awoniyi270514

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Nigeria’s central government to take possession of returning Benin Bronzes – Minister

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Saturday said the Federal Government will be responsible for taking possession of the 1,130 Benin bronzes to be returned by Germany. “The Federal Government is aware of the widely reported controversy on who will take possession of the Benin bronzes when they are returned from Germany,” Mr Mohammed said on Saturday …

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Malabo hosts Africa’s biggest tech meeting

Technology at the service of African youth and the continent: TEG Campus, the biggest tech meeting in Africa, returns for a 4th edition with the theme “The Tech Response” ——– Equatorial Guinea, 16 July 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- From 22 to 27 July, the annual TEG Campus event will bring together for the 4th year in a row African players …

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What you should know about the new German ID card

Very soon, digital fingerprinting will be mandatory in German ID cards. The question is: Will it make the cards more secure? Or is it an invasive threat to our freedom? Nina Werkhäuser and Esther Felden of DW examine the issue in this special report —— “It was a really creepy feeling,” says data protection activist Leena Simon, describing the moment …

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Cologne’s film festival focuses on digitalisation in African cinema

The 18th Africa Film Festival Cologne holds from 16 – 26 September 2021. A main focus of the biannual festival is the effects of digitalisation on everyday life, social interaction, economy, ecology and politics in African countries. —– The effects of digitalisation on everyday life, social interaction, economy, ecology and politics are now central themes in films from African countries. …

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Nigerian singing legend dies

Nigerian singing legend Olanrewaju Abdul-Ganiu Fasasi, more famously known as Sound Sultan, has died. The rapper, singer, songwriter, actor, comedian and recording artist, who is regarded as one of the pacesetters of modern hip hop music in Nigeria, died on Sunday, 11 July in the US of throat cancer. He was 44. Tributes continue to be paid to the artist. …

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Analysis: Why Ethiopia presents major challenges to Biden’s Africa foreign policy

By Prof David Monda* On July 4th, 1776, the preamble to the American Declaration of Independence emphasized the centrality of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness to the ideals of the new American nation. While America advanced lofty ideals on this day, the reality of balancing its ideals and its interests in Ethiopia, almost a century and a half later, have …

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Benin Artefacts in Germany: Nigeria proposes strict time limit for return

Nigeria has officially proposed to the German government to return all the Benin artefacts in Germany, which has agreed to repatriate hundreds of antiquities which were looted from the Benin Kingdom in 1897, within a period of one year. Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, made the proposal during a round-table with German museum directors and government …

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Pope, others write to South Sudan’s leaders as country marks 10th independence anniversary

Africa’s newest nation, South Sudan, gained independence on 9 July 2011. It was an event that marked a turning point after decades of wars for liberation from Arab-dominated Sudan and which was celebrated in sub-Sahara Africa and across the globe by friends of the long-suffering people of the country. Unfortunately, the first decade of South Sudan’s independence has been marked …

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Shrinking Spaces: Democracy in Danger in Ghana

Our contributing editor and Duesseldorf-based journalist Tina Adomako writes on the deteriorating climate for human rights and democracy in the West African country that traditionally enjoys the image of a role model for democratic governance in the continent Ibrahim Kaaka Mohammed – better known as Kaaka – was part of a group of civil society activists in Ghana. Using the …

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German organisations call for urgent aid to Namibia over COVID-19 pandemic

The Corona pandemic is particularly deadly in Namibia. Recalling Germany’s colonial past, aid organisations and celebrities are sounding the alarm and calling on the German government to send vaccine to the African country. More than 250 organisations and individuals are calling on the German government to provide rapid and comprehensive aid to Namibia to enable the African country to effectively …

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Why cybercrime poses existential threat to West Africa’s economy — Expert

By Titilayo Adewumi, Regional Sales Director: West Africa at SAP LAGOS, Nigeria, 6 July 2021 -/African Media Agency(AMA)/- While organisations across West Africa work to recover from the economic impact of the pandemic, the global cybercrime industry is going into overdrive. An increasingly sophisticated cybercrime industry is launching a range of attacks aimed at organisations and critical infrastructure. Such attacks …

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Nigerian delegation visits Berlin over return of Benin artefacts

A powerful Nigerian delegation visited Berlin on Wednesday, 7 July 2021, to pursue the return of the famous Benin bronze heads and other cultural artefacts that were pillaged from that country in the 19th Century during a punitive expedition of the British Army. Led by Information and Culture Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the delegation included Mr Godwin Obaseki, the Governor …

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Entries open for All African Music Awards 2021

The international committee of the All African Music Awards (Afrima) has announced the 2021 event calendar at the African Union headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, marking the opening of Afrima 2021. This year’s calendar features a lineup of undertakings and events that would take place between 20 June and 21 November 2021. Speaking on behalf of the African Union, the …

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African Book Festival holds in Berlin, Germany

The annual African Book Festival Berlin holds on 16-17 July. The festival, which was held for the first time in 2018, brings together the best-known authors and artists from Africa and its diaspora for lectures, discussions, readings, interviews, concerts, theatre and spoken word performances. Each year, the festival goes far beyond the mere presentation of new books and authors, as …

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Germany: New laws and other legal changes in July 2021

Every month there are new laws and other legal changes. July 2021 is no different. Whether minimum wage increase, single-use plastic ban, compulsory measles vaccination or digital Covid-19 vaccination card: We have all the relevant changes at a glance! ——- Statutory minimum wage increases From July 2021, the minimum wage will increase by 10 cents from 9.50 euros to 9.60 …

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George Floyd: Killer cop sentenced to long years in prison

Derek Chauvin has been sentenced to 22 1/2 years in prison for killing George Floyd, a 46-year-old African-American man, in May 2020 by a court in Minneapolis. The punishment falls short of prosecutors’ request of a 30-year sentence. Delivering the verdict on Friday, Judge Peter Cahill said he based his decision on Chauvin’s abuse of his position and the cruelty …

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Nigerian Diaspora Germany elects new leadership

The German chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO) has elected a new executive committee. The election was part of the body’s annual general meeting, which took place virtually on Saturday, 26 June. Femi Awoniyi was elected unopposed to lead the NIDO Germany as President for the next two years at the event. He replaced Dr RosaLyn Dressman who …

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German funding for Nigerian Startups! Call for Application!

Do you have an idea, business or initiative worth spreading or an upscale? Here is a platform… StartUp Afrika is a program designed to support innovative startups through intercontinental exchange and network plus funding. Why StartUp Afrika? We believe that startups can play a key role to create a social andecologically transformed economy in Africa and Baden-Württemberg. 100,000 euros for …

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Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Germany holds annual general meeting, elects officials

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Germany e.V. (NIDO Germany) holds its annual general meeting on Saturday, 26 June. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event, to which all members are invited to attend, takes place virtually this year. The Annual General Meeting (AGM), an important democratic practice, is a forum for an organisation to take stock of its activities and …

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Kenneth Kaunda’s death ends an era – Obasanjo

Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo says the death of Zambia’s founding father and long-term leader, Kenneth Kaunda, on Thursday (17 June) has ended a long list of African leaders who fought colonialism and took over the reins of power at independence. Obasanjo in a statement he issued on Thursday evening, said Africans should be consoled by the fact that Kaunda …

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