United Nations Sends Former President Obasanjo To Liberia.

The United Nations, UN Secretary-General, António Guterres has announced that he is sending former President Olusegun Obasanjo to support Liberia to peacefully transfer of power to a democratically-elected president.

The UN Scribe, who made the announcement yesterday in New York through his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, also welcomed the peaceful conduct of the second round of the presidential election in Liberia.

Weird: Erosion collapses Cameroon highway into two, leaves travelers stranded

 

Many travelers were seen stranded after heavy downpour which led to erosion divided the Yaounde- Douala road situated about 70KM from Boumnyebel.

The erosion which took place ywsterday, have seen several journey cancelled, while the stranded travelers have been posting photos on social media, where a huge white truck can also be seen struck to the divided highway.

Dangote Has Been Rated Among 100 Most Powerful People In The World

Africa’s richest man, Mr. Aliko Dangote, President of Dangote Group, was among among the 100 most powerful people in the world rated weekend by Forbes Magazine.

Dangote, who is Africa richest man was listed at number 71 just above the top Republican Party contender for the US presidency, Donald Trump, who was listed at number 72.

President of Egypt, Abdel el-Sisi, was the only other African listed apart from Dangote and he was placed at number 49, under the defiant North Korean leader Kin Jong-un who was placed at number 46, while Igor Sechin of Rosneft and Ma Huateng were placed at 47 and 48 respectively.

Africa Produces Just 1.1% Of Global Scientific Knowledge

When Abdoulaye Djimdé returned to his home city of Bamako, Mali, after receiving a grant to set up his first lab, he naturally went to see the university’s finance office.

The conversation was not what he expected. Frustratingly, the grant, which had been transferred to the University’s bank account, had been mixed up with funds from various other sources. Eventually, after a small percentage had been deducted to cover the institution’s running costs, Djimdé was handed the remaining amount – some $20,000 (£13,000) – in cash.

That was 2001. Djimdé had returned to Mali after completing a PhD in malaria genetics at the University of Maryland. During his time in the United States he had authored ground-breaking research identifying the first genetic markers for chloroquine-resistant malaria, and a method for tracking drug-resistant malaria parasites in the field.

Alassane Ouattara Wins Second Term In Ivory Coast Election

Ivory Coast’s President Alassane Ouattara has won a second five-year term with nearly 84% of the vote, electoral commission officials say.

Mr Ouattara won a total of 2,118,229 votes, or 83.66% of votes cast, the commission said. Turnout was 54.63%.

Several opposition candidates pulled out of the campaign, complaining that it was not free and fair.

The last vote in 2010 was bitterly contested and resulted in a civil war in which 3,000 people lost their lives.

Mr Ouattara required more than 50% of the vote to avoid a run-off. His closest opposition rival, Pascal Affi N’Guessan, got just 9%.

MTN Nigeria Fined $5.2billion For Poor SIM Card Registration Lessons Quality Of Service

MTN Nigeria has been fined US$5.2 billion for poor SIM card registration and its resultant poor quality of service due to congestion on the MTN network. The fine has already had a ripple effect on the share price of the entire MTN Group. Rightly so because MTN’s brand value was recently put at US$4.7 billion, so a $5.2billion fine is enough to make current and potential shareholders nervous.

Following the whopping and unusual US$5.2 billion fine, shares in MTN reportedly dropped more than 12%, which is the worst fall in more than 10 years. The fall is said to have wiped 44 billion rands (US$3.2 billion) off the company’s market value. That is a big blow to any company, not matter how huge.

The Mobile Money Will Holds Huge Potential For Ghana - Derek B. Laryea

The Head, Research and Communications at the Ghana Telecoms Chamber, Mr Derek B. Laryea, has said the future of mobile money holds huge potential for Ghana if the current trend continues.

He said mobile money had already proven to be viable and sustainable, as awareness had increased, and additional payment options were being developed every day.

He said the growth of the service in the country would contribute to economic growth because it offered convenience and consumer protection while lowering the risks inherent in the informal economy and widespread use of cash.

Ghana Rated Best Place To Buy A Fairly Used-Cars At A Reduce Prize

Ghana has been rated as the most price-friendly country when it comes to buying a used-car in Africa, despite the high rate of import duties and an unstable currency.

The average price of a used-car in Ghana is US$17,654, making it cheaper than Senegal’s US$18,923, Congo’s US$25,093, Cameroon’s US$29,598 and Rwanda’s US$34,259.

Carmudi, an online vehicle market place with offices in about 20 countries worldwide, analysed about one thousand used-cars listings in order to find out how much consumers are spending on used vehicles globally.

Africa’s Richest Man, These Are The Five Things You Can Learn From Aliko Dangote

With a net worth of $16.5 billion, Aliko Dangote, of Lagos, Nigeria, is the richest man in Africa. To get a sense of just how staggering that figure is, consider that Dangote’s fortune is 2.9% of Nigeria’s gross domestic product. For comparison, the richest man in American history, John D. Rockefeller, had a net worth of 1.5% of the U.S. GDP in 1937. Take it a step further, and if an American had a net worth of 2.9% of the U.S. GDP today, that person would be worth $500 billion.

