Nigeria Archives

In Career Gems October 22, 2018 By Women of Rubies

UNICEF APPEALS TO FG, STATE GOVTS TO FUND CHILDREN PROGRAMMES

UNICEF Country Representative in Nigeria, Mr Mohammed Malick-Fall, disclosed this at the closing of a five-day workshop on Public Finance for Children in Abuja on Sunday, October 21, 2018.

“Public financing for children is important because development money is just the seed money compared to the needs in Nigeria.

“It is important for Federal and State Governments to release the funding that we need to meet the Social Development Goal (SDG),” Malick-Fall said.

Also speaking, Mr Gustave Nebie, UNICEF Regional Adviser, Social Policy, West and Central African Region (WCARO), described the workshop as timely.

“I think it was a good workshop, because what is important here is diversification of partnership.

“Usually, this kind of workshop is held for people in the social policy section only but fortunately, in Nigeria the senior management has decided to bring everybody along.

“The idea is due to the fact that public finance involves all sections of the organisation,” Nebie said.

He said that participants at the workshop had been equipped with various skills to work towards enhancing the wellbeing of children.

“For me, it was a very successful meeting and I was really happy to be part of it.

“It will kick start a process in which we have to work together in order to be able to move the public finance agenda.

“As we all know, we are working to achieve results for children and we need to make sure that we get more resources for the benefit of the children,” Nebie said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the workshop was organised for staff of UNICEF Regional offices in Ghana, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Nigeria.

Credit: Pulse, NAN

In Career Gems October 19, 2018 By Women of Rubies

AMERICAN SINGER, KERI HILSON SET TO ARRIVE NIGERIA FOR TEF FORUM

Keri Hilson, American singer, songwriter, and actress, and Angelica Nwandu, Founder of The Shade Room, #1 black-owned independent media company covering entertainment & celebrity news, will join thousands of entrepreneurs and global leaders next week in Lagos Nigeria for the TEF Forum.

Hosted by the Tony Elumelu Foundation, the TEF Forum which is scheduled to hold on Thursday, October 25, 2018 in Lagos, is the largest gathering of African entrepreneurs and the broader entrepreneurship ecosystem which unites over 5,000 entrepreneurs, global investors, leaders from the African public and private sectors and developmental organisations at Lagos Nigeria.

Aside from the Founder’s Dialogue, one of the major highlights of the Forum, other speakers will include Dr. Awele Elumelu, Chairperson, Avon Healthcare, TEF Trustee and Gavi Champion for Immunisation in Africa; Eleni Giokos, CNNMoney Africa Correspondent and Mayeni Jones, BBC Correspondent.

So far, international and local media – CNN, BBC, CNBC Africa, Africa24, Ebonylife TV, NTA – have partnered with the Tony Elumelu Foundation to share the inspiring story of Africa’s most promising entrepreneurs with the world.

Last year, Angelica Nwandu on her panel on branding and marketing, shared insights on how she built the multimillion-dollar brand, Shade Room, from ground up.

Credit: LIB

In Career Gems October 17, 2018 By Women of Rubies

ROSEMARY CHUKWUMA WINS NIGERIA’S FIRST GOLD MEDAL AT THE 2018 YOUTH OLYMPICS

The 2018 Youth Olympics is underway in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Nine days into the competition, Nigeria finally recorded her very first gold medal, courtesy of Rosemary Chukwuma, who dominated the girls’ 100 metres event.

(Photo: IAAF via Twitter)

Chukwuma entered the competition as the fastest in the girls’ 100 metres. Although she finished third in the first stage, she managed to build up enough pace in the final stage of the race. Her effort paid off as she finished in a time of 11.17 seconds

According to IAAF’s website, this would have been a record for the Youth Olympics were it not for the wind, which was going at 3.3 miles per second. Speaking about what gave her that last push to win the race, the 16-year-old said:

“I had to do it! My people were watching and they had told me I had to win, because Nigeria had not won any medals.”

