The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Sweden

  • Sweden, Switzerland promise support for infrastructure, others

    Governments of Sweden and Switzerland have pledged their support for the development of Nigeria’s power and infrastructure sectors. The Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Mr. Eric Mayoraz, and his Swedish counterpart, Mr. Svante Kilander, pledged the support when they accompanied the Managing Director of ABB in Nigeria, Mr. Mohammed Hosseiny, on a courtesy visit to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

    Amb. Kilander stated after the visit the team had a fruitful discussion with the vice president. “We assured the vice president that the Swedish and Swiss governments are fully behind the activities of ABB Power Company in their activities in Nigeria. “There is a full government support for this Swedish/Swiss company.’’

    The envoy described the relations between Nigeria and Sweden as excellent, saying: “We are happy to be able to promote not only government-to-government relations, but also the relations between Swedish and Nigerian companies. This is where development is taking place, where Nigeria is in such a dynamic stage as it is now under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari and the Vice President.”

    Also, Mayoraz said Switzerland would support the development initiatives of the Buhari administration. “Switzerland, like Sweden, is committed to supporting the new development policy of the new administration of President Buhari and we are supporting our companies that are willing to invest in development activities here in Nigeria,” he said.

    Mayoraz however, declined comment on the challenges facing Nigeria, saying it was the right of Nigerians to assess what the government was doing. The ambassador acknowledged that Switzerland and Sweden have excellent bi-lateral relations, saying: “If we can try to cooperate for the success of the development of Nigeria, we will be very pleased.”

    In his contribution, the Country Managing Director, ABB, Mr. Mohammed Hosseiny, said the meeting was about how the company could play a role in providing Nigeria with power for the development of infrastructure.

    He added that the discussion focused on the nature of solutions ABB had to support the development in both areas as a follow up to the visit of its Group CEO to Nigeria recently.

    The managing director said the response of the vice president was very positive. “He is aware of the company and he has stressed the need to move forward to the next steps in this power and infrastructure development,’’ he said.

  • Sardauna Babes players defect in Sweden

    Two players of Nigeria Nationwide League club, Sardauna Babes have defected in Sweden after a botched training tour, AfricanFootball.com has specially gathered.

    Sunday Ajala and Kabiru Musa have stayed back in Sweden after the rest of the Sarduana Babes players returned to Nigeria without kicking a ball.

    The Kano club, who are financed by a former Kano State Governor and minister, were due to play a series of matches including one against Kalmar while in Sweden, but the whole arrangement hit the rocks even before a disagreement with the organisers of the tour scuttled it.

    It was understood that at least 12 million Naira was made available for the team’s trip to Sweden, but at the end of the day only seven players flew out to Sweden and returned after a couple of days without two players and without kicking a ball because of a disagreement with the Nigerian organisers of the tour.

  • Ethiopia stowaway gets to Sweden in airliner’s hold

    An Ethiopian man hoping to get asylum in Sweden has been found in the hold of an airliner after a flight from Addis Ababa to Stockholm.

    He was handed over to Swedish police after a medical check at Arlanda airport. His health is said to be good.

    The hold of the Ethiopian Airlines jet would have got very cold during the long flight. There was a stopover in Rome, but he is believed to have come all the way from Addis Ababa.

    Such cases are rare, officials said.

    According to Radio Sweden, the man is an Ethiopian, born in 1991, and intends to seek asylum in Sweden. The plane landed at 06:53 local time (04:53 GMT).

    “When the staff were going to unload the baggage, they found the man. He was in good shape, but we made him see a nurse,” said Henrik Klefve, spokesman for airport operator Swedavia.

    Swedish police officer Anders Faerdigs said “he says he works at the airport in Addis Ababa and he had a badge with him.

    “That’s how he had been able to move freely around the airport, reach the plane and get in the cargo hold.”

    Police say he may have been in a section of the cargo hold that is warmer, and where animals are transported.

    Swedavia said only authorised personnel would normally get access to the hold.

