awoniyi270514

Publisher & Editor-in-Chief

Africans have highest criminal conviction rates in Switzerland

According to a new report of the Swiss news agency Keystone, residents from the former Yugoslavia are the most frequently convicted of crimes in Switzerland in absolute numbers. However, measured per 1,000 inhabitants, South West Africans, West Africans and North Africans, in that order, are the most frequently convicted. Quoting the Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), Keystone reported on Tuesday …

Read More »

Chinese products top Nigeria’s imported goods list

A total of 31.41 per cent of goods imported into Nigeria are from China, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has reported. The NBS revealed in its latest report on ‘Foreign Trade in Goods Statistics’ for the second quarter of 2020, that Spain topped the list of Nigeria’s exported goods. “Nigeria’s imports, by country of origin, shows goods were imported …

Read More »

Calm returning after days of unrest in Nigeria

As security forces were deployed to patrol Nigeria’s major cities after days of unrest following the shooting of protesters, calm is being restored across the country.  President Muhammadu Buhari had warned demonstrators in a televised address on Thursday not to “undermine national security” as he called for an end to widespread protests gripping Africa’s most populous country. The 78-year-old leader, …

Read More »

Lewis Hamilton dons #EndSARS T-shirt in solidarity with Nigerian youths

Six-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton donned a T-shirt protesting against police violence in Nigeria for a pre-race television interview at the Portuguese Grand Prix on Sunday. He’s the latest global celebrity to show solidarity with Nigerian youths rallying against police brutality in their home country. Hamilton also posted the photo showing him donned in the T-shirt on his …

Read More »

#EndSARS: Nigerians in UK advise youths against ethnic divisionism

Nigerians in the United Kingdom have urged youths to be peaceful, united and coordinated as they demand for an end to police brutality and reform of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF). The call was made on Sunday in a statement by Nigerian Community Leaders, UK (NCLUK) comprising of different Nigerian ethnic socio-cultural groups, association and UK Mayors of Nigerian descent. …

Read More »

End Bad Governance in Nigeria! Protesters cry out in Berlin

More than a thousand Nigerians turned up at the Alexanderplatz in Berlin on Saturday, 24 October, to continue the protests against police brutality and bad governance in their country.  The demonstrations, under the #EndSARS hashtag, began with calls on the government of President Muhammadu Buhari to scrap the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). This police unit has become infamous for its …

Read More »

#EndSARS: EU Parliamentarian on what Nigeria needs now

The following is a press statement issued by Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, Member of the European Parliament, on the ongoing protests in Nigeria against police brutality: Comment on #endSARS movement in Nigeria These last days, the hashtag #EndSARS has been highly visible in social media as well as to us in the European Parliament. First, Nigerian civil society, then people from …

Read More »

Warring Libya factions sign “historic” ceasefire agreement

Libya’s two rival factions signed a “permanent” ceasefire agreement Friday after five days of talks hosted by the United Nations, which hailed the move as a moment that would go down in history. “Today is a good day for the Libyan people,” said Stephanie Williams, the UN’s envoy to the troubled North African country, where a UN-recognised Government of National …

Read More »

Young African professionals making it big in Germany

When the coronavirus pandemic spread in early 2020, economies around the world closed down and most people were relegated to remote work. But for the young African professionals taking part in the latest AFRIKA KOMMT! programme, the pandemic brought the additional challenge of being in a foreign country and taking part in a highly competitive programme. According to Ilka Wiskemann, …

Read More »

UN, US and EU condemn massacre of peaceful youth protesters in Lagos

The UN, US and EU have joined the growing international condemnation of the massacre of peaceful youth protesters in Lagos, Nigeria, on Tuesday. In a statement issued on Wednesday, the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, called for an end to police brutality and attack on #EndSARS protesters. The UN chief, who said he was following the developments in the country, …

Read More »

Berlin offers financial aid to churches and mosques over corona crisis

The federal state of Berlin is offering financial support to religious communities suffering from the impact of the corona crisis. Many churches and mosques are in financial distress due to pandemic-related restrictions and the resulting drop in donations they receive from members. Small religious communities engaged in social and integration issues could apply for funding for their rent, incidental rental …

Read More »

Kaspersky warns of top IT security threats in Africa

In South Africa, Kenya and Nigeria, APT groups are exploiting the current uncertainty around COVID-19 to steal sensitive information LAGOS, Nigeria, October 21, 2020/ — Despite research showing an overall decrease in certain malware families and types in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) in H1 2020 (36% decrease in South Africa, 26% decrease in Kenya and a 2.7% decrease in Nigeria), Kaspersky …

Read More »

Coronavirus pandemic hitting immigrants in Germany hard – Integration Minister warns

The Minister of State for Integration, Annette Widmann-Mauz, has said that the coronavirus pandemic was hitting people with a migration background and refugees particularly hard. They often work in sectors that are particularly affected by the economic consequences of the pandemic, the Ms Widmann-Mauz said at the 12th Integration Conference, which took place on Monday and that focused on the …

Read More »

Condemnations trail killing of peaceful protesters in Lagos

  The youth protests against police brutality in Nigeria turned bloody on Tuesday, when soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters in cold blood. No official figures of the casualty have been released by the police, but many are believed to have been killed. Security operatives had stormed the scene of the #EndSARS protest in the Lekki Toll Gate Area of …

Read More »

Dr Uche Iro shows how Diaspora can change lives for better in Nigeria

Chief (Dr) Uche Iro, a Germany-based entrepreneur, established The Strivad Foundation (TSF), a global non-governmental, non-political and non-profit charitable organisation, to channel his efforts towards the development of his home country, Nigeria. A successful businessman, Dr Iro’s companies include PhysioCenter-Stuttgart GbR (Germany), FitGym Healthcare Services GmbH (Germany), Strivad Ventures Limited (Germany/Nigeria), Iro Investment Group International Inc. (Nigeria/ Europe/ USA/United Arab …

Read More »

The New Champions of Afrobeats (2)

Having looked at the men who have influenced the rise and popularity of Afrobeats in the world today, this second part of the report, Yemi Babalola focuses on the female artists who have made their mark and deserve to be applauded. ——- As mentioned in the first part of this report, Afrobeats is a combination of jazz, funk, Ghanaian highlife, …

Read More »

Opinion: African Youths Call for Inclusive Democracies

Young people in Africa continue to be frustrated by their exclusion and exploitation in political processes. In order to build a mutually beneficial Europe-Africa Partnership that enhances youth trust in political processes, Zigwai Tagwai and Merryl Omondi* have come up with a few concrete points on building inclusive democracies VENRO, the Association of German Development and Humanitarian NGOs, has been …

Read More »

New Zealand elects first African Member of Parliament

Riding on Labour’s biggest victory in 50 years, Ibrahim Omer has become the first elected member of New Zealand’s parliament of African origin. The Eritrean-born new MP tweeted on Sunday after his historic victory, at which his party won almost half of the votes, had become clear: “This is a win for the low paid workers. It is a win …

Read More »

Remembering Theodor Michael, one year on

Theodor Michael, the grand old man of the Black community in Germany, died at the age of 94 on 19 October 2019. Michael, who was born on 15 January 1925 as the youngest of four children to a father from Cameroon and a German mother, was one of the oldest living Germans of African descent at the time of his …

Read More »