I once had a crush on Michael Essien - Chimamanda Adichie

Renowned novelist, Chimamanda Adichie, has said that she once had a mild crush on a Ghanaian footballer, Michael Essien, after the Ghanaian team defeated the United States at a World Cup tournament that Nigeria did not qualify for.

She made the revelation in the introduction she wrote for a picture book, Africa― The Future of Football, authored by a photographer, Pall Stefansson.

In a video posted on her Facebook page, Adichie, who recently lost her father, read the introduction (to the book), with the title, Football Nationalism.

The novelist, in the write-up, said because Nigeria was absent at the tournament, the Ghanaian team got her attention and she became ‘a Ghanaian’.

Making a point about how people often forget their differences in the euphoria of the football game, Adichie narrated how she watched the Ghana-US clash with her best friend, Uju, and how they excitedly referred to the Ghanaian players as ‘our boys’. She said, 

“I watched the game with my best friend, Uju, often shouting and then hugging each other when Ghana finally beat the United States.

You know some of our boys started playing this game without shoes’, Uju said. ‘Our boys’ were, of course, the Ghanaians.

“A small consequence of that game was my developing a mild crush on the Ghanaian player, Michael Essien, as much for his looks as for his dexterity.

But the larger and more important consequence was my realisation that sports allowed us, black Africans, to address historical and political grievances in the most cathartic way.”

Adichie also narrated how despite their frequent quarrels over the dirty state of the compound and the attendant mice infestation, her sister, who lived in Ilupeju, Lagos State, and her neighbour became momentary friends the moment the Super Eagles beat Argentina in the finals of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta.

She said, “My sister put aside her stereotypes of her Yoruba neighbour and her neighbour put aside her stereotypes of my Igbo sister. They forgot about the flat not clean, water wasted and electricity bills unpaid. They became, for that moment, Nigerians, who had somehow contributed to the vanquishing of the world.”

She said, “There is no doubt that football nationalism is not peculiar to Nigerians and to Africans. Indeed, the very idea of national games is based on the premise of national identities.”

Breaking : Nigeria and US fight for the custody of Hushpuppi

It has come to our notice that the question of the custody of Nigerian big boy, Hushpuppi is being debated between Nigeria and the US. 

It can be recalled that earlier this week, the news of the arrest of Hushpuppi spread like wildfire on Nigerian social media.

We learnt that the arrest of Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Hushpuppi has pitted Nigerian detectives against their counterparts from the United Arab Emirates and the United States.

Nigeria and the U.S. launched the battle for the possession of Mr Raymond, a.k.a Hushpuppi, following his arrest and detention by Emirati authorities earlier this week, according to two officials familiar with the development.

“Immediately we got confirmation that he had been arrested in Dubai, we all started fighting to get him,” a senior Nigerian detective said.

“He is a subject of multiple and conflicting interests between Nigeria and the United States.”

Officials said the F.B.I. has been leading America’s effort to take possession of Mr Raymond because many of those he allegedly scammed in years of advance fee fraud were Americans.

Officials could not immediately estimate the financial value of Mr Raymond’ alleged fraud, citing poor cooperation from Dubai authorities, but they expressed confidence his exploits spanned across Europe, U.S. and Nigeria.

Mr Raymond’ arrest was first rumoured on Nigerian social media on Tuesday. Even then, two officials who confirmed knowledge of the arrest and offered preliminary information elected not to do so on the record — fearing that USA officials could jettison back channel negotiations that began on Thursday morning.

Nigerian officials said UAE authorities have frustrated all their attempts to obtain more than a cursory account of Hushpuppi’s arrest, including when and where he was held.

"They are even reluctant to tell us the preliminary charges that they have against him so we could weigh them with the charges that we have against him in Nigeria,” one of the officials said. 

“We know that the money involved would be much for the Americans, but we are optimistic that we will prevail in bringing him to Nigeria to face trial.”

We have destroyed Nigeria - Nnamdi Kanu

Nnamdi Kanu, leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) has reacted to a statement released by the presidency in which the proscribed group was accused of using Christianity to wage war against the Nigerian state.

Recall that the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and publicity, Garba Shehu said in the statement that IPOB has been attempting to drive a wedge between the Nigerian government and its US and UK/European allies.

