The Nation Newspaper

Tag: US

  • 2015: US not interested in who rules Nigeria

    2015: US not interested in who rules Nigeria

    The United States of America Ambassador to Nigeria, Terence McCulley, said yesterday that his country was not interested in influencing the outcome of Nigeria’s Presidential election scheduled for 2015.

    Speaking on the Kaduna- based Liberty Radio programme’s Guest of the Week, the envoy said that the US does not have any candidate for the 2015 election, and that its only concern is a credible and transparent election better than that of 2011.

    The US Ambassador was asked to react to a request by the President’s Assistant on Niger Delta Affairs, Kingsley Kuku, that the US government is in support of the President’s re-election bid in 2015.

    His words: “We don’t have a candidate for the 2015 elections except that we want credible and transparent elections and a process where all Nigerians can peacefully exercise their right to vote. We are not going to take a position on any individual candidate.

    “We are going to help the Nigerian people to ensure that the elections in 2015 are better than the one in 2011. It is up to the Nigerian people to respond to Hon. Kuku’s statement. We don’t take a decision on individual political candidates.

    “We believe that Nigeria has made great progress in the construction of its democratic institutions and we hope that in 2015, it is going to be peacefully contested on issues and the Nigerian people will decide on who they will vote for….”

    Nigeria’s image, he stressed, could be improved if the government addressed issues of corruption and insecurity in the country.

    “What Nigeria needs to do to effect a change to its brand is to attack corruption, address insecurity, ensure that there is a level playing field for all investors, and ensure that there is an end to the culture of impunity,” he said.

    According to him, all those found to be corrupt or commit abuses should be tried.

    He said once that is done “you are going to have more people come to Nigeria.”

    The US envoy also spoke on the recent killings in Baga, Borno State. He said: “I think we don’t know all of the facts on Baga and I will certainly encourage investigation of what happened there by government and other organisations like the Red Cross so that we can be fully informed.

    “But as a general principle, in looking at the insecurity in the north, we see terrible, terrible acts perpetrated by extremists who attack some government offices, attacks on individuals. We saw what happened in Kano. In January 2012 we saw what happened in Kaduna, we condemned them.

    “At the same time, in looking at the reaction and response of the security forces, clearly they have a duty to provide security, to go after these people who are killing other people, at the same time they need to do so with a fashion that respects rights…..

    “This is a difficult systematic war that the Nigerian military is engaging them in the north and there would be incidents where they are excessive.

    “But they need to end this culture of impunity. There is need to bring to prosecution those who commit crimes. There is need to be punishment for those who are killing. Because that is a strong and powerful signal to the people of the north who are most affected by this. The security forces are there to protect themselves.”

  • US trains Naval men on life-saving skills

    US trains Naval men on life-saving skills

    Medical personnel of the Nigerian Naval Hospital, Ojo, Lagos have been trained on how to treat trauma. The training was sponsored by Africa Partnership Station, US.

    The aim is to solidify the connection between field treatment of military casualties and treatment options, once they are transferred to the hospital. This is to increase the number of lives that could be saved by 25 per cent in traumatic injuries/emergencies, be it military or civilian.

    The medical providers were trained to handle emergencies through practical trainings, so as to effectively treat trauma injuries.

    They went through a review of current trauma literature, scenario training, hands-on training tourniquet and ultrasound training, triage event training with mass casualties. Lectures covering trauma assessment and life saving interventions and techniques /skill were also given.

    It was anchored by Dr Michael Owens, Naval Medical Centre, Portsmouth and Dr Kristie Robson, United States Navy stationed at Bureau of Medicine and Surgery, Falls Church, VA.

    According to Dr Owens, it is very essential to priority trauma casualties to ensure life saving skills are deployed, “and we believe with a lot of advances in trauma casualties management, it is highly good to train personnel including medical assistants, students, nurses and physicians.

    “We have data captured in our system that 25 per cent of casualties die in trauma cases. There are immediate life saving interventions that can be done to quickly and easily save such,” he stated.

  • NPA, US partner on maritime security

    NPA, US partner on maritime security

    The United States (US) is to partner the Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) to make the seaport safe for business.

    An official of the American Consulate-General in Lagos, Mr Rolf Olson, said the US was concerned about the country’s ability to tackle terrorism.

    Olson spoke when he and Ronald Rhinehart visited NPA Managing Director Mallam Habib Abdullahi in his office.

    Emphasising the need for the ports to be secured, Olson said the American Embassy had made its observation known to the Foreign Affairs Ministry.

