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  • UN Centre sensitises youths on vocational training

    UN Centre sensitises youths on vocational training

    The Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH) Multipurpose Hall was filled, last week, as students, youths, professionals, members of academia and politicians gathered to mark the maiden United Nations (UN) World Youths Day, with the theme: Skill acquisition: Panacea for youth unemployment.

    The event was organised by the college chapter of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation International Centre for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (UNESCO-UNEVOC).

    The UNEVOC Co-ordinator, Dr Amina Idris, said the Centre was set up to reduce the rush for white-collar jobs and to train youths to be self-reliant. She said Centre had objective to provide vocational skills, competency, capacity building and staff development.

    The aim of vocational enterprises and innovation, she said, is to close gap in skill acquisition and training youths for work and opportunities. She said: “I see bright future ahead of youths, who acquire useful skills. They will be the driving force of the economy.”

    The Rector, Dr Margaret Ladipo, said skills acquisition remained the panacea for youth unemployment. Any youth, who acquires skill, she said, will enhance his ability to make informed choices in employment opportunities.

    The Rector said the event was to raise awareness on the importance of investing in skill acquisition to reduce unemployment.

    Speakers at the event included Nollywood actors Mrs Omotola Jolade-Ekeinde and Hon. Desmond Elliot, who charged the youths to follow their passion and dream to make themselves independent after school. They said the only way to success was to abide to acquire adequate skills.

    Joshua Udensi, a participant, said the event could motivate students to be employers of labour, stressing that skill acquisition would solve job crisis facing the nation.

    The UNEVOC Coordinator at YABATECH, Dr Fumilayo Doherty, said the aim of the Centre was being achieved gradually.

    Other guests at the event included Deputy Rector for Academics, Mr Innocent Akhuemonhkan, his Administration counterpart, Dr Mau’ruf Adebakin, Registrar and Ms. Charity Amapakabo.

  • Top stories of the week: an interactive timeline

  • Nigerians fleeing to Cameroon, says UN

    Nigerians fleeing to Cameroon, says UN

    A refugee camp deep inside Cameroon is receiving many people fleeing Boko Haram violence in Nigeria, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported Tuesday.

    Families are leaving unstable and dangerous zones on the Nigeria-Cameroon border “and seeking shelter some 100 kilometres (62 miles) inland at the Minawao camp,” run by UNHCR and its partners, spokesman Leo Dobbs said.

    Most of the new arrivals had initially stayed close to the border after fleeing clashes between Boko Haram jihadists and Nigerian troops in the hope they could return home quickly, Dobbs added.

    Refugees said they ran from militant attacks in Borno State. The Boko Haram insurgency has killed more than 15,000 people in Nigeria since 2009.

    The population of the Minawao camp has risen to 44,000 from 30,000 at the same time last year.

    The UNHCR and Cameroon’s government are trying to contact refugees remaining in border territory to see whether they would prefer to come to Minawao or be taken to secure zones inside Nigeria, Dobbs said.

    The UN agency estimates that nearly 12,000 unregistered refugees are in northern Cameroon, while Camerooonian authorities put the figure at 17,000.

    Boko Haram, which has extended its campaign across Nigeria’s borders and prompted a regional military response, carried out its first suicide bombing in Cameroon last Sunday.

    Two women wearing the full Islamic veil blew themselves up in the far northern border town of Fotokol, killing 11 people.

  • UN condemns terrorist attacks in Nigeria

    UN condemns terrorist attacks in Nigeria

    United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday condemned the Boko Haram terror attacks which killed more than 60 people in Gombe and Damaturu over the last one  week.

    Ban reiterated the UN’s support for the federal government in its fight against terrorism.

    Fifty people were killed on Thursday at the Gombe main market as residents made last minute shopping ahead of the Eid el Fitr.

    About 15 others were killed on Friday when three underage girls detonated Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) moments before the Eid prayers in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital.

     

     

  • Ban Ki-moon condemns Boko Haram attacks

    The United Nations Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon has condemns the terrorist attacks that killed over 60 people in the towns of Gombe and Damaturu in northeast Nigeria in recent times. 

    These heinous crimes came as the victims, along with Nigerians nationwide, were conducting Eid prayers, a sacred time for families and communities to come together. As such, the attacks constitute an assault on the beliefs of all people. 

    The Secretary-General offers his condolences to the families and loved ones of the deceased, and wishes a speedy recovery to the injured.

    The Secretary-General reaffirms his solidarity with the people of Nigeria and reiterates the UN’s support for the Nigerian government in its fight against terrorism, while upholding human rights. 

  • Ayade slams UN, FG for ceding Bakassi

    Ayade slams UN, FG for ceding Bakassi

    • No amount of dollars can assuage us, says Gov

    Cross River State Governor, Senator Ben Ayade on Friday chided the United Nations and the Federal Government for ceding the oil-rich Bakassi Peninsular to the Republic of Cameroon without seeking the consent of the people through a plebiscite.

