Author: PositiveNaija

Keren Chigozie-Nnah Wins 2018 Nigeria Spelling Bee Contest

Keren Chigozie-Nnah has emerged the 2018 overall national champion of the Nigeria Spelling Bee contest.

2018 National Champions of the Nigeria Spelling Bee Contest

National Champion is Keren Chigozie-Nnah of Deeper Life High School, Port Harcourt.
National 1st Runner-up is Ephraim Edokpa of Christ Ambassador’s College, Kaduna
National 2nd Runner-up is Ogochukwu Anyaso of Bishop Okoye Spiritan Secondary School, Port Harcourt

Junior 1st, Neta Nnabuenyi of University of Nigeria Secondary School, Enugu Campus;
Junior 2nd, Sheriff Abdrahman of King’s College, Lagos, and
Junior 3rd, Abdulhafeez Sheidu of Dopemu Primary School, Lagos.

The Grand Finale which held at the International Conference Centre of Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State was the culmination of the 2018 Season which was conducted in more than 20 states across the federation. Regional Finals were held where the best emerged to compete at this finals level.

Addressing the spellers, coaches and the audience, the Vice Chancellor, represented by the Registrar welcomed all spellers from far and near and asked them to inculcate some of the core values of Landmark University in their daily activities and to be the best they can be.

The 2018 Nigeria Spelling Bee competition lasted for 6 distinct Rounds, which included a round of questions from selected Nigerian indigenous language words and another round of words drawn from the book, “Dreams of Tomorrow” by R.B. Alade.

According to Nigeria Spelling Bee:

“We want to use this medium to appreciate all stakeholders in the Nigeria Spelling Bee dream and especially thank Landmark University for an amazing reception given to the best spellers in Nigeria and the coaches/parents as they camped for the National Finals events.

We also appreciate the Minister of Education, represented by Mr. Aiseodion Abel.”

The national champions and representatives of Nigeria shall participate at the African Spelling Bee 2018 in Mombasa, Kenya.

Registration for the next season commences 1st of August 2018 on www.NigeriaSpellingBee.com

Tonye Cole & Muhammed Sanu Abdullahi Appointed Into World Bank’s Expert Advisory Council

Tonye Cole and Muhammed Sanu Abdullahi have been appointed by the World Bank Group into its Expert Advisory Council on citizen engagement.

The council was established in 2014 to guide the development and implementation of the Strategic Framework for Mainstreaming Citizen Engagement in the Bank’s operations.

The strategic framework of the council was designed to give citizens a stake in decision making to improve the intermediate and final development outcomes of their partnerships with government.

Mr. Tonye Cole, the Executive Director and Co-Founder of Sahara Group, who is one of the first two Nigerians ever to be appointed to the Council, said:

“The World Bank is a results-driven institution. I am delighted at the opportunity to collaborate with other members of the Council on robust agenda setting and implementation of initiatives that are so crucial to global sustainable development.

My work with global agencies and institutions on sustainable development has only reinforced the importance of private and public sector collaboration. My colleagues and I believe continued cross-sectorial and multi-stakeholder engagement can transform the landscape on sustainability and social development for the next generation. I am feeling very positive as we collectively embark on this new chapter.”

Mr. Tonye Cole is one of the two designated private sector specialists on the Council, composed of two representatives each from civil society, academia, the private sector, governments, foundations and development partner/donor organisations.

Muhammed Sanu Abdullahi represents the Government of the State of Kaduna.

Other new members joining the Council are: Flavia Milano (Inter-American Development Bank), Helena Bjunemalm (Swedish International Development Agency), and Emily Martinez (Open Society Foundations).

World Bank official Jeff Thindwa, Manager of the Global Partnership for Social Accountability and who oversees the Council nomination and selection process, on Cole’s addition to the Council said:

“Mr. Cole will bring a unique private sector perspective to the Council. Combined with his longstanding experience serving global development institutions in various capacities, this positions Mr Cole to make an impactful contribution to the work of the Council.”

Adenike Fajemirokun Appointed Dangote Group’s First Female Executive Director [2018]

Adenike Fajemirokun, the erstwhile Chief Risk Officer of Dangote Group has been elevated and now appointed to the office of Group Executive Director, President’s Office, where she will take on new roles in addition to her schedule as the Risk Officer. She is the first ever female executive director in Dangote Group.

Olakunle Alake, the erstwhile Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Dangote Group has emerged the Group Managing Director.

The management of Dangote Industries Limited (DIL) also announced the appointment of Austine Ometoruwa as Group Executive Director, Corporate Finance and Treasury.

Earlier the Board of Dangote Cement Plc, global, announced the appointment of Cherie Blair and Mick Davies as Independent Non-Executive Directors.

President/Chief Executive, Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, speaking on the new appointments said:

“It is exciting seeing a female occupy such a high position. We are gender sensitive and create equal opportunities for both male and female to get to the top.

The new appointments are to strengthen the Group’s executive management team and to consolidate on its strategic business growth trajectory.”

Ms Adenike Fajemirokun, a consummate Risk Management & Insurance specialist has over 18 years diverse experience in developing and implementing risk management strategies in Financial, Engineering, Manufacturing and other industries.

She started her career with Ove Arup and Partners as a Fire Engineer where she was responsible for carrying out qualitative and quantitative risk assessment of various assets and developing risk assessment frameworks for quantifying identified risks.