    He said there was need for both countries to work together to make global maritime activities safe.

    Replying, Abdullahi said NPA had perfected programmes, which would make the authority to be alive to its responsibilities and enhance port security.

    He said the programmes were designed to improve the performance of the security division of the authority in the areas of personnel recruitment, training and acquisition of necessary working tools and equipment to safeguard the port.

    Abdullahi said he was determined to improve the outlook and the performances of the security division of the authority to enable it to cope with the increasing security challenges.

    NPA, he said, has trained officers in all the seaports, adding that the ports are improving on the requirements of International Ship & Port Facility Security Code (ISPS) code. He added that under the concession regime, the management of NPA still oversees the security of the ports in conjunction with other sister organisations.

    While commending the United States government for initiating the move to ensure safety in the global maritime activity, Mallam Abdullahi assured that NPA would support the initiative, as it was in its best interest to tackle terrorism in the ports and its environs.

  • Boko Haram: Ethnic groups in US meet with state department

    Boko Haram: Ethnic groups in US meet with state department

    President of the National Association of Yoruba Descendants in North America, Yeye Afin Monilola Tenabe has disclosed that the concern of ethnic associations in America about the threat to peace posed by activities of Boko Haram compelled her association and other Nigerian ethnic associations in the US to take up the issue with the State Department in the US.

    According to her, her group Egbe Omo Yoruba, North America, together with the Igbo Congress and Zumuntal representing the North went to dialogue with the State Department as “to what can be done to ensure the safety of our people and the country.

    “And they assured us of their assistance, so we are working with them so that they can work with the Federal Government”, she said.

    Tenabe disclosed this at a press briefing to intimate the press with the aims and objectives of the visit of the Egbe Omo Yoruba in North America to the South West with took place at Airport Hotel yesterday.

    According to her, the Association which is non-partisan is carrying on with the progressive agenda, for the South west, of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo.

    “We want to speak with Yoruba people on the need that the Yorubas need to move together in unison, that we all need to cooperate in all aspects of development to make it easier for our people to interact, to come and go more easily. And that we as Yoruba in diaspora have the expertise and all the things we can bring back to help in developing the South west; we want to partner with the state governments to bring about development in the South west”, she said.

    She stressed that the group believes in true federalism and is pursuing a South west agenda not minding political affiliation “moving forward and caring for the Yoruba people and South west.

    The group also hopes to partner with the private sector especially in the area of creating employment to provide jobs for the teaming unemployed in the region and would also want the governments in the zone to create a channel for them to come back home to contribute their quota.

    She also disclosed that the group had made several trips back home before now and has contributed in the area of education and health development and is currently partnering with Osun state in the area of preservation of culture and” we are going to do more”.

    The group is also planning a festival of Arts and Culture in the region next year, “we need a bigger window to do bigger things”, she said.

    Between 4th and 21st April, the Association will pay courtesy visits to prominent Yoruba traditional rulers, political leaders and other influencial Yoruba citizens in the South west to among other things seek their support and collaborative efforts in the development programs for the people.

     

  • US varsity opens Nigerian campus

    The American Liberty University has established a campus in Nigeria in its quest to promote quality higher eduction.The American University of Nigeria (ALUN) bears the name of its parent institution, American Liberty University (ALU), which was founded in 1999 by Dr Kelvin Soltani. The institution has campuses in California and Alabama, United States.

    The university’s foundation was laid at the maiden Annual General Meeting (AGM) of its Board of Trustees (BoT) held in the training hall of the Lagos Building Investment Company Limited.

    The BoT comprises seasoned professionals and educators, including former Minister of Information Chief Alex Akinyele; Justice of Sharia Court of Appeal, Kaduna, Justice Shehu Ibrahim Ahmad; former Director-General of National Teachers’ Institute, Prof Patrick Onyekwere; Rector of Gateway Polytechnic, Ogun State, Prof Babasola Onalaja and Prof Oladipo Hunponu-Wosu, a Professor of Community Health and Primary Healthcare, Lagos State University College of Medicine.

    Others are chairman of Integrated Marble Limited, Abuja, Mr Roland Bassey; president of Kingsland Group of Schools, Ikorodu, Prof Catherine Udenze; co-founder, Christian Pentecostal Mission, Reverend Mercy Ezekiel; Dr Olusola Dada and Dr J.P.C. Anyadiegwu.