    Ayade, who stated this while receiving the Country Representative of United Nations High Commission for Refugees, Mrs. Angele Dikongue Atangana, in his office in Calabar, said the people of the state were still angry over the ceding of the peninsular.

    He said the ceding of the peninsular was done without a plebiscite, thus unjustly depriving the people of their ancestral home and turning them into refugees in their own land.

    The governor, who struggled with his emotions, said: “Your Commission is undertaking a worthy and noble cause. I thank you for your humanitarian assistance and expression of emotion, but the people are angry in the way and manner they have been treated. They have been deprived of their heritage and livelihood.”

    Speaking further, the governor said: “The people of Bakassi were not given the opportunity to choose where they would want to belong and I am telling the UN that this is an unsettled issue and no amount of dollars can settle the issue.

    “ The people have now been split between Cross River and Akwa Ibom states, as well as Nigeria and Cameroon. As the agony of the people continues, their plight cannot be wiped away by dollars.

    “Take it that the people feel very disturbed and unhappy, and if this had happened in any other part of the world, there would have been war today. This is totally unacceptable and is not done in the modern society. Today, Cross River is traversed by internally displaced persons, who are refugees in their own state.”

    Continuing, the governor said. “the displaced people of Bakassi are suffering and if United Nations had anything in mind, it should have started from there and if anything needed to be treated as an emergency, it is the Bakassi, because the people live in such sub-human condition. The state will work hard to strengthen things and we will partner the commission to achieve its aims.”

    Earlier, Angele Dikongue Atangana, commended the state for accommodating refugees from Cameroon, and said the commission was touched by the plight of the displaced persons of Bakassi, adding that while everything is being done to ensure the resettling of the Cameroonians in their country of origin, the commission would collaborate with the state to make life comfortable for the people of Bakassi who are internally displaced in the state.

    Atangana explained that the commission spent about $200,000 in the first half of 2013, adding that it has worked out modalities to introduce vocational training for the people with the assistance of development partners as a means of giving them a sense of livelihood, saying that they should not be seen as stateless people but be recognized as citizens or nationals of Nigeria who are rightly settled in their motherland.

  • UN Commission releases modality for housing Adamawa IDPs

    UN Commission releases modality for housing Adamawa IDPs

    The United Nations High Commission for Refugees in Africa has said that the aged, physically challenged, orphans and very sick persons will be the beneficiaries of the  500 housing units to be constructed for the Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) in Adamawa State.

    The High Commissioner for Refugees, Mr. Cesar Tshilombo, disclosed this while briefing the deputy governor of the state, Mr. Martins Babale, on the modalities adopted by the body to share the houses after completion.

    Noting that the Commission cannot singlehandedly shoulder the responsibility of building all the destroyed houses by the Boko Haram sect, he said it was due to this reason that certain categories of the IDPs were picked as prospective beneficiaries.

    In his response, the deputy governor gave an assurance that the sharing of the houses would not be politicised, adding that all the stakeholders in all the communities affected would be involved in the process.

    He, however, suggested that IDPs camps should be built outside the state capital and also suggested Toungo Local Government in South senatorial district of the state as the proposed site.

     

  • Build continent-wide policy – UN conference tells Africa

    Build continent-wide policy – UN conference tells Africa

    The Economic Development in Africa Report 2015 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) has said that better leveraging of services trade in Africa could yield major employment and growth benefits.

    The report subtitled “Unlocking the Potential of Africa’s Services Trade for Growth and Development” argued that the ongoing negotiations towards a continental free trade agreement offer a unique opportunity to align national and regional policies on services trade to that end.

    Officially launched in Lagos Nigeria, the report also argues that building continent-wide policy coherence in financial services would boost economic productivity and help reduce poverty.

    “Africa must bridge the policy disconnect of services trade in order to unlock the sector’s potential for the continent’s growth and economic transformation.

    “Furthermore, the impact of a continent-wide free trade area will only be meaningful for Africa if services are opened up in parallel with trade in goods. This is because services, such as transport and storage services, are necessary components of trade in goods,” UNCTAD Secretary-General Mukhisa Kituyi said.

    According to the report, the establishment of a continental free trade agreement, most recently on the agenda at an African Union summit in June 2015, is in itself a unique opportunity for African countries to align their existing national, regional and global policies on services trade.

    It also found that many national development plans mention services trade as a vehicle for development but fail to link it to existing regional plans or regulation on services in the context of their regional economic communities.

    For example, several countries such as Burkina Faso have become leading exporters of cultural services, and Kenya and Senegal of business process outsourcing, but these sectors are not integrated with the countries’ commitments made at the World Trade Organization.

