training her to be a goal-getter, to have a mind of her own, because when she grows up, there’ll be a lot of challenges out there to be faced.”

     

    Victoria Madukaji poses next to a WFP vehicle in Abuja. PHOTO: WFP/Ladi Eguche

    A woman can do any job including that of a professional driver, says Victoria Madukaji. PHOTO: WFP/Ladi Eguche

    Victoria – Keeping focus today to become a Nigerian Ambassador tomorrow. PHOTO: WFP/Ladi Eguche

    . Kelechi Onyemaobi is the National Communications Officer (Nigeria) of the UN World Food Programme (WFP)

  • ‘I was abused by people I trusted would protect me’

    ‘I was abused by people I trusted would protect me’

    In line with the theme for this year’s International Women’s Day, #PressforProgress, the founder of Amede Ajie Women Of All Ages Foundation (AAWOAAF), Princess Ezinwa Calista a Canada-based Gender Activist, has raised her voice against sexual harassment, sexual abuse and called for women empowerment on social media and in her weekly column, ‘I stand with girls,’ published in Imo State-based Horn Newspaper. She does so to encourage women to speak out and take action to improve gender equality, self-reliance and self-confidence.

    Responding to an email, Calista who lives in Canada shares her story with Chinyere Elizabeth Okoroafor.

    As a child, Princess Ezinwa Calista, was sexually, emotionally and physically abused by her relatives, people she trusted would protect her. And for a long time after, her concept of love was shattered. As a teenager growing up in her hometown Oguta in Imo State, she couldn’t understand what love was and how she was supposed to respond to love.

    “As a survivor of past abuse, I experienced difficulties falling in love, trusting men and relationships with others,” said the 47 year old Canada-based Behavioural Therapist.

    “These difficulties influenced badly on my relationships with partners, friends, family members and it extended to my children at a time.

    “I have never fallen in love before so I don’t notice when someone loves me naturally because people I believed would protect me as a girl child failed me. And this attributed to the reason why I dated married older men for some kind of security.”

    Feeling unloved and not being protected by her own family made her withdrawn without anyone to mentor her as she made mistakes.

    “Practically not being loved and protected by your own family can be hugely destructive to anyone’s sense of security and short-circuits all the positive messages and skills parents are supposed to be instilling in their children,” said Calista.

    “I was self-reliant from a very young age and most of what I know about life I taught myself, I didn’t have mentors and no one to rely on. Most of the mistakes people make in life can be generated from lack of good parenting and supportive environment.”

    Six months after Calista wrote her West Africa Examination Council (WAEC) exams at Oguta Girls High School, Oguta, Imo State, she became a mother at age 17. She was ostracised by her family and friends and had no means of income. She recalls handling the ups and downs of life as a teenage parent as difficult.

    “Many challenges I faced were people’s judgmental attitudes and continuing my education,” she said.

    “I needed family support and planning so I can overcome these challenges but it wasn’t there. I did not get any counselling or financial support as it’s applicable here in Toronto, Canada. I struggled to give my child enough attention. I was worried about getting a job so I can feed and provide for her and finding a job in my town was hard as well as finding affordable child care or nanny.”

    She narrated further.

    “I was so lonely and I completely forgot about my friends because I felt none of them loved me. As a teenage mother, I didn’t have much of a social life. I couldn’t relate to my old friends anymore and the things they talked about me were horrible. I was always with my daughter, going to bed at 8:30 pm and getting up at 6am to do house chores and be with my daughter.”

    When her daughter turned two years, Calista was recruited into the Nigerian Custom Services in 1991. She said working and raising her child as a teenager was her hardest challenge.

    “In truth, though, I think I was a great mom, and I know that my daughter is crazy in love with me. I don’t support teenage pregnancy because that is when a child should be learning and developing herself academically and mentally. But if it happens, parents should please learn to counsel and motivates that teenager. Because when a child is loved, educated and protected, he or she would make better choices and would face less negative challenges in life.”

