Day: October 22, 2023

Chief Segun Awolowo, grandson of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, late Premier of the defunct Western Region, is excited at the plan to stage the play “Awo”, in Uk in May 2024.

The play, which is produced by the Duke of Shomolu Foundation, was staged in Lagos in 2022.

It chronicles the life and times of the sage that died in 1987.

Segun, in a letter he personally addressed to Mr Joseph Edgar, Chairman, Duke of Shomolu Foundation, said himself and other members of the Awolowo family received the news with utmost joy and excitement.

“The news has elicited excitement not only to me, but all members of the family.

“I remember watching the play at the historic Glover Hall in Lagos (where my late grandfather equally saw great theatrical works in his capacity as Premier of the Western Region).

“I must state that I marvelled at such great artistical and historically accurate output.

“It is for this reason that I do not hesitate to not only endorse the UK showing, but to also render any kind of support within my means to make this exciting project record massive success.

“I personally look forward to hosting your guests at the cocktail that would be organised on the back of the momentous ocasion,” he wrote.

Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who was also a Federal Commissioner of Finance, was one of the founding fathers of Nigeria.

Others in his league included Chief Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria’s first civilian President, and Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister.

Also in that group was Alhaji Ahmadu Bello, the Premier of the defunct Northern Region. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) has called on banking professionals and leaders to chart a course that will leverage the vast potential inherent in Nigeria’s economy.

The President/Chairman of Council, CIBN, Dr Ken Opara, made the call at the 2023 Fellowship Investiture of CIBN on Saturday in Lagos.

Opara noted that in a rapidly changing world, the success of nations was often determined by their ability to harness their inherent strengths and overcome their challenges.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the event had the theme: “Harnessing Nigeria’s Economic Potential for Growth and Development: Strategic Imperatives,’’.

According to him, Nigeria, with its abundant human and natural resources, possesses incredible economic potential.

The CIBN president noted that inequality, in terms of income and opportunities, had remained high and had adversely affected poverty reduction.

“Lack of job opportunities is at the core of high poverty levels, regional inequality, and social and political unrest.

“High inflation has also taken a toll on household’s welfare, pushing more people into poverty.

“Given these numerous challenges, it is abundantly clear that our journey toward harnessing Nigeria’s economic potential for growth and development is marked by both promise and complexity.

“Addressing these challenges requires visionary leadership and collaborative efforts to transform adversity into opportunity.

“The path ahead demands resilience, creativity, and a commitment to shaping a brighter future for our country.

“Hence, it is incumbent upon us, as banking professionals and leaders, to chart a course that leverages the vast potential inherent in our nation’s economy.

“We must explore innovative strategies and approaches that will drive sustainable growth, foster development, and ultimately uplift the lives of all Nigerians,’’ Opara said.

He, however, said unlocking these potential required strategic imperatives that would go beyond mere recognition but deliberate action and innovative thinking.

He said, “According to data released by the World Bank, Nigeria remains Africa’s largest economy with $477.4 billion in Gross Domestic Product.

“While Nigeria has made some progress in socio-economic terms in recent years, its human capital development ranked only 150 out of 157 countries in the World Bank’s 2020 Human Capital Index.

“The country continues to face massive development challenges, including the need to reduce its dependence on oil for exports and revenues, diversify its foreign exchange sources, close the infrastructure gap, build strong and effective institutions, address governance issues, and strengthen public financial management systems.’’

Prof. Joseph Nnanna, the Chief Economist, Development Bank of Nigeria Plc, while speaking on the theme, said the multidimensional concept of growth and development encompasses far more than mere economic indicators.

“Nigeria’s overreliance on oil export has rendered its growth trajectory susceptible to endogenous and exogenous shocks in global oil prices, leading to economic instability.

“However, amidst these challenges lies a path forward, through strategic imperatives that can unlock Nigeria’s vast economic potential.

“Economic diversification emerges as a crucial avenue, leveraging the untapped potential of non-oil sectors to promote inclusive sustainable growth.

“Also, human capital development takes centre stage, acknowledging that education and health are at the core of economic growth.

“Lastly, infrastructure development stands as another cornerstone, underscoring the importance of building a modern and efficient infrastructure network,’’ Nnanna said.

These strategic imperatives, he said, were not standalone solutions and would need to be complemented with addressing policy implementation, resource allocation, corruption, and leadership.

“In doing so, Nigeria can move beyond the constraints of its past, harness the strength of its resources, and emerge as a beacon of inclusive growth and development on the African continent,’’ he stressed.

NAN reports that a total of 449 individuals were conferred awards at the event: 20 Honorary Fellows (including one Posthumous Award), 154 Elected Fellows and 275 Honorary Senior Members. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Ms Toun Sonaiya, Chief Executive Officer, Women Radio 91.7 FM, Lagos, says efforts are underway to reposition women for greater impact on society.

