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Tag: Nigerian

  • Nigerian, American comedians thrill residents

    Nigerian, American comedians thrill residents

    It was a show like no other as Nigerian stand-up comedians and their American counterparts dug deep to outwit each other in order to impress the fun-loving Abuja residents with rib-cracking jokes at the prestigious Thisday Dome.

    The show, put together by telecommunications giants, Glo to appreciate the residents of the Federal Capital Territory soothed the parched desires of the residents who seemed to have been starved of fun as they turned out in their numbers.

    A proof of how successful the show was could be seen on the road leading to the Dome, as access to the dual-carriage way was nonexistent with cars parked everywhere, on the road, sidewalk and every available space around the Dome. Encouraged by the turnout, the organisers wasted no time as the show surprisingly commenced at about 6:30 p.m. Cool DJ Jimmy Jatt was blasting off with Basket Mouth anchoring. The entire space of the Dome was taken up; even the gallery was not spared.

    There was no dull moment till the first musical act. Omawunmi, in a tight-fitting jacket and bum shorts kicked off the show with her smartly-dressed dancers. With scintillating dance steps, Omawunmi and her live band reeled off hits after hits from her latest and past works to the delight of the crowd.

    The highlight of her performance was the coming on stage of a little angel who mesmerised the crowd with her own dance steps. She shared the brief spotlight with Omawunmi and was appreciated by the crowd and the organisers.

    Basket Mouth almost irritated the cosmopolitan Abuja crowd with his constant reminders that the American comedians should be encouraged with applause and faked laughter even if they don’t understand what the Americans were saying.

    “I wan make una shout well well when I call our Naija comedians. I wan make those oyinbo comedians fear. Make una no fall my hand o.

    Even if you no understand wetin them dey talk, just laugh and clap well well,” he would say prior to the entrance of any of the American comedians.

    He was hugely disappointed because the crowd understood the Americans and they were well appreciated for their efforts.

    Akpororo was the first to mount the stage with his weird dance. He gave a dose of what to expect for that night. Next was Gordons whose entrance was greeted with reverberating welcome of Haleluya.

    By the time the American actors came on, the crowd was restless. From Tony Roberts who was awed by his experience on Lagos okada where he was sandwiched between the rider and two other passengers to Donovan Jordan, Deray Davies, Robert Powell to South African Tomi John and Salvador from Uganda, it was a hilarious time for the residents.

    In between, rapper M. I. showed he was at home and brought down the roof and when Wande Coal came on stage, he turned the key upside down. The crowd went wild when he jumped into their midst.

    I Go Save, Buchi in his make-believe bomb bag as well as Funny Bone and Bovi left the crowd asking for more before the show was rounded off by the duo of P-Square about some minutes to midnight.

    “I have never had a show like this for a very, very long while. When I got the invite, I was a bit skeptical because of the last musical show put up by Glo; the crowd was also huge but nothing to compare with this.”

    Hausa Hassan expressed her delight about the show to Abuja Review saying: ”I can only appreciate this telecommunication company for giving us this wonderful time in Abuja. It’s like it should just not end. Though our Nigerian brothers are awesome, those foreign comedians are equally good; all of them, including the ones from Uganda and South Africa. We thoroughly enjoyed their jokes.”

    Basket Mouth was forced to appreciate the Abuja crowd, saying it was the first show he witnessed that the crowd stayed till the end and not passively too. The organisers also told Abuja Review that it was rewarding that the show was so appreciated by the residents.

  • UK-based Nigerian filmmaker honoured for Jand Hustle

    UK-based Nigerian filmmaker honoured for Jand Hustle

    EHIZOJIE Ojesebholo, United Kingdom-based Nigerian filmmaker and producer of Jand Hustle, recently won the Efere Ozako Best Experimental Film at the 10th edition of the Abuja International Film Festival (AIFF 2013).

    Jand Hustle is a documentary-comedy about a Nigerian called Jimmy Bendel, who travelled from West Africa to East London in search of greener pastures but finds out things are not the same as he had read about or heard from people who had travelled abroad.

