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Tag: Canada

  • Boko Haram: Nigerian students in Canada stage protest over rising insurgency

    Boko Haram: Nigerian students in Canada stage protest over rising insurgency

    Nigerian students in Canada, at the weekend expressed worry over the rising spate of insurgency in the country.

    The students under the aegis of York University, Canada and auspices of Nigerian Student Association (NSA) in collaboration with Amnesty International at York University (AIY), during a protest, urged the Federal Government to step-up strategies that will address the situation.

    The President, NSA, York University, Ms. Mary Asekome, in a statement in Abuja expressed disappointment in the government for failing to curb insurgency in the country.‎

    She said that the government has not fulfilled its constitutional responsibility of providing security for the citizens.

    Asemoke accused the government of failing to demonstrate any serious intention to stop the activities of the terrorist group over the past six years despite pressure from within the country and from international community.

    She appealed to Nigerian officials to ensure resources meant for fighting the terrorists are not diverted.

    Asemoke said: “I have confidence in the Nigerian military because they will deliver if they are properly equipped and motivated for the task.

    “We are worried at this point where the insurgents have turned out to be monsters that have brought untold bitterness in the lives of people in northern Nigeria.”

    According to her, it is estimated that more than 15,000 civilians had been killed by the sect between July 2009 and January 2015, in series of attacks occurring mainly in northern part of the country.

    Asemoke alleged that corruption was hampering the fight against the insurgents.

    This, she said, has hampered the effort by the international community to assist the government in the fight against insurgents.

    “Corruption in the security services and human rights abuses committed by the military forced the withdrawal of the foreign help.

    “It is also believed that the inability of the government to make life meaningful to its citizen have made them a ready instrument in the hand of the Boko Haram sect whose army has been growing at an alarming rate,” she added.

    Also, the Co-founder, The Change Group Jerry Solomon, who took part in the protest, berated the government for trivializing the issue of Boko Haram.

    Solomon expressed displeasure over what he called downplaying of damages done by the insurgents to the nation.

    “The idea of the government downplaying the magnitude of damages the sect is doing to the nation is unfortunate.

    “I urge the government to map out effective strategies that will address this big challenge facing the nation than giving false report that are aimed at trivializing the activities of the sect,” he stated.

  • Nigerian students in Canada increase by 6,000

    The number of Nigerian students studying in various institutions of learning in Canada has increased in the last two years by 6,000.

    The Canadian Deputy High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Marcello Di Francoe, said this when the Olojudo of Ido-Osun in Egbedore Local Government of Osun State, Oba Aderemi Adedapo, conferred a traditional Chieftaincy title on him.

    Di Francoe was installed the Aare Agbasaga of Ido-Osun due to his support for the Yoruba culture since he came to Nigeria in September 2012.

    Di Francoe, who said that he facilitated the opportunity for many Nigerians to study in Canada, stressed that several things have been done to strengthen the educational and cultural relationship between Nigeria and Canada.

    The envoy promised to further improve the relationship between the two countries and urged that education should be given a priority.

    Di Francoe, whose father followed him to Ido-Osun to receive the chieftaincy title, expressed his gratitude to the royal father whom he described as “very accommodating.”

    Oba Adedapo, described Di Francoe as a culture ambassador who used his position to strengthen the cultural relationship between Canada and Nigeria.

    Oba Adedapo, who urged the traditional rulers to wake up and promote the Yoruba culture, lamented the lack of respect for the Yoruba language and culture, saying the development portends a grave danger to the future of the Yoruba nation.

    The monarch appealed to the Canadian High Commission to support his town to reconstruct the old palace and turn it to a tourist attraction.

    He said: “We want to appeal to the Deputy High Commissioner to use his position and help us rebuild our old palace that we want to turn to a tourist centre.”

    Speaking earlier, the Chairman, organising committee, Mr. Wale Olaitan, expressed gratitude to the traditional ruler and the envoy for the success of the programme.

     

  • Canada supports Gwagwalada policing

    The High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, Mr. Perry Calderwood has congratulated Women Friendly Initiative (WFI) on the inauguration of the Community Security Support Group in Gwagwalada Area Council, Abuja.

    The project is aimed at contributing to the reduction in crime in the community.