Credit: konbini.com

In Career Gems September 24, 2018 By Women of Rubies

KADUNA STATE GOVERNMENT DECLARES FREE EDUCATION FOR ALL FEMALE STUDENTS IN PUBLIC SECONDARY SCHOOLS

On Saturday, September 22, 2018, the Kaduna State governor, Nasir El–Rufai announced on Twitter that the state government has declared free education for all female students in public secondary schools.

He tweeted:

“The Kaduna State Government has declared free education for all female students in Public Secondary Schools in Kaduna state. This is aimed at getting rid of the hindrances to girl-child education. The free Basic Education Policy in the state for every child remains.”

In lifestyle September 18, 2018 By Women of Rubies

DOCUMENTARY REVEALS A TRIBE IN NIGERIA WHERE GIRLS ARE SOLD INTO MARRIAGES TO PAY OFF DEBTS

BBC’s documentary has revealed that among the Becheve tribe of Cross River, girls are sold into marriages, sometimes before they are even born, to settle debts.

Described as “money marriage,” and the girls as “money wives,” these girls are owned by their husbands in exchange for money lent to their parents.

Watch the documentary below:

https://youtu.be/Eu9A6ONxnCU?t=2

In Career Gems June 25, 2018 By Women of Rubies

NIGERIA HAS THE HIGHEST RATE OF EXTREME POVERTY GLOBALLY

In a new report by the World Poverty Clock, Nigeria has overtaken India as the country with the most extreme poor people in the world – 86.9 million people, with the number increasing by six people every minute.
The report added that the Democratic Republic of the Congo could soon take over the number 2 spot.
By the end of 2018 in Africa as a whole, there will probably be about 3.2 million more people living in extreme poverty than there are today, the report added.
The report stated that with the rate people living in extreme poverty is reducing, it’ll be extremely difficult to achieve SDG 1 – No Poverty.
According to Brookings Institute:
Each April and October, the World Poverty Clock data are updated to take into account new household surveys (an additional 97 surveys were made available this April) and new projections on country economic growth from the International Monetary Funds’s World Economic Outlook. These form the basic building blocks for poverty trajectories computed for 188 countries and territories, developed and developing, across the world.
See the top nations below:
Nigeria – 86.9m
India – 71.5m
Democratic Republic of Congo – 60.9m
Ethiopia – 23.9m
Tanzania – 19.9m
Mozambique – 17.8m
Bangladesh – 17m
Kenya – 14.7m
Indonesia – 14.2m
Uganda – 14.2m
Photo Credit: Brookings Institute

In womenofrubies April 24, 2017 By Women of Rubies

GOODNEWS! PARENTS OF QUINTUPLETS DELIVERED IN ABUJA TO GET A HOUSE FROM FG & PROVIDE JOB FOR DAD

The Head of Service of the Federation Winifred Oyo-Ita has promised to give a house to the couple who newly delivered quintuplets at the National Hospital Abuja.

Oyo-Ita made the promise while visiting the children on Saturday in Abuja.

She said that the house will be given under the Federal Integrated Staff Housing (FISH) Scheme.

She also promised Imudia Uduehi, father of the quintuplets who is a graduate from the University of Ilorin, Kwara state a job with the Federal Civil Service. Uduehi, at the moment is unemployed.

She described the children as great blessings given to the couple by God on a platter of gold. She said the job offer to Uduehi will enable him cater for the children.

“I am very happy for you and I am standing here this afternoon representing the entire civil service of Nigeria. Today is a day of joy for all of us. Indeed you are a couple that has been so blessed by God. You have been married for just two years and God has blessed you with five children at once. I want to tell you that the Federal Integrated Staff Housing programme will be made available to you, we will give you a house that can accommodate you your husband and your five children,” Oyo-Ita said.

