Long abandoned projects in the Niger Delta receive new hopes for completion, courtesy of Senator (Chief) Godswill Akpabio’s transformation agenda. Prince (Barrister) Anthony Ekene Onwuka, Special Assistant, Project Monitoring and Special Duties, Presidential Monitoring Committee on the NDDC, explains the work of the Committee and how the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs is changing the dynamics of development in the …

Nigeria’s ambassador to Germany, HE Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, has called on the executive committee of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Germany (NIDOG) to discharge its duties “in good faith and continue the good work of championing the welfare and interests of Nigerians in Germany”. The ambassador made the call in a congratulatory message he sent to the President of NIDOG, …

There are many legal changes entering into effect in August, including new rules for holiday returnees and a controversial ID card requirement. There is also good news for low-income families and all those who are obliged to file a tax return. The African Courier summarises what will be important for you to know. ——– Compulsory testing for travellers returning to …

Ethiopian-American writer Meron Hadero has been awarded the 2021 AKO Caine Prize for African Writing for her short story ‘The Street Sweep’, published in ZYZZYVA (2018). This is the first time an Ethiopian writer has won the Prize since its inception in 2000. The Chair of the AKO Caine Prize Judging Panel, Goretti Kyomuhendo, Founder and Director of the African …

Nigerians from across the length and breadth of Germany will gather in Hamburg on Saturday, 31 July to bid farewell to Oguchi Unachukwu, who was shot in May while he was visiting his homeland. Unachukwu, a very active member of several Nigerian organisations in Hamburg, was shot by a yet to be identified officer of the Nigerian Airforce on 31 …

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced that former President Barack Obama has joined NBA Africa as a strategic partner President Obama will help advance the league’s social responsibility efforts across the continent, including programs and partnerships that support greater gender equality and economic inclusion. In this capacity, President Obama will have a minority equity stake in the new venture, …

The Imperative of Economic Recovery: How can the Resolution of the Sahara Issue Strengthen Africa’s Regional and Continental Integration? Experts proffer solutions in Accra On 27 July 2021, Imani Center for Policy and Education, a Ghanaian Think Tank held a seminar, in Accra, on the topic: “The Imperative of Economic Recovery: How can the Resolution of the Sahara Issue Strengthen …

Spurred by the obvious lack of quality children’s books for kids of African descent growing up in the diapora, authors have been striving for several years to fill the yawning gap. Berlin-based Nigerian journalist and writer Lolade Adewuyi has now made a very rich addition to the growing library for African children. His The Lost Little Masquerade is a story …

By Cathy Smith, Managing Director at SAP Africa Are African enterprises at risk of extinction, just as millions of natural species face extinction due to the impact of climate change? Businesses and countries across the continent are attempting to rebuild following the devastating economic impact of the pandemic. It is perhaps an opportune time to take stock of whether we …

A new handbook recommends eight steps to development and humanitarian organisations to share their work on the continent more ethically. Africa No Filter, the not-for-profit working on narrative change on the continent, is challenging the development community to adopt more ethical approaches in their storytelling with the launch of its new handbook, How to Write About Africa in 8 Steps: …

Lovers of African literature congregated in Berlin for the African Book Festival Berlin on 16 – 17 July 2021 to celebrate writing from the Continent and its Diaspora. The festival, first held in 2017, continues to go from strength to strength. Although this year’s event had a Lusophonic slant to it, celebrating, in the main, Literature and Music from Portugal, …

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Saturday said the Federal Government will be responsible for taking possession of the 1,130 Benin bronzes to be returned by Germany. “The Federal Government is aware of the widely reported controversy on who will take possession of the Benin bronzes when they are returned from Germany,” Mr Mohammed said on Saturday …

Technology at the service of African youth and the continent: TEG Campus, the biggest tech meeting in Africa, returns for a 4th edition with the theme “The Tech Response” ——– Equatorial Guinea, 16 July 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- From 22 to 27 July, the annual TEG Campus event will bring together for the 4th year in a row African players …

Very soon, digital fingerprinting will be mandatory in German ID cards. The question is: Will it make the cards more secure? Or is it an invasive threat to our freedom? Nina Werkhäuser and Esther Felden of DW examine the issue in this special report —— “It was a really creepy feeling,” says data protection activist Leena Simon, describing the moment …

The 18th Africa Film Festival Cologne holds from 16 – 26 September 2021. A main focus of the biannual festival is the effects of digitalisation on everyday life, social interaction, economy, ecology and politics in African countries. —– The effects of digitalisation on everyday life, social interaction, economy, ecology and politics are now central themes in films from African countries. …

Nigerian singing legend Olanrewaju Abdul-Ganiu Fasasi, more famously known as Sound Sultan, has died. The rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, comedian and recording artist, who is regarded as one of the pacesetters of modern hip hop music in Nigeria, died on Sunday, 11 July in the US of throat cancer. He was 44. Tributes continue to be paid to the artist. …

By Prof David Monda* On July 4th, 1776, the preamble to the American Declaration of Independence emphasized the centrality of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to the ideals of the new American nation. While America advanced lofty ideals on this day, the reality of balancing its ideals and its interests in Ethiopia, almost a century and a half later, have …

Nigeria has officially proposed to the German government to return all the Benin artefacts in Germany, which has agreed to repatriate hundreds of antiquities which were looted from the Benin Kingdom in 1897, within a period of one year. Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the proposal during a round-table with German museum directors and government …

Africa’s newest nation, South Sudan, gained independence on 9 July 2011. It was an event that marked a turning point after decades of wars for liberation from Arab-dominated Sudan and which was celebrated in sub-Sahara Africa and across the globe by friends of the long-suffering people of the country. Unfortunately, the first decade of South Sudan’s independence has been marked …

Our contributing editor and Duesseldorf-based journalist Tina Adomako writes on the deteriorating climate for human rights and democracy in the West African country that traditionally enjoys the image of a role model for democratic governance in the continent Ibrahim Kaaka Mohammed – better known as Kaaka – was part of a group of civil society activists in Ghana. Using the …