The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Senegal

  • Dream Team IV hits Senegal today

    Dream Team IV hits Senegal today

    The U-23 National team, Dream Team VI will today depart from Banjul, Gambia where it has been camping for the past 10 days for the CAF U-23 Africa Cup of Nations billed for Senegal.

    According to the secretary of the team, Sirajo Hassan, the delegation made up of 23 players, 10 accompanying officials will depart the Banjul International Airport at about 11pm aboard Arik Airline for the 30 minutes flight to Dakar.

    The team is expected to play its last friendly game against the Gambian U-20 side, the Baby Scorpions tomorrow by 4pm (5.00pm Nigerian time), before departing.

    The team on arrival in Dakar, will then proceed to Mbour, venue of its first two group B games.

    The Dream Team VI will begin their quest to qualify for the Rio Olympics when they take on West African rivals Mali on Sunday,November 29 at the Caroline Faye Stadium, in Mbour.

  • Chadian ex-president faces war crimes trial

    Chadian ex-president faces war crimes trial

    The war crimes trial of Chadian former President Hissene Habre, will resume on Monday in Senegal’s capital, Dakar.

    The trial which, comes 45 days after he and his lawyers boycotted the court, marks the first time an African ex-president faces justice in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Habre stands accused of crimes against humanity, war crimes and torture, and will face the Extraordinary African Chambers, a special criminal court set up by the African Union within the Senegalese court system.

    So far, about 2,500 of the dictator’s victims had submitted their testimonies, including those of Rights groups who accused the 72-year-old of being responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people during his time in power.

    But Habre – who is said to have prevented all forms of opposition during his rule from 1982 to 1990 by using a system of arrest, torture and murder – refused to acknowledge the legitimacy of the court.

    The ex-president, who was previously dragged into the courtroom did not stand up or respond when called on by the judge when the trial began in July, instead he interrupted the proceedings shouting that it was a “farce’’.

    The court has meanwhile appointed a new team of lawyers to represent Habre for the remainder of the trial.

  • Envoy urges economic ties between Nigeria, others

    Envoy urges economic ties between Nigeria, others

    The Nigerian Ambassador to Senegal and Mauritania, Mrs Katyen Jackden has called for stronger ties between Nigeria and other African countries.

    She said the trade volume between Nigeria and Senegal has been largely in the informal sector and in favour of Senegal as many Nigerian traders troop to the country to buy textile materials and other fashion accessories.

    Speaking in her office in Dakar, Senegal, she said .the trade imbalance has led to the quest of the Nigerian government to push for the establishment of the Nigeria/ Senegal Chamber of Commerce.

    Mrs. Jackden said before now, the two countries cooperated in the oil and gas sector but with the discovery of oil recently in Senegal, other sectors such as tourism, social housing and agriculture would be explored.

    She said investors can invest in several sectors of the Senegalese economy, noting that the economy has proved over time to be stable and prosperous.

    She berated some entrenched colonial interest in Senegal who she claimed wanted to truncate the investment stride of Dangote but hailed the Senegalese government for supporting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). She said: “Dangote’s competitors were behind the challenges and hurdles it went through before it finally rolled out its bags of cement.”

    According to her the investment has helped to promote regional and African integration.

    On the population of Nigerians in the country, she said the number is up to 10,000 but regretted that officially the embassy has less than 5,000 Nigerians registered. On the challenge of marketing Nigeria to her host country, Jackden said: “We need to do more aggressive marketing to let the world know that we are good people, great nation.  Senegal is import dependent especially on spare parts and agriculture and we need to take the advantage of the cordial relation between us to market our potentials.”

  • AFCON 2015: Senegal shocks Ghana 2-1

    AFCON 2015: Senegal shocks Ghana 2-1

    At the just ended African Cup of Nations (AFCON) group C match opening, Senegal has dramatically defeated the Black Star of Ghana by 2 goals to 1.

    The Ghanaian team add an impressive performance withing the first 15 minutes of the game and was able to record the first goal in the match through a penalty but returned for the second half only to play more of what seemed to be defensive.

    Meanwhile,  the Senegalese came all out for victory in the second half and got it.

    Senegal got the equaliser and continued to mount more pressure n the Black Stars until Moussa Sow got a long pass at the 93rd minute of the match to put the score line at 2-1.

  • Groups march in Dakar for abducted girls

    Groups march in Dakar for abducted girls

    Members of some 20 civil society organisations in Senegal marched in Dakar yesterday to demand the release of the girls abducted on April 14 by the Islamic sect, Boko Haram, in northern Nigeria.

    The protesters, dressed in red, numbering over 100, shouted: “Release our sisters! Release our daughters!” hurled hostile slogans against Boko Haram, while many others carried banners on which were written “#Bring Back Our Girls.”

    A young Senegalese student, Seynabou Thiam, said she did not wish to be in the situation of the abducted girls “because it is very difficult to get separated from our parents.”

    She expressed the hope that the mobilisation would reap its fruits with the help of God.

