Speech by Bill Gates at the National Economic Council

Your Excellency Muhamadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Professor Yemi Osinbajo, Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Senator Bukola Saraki, Senate President; Honorable Yakubu Dogara, Speaker of the House; Your Excellencies, executive governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria; Royal fathers; Distinguished ladies and gentlemen; and as you say in Nigeria, all other protocols observed. Thank you for welcoming me to Nigeria. I’ve been coming here regularly since 2006, and I’ve always felt welcome. Nigerians usually greet me warmly. The first time I met the Sultan of Sokoto, I was honored that he greeted me with the gift of a white horse. At some point during every visit, though, some brave person eventually asks me—very politely—“Why are you actually here?” It’s an understandable question. Most American technology guys don’t wander around Nigeria learning about its health system. But I think I have a good answer. When we started Microsoft 40 years ago, we wanted to build a successful business, but we also wanted to make people’s lives better. We believed computers could revolutionize the way people lived and worked. But back then only big companies could afford them. We wanted to give everybody access. As I got older, traveled more, and learned more about the world, I realized that billions of people had a problem that computers couldn’t solve. They lacked the basics of a good life: food, shelter, health, education, and opportunity. And so I started my second career with my wife Melinda. With the money I’d been lucky enough to earn at Microsoft, we started working toward a different goal: a healthy and productive life for everyone. That’s why I come to Nigeria, and that’s why Melinda and I will continue coming for as long as we are able. Our foundation’s biggest office in Africa is here. We have committed over $1.6 billion in Nigeria so far, and we plan to increase our commitment. We have strong relationships with the federal government, state governments, businesses, NGOs, and civil society organizations. We are eager to support you as you work to make Nigeria a global economic powerhouse that provides opportunity for all its citizens—as you strive fulfill this country’s immense promise. I’m blown away by how much Nigeria has changed in the past decade. Consider the technology sector. That energy I talked about during the early days of Microsoft, our passion and our eagerness to take risks…. That’s the same energy that powers technology hubs across Nigeria like Co-Creation and Enspire. The novelist Chimamanda Adichie, who my wife especially admires, captured the country’s spirit when she said her fellow Nigerians have “big dreams and big ambitions.” This line graph of Nigeria’s per capita GDP shows where those dreams and ambitions can lead. With the exception of the recent recession, the slope goes straight up. As a result of this growth, Nigeria is now the biggest economy on the continent. You are rapidly approaching upper middle-income status, like Brazil, China, and Mexico. But growth is not inevitable. Nigeria has unmatched economic potential, but what becomes of that potential depends on the choices you make as Nigeria’s leaders. The most important choice you can make is to maximize your greatest resource, the Nigerian people. Nigeria will thrive when every Nigerian is able to thrive. If you invest in their health, education, and opportunities—the “human capital” we are talking about today—then they will lay the foundation for sustained prosperity. If you don’t, however, then it is very important to recognize that there will be a sharp limit on how much the country can grow. You see this risk in the data. From the point of view of the quality of life, much of Nigeria still looks like a low-income country. Let me give a few examples. · In upper middle-income countries, the average life expectancy is 75 years. In lower middle-income countries, it’s 68. In low-income countries, it’s 62. In Nigeria, it is lower still: just 53 years. · Nigeria is one of the most dangerous places in the world to give birth, with the fourth worst maternal mortality rate in the world, ahead of only Sierra Leone, Central African Republic, and Chad. · One in three Nigerian children is chronically malnourished. I do not enjoy speaking to you this bluntly when you have been gracious enough to invite me here. But I am applying an important lesson I learned from Alhaji Aliko Dangote. Recently, Aliko and I were having a conversation with several governors about their states’ official immunization rates. Aliko’s way of stressing the importance of accurate data was to tell us, “I didn’t get rich by pretending to sell bags of cement I didn’t have.” I took from that that while it may be easier to be polite, it’s more important to face facts so that you can make progress. On immunization, you are already living that lesson: last year Nigeria revised its immunization coverage numbersdownward to reflect more accurate sources, and I applaud you for those lower numbers. They may look worse, but they are more real, which is the first step toward saving and improving more lives. I urge you to apply this thinking to all your investments in your people. The Nigerian government’s Economic Recovery and Growth Plan identifies “investing in our people” as one of three “strategic objectives.” But the “execution priorities” don’t fully reflect people’s needs, prioritizing physical capital over human capital. To anchor the economy over the long term, investments in infrastructure and competitiveness must go hand in hand with investments in people. People without roads, ports, and factories can’t flourish. And roads, ports, and