AFRICA

Nigeria’s Minister of the Interior, Alhaji Rauf Aregbesola, has blamed corrupt officials of the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) for the delays in the issuance of international passports to Nigerians. He made the revelation in response to the outcry of Nigerians, both home and abroad, over the difficulties they go through to obtain passports. Aregbesola, who was speaking at the opening …

A 31-point communiqué released at the end of the two-day Global African Diaspora Symposium (GADS), which took place on 27-28 April in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja, details practical steps to drive an effective engagement between Africa and its Diaspora. The Communiqué, presented by the Chairman, Local Organising Committee of the event, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, said the African Diaspora …

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will visit Africa for the second time since he assumed office. In May last year, he visited Senegal, Niger and South Africa in a three-day tour. This time, the German leader will travel with a trade delegation to Ethiopia and Kenya from 4 to 6 May 2023. In Addis Ababa, Chancellor Scholz will meet with the …

Tijani Abdulkabeer is a Nigerian freelance journalist who covers solutions, accountability in governance, social justice, business, education, environment, humanitarian crisis and more. In this special report for the International Centre for Journalists, he details how deliberate campaigns of disinformation were waged by agents of political parties to influence voters’ decision at the 2023 Nigerian presidential election, a strategy that endangered …

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Africans home and abroad to connect and create a common front through strategic frameworks to address the challenges arising in the new world order. This was stated during his keynote address at the second edition of the Global African Diaspora Symposium (GADS) which opened on Thursday in Abuja. Speaking through his representative Mu’azu Jaji …

Six members of the European Parliament’s Development Committee (DEVE) visited Kenya recently to consult with Kenyan government, civil society and business community on the impact of the humanitarian crisis caused by the cumulative effect of climate change, drought, food insecurity and its corollary famine, on the country’s economy. Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana MEP, head of the delegation, writes on what the …

The Special Fraud Unit of the Nigerian Police (PSFU) in Lagos has arrested a suspected female fraudster for allegedly defrauding a 50-year-old German man of US$220,000 (about 200,000 euros), after promising to marry him. The police spokesperson, SP Eyitayo Johnson, who confirmed the arrest in a statement on Wednesday (19 April 2023), said the 21-year-old suspect lured the victim on …

Nigerian human rights activist, lawyer and writer Chidi Anselm Odinkalu* writes on the democratic backsliding in Africa as military officers increasingly seize power and elected leaders elongate their tenure by arbitrarily changing the constitution. And he analyses the causes of the unsavoury trend and what it portends for the continent — Macky Sall, Senegal’s president since the beginning of April …

Nigerians living in the diaspora are determined to influence the government that will succeed the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari, who will step down on 29 May. The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) is currently collating ideas from its chapters worldwide to enable it formulate a paper which the group will hand over to President-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu who will …

The German government has expelled the ambassador of Chad, Mariam Ali Moussa. According to the Foreign Office, the diplomat must leave Germany within 48 hours. The move comes three days after Chad expelled German Ambassador Jan-Christian Gordon Kricke. “In response to the unfounded expulsion of our Ambassador to Chad, we today summoned the Chadian Ambassador in Berlin, Mariam Ali Moussa, …

Dr Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), says Africa must take its pride of place on the global map, as it cannot be relegated to the background anymore given its huge human and natural endowments. Dabiri-Erewa stated this in Abuja at a press conference on Wednesday to announce that the Global African Diaspora Symposium (GADS) will …

President-elect of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has described his victory at the 25 February presidential election as the greatest gift he could receive as he celebrates his birthday today. “With such a privilege already granted to me, I will not go so far as to suggest I am due any birthday presents this year,” Tinubu, who turned 71 on Wednesday …

In his first official statement since his declaration as president-elect on 1 March, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu addresses Nigerians and the international community on what they should expect when he takes over the government of Africa’s most populous nation on 29 May. —- Nigeria: at the Cusp of Renewed Hope A fair, credible election has been held and has been …

President Muhammadu Buhari has called on Nigerians living in the country to support President-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, as he takes over the reins of government on May 29. Speaking at a Town Hall meeting with Nigerians in Doha during his visit to the State of Qatar, President Buhari said his administration set forward to emplace credible, transparent and fair …

Applications have opened for the third cohort of Google’s Black Founders Fund for Startups in Africa and Europe. The company has committed $4m to support eligible Black-founded startups in 2023. Startups operating and headquartered in Africa or having a legal presence on the continent are eligible to apply for the Black Founders Fund. Other eligibility criteria for startups that wish …

French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated Thursday (2 March) that France harboured no desire to return to past policies of interfering in Africa after he began a four-nation tour of the continent. “The age of Francafrique is well over,” Macron said in remarks to the French community in Gabon, referring to France’s post-colonisation strategy of supporting authoritarian leaders to defend its …

The long wait for the result of Saturday’s Nigerian presidential election ended in the early hours of Wednesday when Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu was declared winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja, Nigeria’s capital. The three days of waiting seemed like weeks due to the tension that enveloped the country and even the west African subregion, not …

In a strong show of support for Guineans fleeing Tunisia, President Mamadi Doumbouya was at the airport in Conakry on 1 March to welcome 49 citizens who were repatriated via a special flight. Colonel Mamadi Doumbouya, who came to power through a coup two years ago, greeted the returnees as they alighted the aircraft. The flight was organised by by …

German analyst Gerd Eckert* looks at the potential benefits of greater German engagement in Ghana as the West African country marks its 66th independence anniversary — Ghana – a former British colony – gained its independence under the leadership of the first Prime Minister, Dr Kwame Nkrumah, who is now respected as a visionary of his time. Today we hear …

Ndi Igbo Germany (NIG), a socio-cultural organization and the umbrella body for all Igbo unions in Germany, has called for peaceful elections in Igboland and Nigeria on 25 February, when citizens of Africa’s most populous nation go to the polls to elect a new president. In the press release, signed by Chief Benjamin Chinaka, Co-ordinator, and Engr. Ikechukwu Eriobu, General …