Reacting to the statement, Nnamdi Kanu stated that the Nigerian Government inadvertently confirmed that they spend big on diplomatic offensive. He averred that every dime contributed to IPOB will go towards ''dismantling Nigeria and restoration of Biafra.''

The IPOB leader added that they have ''destroyed Nigeria and the name will seize to exist when they are done.''

Here's a detailed account of how Diezani played Nigeria

It is no longer news that Diezani Allison-Madueke has escaped from Nigeria to avoid being prosecuted for her heinous crimes. 

The latest development is that she is now a Commissioner in the Dominican Republic. This gives her full immunity against expatriation back to Nigeria for prosecution.

Fresh details have emerged of how Diezani Alison-Madueke, Nigeria’s former Petroleum Resources Minister, plotted her escape from Nigeria in the twilight of the Goodluck Jonathan administration in 2015.

In a document shared from the office of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Diezani who is still on trial for corruption back home in Nigeria, lobbied to become Trade and Investment Commissioner of the Dominican Republic and bagged a diplomatic passport from the island government to boot.

“With the diplomatic passport, she is immune to arrest by any law enforcement agency, including the Interpol,” one EFCC operative who wishes to be anonymous said.

“Before leaving office on May 28, 2015, she had perfected a script with the office of the Prime Minister, Commonwealth of Dominica. She lobbied to be appointed as Trade and Investment Commissioner with effect from June 1, 2015.

The lobby actually worked. In a letter dated May 29, 2015 and signed by Prime Minister Roosevelt Kerry, Diezani was offered not only the citizenship of Dominica, a Caribbean Island, but also an appointment as Trade and Investment Commissioner.

A diplomatic passport issued on May 21, 2015, with an expiry date of May 20, 2020, came with the offer of appointment,” the document from the EFCC reads.

It adds that “the passport contained 32 pages and in one of the pages, a restraining statement against arrest is made.”

The restraining order reads as follows: 

“The President of the Commonwealth of Dominica requests and requires in the Name of the Government of Dominica all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.”

Diezani’s diplomatic passport number is given as DP0000445.

FG to tax Facebook, Netflix, others

There are plans in motion for the Federal Government to tax foreign digital service providers offering services to Nigerians and earning revenue in naira.

These service providers which include video streaming sites, social media platforms, and companies that offer downloads of digital contents are expected to pay digital tax to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, had issued the Companies Income Tax (Significant Economic Presence) Order, 2020 as an amendment of the Finance Act 2019.

The order aimed to impose tax on a foreign entity with respect to certain services or digital transactions if it had a Significant Economic Presence in Nigeria.

It further stated that the finance minister may by order, determine what constituted SEP in Nigeria.

Netflix, Facebook, Twitter, among others are some of these foreign companies that offer digital video and advertising services to Nigerians.

Others like Alibaba and Amazon generate revenue from Nigeria by processing and transmitting data collected about users in Nigeria, provision of goods or services directly or through a digital platform or offer intermediate services that link suppliers and customers in Nigeria.

The new regulation would apply to companies with income of N25m or equivalent in other currencies from Nigeria in a year and those with a Nigerian domain name (.ng) or a website address in the country.

The SEP order mandated foreign companies with sustained interactions with persons in Nigeria and customising their digital platforms to target persons in Nigeria by stating the prices of its products or services in naira to pay taxes.

According to the Act, a foreign entity providing technical services such as training, advertising, supply of personnel, professional, management or consultancy services shall have a SEP in Nigeria in any accounting year if it earns any income or receives any payment from a person resident in Nigeria or a fixed base or agent of a foreign entity in Nigeria.

However, payments made to employees of a foreign entity or for teaching in an educational institution are exempted.

Analysts at PricewaterhouseCoopers said some of the affected foreign digital companies would be required to register for income taxes in Nigeria and file annual tax returns even if they did not have a physical presence in Nigeria.

They added that Nigerian resident businesses (as well as the fixed bases of non-resident companies) that have transactions with the affected non-resident companies would also be required to account for withholding tax on some of the payments made to these foreign companies.