factories without skilled workers to build and manage them can’t sustain an economy. In preparation for my visit, I asked a research institute at the University of Washington to model Nigeria’s economic growth under three scenarios related to health and education, the core of how economists define human capital. Here you can see Nigeria’s per capita GDP growth from 2000 until today. If current education and health trends continue—if you spend the same amount in these areas and get the same results—per capita GDP flatlines, with economic growth just barely keeping up with population growth. If things get worse, it will decline. Unfortunately, this scenario is a very real possibility unless you intervene at both the federal and state levels. Because even in the worst-case scenario, your national income level is about to make you ineligible for certain kinds of development assistance and loans that you’ve been relying on to fund your health system and other priorities. Without more and better spent domestic money, investment in your people will decline by default as donor money shrinks—a lose-lose scenario for everyone. However, if you commit to getting better results in health and education—if you spend more and more effectively—per capita GDP will stay on its remarkable pre-recession trajectory. This is the scenario we all want: Nigeria thrives because every Nigerian is able to thrive. And the data makes it clear that this scenario is entirely within your reach. What do I mean by investing in your people? I mean prioritizing health and education, the factors included in the model I just showed you. I also mean continuing to open up opportunities in the agriculture and microenterprise sectors, as the government has proposed in the ERGP. I mean creating the conditions where Nigerians can reach their goals while adding value to the economy—the win-win scenario. Our foundation doesn’t invest directly in education here, but the World Bank World Development Report that just came out makes it clear that education leads to improvements in employment, productivity, and wages. Today, though, more than half of rural Nigerian children can’t read and write. The conclusion is inescapable: Nigeria’s economy tomorrow depends on improving its schools today. The same is true of health, our foundation’s primary focus area. In 1978, Dr. Olikoye Ransome-Kuti, who later became the Nigerian minister of health, helped establish primary health care as the global standard. We now know that a strong primary care system takes care of 90 percent of people’s health needs. Tragically, 40 years after Dr. Ransome-Kuti helped other countries set a course for the future, the Nigerian primary health care system is broken. The evidence for this can be found in the epidemic of chronic malnutrition, or stunting. As the name suggests, chronic malnutrition is not a disease children catch. It is a condition that develops over time because they are deprived of a diverse diet and the services a strong primary health care system provides. The consequences of stunting are devastating. Though stunted children are defined as shorter than average, we’re not particularly concerned about their height. What we’re concerned about is their brains, or what Akin Adesina calls “gray matter infrastructure.” This is a picture of the brain of a single normally developing infant. And next to it is a picture of the brain of a single chronically malnourished infant. Every brain and every child are different, but you can clearly see the difference in the number of neural connections in these two brains. And once this kind of damage is done, it’s very hard to repair. In Nigeria, one in three children is chronically malnourished and could therefore be at risk. This is a tragedy for each one of these children; it is also a huge blow to the economy. According to the World Bank, addressing the stunting crisis in Nigeria would add almost $30 billion to the GDP. So what will it take to solve stunting? It will take a focus on agricultural development, nutrition, and primary health care. A functioning primary health system has six features. · Adequate funding. · Good facilities located in the right places. · Skilled and dedicated health workers. · Ample stocks of essential equipment and medicines. · Patients who know about the system and want to use it. · And a mechanism for collecting the data needed to improve quality. I believe the Nigerian primary health care system is not adequately funded. But it also doesn’t get the most out of its current funding. I want to re-emphasize that last point about data. More transparency would lead to more accountability, which would strengthen governance, leadership, and management, which would improve quality across the board. I visited a health clinic in Bodinga LGA in Sokoto yesterday, and it reminded me why I do this work. I’d like to ask all of you to spend one hour at a health center in the next month. I think you’ll see how the system can be improved—and how much good it will do when it is. I know Nigeria can build up its primary care system, because I’ve seen what you accomplish when you meet health challenges head on. As many of you know, we’ve been very close partners in your fight against polio. As you can see on this graph, the hard work of hundreds of thousands of local leaders and health workers since the turn of the millennium has paid off. Nigeria has not had a case of wild polio virus in more than a year. But the graph also shows that you’ve reported zero cases before, only to learn that the disease was still circulating in tiny pockets hidden by insecurity. It would be catastrophic to let your guard down when you’re on the verge of eliminating the disease once and for all. I believe—because I have