Africa

The media was recently awash with news of a coup d’état in Niger Republic. The Gen. Abdourahamane Tiani-led military junta struck on July 26, sweeping aside the democratically elected government led by President Mohamed Bazoum. With the coup, Niger joined the growing list of African countries under military rule. Already …

Cairo, Aug. 23, 2023 The Egyptian Foreign Ministry has stressed the importance of adopting dialogue to reach a peaceful resolution of the crisis in Niger Republic. “Egypt boosts all efforts exerted to defuse tensions in a way that promotes the democratic order and the sovereignty and stability of Niger and …

By Sixtus Uket (Calabar) Seventy undergraduates drawn from Nigeria and Ghana have been awarded 4-year scholarships by the Association of Brotherhood Academic Scholarship (ABAS). The awardees, comprising 66 Nigerians and four Ghanaians, were selected after scaling through an examination conducted by ABAS on June 24, 2023 in Calabar, Cross River …

Nigerian clubs in the 2023/2024 CAF Champions League suffered defeat in their respective preliminary round first leg games on Sunday August 20, 2023. MEDEAMA FC 1-0 REMO STARS Remo Stars Sports Club were defeated 1-0 in Ghana by Medeama FC in their CAF Champions League preliminary round first leg clash …

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)’ delegation has met with Niger Republic’s detained President Mohamed Bazoum and coup leader, General Abdourahmane Tchiani in the capital, Niamey on Saturday. The delegation was led by Nigeria’s former military leader, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar and ECOWAS …

Niamey, Aug. 19, 2023 Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger have met to discuss a joint defence strategy in response to the announcement by the West African regional bloc, ECOWAS, of military intervention in the coup in Niger. Military staff of the three countries met in the Nigerien capital Niamey to …

By Yakubu Uba Maiduguri, Aug. 19, 2023 The Multinational Joint Task Force (MNJTF) combating insurgency in the Lake Chad region says it has continued to record mass surrender of insurgents. A statement on Saturday by the spokesman of the task force, Lt.-Col. Abubakar Abdullahi, said the development was due to …

Following defeat to Cameroon in her second match, Nigeria bounced back to winning ways in her third match with a win over Burundi at the ongoing 2023 African Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship in Yaounde, Cameroon. Nigeria spanked Burundi 3-0 (25-17, 25-14, 25-9) to record their second win of the championship …

By Joshua Olomu Abuja, Aug.18,2023 Nigerian music superstars, David Adeleke, also known as Davido, Divine Ikubor, popularly known as Rema and ace comedian AY Makun have been listed among the ‘100 Most Notable Peace Icons in Africa’. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the stars were named in …

Nigeria lost to hosts Cameroon 0-3 (16-25, 13-25, 18-25) in their second match at the ongoing 2023 African Senior Women’s Nations Volleyball Championship in Yaounde, Cameroon on Thursday. Nigeria started the first set on a high note but the much experienced Cameroonian team suppressed the aggressive Nigerian lads 25 to …

A good number of people, including me, seem opposed to Nigeria leading the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to war in Niger. In one of the most telling anti-war metaphors, a Nigerian columnist and Editor, Lasisi Olagunju, likened military intervention to rubbing buttocks with the porcupine.  Doves everywhere …

By Emmanuella Anokam Abuja, Aug. 16, 2023 The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and Afreximbank have jointly signed a commitment letter and term sheet for an emergency three billion dollars crude oil repayment loan. The signing took place on Wednesday in the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, according …

The hurriedly declared resolution of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to deploy troops to restore democracy and reinstate the ousted President Mohamed Bazoum of Niger Republic, after the military takeover of power on the 26th of July, might have been influenced by the need to avoid foreign …

By Jessica Dogo Abuja, Aug. 15, 2023 Tezza Academy, Nigeria and Accra Institute of Technology (AIT) Ghana are set to partner in order to foster knowledge in Information Technology (IT). Ms. Oluwatomi Etta, Communication Specialist, Tezza Academy, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. Etta said that the …

Nairobi, Aug. 15, 2023 Kenya’s energy regulator announced that the country had reinstated a small subsidy to stabilise retail fuel prices for the next 30 days. The regulator, known as EPRA, announced late on Monday, a reversal of government policy following public anger over the high cost of living. In …

Niamey, Aug. 14, 2023 Niger’s new rulers want to charge ousted President, Mohamed Bazoum with high treason, a spokesman for the junta said on national radio. The spokesman said Bazoum and his other “accomplices” would have to stand trial. Bazoum was removed from office by a military junta in a …

Monday, 14 August, 2023 The Jerusalem Post is arguably Israel’s most-read English news website and best-selling English newspaper. Last Wednesday, it published an interesting report of what it described as a “nature drama” involving a large black snake in the town of Shoham, halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. The …

The Arewa Economic Forum (AED) has declared that the financial loss occasioned by the closure of the Nigerien border with Nigeria is 13 billion naira on a weekly basis. The forum in a press conference in Abuja on Sunday also lamented that Northern Nigerian businessmen have over 2000 containers of …

Mr. Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the February 25, 2023 election has called for diplomatic dialogue as the best way to resolve the festering Niger Republic crisis. This is against the backdrop of the deployment of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) standby …

Realpolitik and commonsense have long validated the nexus between domestic strength and foreign policy actions. Yet, presumable statesmen frequently fall prey and segue into quagmires by assuming that forays into intractable foreign policy realms will validate their bona fides or redress and strengthen their domestic weaknesses. Some leaders also assume …

The partnership with eLearnAfrica brings, immersion, flexibility and convenience JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, August 10, 2023/ Recognised as one of the leading business schools for its focus on sustainability and ethical leadership, Rhodes Business School (www.RU.ac.za/BusinessSchool/) has entered into a partnership with eLearnAfrica to develop a Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), to …

Zenith Bank Plc has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat for the development of the SMARTAfCFTA Portal, for trade promotion within the African continent. The SMARTAfCFTA Portal, which has the capacity to provide information like trade indicators, market trends, custom tariffs, …

African Champions South Africa have qualified for their first ever knockout round at a FIFA Women’s World Cup with a 3-2 win over Italy on Wednesday August 2. The Desire Ellis trained South African ladies required victory against Italy to progress to the knockout round but the Europeans would have …

Paris, Aug . 1, 2023  France has begun evacuating its citizens from Niger following last week’s military coup, with the first plane transporting more than 260 people from the capital Niamey, said a top French official. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on social media on Tuesday evening that twelve …

Niger Republic is Nigeria’s next-door neighbour. She is not the best neighbour Nigeria would desire but, as a sovereign nation, we have no control over her. Her economic statistics, population demographics, poverty and security threats – terrorism, insurgency, and inter-communal conflicts – are too much baggage for a neighbour any …