PwC raised concerns as to how the FIRS would enforce compliance without international consensus, as a number of the companies affected might be outside the territorial reach of the agency.

According to the consulting firm, the problem will also be exacerbated where the companies sell their products and services directly to individual consumers in Nigeria.

Nigeria's national walk champion slumps and dies while jogging

Kazeem Adeyemi who is Nigeria’s men’s 20km Race Walk National Champion, kicked the bucket. This was revealed by a statement from the Athletics Federation of Nigeria.

The statement disclosed that the athlete slumped and died while jogging.

Until the sad event of his death, Adeyemi represented the Nigeria Police Force, where he served for 11 years and was a Sergeant at the Ikoyi Division, Lagos State.

In the statement, the President of AFN, Ibrahim Shehu-Gusau, described the deceased as “a national sports asset”. Shehu-Gusau said, 

“The death of Adeyemi is sad, especially at this time when the federation is putting plans in place to encourage our good athletes to take to coaching courses.

To lose such a dedicated and hardworking athlete, who showed great consistency is a very great loss to the federation, in particular, and the nation in general.”

The statement added that Adeyemi, who died on Tuesday, was buried according to Islamic rites on Wednesday, at the Agege Cemetery, Lagos State.

Born on March 1, 1985, the late Adeyemi won a number of National Championships, including the 20,000m and the 20km Race Walk in Calabar in June 2011; 20km Race Walk in Lagos in May 2007; the 20km Race Walk in Warri in 2015 as well as the 20km Race Walk in Kaduna in 2019.

He represented Nigeria in the 20km Race Walk at the 2003 All-African Games in Abuja where he placed fifth.

Madagascar's COVID-19 cure sent to Nigerian research institutes

Popularly known as COVID-Organics, Madagascar's herbal tea that is being  paraded as a cure for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has been sent to Nigerian research institutions for close observation.

Last month, Nigeria received five cartons of samples of the herbal tea and they were handed over to the Ministry of Health.

While speaking during a media briefing on Tuesday, June 2, 2020, the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, said that the samples have been sent to various research institutions to investigate the cure claims.

He said samples were sent to the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Nigerian Institute for Medical Research (NIMR), the Nigerian Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), and the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The minister said, "The timeline for delivery is not something you can give anybody in research because they have processes which they have to go through and they will not all be reporting at the same time.

Lassa fever death toll in 2020 nears 200 as fresh deaths occur

Two people have died in Ondo and Benue as a result of Lassa fever infection between May 18, 2020, and May 24, 2020.

According to the latest situation report published by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Friday, May 29, the acute viral haemorrhagic illness, caused by rodents, has killed 197 people in 2020.

Nine new cases were recorded in the week under review with five in Ondo, two in Edo, and one each in Benue and Ebonyi.

Suspected cases in Aba, Bauchi, Delta, Imo, Plateau, and Taraba returned negative results.

1,015 cases have now been recorded in 27 Nigerian states, with at least one confirmed case across 128 local government areas across the country.

One of the new cases recorded is a healthcare worker in Ondo State, according to the situation report.

The NCDC declared in April that the emergency phase of the 2020 Lassa fever outbreak was over because its case count dropped below levels considered to be a national emergency.

However, the agency's Director-General, Chikwe Ihekweazu, said Nigeria would continue to record Lassa fever cases even though the country had passed its usual January to April peak period.

301 Chinese citizens evacuated from Nigeria

Reports reaching us has it that at least 301 Chinese citizens have returned home from Nigeria.

The nationals were evacuated on Thursday night through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos.

The about 20 hours flight is expected to arrive at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China on Friday evening barring any technical or logistics hitches.

“Air Peace on Thursday, May 28, 2020, operated its second flight to China as we evacuated 301 Chinese nationals back to their country.

The flight departed the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos at exactly 22:05 yesterday to arrive at the Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport, China,” the airline said in a statement on Friday.

Although the Federal Government had shut all airports in the county in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, it allowed essential flights – for evacuation, medical supplies, amongst others.

Nigeria hasn't received promised ventilators from Trump - Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Lai Mohammed has said that the Federal Government is yet to receive the promised ventilators from the United States of America (USA).

