The Nation Newspaper

Tag: South Africa

  • #BBNaija: I do not need to talk with TTT – Bisola

    #BBNaija: I do not need to talk with TTT – Bisola

    Bisola Aiyeola, 1st runner up of the Big Brother Naija reality TV show said on Monday that she does not need to talk to ‘ThinTallTony’ Offiong, former housemate and love interest about his marital status.

    The newly appointed Ambassador of ONE Campaign for the Girl-Child education said this during a news conference along with winner, Efe Ejeba at The Wheat baker, Lagos.

    Bisola who was romantically involved with ThinTallTony while in the BBNaija house, said that she does not see the need to have a conversation with him as to why he hid the fact that he is married with kids from her.

    She had earlier addressed the issue during a briefing in South Africa after she (Bisola) shockingly noticed and pointed out the wedding band on TTT’s finger.

    Reacting further, she said, “So I just found out that Thin Tall Tony is married, has a family and in my mind I’m like, ‘dude, you are one amazing actor.

    “Good thing, I did not have it in my head that I was going to come out and have a sort of romance with you; I hope your wife did not deal with you too much.

    “But somehow I feel sort of slightly betrayed that he betrayed that friendship that I thought we had, I thought we could really be close buddies outside of the house.

    “So, yes, Tony, I hope your family is doing great, well done to you, to them, feel just a little betrayed that, we were really close, come on, we shared a lot of things together.

    “This one thing that you didn’t say, I don’t know why. Anyway, it’s your choice, you played the game the best way you know how to.’’

    ThinTallTony who is married with two kids hid his marital status during his stay in the house before he got evicted.

    The dancer had earlier stated in an interview that he had an agreement with his wife, Laraba Offiong to keep his family private

     

  • Xenophobia: Nigeria, South Africa set up early warning centre

    Xenophobia: Nigeria, South Africa set up early warning centre

    Foreign Affairs Minister Geoffrey Onyeama says Nigeria and South Africa have set up a 24-hour early warning system to protect Nigerians from unwarranted attacks.

    Onyeama said at the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) Forum in Abuja that Federal Government was ready to intervene.

    “Wherever any Nigerian is threatened or in difficulty, we will always intervene quickly, an example of this was in Italy, you will recall last year or the year before there was a Nigerian who was attacked and killed.

    “We quickly engaged with Italian Government and really took all the necessary steps, arresting people and pay compensation to the family. So we will always engage to protect Nigeria lives wherever they may be.

    “We are hoping now to set up a 24-hour call centre so that Nigerians anywhere in the world can call a particular number whenever they are in distress,”

    He said that the Nigerian High Commission in South Africa had been directed to facilitate legal support to help the victims of recent xenophobic attacks in the country to get their compensations.

    The minister said that the victims of the attacks had been advised to make inventory of their losses through a mechanism that had been created, known as the early warning unit.

    “What we have done is that we visited the scenes of these attacks; we spoke to victims, we saw their businesses and we advised them to make an inventory of their losses.

    “And, that the mechanism we have created, the early warning unit, what will then happened is that they should submit all their claims through the Nigerian High Commission to be presented at a high level meeting to push the issue of compensation.

    “First of all we have to see what the insurance laws provide and really take it from there; the important thing is that this should be addressed.

    “We also asked the high commission to facilitate with legal support, to identifying lawyers and all that to help in the process.

    Onyeama decried attacks on Nigerians in South Africa and India which sometimes led to death and expressed concern that the South African situation was more troubling because it often re-occurred.

    “We have engaged directly with the highest levels of government of South Africa. The Vice President of South Africa spoke with the Acting President at the time

    “I went to South Africa with the Minister of Interior and we were able to get the South African Government to set up an early warning unit.

    “We wanted an institutional mechanism that will address the issue of xenophobia in South Africa.’’

    Onyeama said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs identified the fact that the Nigerian Union in South Africa did not have any access to the South African Government.

    He said the Nigerian community felt it was at the mercy of the South African police.

    “We were able to get the early warning unit, comprising the Nigerian High Commission there and the Nigerian Consulate but most importantly, the Nigerian Union in South Africa.

    “On the South African side, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs which is in charge of the police and the police.

    “They will be meeting regularly to share intelligence, share information, build trust and develop strategies for early warning intervention.

    “We thought that was a very important achievement; it is institutionalised, they meet once every quarter or they could meet earlier,” he said.

    The minister said that he had directed the Nigerian High Commissioner in South Africa to arrange the first meeting as quickly as possible.

    He expressed the hope that the step would go a long way to address the situation.