How does someone build such a massive net worth built, and what lessons can we learn?

Nigeria has historically set the example; Developing E-Pay Economy

Nigeria has historically set the example for other African nations in terms of mobile adoption, internet infrastructure proliferation, and e-commerce. But the country’s mobile payment market is still in its nascent stages, despite the landscape of mobile users ripe for e-pay projects. Paga, the company at the forefront of the mobile payment market in Nigeria, has been making some investment-based moves towards elevating Nigeria’s e-pay economy, but the government is looking at ways to make it part of daily life as well.

Telecom Giant MTN Nigeria Fined A Record $5.2bn

Telecom giant MTN Nigeria has been fined a record $5.2bn by Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC).

MTN was fined for non-compliance with a deadline set by the NCC to disconnect all non-registered sim cards.

The move follows accusations by mobile phone users that the regulator had failed to bring operators to account for poor services to subscribers.

MTN Nigeria says it is studying the letter sent to it by the regulator and will respond soon.

MTN is one of the largest phone providers in Nigeria.

Obasanjo Leads 135-Member Of ECOWAS Observer Team To Côte d’Ivoire Presidential Poll

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo is billed to lead a 135-member Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Election Observation Mission to monitor the Côte d’Ivoire Presidential election scheduled for today, Sunday, October 25. The deployment of observer team is in keeping with the ECOWAS Supplementary Protocol on Democracy and Good Governance. The mission’s principal objective, according to the ECOWAS Commission, is be to ensure a smooth electoral process leading to free, transparent and credible election in that country.

Devalue Naira, IMF Urges Nigeria

1000 Naira Note

The IMF is pressing Nigeria to further devalue its currency amid uncertainty over the political and economic outlook for Africa’s biggest oil producer and economy a news agency has reported.

The report quoted Antoinette Sayeh, the International Monetary Fund’s Africa Director who had alleged that restrictions placed on 41 items access to foreign exchange was “quite detrimental saying that in Nigerians they “are already making it harder for the average person to buy milk,” at the IMF annual meeting that ended in Peru two weeks ago.

Four Years After Muammar Gaddafi Died, Post-Gaddafi Libya Haunted By The ‘Dictator’s’ Absence

Four years after Muammar Gaddafi was killed in an uprising, the dictator’s legacy continues to haunt oil-rich Libya as it struggles to find its national identity.

He was also a major player in African politics—a grandson of Nelson Mandela is even named after him, in a country that was inspired—and funded— by his revolutionary credentials in its own struggle for liberation.

Mandela was key in ending Gaddafi’s international pariah status following the 1988 bombing of an aircraft. “Those who feel irritated by our friendship with President Gaddafi can go jump in the pool,” he said.

President Muhammadu Buhari, Chimamanda Ngozi Adiche Nominated As Forbes Africa Person Of The Year

Peace Hyde named Judge for Forbes Africa person of the Year

TV Personality and Forbes Correspondent, Peace Hyde, has been shortlisted as one of the adjudicators for Forbes Africa Person of the Year 2015 scheduled to take place in Nairobi in November.

The Judging panel also comprises Chris Bishop, Managing Editor of Forbes Africa, Methil Renuka, Editor of Forbes Woman, South African-based political commentator, Aubrey Matshiqi and Joseph Bonyo, Editorial Manager- East Africa for ABN.

The Nigerian Mobile Money Leader Paga To Doubling Down On Building A Payments Giant

Despite its success in other parts of Africa, mobile money has not fully taken off in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy. With its population of 170 million people and mobile penetration of around 80%, and low credit card penetration, the Nigerian market seems to be tailor-made for mobile money. But no one has been able to fully crack it yet—except Paga.

Nigerian Medical Doctor, Freeman Osonuga May Be The First Black African To Go To Space

No black African has ever been in space but that could change soon.

Freeman Osonuga, a Nigerian doctor, recognized for his work as an Ebola volunteer, has been shortlisted as one of three young leaders to win an all-expense paid trip to space organized by London-based talent agency Kruger Cowne in partnership with One Young World and Xcor Space Expeditions. The plan is to send the selected leader to space putting this person in the global spotlight to help lead and promote issues of global importance.

African Music icon, DBanj Demostrate In Computer Village, becomes SLOT Brand Ambassador

HIP Hop maestro, Oladapo Daniel Oyebanjo, popularly known as D’Banj last week, put all activities at the popular device market, Computer village Ikeja, to a halt when he stormed the area to sign Ambassadorship deal with Slot systems. Not even the rain which started prior to the unveiling of the man known as the Koko Master by his teeming fans, was enough to deter the multitude of music lovers who wanted to catch the glimpse of their idol.

President Muhammadu Buhari To Run Oil Ministry

President Muhammadu Buhari has said he intends to remain in personal control of the oil ministry as he pursues an anti-corruption campaign.

He won elections in March partly on his tough stance on corruption.

He has vowed to trace and recover the “mind-boggling” sums of money that have been stolen from the oil sector.
Oil exports account for around 90% of Nigeria’s foreign currency earnings and because of low oil prices, the country faces tough economic challenges.