    Princess who holds a Diploma certificate in Developmental Service and a postgraduate certificate in Behavioural Science is also optimistic about the development of Nigerian girl-child. Having been a victim herself, she believes that creating awareness of the ills of abuse in the lives of Nigerian girls will go a long way in curbing it as well as making mothers pay more attention to their children.

    “Child abuse happens almost everywhere in our society and it is easily overlooked,” said Calista who founded AAWOAAF in 2014. AAWOAAF educates and inspires mothers and girls via workshops to take leadership roles in gender equality at community level and beyond. It has empowered widows financially, supported less-privileged women and supported some girl children educationally in Oguta Imo state.

    “The girl child abuse should be taken seriously because of its adverse effects to the girl and the society. I know the trauma of abuse will dramatically affect a child’s ability to learn and commonly presents itself as behavioural difficulties in the classroom. It breaks my heart to see misunderstood students disengaging from school and failing through cracks just because of their circumstances. Children only know what they see, so we need to show them that there are other paths to take in life. To break the cycle, I’m sensitizing and inspiring many abused girls that they are not alone by empowering them to make positive choices and strive for a better future.”

    The ‘I stand with girls’ columnist who has chosen to be a champion of her gender talked about the importance of mothers to always protect their children as well as living good examples.

    “Based on my life observations while growing up, mothers should try to give cognisance to their female children as well as the male so that they can feel love and recognize love when they find one. Protect them by not exposing them to Uncle James and John. Parents should try to leave an exemplary life because good parenting and a supportive environment has the most significant impact on children’s overall well-being, academic success, and social behaviour.”

    According to Calista, AAWOAAF is set to embark on a financing a skill and trade training for women and youths in Oguta LGA soon.

  • Oxfam makes case for women empowerment

    Oxfam makes case for women empowerment

    An international nongovernmental organization, Oxfam in Nigeria, has called for improved livelihood and reduction of poverty in order to improve women’s lives around the world.

    The organization in a statement to mark this year’s International Women’s Day, expressed solidarity with women throughout the world as they #PressforProgress in the fight against inequality.

    According to the statement, the IWD comes at a time of a worldwide conversation on the need for more respect for women in social, cultural and economic spaces.

    Country Director, Oxfam in Nigeria, Iftikhar Nizami, assured that the organization would continue to be a steadfast partner in this progress to women and minority populations around the world.

    Nizami said: “Like people around the world, we at Oxfam have all followed the news from the #MeToo and time’s up movements, with a mix of awe at the strength of the many women who have taken a stand and refused to be silent; frustration at the slowness of change in institutions; and a renewed sense of optimism in the potential for change.

    “Women’s rights are at the very heart of the work we do at Oxfam, and we use this International Women’s Day to reaffirm our commitment to improving livelihoods and reducing poverty in a way that improves women’s lives around the world. Through our efforts and initiatives, like many institutions around the world, we are responding to this #MeToo and Time’s up moments by asking the question: how can we do better?

    “We will #PressforProgress by doubling our efforts in challenging stereotypes and bias that limit women, through our first worldwide ENOUGH Campaign to Ending Violence Against Women and Girls ( EVAWG ) which aims to challenge and change social norms that perpetuate violence against women and girls by replacing harmful norms with positive norms that promote gender equality and non-violence.” 

    “We will also #PressforProgress by committing to extending opportunities to women first, working with them as spokespersons and leaders from among the approximately 48,000 women benefiting from our Female Food Hero and Village Savings Loan Association platforms and connecting their voices to the global audience. 

    “We will #PressforProgress by giving credit to and making visible women’s contributions and achievements in our communities and the country at large. We will continue to push for a responsible investment in agriculture in favour of Female small-scale farmers while striving for rural women empowerment.  We will work with our Goodwill Ambassadors like Lami Phillips to put a spotlight on the #SOAMAZING things millions of women are doing despite numerous challenges they are facing.