Sonaiya stated this in a statement in Abuja on Sunday, to announce its 7th edition of Voice of Women Conference and Awards (VOW2023), scheduled for Oct. 25 in Abuja.

She explained that the conference with the theme, “Repositioning Women for Greater Impact” was designed to change societal norms and institutional frameworks that impede women’s progress.

This, according to her, will allow women to take on more significant roles in governance and leadership.

She disclosed that leaders, policymakers, advocates, and other stakeholders across Africa would converge in Nigeria for the conference.

She said that the conference would provide the needed platform to share knowledge and find innovative solutions to gender imbalance in leadership and governance.

“Although several policies, and advocacies are in place to promote gender balance, huge gaps still exist in economic empowerment and leadership.

“This is why we have invited speakers from Namibia, Kenya, and Liberia and host country Nigeria to share practical steps and strategies on women’s inclusion, economic empowerment, ownership, and effective allocation of financial resources.

“The outcome will be used to develop a strategic policy document to improve women’s inclusion and leadership,” she said.

She added that the conference would also galvanise actions that recognises the immense potential within women and underscores the necessity of their empowerment for the betterment of the nation.

The CEO disclosed that the Vice Presidents of Nigeria, Liberia, as well as other leaders from Namibia, Kenya, state governors and wives of governors were expected to speak at the conference.

According to her, VOW2023 is leveraging the collective wisdom of experts and practitioners from various African countries, including Namibia, Kenya, Liberia, Rwanda, and host country Nigeria.

“The aim is to have each expert share practical steps taken, both by individually and governments to amplify women’s voices in leadership.

“Women have consistently proven their ability to excel in various fields, from entrepreneurship to corporate leadership.

“However, a staggering number of women continue to face economic disparities that hinder their progress.

“VOW2023 seeks to address these disparities and unveil strategies to unlock the economic potential of women.”

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that VOW 2023 Conference and Awards is an initiative of Women Radio 91.7, Nigeria’s only radio station for women and their families.

The conference is being organised in partnership with Voice of Women Empowerment Foundation with support from the MacArthur Foundation and the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

Other partners are Women’s Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative (WRAPA), Sterling Bank, Lagos Inland Revenue Service, and Advocacy for Women with Disabilities Initiative (AWWDI). (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

The President, Defence and Police Officers Wives Association (DEPOWA), Mrs Oghogho Musa, has advised wives of officers and men of the armed forces to engage in regular physical exercises for healthy living.

The wife of the Chief of Defence Staff, made the call at the DEPOWA’s Route March/Aerobics Exercise to mark Cancer Awareness Month on Saturday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the association had on Wednesday, commenced a 3-Day Medical Outreach as part of activities to mark the cervical cancer awareness campaign in the barracks.

DEPOWA kick-started the outreach with donation of medical equipment to the Defence Headquarters Medical Centre and health talk on cervical cancer awareness at Mogadishu Cantonment.

The association also held awareness talk with over 250 school girls on personal hygiene and Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) vaccine as well free cervical cancer test for 200 women and climaxed it with the exercise on Saturday.

Addressing women from all the services and police associations, Musa said the exercise marked the commencement of Bi-weekly DEPOWA walk that would be hosted by the various officers wives associations across barracks.

She said the move was to help boost the health of the women to be able to stay healthy to take care of the home front in the absence of their husbands who are always at the battle fields in defence of the nation.

“We have agreed that bi-monthly, we are going to continue this walk and want to let you know that today we have already done over 6000 steps and so by the end of the day, you would have done over 10,000 and that is the minimum.

“We must be able to do 10,000 steps each day so that will be free from all forms of diseases with God helping us.

“Also I want to use this medium to also unveil our DEPOWA tracksuit.

“This is one of our uniforms because we love exercising, we want to live healthy as ladies so that it will enable us take care of ourselves, take care of the children, take care of our husbands, take care of our families, take care of the home front.

“Please let us continue in this routine exercise. It is very important for every one of us,” she said. (NAN) (www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s quest for access to sea and alternative ports through legal agreements is quite pertinent and needs to be addressed given her age old proximity and historical linkage with the sea ports.

Scholars from Haromaya, Jimma and Gambela universities said that it is appropriate to strongly work on accessing port facilities through agreements, amicable negotiations and mutual equity with due respect to the sovereignty of port owning neighboring countries.

Instructor and researcher at Haromaya University Dr. Reta Duguma told ENA that Ethiopia has been using Adulis, Masawa and Assab ports for ages by developing the facilities.