seen your work in the field as recently as yesterday—that you will do what it takes to end polio in Nigeria. We will be here, working side by side with you, until you do. Though health is our foundation’s primary area of expertise, it’s not the only thing we do, and it’s not the only thing I mean when I say Nigeria should invest in its people. Healthy people need opportunities to thrive. One of the most important of these opportunities is agriculture, the sector that nourishes Nigerians and supports half the population, especially the poorest. The agricultural sector is a pillar of the Nigerian economy. It accounts for a large proportion of your GDP, and during the oil price collapse and recession, it helped cushion the economy. But it still has a lot of potential to grow. The majority of Nigerian smallholder farmers lack access to the seeds, fertilizer, and training they need to be more productive, and they lack access to the markets they need to profit from their labor. The government has taken important steps to fill these gaps, with both more investment and a series of smart policies to encourage private sector investment. These reforms lay the foundation for a booming agricultural sector that feeds the country, helps end chronic malnutrition, and lifts up tens of millions of smallholder farmers. I urge you to build on this good work. One of the barriers that continues to prevent smallholders from thriving is their lack of access to finance. Like good roads, finance connects farmers to opportunity, yet only 4 percent of Nigerian farmers currently have a loan to grow their business. In a country where three quarters of people have mobile phones, digital financial services provide a solution to this problem. In fact, digital finance offers the potential to boost the economy from top to bottom. Right now, more than 50 million Nigerian adults are at the whim of chance and the informal economy. With access to digital financial tools, they can cope better with disasters that threaten to wipe them out, build assets and a credit history, and gradually lift themselves out of poverty. Consider the impact this would have on businesses. Of the 37 million micro, small, and medium enterprises in Nigeria, more than 99 percent are micro. Their lack of access to finance is a leading reason why these businesses can’t grow. With digital payments, savings, and credit, they will finally have the resources to plan for the future. According to the best estimates, digital financial services will create a 12.4 percent increase in Nigeria’s GDP by 2025. Meanwhile, oil accounts for about 10 percent of Nigeria’s GDP. Imagine adding another oil sector and then some to the economy, but one whose benefits spread far and wide and reach almost every single Nigerian. There is another benefit to digital financial services that will make everything I’m urging you to do much easier: it will vastly improve the government’s ability to tax and spend efficiently. Let me pause for a moment to say, I am confident that one thing you’ve been thinking as I’ve been talking is that, while you would like to spend more on health and nutrition and education and agriculture, you don’t have the money to do everything. I appreciate the fact that what you can spend is a function of what you raise. Nigeria’s government revenue as a percentage of its GDP is by far the lowest in the world, at 6 percent. That makes investing in your people difficult. The next lowest country, Bangladesh, collects 10 percent of its GDP. If you got yourself up to second-to-last in the world, you would have an extra $18 billion to budget. Obviously, you’re aiming higher than that, but it gives you some idea about the scale we’re talking about. We want to support you in your work to mobilize more resources to invest in your country. That’s why our foundation is working with the Nigeria Governors’ Forum to help states track internally generated revenue. Ultimately, raising revenue to invest in growth will require delivering on the government’s commitments to the Nigerian people, and convincing them that they will get a return on their taxes. Right now, Nigeria’s fiscal situation is at what you might call a low equilibrium. In return for low levels of service, people pay low levels of tax. We hope to help you reach a higher equilibrium rooted in effective and transparent investments in people. This equilibrium would trigger a virtuous cycle. More government revenue would lead to more money to spend on health and education. Better health and education, and investment in sectors like agriculture, would lead to more productive farms and factories. More productive farms would lead to more prosperous farmers who could expand their farms or invest in other businesses, especially if they had access to credit and other financial tools. These thriving farms, factories, and new businesses would lead to more government revenue. And the cycle would start again. Triggering that cycle will require bolder action—action you have the power to take as leaders, governors, and ministers focused on Nigeria’s future. Nigerians are known around the world for their big dreams and big ambitions. Together with the Dangote Foundation, we will be here to help you achieve your dreams and ambitions. You have the support of the international community. The Nigerian private sector will continue to invest. We are eager to help, but we know we can’t lead. You must lead. I believe in the grand vision of Nigeria’s future. I believe in it because I’ve seen it. It’s represented by this line—the line that depends on healthy, educated people and the surge of economic activity they will unleash. And that means that the future depends on all of you—and your leadership in the years to come. Thank you.