    Artistes that featured in the movie include Rachael Oniga, Kevin Hallett, Onoh Kallista, Oyinka Yusuff, and Okechukwu Chima. It was co-produced by Funmi Adesanya (UK), Ibironke Ojesebholo (Nigeria) while Associate Producers include Vitor Okhai, Cheah Kar Mun, Yejide Akomolafe and Oliver Aleogena.

    Ojesebholo holds a Diploma certificate from Sound and Audio Engineering, (SAE), London and a Degree in Filmmaking from Middlesex University, London and he is a member of Directors Guild of Great Britain.

  • ‘Iranian, Nigerian terrorists work against West’s interest’

    ‘Iranian, Nigerian terrorists work against West’s interest’

    Iran’s influence is increasingly extending into western Africa, where its operatives in Nigeria are gathering intelligence on U.S. and European targets, according to a new analysis exclusively previewed by Fox News.

    The troubling development was highlighted in the CTC Sentinel, a journal published by the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point, released yesterday. Nigeria is host to many Western-based companies, and has been the scene of ongoing violence between Muslims and Christians.

    “In recent years, Iran’s Quds Force and Lebanese (Hezbollah) have coordinated intelligence gathering on U.S. and Israeli targets in Nigeria,” Jacob Zenn wrote in an article titled, “The Islamic Movement and Iranian Intelligence Activities in Nigeria.”

    Zenn states there is now “no region outside of the Middle East where Iran’s ideology has a greater impact than in northern Nigeria.” The six-page analysis investigates how Iran is expanding its base of followers in West Africa, citing several high-profile cases since October 2010, when their activities were publicly exposed. At that time, Zenn writes that Nigerian customs officials in Lagos intercepted “13 containers of weapons from a ship operated by the same French-Lebanese businessman’s company that in March 2012 sent a ship, via Syria, to Egypt’s lawless Sinai region to get weapons to Gaza-based Hamas militants.

  • Nigerian food comes to Lewisham, London

    Nigerian food comes to Lewisham, London

    WITH a proliferation of swanky European and Asian offerings across south east London, there was an absence of high-end African options.

    Now Enish Nigerian Restaurant and Grill in Lewisham High Street has filled that void with an up-scale, trendy place to get a different kind of bite.

    Joint owners Eniola and Olushola Medupin have 20 years experience in restaurants and finance, with Olushola having run one of Lagos’ top 10 restaurants for a decade.

    The appeal of Nigerian food, the couple say, is its freshness and variety of ingredients.

    The unrefined, natural foods are full of flavour and rich in fibre and low GI carbs, with a wide range of ingredients sourced from Nigeria.

    Shola, Joint owner Shola Medupin said: “Patrons are guaranteed a taste of Nigeria with every bite.

    “Every Nigerian meal is an event which we are out to share with the people of London.”

    She added: “My experiences coming from a third world country where stable electricity is scarce as gold, we weren’t into making large batches of food, some to be consumed on the day of production and the rest frozen until it’s needed.

    “I come from a place where each individual meal or plate of food is made freshly from scratch and uniquely to each customer’s need.”

    Shola said: “The recommended meal for a first timer would be Jollof rice N2, 265, which is slowly cooked rice in tomatoes, peppers, herbs and spices with fried plantain and bee.

    “If you are not a first timer or would like to try something more adventurous, the recommendation is Pounded Yam with Efo Egusi and Fresh fish N3,780.”

  • Nigerian killed in Abidjan

    The death of a Nigerian girl, Queen Ebimaho, has left some Nigerians in Abidjan, living with fear.

    Ebimaho was on, August 24, found dead inside her room in a brothel in Ajame, Abidjan.

    Eyewitnesses said the body of the girl, who arrived in Abidjan about two months ago, had a series of punctures.

    She was said to have been brought into the country by a Nigerian woman.

    Nigerians living in Ajame have accused the Consular Officer in the Nigerian Embassy, Mr. Obinna Ogbonna, of treating issues concerning Ebimaho’s death with levity.

    Mr. Ogbonna confirmed the death, saying: “She died from injuries, which looked like stabs from a yet-to-be identified persons.

    “We took the matter officially to the Ivorian police and we were told that she was stabbed.