    Onyeama described the attack on Nigerians in India as a one-off thing because it was a response to a particular incident.

    He said what was gratifying about the Indian case was that the Indian Government was very quick in condemning and arresting suspects. (NAN)

  • Nigeria face South Africa June 10 in Uyo

    Nigeria face South Africa June 10 in Uyo

    Three-time African champions Nigeria will play their first competitive game of 2017, a 2019 African Cup of Nations qualifier against South Africa at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium in Uyo.

    The Nigeria Football Federation have also informed that the match will take place on Saturday, June 10, 2017.

    The Super Eagles missed out on the 2017 African Cup of Nations after finishing second in the qualifiers behind Egypt, and could not defend their crown in Equatorial Guinea.

    For the second straight year, the Super Eagles will camp in France in May, before the AFCON qualifier against South Africa.

    Meanwhile, the fourth edition of the annual Nigeria Pitch Awards ceremony will hold in Uyo two hours after the match against Bafana Bafana, and a total of 18 awards will be handed out at this year’s ceremony.

  • African fashion market hits $31bn – Europe

    African fashion market hits $31bn – Europe

    The founder, Africa Fashion Week London/Nigeria Ronke Ademiluyi says that the annual turnover from African fashion in Europe is about $31 billion.

    Ademiluyi, who disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Friday in Lagos said that African designers are very creative which made their work to stand out.

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    “The African fashion industry has according to the Euro monitor is worth $31 billion, annually and it is still growing.

    “A lot of big brands like the Swedish IKIA are doing a flagship collection of African furniture and require many African designers to work with them.

    “So for me, I think it’s a new revolution of African fashion it’s not going anywhere, it’s here to stay, our colours are vibrant and bold and everybody loves them so it’s a worldwide revolution.

    “The first year we had 53 designers from across Africa and 4, 500 visitors, and it’s been growing every year, it’s the biggest platform in the UK and Europe that promotes African fashion.

    “Every year we have about 20, 000 visitors who attend we have designers from various African countries, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, from all over the world.

    “They come and they experience the latest fashion out of Africa.’’

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    She said that the recently concluded 2017 Africa Fashion Week, Nigeria “The Iconic Catwalk Show”, was a boost for Nigerian prints, fashion display and iconic sites to the world.

    NAN reports that the 2017 fashion week had in attendance over 10 fashion designers from Nigeria, Cameroon and Zimbabwe who presented models that showcased their creativeness in catwalks.

    Some of the designers included Vonnie Couture, Yikodeen (footwear), Valery Royal (Cameroon), Nyaradzai (Zimbabwe) and Telvin Nwafor.

    The highlight was the cultural show by Lixi Cardow, a fashion designer who displayed designs made from ABC fabrics (local Ankara) in various styles.

  • S/Africa defends decision to ignore ICC’s Bashir arrest warrant

    South Africa told the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Friday that it believed it was under no obligation to arrest Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir during a visit two years ago even though he was subject to an ICC arrest warrant.

    The ICC warrant did not outweigh a South African law that grants sitting heads of state immunity from prosecution, South African legal representative Dire Tladi told judges at a hearing to discuss Pretoria’s failure to arrest al-Bashir in 2015.

    “There is no duty under international law and the Rome Statute to arrest a serving head of state of a non-state-party such as Omar al-Bashir,” Tladi argued.

    The row between South Africa and the ICC over its failure to arrest al-Bashir, who is accused of genocide and war crimes, led to Pretoria’s notifying the United Nations last year that it would withdraw from the court.

    Earlier in January, a South African court blocked the move over procedural issues, but the government has said it will push ahead with the withdrawal.

    Al-Bashir denies the charges against him.

    Though Sudan is not a member of the ICC, the court has jurisdiction by virtue of a 2005 UN Security Council resolution referring the conflict to the Hague-based permanent war crimes court.

    Friday’s hearing was called so that the court can gather information on whether it should report South Africa either to the ICC’s governing body, the Assembly of State Parties, or to the UN Security Council for non-compliance with the court.

    NAN recalls that on Sept. 7, 2015, judges at the ICC asked South African authorities to explain why they failed to arrest al-Bashir in June when he attended a conference.

    Bashir, accused of masterminding genocide in Darfur, was able to leave an African Union summit in South Africa and fly home, in defiance of a ruling by a South African court ordering his detention under a warrant from the ICC.

    NAN recalls that South Africa, a member of the ICC, is obliged to enforce warrants from the Hague-based tribunal.