Buhari’s govt is not corrupt like past administration –Osinbajo

Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday said the difference between the present administration and “the other” was that the “Muhammadu Buhari administration is not corrupt.” He said once a country had a President that was not corrupt, half of such country’s financial problems were over. Osinbajo spoke at the Seventh Presidential Quarterly Business Forum for Private Sector stakeholders at the Presidential Villa, Abuja. He said, “Today, with less revenue, we have increased capital funding by 400 per cent … in power, works and housing, in defence, transportation and agriculture. “If we want to do analysis in Nigeria, it is either fraudulent or ignorant if we do not bring money that belongs to corruption into the mass. “This is what distinguishes, in my own respectful view, this administration from the other. I can say that with what I have seen, if you have a President who is not corrupt, 50 per cent of your financial problems are over. This is what I have seen; I can demonstrate it with facts and figures. The Vice-President, however, admitted that corruption had not been completely dealt with under the present administration. He said where corruption had become systemic, the scourge could not be dealt with easily. “I am not saying that corruption under this administration has been completely dealt with; no, certainly not. “Where corruption has become systemic, such as we have in our country today, you cannot deal with it in one full fell swoop, it is not possible. “In any event, you still have corruption fighting back. The system fights back and it’s both an internal and external fight back and you have to be steadfast and strategic to win the battle. “There’s no way that you have a system such as ours that has consistently thrived on corruption and proceeds of corruption and public financing in particular, that will give up and say guys, the problem has been solved. No. “It is a system that has fed on corruption and it affects all aspects of governance, so trying to deal with it is certainly not a walk in the park,” he added. Osinbajo said if government continued in the same manner, the country would make the kind of progress that it deserved to make with all the resources at its disposal within a few years. “If we stick to the policy of ensuring that as far as public finance is concerned, there is no impunity and we hold people to account, I am confident that this country has what it takes to make the kind of progress we deserve to make as a nation,” he added. According to him, while the current administration with less revenue has increased capital funding by 400 per cent in the power, works and housing, defence, transport and agriculture sectors, the President Goodluck Jonathan administration with surplus funds, spent N14bn on agriculture in 2014, N15bn on transport, and spent a total of N153bn on infrastructure in three years, adding that two weeks before the 2015 elections, the sum of N150bn was essentially shared. He said, “I do not think that any consideration about our economic development can be properly and honestly done without fully analysing corruption, especially grand corruption in the public finance space. “Sometimes when we talk about our economy we talked about the fact that we have relied on a single commodity. “Yes, that’s quite true but the fact is that proceeds from that single commodity were regularly hijacked by a few. If we had spent the proceeds the way we ought to, we won’t be where we are today. “Most of the proceeds went to rent seekers in the industry and production. For example, I’m sure that many of us are familiar with the so called Strategic Alliance Contract with the NNPC and NDDC, the promoters of the companies made away with close to $3bn, almost a tenth of our reserves. “There is no way someone will make away with a tenth of your reserves and you will not have a major economic shock. And if we don’t deal with it, if we don’t talk about it, how will we be able to discuss our economy in a real honest way with a view to ensuring that these things do not happen again,” he said. “In one single transaction a few weeks to the the elections in 2015, sums of N100bn and $295m were just fretted away by a few. “When you consider that in 2014, as the minister of finance has said, oil price was an average of $110 a barrel and only N99bn was spent on power, works and housing and when we talk about the economy, we talk as if these are normal by every standard. “Nobody should talk about the economy when you have huge leakages and huge corruption. Corruption that completely makes nonsense of even what you are allocating to capital projects,” he added. The Ministers of Petroleum; Ibe Kachikwu, Budget and National Planning; Udoma Udoma, Finance; Kemi Adeosun, Industry, Trade and Investment; Ikechukwu Enelamah and Special Adviser to the President on Economic Matters, Dipo Dipeolu, were in attendance at the event. Other participants spoke about the work that had commended on the Apapa-Wharf Road, contractors that had abandoned work on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, the need to revive railway for ease of transporting goods from ports, the need to stop multiple checks at airports, the need to take interest in education and the need to revive eastern ports, including Onitsha, Warri, Port Harcourt and Calabar ports. Your govt stinks, PDP tells Buhari But the Peoples Democratic Party, in its reaction, said the government of Buhari stank and he should stop pointing accusing fingers at the past administration. The PDP said the President should watch its back and take action on those associated with corruption in the government. The National Chairman of the party, Prince Uche Secondus, who spoke with one of our correspondents, accused the Buhari administration of covering up for those accused of corruption in its fold. He said, “While we do not concede that the PDP is corrupt as a political party, it is on record that the present administration has been shielding members of its political party who have been accused of corruption. “Where are those responsible for the massive fraud in the Internally Displaced Persons camps across the North-East? What of those accused of massive fraud as governors in their states before defecting to the ruling party now? “No government is as corrupt as this government. But one thing is clear; Nigerians will soon do away with it comes 2019.”