He remarked that as the past history of the country indicates, Ethiopia has never been a landlocked country and had stronger economic bondage with these ports.

The scholar further recalled that ever since the establishment of the Axumite Empire around 2nd century B.C, Ethiopia has been conducting commercial relations with the neighboring and distant countries through these ports.

Dr. Reta added that Ethiopia had invested huge amount of wealth on these ports including her investments on the Port of Assab in the 1950s.

“The UN Convention on the utilization of ports by landlocked countries provides that such countries can access ports through mutual discussions and agreements with port owner countries with due respect to the sovereignty of port owning countries, “ he added.

Instructor of history and researcher, Dr. Ketebo Abdiyo said for his part that Ethiopia used to own Adulis and Azuli ports from ancient times. He added that up until 1991, Ethiopia owned Adulis, Massawa and Assab ports.

He noted that given the above mentioned historical settings, Ethiopia’s quest for access to sea and port services is appropriate but it is necessary to carefully consider how the country can access to the ports.

A PHD candidate and instructor of history at Gambela Health Science College, Beyene Hameretibeb said that Ethiopia had owned and developed the Port of Assab.

He remarked that the cession of Eritrea from Ethiopia through a referendum should not have given Eretria an exclusive ownership of the port.

Ownership and accession of sea port is a vital factor for the economic development of any country and Ethiopia’s proposal to access these ports is appropriate that should be addressed, he added.

Beyene stressed that Ethiopia’s demand for sea ports synchronizes with international maritime laws and treaties.

He added that the resolution 390-5 passed by the UN in 1952 has a positive implication for access to seas by landlocked countries.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana has called on the National Assembly (NASS) to step into Nigeria’s worrisome out-of-school crisis, to save the future of the country.

Falana made the appeal in a speech he read at a Summit on Nigeria’s Out-of-School Crisis, hosted by the UK charity, IA-Foundation in Lagos at the weekend.

The outspoken activist said that refusal of state governments to make counterpart contributions to the Universal Basic Education Fund in the country was hampering access to basic education in Nigeria.

A 2022 UNESCO report had said that approximately 20 million children are out of school in Nigeria, which is Africa’s most populous nation.

Falana in his speech, made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Sunday, stressed the need for the NASS to act fast, lamenting that the number of out-of-school children in the country was alarming.

According to him, in pursuant to Section 2 of the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act, it is important for the states governments to make counterpart contributions to the Universal Basic Education Fund, which has continually been ignored.

The activist argued that the NASS should ensure an amendment of the constitution to empower the accountant-general of the federation to deduct the counterpart fund payable by every state government from source.

“In June last year, the Executive Secretary of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Mr Hamid Bobboyi, bemoaned the refusal of state governments to provide counterpart funding and access the annual matching grants given by the commission to develop their basic education system.

“The commission was particularly concerned that about N110 billion of the intervention funds accessed from UBEC were not utilised by the states in 2021, with the money left in the coffers of State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEBs).

“Sometime in 2017, we learnt that the Federal Government had decided to refund state governments all monies so far deducted from their accounts to meet the London Paris Club obligations.

“We were able to convince the Federal Government to deduct the counterpart fund that the state governments had failed to contribute to the Universal Basic Education Fund.

“The suggestion was accepted by the Federal Government and that was how the sum of N71.3 billion was deducted from source and remitted to the account of UBEC.

“Thereafter, UBEC added the matching grant of N71.3 billion and the states received a total of N142.6bn for the provision of needed facilities in public primary and junior secondary schools in the country.

“What the National Assembly should do is to address the refusal of state governments to make counterpart contribution to the Universal Basic Education Fund pursuant to Section 2 of the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act.’’

According to him, the National Assembly should as a matter of urgency, ensure the amendment of the constitution to empower the accountant-general of the federation to deduct the counterpart fund payable by every state government from source.

Falana explained further that since each of the 36 states of the federation had adopted the Child’s Rights Act and enacted a Child’s Right Law, it had become the joint responsibility of the federal, state and local governments to ensure that every Nigerian child was given an opportunity to acquire free and compulsory education.

He added that the Discrimination Against Persons With Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2019 guaranteed free education up to senior secondary school level for every person with disability.

“In the same vain, all public schools, whether primary, secondary or tertiary shall have at least one personnel trained to cater for the educational development of persons with disabilities or special facilities for the effective education of persons with disabilities.

“These laws have been observed in their breach because the members of the political class, drawn from all registered political parties have not demonstrated any commitment to the education of every child in Nigeria.

“The members of the legislative and executive organs of governments have failed to appreciate the danger of having 18.5 million out-of-school children, the highest in the world.