    NAN reports that the court said in cases where a member of the ICC fails to cooperate, the court may refer the matter to either the Assembly of States Parties, the ICC’s governing body, or the UN Security Council, which established the court and has the power to impose sanctions.

    President Jacob Zuma has defended the decision to let Bashir leave the country, saying they wanted leader had immunity as a guest of the African Union.

     

  • S/Africa opposition asks court to cancel removal of finance minister

    S/Africa opposition asks court to cancel removal of finance minister

    South Africa’s largest opposition party has filed a court application against President Jacob Zuma’s decision to fire finance minister Pravin Gordhan.

    The Democratic Alliance (DA) described the sacking of Gordhan as a big blow to the economy.

    DA asked the North Gauteng High Court to cancel the decision “on the grounds that it was irrational, and therefore unconstitutional, unlawful and invalid,” the party said in a statement.

    The DA is also seeking an emergency session of parliament to handle a no-confidence motion against Zuma and has called for nationwide protests against the president on Friday.

    It said members of Zuma’s African National Congress (ANC) had threatened it with violence and that it would file criminal charges against them while going ahead with the peaceful protests.

    Gordhan had enjoyed the confidence of investors, and Zuma replaced him with the inexperienced Malusi Gigaba just as the country’s economic growth slowed to 0.3 per cent last year. More than a quarter of the workforce is unemployed.

    The sacking of Gordhan prompted the rating agency Standard and Poor’s to downgrade South Africa’s sovereign credit rating to junk status on Monday, sending the rand into free fall. Other rating agencies were expected to follow suit.

    “Zuma’s decision is likely to cost yet more jobs and will have a lasting and calamitous impact on ordinary South Africans,” the DA said.

    The Gordhan affair has threatened to split the ANC, some of whose senior officials reportedly back calls for Zuma to resign.

    But on Wednesday, ANC Secretary-General Gwede Mantashe said the party still stood behind the president.

     

  • COSATU calls for Zuma to step down

    South Africa’s largest trade union confederation on Tuesday joined the ranks of President Jacob Zuma’s critics and called on him to step down.

    Traditionally an ally to Zuma’s African National Congress party, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) said it no longer trusted Zuma’s leadership.

    COSATU said it became worried about Zuma,s leadership after his decision to sack finance minister Pravin Gordhan prompted the rating agency Standard and Poor’s to downgrade the country’s sovereign credit rating to junk status.

    Speaking at a press conference, COSATU Secretary General Bheki Ntshalintshali said that Zuma was no longer the “right person” to lead the country.

    “The time has arrived for the president to step down.

    “We no longer believe in his leadership qualities,” he said.

    The New Finance Minister Malusi Gigaba said he would lead a delegation with stakeholders to meet with rating agencies.

    NAN reports that on March 30, Leader of a South African opposition party, Julius Malema, filed for disciplinary or impeachment proceedings against Zuma in a court application.

    Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), said the application to the Constitutional Court would seek to order the Speaker of Parliament to institute the action against Zuma.

    He said the filing was linked to a decision by the Constitutional Court in March 2016, when it ordered Zuma to return some of the 16 million dollars spent on enhancing his residence at Nkandla in KwaZulu-Natal province.

    Zuma has since has taken out a home loan to repay some of the state money.

    The ultra-left EFF party said in a statement the Nkandla saga “renders him (Zuma) unfit to hold the high office of President.”

    NAN recalls that the case was brought by the EFF and the Democratic Alliance.

    The court ruled Zuma violated the constitution when he failed to repay government money spent on his private home.

    It gave the treasury 60 days to determine how much he should repay.

    The ruling is a victory for the opposition, who said they would push for Zuma’s impeachment.

    They accused him of using “ill-gotten wealth” to upgrade his home with a swimming pool and amphitheatre.

    Zuma has denied any wrongdoing.

     

  • Sacked S. Africa’s finance minister says intelligence report used to fire him “nonsense”

    South Africa’s outgoing Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Friday an intelligence report President Jacob Zuma used as justification to fire him was “absolute nonsense”.

    Gordhan also said during a televised press conference in Pretoria that he had been “sickened” by allegations that he had secret meetings to undermine the government during an investor roadshow abroad.

    In a similar vein, Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Friday he told Zuma that he disagreed with his decision to sack Gordhan.

    “I told the President so, that I would not agree with him on his reasoning to remove the minister of finance,” Ramaphosa told reporters.

    However, Ramaphosa also told public broadcaster SABC TV that the government would remain stable after the sacking of Gordhan and would tell ratings agencies that its institutions were strong.

