President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria begins a three-day (13-15 October) official visit to Germany today. He is expected to hold talks with Chancellor Angela Merkel on issues of shared interests between Nigeria and Germany, including co-operation on security, the humanitarian situation of internally displaced persons and rehabilitation of the North-East ravaged by Boko Haram insurgency, as well as trade …

German chancellor Angela Merkel and her foreign minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier have been visiting Africa at the same time. Top of their agendas were migration, security and investment. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier described Nigeria as the “powerhouse” of Africa as he embarked on his one day trip to the country. Nigeria was not only rich in natural resources, but also the most …

Germany’s chancellor Angela Merkel has called on African leaders to stop migration to Europe and fight back against Islamic extremism. She vowed to help with development aid and military equipment to ensure peace and prosperity in Africa. Germany will also make Africa a priority of Germany’s G20 presidency in 2017. Merkel visited Mali, Niger and Ethiopia during a three-day tour, …

Nelly Sarpong, Berlin-based Ghanaian-born writer, bemoans human trafficking and what we as individuals can do to combat this modern-day slavery. Imagine going to a supermarket and seeing human beings on the stands with barcodes on them, being sold and resold as commodities. Imagine human beings being auctioned to the highest bidder. Imagine human beings as puppets being at the mercy …

Habte Hadgu (61), a travel agent, is the proprietor of Red Sea Travel & Tours, Heidelberg. “I came to Germany in 1978 to study. Previously, I was studying at Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. One of my fellow students who later became very famous was Meles Zenawi (the late Prime Minister of Ethiopia). He was in his second year while …

Amid the gloom of recession and a tightening of belts in the homeland, Nigerian academics, business people and other professionals met with German companies to discuss ways of forging ahead in Hamburg, reports Michael Nnaji. Nigerians living in Germany gathered in the port city of Hamburg recently to parley on what the great Nigerian writer Chinua Achebe once described as …

A $3.4 billion Chinese-built railway linking the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa and the port city of Djibouti has opened, a boost to both African countries’ economies and an important milestone for Chinese investments in Africa. The new 750-km line, which completely replaces a long-defunct French line built in the early 20th century, will reduce travel time between the two cities …

Under US pressure, the UN refuses to lift an embargo against the tiny nation of Eritrea, while ignoring constant aggressions by its huge neighbour, Ethiopia, writes Dr Fikrejesus Amahazion. The UN has abrogated its responsibility to uphold international law – and, instead, coddles Washington’s military ally, he argues. During one of his debates with Socrates, Thrasymachus alleges that “justice is …

“There are examples of villages with several mosques but the Christians have to worship in school classrooms. Christians are not allowed to acquire land to build churches.”

Under the theme Restorative Justice after Genocide, the German NGO community meets descendants of the victims of the Ovaherero and Nama genocides 1904-1908 from all over the world on 14-16 October in Berlin. The conference is organised by Berlin Postkolonial in cooperation with AfricAvenir International, the Ovaherero/Ovambanderu Genocide Foundation (OGF), the Nama Technical Committee on Genocide, the Association of the …

Governments face complex challenges in maintaining peace and security and at the same time preserving constitutional values, writes Henry Anozie and he suggests what has to be done to fight the war on terror successfully. The series of violent attacks – from the shooting in the Munich shopping mall to the suicide attack in Ansbach – within a week in …

Frankfurt-based published author and musician Che Chidi Chukwumerije writes on what it means to be German even when your roots are thousands of kilometres away. “Being German is more than being a colour. It is being a type. It is being a part-bearer of Germany and Germany’s future within you,” he says. Being German is more than being white – …

Applying for asylum can be a long, complicated process. This is what you need to do...

Nigerians in Germany are expected to head to Hamburg in large numbers this weekend for the annual celebrations of their country’s independence anniversary organised by the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) Germany. An Award Ceremony & Dinner will round up the NIDO Germany Day 2016 in the Merchant City on 1 October. It will be the culmination of the two-day …

44,800 bags and hand luggages were registered stolen in 2015, a rise of about a quarter on 2014

The United States Chamber of Commerce and the Bloomberg Philanthropies co-hosted the US-Africa Business Forum in New York on 21 September. The forum played host to African business and political leaders and their American counterparts. Development in Africa is really shaping up, as more trade partnerships are being made with several global investors and stakeholders towards evolving the continent’s image, …

Global protests move Biafra conflict back into spotlight

During his trip to New York to attend the 71st United Nations General Assembly and the 2nd annual United States-Africa Business Forum, President Muhammadu Buhari took time off his busy schedule to meet a selected group of Nigerian professionals in New York. Temi Douglas reports. They converged from different parts of the United States of America, top rate professionals all, …

The film industry in Africa is blossoming as more original stories emerge from the continent. If the packed theaters in Cologne are any indication, then the African film industry is on the rise. “Nollywood” in Nigeria has revolutionalized African storytelling through film and has inspired other countries to come up with their own industries such as “Riverwood” in Kenya and …

Some 35,000 deportations took place in Germany in the last 18 months. More than 600 were abandoned, however. Pro-free movement groups are offering information on how to successfully hinder a deportation.