    He said that the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), focuses on funding projects with long-term sustainable goals that enhance the local community.

    This was made known in a press statement signed by the Public Affairs Officer, Ezinne Uluocha.

    Calderwood said in the statement, “This project supports the effective participation of the community in decision making around local policing. This community-based policing approach is improving the security of women, men and children. I congratulate Women Friendly Initiative and the key stakeholders in Gwagwalada Area Council on their commitment to work together to improve the security of their community.”

    “She also stated, “The project by Women Friendly Initiative has brought together stakeholders from the Gwagwalada Area Council Security Committee and the local community for regular dialogues to improve relationships, raise awareness of security issues, and increase capacity in crime prevention.  The project builds on a successful 2012 WFI initiative in Kuje Local Government Area.  Both projects have received support from the High Commission of Canada in Abuja’s Canada Fund for Local Initiatives.

    “The Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) provides direct funding assistance to community groups, non-government organizations, people’s organizations, international non-governmental organizations, and government institutions for small projects addressing human rights, democratic development and transition, security, rule of law, and good governance, and strengthening economic governance.

    “The CFLI focuses on funding projects with long-term, sustainable goals that enhance the local community.  The program is widely recognized as making a significant contribution to development and capacity-building in Nigeria.”

     

  • Canada partners firm on international day of the girl

    Canada partners firm on international day of the girl

    The High Commissioner of Canada to Nigeria, His Excellency, Mr. Perry J. Calderwood,  recently celebrated the International Day of the Girl by hosting a roundtable  to discuss how media and private sector partners can invest in adolescent girls to promote girl safety and empowerment.  The discussion was led by Girl Hub, an NGO working in three African countries to address the needs and rights of adolescent girls.

    The High Commissioner and Girl Hub welcomed representatives from the media and private sector, congratulating them on the inaugural partnering event, and encouraging all parties to find innovative ways to achieve tangible and sustainable results on protection and empowerment of girls.

    The International Day of the Girl is celebrated on October 11 each year.  The day promotes girls’ human rights and aims to draw global attention to the gender inequality and abuse that many girls suffer worldwide.  In line with this year’s theme, Empowering Adolescent Girls: Ending the Cycle of Violence, the principal objective of this roundtable event was to motivate, inform, engage, and equip the media and private sector to focus on girl safety, a key dimension needed for adolescent girls to thrive.

    High Commissioner Calderwood stated that, “Violence against women and girls is pervasive in many communities worldwide and takes many forms.  We must redouble efforts to overcome such violence and to create societies in which women and men are equal. Today’s discussion launches a new and promising collaboration between civil society and business that has the potential to unleash a ripple effect of change,” a phenomenon that Girl Hub popularly refers to as ‘The Girl Effect’.

    Canada is committed to the view that equality between men and women is not only a human rights issue, but is also an essential component of sustainable development, social justice, peace, and security.  Canada is a world leader in the promotion and protection of women’s and girls’ rights and gender equality.

  • Canada pension assets jump 20%

    The country’s largest pension plan is scouring the world for “diamonds in the rough” as high valuations make acquisitions difficult, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Chief Executive Officer Mark Wiseman has said.

    According to Bloomberg, assets at the pension fund, which manages retirement money for 18 million Canadians, surged 20 percent to a record C$226.8 billion ($208 billion) in three months ended June 30, Canada Pension said in statement today.

    The report stated that Wiseman said access to cheap credit has created a situation where there is a lot of capital and liquidity in the market and that’s making it a “very difficult” time for a long-term investor like Canada Pension to find value.

    “What we’re doing is being very patient,” he said in an interview. “We’re looking for those diamonds in the rough, and tactically divesting certain non-core assets and that’s the right thing to do in a time like this.”

    Canada Pension’s announcement today had allocated an additional $500 million to its North American joint venture with Sydney-based Goodman Group (GMG) to acquire a portfolio of warehouse and logistics facilities in the U.S. fit that strategy, Wiseman said.

    “The diamonds in the rough for us tend to be those types of assets where it is a very large transaction, where there’s less competition, when there’s a degree of complexity associated with it,” he said.

