The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Mali

  • Nigeria contributes $710m to ECOWAS, more than 13 countries

    Nigeria has contributed more money to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) than 13 other Members states put together in the last 12 years, statistics have shown.

    Statistics on payment of the Community Levy obtained by our correspondent showed that between 2003 and 2015, Nigeria paid $710, 497,352, equivalent to 480, 355,205 West Africa Units of Account (UA).

    The West Africa UA is the official nominal monetary unit of measure or currency used to represent the real value.

    The document was presented by the ECOWAS Commission as part of the Status of the Community report during an Extra Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament.

    In the same period, 13 other countries contributed a cumulative amount of 697. 947 million dollars.

    The countries are Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Senegal Sierra Leone and Togo.

    Out of the 13 countries mentioned, Guinea Bissau contributed the least amount of 3. 107 million dollars followed by The Gambia with 11. 171 million dollars and Cabo Verde with 12.879 million dollars.

    Within the period, Sierra Leone contributed 19. 632 million; Liberia 29. 988 million dollars,; Guinea 31. 101 million; Niger 37. 788 million ,; Togo $48. 961 and Cote d’Ivoire $54. 173 million.

    Benin Republic contributed a total of $76. 147 million; Mali paid $93. 538 million; Burkina Faso with $105. 278 million; while Senegal paid $174. 177 million.

    Read Also:ECOWAS Mission to help secure Guinea Bissau’s polls

    The highest paying country after Nigeria is Ghana which paid $327. 976 million within the same period.

    According to the statistics, a total of $1. 736 billion was contributed within the period by all 15 member states, with Nigeria paying 40.9 per cent of the amount.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the budget for each financial year is met by the member states through their contributions to the Community Levy, a 0.5 per cent tax imposed on goods from non-ECOWAS countries.

    The national customs administrations of member states are responsible for “assessment and collection” of the levy and daily record “accounts of amounts received”.

    However, the contributions by Nigeria is not equivalent to the weight it pulls in the sub-regional body, especially in the Parliament.

    For instance, out of the 35 seats allocated to Nigeria in the Parliament, many of the representatives are usually absent during plenary.

    At the plenary in May 2018, only four members out of 35 were present on the day Nigeria presented its Country Report.

    Also, during its recent ongoing Second Ordinary Session, less than 10 were present for the aforementioned presentation.

    The absenteeism by Nigerians also got the attention the Bureau of Parliament and other members who expressed displeasure at the attitude of the Nigerians.

    Some representatives from Nigeria also admitted that the attitude had become worrisome and needed to be addressed.

    Hon. Shehu Garba who briefed newsmen after the presentation by Nigeria at the on-going session, said that it was time the leadership of the delegation intervened and deployed people who had time for parliament’s activities.

  • Terrorism: Osinbajo urges policies to tackle poverty, illiteracy

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has said that enduring victory against violent extremism and terrorism can only be achieved through implementing policies that comprehensively tackle poverty, illiteracy and frustration.

    Osinbajo said that it was those factors that predispose individuals and communities to imbibing extremist beliefs and ideologies.

    He made the assertion on Thursday in Abuja, while declaring open the 7th meeting of the Ministers of Defence of the Community of Sahel-Sahara States – CED-SAD.

    “Indeed, the military aspect of the fight against terrorism is the short-term one; enduring victory will only come from swiftly and diligently building on military victory by implementing, over the long term, policies that comprehensively tackle the poverty, illiteracy and frustration that predispose individuals and communities to imbibing extremist beliefs and ideologies.

    “If there is one thing we have learned from our experience fighting Boko Haram in Nigeria, it is that the battle is as much social and economic as it is a military one.

    “But the narrative is worsened by the fact that violent extremism and terrorism do not walk alone, they are usually to be found interlinked with human trafficking, drug trafficking, illicit trade in drugs and arms, and various other forms of transnational organized crimes,’’ he said.

    The vice president said that within the community, security challenge had assumed new dimensions since the Arab Spring, with the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in Libya, proving to be a watershed moment.

    According to him, countries like Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria have since then experienced an escalation of the twin global threats of violent extremism and terrorism, among others.

    The escalation of threats and vulnerabilities in the region, he said, had became an immediate and urgent security threat to the community.