    “But the girl had no consular card. Our investigations showed that she was just about two months old in the country.”

     

     

     

     

     

     

  • Court grants extradition of Nigerian al Qaeda suspect to U.S

    A Nigerian court granted a request on Wednesday for one of its citizens to be extradited to the United States to face charges of assisting the Yemeni branch of al Qaeda, Reuters reports.

    U.S. and Nigerian authorities accuse Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi of travelling to Yemen with members of al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in 2010 and 2011, and receiving $8,600 in order to return to Nigeria and recruit English-speaking radicals.

    “Lawal Olaniyi Babafemi … is not contesting these proceedings,” Justice Ahmed Mohammed said in the Federal High Court in Abuja.

    Babafemi, 32, also known as “Abdullah Ayatollah Mustapha”, was in the U.S for some of the time that he and AQAP are alleged to have had links.

    He returned to Nigeria last year and was detained by Nigeria’s secret service. He faces at least 10 years in jail in the U.S if convicted.

    The U.S and other Western powers fear Nigeria, which is suffering its own Sunni Islamist insurgency by Boko Haram militants in the north, could become a springboard for attacks by al Qaeda-linked militants.

     

  • Why young Nigerian pilots are unemployed, by experts

    Why young Nigerian pilots are unemployed, by experts

    AVIATION experts have identifed the absence of a national carrier, low flight hours after graduation, low insurance cover and lack of implementation of expatriate quota policy as reasons for unemployment of fresh pilots.

    The experts are Gbolahan Abatan, an aircraft engineer, Sheri Kyari, Executive Director of Centre for Aviation Safety and Research (CAS-R), and Isaac Balami, president, National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE).

    They spoke to The Nation in Lagos.

    Other experts who also spoke include Captain Ore, retired airline and Captain Ibrahim Mshelia, chief executive officer, West Link Airlines.

    Abatan claimed fresh graduate pilots were not being employed because their flight hours at graduation were insufficient.

    Abatan, who is the Chief Executive of Air First, said the experience of a pilot is required before he can get a job.

    He added that many fresh pilots only have 230 hours instead of between 500 and 700 flight hours required to fly certain categories of aircraft.

    The AirFirst boss pointed out that pilots, including those who fly jumbo aircraft, such as Airbus 380 and Boeing 787, started with smaller airplanes.

    “Every pilot started flying from General Aviation. Nobody jumps into a Boeing 747 to become a pilot of Boeing 747,” he said.

    Abatan said further that in the United States, pilots from the flying schools do not look for jobs in bigger airlines, such as Delta and United because they will not be employed since they do not have the required flying hours.

    To solve the problem, Abatan advocated an improved capacity for general aviation. He added that Nigeria has this problem because it had not trained pilots for a long time.

    He also added that while pilots were not being trained, some airlines were employing foreign pilots to work for them because it was cheaper to do so.

    To correct this, he said aviation should have a functional general aviation.

    “One of the first steps is the general aviation. In most countries they have general aviation functioning. General aviation is the beginning.”

    But Kyari has a different solution. He said the establishment of a national carrier would assist to resolve the problem of young pilot unemployment.

    He said: ”The national carrier will provide employment, especially for the teeming young pilots that are seeking jobs in the industry.

    “It would also serve as a training ground for such pilots to grow.Training will also be enhanced and many other benefits will accrue to the nation.”

    Balami bemoaned compliance with expatriate quota by the government, which allows for the employment of foreign pilots to the detriment of young Nigeria pilots.

    Balami said: “I think the government should look at it very well to see how to reverse the trend and put a policy in place to encourage Nigerian pilots to get jobs.The local content policy is not working the way it should. “

    Captain Ore, who is the President of Aviation Round Table (ART), called for provision of more aviation training facilities, such as flying schools and Aviation Training Organisations (ATO) to provide jobs for young pilots.

    He added that the foremost aviation training school in Nigeria, the Nigeria College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria, should be upgraded.

    “The influx of expatriate pilots has become so worrisome that expatriate quota has become a big issue in the aviation industry,” he said.

