Ivorian Charlette N’Guessan, a 26-year-old Cote D’Ivorian tech entrepreneur sets record as the first woman to win Africa Prize for Royal Academy’s Engineering Innovation since 2014 inception. N’Guessan’s team developed a software to detect the prevalent problem of identity fraud and cyber-crime in Ghana for which they were awarded £25,000. This customer identification problem has cost Ghanaian financial institutions about $400 million yearly.
Nigerian Aisha Rasheem was the runner up for developing Farmz2U, a digital platform to enhance food nutrition and prevent food wastage among families and farmers, granting her £10,000 prize as runner up. Victor Boyle-Komolafe (developer of Garbage In Value Out -GIVO for digitizing recyclable materials) also made it to the top list.
Other shortlisted Africans include Jack Oyugi, Richard Arwa, Samuel Rigu, Tracy Kimathi from Kenya, Catherine Tasankha Chaima (Malawi), Adrian Padt (South Africa), Timothy Kayondo (Uganda), Bernice Dapaah, Isaac Sesi and Josephine Godwyll from Ghana.
Instant rain claims at least 25 lives in Jigawa. Governor Mohammed Badaru Abubakar announced on Tuesday September 8, 2020 that 25 or more people might have died due to the non-traditional flooding. Specifically, 21 people’s lives were claimed in mud houses while 4 others drowned in the rivers, and still counting. Also, this sudden rain has destroyed no fewer than 51,000 houses. The Governor added that the Federal Government’s ecological fund has helped to provide some sort of relief to the state.
Nigerian students, workers, Discos and civil groups protest against hike in electricity tariff and fuel prices in Oyo, Ondo, Ogun and Osun states. The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Zone D organised this protest as students gathered in hundreds at different states capital such as Ibadan of Oyo and Osogbo of Osun.
Kazeem Israel, the students’ association spokesperson strongly believes that this increase in prices is against the people’s best interest. The Secretary and National Co-ordinator of the Yoruba militant organisation, Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) see this price hike as suppressive and provoking to Nigerians.
These groups insist on Buhari’s resignation if deregulation of oil sector continues alongside non-reversal of electricity tariff and petrol price to N97.
Read also: Nigeria to save $2.6bn yearly after end to fuel subsidy
Senegal’s success in tackling Covid-19 is not being trumpeted loud enough. The trending issue is that Covid-19 vaccine race has been slowed down due to a person developing an unexplained illness. This occurred during vaccine trials of a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca Plc.
However, what is not being praised is that Senegal, a West African country has successfully tackled Covid by developing innovative low-cost ventilators, test results that come out within 24 hours and hotels that now look like quarantine units.
Despite its fragile health system, inadequate hospital beds, about seven doctors per 100,000 people, Senegal with 16 million people has surpassed the response of many developed economies through its quiet but swift, scientific and coordinated progress in overcoming the corona virus.
Finally! Nigerian Cinemas Reopen on September 11, except Lagos and Port Harcourt. As we all know, the coronavirus pandemic led to a 6-month lockdown beginning in March and recent gradual easing of lockdown measures. Coupled with social distancing, Covid-19 caused lots of boredom and restrictions in outing events to eateries, clubs, parks and cinemas as these fun places were considered danger zones due to the spread of the virus.
Given that tertiary institutions are set to reopen, it appears that the film industry is ready to get back in the game as evidenced in the announcement by the Cinema Exhibitors Association of Nigeria that Nigerian cinemas will reopen on September 11, 2020.
So, there is a lot of excitement in the air as family, friends and lovers alike look forward to some glamour and spending quality time together outside of the home. Sadly, the highly populated states of Lagos and Port Harcourt are left out, possibly to prevent any rapid escalation of the virus.
Canada’s Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau Announces $221 million aid program for Black Entrepreneurs. Trudeau acknowledges that this new initiative is a national effort to address racism. The Minister states that the Covid-19 pandemic has made more evident “inequalities that disproportionately hurt Black Canadians” and “underscored the need to restart our economy in a way that allows all Canadians an equal chance to succeed.
Nigerians are relentlessly fighting against the Death sentence of Musician Yahaya Aminu-Sharif. Recall that after being accused of blasphemy against Prophet Mohammed, the Sharia court in Kano state sentenced the musician to death. Many Nigerians have petitioned in one way or the other to ensure the overturn of the death sentence for Yahaya. Even the Nigerian Bar Association has offered to defend the singer and a two-man-fact-finding committee sent to visit him. Also, leaders of the music and entertainment industry sent a letter to Abdullahi Ganduje (OFR), the executive governor of Kano state, protesting against the singers’ death. Legit reports that the US government faulted the death sentence as well.
The First Lady of Niger State collaborates with Amina Abubakar Bello to empower women and solve major health concerns. Amina Abubakar Bello is the founder of RAiSE foundation, an NGO who actively supports women with diverse reproductive issues such as obstetric fistula, cervical and breast cancer.
She has joined forces with Dolapo Osinbajo, the wife of the Vice President of Nigeria to train women and youths in decoration, embellishment and tailoring in Minna. Raise foundation skill acquisition centre has also been established with 1,735 youths and women trained in variety of skills.
She has hosted many Vesico Vaginal Fistula camps where 326 patients have had free treatment and return to normalcy in society. Also, over 16,212 people across Niger state have been treated of various ailments for free during her outreaches with other more complicated health issues referred to her foundation who paid their bills.
As a consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist with masters’ in public health, an advocate for reproductive health rights of women and a member of several medical associations such as Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Society of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians of Nigeria (SOGON) among others, she is doing quite well in impacting the lives of Nigerian women.
Nigerian primary and secondary schools to commence either shift or day interval academic system because schools lack required infrastructure. Academic school programme is slated to begin on September 21, 2020.
However, reports gathered by BusinessDay shows that many schools lack essential classroom and communication amenities to accommodate the large number of 600-140 students per class. Regardless, schools without large number of students would not need to choose between the options of shift or day intervals