    ALUN’s African Director, Dr Akin Ogunsakin, said the university was established because of the millions of naira paid by distance learning students to the parent institution.

    He said he believes that if ALU campus was opened in Nigeria, the nation’s economy would thrive, adding that the university would be pan-Nigerian.

    Stating the mission and vision of the university, Ogunsakin listed the problems of the education sector to include poor funding and infrastructure, inadequate classrooms and teaching aid and polluted learning environment. He added that vices such as cultism, hooliganism and corruption were like a plague in public universities, which affected their values and academic progress.

    “Admission and being in school today is merely the ability to pay what is demanded in monetary terms by school operators and not on what could be offered academically. This widens the scope of poverty prevalence as well as the gap between the rich and the poor, which education is designed to bridge,” Ogunsakin said.

    While noting that higher education remains the vital tool for intellectual and cultural development, Ogunsakin said the responsibility of universities is not only to impart knowledge but also to forecast the future needs of economy.

    He said: “The proposed university will emphasise critical thinking, small classes, students’ participation, problem solving, a US-style general education programme. The university will exchange students with the parent institution in the US. This puts it in conformity with practice of other American universities outside of the United States such as the American University of Beirut and the American University of Paris.”

    Bassey praised Ogunsakin for bringing the project to Nigeria, urging the BOT members to rally support for the smooth take off of the university. He donated N1 million towards the cause.

    Dada said he was elated to be a member of the board, but expressed displeasure on the absence of Soltani at the meeting. Prof Udenze urged management of the proposed university to maintain American standard.

    At the end of the session, Chief Akinyele was elected chairman of the BOT, a position which made him the president of the Nigerian campus of the university. Prof Hunponu-Wosu was elected the deputy chairman and vice president of the proposed university.

    Akinyele described his appointment as another history, saying he had never failed any job given to him in his lifetime. He told members of the board to appreciate the privilege, while urging them to study Ogunsakin’s paper properly and come back with their observations.

    “This appointment is far more important than being appointed as minister. I seek for cooperation and support of all board members and I promise to be more humble,” Akinyele said.

     

  • US, France agree on UN force

    IN Paris, France and at a meeting with President Francois Hollande, United States (U.S.) Vice President, Joe Biden yesterday hailed the French intervention in Mali.

    Biden said: “We applaud your decisiveness and, I might add, the capability of France’s military forces. Your decisive action was not only in the interest of France but of the United States and everyone.

    “We agreed on the need to, quickly as possible, establish an African-led mission to Mali and as quickly as prudent transition that mission to the UN.”

    Biden’s was the first visit by a top U.S. official since President Barack Obama’s inauguration last month. He also joined Hollande in vowing to keep up the pressure on Iran over its nuclear programme.

    “We agreed on the need to as quickly as reasonably possible, establish the African-led International Mission in Mali (AFRISMA) and as quickly as is prudent transition that mission to the United Nations.” Biden said after a lunch parley with Hollande.

    Biden noted that France’s lightning advance since January 11 drove Islamist rebels from key cities they had seized and occupied since last year.

    Biden said: “Your decisive action was not only in the interest of France but quite frankly the United States and everyone.”

  • Nigeria’s revenue may fall over US oil

    The United States (US) increasing oil stock-piles, deepening global uncertainties and weak global demand are likely to suppress oil prices and slash Nigeria’s revenues, Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company (FDC) Limited, Bismarck Rewane, has said.

    In an FDC Economic report, Rewane said since Nigeria obtains over 80 per cent of its fiscal receipts from oil, a reduction in fiscal revenue especially if production drops will deplete earnings for the country.

    “ Any oil price and or production disruption could easily deplete the government coffers to as low as $20 billion, a depreciation of the exchange rate, loss of market confidence and a possible rating downgrade,” he said.

    The FDC boss said pointers are in favour of an end to the CBN’s tight monetary policy stance and the need to boost growth and lending to the real sector.

    He said the contractionary policy stance has been in play since October 2011 when the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) was raised by 275 basis points.

    He insisted that the sustainability of a contractionary stance and its stifling impact on growth and the economy justifies the need for a change in policy direction.

    “Our view is that the overdependence on interest rates as a tool for adjustment is precarious. In 2013, the CBN will have to moderate its stance to allow the interest rate decline and exchange rate depreciate,” he said.

    According to him, the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), as anticipated, left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 12 per cent per annum during its last meeting for this year.

    He said the decision was based on inflationary risks and uncertainties surrounding the weak global economy and that other policy instruments such as the Cash Reserve Ratio and Net Open Position were left unchanged at 12 per cent and one per cent.