     

    Remain Difficult

     

    Global mergers and acquisitions have accelerated in the first part of the year with almost $1.9 trillion worth of deals announced year to date, up 66 percent from a year ago, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. That level of activity has created a challenge for value investors like Canada Pension, Wiseman said.

    Finding acquisitions is expected to remain difficult until there is a shift in the monetary policies of central banks, he said.

    Canada Pension had yet to make a decision on whether it would sell its holdings in the expected initial public offerings later this year of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. (BABA) or Calgary-based Seven Generations Energy Ltd.

    “We are always evaluating all of our assets at any time,” he said. “There is a price at which we are sellers, there’s a price at which we are a buyer.”

    Canada Pension reported gross investment return of 1.6 per cent for the three months ended June 30, according to the statement. That trails the three per cent median return in the comparable period of the C$520 billion universe of Canadian pension funds tracked by RBC Investor and Treasury Services, which reported its survey results.

  • FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: Falconets land in Canada

    FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup: Falconets land in Canada

    Nigeria’s U-20 women team the Falconets, arrived Canada 12.15 am yesterday for their training tour ahead of the 2014 FIFA U-20 women’s World Cup billed for Canada.

    The second batch of 14 players and 6 officials landed at Moncton airport at 12.15am that is, 7.15am Nigerian time.

    The two batches left Abuja on 24th and 25th of August and made a stop over at Frankfurt and Toronto before moving to their training base in Moncton Canada.

    The flight took about 16 hours, 6hours from Abuja to Frankfurt, 7 hours from Frankfurt to Toronto and 2.30 minutes from Toronto to Moncton.

    The team is camping at Crowne Plaza Hotels and Resorts, Down Town Moncton and will be there till August 1st.

    Addressing the team, NFF chief technical officer, Siji Lagunju said the team needs to be more focused in their training for positive results.

    “You have to put behind you all that is happening in the NFF and concerntrate on how to win trophy. Yes your training tour was cut short, but that does not mean you should relax, no! This is an opportunity for you to justify your stay in camp. I urge you to aim towards lifting the trophy” said Lagunju.

    Nigeria he stated has never dropped out in the group stage and thus this year must not be different.

    “We are here to win and that we must do”

    In the meantime, the only professional player invited to camp, Courtney Dike has joined the team from her base in USA.

    The player came in on Saturday and is determined to fully intergrate with her team mates.

    Currently there are 22 players in camp with the inclusion of Eyebhoria Winifred of Pelican Stars.

    The team had its first training at the Rocky stone Turf Centennial park, Moncton.

  • Canada, Spain condemn bombing

    Canada, Spain condemn bombing

    The Canadian and Spanish governments have condemned Wednesday’s bombing in Kaduna.

    The opposition party’s candidate in the 2011 presidential election, Gen. Muhammad Buhari, narrowly escaped death as the bombers targeted his convoy.

    In separate statements, both countries called for justice against the perpetrators of the bombing.

    The Canadian Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deepak Obhrai said: “Canada condemns in the strongest terms the two terrorists attacks in Nigeria, Kaduna region, which killed 82 innocent victims.

    “These cowardly acts took place on one of the most important nights of Ramadan. Reports are that one of the bombs targeted a former Nigerian leader, General Buhari. They also followed on the heels of Boko Haram’s brutal destruction of Damboa and recent attacks on Chibok, the hometown of the kidnapped girls.”

  • Canada to invest $5b in Delta solar energy

    Canada to invest $5b in Delta solar energy

    • Targets 3,000Megawatts

    Delta State has taken the lead in the generation of renewable energy as Canada has pledged to invest $5billion  to produce 3,000 megawatts (Mw) of electricity.

    The initiative of the state government to key into the green economy programme of the global community paid off as the Federal Government signed the Foreign Investments Protection Agreement (FIPA) with Canada to remove bottlenecks to make smooth the take-off of Canadian investments in Nigeria.

    Similarly, Delta State government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Canadian investor, Skypower Energy to build and generate solar-powered electricity in the state.

    The  Minister of Industry, Trade and Foreign Investments, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, said the Canadian investor was investing $5 billion in renewable energy in the country.

    According to him, the firm will produce 3,000 Mw of solar-based electricity for the national grid with the facility being deployed first in Delta State having taken the initiative for the renewable energy plant.