    “With regards the need for change, we have seen clearly that Oxfam is not exempt. These past few weeks have been difficult for Oxfam staff around the world, as we have seen the news of condemnable conduct from one of our staff members’ conduct in Haiti and Chad, and the uproar that followed. Amidst this difficulty, we have had a front row seat to how even great institutions that have done great work can do much better in putting in place safeguarding measures that ensure the respect of the communities that we seek to serve through our work.

    “Internally, we are reshaping the culture of Oxfam to shift the power to ensure women’s voices are listened to and respected. Team managers are working with culture change specialists to start to shift the culture of the organization in order to stamp out exploitation, abuse and harassment in whatever form. 

    “In looking inward, Oxfam as an institution is in dialogue with its many countries offices around the world to examine the gaps in our accountability structures that allowed for such behavior by some members of our staff, and how we can work together to close these gaps.”

    Mr. Nizami added that Oxfam had increased the number of its safeguarding experts to ensure that its internal systems in respect of references are rigorous and effective.

     “We are strengthening our protocols, examining how we interact with local communities and committing to working with government authorities to swiftly address any such abuses by any member of Oxfam staff in Nigeria,” Mr. Nizami said. 

  • How learning can increase the outcome of young people in Secondary Schools

    How learning can increase the outcome of young people in Secondary Schools

    The next generations of global leaders are up for an enormous challenge. The unemployment rate for young people between the ages of 16–24 is three times higher than it is for adults, with an estimated 71 million youth around the world looking for work in 2017. The needs are even greater among low-income and minority youth who encounter even bigger hurdles accessing education, skills training opportunities and jobs.

    This why LEAP Africa in collaboration with the Citi Foundation held its first roundtable stakeholders meeting themed ‘Significance of Mainstreaming Life Skills Education in Nigerian Secondary Schools’ last week at the Westtown Hotels, Lagos Nigeria.

    The meeting brought together 35 key stakeholders from the State Ministry of Education, Secondary Schools and youth focused NGOs to deliberate and share innovative solutions and intervention programmes that can be deployed to improve the learning outcomes for students in Nigerian secondary schools.

    The stakeholder meeting discussed the needs, approach, gaps, challenges and opportunities in the education sector with specific focus on Nigerian students from underserved or low-income communities.

    The purpose of education goes beyond acquiring technical skills, and that it is a powerful tool for changing the mind-set of children to live productively and ethically. Given the structural conditions that limit opportunities for social mobility, more can be done by educational systems in helping youth manoeuvre existing limitations and contribute meaningfully to society.

    The meeting opened with an opening address from Mr. Femi Taiwo (Executive Director, LEAP Africa) and Mrs. Lola Oyeka (Country Head of Public Affairs – Nigeria and Ghana, Citi). Their address reinforced the idea that the youth bulge provides an opportunity for the transformation of Nigeria through mainstreaming leadership and live skills training.

    The learnings from the discussion that will be deployed to improve the learning outcomes of young people in Nigerian secondary schools through the “Be the Change (BTC) programme.” Be the Change is part of Citi and the Citi Foundation’s Pathways to Progress initiative to prepare urban youth to thrive in today’s economy. Led by the philanthropic efforts of the Citi Foundation, and strengthened by the active involvement of dedicated Citi volunteers, the Pathways to Progress initiative supports programs that help young people build an entrepreneurial mindset, acquire leadership, financial and workplace skills, and begin to engage in the formal economy through a first job.

    BTC is designed to equip youth between the ages of 13 – 18 years with the leadership, life and employability skills required to achieve personal excellence, stretch their career ambition and help them transition into higher education, paid employment or profitable self-employment. BTC aims at reaching 450 students and 15 teachers in public schools in Lagos State from 2018 to 2019.

    The meeting moved for the adopting of best education/learning practices used in engaging young people. Unconventional methodologies such as video, dance, visual art, etc. are useful to improve learning and retention. It also highlighted how the Training of Trainer (ToT) model has worked and should be further encouraged to boost capacity of teachers.

