How Great Is Nigeria! By Olatoyese Adesinmi

How Great Is Nigeria! By Olatoyese Adesinmi

Introduction

Nigeria is a country in West Africa situated on the Gulf of Guinea, has an estimated population of 190 million (United Nations estimate), approximate total land area of 924 Km² (357 sq. miles); borders Benin in the west, Niger in the north, Chad and Cameroon in the east. Nigeria has thirty-six (36) states as well as the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

Nigeria is a great country, blessed with copious natural resources, resourceful people, natural and artificial landmarks and monuments, and has a lot of economic potentials.

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Odinaka Anudu Is Nominated To Investigate In Guateng [2017]

University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, has nominated Odinaka Anudu as one of the five Africans to participate in a fully-funded investigation in Guateng.

Odinaka Anudu, a BusinessDay journalist won the Industrialisation and Development category and will be guided by John Bailey, an international and senior journalist for eNCA, a 24-hour television news broadcaster focusing on South African and African stories.

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Five Scientists Win 2017 NLNG’s $100,000 Science Prize

Five scientists have emerged as joint winners of the 2017 Nigeria $100,000 Prize for Science.

The Chairman of the Advisory Board for the Science Prize, Prof. Akpoveta Susu, said that the winners, whose research works were selected from 27 entries were recognised for their innovative work in the field of malaria.

Ikeoluwapo Ajayi, Ayodele Jegede and Bidemi Yusuf were recognised as joint winners for their research work titled, Improving Home and Community Management of Malaria: Providing the Evidence Base.

Olugbenga Mokuola won for his work titled, ‘Multifaceted Efforts at Malaria Control in Research: Management of Malaria of Various Grades’.

Chukwuma Agubata emerged as a winner for his work titled, ‘Novel Lipid Microparticles for Effective Delivery of Artemether Antimalarial Drug using a Locally-Sourced Irvingia Fat from Nuts of Irvingia Gabonensis var Excelsa (Ogbono)’.

According to Prof. Akpoveta Susu:

“We acknowledge the difficulties associated with scientific research in developing countries including Nigeria, where infrastructure deficit could deal a debilitating challenge.

Our hope is that the award of this prize would in its own little way provide a spark that would reinvigorate the passion of our budding scientists in finding solutions to our everyday issues.

We congratulate the winners for a job well done and for achieving this feat in the midst of an impressive array of entries. This is indeed a call to do more so that the identified potentials could be realised.”

Prof. Akpoveta Susu further stated that while malaria was the focus of this year’s edition, innovations in the power sector has been adopted as the theme of the 2018 science prize.

The NLNG General Manager, External Relations, Kudo Eresia-Eke, who commended the judge’s assessment, said the winning entries had addressed salient issues and challenges facing malaria treatment and control in Nigeria.

Mr. Kudo Eresia-Eke said:

“This is a great milestone for the people of Nigeria and Africa. Firstly, we finally have a winner for the Science Prize and secondly, we have some commendable research works that have contributed significantly to the body of knowledge on the disease and even provide some interesting opportunities for local approach to defeating malaria.

The hard work must not stop. The winners will need support to translate this to real benefits for Nigerians. We are calling on the government and corporate Nigeria to support this initiative and bring it to life.”

Sunday Oliseh wins Bronze Bull Award of Best Coach [2017]

Sunday Oliseh has won the Bronze Bull award of Best Coach in the first half of the Dutch second division this season.

Dutch football club, Fortuna Sittard coached by Sunday Oliseh also had their 17-year old team captain Perr Schuurs clinch the Bronze Bull award as the Best Talent in the first half of the Dutch second division this season.

In his reaction, Sunday Oliseh who was voted the best trainer said:

“I am very honored to win this prize because this is the result of hard work and a lot of help from my players, fans, assistants, our chairman Isitan Gün and above all God.”

Meanwhile, Turkish businessman and Fortuna Sittard Club Chairman Isita Gün is very pleased with the awards.

According to the Chairman:

“The whole club is very proud of Perr and Sunday. We may have missed the title in the first season, these Bronze Bulls indicate that we are on the right track. Everyone in the club has given a strong energy boost for the club to stay on the road and even take a step further. This is really great!”

After taking over as coach of Fortuna last season, Oliseh helped the club to escape relegation.

This season, Oliseh led Fortuna to a club record eight consecutive home victory.

He recorded his highest away win as a coach with a 6-0 victory against Telstar in September.

Also, he got Fortuna into the third round of the Dutch Cup for the first time in 18 years following a 3-0 win against Go Ahead Eagles in October.

Fortuna Sittard are currently third in the second division.

Sunday Oliseh is the only head coach from sub-Saharan Africa coaching in professional European football.

UNIBEN Emerge 2nd At 2017 PetroBowl Championship

Team Uniben (University of Benin) has emerged second place winner at the 2017 PetroBowl Championship of the Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition held in San Antonio, Texas, USA.