  • APC diaspora commends Buhari on bailout package

    APC diaspora commends Buhari on bailout package

    The All Progressive Congress, APC Scandinavia on Thursday commended President Muhammad Buhari for the approval of the inclusive relief packages as a bailout for the states of the federation.

    Speaking through the National Coordinator, Ayoola Lawal in a statement, APC Scandinavia described the package as one that will enable the three tiers of government to clear all salaries owed in arrears to hardworking Nigerian workers across the nation.

    Lawal further stressed that the bailout, if properly managed, will enable the states and the local councils meet their payroll responsibilities further.

    “The packages will not only go a long way in ameliorating the financial sufferings of Nigerian workers across the nation, who have without monthly payment of their salaries for several months but also alleviate the psychological pain associated with working without the ability to meet basic needs.

    “The packages include sharing of dividend paid to the Federation Account by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Company (NLNG), a debt relief program designed by the Debt Management Office which will help states restructure their commercial loans which is currently put at over N660 Billion, and extend the lifespan of such loans while reducing their debt-servicing expenditures.

    The National Coordinator further suggested a Central Bank-packaged special intervention fund that will offer financing to the states, ranging from N250 Billion to N300 Billion. “The CBN package be a soft loan available to states for the purposes of paying the backlog of salaries.

    “Any individual or opposition party that thinks Nigerians are gullible to beg them to come to power in 2019 after several years of looting the collective wealth of the nation and psychological torture of the Nigeria people is a jerk.

    “We in APC Scandinavia are very proud and delighted that President Buhari is showing Nigerians and the International Communities that he is a man of his words and a clear pointer that Nigerians made the right choice of voting the right party to govern them.

    “The promises made by APC and the President during the election campaigns are not the usual mantra of the past political elites of PDP. The promises are genuinely crafted out of justifiable demands and needs of an average Nigerian and a nation in dare need of real and authentic leadership,” he said.

    he therefore called for apositive change in all areas of governance, sustainable growth and development in the entire country which is devoid of political affiliations.

    “Civil servants will again see dignity in their labour and contributions to the national growth after several months of unpaid salaries and eroding pride as a civil servant.

    “We implore the governors to manage properly the packages and maximize the opportunities to deliver better governance to their constituencies,” he urged reiterating the need for Nigerians home and abroad to continue their supports, constructive criticism and prayer for the President Buhari led administration, the NASS, the governors and the APC leadership.

    This is maintained will help the ruling party to further deliver on their promises for a better Nigeria. “Welcome, all to a New Nigeria of our dream,” he summed.

  • APC Scandinavia: Crisis will strengthen Party

    APC Scandinavia: Crisis will strengthen Party



    The All Progressives Congress (APC) Scandinavia chapter has described the current crisis in the party as one that would further strengthen the party.
    The statement was made on Thursday by Mr. Ayoola Lawal, National Coordinator, APC Scandinavia during a caucus meeting in Sweden.
    Lawal opined that Nigerians and the International communities should not be exceedingly alarmed at the current crisis facing the formidable party.

    He stated that: “Crisis are regular part of growth and development and we want to assure everyone that All Progressives Congress will overcome this current crisis and come through stronger and better than it was known before now.”

    “For us at APC, it is not a challenge but a test of our resilience that our party loyalist and Nigerians can testify to over the years even before we won the last general elections at the federal level.

    “The party is a party of orderliness and that is why we are still this coordinated. If this sort of crisis befell another party in this country, even the former ruling party, it would have grown out of hands.”

    The coordinator further noted that it is, however, pertinent that everyone in the party respect the party hierarchy and act in agreement with laid down rules and regulations as contained in the party’s constitution.

    “We implore every House of Representatives member and all Senators elected on the platform of the APC to maintain the level of orderliness associated with the party,” Lawal stated.

  • Falcons get win bonus for Sweden draw

    Falcons get win bonus for Sweden draw

    Following their superlative comeback against Sweden, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) approved for the Super Falcons to get their full win match bonus.

