230 Nigerians Under UNMIL Awarded UN Peacekeepers Medal

At least 230 Nigerian peacekeeping troops serving under the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) have been awarded the United Nations, UN peacekeepers medal.

The UNMIL, which announced the awards stated that the peacekeepers were conferred with the UN medals at a ceremony in Morovia in recognition of their contributions to peace and stability in Liberia.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, SRSG, Farid Zarif, presided over the ceremony at Camp Abuja in Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia.

The UNIMIL said the UN medals were also presented to Staff Officers, Military Observers, and the Pakistani Medical Contingent, PAKMED.

In his remarks, Mr. Zarif said the peacekeepers contributed towards strengthening and consolidating peace and stability in Liberia.

In his words:

“They have brought pride and honour, not just to their contingents, but also to their nations.

You have also given meaning to the United Nations services throughout the world by helping nations in distress in order to fight back some of the challenges that may have gone beyond their capacity.”

The SRSG urged the peacekeepers to take pride in their contributions to serving the common cause of the United Nations by helping humanity and nations in distress.

He said by so doing, peacekeepers justify the presence and continuation of the work of the United Nations as the most indispensable organization without which humanity would be in difficult distress.

Mr. Zarif further stated:

“Be proud of what you are doing in supporting and maintaining peace around the world and helping other nations.”

The event was graced by top officials of UNMIL and UN Country Team, including the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General, DSRSG, for Peace Consolidation, Yacoub El Hillo, Force Commander, Salihu Zaway Uba, a major-general and Director of Mission Support DMS, David Penklis.

However, UNIMIL said the Security Council at its 7851st meeting held on December 23, 2016 adopted the Resolution 2333 (2016) that extended its mandate for a final period until March 30, 2018.

A request has also been sent to the Secretary-General to complete the withdrawal of all uniformed and civilian UNMIL components, other than those required to complete the Mission’s liquidation, by April 30, 2018.

Nigeria Bobsled Women Qualify For 2018 Winter Olympics

The Nigerian Women Bobsled Team (Driver Seun Adigun and brake women Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga) has qualified for the first time ever, for the bobsled event at the 2018 Winter Olympics Games in PyeongChang.

Driver Seun Adigun, Brakemen Ngozi Onwumere and Akuoma Omeoga completed the fifth of their required five qualifying races, becoming the first African team, men or women, to qualify in the Bobsled category.

The Nigeria team, led by Driver Adigun – a former African 100m hurdles champion and 2012 summer Olympian – completed races in Utah, one in Whistler, and their final two races in Calgary.

Driver Adigun stated:

“This is a huge milestone for sports in Nigeria, nothing makes me prouder than to know that I can play a small role in creating opportunities for winter sports to take place in Nigeria. Our objective now is to be the best representation of Africa that the Winter Olympics have ever witnessed.”

Solomon Ogba, President of the Bobsled and Skeleton Federation of Nigeria, was understandably thrilled at the achievement, saying via a media statement:

“I commend the personal dedication and commitment of these women. Their hard work was inspiring and I hope Nigerians can appreciate what it took for them to achieve this – the work, the discipline, and the personal sacrifices. They were amazing throughout this journey. They are all very successful people in their own right – in sports and out of it, and somehow they are still motivated and still push for more success.

I have watched them train and work hard to represent Nigeria at the Winter Olympics in a very technical and high risk sport and they have achieved that. They should be very proud, and I am very proud of them.”

Nigeria could yet secure another spot at the 2018 Winter Olympics Games, with Driver Simidele Adeagbo just three races away from qualifying for the Skeleton competition.

Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon Is Appointed ILO Assistant Director-General & Regional Director for Africa

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) has appointed Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon as its Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa.

According to Guebray Berhane, the Senior Communication Officer of ILO Regional Office for Africa in Abidjan, in a statement:

“Guy Ryder, the Director-General of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), after having duly consulted the Officers of the Governing Body, has appointed Cynthia Samuel-Olonjuwon of Nigeria as Assistant Director-General and Regional Director for Africa, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire with effect from Nov. 10, 2017.”

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Winners Of Nigerian Sports Awards 2017

Winners have emerged in the Nigerian Sports Awards 2017.

Nigerian Sports Awards 2017 Winners

Sportsman of the year – Aruna Quadri
Sportswoman of the year – Odunayo Adekuroye
Woman footballer of the year – Asisat Oshoala
Footballer of the year (Men) – Victor Moses
Ball sports person of the year – Evelyn Akhator
Team of the year – D’ Tigress
Wrestler of the year – Odunayo Adekuroye
Special sports person of the year – Hannah Babalola
Discovery of the year – Georgia Oboh
Coach of the year – Akuh Purity
Journalist of the year (radio) – Anthony Bekederemo
Journalist of the year (TV) – Promise Efoghe
Journalist of the year (print) – Lekan Okusan
Photo journalist of the year – Olusegun Aderinto
Sports governor of the year – Akinwunmi Ambode and Udom Emmanuel
Sports administrator of the year – Waheed Enitan Oshodi and Daniel Igali
Special recognition – Amaju Pinnick
Lifetime achievement – Pa Fabio Lanipekun (formerly of NTA Sports)

Olusegun Arowolo Invents Cocoa Pod Breaking Machine

Olusegun Arowolo, has invented a cocoa pod breaking machine to boost the production of the commodity as well as encourage more Nigerians to take into cocoa farming.

Mr. Olusegun Arowolo said the idea of inventing the machine was conceptualised to complete the mechanisation of cocoa plantation so as to take cocoa farming to large scale industrial dimension.

According to Mr. Arowolo:

“This machine was invented in order to encourage people, both young and old, especially school leavers to have interest and fun in going into cultivation of cocoa thereby reducing unemployment rate among the populace. The machine is to ease the hardship being encountered by farmers on cocoa plantation and boost production as well as increase internally generated revenue of the state.

The cocoa pod breaking machine was invented by me and it is the first of its kind worldwide and can break 20,000 to 30,000 pods per hour. Also, it is important to state that the cocoa season is around the corner and so the machine will complement the already available spraying and moving machine in the market.”

Arowolo in Abuja stated that his aim of developing the machine was to also encourage all segments of the populace to partake in cocoa farming, as this would reduce unemployment, boost the economy.

Two Nigerian Airports Attain ICAO Global Safety Standard

Nigeria has become the only country in Africa to have its two airports attain Global Safety Standard certified by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the only country in West Africa sub-region with internationally certified airports.

This was made known by the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Captain Muhtar Usman during the ceremony to mark the certification of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja. Last September, the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos was certified, thus recognising two major airports in the country as meeting global safety standards.

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Precious Adeho & Ngozi Deborah Atalor Win 2017 Shell LiveWIRE Entrepreneurship Prize

Two Nigerian business owners, Mr. Precious Adeho and Mrs. Ngozi Deborah Atalor, have emerged winners in the 2017 Shell LiveWIRE Top Ten Innovators competition, a global contest open to beneficiaries of Shell LiveWIRE, and aimed at rewarding shining cases of innovation in businesses supported by the programme.

The two Nigerians won the Merit prize along with four others in the same category, while businesses from the United Kingdom and Pakistan took the top and runner-up awards. The winners were announced during the Global Entrepreneurship Week holding November 13 – 17 in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

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