Xenophobic attacks: Nigerians must restrain from violence, says Bongo

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PHOTO:Marco Longari/AFP

An expert in development economics at the Lagos Business School, Dr. Adi Bongo, has implored Nigerians to resist the pressure of embarking on reprisal attacks on South African installations and companies in Nigeria. Bongo, a UNU Fellow and a World Bank scholar stated that if Nigerians should go ahead in attacking the companies, they might be denying their fellow citizens their source of livelihood.

“As Nigerians, we understand better and we must restrain ourselves from going ahead to attack South African owned companies in Nigeria because the people employed there are Nigerians. When these businesses are destroyed, the source of livelihood of the Nigerians who are working in those companies will be affected,” Bongo said.

Concerning what could have been responsible for the renewed attacks on Nigerians having recently had the same issue, Bongo said, “The violence of that scale is often a symptom of deeper social malaise. South African economy is also as badly hit as that of Nigeria. The country is also affected by the downturn in economic situations of countries across the world, particularly African countries. There is a large scale of drop in the prices of commodities. Unfortunately, the poor in the society becomes restive and look for whom to vent their anger on and unfortunately, Nigerians who have businesses in South Africa, this time are affected.”

On the threat of reprisal attacks by the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and other groups in Nigeria, he said, “We should discourage any move that will lead to violence. The Nigerian government should quickly explore all diplomatic means at resolving the issue. The Federal government must objectively engage its South African counterpart to protect the lives and businesses of Nigerians in South Africa. We must not encourage incivility.”

It would be recalled that a group of people on Thursday staged a protest which eventually turned violent at the MTN Nigeria regional office in Abuja, Nigeria’s Federal Capital Territory. The protesters were expressing their discontent based on the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians in South Africa.

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2moccuZ

Lahm retirement surprises Bayern

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(FILES) This file photo taken on February 07, 2017 shows Bayern Munich's defender Philipp Lahm running during the German Cup DFB Pokal Round of 16 football match FC Bayern Munich v VFL Wolfburg in Munich, southern Germany. Germany's World Cup winning captain Philipp Lahm confirmed on February 08, 2017, he will retire at the end of the season and leave Bayern Munich, having rejected a role as sports director. / AFP PHOTO / Christof STACHE </p>
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Philipp Lahm caught team-mates and club bosses by surprise when he not only announced he will retire in June but also that he will spurn an offer to fill the vacant sports director role at Bayern.

After making his 501st appearance for Bayern in Tuesday’s 1-0 German Cup win over Wolfsburg, Germany’s World Cup winning captain confirmed reports he will stop playing at the end of the season – with a year left on his contract.

News that he had also turned down the sports director role raised eyebrows.

Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge put out a statement on Wednesday saying the club is “surprised by Philipp Lahm and his advisor” and he had “assumed a joint statement would be made”.

Rummenigge stressed “the door will always be open for Philipp at FC Bayern”, but, for now, the 33-year-old plans to walk away from the Bavarian giants, who he joined as an 11-year-old in 1995.

The timing of Lahm’s decision is strange, but his hand was forced by magazine Sports Bild, who first broke the news on Tuesday, hours before the Wolfsburg match.

“On Friday, Lahm turned Karl-Heinz Rummenigge down, but it is not common to go public with these things before important games and we had Schalke on Saturday,” explained Bayern’s president Uli Hoeness.

“On Monday, the supervisory board met (when Lahm told Bayern’s bosses), Tuesday was our next game and we wanted to talk about it some more on Wednesday,” but Sports Bild leaked the news and Lahm went public.

– First treble –
He will retire as one of the best defenders of his generation, yet was flexible enough to also play in midfield for club and country.

He retired from international football after lifting the 2014 World Cup with Germany and made 113 appearances for die Mannschaft.

With Bayern, he has won the Bundesliga title seven times, the German Cup six times — with more silverware likely to come in May — and has been club captain since January 2011.

He led them to the 2012/13 Champions League title when they became the first German club to win the treble of European, league and cup titles.

With midfielder Xabi Alonso also retiring in June, Lahm’s added departure will leave Bayern short on experience next season, but he explained his reasons.

“I see my leadership role the same way as I give my best every day, give my all in training and in every game,” Lahm told reporters.

“I believe I am capable of doing that this season, but not after that, so it was clear for me, that I would stop at the end of the season.

“We are talking about more than a year and I believe that I am not able to maintain the level that I am used to and my team mates are used to.”

Bayern’s Germany centre-back Mats Hummels only learnt of Lahm’s decision in post-game interviews and said: “It’s a pity he won’t be here from this summer. I am surprised, but I respect it. He’ll have his reasons.”

Lahm’s decision to turn down the sports director job, vacated by Matthias Sammer last year, caught Hoeness off guard.

“I’m just surprised. We did not see there being a rush. The job would have only started on January 1 2018 and he had the job description,” Hoeness told the Funke Media Group.