    The Falcons came from two goals down to pull out a 3-3 draw and shock bookmakers, who had given Sweden this game.

    NFF head of women’s football and chairperson women league, Dilichukwu Onyedinma, revealed to AfricanFootball.com “the girls got full compliment of their bonus”.

    She said: “NFF president Amaju Pinnick surprised the girls after the game when he announced that he had ordered that their full win bonus be paid to them.

    “He even came ahead of the team waiting for them in the hotel and expressed his satisfaction with their performance.

    “And I must tell you that this gesture from the president has propelled the girls. Remember that he had already promised them several other monies.”

  • Sweden to add gender-neutral pronoun to her dictionary

    Sweden to add gender-neutral pronoun to her dictionary

    The Swedish newest edition of the country’s official dictionary will feature a gender-neutral pronoun-hen to describe all children as alternative to the male pronoun han and the female hon. The Swedish Academy’s SAOL dictionary, which is updated every 10 years will be republished April 15 and will also include thousands of other new words, according to Washington Post.

    According to linguistic expert Sofia Malmgård, the gender-neutral term can be used in two ways. “First, if the gender is unknown or not relevant (as in: “If anyone needs to smoke, ‘hen’ may do so outside”). Second, it can be used as a pronoun for inter-gender people (as in: “Kim is neither boy or girl, ‘hen’ is inter-gender”),” she explained.

    To many Swedes, the decision of the Swedish Academy reflects how quickly their society has embraced gender-neutral language. “Over the last few years, the word ‘hen’ has more and more found its way into the Swedish language,” Malmgård told The Washington Post.

    Five years ago, barely anyone in Sweden was aware of the word. The decision to now include ‘hen’ in the authoritative SAOL dictionary is expected to facilitate an even more frequent use of it in everyday conversations. Set up in 1785, the academy was established with the aim to adapt the Swedish languages to changing cultural and societal influences – a role the institution still feels committed to.

    According to experts, the hen-revolution in Sweden has two primary origins: LGBT groups have promoted the pronoun as a way to raise awareness for their cause. However, support for the idea has also come from a more unexpected side: Nurseries, kindergartens and preschools such as Egalia increasingly argue that the pronoun’s usage allows children to grow up without feeling the impact of gender biases. “The public debate over the pronoun actually only started after the publication of the country’s first gender-neutral children’s book”, Lann Hornscheidt, a professor of Scandinavian languages and gender studies at Berlin’s Humboldt University explained.

    Gender-neutral education in Sweden goes far beyond linguistics. As the BBC already observed in 2011, toys and games in some nurseries are placed deliberately next to each other, in the hope that children will feel free to choose the items they feel most comfortable spending their time with.

    To Hornscheidt, the popularity of hen has not come as a surprise. “The introduction of a pronoun which challenges binary gender norms has been an important step, following a more thorough debate over the construction of gender within the last 10 years,” he said.

    The Berlin-based researcher nevertheless cautions that simply introducing a gender-neutral pronoun in other countries may not be sufficient to fight sexism or gender-biases. Turkey, for instance, also has a gender-neutral pronoun. Nevertheless, the country was only ranked 125th in the 2014 gender equality report of the World Economic Forum. Sweden came fourth.

    •Culled from Washington Post.

  • Sweden win bronze

    Sweden beat Argentina 4-1 at the Mohammad Bin Zayed Stadium in Friday’s match for third place at the FIFA U-17 World Cup in the UAE.

    The Scandinavians were the better side from the opening whistle, with Valmir Berisha again proving one of the top strikers at these finals with a three-goal day. It brought his total haul to seven goals in seven games – enough for the top-scorer award – as Sweden finished their first junior world finals with bronze.

    When the final whistle sounded, the Scandinavians – who had lit up the tournament with their football – celebrated what can only be called a wildly successful debut on the U-17 world scene.