    Another student, Mouhamadou Bocoum, said that he was shocked by the abductions. “War is not prosecuted by abducting children. I do not understand how we can convert Christians to Moslems by force, as announced by the leader of the sect, Abubakar Shekau,” Bocoum stressed.

    According to him, members of Boko Haram are criminals because abduction is a crime.

    “They say they do it in the name of religion but Islam has never recommended abduction of children and to convert them by force”, he added.

    Soukeyna Ndao, a member of the Association of Senegalese Jurists, regretted the weak mobilisation of African governments against the massive abduction of girl-students.

     

    “I would have liked to see all African states protesting against this situation, unfortunately, the voices are not heard”, she grieved.

    She pledged that the Senegalese civil society organisations would keep the pressure on to call government’s attention to the incident with a view to making efforts at bringing back the girls safe and sound.

     

  • WCQ: Nigeria draws Ethiopia

    WCQ: Nigeria draws Ethiopia

    …  Ghana to meet Egypt, Ivory Coast vs Senegal

    Super Eagles of Nigeria would meet the Walya Antelopes of Ethiopia in the final round of the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier for African zone.

    In the draws held on Monday morning in Cairo, Egypt, Ivory Coast was paired with Senegal, while Ghana would square up with seven-time African champions Egypt.

    Other pairings are – Algeria versus Burkina Faso and Cameroon versus Tunisia.

    The matches would be played in October and November to determine the continent’s five representatives in next year’s World Cup in Brazil.

     

     

  • Fans rue Nigeria’s quarter-final loss to Senegal

    Fans rue Nigeria’s quarter-final loss to Senegal

    Some supporters of D’Tigers, the Nigerian basketball team on Thursday in Abidjan described the quarter-final loss to Senegal in the on-going African Nations Basketball Championship (Afrobasket) as painful.

    NAN reports that the Nigerian side which progressed unbeaten to the quarter-final lost 64-63 to Senegal on yesterday.

    The report said that apart from ending the team’s dream of lifting the title for the first time, the loss also ended its bid to book a place in the World Cup.

    The D’Tigers had beaten Mali 74-59, Congo 93-75, Cameroon 91-84 in the first round, and Central African Republic 112-75 in the second round.

    Some of the supporters who spoke to NAN after the match said the slim loss was heartbreaking and unexpected, judging by the performance displayed since the beginning of the tournament.

    Bright Moses, President of the Association of Nigerian Youth in Cote d’Ivoire, said the loss to Senegal, dwindled the surging morale of supporters.

    “It was actually not a good day for the team; we saw them bungle similar opportunities that they utilised in the previous matches.

    “They clearly did not come out with the kind of force we saw in the previous games, we all came out of the venue dampened,’’ he said.

    Another supporter, Nkono Maximus, a Nigerian trader based in Abidjan, described the loss as “cutting short the joyous moments brought to Nigerians in the country since the game began.

    “Truly, this is not where we hoped to end, it was painful but we must take it as one of those things in sports.

    “When we won, some persons mourned and wept, today we have lost, it happens in the world of sports,’’ he said.

    Another Nigerian, Ruth Isibor called on the team not to be dismayed by the loss but to go back to the planning table for future competitions.

    “It is true that our hopes and joy have been cut short, but we must go back and plan, we have a team that can go far’’ she said.

    The 2013 edition is Nigeria’s 25th appearance in the championship since its premier edition in 1965.

  • Commissioning of Oluremi Tinubu Women Training Centre Senegal

    Commissioning of Oluremi Tinubu Women Training Centre Senegal

  • Reps condemn attack on Nigerian Embassy in Senegal

    Reps condemn attack on Nigerian Embassy in Senegal

    The Nnena Elendu-Ukeje headed House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs yesterday condemned the attack on the Nigerian Embassy in Senegal. It urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to liaise with the Senegalese authorities to bring the culprits to book.

    After listening to the briefing of the Nigerian Ambassador to Senegal, Mrs. Katyen Jackden on the March 5 attack, the committee members were shocked that the attack was carried out by Nigerians, adding that the destruction of property on the premises especially the pulling down and defacing of the Nigerian flag, were acts of treason and should not go unpunished.

    The committee also advised the Federal Government to make up its mind on if or not it was going to effectively fund the Nigerian Missions abroad or close down some in order to adequately fund the remaining ones.

    In her presentation; the envoy told committee members that on the fateful day, she was preparing to receive the Liberian Ambassador “when at about 11.10 am, persons, who later turned out to be Nigerians attacked the Embassy, causing the destruction of Mission’s vehicles including the Representational car, as well as vandalising the Chancery building.

    Mrs Jackden said: “Although, nobody died, some embassy staff sustained injuries and they are currently receiving medical attention.

    “The attack itself, as I eventually gathered, was occasioned by the alleged disappearance from the mortuary of the corpse of a Nigerian, Mr. Inogbulam Kingsley Inogbulam. She however lamented the security implication of the current location of the Chancery, saying it was a contributing factor to the ease with which the incident occurred.

  • Attack on Nigerian Embassy in Senegal

    Attack on Nigerian Embassy in Senegal