SOCIAL MEDIA WEEK DEBUTS IN LAGOS

For the first time, Africa will partake in a global conversation that examines the cultural and economic impact of social media in our lives. From February 18 to 22, Nigeria’s commercial capital, Lagos, will join nine other cities to participate in the 2013 Social Media Week.

NIGERIAN PUPILS TO PARTICIPATE IN MODEL UN CONFERENCE

 

Three public school pupils from Rivers State have been selected to represent Nigeria at the National High School Model United Nations Conference scheduled for UN headquarters in New York, United States of America.

 

The Model United Nations Conference, a catch-them-young initiative, is a forum that gathers international pupils from all over the world to deliberate on common world difficulties and challenges that all countries are increasingly affected by. The forum offers invaluable insights into the full range of UN activities and responsibilities. It will hold between March 6 and 9, this year.

 

A statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of the state ministry of education, Mr. Ugochukwu Iwuchukwu, after the state Commissioner for Education, Dame Alice Lawrence-Nemi received the pupils in her office, stated that they were selected after passing a written and oral test conducted for pupils by the state ministry of education last year.

NIGERIA RECORDS ZERO CASES OF POLIO IN TWO MONTHS

Nigeria has attained an outstanding feat by recording no incidence of poliomyelitis in the last two months. The Director General of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, Dr Ado Mohammed told state house correspondents after meting with President Goodluck Jonathan Thursday that the committee on the eradication of polio has stepped up its efforts to totally eliminate the disease from the country in the next two years.

"What we told the president is that in the last two months, Nigeria has not recorded a single case of Polio. What this means is that no child has been paralyzed in Nigeria in the last two months. This is a major Achievement," he said.

NDUKA OBAIGBENA'S ARISE MEDIA LAUNCHES GLOBAL TV NETWORK

The publisher of Nigeria's national daily, ThisDay Newspaper, Nduka obaigbena is set to launch two new television stations. The well connected media mogul, according to a release, will kick start Arise News and Arise 360 TV.

ARISE NEWS will have a strong African footprint and serve underserved communities in the USA and other parts of the world. The stations will broadcast from Lagos, London, New York and Johannesburg reaching as far as Beijing and Rio de Janeiro.

 

ANAMBRA: BEST SSCE STUDENT GETS SCHOLARSHIP FROM THE STATE GOVERNMENT

Governor Peter Obi and Miss Anagor

Sandra Anagor, a student of Federal Government College, Onitsha who emerged the overall best student in NECO and WASC examinations in 2012 has rewarded with a scholarship 2.2 million naira by Governor Peter Obi. Governor Obi announced the scholarship package while receiving her at the Government House, Awka, earlier in the week. The Governor presented the elated student with a cheque of N2, 220,000 to cover for her six-year Medical studies at the University of Ibadan, where she had already been admitted.

Obi who was visibly proud of Anagor’s accomplishments said such performance will encourage him to keep visiting secondary schools in the state to encourage students to take their studies seriously, saying he would soon extend it to primary schools.
Reeling out names of Anambra people who are champions in their areas, Obi said the state would keep on searching for them wherever they are with the view of presenting them as role models to the younger ones.

Sandra Anagor in her remark expressed her surprise at the state government’s gesture, saying that Governor Obi has proved beyond doubt his commitment to quality education in the state.

Sandra’s proud parents, Azubike and Chinwe Anagor who accompanied her to the ceremony disclosed that the resurrected performance of Anambra people in examinations is attributable to Peter Obi’s investments in the education sector.

In her own remarks, the state Commissioner for Education said all thanks would go to the governor for his absolute love for the state.

NIGERIAN PROFESSOR DISCOVERS HIV/AIDS DRUGS

 

 

The Dean, School of Basic Medical Sciences of the University of Benin, Prof. Isaiah Ibeh on Tuesday announced the development of a herbal drug that can possibly cure HIV and AIDS. He made the declaration while briefing newsmen in Benin City.  He said, “We are at the threshold of making history, in the sense that we seem to have with us something that will permanently take care of what over time seems to have defied all solutions. We are talking about the latest discovery of an oral drug made from plants extraction in Nigeria for the possible cure of the pandemic, HIV and AIDS virus.”

Prof Ibeh explained that the research work started in 2010 and culminated in the development of “Deconcotion X (DX)–Liquid or Bioclean 11 for the cure of HIV and AIDS”.

“The existing retroviral drugs are intervention drugs for the management of AIDS but our new discovery is a possible cure.
 

NIGERIA'S MAURICE IWU RECORDS BREAKTHROUGH IN HIV/AIDS



Maurice Iwu

 

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have recorded another breakthrough in the treatment OF Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) with the discovery of a latest oral botanical drug, Crofelemer.
 

The latest breakthrough owes its success to a pioneering research carried out in the United States by a team of scientists which included Nigeria’s Maurice Iwu, an acclaimed pharmacologist and tropical medicine expert who carried out the research in the United States.