    Mshelia, a pilot, called on the government to assist young Nigerian pilots get jobs.

    He said: ”The unemployment rate among Nigerian pilots trained within and outside Nigeria, which in the last count from the website of the Unemployed Pilots Union in Nigeria is over 150 in number.”

    He also said the new Civil Aviation Policy should address employment of qualified Nigerians before extending similar opportunities to foreigners.

    “What we need to consider is getting the pilot licence is one thing and getting the experience to be considered for employment is another, which can only be achieved by flying.”

    “The reason for the high rate of unemployment is simple. There is no legislation, which gives opportunity for employment of Nigerians with same qualification with foreigners.”

    But the Chief Executive Officer of NCAT, Captain Chinyere Kalu, said a new government policy on pilot employment would address the problem.

    In the past, she said airlines employed pilots and trained them.

    She wondered why the practice was abandoned.

    Kalu said: “

    What the airlines are shying away from is training the pilots to get the type rating. If the pilots are going for type rating on Boeing 737, for example, it is going to cost the airline a reasonable amount of money.

    “There is fear among the airlines that after training the students, they may leave. So, I suggest that there should be a policy that will say once an operator trains you, you have to work for that operator for a minimum number of years. I believe that will help.”

    She also said, “These pilots have the basic training and basic qualification. The good thing is that with all these regional aircraft springing up in the industry, there is provision for a soft landing for the newly graduated students. They could work for them and build hours and maybe have a jet engine rating. This will be like a stepping stone for help them to go to the next level.

    “But unfortunately, many of these regional jets are manned by foreigners. If there will be a policy put in place that will insist that our own local people should be the ones flying the aircraft, it will help. In the USA, that is what happens.

     

  • GSK UK may back down from 75% Nigerian acquisition as pressures mount

    GSK UK may back down from 75% Nigerian acquisition as pressures mount

    AS shareholders await the decisive court-ordered extraordinary general meeting tomorrow, there are indications that GlaxoSmithKline United Kingdom (GSK UK) might reconsider its controversial bid to acquire shares held by Nigerian shareholders.

    The bid is intended to increase the foreign controlling equity shraholding in GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria (GSK Nigeria) Plc from 46.4 per cent to 75 per cent.

    Market sources at the weekend said the foreign majority shareholder has been under mounting pressures from several stakeholders, who consider the acquisition bid as unfair and unjustifiable.

    GSK currently holds majority equity stake of 46.4 per cent in GSK Consumer Nigeria through two wholly- owned subsidiaries. With total current outstanding shares of 956.70 million ordinary shares of 50 kobo each, GSK UK holds 443.91 million shares while, Nigerian institutional and individual investors hold the balance of 512.79 million shares.

    GSK UK initially sought to buy 321.45 million shares out of the shareholdings by Nigerians to increase the foreign core investor’s controlling stake to 80 per cent. In the bid for the 33.6 per cent additional equity stake, GSK UK has offered to pay N48 per share.

    According to the proposal, GSK UK seeks to acquire additional shares of GSK Nigeria on a pro rata basis from existing shareholders through a Scheme of Arrangement, implying that the proportionate percentage will be deducted from all Nigerian shareholders and added to GSK UK.

    Initial protests by Nigerian shareholders forced GSK UK to modify the acquisition target to 75 per cent. Under the revised proposal for 75 per cent equity stake, GSK is pushing to acquire 273.46 million ordinary shares out of the Nigerian shareholders’ holdings to add 28.58 per cent, thereby pushing its post-acquisition holding to 75 per cent.

    However, it retained the offer price of N48 per share, substantially lower than its stock market high of N68 and market price of N55.

    GSK UK meanwhile, needs three-quarter approval of shareholders at the court-ordered meeting to actualise the deal. It has indicated it would use its current 46.4 per cent equity stake as a block vote in support of the deal. The Board of the GSK Nigeria has also indicated it would vote in support of the deal. But only three out of the nine directors own shares in the company, and collectively, the Board’s holding is 1.27 per cent. The Nigerian Chairman of the Board of GSK Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Osunkeye holds 1.2 per cent. These add up to 47.67 per cent in support of the bid.