    Read Also: Osinbajo urges monarchs to ensure peaceful co-existence

    He, however, said that it was encouraging that significant progress had been made to contain the terrorist challenges through the individual and collective actions.

    Osinbajo also noted that other elements that fuel violent extremism and terrorism were ecological threats of desertification and drought, as well as the phenomenon of forced human migration, among others.

    “Africa has historically been susceptible to desertification due to the preponderance of semi-arid, arid and hyper-arid lands.

    “Climate change and other factors collectively exacerbate these natural geographical conditions to make more than 319 million hectares of Africa vulnerable to desertification.

    “In the CEN-SAD Community, the Sahara desert is advancing southwards at an alarming rate of approximately 600 meters annually,’’ he added.

    Osinbajo urged leaders in the community to promote agreements and partnerships that “will enable the Community fully bridge our development gaps, and meet the rapidly growing needs of present and future generations.’’.

    He added, “It is certainly in our collective interest to act proactively in this regard, by enabling and catalysing the jobs and prosperity without which these battles cannot be lastingly won.’’

    Earlier, the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali said that the security climate in the Sahel-Saharan States “is characterised by several internal threats and a lineage of organised cross-border crimes.’’

    He said that those threats posed challenge to internal security and stability of the states and the region generally.

    The minister, however, said that cooperation and collaboration by members’ states in the fight against insurgency and terrorism had yielded positive results.

    “For instance, the Multi-National Joint Task Force (MNJTF) comprising of troops from Benin, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Nigeria, operating in the Lake Chad region against Boko Haram insurgency in collaboration with Nigeria’s Operation Lafia Dole forces have significantly degraded the Boko Haram terrorists,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • UN to honour three Nigerian peacekeepers

    Three Nigerians are among those to be honored by the United Nations, in commemoration of the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers, celebrated annually on 29th May.

    The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who will preside over the observance of the Day at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Friday, 1st June 2018, will also lay a wreath to honour more than 3,700 peacekeepers that lost their lives while in the service of peace.

    The Nigerians to be honoured are Lt. Col.  Ali Suleiman who served with the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO); Warrant Officer Remmy Amakwe who was deployed with the African Union – United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID); and Mr. Kolawole Shogaolu who served in a civilian capacity in the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA).

    According to Guterres, The UN honours those that saved lives, with some doing so, laying down their own lives.   “We express our gratitude to the more than one million men and women who have served under the UN flag, saving countless lives.  We honour the more than 3,700 blue helmets that have paid the ultimate price over the past seven decades. And we pay tribute to the 14 peacekeeping missions working around the clock to protect people and advance the cause of peace.”

    Read Also: United Nations pays tribute to 140 fallen staff members

    Speaking ahead of the ceremony, the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix, said “We owe a debt of gratitude to the brave men and women who risk their lives every day in service to others, and we grieve with the families and nations of our fallen colleagues. But beyond gratitude, we owe our peacekeepers all the support we can muster to ensure they are well-equipped, well-trained and well-prepared to complete their missions successfully.”

    According to a press release by the United Nations, Nigeria is the 41st largest contributor of uniformed personnel to UN peacekeeping.  It currently contributes more than 500 military and police personnel to the UN peace operations in Abyei, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Lebanon, Mali, Sudan, South Sudan and the Western Sahara.

    The International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers was established in 2002 to pay tribute to all men and women serving in peacekeeping, and to honour the memory of those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.  The Assembly designated 29 May as the Day because it was the date in 1948 when the first UN peacekeeping mission – the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization – began operations in the Middle East.

  • UN says 4 peacekeepers killed in Mali were from Bangladesh

    UN says 4 peacekeepers killed in Mali were from Bangladesh

    The UN says four of its peacekeepers killed by a roadside bomb in central Mali on Wednesday were from Bangladesh.

    The UN said four peacekeepers seriously wounded in the blast which occurred in the central Mopti region, where attacks by Islamist militants have surged in recent months.

    UN officials did not however say who was responsible for the blast.

    Six Malian soldiers were killed nearby a day earlier when their vehicle struck a landmine.

    Read Also: UN envoy sees difficult talks on Syria ceasefire deal

    “The Secretary-General conveys his condolences to the Governments of Bangladesh and Mali and his profound sympathies to the families and loved ones of the victims,” a spokesman for Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

    Bangladesh is the world’s second-biggest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations with some 7,000 uniformed personnel deployed to missions around the world.

