Author: David Great

By Samuel Jekeli In the realm of statistics and economic indicators, numbers often hold the power to shape perceptions and policy decisions. However, when these numbers clash with the lived reality of a nation, the consequences are far-reaching, affecting not only economic trajectories but also the mental well-being of its citizens. Nigeria’s recently announced 4.1% unemployment rate by the National Bureau of Statistics is a case in point—a figure that many believe to be a lie that poses a significant threat to the mental health of Nigerians. Nigeria’s unemployment rate of 4.1% seems to defy the palpable experience of countless…

Pa Taiwo Akinkunmi, the designer of the Nigerian flag, passed away at the age of 87. On Wednesday, Akinkunmi Akinwumi Samuel, his son, posted on his Facebook page that his father had passed away. In a tribute to his father on his facebook wall, Akinwumi wrote, “Life is indeed transient; I can say boldly you live a life with a landmark. Continue to rest on, my father! Pa Michael Taiwo Akinkunmi (O.F.R) Great Man has gone.” A native of Abeokuta, Akinkunmi was born was born on May 10, 1936, but lived in Ibadan. He received his basic and secondary education…

Amnesty International says the Uganda Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) must urgently drop charges of “aggravated homosexuality” against a 20-year-old man charged on 18 August 2023 becoming the second Ugandan to be charged with the offence under the country’s “invasive” Anti-Homosexuality Act, which carries the death penalty, Amnesty International said today. Describing the Anti-Homosexuality Act as discriminatory, Amnesty International said charging the 20-year old with a death penalty is a disregard for international law. In a statement on Wednesday, Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, said “It is deeply disturbing that the…

Future Perspectives, a non-profit organization founded by immediate vice president Professor Yemi Osinbajo in partnership with UNESCO IESALC, has called for applications for its Innovation to Transform Education Training (ITET) program. The training is an on-site, five-day programme that will consist of lectures, workshops, and practical activities across different skill sets with a focus on transforming education. In a statement released via its website, the programme is set to take 50 young education innovators from Nigeria on the five-day on-site training in November 2023. Training costs will be covered for all selected applicants. In order to participate, an eligible candidate…

Arsenal have rejected Chelsea’s approach for England forward Emile Smith Rowe, 23. (Mail) Chelsea could launch a bid for Brentford’s £80m-rated England striker Ivan Toney, 27, before the transfer window shuts on 1 September. (Independent) Tottenham have offered Bayern Munich the chance to sign 29-year-old England defender Eric Dier. (Sky Sports Germany – in German) Fulham are in advanced talks with Everton to sign Nigeria midfielder Alex Iwobi, 27. (Talksport) Fulham have also agreed a deal with Sevilla for Argentina forward Lucas Ocampos, 29. (Telegraph – subscription required) Brentford have pulled out of the race to sign Wales forward Brennan Johnson, 22, leaving Tottenham as the frontrunners to strike a deal with Nottingham Forest. (Mirror) Spurs have also been in contact with Barcelona over the availability of Spain…

A group of senior Gabonese military officers appeared on national television in the early hours of Wednesday and said they had taken power, minutes after the state election body announced President Ali Bongo had won a third term. Appearing on television channel Gabon 24, the officers said they represented all security and defence forces in the Central African nation. They said the election results were cancelled, all borders closed until further notice and state institutions dissolved. Loud sounds of gunfire could be heard in the capital Libreville, a Reuters reporter said, after the television appearance. There was no immediate comment…

The All Progressives Congress (APC) reversed course on Tuesday and renounced the campaign council lists it had previously made public ahead of the November 11, 2023 governorship elections in the states of Bayelsa, Kogi, and Imo. “The lists are not official documents of the party,” said the party spokesman, Felix Morka, in a statement late Tuesday. Prior to the off-season governorship elections in the three states, the APC earlier on Tuesday unveiled campaign council names. Sulaimon Argungu, the party’s national organizing secretary, signed the lists. Nyesom Wike, the former governor of Rivers State, was a key member of the Bayelsa…

Russian mercenary chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed in a plane crash two months after staging a short-lived mutiny, was on Tuesday laid to rest in a secret ceremony in his native Saint Petersburg. He was believed to have been buried at the Porokhovskoye cemetery amid heightened security after his firm said a private ceremony had been held for the warlord “in a closed setting”. The cemetery was cordoned off and access was restricted, but an AFP photographer saw the back of what appeared to be Prigozhin’s fresh grave, which was marked by a wooden cross. At the burial site,…

The United States on Tuesday announced a new $250 million military assistance package for Ukraine that includes equipment for clearing mines and obstacles. Kyiv’s forces are struggling to make substantial gains in a counteroffensive launched earlier this summer that has run into tough Russian defenses including minefields, trenches and tank obstacles. The assistance will “help Ukraine counter Russia’s ongoing war of aggression on the battlefield and protect its people,” the Pentagon said in a statement. Also included in the package are air defense missiles, artillery rounds, anti-armor missiles and more than three million rounds of small arms ammunition. The United…

The Lagos-Ibadan Expressway is expected to be finished in the middle of September, according to Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, years after development on the heavily used route began. The minister said so on Tuesday while touring the locations of finished and continuing federal government projects in the state of Lagos. After multiple missed deadlines, construction is still continuing on along the last section of the freeway on both sides. The inspection visit began at outer Marina Road at Victoria Island, a Federal Government project built using the SUKUK funding option. He next went to the recently restored Eko Bridge,…