Nigerian students population in the UK rises by 64 percent in one year.
The number of Nigerians studying in the UK has risen from 13,020 in the 2019/2020 academic session to 21,305 by the 2020/2021 session. The figure, which amounts to an almost 64 percent increase within a year, is confirmed by the UK’s Higher Education Statistics Agency data. The UK has also witnessed a 13.08 percent increase in international student enrolment at the postgraduate level between 2019/20 and 2020/21. The country currently houses 605,130 students in the 2020/2021 session, up from 556,625 in the previous academic session. The top other countries Nigerians choose right after the UK are The United States, Canada, Malaysia, Ukraine, South Africa, and Germany. However, the United Kingdom remained the world’s second most popular study destination among international students, just after the US, with 605,130 international students during the 2020/2021 academic session.
UK visa for top talent excludes graduates of African universities.
A new UK visa aimed at attracting the best graduates worldwide risks excluding talent from African countries, scientists and policy-makers have warned. The resulting list includes no universities in African nations, excluding anyone who has studied in Africa from the scheme. The visa, due to be launched by the UK Home Office on May 30, is aimed at people who have graduated in the past five years from one of what is often regarded as the world’s top universities. The Home Office has produced a list of foreign universities it considers the best in the world by compiling institutions that appear in the top 50 at least twice across three specified global university league tables. People with a recent undergraduate degree or Ph.D. from one of these universities will be able to move to the UK for up to three years without needing a job lined up beforehand.
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AFDB moves to avert food crisis across Africa
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s board of directors announced that it approved a $1.5 billion facility to help African countries avert a looming food crisis in the continent. A statement issued by the bank said that with the disruption of food supplies arising from the Russia-Ukraine war, Africa now faces a shortage of at least 30 million metric tons of food, especially wheat, maize, and soybeans, mostly imported from both countries. It also stated that African farmers urgently need high-quality seeds and inputs before the planting season begins in May to boost food supplies immediately. According to the statement, the initiative will provide 20 million African smallholder farmers with certified seeds. It will increase access to agricultural fertilizers and enable them to produce 38 million tons of food rapidly. “This is a $12 billion increase in food production in just two years,” the bank said.
Uber hits one billion trip milestone in Africa.
Uber has hit one billion trips in Africa since entering the market less than ten years ago. The trips amounted to over 10 billion kilometers. Uber and Uber Eats have collectively reached over 30 million riders and eaters in Sub-Saharan Africa during the same period. While the trips helped move enough people around, they created economic empowerment for the independent drivers. They use the Uber app, just as it established Uber as a company that drives digital entrepreneurship. Uber said its mission was not just to support entrepreneurs and mobility but also to make mobility more affordable for the people on the African continent. Last week, Uber expanded its reach in Nigeria, covering four new cities, including Uyo, Warri, Enugu, and Kano.
32 people killed in Borno attack
Suspected members of the terrorist group ISWAP killed at least 32 people. At the same time, sourcing metals in a deserted community in Dikwa Local Government Area of Borno State, an official have said. Isah Gusau, the spokesperson for Borno Governor, Babagana Zulum, told reporters on Wednesday that the victims were shot at close range last weekend after being captured by the terror group in Mudu community, about 45 kilometers away from Rann, headquarters of Kala-Balge Local Government Area of Borno. The incidents occurred in the Dikwa council area, but the victims hail from Kala-Balge, a neighboring community. “The victims were said to have gone to a deserted Mudu village in Dikwa LGA, which is 45 kilometers away from Rann in Kala-Balge, in search of the raw materials, but the process, they were unfortunately ambushed by the insurgents,” the spokesperson said.