    NAN

  • CAF Champions League: MFM FC beat AS Bamako to reach 2nd round

    CAF Champions League: MFM FC beat AS Bamako to reach 2nd round

    MFM FC of Lagos on Wednesday booked their way to the second round of the CAF Champions League with a 1-0 win over AS Bamako of Mali in Lagos.

    The Olukoya boys got the needed point after securing the win and going through with a 2-1 aggregate.

    The Fidelis Ilechukwu-tutored team had played 1-1 away at Bamako giving them the needed edge for the second leg at the newly refurbished Soccer Temple, Agege Stadium.

    A flick header by Akuneto Chijioke after a sublime pass from the new wnderkid, 16-year-old Lawal Abayomi settled the score in the second half after a resolute defensive tactics of the Scorpions from Mali.

    Speaking after the match, Ilechukwu commended his young side, adding that he missed the services of four of his regulars who were unavailable for the match due to registration hitches.

    The regulars who were not available are Sikiru Olatunbosun, Akila Jesse, Shola Brossa and Waheed Akanni.

    Ilechukwu said that he would continue to push harder to make the team formidable for the opposition in the next round of the tournament.

    “The boys have proved themselves beyond reasonable doubt that they are up to the task. I am happy for the team playing at their capacity.

    “The team can only get better and by God’s grace we will not let our fans down and the loving government of Lagos State led by Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode.

    “I am also impressed with the leader of the team’s attitude and good command of the game, he always speaks my mind as a player.

    “The introduction of Abayomi is key to the team because he approached me with confidence and promised to give a good account of himself and he did not disappoint,’’ he said.

    NAN

  • Arms from Libya, Yemen, others fueling crime in Nigeria – Dambazau 

    Arms from Libya, Yemen, others fueling crime in Nigeria – Dambazau 

    Proliferation of firearms being smuggled in from Libya, Yemen, Mali, Niger and Chad and increasing use of illegal drugs are responsible for the worsening crime situation in Nigeria, Minister of Interior, Lieutenant General, Abdulraman Dambazau (rtd) has said.

    The minister also asserted that the farmers/herders conflicts being witnessed in some parts of the country has no ethnic or religious colouration, stressing that it is a regional problem over sharing of land and water resources.

    According to Dambazau who met the Inspector-General of Police,  Ibrahim Idris, Commissioners of Police and other senior officers at the Force Headquarters in Abuja on Wednesday , security and agriculture ministers from West and Central African nations will comprehensively address the issues at a conference scheduled to take place soon.

    On proliferation of firearms and their sources, the minister said: “Firearms and drugs are drivers to violent crimes. They do not cause the crimes that we are witnessing but they drive them.

    “As police officers, we have a role to play; weapons are drivers to criminal violence. There are huge numbers of the weapons in circulation and we know the sources.

    “Some of these weapons come from Libya because of the instability, Mali, Yemen, Niger, Chad. We also know that some of the weapons come from Niger Delta by way of trade by barter involved between oil thieves and militants.

    “They exchange oil for weapons. We know the sources and we also know that they come through armed merchants through our ports and seaports but we must do something about them because the weapons give confidence to criminals and they kill without thinking about it.

    “They are easily accessible because you can either buy or acquire.”

    On the way forward, the minister urged the police to enforce the law of firearms and also widen the scope of the law.

    He said: “You must enforce the law against illegal possession of firearms and we must also widen our enforcement to include local made weapons that are not classified as firearms.

    “We must widen our law to include those ones that are not presently included and as for me, anyone found to be in possession of firearms would be assumed to be a violent criminal. He is either armed robber, terrorist, cultist, militant or bandits.”

    On farmers/ herders conflicts, he said: “Today, in the front burner of issue of security is rural banditry and herders /farmers conflict. These are issues that have a lot of dimensions and for us to deal with the issue of farmers/herders conflict; there is need for us to look at it from multidimensional approach.

    “Realising that this issue has regional implication, the ECOWAS President and some members  we find it necessary to organise conference that would involve ministers in charge of Internal security and agriculture in the West and Central Africa region.

