The Migration Enlightenment Project Nigeria (MEPN) has called on the Nigerian government to “significantly increase consular support” to Nigerian irregular migrants in the transit and destination countries. The Germany-based group made the call in a press statement, released on Monday 26 November, arguing that stranded migrants, especially in transit, are left totally at the mercy of the very traffickers who …

Last year, about 38,000 migrants from third countries received a residence permit in Germany because of their work experience and skills. Compared to 2009, it’s an increase of more than 50 percent. Most came from India, Bosnia-Herzegovina, USA, Serbia and China. The immigration of skilled workers from non-EU countries to Germany is increasing. Last year, more than twice as many …

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo will deliver a keynote address at the maiden Nigeria Diaspora Investment Summit (NDIS), which holds in Abuja on 27-29 November. The three-day summit, themed “Activating Diaspora Investment for a Diversified Economy” and holding in the Banquet Hall of the State House, Aso Villa, is to provide a platform for Nigerians in the diaspora to invest in the …

Germany’s Interior Ministry has proposed new measures to monitor and deport persons whose asylum application has been rejected.  The German Interior Ministry on Sunday (18 November) confirmed plans to facilitate and accelerate deportations of failed asylum-seekers along with those who should have their asylum requests processed in another EU country under the so-called Dublin rules. According to the European Union’s Dublin …

Femi Awoniyi continues his report on the annual general meeting of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe, which held in Vienna, Austria, on 8-10 November, bringing together Nigerians from across Europe and Nigeria to discuss topical issues affecting their home country. The second of the 3-day annual general meeting of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE), with the theme …

Nigeria’s campaign season was officially flagged off on Sunday by the country’s election commission and the two leading candidates for the presidential polls wasted no time to present their plans to the electorate. President Muhammadu Buhari on Sunday asked Nigerians to re-elect him in 2019, primarily to keep fighting the corruption war his administration started in 2015. He also stated …

On Saturday, 17 November, the Afrobeat star, Femi Kuti and his Positive Force band performed at the Young African Art Market (YAAM) in East Berlin. Our Contributing Editor, Michael Nnaji witnessed the event and reports on the high and low points of the memory night. Femi Kuti and his Positive Force band raised the temperature of the Berlin audience on …

People from Germany’s list of “safe” countries rarely have the right to asylum. Keith Walker and Timothy Jones of Deutsche Welle look at what the list means for asylum-seekers in Germany. Germany’s constitution defines as “safe countries of origin” the ones “in which, on the basis of their laws, enforcement practices and general political conditions, it can be safely concluded …

Femi Awoniyi, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of The African Courier magazine, writes on the annual general meeting of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe which took place on 8-10 November in Vienna, Austria. The general meeting of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) takes place once in a year and it brings together Nigerians from different walks of life, from across Europe. …

Events were held across Germany on Monday (12 November) to mark the centennial anniversary of women’s right to vote. “Today, no one will laugh when a little girl says she wants to be a minister or the German chancellor,” Chancellor Angela Merkel said at an event in Berlin. She however warned against setbacks in women’s rights. The fact Germany has …

Over 2 million Unintended Pregnancies & 735,000 Unsafe Abortions Prevented Since July 2017 A groundbreaking international report released today (12 November) shows over 1.7 million additional users of modern contraception in Nigeria since 2012, as the government works to expand family planning services. The report shows modern methods of contraception have prevented over 2 million unintended pregnancies and 735,000 unsafe …

Kenneth Gbandi has been re-elected the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) for a second 2-year term. Hon. Gbandi was returned unopposed at the biannual election, which took place on Saturday (10 November) in Vienna as part of the activities of the group’s annual general meeting. It’s the first time that a chairman of NIDOE would be …

Femi Kuti and his band, the Positive Force, will rock the German capital city on Saturday 17 November in what organisers have promised will be a show to remember. The eldest son of Afrobeat pioneer Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, who started his musical career in the band of his father “Egypt 80”, will be performing live in Berlin for the first time …

Gents Club Berlin celebrated its first anniversary with a big get-together in the German capital city on Saturday, 3 November. Members of the socio-cultural-humanitarian association and their families joined by invited guests turned out in beautiful, colourful attires to mark the first birthday of the club, founded by a group of Nigerians. It was an evening of good music, supplied …

President Muhammadu Buhari has appointed Abike Dabiri-Erewa as the first chairman and chief executive officer of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM). Ms Dabiri-Erewa, who is currently the Senior Special Adviser to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora, was a member of the House of Representatives representing Ikorodu Federal Constituency in Lagos from 2003-2015. Nigeria Senate president, Bukola Saraki, …

Nigerians from across Europe will gather in Vienna, Austria, on 8-10 November for the annual general meeting of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE). The event, which will also be attended by dignitaries from Nigeria, is a special one. A new executive council of NIDOE will be elected in Vienna, an event that takes place every two years. Moreover, …

A community of African bloggers is slowly emerging in Germany with a growing number of bloggers who share their personal experiences for others to learn from, creating a veritable platform for information exchange. A Berlin meeting brought them together for the first time last Friday. Femi Awoniyi reports. African bloggers gathered in Berlin on 2 November for the first Afro-Bloggers …

The Mo Ibrahim Foundation has released its annual assessment of the quality of governance in African countries. The 2018 Ibrahim Index names Mauritius as the best-governed and Somalia the worst-governed among the 54 countries in the continent. The Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) ), which was launched in 2007, is generated by measuring Safety & Rule of Law, Participation …

According to the EU’s statistical office, Eurostat, unemployment in the 28-member state EU stood at 6.7% in September 2018, the lowest monthly rate since January 2000. Eurostat also noted that the unemployment rate among the 19 EU states using the euro stood at 8.1 percent in September, the lowest since 2008. Compared with September 2017, unemployment fell by 1.793 million …

Former Ghana Football Association President Kwesi Nyantakyi has announced that he would be heading to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) to appeal against a decision by FIFA to ban him for life. FIFA handed a life-ban from all football activities to Nyantakyi on Tuesday for various violations of their ethics code, including bribery and corruption. He was also …