Teacher flogs student to death in Zamfara

A teacher at Government Day Secondary School Sankalawa in Bungudu Local Government Area of Zamfara State has allegedly flogged a student to death. The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the incident was revealed on Wednesday by Alhaji Muhammad Abubakar-Gummi, Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly. The deputy speaker, who spoke under matters of urgent public importance during the assembly’s sitting in Gusau, said that the house had received several reports on the issue. According to him, another incident at Government Female Day Secondary School, Kwatarkwashi, had led to the injury of a student in the school after the Vice Principal allegedly subjected her to heavy punishment. Gummi said: “These problems apart from discouraging our children from acquiring education, also revealed poor attitude to work on the part of teachers in this state.” He urged the House to invite the Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology to explain steps taken to address the issues. The Speaker, Alhaji Sanusi Rikiji, described the actions of the teachers as unfortunate and vowed that the assembly would not allow the matter to pass. “It is part of our responsibilities to ensure effective security and good learning atmosphere for our children for their future development, therefore, we cannot allow teachers to continue harassing our children from schools,” he said. The Speaker directed the House Committee on Education, Science and Technology to invite the commissioner to appear before it on the matter. Meanwhile, the Assembly has passed into law the bill for the establishment of Zamfara State University, Talata-Mafara. (NAN)

2019: Buhari will seek re-election – SGF

The Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, on Thursday affirmed that President Muhammadu Buhari will seek re-election in 2019. He stated that there is no alternative to Buhari, stressing that other presidential aspirants have nothing to offer. The SGF spoke at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, while addressing a rally organized by the Democratic Youth Congress, led by its National Chairman, Kassim Mohammed. The group had urged President Muhammadu Buhari to declare his intention to contest in the 2019 elections. Mustapha said, “We do not have an alternative to President Muhammadu Buhari for now. I will present your entire message to him. I congratulate you for your support for President Muhammadu Buhari to run in 2019.” The SGF, who was represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Political Matters, Gideon Sammani, said Buhari was widely known for his stance against corruption and indiscipline, noting that many people feared him because of his uncompromising position on graft.

RCCG Pastor, VP Yemi Osinbajo's Daughter Kiki To Marry Muslim Fiance, Bola Shagaya's Son

Nigeria is set to witness yet another inter religious marriage as the second daughter of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, an RCCG Pastor is set to marry the son of controversial business woman Bola Shagaya. In March Kiki and Seun Shagaya will tie the nuptial knot in Lagos. Kiki, the founder of a popular beauty store in Abuja reportedly met Seun back in 2016. Hajia Bola Shagaya is a reknown Muslim socialite in Abuja while the father of the bride to be is the Vice President of Nigeria and a Pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God. Kiki who is known for living a flamboyant life didn’t take after her parents as her lifestyle is the exact opposite of what her parents represent.

Don’t blame us, INEC says on Kano’s underage voters

The Independent National Electoral Commission has sought to allay public worries over the credibility of Nigeria’s future elections after pictures of underage voters emerged from last Saturday’s local polls in Kano State.

Observers, including the Centre for Information Technology And Development, CITAD, and Action Aid International Nigeria, said they witnessed voting by underage citizens during the elections. Then, still and motion pictures of underage citizens taking part in the electoral process allegedly during the polls in Kano have been circulating on the social media since Saturday, fueling wild concerns such irregularities could have negative implications for the general elections, about one year away. However, in a statement by a spokesperson, Oluwole Uzzi, on Tuesday, INEC said the disturbing pictures did not relate to any election it conducted or had responsibility for, thereby allaying fears over its capacity for credible elections. INEC is statutorily empowered to conduct all Nigeria’s elections, except the ones to the local government councils conducted by the electoral commissions in each state. Acknowledging the pictures of the underage voters, the commission stated that “as far as we can ascertain, they (the pictures) relate to a local government election conducted at the weekend (in Kano)”. “While the Commission remains resolute in our commitment to sanitise the nation’s electoral process and deliver free, fair and credible elections, we cannot be held directly or vicariously liable for a process outside our legal purview,” INEC said. “Our our part, INEC assures the public that we are doing all we can to ensure a credible election.” However, INEC’s assurance may be doubted if it becomes established that the Kano State Independent Electoral Commission, KANSIEC, used the national commission’s voters’ register and the pictured underage voters were accredited using that. While Nigeria’s recent elections have earned positive reviews from local and international observers, the local ones organised by the electoral commission in various states remain subject of worries and constitute a downside to the country’s 19-year old democracy. It is not just that the state electoral commissions are barely independent, it has also been observed that the opposition parties and their candidates for the local council elections have limited chance at an open and fair process. For instance, in the recent elections in Kano, Kwara, Osun and Benue States the ruling All Progressives Congress, or the Peoples Democratic Party in the case of Ekiti State and Akwa Ibom State, won all the contested seats amid serious allegations of brazen irregularities. This has prompted the National Assembly to amend the country’s law so that local elections would also be conducted by INEC, thus scrapping state electoral commissions. That amendment is, however, sill in the process of becoming law. INEC also said it is aware of the challenges people face in trying to get registered at some centres. To address this problem, the commission said it had taken two steps, including the deployment of more direct data capturing machines for registration and increasing the number of the registration centres to 1,446 nationwide. “We believe that with the measures taken so far the queues and other identified challenges will soon abate,” the commission said.