    He went further to say: “We tend to look at the issue as a local problem but it is not, it is rather a national and regional problem. It is not a religious problem neither is it an ethnic problem, it is problem that has to do with resource sharing; water and land and we must find a way to deal with it.”

    Also speaking, the IG disclosed that the Nigeria Police Force loses over 9000 policemen to retirement, sickness, death and dismissal every year.

    The police chief also said the Force is currently struggling with manpower shortage.

    He said Nigeria Police Force was lagging behind the ratio of one policeman to 400 citizens as stipulated by the United Nations.

    He however said 6000 policemen would be recruited in few months’ times to fill the vacancies in the rank and file cadre.

    He said: “The issue of manpower is one of the challenges the police is facing and every opportunity I have, I tell stakeholders that there is need to look into the manpower strength of the police force.

    “Presently, if you look at the UN ratio, the police is supposed to operate in this manner; 400 citizens to one policeman and presently if you look at our strength,  we are just 308,000 to cover about 182million Nigerians.

    “If you look at the ratio, Nigeria Police is operating about 600 citizens to one policeman. Definitely the ratio is below that of the United Nations. The issue of recruitment has been taken serious by us and the government.

    “Between 2011 and 2015, there was no recruitment until last year and they have been trained and deployed to Commands.

    “This year, we got approval to recruit 6000 for the rank and file to add to the recruitment we have.  If you look at it, statistics wise, Nigeria Police forces loses 9028 officer every year through retirement, sickness and death and dismissal.

    “Obviously, there is need for us to conduct recruitment to fill the vacancies and like I said, the wastages is over 9028 and there is need for replacement and that is what we are struggling with presently.”

    “The federal government approved 6000 recruitment of rank and file in the police force. We are working out the modalities and I’m definitely sure, in a month, we are going to conduct that recruitment.”

    The IGP who expressed optimism that in few months’ time, the Police Trust Fund Bill which is before the national assembly would be passed added that the passage of the bill would make the Force carry out their duties effectively.

    On illegal firearms, he said the Force would soon construct public armoury to store recovered firearms as stated in Firearms Act.

    He said: “We want to check the abuse of firearms all over the country. If you check the firearms Act, one of its provisions is public armoury in each Command where the illegal weapons recovered are stored and I’m sure all over the country, no Command has public armoury.

    “Public armoury has not been constructed and these are issues that we need to address. We have to see how we can construct the armoury where we would store illegal arms and ammunitions from various citizens across the country.”

    Read Also: Update: Police investigate report of aircraft loaded with firearms in Taraba

  • Buhari, Gambian President meet in Aso Rock

    Buhari, Gambian President meet in Aso Rock

    President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed-doors with the Gambian President, Adama Barrow at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

    The Gambian President after the meeting told State House correspondents that he was in Abuja to thank Nigeria for the support given to his country during and after the impasse.

    He said “My visit is very important to us. We have always wanted to say thank you when Nigeria gave us all the support during and after the impasse. Nigeria has been supporting

    “The Gambia for a long time in different areas like technical assistance in the area of education, judiciary. We are really happy to come.

    “When we met in Mali, he (Buhari) took a decision as a leader in a closed door meeting, he made one statement that changed everything, that if The Gambian President wants to challenge the subregion, he is welcome.

    “This was his words and that make a big difference as a leader. And that leadership role was very important not just for The Gambia but for Africa because the problem was an Africa problem with an Africa solution.

    “So we are very grateful and that was why we wanted to come and say thank you. There is a saying in my country that if you want to thank a farmer for a good job, you have to visit him at his farm and that is why we are here.” he said

    Asked what was the deal he struck with the former president that led to the smooth transition, he said “Basically, the deal was ECOWAS was involved, UNDP and the international community was involved to mediate and this mediation, Nigeria was involved and Liberia as the chair was involved, the Guinean President and the Mauritanian President were also involved. the Guinean President and the Mauritanian President were physically on the ground, for him to accept the will of the people, exit to allow us assume office.

    “This was the deal, he accepted to go on exile which we couldn’t guarantee his security. This was the deal.” he said

    On what role Nigeria will continue to play to help The Gambia overcome its challenges including security, President Buhari said “Well, your President has virtually answered the question. We did our best in the most critical time, hopefully now the president will raise his team and we will raise a corresponding team and we will seat together and see how we can draw a political programme that will complements each other’s effort on development. So this is the next time we are going.”