    Likewise, Nigeria’s annual inflation rate increased by 0.4 per cent to 11.7 per cent in October, primarily as a result of exceptional factors such as the flooding which resulted in an increase in food inflation to 11.1 per cent.

    He said the impact of the flooding in 12 states of the country was immediate but was not as severe as expected. Core inflation declined for the fourth consecutive month to 12.4 per cent, which, according to the MPC has created some uncertainty as to the appropriate policy stance to apply.

    Rewane said for the leading economic indicators to have remained positive for two months and the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth figure for third quarter to come in lower than the previous year at 6.48 per cent, sends mixed signals on the direction of the Nigerian economy.

    He admitted that government is resolute in its pursuit for fiscal prudence as reiterated by the Federal Minister of Finance. He said that with rising debt service cost of N560 billion that is estimated to increase by 5.67 per cent to N591.76 billion in 2013, the Nigerian debt market may experience respite soon as federal government instruments become more attractive to investors.

  • Nigeria, US to boost economic, bilateral trade ties

    Nigeria and the United States yesterday renewed their commitments to increase economic, trade and investment relationship between both countries, especially in non-oil exports.

    The Minister of Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga, said given the current global economic meltdown, trade and investment remained the only potent tool for achieving sustainable and inclusive economic growth globally.

    Aganga, who spoke at the Seventh US-Nigeria Trade and Investment Agreement Council Meeting in Abuja, said there was a need for Nigeria and the US to deepen their trade and investment relations, especially in the areas where both countries have comparative and competitive advantage.

    The US-Nigeria Trade and Investment Agreement (TIFA ) was signed in 2000. It established the framework for structured dialogue on Trade; Intellectual Property Rights; flow of investment, as well as partnership for cooperation between the economic operators of the two countries.

    Aganga said: “All over the world, presidents and policy makers have agreed that there is only one tool that can lead to sustainable and inclusive economic growth. That tool, is trade and investment.

  • US to overtake Saudi as top oil producer, says IEA

    The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia and Russia as the world’s top oil producer by 2017, the West’s energy agency said yesterday, predicting Washington will come very close to achieving a previously unthinkable energy self-sufficiency.

    The International Energy Agency (IEA), according to Reuters, said it saw a continued fall in US oil imports with North America becoming a net oil exporter by around 2030, and the United States becoming almost self-sufficient in energy by 2035.

    “US, which currently imports around 20 percent of its total energy needs, becomes all but self-sufficient in net terms – a dramatic reversal of the trend seen in most other energy importing countries,” it said.

    The forecasts by the IEA, which advises large industrialized nations on energy policy, were in sharp contrast to its previous reports, which saw Saudi Arabia remaining the top producer until 2035.

    “Energy developments in the United States are profound and their effect will be felt well beyond North America – and the energy sector,” the IEA said in the annual long-term report, giving one of the most optimistic forecasts for U.S. energy production growth to date.

    “The recent rebound in U.S. oil and gas production, driven by upstream technologies that are unlocking light tight oil and shale gas resources, is spurring economic activity – with less expensive gas and electricity prices giving industry a competitive edge,” it added.

    IEA Chief Economist Fatih Birol told a news conference in London he believed the United States would overtake Russia as the biggest gas producer by a significant margin by 2015. By 2017, it would become the world’s largest oil producer, he said.

  • Nigeria, US, Ghana, others to collaborate

    The, United States (US), Ghana and Libya, among others, are to partner Nigeria on health care delivery.

    The partnership is expected to proffer solutions to common health problems in the country, in particular and West Africa, in general.

    The plan to work together emerged at the fifth International Exhibition and Conference of the West African Health (WAH) 2012 in Lagos, with the theme: Financing Healthcare Delivery in West Africa –Challenges and Opportunities.

    Health practitioners from some countries were present to exhibit medical equipment, machines and instruments.

    The Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Femi Olugbile, said well-equipped hospitals and laboratories are important in achieving effective health care delivery.

    “This is what the WAH aims to achieve with the coming of partners to Nigeria and West African sub-region,” he said.

    He stressed the need for the establishment of a strong collaboration between the public and private sector in health care, adding that public-private partnership is the way forward for Nigeria to improve on health care delivery.

    “Running medical practice is very expensive but with the partnering of the WAH in Nigeria’s health care, lots of things will be made easier in moving health care to greater heights,” he said.