    The group concluded that a broader perspective is needed in this discussion to drive policy where possible. It would be gainful to include participation of institutions such as the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC) to such important discourse in subsequent stakeholder meeting.

  • China, UNAIDS launch zero discrimination social media campaign

    China, UNAIDS launch zero discrimination social media campaign

    The United Nations has launched its “Zero Discrimination” social media campaign in China this year, hoping to raise awareness of discrimination in the country.

    Nicholas Rosellini, UN Resident Coordinator in China, is encouraging Chinese citizens to participate in the campaign, by using drawings, pictures, gifs, audio and video to show support for the campaign in his speech at a news conference organised by UNAIDS China.

    “Everyone has the right to live a life free from discrimination regardless of HIV status, gender, sexual orientation, age, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, other personal characteristics or identification,’’ Rosellini said.

    Shen Jie, Deputy Secretary-General of the China Association of STD and AIDS Prevention and Control, called on governments, society and communities to “speak out for love” to help AIDS patients, especially children, to become braver and better embrace life.

    According to the National Centre for AIDS/STD Control and Prevention under the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, China recorded a total of 747,000 people with HIV as of September 2017.

    As of the end of June, about 542,000 HIV-positive people had received medical treatment and mortality was notably reduced.

    Xinhua/NAN

  • Reverse Anti People Land Use Charge, ADP Urges Ambode

    Reverse Anti People Land Use Charge, ADP Urges Ambode

    The Action Democratic Party (ADP) has called on the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode to immediately reverse the new obnoxious land use charge recently announced by his government. The Spokesman for the party in Lagos, Prince Adelaja Adeoye while interacting with newsmen on Wednesday in Lagos said that the new land use charge will geometrically increase the hardship Lagosians will face, urging the governor to retrace his steps immediately because of the ripple effect this decision will cause.
    ADP argued that even if the state government is out on an aggressive revenue drive, it should not be done in a manner that will further wreck the already poor and struggling majority in the state.
    The party said that the implication of the new land use charge is that, landlords across the state will increase rents to match the new charge and inevitably, this will result to more Lagosians becoming homeless. Adelaja asked about the achievable palliative measures put in place to check the expected mass exodus of people from their homes as a consequence of this action.
    The ADP said that government exists for the people and that the same people are not supposed to suffer in the hands of those who are serving them as a result of callous policies and decisions.
    The party also said that they have watched with keen interest, the media push to shove the new LUC down the throats of Lagosians, using celebrities to create the impression that people have been rushing to the banks to pay; the party says that this is far from the reality on ground because landlords and tenants are miffed by the new development.
    The party also condemned the new motor vehicle registration rates released by the Lagos state government, saying that all the policies of the APC are targeted to further impoverish residents.
    ADP has assured Lagosians that they are ready for governance and ready to bring smiles to the faces of residents unlike the arrogance exhibited by the current APC led government in the state. The party urges residents to register to vote in 2019 because it will not be business as usual this time around.
  • Meet Nigerian student who developed new diagnosis for retina disease

    Meet Nigerian student who developed new diagnosis for retina disease

    ‘I felt my Nigeria achieved this’

    When Bashir Dodo, a 29 year-old Nigerian Phd student at Brunel University, London stumbled upon a 2002 World Health Organization (WHO)’s report that said three out of the four major causes of blindness affect the retina and the least among them had 5million victims, he got motivated to find a quick solution. He was inspired to research on how to prevent eye disease through an early diagnosis of the retina layers.

    Explaining the concept that helped him form the new idea, Dodo who was linked via email, said: “Manual segmentation is not only subjective, but time consuming and tiring. The idea of the new method comes from the concept of perceptual grouping introduced by a psychologist named Werthemier in 1923. He highlighted the principles of how people interpret the world around them. This forms the basis of the gestalt law of perceptual grouping in phycology. We take the view that computer is a tool that simplifies tasks, and is therefore used to simplify interpretation of images. Image segmentation is an image analysis technique focusing on how to identify or group features/region of interest on an image. And I therefore thought if computer is a tool, then better methods can be developed taking some information from the background of how it’s done manually.