  • Sweden will fall now – Eaglets coach

    Sweden will fall now – Eaglets coach

    Golden Eaglets coach, Manu Garba, has said he hopes to go past group rivals Sweden in Tuesday’s U-17 World Cup semi-final.

    The Nigerians had to draw on their rich experience to draw 3-3 with Sweden in a Group F match in Al Ain penultimate week, but Manu said it would be a different ball game when the two teams meet again in the semi-final at the Rashid Stadium in Dubai.

    With a total of 20 goals in five matches, the Eaglets remain the best attacking team at the 2013 U-17 World Cup and Manu said his team will be ready to see off the Swedes.

    “I want to congratulate the boys for a job well done against Uruguay and Sweden should be ready for our fireworks in the semi-final on Tuesday,” he said.

    “We have learned so much playing against Sweden the last time, but we shall be ready for them this time around,” MTNFootball.com quoted the Eaglets coach as saying at a post-match conference on Saturday.

    With African champions Cote d’Ivoire bundled out by Argentina 2-1 in an earlier quarterfinal played at the same Stadium, Manu noted the onus is now on the Golden Eaglets to carry the banner of the continent.

    “It is unfortunate that our African brothers Cote d’Ivoire are out of the tournament, but we are going to fly the flag of the continent since so much would be expected of us now,” he noted.

     

  • U-17 World Cup: Nigeria, Sweden settle for draw

    U-17 World Cup: Nigeria, Sweden settle for draw

    Nigeria and Sweden on Wednesday played a thrilling 3-3 draw in the ongoing U-17 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

    The Golden Eaglets, who defeated Mexico 6-1 on Saturday, showed some defensive frailties in today’s encounter, FIFA.com reports.

    The Scandinavians, playing in their first FIFA U-17 World Cup, stuck to their game-plan and were thoroughly deserving of their share of the spoils against the Group F favourites as both sides now look in good shape to reach the knockout rounds.

    The Swedes only needed 11 minutes to shock the much-feared Golden Eaglets and the goal came from a hopeful ball lofted into the penalty area from deep in midfield. Nigerian keeper Dele Alampsu thought he had a chance at intercepting and raced out of his net, but Erdal Rakip got to the ball first and nodded across the face of goal. Valmir Berisha was on the spot to guide the ball home on the volley.

    It was 2-0 to the Scandinavians eight minutes later when Anton Saletros bamboozled his man on the left flank and crossed deep into the penalty area. Berisha showed he had his shooting boots on as he expertly headed home his second goal of the contest.

    The Nigerians, traditionally slow starters, hit back in spectacular fashion with one of the goals of the tournament. Kelechi Iheanacho, four-goal scorer from the first game against Mexico, floated in a ball from midfield. It was met by Success Isaac, who swiveled and slammed into the far corner without the ball ever hitting the grass, all in one motion, in the 20th minute.

    The Africans then went close to drawing twice in the last five minutes of the half. Samuel Okon tried an audacious lob from 40 yards that had Sixten Mohlin in the Swedish goal back-peddling desperately, before tipping over the bar. Shortly after, substitute Taiwo Awoniyi’s snap-shot was saved again by Mohlin, the effort not able to match the outstanding approach work up the right side.

    Mohlin went from hero to villain for the Swedes early in the second half. He failed to get his body behind the ball when Musa Yahaya tried a speculative shot from way out. The ball trickled between the keeper’s legs and bobbled, almost apologetically, over the line as he tried desperately to recover.

    The Nigerians were in the driving seat, and the Swedes were increasingly camped in their own half. But a fast-break up the left side in the 65th minute saw the Swedes back into the lead. Saletros chested the ball on goal from close range and Alampsu could only parry away. Unfortunately for the keeper, substitute Mirza Halvadzic was lurking on the doorstep and slid home to make it 3-2.

    But the talented and irrepressible Africans still had something left in the tank. Awoniyi’s powerful header with ten minutes to go was too much for Mohlin to keep out and the game ended honours even.