    Impeccable market sources said GSK UK was taken aback by the overwhelming rejection of the acquisition bid, which it had hinged on its consideration for new significant investment in the Nigerian subsidiary.

    The company abruptly cancelled a parley with protesting Nigerian shareholders scheduled for last Friday, with a refrain that the chairman will brief the shareholders ‘on the update’ on the acquisition bid at the court-ordered meeting. The Friday meeting was scheduled to mobilize supports from retail Nigerian shareholders, whose number and fragmented votes could proof decisive in the organisation and poll result tomorrow.

    Many sources confirmed to The Nation that several retail shareholders had registered their dissatisfactions over the acquisition with the capital market regulators, which had ignored the protests by shareholders at the company’s last general meeting to approve the scheme of arrangement. A source said the regulators explained that it approved the scheme because the extant laws did not prevent such bid, leaving the ball in the court of shareholders.

    But with growing protests by institutional and individual shareholders, a source said capital market regulators appeared to be reviewing developments on the acquisition bid in furtherance of statutory provisions that empower them to protect the generality of investors.

    Besides the alleged perceived unfairness of the acquisition bid to disenfranchise Nigerian shareholders from the commonwealth created together, several stakeholders have pushed against the bid because of possible unintended consequences.

    With 75 per cent equity stake, GSK UK will be able to push through any future major changes including mergers and acquisition, delisting, shares buy back, changing of public limited liability status, new capital issues and restructuring among others. Extant Nigerian laws require 75 per cent shareholdings to approve such major changes.

    Smarting from the voluntary delisting and reversion of several companies by the majority shareholders, especially the recent delisting of the iconic Nigerian Bottling Company (NBC), Nigerian shareholders are worried about the unspoken consequences. However, the board said GSK UK has confirmed that it will retain the listing of GSK Nigeria on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

    A cross section of major minority shareholders’ leaders interviewed by The Nation had indicated they will vote against the deal.

    Aganga reiterated that the next item on the plan was to come up with a National Policy that would require the government and the private sector to patronise registered MSMEs.

    “This is because the government and the private sector are the major drivers of expenditure. Therefore, I believe that if we all work together, we will be able to leverage MSMEs to make the desired positive impact on the lives of the Nigerian people whom we are called to serve,” he noted.

    In his remarks, the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, said that the development and growth of the MSME sector was critical to the country’s overall economic development, adding that his state would partner the Federal Government to fast-track the growth of the sector.

    He said, “I want to specially and publicly thank the Honourable Minister, Mr. Olusegun Aganga, for the excellent work he is doing to develop the MSMEs sector in Nigeria. Also I want to commend him for all the support he has been giving us to help industrialise Ogun State.

    “There is no doubt that MSMEs are the cornerstone for a successful industrialisation process. The best way to create jobs, generate wealth and transform the Nigerian economy is to get the MSMEs sector to be active and working. We will continue to work together with the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment in order to achieve our cardinal objectives of creating jobs and generating wealth for our people.”

  • Nigerian Army at 150

    Nigerian Army at 150

    •Professionalism remains a major challenge

    At one hundred and fifty years, the Nigerian Army is expected to have come of age. Backed by a large population of about 160 million people and an economy fuelled largely by petro-dollars, it is expected that Nigeria, a country that loves and covets the appellation, ‘Giant of Africa’, would have become the super power of the African continent. But, this is hardly so with the strong showing of South Africa and Egypt.

    In its 150 years of existence, the Nigerian Army that started as the Royal West African Frontier Force (RWAFF), a colonial military formation, has failed to rise to expectations following Nigeria’s attainment of independent country status in 1960. It has failed to really blend with the people and be seen as a force established and funded for the patriotic duty of warding off external aggression and occasionally brought in to quell internal insurrection.

    It demonstrates the disconnect in government-people relations as, on many occasions, the military, with the Army as the main component, has been drawn into extra-constitutional role of preserving unpopular governments. During elections, the Army is drawn into ostensibly keeping the peace, but, in reality, like the Colonial Army, it is seen as coming in on the side of the ruling political party. This is an issue to consider at this point.