“Where Is The Change? ” Emir Of Kano Asks As He Queries The Huge Salaries Of Ministers, National Assembly Members

Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi II, has questioned the change agenda of the Buhari-led administration. The monarch said the change promised by this administration remains a mirage if salaries of National Assembly members and ministers are still very high.

He argued that if the salary of each member of the National Assembly was divided into two, it would go a long way to provide more jobs for 70,400 jobless Nigerians at between N90, 000 and N92, 500 monthly salaries. The monarch said this in a statement released yesterday. Where is the change? Change should start with the National Assembly. A senator receives N36 million monthly. If this is divided into two, it comes to N18 million. The second half of N18 million can be used to create jobs for 200 Nigerians, each earning N90, 000 monthly. When you multiply 200 people by 109 senators, this will give 21,800 Nigerians gainful employment. In short, 200 Nigerians will be able to live a comfortable life on half a senator’s monthly salary.” Speaking further, the monarch said “Half of that amount is N12.5 million, which is enough to employ 135 Nigerians with a monthly salary of N92, 500 each. Nigeria has 360 members in the House of Representatives. Half of their salaries can employ 48,600 Nigerians who can live comfortably. So, the Buhari Administration can employ 70,400 Nigerians with monthly salaries ranging from N90, 000 to N92, 500. This is just by dividing the salaries of senators and representatives. Half their present salaries are more than enough for them in a country where the majority of Nigerians live on less than a dollar per day”.

Bashirfuntua: 2019 election: Obasanjo speaks on ‘preferred candi...

Bashirfuntua: 2019 election: Obasanjo speaks on ‘preferred candi...: Olusegun Obasanjo, former President, on Wednesday said he was not backing any candidate for political office in 2019. Speaking during a co...

2019 election: Obasanjo speaks on ‘preferred candidate’, Coalition for Nigeria

Olusegun Obasanjo, former President, on Wednesday said he was not backing any candidate for political office in 2019. Speaking during a courtesy visit by a youth group from Delta State, led by a governorship aspirant, Frank Ufuoma Esanubi, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, the former President said he would remain an elder statesman with passion for a greater Nigeria. Obasanjo also noted that his Coalition for Nigeria (CN) movement was to galvanise the people to appreciate their interests and power. He said, “In the year 2015, I said I would no longer participate in partisan politics. And I still stand by my decision. Everybody, irrespective of his or her political affiliation is free to come here for advice, I will gladly do that. “I have no candidate, whatsoever, for any political office. I just believe that things must be done differently in Nigeria to get different result. “If you study our transitions since the colonial era, they have all taken place without taking the people of the grassroots into consideration. So, CNM is about the people at the grassroots. It is a socio-economic movement where youth and women, especially, will be given opportunity to appreciate their interests and power. Unlike before, I believe we must put the horse before the cart. “If the system and the platform sync, I believe Nigeria will get there. And like I said, the moment the Coalition gets involved in candidate sponsoring or participates in partisan politics, I will opt out of it”.

Bashirfuntua: Dangote Group trains 150 indigenous engineers in r...

Bashirfuntua: Dangote Group trains 150 indigenous engineers in r...: The Management of Dangote Oil Refinery Company (DORC) says about 150 indigenous engineers have been trained in refinery operations in prepar...

Dangote Group trains 150 indigenous engineers in refinery operations

The Management of Dangote Oil Refinery Company (DORC) says about 150 indigenous engineers have been trained in refinery operations in preparation for the take-off of its Lagos Refinery and Petrochemical Plant. Mohan Kumar, the company’s Director of Human Capital Management and Project Support, made this known at a news conference in Lagos on Monday while presenting 22 engineers who returned from Mumbai, India. Mr. Kumar said the young engineers were trained at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. in India on how to manage the operations of the refinery. He added that the engineers had gathered fundamental practical knowledge about refinery. According to him, the engineers are recruited and trained to witness the building of the refinery from scratch. He said the engineers spent two months in classroom training and three months on the job training. Kumar explained that the 22 engineers were trained by experts who had over 45 years experience in refinery operations, stressing that the training became imperative due to the commitment of Dangote Group to promote local content by developing indigenous capacity. He added that “the engineers are expected to also transfer the skills acquired to other Nigerians when the refinery takes off. “The 22 engineers arrived from Bharat Petroleum Corporation, Mumbai in India, where the last set of 150 employees trained in various areas of petroleum and petrochemical refining.’’ Mr. Kumar noted that another set of 600 engineers would be sent for training before the end of April. According to him, the refinery will produce 780 Kilo Tonnes Per Annum (KTPA) of Polypropylene, 500 KTPA of Polyethylene, while the fertiliser project will produce 3.0 million tonnes of urea per annum. He explained that “the refinery will also have the largest sub-sea pipeline infrastructure in the world with capacity to handle three billion cubic metres of oil annually.” Dangote Refinery is expected to save Nigeria $12 billion annual import substitution and create 4,000 direct jobs, as well as reduce prices of petroleum products after completion. The project is located in Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos State on a vast land mass of 2,200 hectares, an area eight times bigger than the entire Victoria Island in Lagos.