The minister said this at the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Coronavirus (COVID-19) daily news conference on Thursday in Abuja.

He was reacting against the backdrop of information being peddled over the 1,000 ventilators promised by the U.S President Donald Trump to Nigeria.

“To the best of my knowledge the ventilators promised by the U.S. President have not arrived Nigeria,” the minister said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that both President Muhammadu Buhari and Trump had a phone conversation a few days ago at the request of Trump who promised to provide ventilators for Nigeria to fight COVID-19 pandemic.

The minister however said that they were yet to arrive the country.

Buhari approves Nigeria, Siemens electricity deal funding

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), has given the nod to a German firm, Siemens AG, to begin the concessionary funding and provision of technical support to the country’s power sector.

According to the official twitter handle of the Presidency, @NGRPresident, Buhari had already directed the Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, the Ministry of Power and the Bureau of Public Enterprises “to conclude the engagement with Siemens AG to commence the pre-engineering and concessionary financing aspects of the Presidential Power Initiative.”

The PPI, which transited from the Nigerian Electrification Road Map, first muted in 2018, aims to upgrade power infrastructure in the country as part of efforts to halt frequent blackouts.

“All items to be purchased were provided by the distribution companies and Transmission Company of Nigeria and they will be vetted by a professional project management office,” the Presidency stated.

It explained that the concessionary terms included a three-year moratorium and a “12-year repayment at concessionary (interest rates) through the German Euler Hermes cover, which Nigeria will on-lend as a convertible loan to the other shareholders in the Discos.”

The Presidency added, “All Discos have, directly, and through the BPE, been diligently carried along over the last 15 months to understand in detail the challenges in the electricity system.

“The PPI is a power infrastructure upgrade and modernisation programme agreed to by Nigerian government and Siemens AG of Germany, with the support of the German Government.

Under the PPI, Nigerian government will on behalf of the other shareholders in the Discos invest in infrastructure upgrades in the form of improved payment systems, distribution substations, transformers, protection devices, smart meters, transmission lines, etc.

President Buhari has approved the release of funding for the first part of Phase 1 of the PPI, to kick off the pre-engineering and concession financing work streams.”

The two presidential spokespersons, Mr Femi Adesina and Mr Garba Shehu, did not respond to enquiries by The PUNCH to confirm the @NGRPresident tweets as of 6.05pm.

The Federal Government has said that it would give priority to evacuees in China when evacuation flights eventually resume.

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, disclosed this during a briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 in Abuja.

He said that the government was aware of the harsh climate against nationals in China, noting that they would be repatriated as soon as new modalities were put in place. He said, 

“We are very hopeful that maybe by next week, we should be able to commence evacuation. There is a large number of Nigerians still wanting to be evacuated. In addition to the UK, there are Nigerians in China, this is something we are not happy about.

It is a real priority for us to bring all the evacuees back home but we know those in China are facing very essential challenges and as soon this mechanism is put in place, I’d like to assure them that we’ll do everything possible to prioritise their return.

In regards to compensation to Nigerians who were caught up in the crisis in Guangzhou, China due to the discrimination on the basis of nationality and race, I spoke to the Consular General in Guangzhou who was in direct contact with the Nigerians there to provide details of any loss they may have suffered. We will now engage on that basis, with the Chinese Government.

When I summoned the Chinese Ambassador, Mr Zhou Pingjian, he also made these commitments, that they will be very interested to receive the details of any complaints or loss, and I must say to date that nothing has come in formally from our Consulate in Guangzhou.”

"We've issued identity numbers to 41 million Nigerians" - NIMC

As at this morning, the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) says that it has enrolled and issued 41 million Nigerians with National Identity Number.

In an interview with journalists, the Director-General of the NIMC, Aliyu Aziz said that enrolment is currently on for Nigerians in the Diaspora in 15 other countries.

According to him, the NIN has been approved by the Federal Government as the only valid means of identification for government services by law and is a requirement for the application for a new and renewal of an expired Nigerian passport, among others.

Highlighting challenges slowing down the rate of enrolment, he said inadequate electricity, Information Technology infrastructure, inadequate enrolment centres and devices and insufficient sensitisation and awareness of the public, among others, still persisted.