Team Uniben consist of five students which include Okon Samuel Iniobong, Osogba Oghenekaro, Oseghale Aloysius, Anyaezu Tobenna, Henry Monday Oguns and Thompson Edidiong represented the Society of Petroleum Engineers, Africa region at the Annual Technical Conference 2017 International PetroBowl contest and the International Paper contest respectively.

This is the first time in the history of the competition that an African School advances to the final stage. The University of Benin had its first match in the PetroBowl Championship against the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Saudi Arabia of which they won and moved to the round of sixteen to compete against the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil of which again the university of Benin won to advance to the Elite 8 to play against the University of Tulsa, Oklahoma, U.S.A of which the University of Benin won to qualify them to the final four of the PetroBowl competition.

In the final four, the University of Benin faced Batangas State University, Phillipines and won after which they advanced to the final play against Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico (UNAM) to take the second place and clinched the silver medal.

The Dean, Faculty of Engineering, Professor Kess Obahiagbon led the Head of Department, Petroleum Engineering, University of Benin, Dr. Kelani Bello along other staff and students of the department to present the award to the Vice-chancellor, Professor F.F.O Orumwense at the Vice-chancellor’s conference room.

Receiving the award, the Vice-chancellor, Professor Osasere Orumwense who was overwhelmed by the performance of the students, thanked them for making Uniben proud and encouraged them to continue to soar higher.
Speaking, the Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Benin, Prof. Kess Obahiagbon informed the Vice-chancellor that only two students from the University of Benin participated in the competition as against five students from other universities as the other three students had visa restrictions.

In his remarks, the Head of Department, Petroleum Engineering, University of Benin, Dr. Kelani Bello reiterated the outstanding performance of the students from the University of Benin adding that their victory automatically qualifies them to participate at the 2018 Society of Petroleum Engineers Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition in Dallas, U.S.A.

In their various remarks, the Students Affairs Chair, Society of Petroleum Engineers, Benin Section and Faculty Sponsor/Advisor, Uniben Chapter, Engr. Giegbefumwen Peter Uyi and the Students expressed joy for their victory.

Team Nicademia Wins 2017 USPF Changemaker Challenge

Team Nicademia has won the 2017 Changemaker Challenge, organised by the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF). As overall winner, Team Nicademia receives a cash prize of 1 million Naira with an acceptance into incubation programme superintended in the 2017 Changemaker Challenge.

Nicademia is an online distribution platform for African-inspired animations and cartoons that seek to promote African culture, traditions and values to the world.

The USPF Changemaker Challenge 2017, an arm of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), is a nationwide competition open to innovators, software developers, User Experience (UX) designers, students and other ICT enthusiasts from all over Nigeria.

The Executive Vice-Chairman, NCC, Prof. Umar Danbatta Represented by Head of Strategy and Corporate Performance Monitoring, USPF, Mr. Kelechi Nwankwo said the aims and objectives of the Challenge were to empower the Nigerian youths by challenging their tenacity to create technology-driven solutions for the needs of their Communities and the nation at large adding that the development of ICT was the reason for the creation of USPF.

He, however, assured that NCC would continue to use USPF as a platform in the promotion and application of innovation processes in ICT, to help empower the youth saying that one of the commission’s eight-point agenda is the promotion of ICT innovations and investment opportunities.

In his words:

“We believe that there is no better way to propagate this than to proactively involve the new generation of tech-innovators and entrepreneurs. Given the right platform and support, they can analyse and address everyday problems and find solutions to them. The innovation is already in them. This is in sync with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) policy objectives on telecommunications/ICT; to encourage rapid ICT penetration among all socioeconomic levels and increase broadband penetration.

“The ERGP policy is to promote and encourage local production of ICT hard and software, to reduce import dependence and generate foreign exchange by exporting to the regional and continental markets. Indeed, the ERGP acknowledges that ICT and digital technology have the potential to ramp up, transform labour productivity and create new economic sectors. It is our belief that the solutions and services that emerge from this changemaker challenge 2017 will demonstrate that fact.”

The Secretary of USPF, Mr. Ayuba Shuaibu, said 226 applications from the six geo-political zones of the country were received for the contest. He said innovation was at the centre of the current ICT and knowledge revolution and opportunities. According to him, USPF organises the competition with the conviction that the critical mass of the emerging information society resides in innovation and software know-how.

In his words:

“The USPF organised this special challenge to spur national technology innovation development and deliver appropriate solutions-dependable instrument, tools and meaningful responses to global challenges presented by Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The maiden edition took place in 2015 and we are pleased to let you know that the three winning solutions are still in the market and expanding.”

Team Jiggle came second while Team Kano Magenta made third position. Team Jiggle and Team Kano Magenta received ₦750,000 and ₦500,000 respectively and both will also undergo incubation programme.

Nigeria Emerge 2017 D+ Most Positive African Country

Nigeria has emerged the most positive African country on the World’s Most Positive Countries 2017 index published by Daily Positive (D+).