    In celebrating this year’s Army Week, the organisers chose the theme, ‘Enhancing the Nigerian Army Capacity-Building Efforts Towards Improved National Security’. The discussion was apt at a time that the country is confronted with a myriad challenges and the Army is a major participant. It is involved in action in combating terrorism in areas of the North where insurgents have made life very unsafe and is deployed in 28 of the 36 states of the country in containing activities of criminals.

    In the process, the weaknesses of the Army have been well advertised and its capacity undermined.

    The years of military rule exposed the Army to corrupt influences. Rather than such rule strengthening the Army, it suffered from the attendant distractions. Military rule led to subversion of the rule, principles and standard practices. During the period too, the Army remained poorly equipped and divisions were starved of equipment that could have made the Army fully prepared to play its constitutionally-assigned duties and responsibilities.

    Inadequate funding, political influence on postings, deployments, disengagements and promotions have been major limiting factors. The famous statement by a former Chief of Army Staff, General Salisu Ibrahim, that he was handing over to his successor an Army of ‘anything goes’ is quite instructive.

    There is no evidence that much has changed in this. Even when personnel have been deployed to conflict areas, their conducts have largely fallen short of established rules of engagement. This led to an outcry after the Baga conflict that claimed the lives of many civilians in an operation that some local and international news channels as well as the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) dubbed a massacre.

    The way forward is for the Army to step up efforts at professional training and reorientation. One hundred and fifty years is a long enough time to shed the colonial toga and have a real Peoples Army- one that the people believe in and will willingly share intelligence with, an Army that would no longer be available for the government of the day to engage in dirty, partisan roles.

    If Nigeria is to be a true ‘Giant of Africa’, it must step up the quality of its military, especially the Army. In peace time, as is the case in Egypt, it would help to cement the bond between it and the people, if Army personnel could be involved in development activities.

    Above all, in the years ahead, the message of military subordination to civil authorities should be emphasised. It is no longer fashionable that the military would disobey, disregard or overthrow civil authorities. This is the way forward and it is in the interest of the Army and other military bodies, as well as the country at large.

     

  • Two Nigerians make Talent Campus

    Two Nigerians make Talent Campus

    THE 34th Durban International Film Festival (DIFF), holding in Durban, South Africa, has released a list of 40 young filmmakers from 15 countries in Africa who will be participating at the Talent Campus segment of the film event. The list has two Nigerians: Aderinsola Ajao and Adeyinka Edward Daniyan, a Director of Photography of Kunle Afolayan’s hit movie, Figurine.

    These African filmmakers and film experts are expected to come together in Durban and be inspired and enlightened in the medium and industry of cinema. The programme provides the selected participants with a unique opportunity to meet with international industry professionals, experts and mentors in various aspects of the filmmaking business through participation in a 5-day programme of masterclasses, workshops and industry networking events.

    This year’s candidates, chosen from over 450 submissions, have been chosen from Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, and Uganda.

    DIFF is being hosted by the Centre for Creative Arts, University of KwaZulu-Natal, with principal funding by the National Lottery Development Trust Fund. The event takes place from July 19 to 23, 2013.

    Running in parallel to the general Festival programme, this year’s Talent Campus Durban will offer three hands-on training programmes: Doc Station which will focus on documentary-making, Talent Press which is dedicated to film criticism and Script Station which will foster story development.

    For the third consecutive year, Doc Station will offer three selected Talents the opportunity to refine and polish documentary projects for pitching at the 4th Durban FilmMart’s DOC Circle. Talent Press will mentor four African journalists in the art of film criticism with access to all the screenings of the 34th Durban International Film Festival. This initiative, promoted in collaboration with FIPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics) and the Goethe Institute of South Africa, will welcome film writing experts Didi Cheeka (Nigeria), Espera Donouvossi (Benin and South Africa), Leon Van Nierop (South Africa) and Katarina Hederen (Ethiopia and South Africa) as programme mentors.

    Talent Campus Durban is presented in partnership with the Berlinale Talent Campus, with support from the German Embassy of South Africa, the Goethe-Institut of South Africa, and the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Economic Development and Tourism.