NIGERIANS LEAD AFRICAN BUSINESS LEADERS TO WATCH IN 2013

  

Ventures Africa has identified 3 Nigerians amongst 13 young Africans who have contributed to shaping the future of the continent and the world at large; through their activities and businesses, these global leaders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and intellectuals are young, talented and with proven genius in their distinctive fields. To cap it all, they are all under 35 years! In no respective order, here are 13 Young African Business/Economic Leaders to look out for in 2013

Nigerian serial entrepreneur, Ladi Delano made his first millions selling liquor while living in China. In 2004, at age 22, he founded Solidarnosc Asia, a Chinese alcoholic beverage company that made Solid XS, a premium brand of Vodka. The company later expanded with the launching of a dining and entertainment venue, The Collection. Solid XS went on to achieve about 70 percent market share in China and was distributed across over 33 cities in China, with revenue of over $22 million annually. After some time, with the global economic downturn, Solid XS was sold to a rival liquor company for about $20 million.
However before selling Solid XS, Delano had set up a real estate investment company focused on mainland China – called Delano Reid Group. The company went on to raise over $80 million for real estate investments in mainland China profiting from China’s real estate economic boom. Apart from the real estate company, Delano is also a founding partner in DRG CIN Energy and Global DRG Capital, providers of global energy solutions.

In December 2011, Delano shifted focus from the Asia economic boom to establish his latest venture, Bakrie Delano Africa (BDA), in Africa. This time, he partnered with Indonesia conglomerate, the Bakrie Group under a joint venture partnership. His company partnership with Bakrie Group was created to facilitate the expansion of the South East Asia’s conglomerate, in Africa. Through the joint venture, the Bakrie Group would invest about $1 billion over five years in Bakrie Delano Africa (BDA) in areas as diverse as mining, oil & gas and agriculture.

An entrepreneur true to his origin, Ladi believes “Nigeria is attractive to the Bakrie Group as an investment destination for several reasons. Firstly, it is experiencing excellent rates of economic growth, approximately 8 percent per year, which is forecast by a wide cross-section of respected economic commentators to continue over the medium to long term.” The young businessman is definitely one to watch in 2013.

Eniola Mafe

 

Eniola Mafe is the Africa Program Manager at Vital Voices Global Partnership, a Washington, D.C.-based international non-profit that works with women leaders to advance women’s human rights, political participation, and economic empowerment. Recently described as a “Convener” in the Diplomatic Courier’s Top 99 under 33 in 2012. Her role as the Program Manager for Africa in Vital Voices Global Partnerships allows her to “bring people together in creative ways to address a pressing international issue or enhance the foreign policy community.”

With a special focus on organizational development, entrepreneurship, and economic development in sub-Saharan Africa, Eniola manages the Africa Businesswomen’s Network (ABWN), a partnership among local African businesswomen’s organizations that enhances the management, business development, and leadership skills of businesswomen. Eniola also manages other programs focused on the growth of women-led small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). According to her “Empowering women isn’t just about the women’s issues. It is about enabling them to have a say in broader issues that have an impact on their world.”

Yetunde Odugbesan

Yetunde Odugbesan is a young Nigerian blazing trail in Africa and the Diaspora. A graduate of the United Nations Worldview Institute – an executive training program for global business professionals, Yetunde is currently working on her PhD in on political corruption and its effect on governmental performance and social services being delivered by local and state government at the Division of Global Affairs at Rutgers University in New Jersey.

25 year-old Yetunde is not new to leadership roles. In high school, she served as a student president, Student Ambassador, Captain of the Varsity Cheer-leading team, Founder of the poetry club and most importantly – a consistent honor roll student. Today, she sits on various boards that are aimed at alleviating many of the social and economic issues in various African countries and with her managing consulting company, Yetunde Global Consulting, she offers valuable insight on how to develop and leverage strategic partnerships globally as well as provide branding techniques that can help business and organization grow to reach its full potential.

Yetunde also formed the Young Women’s Guide, a mentorship organization that helps connect girls with women leaders and groups that can best help them pursue their quest for social change. She is a gifted public speaker and youth leader. Her messages are sometimes on key ways to building a better nation. She has been invited by Nigerian governments and the World Bank to speak at conferences and summits. One of such conference includes the U.N. World Conference on the Status of Women, advocating for programs that will empower girls in Africa to realize their potential, even in the midst of poverty and political strife.

Credit: Venture Africa

NIGERIA TO PROVIDE 10 MILLION MOBILE PHONES TO RURAL FARMERS

As part of its efforts to modernize agriculture, the Nigerian Government yesterday said about 10 million cell phones would be distributed to farmers to boost agricultural production in the country.

The Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mrs Ibukun Odusote, said this at a sensitization programme for farmers at Igan-Ipabi in Ijebu-east Local Government Area of Ogun State.

She said the distribution of the cell phones was one of the steps being taken by the ministry to ensure food security in Nigeria.
 

NIGERIA STOCK EXCHANGE IS THIRD BEST IN THE WORLD

 

Nigeria was the third most rewarding stock market globally in 2012 behind Egypt and Kenya, as investors harvested 35.45 percent yield- to- date return on investment from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).

According to a study by Meristem Research, the bulk of the returns came from NSE 30 selected stocks with 44.61 percent YtD return, Food and Beverages, 42.27 percent and banking, 23.91 percent.

The companies that offered the returns, according to the study, included the Paints& Coatings Manufacturers Nigeria (PCMN), with 276.92 returns to close at N1.9 per share, Presco with YtD of 96.08 percent to finish at 17.00, Airline Services Limited, with 92.63 returns and closing price of N4.18 per share, Zenith Bank 60.02 return and price of N19.49 and UTC, which rewarded investors with 50 percent at the price of N0.75 per share.