Trump: Countries against Jerusalem move are enemies

US President Donald Trump used his first State of the Union address on Tuesday to describe countries which voted against his move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel as "enemies of America". Trump's announcement on December 6, which included a decision to move the US embassy to the Holy City from Tel Aviv, was internationally-condemned. SOTU transcript: Migrants, minorities, foreign policy Shortly after, the UN's General Assembly (UNGA) voted the declaration as "null and void". According to a copy of Trump's planned address on Tuesday, the US president was expected to say: "Dozens of countries voted in the United Nations General Assembly against America's sovereign right to make this recognition. American taxpayers generously send those same countries billions of dollars in aid every year. That is why, tonight, I am asking the Congress to pass legislation to help ensure American foreign-assistance dollars always serve American interests, and only go to America's friends." When the moment came, however, Trump added: "Not enemies of America". The seemingly impromptu remark essentially labelled 128 countries as enemies. The US typically limits its definition of an "enemy" or adversary to state sponsors of "terror". The State Department lists countries including Iran, North Korea, Sudan and Syria as enemies. "I am not going to characterise the president’s words," a State Department spokesperson told Al Jazeera. The UNGA vote is "a non-binding resolution that does nothing to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or advance the cause of peace." While 128 countries voted for the resolution, 35 member states abstained and seven voted against.

The Trump administration has held receptions in Washington, DC, celebrating those seven countries, including including Palau, Nauru and Israel. The United Kingdom, most of the European Union and Washington's military partners such as Iraq and Afghanistan, were among those which voted in favour of the resolution. The EU's High Representative Federica Mogherini said the bloc expressed "serious concern" about the move and said Europe remained committed to a two-state solution. Trump's decision to recognise Jerusalem as the Israeli capital has also sparked protests across the world. Unrest over the issue continues in the occupied Palestinian territories today. The EU and Norway convened on Wednesday an extraordinary session of the International Donor Group for Palestine to "discuss measures to speed up efforts that can underpin a negotiated" solution. No country currently has its embassy in Jerusalem.

Bashirfuntua: Eight-month-old baby raped in Delhi India

Bashirfuntua: Eight-month-old baby raped in Delhi India: The rape of an eight-month-old baby girl, allegedly by her cousin, has renewed widespread outrage in India over sexual assault. The girl ...

Eight-month-old baby raped in Delhi India

The rape of an eight-month-old baby girl, allegedly by her cousin, has renewed widespread outrage in India over sexual assault. The girl is in a critical but stable condition in a local hospital in Delhi, local media reported. Police said her 28-year-old cousin had been arrested. Swati Maliwal, chair of the Delhi Commission for Women, who visited the girl in hospital on Monday, said she had suffered "inhuman injuries" to her internal organs. She said the infant had to undergo a three-hour operation. In a tweet in Hindi, Ms Maliwal asked: "Who is responsible? The entire system has been neutered. Nobody makes a difference. When will [it] change?" In a direct message to the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, she said "stricter laws and more police resources" were needed to protect girls in the country. She added: "What to do? How can Delhi sleep today when 8 month baby has been brutally raped in Capital? "Have we become so insensitive or we have simply accepted this as our fate?" Fury over sexual assault in India has been mounting after the brutal gang rape and murder of a 23-year-old student on a bus in Delhi in 2012. Widespread demonstrations led the government to introduce tougher punishments for rape, including the death penalty. In 2016, police received nearly 39,000 rape complaints, up 12.4 per cent from the previous year. In the same year, 19,765 cases of child rape were registered in India, an increase of 82 per cent from the year before, according to the National Crime Records Bureau.

Bashirfuntua: Dangote donates N1.2bn building to BUK business sc...

Bashirfuntua: Dangote donates N1.2bn building to BUK business sc...: The President, Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, has announced the donation of a N1.2bn structure for the running of the business school of...

Bashirfuntua: Dangote donates N1.2bn building to BUK business sc...

Bashirfuntua: Dangote donates N1.2bn building to BUK business sc...: The President, Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, has announced the donation of a N1.2bn structure for the running of the business school of...