She later joined Deutsche Bank AG, UK, and served in senior leadership roles such as Director and Global Head Operational Risk, Head of Transaction Management Group for leverage finance at the Corporate and Investment Bank. Prior to specialising in the Risk Management field, she held positions in finance as a front office quantitative analyst at Goldman Sachs London and New York.

Ms Adenike Fajemirokun worked with First Bank of Nigeria where she developed the operational risk management framework for the bank as well as its Business Continuity Certification by the British Standard Institute. She also managed and tracked the firm’s risks across all directorates, transaction services and alternative investments.

In 2010, she founded and headed AFRisk Management Consultants Limited, which developed the enterprise risk management frameworks for some of the country’s major institutions including Central Bank of Nigeria, First Bank Nigeria and First Bank Capital Plc.

She was appointed Chief Risk Officer of Dangote Group in 2013 and leads the Risk Management Functions for the Group and its various businesses where she oversees the company’s governance model and enterprise risk program. She develops and manages processes to identify, assess, monitor and reduce risks that could interfere with the achievement of the company’s goals and objectives. She is also responsible for managing the Group’s Insurance, Procurement Portfolio and Logistics.

A holder of B.Eng. in Civil, Structural and Fire Engineering and a Ph.D. in Risk Informed Engineering both from the University of Manchester, UK, Ms Adenike Fajemirokun is a Fellow of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and Specialist member (SIRM) of the Global Institute of Risk Management. She is also a visiting professor at the University of Manchester, UK. She has been recognised globally for her work with the Operational Riskdata Exchange Association (ORX), Institute of Risk Management, UK.

She is a member of the Lagos State Research and Innovation Council.

Anietie Isong Wins 2018 McKItterick Prize

Anietie Isong has been named winner of the 2018 McKItterick Prize for his debut novel, ‘Radio Sunrise’ receiving a £4,000 prize money.

Anietie Isong, the first Nigerian to win the prize since it was established in 1990, joins previous award winners including Helen Dunmore, Petina Gappah and Mark Haddon.

The McKitterick Prize, administered by the Society of Authors, honours the first novel by a writer aged over 40.

Anietie received the prize from broadcaster and actor, Stephen Fry at the Authors’ Awards ceremony in London.

Prize judge Aamer Hussein, short story writer and Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature said:

“It’s a particular pleasure to discover the original, intriguing voice of Anietie Isong. In his brief, deftly told Radio Sunrise, the author depicts his often-hapless protagonist’s sexual mishaps and political travails on a journey to his hometown with a unique blend of humour and poignance. An intriguing and accomplished new novelist.”

According to Anietie Isong:

“I am thrilled that my debut novel resonated with the judges. Radio Sunrise paints a satirical portrait of (post) post-colonial Nigeria that builds on the legacy of the great African satirist tradition of Ngugi Wa Thiongo and Ayi Kwei Armah. Its just a story about Ifiok, a young journalist working for the government radio station in Lagos, aspires to always do the right thing but the odds seem to be stacked against him.

Government pressures cause the funding to his radio drama to get cut off, his girlfriend leaves him when she discovers he is having an affair with an intern, and kidnappings and militancy are on the rise in the country.

When Ifiok travels to his hometown to do a documentary on some ex-militants’ apparent redemption, a tragi-comic series of events will make him realise he is unable to swim against the tide.”

Eight awards were presented to 31 writers.

Among the winners were host of debut names along with recognised writers of fiction, non-fiction and poetry to share a prize fund of £98,000.

The ceremony, which took place at the Royal Institute of British Architects, saw over 400 guests from across the publishing industry come together, as the winners of other prizes administered by Society of Authors were revealed.

Anietie has worked as a journalist, speechwriter and public relations manager in the UK and in Nigeria.

His writing has also received some awards, including a Commonwealth Short Story Award and the Remember Oluwale Writing Prize. He has a PhD in New Media and Writing at De Montfort University, Leicester.

Elnathan John Announced As A Judge For The 2019 Man Booker International Prize

Elnathan John has been announced as one of the judges for the 2019 Man Booker International Prize as submissions for the 2019 prize open.

Chaired by Bettany Hughes, award-winning historian, author and broadcaster, the panel consists of: writer, translator and president of English PEN Maureen Freely; philosopher Professor Angie Hobbs FRSA; novelist and satirist Elnathan John; and essayist and novelist Pankaj Mishra.

Continue reading Elnathan John Announced As A Judge For The 2019 Man Booker International Prize

First Bank of Nigeria & Farmcrowdy Win Global African Business Awards (GABA) 2018

First Bank of Nigeria and Farmcrowdy have emerged winners at the inaugural Global African Business Awards (GABA) 2018 announced at the Radisson Blu, in Addis Abba, Ethiopia.

The Global African Business Awards (GABA) celebrates the excellence in entrepreneurship and business leaders from the continent of Africa.

Continue reading First Bank of Nigeria & Farmcrowdy Win Global African Business Awards (GABA) 2018

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Appointed To The Board Of Twitter [2018]

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has been appointed into the board of Twitter Inc. alongside Robert Zoellick (previously president of the World Bank) as new independent directors.

Dr. Okonjo-Iweala is the third woman and first African to ever be appointed unto the board of Twitter.

Continue reading Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Appointed To The Board Of Twitter [2018]