According to him, the challenges are being addressed in collaboration with all the relevant stakeholders, government and with the help of the media.

“As of today, we have reached record 41 million by sheer determination and hard work. I owe all of this to the great staff of the NIMC who pushed themselves beyond their limits to see this happen.

Diaspora enrolment was greatly received by the Nigerians in other countries and it has been going well since the launch. Enrolment is happening in over 15 countries across the world, with more countries to come on board in the near future.”

He said the plans to implement the strategic road map for accelerating digital identity in the country in June 2020 had been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to him, the project will either begin in September or December this year.

Aziz said the $433m it secured from the World Bank, Agence Francaise de Development and the European Union would be used for the expansion of enrolment centres to 4,000.

“The funding covers digital ID enrolment, issuance and usage; strengthening of the enabling law, security, privacy, data protection and cybersecurity mechanisms; as well as strengthening the IT and other backend infrastructure,” the NIMC boss stated.

He added, “There is still a need for funding on the card aspect of the programme as well as on the other regulatory functions of the commission. We are consulting with the Federal Government on these aspects.”

Aziz explained that the commission was working on strategies to scale up card production and issuance in partnership with the private sector. However, he said NIN was sufficient to prove or assert the identity of Nigerians anytime, anywhere.

Inflation rises in Nigeria for 8 straight months

Nigeria's inflation rose for the eight consecutive month as the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Thursday, May 21, 2020 that the consumer price index increased by 12.34% (year-on-year) in April 2020.

The new increase is 0.08% points higher than the 12.26% recorded in March 2020.

This is the highest Nigeria's inflation has risen since 12.48% was recorded in April 2018.

On month-on-month basis, the headline index increased by 1.02% in April 2020, 0.18% higher than the 0.84% recorded the previous month. The NBS report read,

"The urban inflation rate increased by 13.01% (year-on-year) in April 2020 from 12.93% recorded in March 2020, while the rural inflation rate increased by 11.73% in April 2020 from 11.64% in March 2020.

On a month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 1.06 percent in April 2020, up by 0.18% from 0.88% recorded in March 2020, while the rural index also rose by 0.98% in April 2020, up by 0.18% from the rate recorded in March 2020 (0.80%)."

The CPI measures the average change over time in prices of goods and services consumed by people for day-to-day living.

The current upward rise in inflation started in September 2019 around the time President Muhammadu Buhari closed Nigeria's land borders allegedly because of the activity of smugglers.

The outbreak of the coronavirus disease that has interrupted economic activities is also believed to have played a part in April's rise.

"Abacha stashed billions of dollars abroad to save Nigeria" - Galadima

Buba Galadima, a former ally of President Muhammadu Buhari, has said that the billions of dollars the late Head of State, General Sani Abacha stashed in foreign banks were not looted.

Galadima in an interview with TheNation newspaper said Abacha saved the monies abroad to save the country from an impending US sanction during his administration.

The 72-yr-old politician, who was the Director-General, National Maritime Authority during Abacha’s regime said the late Head of State was advised by the then President of Iraq, Saddam Hussein and his counterpart in Libya, Muammar Gaddafi to save the monies in foreign banks. He said, 

“I have a completely different idea about what you called Abacha loot. I know as a fact that at that time, Abacha with knowledge of key members of his government, who knew about this money being stacked out, he was rightly advised by some of his colleague presidents around the world.

Saddam Hussein was one of them. Muammar Gaddafi was one of them. They advised him that there was the likelihood that the US could sanction Nigeria and as such he should save money outside that could last the country, at least, six months, even Nigeria’s account was blocked by the US, there won’t be panic.

I was a key figure in that government. I was one of the so-called Abacha boys if you must know. I was the Director-General, National Maritime Authority, whereby export and import to Nigeria, including crude, were directly coming under my desk. So, am in a position to talk about Abacha and the so-called loot”.

Galadima, however, maintained that those who believe Abacha was a monster are ignorant. General Sani Abacha ruled Nigeria between 1993 and 1998, but since 1999, Nigeria has been receiving some of the monies he stashed abroad.

On Monday, May 4, 2020, the Nigerian government received a sum of $311 million looted from the country’s treasury during the military regime of late Head of State.