Bashirfuntua: Dangote donates N1.2bn building to BUK business sc...

Bashirfuntua: Dangote donates N1.2bn building to BUK business sc...: The President, Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, has announced the donation of a N1.2bn structure for the running of the business school of...

Dangote donates N1.2bn building to BUK business school

The President, Dangote Industries, Aliko Dangote, has announced the donation of a N1.2bn structure for the running of the business school of the Bayero University, Kano.

The building, which will be handed over to the university management next month, according to a statement on Sunday, is a state-of-the-art edifice and will mark the commencement of the business school in the institution and the first in the northern part of the country. Dangote is also building a similar business school in the University of Ibadan, which will be inaugurated soon. The business schools being undertaken by the Aliko Dangote Foundation, according to Dangote, are parts of efforts to build entrepreneurship in the sub-consciousness of Nigerians through education at the highest level. He explained that the situation Nigeria had found itself necessitated revisiting school curricula to reflect the new consciousness of entrepreneurship and manufacturing, and efforts made to encourage the study of business, especially at the second level in the universities. The BUK business school comprises of auditoriums, lecture theatres, offices, classes, library, and complete electrical fittings and cooling system, among others. Speaking on the gesture of Africa’s richest man, the Dean of Faculty, Dangote Business School, BUK, Prof. Murtala Sagagi, said there was no business school in the institution until Dangote started the project. “We have an ambition to have a business school and we could not go ahead with the project, because there was no befitting structure to accommodate the kind of dream we had; but with Dangote coming in about five years ago, that was when the university decided to say this is the time to have the business school,” he stated.

Bashirfuntua: Fears over US-Turkey military confrontation in Syr...

Bashirfuntua: Fears over US-Turkey military confrontation in Syr...: A US-backed Kurdish militia has deployed fighters to the frontline of Syria's Manbij to battle Turkey's military after President Re...

Fears over US-Turkey military confrontation in Syria

A US-backed Kurdish militia has deployed fighters to the frontline of Syria's Manbij to battle Turkey's military after President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said it would be next after launching the cross-border Afrin operation. Manbij is about 100km east of Afrin where the United States has military personnel deployed in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), meaning troops from the NATO allies could come face to face on the battlefield. The US military coalition operating in Manbij said soldiers there have the right defend themselves against any attack, and wouldn't hesitate to do so. "Clearly we are very alert to what is happening, specifically in the area of Manbij because that is where our ... coalition forces are," spokesman Colonel Ryan Dillon told Reuters news agency. "The coalition forces that are in that area have an inherent right to defend themselves and will do so if necessary." Sharfan Darwish of the Manbij Military Council - a unit of the YPG Syrian-Kurd militia currently under attack by Turkey in Afrin - said his forces were preparing to confront Turkish soldiers. "We are in full readiness to respond to any attack. Of course our coordination with the international coalition continues with regards to the protection of Manbij," said Darwish. The intensifying situation in northern Syria led to a phone call between Erdogan and US President Donald Trump on Wednesday. Trump expressed concern about Turkey's "destructive and false rhetoric" over the situation and urged caution so US and Turkish troops don't engage in battle. "He urged Turkey to de-escalate, limit its military actions, and avoid civilian casualties and increases to displaced persons and refugees," a White House statement said.

"He urged Turkey to exercise caution and to avoid any actions that might risk conflict between Turkish and American forces." Erdogan threatened earlier Wednesday to extend the Afrin offensive to Manbij to "clean our region from this trouble completely". Decades-long insurgency Turkey sees the YPG - trained, armed and supported by the US to fight against ISIL - as an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has fought a bloody decades-long insurgency in the country. Erdogan indicated one aim of the anti-YPG operation was to create a safe zone where some of the more than three million Syrians who fled to Turkey in the civil war could return. "First we will exterminate the terrorists, then we will make the area liveable. For who? For the 3.5 million Syrian guests in our land," Erdogan said. Turkey's government has hit out at "propaganda" against its cross-border action. Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin has urged the media and public to be aware of "fake, distortive and provocative news". Meanwhile, rockets fired from northern Syria slammed into a mosque and a house on Wednesday inside Turkey, killing two people and wounding 11 others. The projectiles were fired in the early evening into the border province of Kilis. One Syrian and one Turk were killed, the Kilis governor's office said, in attacks it blamed on the YPG militia in Syria. The Turkish military said 260 Kurdish and ISIL fighters were killed so far in the five-day Afrin incursion - a claim refuted by a Kurdish commander who said the number was "greatly exaggerated". Redur Xelil, an official from Syria Democratic Forces led by the YPG, denied the claim that ISIL fighters were involved in the fight for Afrin.