“There were four meetings about it and I can imagine that he will one day work for FC Bayern.”

– power struggle? –
Sport Bild claim Lahm turned down the job because it did not include a position on Bayern’s board and he wanted to have the same power as Rummenigge and Hoeness.

Lahm painted a different picture, not wanting to go from his playing career into a high-profile position at Bayern, even with a break.

“There were talks and I decided it isn’t the right time to jump into a job with FC Bayern,” he said.

“I won’t go into details, but one thing was clear: I wouldn’t have started immediately, there would have been a small break for me, which I would have needed, so I could have prepared myself.

“There is no plan now, the only thing is I will be a private person from this summer. I can take care of other things and meet other people.

“I have been at the club so long, I want to see what the future brings.

“No one expected that I would stop and do nothing.”

Vía The Guardian Nigeria http://ift.tt/2lnLBwI

Tribunal hearsGhana, Ivory maritime dispute

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Ghana's President Nana Akufo-Addo

An international tribunal on Monday began hearing arguments in a dispute between Ghana and Ivory Coast over a contested maritime boundary that cuts through lucrative offshore oil fields.

The area is believed to hold the biggest hydrocarbon resources discovered in west Africa over the last decade.

The neighbours have asked the Hamburg-based International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea to rule on where the border lies exactly, with Ghana arguing there is no need to deviate from a decades-long “mutually agreed and recognised” boundary line based on equidistance.

Ivory Coast, however, claims the border is not properly demarcated and accuses Ghana of carrying out oil exploration activities in Ivorian maritime zones.

Both sides will lay out their case in oral hearings over the next two weeks, with Ghana kicking off the proceedings on Monday.

“The boundary lies in the region of some of the most significant oil reserves in west Africa,” Ghana’s justice minister Gloria Akuffo told the court in her opening statement.

“A fairly drawn agreed line does not suddenly become unfair simply because one state decides it would be economically more advantageous for it if the line were drawn somewhere else.”

A tribunal spokeswoman told AFP that a judgement in the case is not expected until “later this year”.

The two countries brought their spat before the tribunal in 2014 after months of fruitless negotiations.

In a setback for Ghana in 2015, the court’s special chamber ordered it not to carry out any new oil drilling in the disputed waters until the matter was resolved.

But the court rejected Ivory Coast’s demand that Ghana suspends all ongoing oil exploration and exploitation in the area, ruling that such a move would cause the country “considerable financial loss” and could harm the maritime environment by allowing equipment to deteriorate.

Several oil companies including France’s Total, Russia’s Lukoil and the UK’s Tullow Oil have reported significant finds in the contested area in recent years.

The dispute carries echoes of another maritime border row on the continent between the eastern nations of Kenya and Somalia.

The UN’s highest court in The Hague agreed earlier this month to hear their case, which will determine the fate of offshore oil and gas projects in the Indian Ocean waters.

Despite the tensions, both Ghana and Ivory Coast — West Africa’s second and third-largest economies — have insisted they remain on good terms.

“The relationship between Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire remains cordial, a testament to the strength of our relationship,” Akuffo told the court.

Ghana is a major producer of gold and cocoa and began commercial oil production in 2010 following the discovery of the Jubilee oil field, which produces 100,000 barrels per day.

Ivory Coast, the world’s largest producer of cocoa, has a daily oil production of some 45,000 barrels and is aiming to increase its output to 200,000 barrels per day by 2020.

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Sevilla signs Argentine Montoya (Read full details)

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Sevilla made Argentine midfielder Walter Montoya their third signing of the January transfer window on Saturday on a four-and-a-half year deal from Rosario Central.

Sevilla made Argentine midfielder Walter Montoya their third signing of the January transfer window on Saturday on a four-and-a-half year deal from Rosario Central.

“Sevilla will count on the services of Argentine midfielder Walter Montoya, 23, once he passes the required medical,” Sevilla said in a statement. “The agreements are complete both with his club, Rosario Central, and the player himself. He will sign for four-and-a-half years until June 30, 2021.”

However, Montoya may be loaned back to Rosario until the end of the season unless Sevilla can offload someone from their current squad from a non-European Union country before Tuesday’s transfer deadline.

La Liga imposes a limit of three non-EU players per squad. Rosario confirmed that the transfer fee will depend on whether Montoya leaves immediately or not.

“The figures of the transfer are variable depending on whether Walter stays or not in the next six months,” said the Argentine club in a statement. “The figures will be announced once that situation is confirmed by the Spanish club in the next few days.”

Spanish media reported Sevilla will pay around five million euros ($5.3 million). Sevilla have already boosted their squad with the signing of French defender Clement Lenglet and forward Stevan Jovetic on loan from Inter Milan this month.

Jorge Sampaoli’s men have recorded their best ever first half to a La Liga season to sit between Real Madrid and Barcelona in second in the table and face Leicester City in the last 16 of the Champions League next month.

Sevilla signs Argentine Montoya

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