Nigeria re-emerged as the regional winner of Africa after missing out last year. Nigerians have excelled with glittering awards, such as, the Royal Academy of Engineering Africa Prize for Engineering Innovation, World Food Prize and BBC World News Komla Dumor Award. The Nigerian robotics team won a gold medal at the FIRST Global robotics competition in Washington DC. Nigeria did not ever give up on the kidnapped Chibok schoolgirls and continued to make progress and rescued significant number of the girls in 2017.

In 2015, Nigeria emerged the most positive African country on the World’s Most Positive Countries 2015 index published by Daily Positive (D+).

Globally, Australia was crowned the World’s Most Positive Country for 2017, for the second time ever in half a decade, according to the annual global index published by Daily Positive (D+), a unique online media organization from Australia for positive news. 

The annual list of top ten most positive countries is compiled based on a positivity index comprised of a global expert panel rating, a D+ journalists rating, a global web poll and the number of positive news entries in 2017 on the D+ website.

Apart from this overall list of 10 most positive countries, for the third time, D+ also published a list of regional positive countries from Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America. The regional winners were selected based on the same criteria used to select the overall winners but from a specific region outside of the top ten in the list.

The top 10 World’s Most Positive Countries for 2017 along with respective ranking points are as follows:

Country Name

Total Points

Australia

501

Canada

489

Switzerland

480

China

472

France

461

Germany

454

Denmark

442

England

434

Netherlands

428

United States of America

418

D+ Most Positive Regional Countries 2017

 Africa: Nigeria

Asia: Bangladesh

It is mainly because, along with many positive achievements, in 2017 Bangladesh dealt with the world’s fastest growing refugee crisis with open arms and saved the world from a huge catastrophe. Huge credit goes to the current Bangladeshi government and Bangladeshis from across the country who raced to save Rohingya refugees fleeing the brutal ethnic cleansing operation of Burmese military. Bangladesh became exemplary for the regional powers and many developed nations with its humane response to deal with well over half-a-million refugees that arrived in the country in few weeks. Apart from that, Bangladesh inaugurated its first solar-powered Food Warehouse with a capacity of 25,000 tonnes of grain. Bangladesh launched its first ever nano-satellite Brac Onnesha. Bangladeshi surgeons successfully separated two 9-month-old sisters born pygopagus in a complex operation.

 Europe: Norway

Norway is the regional winner from Europe. Norway topped the World Democracy Index indicating that it has a near-perfect fully functional democracy. That helped Norway to achieve best press freedom in the world. As part of continuous economic development, Norwegian solar panel maker Saga Energy recently signed a deal worth 2.5 billion euros ($2.9 billion) with Iran’s state-owned company Amin Energy Developers to build solar power plants in Iran.

 North America: Cuba

Cuba retained its regional title for the third consecutive year. After job well done by the Cuban medical professionals in West Africa to fight Ebola since 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) recognized their efforts in 2017. Cuba continued its positive attempt to integrate and engage further with the international communities. As a result, first ever cooperation agreement between the European Union and Cuba was approved in order to expand bilateral trade, promote dialogue and provide joint action on the world scene.

 South America: Colombia

Colombia became the regional winner from South America for the second consecutive year. Colombia continued to build on the peace process that started for last few years in order to neutralize the local armed groups. Also, Colombian singer Shakira received the 2017 Crystal Award for her efforts to help displaced and disadvantaged children in Colombia. Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos was named as one of the most influential people by Time Magazine for his determination to establish peace. Natalia Ponce de Leon of Colombia, a human right activist and acid attack victim, was honored with the United States Secretary of State’s International Women of Courage Award 2017.

Other nations outside of the list of most positive countries also made 2017 a memorable one. Iceland topped the list of the world’s most peaceful country. Tunisia, Jordan and Lebanon abolished a law that allowed rapists to avoid prosecution by marrying their victims. Saudi Arabia‘s King Salman issued a decree allowing women to drive for the first time in the Kingdom. India created history by successfully launching 104 satellites on a single mission, overtaking the previous record of 37 satellites launched by Russia in 2014. Portugal won the Eurovision Song Contest for the first time since it first entered the contest in 1964.

 According to Dr. Arif Jubaer, Founder of D+:

“On the occasion of D+ world’s most positive countries 2017, it was great to see people from all around the world coming together and working for a positive world despite all the negativities surround them. For the positive newsmakers, 2017 was not about their individual dreams, rather it was about the dreams for a positive world.”

D+ will present the above information and facts in detail at a presentation ceremony on Saturday, 25 November 2017, 2.00PM in Melbourne, Australia.

 For more information on the World’s Most Positive Countries 2017 visit http://www.dailypositive.org/Most_Positive_Countries

Contact Information:

Contact Person: Dr. Arif Jubaer, Founder, Daily Positive (D+)

Web Address: http://www.dailypositive.org/

Email: arif.jubaer@dailypositive.org

Mobile: +61-411215302