News

The Austrian chapter of the Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) holds a conference on Friday (10 February) in Vienna on how the diaspora can contribute to efforts to end energy poverty in Africa. With the theme Renewable Energy for Economic Development in Africa: The Role of Remittances, the hybrid event will examine how remittances can be deployed into investment …

People of African Descent who were victims of fascist violence during the Third Reich should not be forgotten, writes Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana*. The European MP narrates her efforts in the past twenty years to promote an increased awareness of the ‘other’ victims of Nazi barbarism who are often neglected in the mainstream history books and argues why it’s important to …

Over 13,000 residents from the Ogale and Bille communities in Nigeria file claims against Shell for devastating oil spills The group register in the Ogale claim has now been filed and 11,317 Ogale individual claims have been issued at the High Court. Together with the existing Bille individual claims, overall 13,652 people are bringing individual claims against Shell. Shell has …

The European Union (EU) wants to create a common European return system for so-called “illegal” migrants. To this end, the EU Commission presented a strategy paper in Brussels recently. “So far, we are not making good progress with the returns,” said EU Return Coordinator Mari Juritsch, who has been in office since May 2022. The number of repatriations had halved …

This week, Nigeria enters the home stretch in the run-up to the next general election, the first instalment of which is scheduled for February 25 at which a new President and members of the National Assembly will be elected.  The Governorship and State Assembly elections are slated for March 11.  Barrister Ekene Onwuka* writes on his interactions with members of …

Dr Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairman/CEO, Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM) has rejoiced with a Nigerian woman, Tracy Eboigbodin, who won the ‘MasterChef Italia’, an international Cooking Contest, in Italy recently. In a statement issued in Abuja by the Commission’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Abdur-Rahman Balogun, Ms Dabiri-Erewa described Eboigbodin’s victory as well-deserved and a product of hard work and …

Lionel Messi, probably the greatest player to have graced a football pitch, finally laid his hands on the greatest prize in the game, as his Argentina side downed France in the Qatar 2022 World Cup Final. Meanwhile it was mixed fortune for Africa’s representatives at the Mundial, with Morocco’s Atlas Lions roaring all the way to the semi-finals. Our Contributing …

The Opportunity Residence Act (“Chancenaufenthaltsgesetz”) comes into force on 1 January 2023. Tolerated persons in Germany who had been living in Germany for five years or more on the cut-off date of 1 October 2022 are to receive a residence permit “on probation”. Tolerated persons are people who are obliged to leave the country but are allowed to stay temporarily …

By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock YouTube A migrant’s personal story of return, resolution, and resilience Tübingen – It’s a warm summer day in 2021. Musa Coker sits in the office of his return counsellor. He has visited the small office in Southwest Germany multiple times this year, seeking information, advice …

By loading the video, you agree to YouTube’s privacy policy.Learn more Load video Always unblock YouTube If you’re thinking of returning to your country of origin but have questions about what life is like in the country or what support you can receive once you’ve gone back, virtual counselling may provide you with the help you need. Virtual Counselling is …

BonelliErede, a leading international law firm, and Italia Africa Business Week (IABW), a commercial and business forum whose goal is to facilitate sharing economic, commercial and financial knowledge between Africa and Italy, recently held a webinar on the restitution of cultural property to African states. It was the latest in a series of webinars organised by BonelliErede and focused on: …

By Kestér Kenn Klomegâh, Special Correspondent US President Joe Biden holds an African leaders’ gathering in Washington as a further major step to strengthen geopolitical dialogue and multifaceted relations between the United States and Africa. As the White House gears up for the African Leaders Summit, holding on 13-15 December, several reports indicate that a few African countries might not …

The citizen’s income (Bürgergeld) will be introduced in Germany in January. The Bundesrat, the upper house of the federal parliament, approved the social reform legislation on 25 November after the lower house, the Bundestag, had earlier passed it. The Bürgergeld, which will replace the basic income support for job-seekers (Hartz IV) that was introduced in 2005, is a basic allowance …

As Nigerians prepare to elect a new president come 25 February, Anthony Ekene Onwuka, a Germany-based lawyer and international project consultant, makes his case for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, a former vice president and candidate of the main opposition People’s Democratic party (PDP), in this opinion piece —- On 25 February 2023, Nigerians enfeebled by economic woes of almost eight years …

After years of protests led by the Black community and their White German allies, a square and a street in the African Quarter in Berlin-Wedding were renamed on Friday. Both had bore the names of German officials who were in the forefront of Germany’s colonisation of East Africa in the 1880s and 1890s, often employing brutal military force. The former …

A football tournament, staged by a group supporting Africans displaced by the war in Ukraine who are currently in Germany, kicks off on Saturday, 3 December. The Indoor Soccer tournament is one of the activities currently being implemented by Horizon Resource network under the auspices of the Help for Africans from Ukraine in Germany (HAUG) initiative to support Africans from …

More than 50,000 people have died on global migration routes since 2014, , according to a new report published by the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) on 23 November. Despite the increasing loss of life, little action has been taken by governments in countries of origin, transit, and destination to address the ongoing global crisis of missing migrants, the …

Dr Pierrette Herzberger-Fofana, a member of the European Parliament representing Germany on the platform of the Greens, writes on the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the European Parliament which took place on 22 November in the French city of Strasbourg —– Genesis of the European ParliamentThe European Parliament celebrated its 70th anniversary on 22 November in Strasbourg in the …

Chancellor Olaf Scholz presented the German Africa Award to bioinformatician Prof. Tulio de Oliveira of Stellenbosch University, South Africa, and virologist Dr. Sikhulile Moyo of the Botswana Harvard AIDS Institute Partnership at the Allianz Forum in Berlin on Friday evening, 25 November 2022. The award not only recognises the personal achievements of Prof. de Oliveira and Dr. Moyo, who have …

The Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation Europe (NIDOE) held its annual general meeting on 10-14 November in Rome, Italy. The event, which featured several activities including a conference on diaspora foreign direct investment in Nigeria, was graced by the Nigerian ambassador to Italy, HE Mfawa Abam, and his counterpart to the Holy See, HE Paul Oga Adikwu, and retired Ambassador Joseph …