    Another major area identified by the report where African Governments need to make efforts in aligning the existing national, regional and multilateral regulatory frameworks, is in the financial services sector.

    The report argues, for example, that it is important for African countries to extensively examine how to align their domestic financial sector regulation with existing regional regulation, as some regional economic communities already have some protocols in place covering aspects of financial sector integration and/or investment at the regional level. This is the case of the Arab Maghreb Union, the East African Community, the Economic Community of West African States and the Southern African Development Community.

    These protocols envisage the free movement of capital in their respective subregions and will need to be adequately reflected in national policy and regulation so that financial market integration becomes a reality.

    At national level, the report recommends that services trade be adequately mainstreamed into national development plans. This requires that a policy formulation exercise be informed by country-wide consultations with all the major stakeholders.

    At regional level, the report notes that greater coherence could be achieved if a pan-African mechanism is established to allow for the continuous consultation and coordination of a regional agenda and concerns relating to services trade that arise within the regional economic communities and the African Union.

  • FG to partner UN on development goals

    FG to partner UN on development goals

    The Director of the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) Lagos, Mr Ronald Kayanja, has presented to the United Nation Country Team (UNCT) an update on activities so far in Nigeria and proposed events for the rest of the year, in consultation with the Resident Coordinator’s Office and in continuation of its commitment to promoting the UN 70th anniversary as a one-UN event in Nigeria.

    He noted that the Foreign Affairs Ministry had responded to the letter on UN@70, written by the Resident Coordinator, Mr Daouda Toure, on joint activities with the Federal Government of Nigeria.

    Mr Kayanja proposed a formal launch of UN@70 with the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs which will be succeeded by monthly events until December 2015.

    However, according to him, there would be one week of activities which would climax on 24th October 2015 when the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is expected to be Chief Guest of Honour.

    Other proposed activities include an international conference organised in partnership with the Nigeria Institute of International Affairs (NIIA); Peacekeeping Command of the Nigerian Military to honor fallen combatants during Peacekeeping operations; Public lectures on the UN and Nigeria organized in collaboration with Covenant University, Ota Ogun State.

    Others are School Arts Exhibitions and essay competitions on the work of the UN by a School in Abuja and another one in Ogun State; and a Photo exhibition which would probably be the world’s longest photo exhibition organized with Femi Arts Warehouse and planned to be staged at the Bar Beach, Lagos, among others.

    In his contribution, the Resident Coordinator observed that the 70th anniversary provided a platform for the UN system to highlight its works in the country. He, therefore, called on all Head of Agencies to communicate UN@70 during their activities.

  • Group partners UN to increase access to budget

    Group partners UN to increase access to budget

    Civic technology and transparency advocacy group, BudgIT Nigeria has partnered with the United Nations (UN) to increase access and ensure transparency in government budgets.

    The partnership will also assist the group to track projects in 24 communities in Nigeria located in six states across the Federation.

    BudgIT is already working with both Kaduna and Edo state governments to ensure transparency.

    The UN is facilitating the agreement under its Democracy Fund programme in other to enhance citizen participation in local governance by enabling community members grasp public finance data and capital projects captured within their areas of residence.

    BudgIT’s Lead Partner, Oluseun Onigbinde, in a statement said that the partnership was the culmination of prior advocacy work at grassroots level.

    “Since 2013 we have worked in over 300 communities, and note that for every 10 communities visited, only one community has constituents that have knowledge of the budget, or local projects provided for in their States; this partnership will expand our campaign to ensure that every citizen of Nigeria attains their rightful place as a partner in government, not as mere spectators.”

    Onigbinde explained that BudgIT’s initial focus was on the Federal budget, adding that Nigerians clamor for transparency in their States is important.

    According to him, this project will allow people track all projects in the budget provided for their neighborhoods, such as the construction of roads, hospitals or any relevant empowerment schemes.

    “Across the broad spectrum of our online and offline engagement, and with our peers in civil society, there is an increasing demand for accountability at the sub-national level, as this is where governance is immediately felt, or missed.

    “Work will be intensifying on projects relating to health, education, poverty alleviation schemes and gender issues,” he revealed.

    In his response, the Deputy Head of United Nations Democracy Fund, Mikiko Sawanishi, said that UNDEF supports projects that strengthen the voice of civil society, promote human rights, and encourage the participation of all groups in democratic processes.

    “We are thrilled to support the project ‘Creative Communication on Nigeria’s Budget’ implemented by BudgIT. The project will provide citizens of Nigeria with information on the formulated national budget as well as planned public projects, in order to increase transparency and accountability.

    “Using technology, the project will be able to reach a wide population through diverse approaches and truly provide a voice and platform to Nigerians.  We look forward to working with BudgIT and supporting this project to fruition,” she said.