EUROPE

The wife of Nigeria’s vice president visited Vienna, Austria, recently mainly to attend an event commemorating the International Women’s Day. Oluyemi Ogundele* reports on the august visit —— The three-day visit of the wife of the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Mrs Dolapo Osinbajo ended on a higher note. The official visit started on Friday, the 11th …

Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament representing Germany on the platform of the Greens, writes on the reports of discrimination against Africans fleeing the war in Ukraine and she makes specific demands from the European Union on the situation of African students displaced by the conflict —— On behalf of ARDI, the European Parliament’s Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup, …

A top official of the UN has criticised the discrimination of Africans and other third country nationals escaping the war in Ukraine. “I am alarmed about verified credible reports of discrimination, violence and xenophobia against third country nationals attempting to flee the conflict in Ukraine,” said António Vitorino, the Director General of the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM), in …

“We note with horror that because of the colour of their skin, some European countries bordering the Ukraine refuse Africans entry into their countries,” ARDI, the European Parliament Anti-Racism and Diversity Intergroup, said in a letter to Dr Ursula von der Leyen, President of the EU Commission. ARDI was reacting to widespread reports from Africans attempting to flee the war …

Following a meeting in Brussels on Thursday, the interior ministers of European Union’s member states unanimously agreed to provide temporary protection to people fleeing the war in Ukraine. Under the scheme, called the “Temporary Protection Directive”, refugees will have the right to live and work in the European Union for at least one year, a period that can be extended …

The African Union has released a statement on the reported ill treatment of Africans trying to leave Ukraine. In it, the pan-African organisation called on all countries to respect international law and show the same empathy and support to all people fleeing war notwithstanding their racial identity———- The current Chair of the African Union (AU.int) and President of the Republic …

The Federal Government of Nigeria has called on Ukraine and Poland to treat Nigerians and other Africans stranded in Ukraine with dignity. While efforts to begin talks between Russia and Ukraine were underway, “paramount on our minds is the safety and human rights of some four thousand Nigerian citizens and many others from friendly African nations today stranded in Ukraine,” …

The Nigeria has announced that it would evacuate its citizens in Ukraine following the invasion of the country by Russia. According to Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, the Nigerian government is planning for special flight operations to evacuate its citizens from Ukraine in view of the war going on the country . Onyeama, in an interview with the NTA, …

Dr Frank-Walter Steinmeier has been re-elected for a second term as the President of Germany. The Federal Assembly confirmed the 66-year-old Social Democrat in Berlin on Sunday with a large majority. He will thus remain Germany’s head of state for another five years. After his re-election, Steinmeier gave a combative speech in which he emphasised the strength of democracy, condemned …

Nigerians from across Europe will gather on 11-13 November in the city of Aberdeen, Scotland, for the 2021 Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE). NIDOE is the European zone of the NIDO Worldwide, the body recognised by the Nigerian government as representing Nigerians living outside of their home country. The other zones of NIDO …

The founder and CEO of African Women in Europe, Joy Wanjiru Zenz, will be honoured with the Global African Award on 14 November. The Kenyan-born, Germany-based entrepreneur will be bestowed with the honour at the annual Global African Award (GAA) Gala Dinner to be held at the Southern Sun Elangeni, Durban, in South Africa. Ms Zenz, who is also the …

————– Godfrey Chukwuemeka Evurulobi is the founder and CEO of the Gosab Group of Companies, a Germany-based provider of nursing care service. Evurulobi runs three companies from Cologne – Gosab Personalmanagement und Consulting, Gosab Care GmbH and Gosabflex GmbH, with branches in Bergish Gladbach, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich and Hamburg. In an exclusive interview with The African Courier, Evurulobi, a …

A prominent Nigerian traditional leader, Iba Gani Adams, who is the 15th Aare Ona Kakanfo of Yorubaland, recently visited Germany. Though Chief Adams was on a private visit with his family, he nevertheless took time to interact with members of the Nigerian community in Southwest Germany under the auspices of the Egbe Omo Yoruba in Mannheim, Ludwigshafen and Heidelberg. At …

Our Moscow correspondent Kester Kenn Klomegah reports on a global women conference held last week in St. Petersburg and at which leading African female leaders took part Women play an increasingly important role in resolving issues that society and the state encounter and in the modern world, they should not face the choice between family and self-fulfillment, Russian President Vladimir …

A group of twelve activists of the Black Lives Matter movement in Nuremberg, Germany, travelled to Strasbourg at the invitation of Dr Herzberger-Fofana (MEP), last week as part of the European Youth Event 2021. Here’s a report of the visit. At the invitation of Dr Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament (MEP) representing Germany on the platform of the Green …

The Henley Passport Index, based on exclusive data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), has been regularly ranking the world's most travel-friendly passports since 2006

To facilitate the entry of labour migrants into the European Union, the EU Parliament has eased the rules governing the issuance of the Blue Card, which gives highly-skilled workers from outside the EU the right to live and work in any EU country with the exception of Denmark and Ireland. The Parliamentarians adopted the reform of the Blue Card scheme …

Osaze Osemwingie-Ero, a former Edo State Commissioner for Arts, Culture, Tourism and Diaspora Affairs, has cried out over the plight of over 300 Nigerian youths, whom he says, are ‘illegally’ detained in Italian prisons for contrived charges on mafia-related offences. At a meeting with officials of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) on Wednesday, Mr Osemwingie-Ero, disclosed that he learned …

Collins Nweke is a Councillor in the Belgian town of Ostend. The Nigerian-born communal politician narrates his experience of fighting poverty in his community and he reveals the institutional practice that has deliberately kept many families from accessing state support due to them ———– By Hon. Collins Nweke* We had our first son shortly after moving to Belgium. By the …

The Belgium Luxembourg Nigeria Chamber of Commerce (BLNCC) will hold a reception for Nigeria’s new Ambassador to Belgium, HE Obinna Chiedu Onowu, on Friday, 3 September. “Envisioned as a semi-formal, yet convivial event the Ambassador Meet & Greet is a forum for the new Ambassador to meet business leaders in the first instance but also other relevant stakeholders and interest …