    Dodo demonstrated the new algorithm at the BIOIMAGING 2018 Conference, which was recently held in Portugal and was rewarded with the ‘Best Student Paper’ award at the event.

    According to him, achieving the new development was simply by utilizing the information and perspective of the above concept to propose a fully automatic method to identify layers of the retina. However, he stated that although there are other ways to identify layers of the retina.

    “It is of course worth mentioning that other methods do exist. However, our method provides better results and is really fast. It takes 4.25sec approximately to segment one image.

    The father of two hails from Katsina State and was born into a family of 16. He attended Ulul-Albab Science Secondary School, Katsina where he loves Religious Studies and Biology. These subjects he loves deal mainly with nature and the understanding of purpose of life at large.

    “The two subjects aided my decisions of what to prioritise in life” he said. After secondary school, he went to FTMS College, Malaysia where he studied Software Engineering for his first degree and his masters in Computer Systems Engineering (Software Systems). FTMS College is an affiliate of University of East London.

    Dodo was however not overstressed to achieve the feat except the usual challenges faced by many foreign students in UK. He said no personal sacrifices were made in order to achieve this new development, saying: “My sacrifices are similar to that of most TETFund scholars here in UK, as the foreign exchange has affected our financial stability and ability to reach our full potentials. This has led to loss of focus and determination, considering the fact, we were sent by our country to learn, but not really been looked after, so that we may continue and return happily to help our country prosper as well. My personal sacrifice is mainly my family and sleepless nights, a sacrifice made by my lovely wife and two sons, as I didn’t really have much time, I usually come back late even in weekends. They were used to having me at home usually back in Nigeria.”

    Dodo who feels elated winning this project explains that it didn’t feel like it is a personal achievement.

    “It’s a product of consistency and not giving up; support of family and friends; endurance of scholarship difficulties and hard work. It felt like my nation has achieved this, because keeping the discouraging treatment aside, I am after all a representative of my nation wherever I go. In summary, it was a great feeling of “yes I’ve made it, and all the sacrifice by me and my family has paid off. It was a confidence booster, that we Nigerians can certainly achieve wonders. However, we need support from government and educational institutions to reach our potentials,” he said.

    Apart from researching, Dodo loves teaching which gives him sense of belonging. “I like researching and teaching. Teaching gives me sense of belonging as I feel I am really helping someone. I would really like to have impact to the growth of my nation because after all “there is no place like home”. I enjoy basketball, soccer, table tennis to list a few, travelling around to meet new people and explore different cultures. I enjoy been in company of people to share ideas and insights,” he added.

  • President Buhari’s full speech during his visit to Ghana

    President Buhari’s full speech during his visit to Ghana

    SPEECH BY HIS EXCELLENCY, MUHAMMADU BUHARI, PRESIDENT OF THE FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA AT THE 61ST INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY OF THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA, 6TH MARCH, 2018,

    On behalf of the Government and people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria I am honoured by the special invitation extended to me by His Excellency, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on this auspicious occasion of the celebration of the 61st Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Ghana. I am delighted at the warm reception accorded me and my entourage since our arrival in this beautiful city of Accra.

    Your Excellency,

    I would like to pay special tribute to all leaders of the Republic right from the era of the late first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah to date. We must acknowledge their various contributions.

    In the words of Kwame Nkrumah “those who would judge us merely by the heights we have achieved would do well to remember the depths from which we started”. No words can sum it up better as we are all familiar with our colonial era journey and its ups and downs. My tribute also goes to all those who have paid the supreme sacrifices in the cause of nation-building.

    Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

    May I extend my personal congratulations to President Akufo-Addo on your successful one year in office with special note on the strides recorded by your administration within a space of just 365 days.

    From Nigeria, I have watched closely your achievements, ranging from your ingenious approach to creating jobs for the teeming youths through various initiatives, including the repositioning of agriculture for modern farming, ‘Farming for Jobs and Food’, Senior High School (SHS) free education, One-District-One-Factory, and One-Village-One-Dam as well as the improvement being recorded in the Republic’s macroeconomic indicators.