    “Skypower will deploy first in Delta State which has taken the lead because of the enormous work the state has put in to ensure the realisation of the renewable energy programme,” Aganga said.

    He said the Federal Government will facilitate the provision of licence to generate the solar-based electricity for the national grid with about 1,000 megawatts being generated form plants in Delta State.

    The Canadian Minister of International Investments, Mr. Christian Paradis, said with the deal between Nigeria and Canada, more investors would be encouraged to invest in Nigeria.

    Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, expressed delight with the agreement and the keen interest shown by the Federal Government, noting that it was an endorsement of the initiative of the state government.

    “This is very historic and emotional for me. For us in Delta State, we have keyed into the green economy programme of the global community. The green economy is not just in enhancing the environment but also meant to empower the people,” he said.

    The governor assured that Deltans would benefit from the 1,000 Mw that would be generated from the state as some of it will be  dedicated to the state.

    Besides, he said FIPA was a big benefit from the World Economic Forum, Africa (WEFA) in Abuja.

  • Canada, Spain condemn attack

    Canada and Spain have condemned the Monday morning bombing at Nyanya, Abuja.

    Over 70 people were killed and over 100 were seriously injured in the blast.

    Both countries advised the Nigeria government to bring those behind the dasterdly act to justice.

    Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said the act of terror should not be allowed to go unpunished.

    He reaffirmed his country’s support for Nigeria to combat terrorism.

    The statement reads: “Canada condemns in the strongest possible terms this cowardly terrorist attack during the rush hour at a busy bus station in Abuja.

    “On behalf of all Canadians, we extend our sincerest condolences to the families and friends of the innocent victims of this attack.

    “Such a brutal act of terror cannot be allowed to go unpunished. Canada reaffirms its support for Nigeria as it combats terrorism.”

    Spain said it would always support Nigeria’s fight against terrorism.

     

  • Canada pension enters insurance business with Wilton Re

    Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the nation’s largest pension fund manager, agreed to buy Wilton Re Holdings Ltd. for $1.8 billion to expand into the life insurance business.

    The reinsurer is being acquired from investors including Stone Point Capital, Kelso & Co. and Vestar Capital Partners Inc., the Toronto-based fund manager said today in a statement. The purchase is Canada Pension’s first direct investment in the insurance sector. Wilton Re is “an ideal platform through which CPPIB can deploy significant follow-on capital at scale in the U.S. life insurance sector,” Andre Bourbonnais, senior vice president of private investments at the pension fund, said in the statement.

    Reinsurance is attractive for pension funds as they seek long-term cash to match their liabilities. Reinsurers such as Bermuda-based Wilton Re have found opportunities in recent years by taking on business from primary carriers that are seeking to simplify operations or limit risks.

    Wilton Re struck deals this year to assume liabilities from CNO Financial Group Inc. and CNA Financial Corp., the insurer controlled by Loews Corp. Wilton Re, run by ex-Swiss Re Ltd. executive Chris Stroup, won backing in 2004 from investors including insurance broker Marsh & McLennan Cos., and Vestar. Since its creation in 2005, Wilton Re has invested at least $1.7 billion in acquisitions and risk-transfer deals, according to the statement.

    Canada Pension favors investments in closed blocks of coverage, in which insurers collect revenue and pay claims on policies issued in prior years, without seeking new clients. Such business accounts for about 40 percent of premiums written in the U.S. and U.K., according to a July 2012 report by research and consulting firm Celent.

    Stone Point, which counts former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. director Stephen Friedman as chairman, has backed insurers before, including Enstar Group Ltd. (ESGR) and Harbor Point Ltd. Kelso also invests in the industry and worked with billionaire hedge-fund manager Dan Loeb to establish Third Point Reinsurance Ltd., which had an initial public offering last year.

    Reinsurance Group of America Inc., which also backs life policies, gained 2.5 per cent to $81.02 in New York, the most since January 31 and the highest since the company was listed in 1993. Enstar Group rose 1.5 per cent to $140.39.

    This is Canada Pension’s largest public acquisition since it led a consortium to purchase Neiman Marcus Group Ltd. last year. Canada Pension manages C$201.5 billion ($179 billion) for 18 million Canadians excluding the province of Quebec.