Nigeria Update– Cook-athon & more –18th May 2023

th of May: 2023

We’re starting this week with the exciting news of Hilda Baci, a twenty-seven-year-old chef who has broken the Guinness World Record for the longest cooking marathon!

. Tondon achieved the feat in: 2019

During the event, Baci was on her feet all day and was only entitled to an hour break after twelve hours. Meanwhile, the Guinness World Records said it was aware of her achievement and would review all evidence of the marathon before delivering a verdict.

More good news!

On Saturday the 13th, the federal government announced that after the evacuations, there are no more Nigerian students stranded in Sudan. The Nigerians in Diaspora Commission said that all Nigerian students who had been moved by road to the Aswan border in Egypt, and the ones who had been taken to Port Sudan before being airlifted, are back in the country. The exercise started on the 3rd of May, about two weeks ago, and brought back 2,518 Nigerians in total. Sadiya Farouk, minister of humanitarian affairs and disaster management, said that each returnee would be given 100,000 naira (about 217 dollars). It is not clear if the evacuation process will continue for other non-students who may be stranded in Sudan.

So far, various universities in the country have offered admission placements to the returnees so that they can continue their education.

Moving on,

Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said on Monday the 17th that the United States has imposed visa restrictions on individuals who disrupted the recently concluded elections and those who undermined democracy. He clarified that the sanctions were specific to certain individuals and not the Nigerian people or the government as a whole. Blinken also said that the affected persons had been involved in voter threats, results manipulation, physical violence, and other activities that undermined democracy and that the visa restrictions were proof of the US’ commitment to upholding good governance in Nigeria. Like the other visa bans that the US has placed on election disruptors, no names were mentioned.

While we’re on the subject of the elections, Usman Baba, the inspector-general of the police, said that the police will always defend the country’s democracy at all costs. In that regard, he warned that those planning to disrupt the inauguration ceremonies would be identified, promptly isolated, and brought to justice. Speaking on Monday the 15th, Baba said that the police and other law enforcement agencies would not fold their hands and allow political actors to create tension ahead of the ceremony. He assured citizens that security would be tightened and that the police would do everything in their power to keep law-abiding individuals out of harm’s way.

aid the most for food between: 2018

In other news,

On Monday the 15th, the federal executive council approved about 3 billion naira (almost 7 million dollars) for the procurement and installation of a taxi lighting system and photometric pattern for the airports in Port Harcourt, Lagos, and Abuja. Hadi Sirika, minister of aviation, said that the council also approved funds for the provision of equipment for airports all over the country. Nigeria Air, the proposed national airline, would fly before the 29th of May, when a new government comes to power.

Moving on,

Rauf Aregbesola, minister of interior, has asked governors to grant waivers to inmates with fines of less than 1 million naira (about 2 thousand dollars). Speaking on Saturday the 13th, Aregbesola said that 5,000 people are in correctional facilities nationwide over fines of less than 1 million naira adding that the federal government is spending millions of naira annually in keeping inmates whose fines are even less than 10,000 naira (about 21 dollars). The minister said that another way to reduce decongestion in the prison is for state governments to build courts inside the facilities so that inmates can be tried there instead of dumping them in federal prisons. According to the minister, it costs over 1 million naira to take care of each inmate.

Meanwhile, in Lagos state, Sanwo-Olu is beefing up strategies to improve transportation. Recall we told you how rail lines were built for more trains and how the state became the first in Nigeria to receive electric buses for usage. Well, on Friday the 12th, the governor received Annika Hahn-Englund, the Swedish ambassador to Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African States, and said Lagos was looking to partner with Sweden for the sustenance of an efficient intermodal public transportation network. He said the state had adopted an energy policy that would enable the state-run transport agencies to diversify to clean energy use and lower carbon emissions, adding that Lagos is ready for more investment and partnership to raise its capacity in green mobility services. Hahn-Englund said that a Swedish firm would work with the Lagos government to create a system that would register and send out violations, monitor fine payments, as well as other innovative transport systems.

There has been a lot of innovation and inclusivity in the education sector.

visually impaired person. In: 2018

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! We are a few people trying to share knowledge, with no ads, and no screens. Support us so we can keep doing what we love. Check the link in our show notes to support us.

O dabo!