Oyo-Ita also presented cash gifts and diapers to them, thanking the doctors for their efforts in ensuring the babies and mothers are alive.

She applauded the medical team for taking care of the mother through the period of pregnancy and delivery.

Oluwakemi Uduehi, mother of the children who spoke on behalf of her family thanked the Head Of Service for her kind gesture. She is a staff of the National Population Commission.

Dr Bunmi Ladipo who delivered the babies said they were delivered through caesarean section and there was no complication.

He added that the mother had some challenges before delivery but was managed very well by the hospital. Oluwakemi gave birth to the babies when the pregnancy was eight months.

Ladipo added that this was his first time of delivering a set of five children.

Also Dr Audu Lamidi, Head Neo- Natal Intensive Care Unit, National Hospital said that the babies are very tender and more time is being devoted to their care.

According to him, many hospitals in Nigeria do not have the capacity or facility to cater for such multiple births.

He also called on government to provide the hospital with more specialised facilities and equipments to care and monitor this kind of birth.

“These babies are seen as blessings from God and we need more specialised facilities to enable us monitor them effectively in the first few months of their life. We need equipments such as incubators, ventilators and so on to support them. Though we have the basic tools for now, we need the specialised ones as these multiple births require more attention, time and care.’’

Also Yemi Adelakun, Permanent Secretary Common Services at the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation said that the house would be immediately given to the couple as directed by the Head of Service.

He added that the urgency was necessary to help them settle down and take care of their babies adequately.

The five children, all girls were born on April 12, 2017.

In Career Gems March 13, 2017 By Women of Rubies

CHIOMAAKPHOTA SLAYS IN HER BIRTHDAY PHOTOS

Nollywood actress Chioma Akpotha is a year older today!

The gorgeous actress took to her Instagram to release these beautiful photos to celebrate her day.

See below!

In Career Gems February 13, 2017 By Women of Rubies

NIGERIA HAS MORE WOMEN ENTREPRENEUR – BBC REPORT

A recent documentary by BBC shows the entrepreneurial spirit of Nigerian women. BBC spoke to two women – Ayo Megbope and Aminat Salau – who sell moi moi, a meal made from beans, to make a living.

“Forty percent of Nigerian women are entrepreneurs, that is higher than anywhere else in the world,” BBC said.

Ayo started by selling moi moi, but now has a restaurant and a catering service.

“I started my business about nine years ago with a seed capital of $3. Nine years after, we are turning over about $250,000 annually. My access to education and information has helped me a great deal. Family and friends have also been good to me. There have been times that I got stuck and I needed to raise capital and I ran to family and friends because the traditional financial institutions would not listen to me,” Ayo said.

According to Aminat: “Sales are good, on some days we sell 60 or 80 wraps in the morning. When we have more time or more people passing by, we sell till late in the evening.”

According to BBC: “Female entrepreneurs in Nigeria often struggle to secure investment, banks normally require collateral, like property, which women often do not have. Without access to capital, it will be difficult for Aminat to grow her business.”

In self development February 1, 2017 By Women of Rubies

#WCW: CELEBRATING STELLA DAMASUS

Hello WORrior! Today is #WomanCrushWednesday and our Woman Crush is actress and singer, Stella Damasus.

Stella Damasus was born on April 24, 1978. She is from Benin city, Edo State, Nigeria. She is a Theater Arts graduate from the University of Lagos.

She started her career as a singer in Lagos State where she used to work as a studio session singer at Klink Studios owned by filmmaker, Kingsley Ogoro. She made her debut into Nollywood movie industry in 1992, in the film Abused. She shot into stardom with the movie Breaking Point, produced by Emem Isong. She has starred in over 60 movies.

Stella Damasus is the co-founder of 12radio and hosts two podcast shows. She has won a number of awards including, AMAA Awards, NEA, Golden Icons Academy Awards, etc.

Women Of Rubies celebrates you, dear Stella Damasus!

Nigeria