“Therefore, amending the Compulsory Free Universal Basic Education Act to make it more stringent for parents will not work in a poverty-stricken environment,” Falana stated. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Addis Ababa, The 2023 China-Africa Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Cooperation Seminar and China-Africa TVET collaboration and coordination meeting held today in Addis Ababa.

The Seminar was organized in collaboration of China-Africa Vocational Education Alliance and Ethiopia’s Ministry of Labor and skills.

Pertinent institutions and professionals drawn from both sides have participated in the event and discussed issues vital to advancing TVET, explore opportunities, address challenges, and draw insights from Chinese successful practices.

This pivotal event also stands as a hallmark in bilateral relations, specifically within the realm of Technical and vocational Education and Training among the two countries, it was learned.

Aligned with the principles of Belt and Road Initiative, the event contributes to the high-quality development of cooperative efforts between Ethiopia and china.

According to China-Africa Vocational Education Alliance, the collaboration between China and Ethiopia has evolved into a robust diplomatic and economic alliance.

This fruitful partnership extends to the heart of the TVET sector. In January, the China –Africa Vocational Education Alliance and Ministry of labor and Skills of Ethiopia formalized their commitment through a Memorandum of Understanding.

The collaboration encompasses diverse activities, ranging from the review and enhancement of Ethiopia’s occupational standards to development of national curriculum, quality assurance measures, and accreditation processes.

Speaking on the occasion, State Ministry of the Labor and Skills Teshale Beracha pointed out that events like this one significantly contribute to strengthening the longstanding relations between Ethiopia and China.

According to him, the collaboration in TVET is not merely an academic endeavor, it is a bridge connecting the two nations, fostering mutual understanding and reinforcing the bonds that tie them together.

Director General of the China–Africa Vocational Education Alliance, Mark Gong on his part highlighted the Alliance’s comprehensive collaboration with the Ministry of Labor and skills in Ethiopia.

The efforts span various areas, including industry development, economic infrastructure, mining and extraction, health, Agriculture, Trade and Business, sport culture, and Tourism. he added.

The China-Africa Vocational Education Alliance was established in 2021 with the objective of promoting TVET collaboration between China and countries in Africa.

The Alliance has already launched projects in countries in Africa, including Ethiopia.

The government of Ethiopia has been working to strengthen the development of vocational and technical education considering the crucial importance of the sector to expediting economic development.

In this regard, China-Africa Vocational Education Alliance is expected to play key role in realizing this national agenda.

The alliance works to connect various vocational colleges, enterprises, trade associations, experts and scholars of China and Ethiopia, and strive to build a new platform for in-depth and comprehensive vocational education in the world.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa, A delegation of World Health Organization (WHO) comprised of officials and experts from the Headquarters and Regional office is in Addis Ababa for a working visit in Ethiopia.

The objective of the visit is to see the rehabilitation services being underway in Ethiopia, according to Ministry of Heath.

The visit also aims at providing support to Ethiopia’s rehabilitation efforts and strengthening the rehabilitation program to regions affected due to conflict, it was noted.

The delegation is expected to meet with officials of sector ministries including Health, Women and Social Affairs as well as National Rehabilitation Commission and other pertinent actors.

The visit is also believed to create great opportunity to strengthen Ethiopia’s effort in rehabilitation services.

According to Ministry of Health, following the discussion with all stakeholders and partners, a joint plan of action is expected to be prepared at the conclusion of the visit.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s quest for sea port is based on the principle of mutual benefits and partnership that provide amicable opportunity to strengthening shared development.

In his presentation entitled “ from a drop of water to the sea, prime Minister Abiy Ahmed stressed that the issue of access to the sea and ports is not a matter of luxury but a vital prerequisite for the survival of the nation.

Accessing sea port is a legitimate question and is based on the peaceful development of these sea ports.

Instructor and researcher on Political Science and International Relations at Dire Dawa University, Surafel Getahun, told ENA that Ethiopia’s quest on alternative port facilities in not only a matter of international relations but is also a basic precondition for the security and development of the country.

He added that in terms of population, geopolitical location, economic development, Ethiopia is a country that can impart greater influence in the region.

He noted that as Ethiopia is a landlocked country, the nation is subjected to exorbitant payments for port services in her export and import transactions.

In order to fill the gaps in her economic status, the issue of acquiring and expanding port facilities or having access to alternative port options is of crucial importance, he remarked.

The researcher indicated that the proposal forwarded by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is based on the principle of give and take and shared development of ports for mutual benefits.

He further noted that Ethiopia’s quest for sea ports will create an enabling environment for strong relationship with countries and fulfilment of mutual goals.

The researcher concluded that the government should exhaustively utilize all possibilities including diplomatic and peaceful means to be able to obtain sea ports

Source: Ethiopian News Agency