  • Children threatened by starvation in Mali on rise – UNICEF

    Children threatened by starvation in Mali on rise – UNICEF

    The number of children facing starvation in conflict-ridden in Mali is increasing, the UN Children Fund ( UNICEF ) warned on Monday.

    New data from the affected Timbuktu and Gao regions showed that more than 15 per cent of children face acute malnutrition.

    According to the data, the number has reached the “critical” level stipulated by World Health Organisation ( WHO ) guidelines.

    In 2016, the number of children under five in the regions affected by acute malnutrition was just below 15 per cent, which WHO considered “serious.”

    An estimated 165,000 children across the country are expected to be malnourished in 2018, an increase of 23,000 from 2017.

    “We must provide life-saving treatment and ensure that each and every one of these children can fully recover,” according to Lucia Elmi, UNICEF representative in Mali.

    According to the World Bank, every 10th child born in Mali, (considered one of the poorest countries in the world), dies before reaching the age of five.

    Since 2012, instability and violence have destabilized the West African country.

    Following a military coup in 2012, various Islamist groups took advantage of the chaos in the northern region of Mali to stage attacks in spite foreign military intervention by France.

    NAN

  • Niger updates death toll from militant attack to 7

    Niger updates death toll from militant attack to 7

    Four Nigerien troops and three U.S. soldiers were killed in an attack earlier this week in southwest Niger near the border with Mali, the Defense Ministry said on Friday.

    The ministry updated the casualty figures from the ambush on Thursday, adding the death toll of their own forces to the three soldiers already named by the U.S. side.

    Eight other Nigeriens were wounded, as were two members of the U.S. forces who are providing training to the Nigerien Army on combating extremists in the region.

    The joint patrol was ambushed by terrorist elements in a dozen vehicles and on 20 motorbikes,” Niger’s Defense Ministry said in a statement.

    Niger’s President Mahamadou Issoufou said in an earlier address that the terrorist attack had claimed “a significant number of victims.”

    “Our country has once again been the victim of an attack by terrorist groups,’’ Issoufou said in a speech on Thursday at the opening of an economic forum in the capital Naimey.

    The U.S. Africa Command has said their two injured servicemen have been evacuated to Germany for medical treatment.

    The attack took place around 200 kilometres north of Niamey, near the border with Mali, where the terrorist group al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is active.

    NAN

  • FIBA was good exposure for Nigerian players – NBBF

    FIBA was good exposure for Nigerian players – NBBF

    A member of the Nigeria Basketball Federation ( NBBF ), Retd. Col. Sam Ahmedu, on Monday said Nigeria’s participation in the FIBA Africa 3×3 Championship was a good exposure for the players.

    Ahmedu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that in spite of losing in the final matches to Mali, Nigeria still had a good outing.

    NAN reports that Mali defeated Nigeria’s Junior D’Tigers and Junior D’Tigress 22-17 points and 9-7 points respectively in the final matches of the competition on Sunday.

    “Even with the losses in the final matches, it was not a bad outing for Nigeria”.

    “We knew it would be tough and that the hosts would leave no stone unturned to win the competition, which was being organised in honour of one of their people there”.

    “We should also not forget that Nigeria’s under-18 boys beat them in the Preliminary Round. Overall, it was a good exposure for our young boys and girls, and this portends a good future for their development,” he said.

    According to the NBBF official website, both teams did the country proud during the competition.

    During the tournament, the male team remained unbeaten in their opening round matches, even when they met Mali in the preliminary encounter.

    Nigeria’s under-18 boys defeated Togo 21-8 in their first game, while Republic of Benin suffered a 13-20 loss to Nigeria in their second Group A match.

    Junior D’Tigers defeated Mali 18-13 in their final group game, and went on to beat Benin 21-11 points in the semi-finals.

    Similarly, the Junior D’Tigress defeated Togo 12-8 in their first match, and lost 14-16 against Mali.

    NAN recalls that the competition, named “Tournoi International Salamatou Maiga U-18 Championship’’, was held in Mali from Saturday to Sunday.

    Seven teams, made up of four male and three female teams, participated and they were from Nigeria, Togo, Mali and Republic of Benin.