    All these efforts, I am aware, have made Ghana to become a good destination for foreign direct investment just like Nigeria. Accept my congratulations!

    Your Excellency,

    My tributes to you and the people of Ghana will not be complete without acknowledging your efforts at tackling corruption, which has eaten into the fabrics of our societies.

    I congratulate both the government and the Parliament for the quick passage of the Office of the Special Prosecutor Act and its signing into law. Your Excellency can be assured that you have a good partner in me as I look forward to any form of collaboration between Nigeria and Ghana in tackling the menace of endemic corruption. Given all these public policies, it becomes reassuring that with the right leadership, Africa’s drives to eradicate poverty and to entrench democracy is on course.

    Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen

    Nigeria and Ghana share close cultural and historic ties, which have continued to shape our bilateral relations. Once again, I note with pride that our common colonial experience, as well as parallel socio-economic and political development and the patriotic vision of our leaders have helped greatly in shaping this unique relationship not only in West Africa sub-region but in our collaborative actions internationally.

    It is therefore my strong desire that we owe it as a duty to ensure that our good peoples continue to live in each other’s countries unhindered. Our newly rejuvenated Permanent Joint Commission for Cooperation has already provided us with good platform in resolving any differences while focusing on our main developmental objectives.

    Your Excellency,

    Permit me to put on record, Ghana’s untiring efforts in brokering peace in Togo, by bringing all the warring parties to the negotiation table. I am appealing to the opposing parties in Togo to please come together and resolve their differences so that Togo will move forward.

    In the same vein, I wish Nigeria and Ghana to continue to provide the impetus in realising the objectives and ideals of the founding fathers of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to ensure security, peace and development of our region.

    Your Excellency, Distinguished Ladies and Gentlemen,

    On behalf of the Government and people of Nigeria, I join other well-wishers to congratulate the Government and the good people of Ghana on this momentous occasion of your celebration of freedom.

    Long Live, the Republic of Ghana,

    Long Live, the Federal Republic of Nigeria

    I thank you all.

  • Wakanow Partners with Leading Airlines to Crash Airfares for Customers

    Wakanow Partners with Leading Airlines to Crash Airfares for Customers

    In a move considered to be both historic and groundbreaking in the Nigerian travel space, Wakanow, has teamed up with major airlines in Nigeria to crash airfares for customers and empower more people to afford air travel.

    This is coming on the heels of her recent announcement of a transition from a two-week Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) to pioneer a daily remittance cycle that would significantly reduce fares for travelers.

    The Group Managing Director of Wakanow, Mr. Obinna Ekezie, noted that this is the first phase of a larger campaign to further reduce airfares for its customers in Nigeria, with comprehensive plans to extend the same offering to the larger African travel market.

    “While Africa accounts for about 12% of the world’s population, it accounts for a paltry 1% of the global travel market. One of the reasons the numbers are that low in Africa is the high cost of airfares in the continent, exacerbated by a foreign exchange crisis in countries like Nigeria. So, we are taking the initiative to reduce fares and contribute to empowering about 5million more passengers to afford air travel,” Mr. Ekezie said.

    He further explained that the partnership with Airlines, which has seen airfares on the Wakanow portal reduced as much as 30%, will be followed by similar arrangements with other carriers across the continent.

    Stakeholders in the Nigerian travel industry believe the partnership between Wakanow and the Airlines on daily remittances is a great boost to the Single Africa Air Travel Market (SAATM) initiative by the African Union as a liberalized air travel market will offer significant value to the African economy through sustainable job creation and stronger GDP earnings.

    Wakanow is Africa’s largest Online Travel Agency with commercial operations in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and the UK. The company is currently undertaking a large expansion project which will result in stronger footprint across Africa, the UK and USA. Wakanow currently process over 15,000 bookings in Nigeria monthly as the demand for African travel continues to grow.