Gunmen release hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted last week
Hundreds of Nigerian schoolgirls abducted last week from a boarding school in the north-western Zamfara State have been released. The girls were freed unharmed and will be reunited with their families. Witnesses say the gunmen also attacked a nearby military camp to prevent soldiers from responding. An armed gang abducted...
African legal support facility receives $3.2m from Norway and United Kingdom
Norway and the United Kingdom have donated $3.2 million to the African Legal Support Facility (ALSF) to support its activities over the next two years. The Norwegian government, through its Agency for Development Cooperation, provided $1.923 million to support ALSF 2021 and 2022 work programmes. The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development...
Africa needs pragmatic free market policies to attract capital into gas markets
When I spoke at the International Petroleum (IP) Week on February 25, 2021, I commended Nigeria for its efforts in driving gas monetisation. However, we have to be clear that the oil and gas industry and hardworking people remain frustrated by the delays and inability to pass and sign the...
Energy Chamber resolves to raise funding for new projects in Africa
Investment committee of the African Energy Chamber has prioritised capital mobilisation for investment in new energy projects on the continent. The committee, which met virtually for the second time since its inception last year, resolved to make capital mobilisation a top agenda of the industry in the post-Covid era. The...
Despite religious hurdles, women’s football in Morocco is growing – Fifa president
Fifa President Gianni Infantino wants the world football governing body’s cooperation with African strengthened through the support of women’s football. Despite religious encumbrances that sometimes prevent girls from taking the sport seriously, Mr Infantino acknowledged the efforts made in Morocco, a largely Muslim country, in getting women to participate in...
A competitive oil and gas sector will drive growth in Angola’s economy
Angola’s oil wealth has by no means spared it from criticism about the unfair distribution of wealth, inequality in society and, in some cases, the misappropriation of state funds. These concerns are legitimate and should be looked into by the state. Where people are found to have profited unduly, it...
Sixty-five years of oil history has been good for Angola despite economic challenges
Angolan lawmakers last week approved the revision of current legislation, allowing for oil and gas pre-exploration studies to be carried out in some areas previously designated as natural reserves. The government, however, stressed that this law was by no means a relaxation of the stringent environmental provisions required for oil...
Tale of Kilkenny cats: How Kenya opposition was captured by the state
Often hurriedly assembled to the sole purpose of winning elections, political coalitions in Kenya have never had a façade of ideology, but regional or ethnic conglomerations that come off the hinges as rapidly as they were crafted once elections are over. As the row among former National Super Alliance (Nasa)...
Kagame regime in eye of a storm as human rights body questions death of activist
Often cited as a paragon for countries emerging from bloody past of human rights violations, the killing of gospel singer and human rights activist Kizito Mihigo has restored the searchlight on President Paul Kagame government’s willingness and ability to break with the era of repression. Human Rights Watch, an international...
Fifa plans African schools football competition that’ll kick off in DR Congo
Fifa and the African Union have agreed to launch African schools football competition following a meeting in Kinshasa between world football governing body President Gianni Infantino and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) President Félix Tshisekedi, who is also the current chairperson of the African Union (AU). The two presidents,...