    Zuma’s midnight sacking of his finance minister shook South African financial markets and increased the chances of costly downgrades to its investment grade sovereign ratings.

    NAN reports that Appointed in 2015 after a predecessor’s sudden sacking, Gordhan was in London for the first leg of a week-long non-deal investor roadshow in Britain and the U.S.

    Weak economic growth and tensions within the ruling party African National Congress (ANC) have put South Africa’s investment grade credit rating at risk.

    The rand fell as much as 1.7 per cent following the report, while bonds weakened sharply.

    Banking shares on the Johannesburg bourse fell more than two per cent.

    A government source said: “they were told last night or this morning to come back… the presidency did not give permission for the trip.”

    The president’s office could not be reached for comment.

    Africa’s most industrialised economy escaped being downgraded to junk status last year.

    S and P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings both rank the sovereign one level above junk, while Moody’s puts it two notches higher.

    Moody’s, which put South Africa on negative watch in its latest review, is due to revisit that on April 7, followed by S and P at the beginning of June.

    Gordhan’s team on the trip to London, Boston and New York included deputy finance minister Mcebisi Jonas and Treasury director general Lungisa Fuzile, as well as business executives and union leaders.

     

  • South Africa commits to working with Nigeria for a better Africa

    The South Africa’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Lulu Mnguni, has said that South Africa is committed to working with Nigeria for a better Africa in a better world.

    Mnguni made this known while speaking at a welcoming session for the South African business delegation which arrived in Lagos on Thursday.

    The mission, which started on Monday in Ghana and  kicked-off its second-leg on Thursday in Lagos, is organised by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).

    According to Mnguni, the two countries do not only focus on servicing the interests of their own citizens, but also to consolidate the African Development Agenda.

    “ Both South Africa and Nigeria were the leading forces in Africa.

    “As both countries move towards the regeneration of the African continent they both could play an important role as the two major countries with leading economies.

    “South Africa, with its vast wealth of expertise, has an advantage of assisting other African countries to diversify their economies.

    “To this end our Department of Mineral Resources has been hard at work, working with Nigeria.

    “Part of the  objective is to identify and create export markets for South African value-added products and services.

    “It is to also serve as a means to create and promote South African business partnerships between business communities of Nigeria and South Africa,” he said.

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the mission will focus on sectors that deal with agro-processing,  electro-technical, infrastructure, mining, services and capital equipment.

    The programme for the mission also include trade and investment seminars, site visits and business-to-business meetings

  • Party raises concern over xenophobic attacks on Nigerians

    The leadership of the Young Democratic Party (YDP) has expressed concern about attacks on Nigerian residents in South Africa.

    A statement issued on Wednesday in Abuja by Mrs Georgina Dakpokpo and Mrs Khairat Animashaun-Ajiboye, the National Chairman and National Publicity Secretary of the party respectively, said the attacks should be checked immediately.

    According to the party, it is unfortunate that South Africa has forgotten Nigeria’s role in the fight against apartheid in South Africa.

    “The historical roles played by Nigerians towards the emancipation of the black South Africa may not have been well documented, archived and communicated.

    “The level of education or lack of same may be a major factor in the xenophobic attacks on fellow youths and Nigerians in South Africa by South Africans,” the statement said.

    It said the Federal Government should look at Nigeria’s historical contributions towards the abolishment of apartheid in South Africa to form a more appropriate foreign policy on South Africa.

    “The attack is usually recurring because the erroneous belief that the South Africans chances of getting jobs have been eroded by, perhaps, more hardworking Nigerian youths.

    “YDP wishes to condemn in strongest terms unprovoked xenophobic attacks on fellow youths and citizens in South Africa as well as killings in Kaduna.

    “The party, therefore, wishes to implore the All Progressives Congress-led government to be more proactive in ensuring security of Nigerians within and outside Nigeria,” it said.

    The party, therefore, pleaded with the Federal Government to put measures in place to ensure respect for the provisions of the law and the constitution, especially in the areas of security of Nigerians.

    “Although, we appreciate that so much has been done in other areas of concern, especially in depleting the strength of Boko Haram insurgents, the party observes increase in the spate of kidnappings across the country,” it said.

    The party suggested the creation of a South African Education fund for the youth, an initiative, it observed, should be strictly developed by Nigerian government for the education of indigent South Africans in South Africa.

    “This should be funded primarily by the South African multinational companies doing business in Nigeria.

    “The fund should be controlled via the Nigerian Consulate in collaboration with non-governmental organisations based in South Africa,” the party suggested.

    In all the processes, the party said the African Union and the South African government should be involved to forestall further breakdown of law and order.