Mineta Transportation Institute Experts Analyze Boko Haram's Terrorists Bombing of Bus Terminal in Abuja

 Mineta Transportation Institute Experts Analyze Terrorism Bombing of Nigerian Bus Terminal 
Jenkins and Butterworth explain why public transport is a lucrative target 

SAN JOSE, Calif., April 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- During the morning rush hour on April 14, a car bomb containing an estimated 500-800 pounds of explosives blew up at the Nyanya District bus station on the outskirts of Abuja, Nigeria. Brian Michael Jenkins and Bruce R. Butterworth, terrorism experts from the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI), explained its significance for the rest of the world and put the facts into a larger perspective.

"The bomb obliterated four large buses filled with passengers and many smaller buses," said Mr. Jenkins, director of MTI's National Transportation Safety and Security Center and a terrorism expert. "The latest casualty figures as of April 15 put the death toll at 75, with 141 wounded, but the number of fatalities is expected to rise. That makes this the deadliest bomb attack on Nigeria's capital and the first terrorist bombing in Abuja since December 2011, when a bomb was detonated at a Catholic church, killing 41 people."

In August 2011, another vehicle-borne improvised explosive device (VBIED) was detonated at the United Nations headquarters in the city. That bomb left 23 dead.

Officials blame the Islamist group Boko Haram
Mr. Jenkins said that, although no group has yet claimed responsibility for the latest attack, authorities blamed it on Boko Haram, an Islamist group that seeks to establish an independent Muslim state in the North of Nigeria. The official name of the group is the Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad, but it is generally referred to as Boko Haram, he said, which in the Hausa language translates roughly as "Western Education Is a Sin." Boko Haram was founded in 2002 but began its terrorist campaign in 2009.

The political upheavals across North Africa, in particular, Libya's civil war, destabilized the entire region and exacerbated local conflicts. Boko Haram escalated its campaign. More than 4,000 people have been killed in the past four years.  Including casualties from the bus terminal bombing, more than 1,500 people have died in Boko Haram attacks thus far in 2014.

Most of Boko Haram's attacks were directed against police stations, but it has increasingly attacked civilian targets, including public transportation, markets, and churches. The group opposes the education of girls and has also carried out a number of deadly attacks on schools. On the same day as the Abuja bombing, Boko Haram kidnapped 129 students from a girl's school in Nigeria.

This was a message to Nigeria and the world.
"The Abuja bombing belies the Nigerian government's claim that its recent military offensive succeeded in confining Boko Haram to a remote area in northern Nigeria," said Mr. Butterworth, a research associate and terrorism expert with MTI. "That Boko Haram was still in town, able to carry out attacks in the nation's capital, was no doubt the message the group wanted to convey."

That reminder may also be aimed at a broader world audience as the World Economic Forum prepares to hold an international summit in Nigeria in May, he said. Upcoming major international events prompt terrorist attacks, as was seen in the Volgograd bombings just weeks before the scheduled opening of the Sochi Olympics. (See MTI Perspective, By the Numbers: Russia's Terrorists Increasingly Target Transportation .)

The attack ranks high for lethality
"Looking at all attacks on public surface transportation systems worldwide since 1970, the Abuja bombing was the 12^th most lethal attack," said Mr. Jenkins. "When comparing similar attack methods, it was the ninth most lethal attack. This means looking only at attacks by terrorists (putting aside deranged persons or ordinary criminals) and considers only those attacks involving a single attack method and not a combination of methods, such as a derailment followed by an armed assault to finish off trapped passengers."
He noted that, in terms of attacks involving explosives, it was the seventh most lethal bombing. Finally, looking at the attack in terms of fatalities per explosive device used, it was the fifth most lethal.  Interestingly, one of the four most lethal attacks was a 1987 VBIED bombing against at an open-air bus station in Sri Lanka that killed 105 people and injured 200. All figures come from MTI's proprietary database of terrorist attacks against surface transportation around the world.

Nigerian bus stations are common targets
Bus station attacks with high fatalities feature heavily in Boko Haram's terrorist campaign. Three attacks on open-air bus stations killed a total of 116 people, an average of 39 fatalities per attack.
MTI's database records 12 of those attacks in Nigeria. (The data does not count 34 attacks on pipelines, which usually but not always cause no casualties.) All but one of these involved buses, bus stations, or bus stops. These 11 attacks combined killed 146 and injured 215, an average of 13.3 fatalities and 19.5 injuries per attack. Fatalities per attack are four times higher than the worldwide average for bus targets, which is 3.2, and over five times higher than the combined worldwide average for bus, train, road and passenger ferry targets, which is 2.5.

Jihadist attacks are more lethal
Mr. Butterworth noted, "Jihadist groups continue to view public surface transportation targets as lucrative ones offering terrorists the high body counts they seek. Attacks by Islamist extremist groups worldwide – including those not just following al Qaeda's jihadist terminology, but also those dedicated to Salafi-Islamist goals – killed an average of 8.6 people per attack, with the most lethal attacks – excluding passenger ferries – directed against bus stations or bus stops, with 8.8 fatalities per attack. Attacks on passenger buses come close behind at 5.2 fatalities per attack. The three jihadist attacks against bus stations in Nigeria were far more lethal."

By contrast, attacks on surface transportation by non-jihadist groups, including nearly all of the attacks in Israel against bus targets and the lethal campaign waged by the Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka, achieved an average body count of only 2.2 fatalities per attack – three fatalities per attack against buses and 1.9 fatalities per attack against bus stations and stops.

"Overall, there appear to be more bus attacks worldwide recently, with bus attacks becoming slightly more lethal," he said. "By contrast, while passenger and commuter train attacks have also increased, their lethality has decreased."

VBIEDs deliver high body counts
Looking at the most lethal combination of terrorist devices, targets and delivery methods, open air bus stations featured in three of the 15 most lethal attacks, and VBIEDS were used in four of them. Of these, three attacks were directed against bus stations and one attack against a bus itself.   
Looking at all attacks, not just those involving explosives, VBIEDS are the seventh most frequently used terrorist weapon and the sixth most lethal attack method, killing an average of 7.8 people per attack. Interestingly, whether VBIEDs were detonated remotely or by suicide bombers only slightly changes their lethality, far less than suicide delivery does for most IEDs.

Developing nations are hit hardest
"Citizens of western countries tend to think that all terrorism is aimed at them," said Mr. Jenkins. "The Abuja attack reminds us that the developing nations suffer far more from terrorism than the developed nations. In terms of the number of attacks, only four countries are developed nations from among the top 20 whose public surface transportation systems are the most targeted by terrorists. These developed nations are Israel, Russia, Spain, and the United Kingdom."

India and Pakistan are first and second in terms of the total number of attacks on surface transportation systems, with 19 and 17 percent of the total, respectively. Nigeria is in 39^th place, although the number of attacks recently has increased.

Mr. Jenkins added, "When we look at where the most lethal attacks on surface transportation take place, the contrast is also stark. Considering the 16 countries with 40 or more attacks – which tends to reduce situations where just a few large-scale attacks can significantly increase the national lethality average – all are developing countries except same four countries – Israel, Russia, Spain and the UK. The worldwide average is 2.3 fatalities per attack."

The most lethal attacks on average occurred in Sri Lanka (8.4 fatalities per attack) and Algeria (4.6 fatalities per attack). India's lethality rate is 2.7, only slightly less than Israel's 2.8, and Pakistan's was 2.4. By contrast, Russia's fatality rate was 2.1, Spain's 1.6, and the UK's 0.9.  Developing countries clearly suffer greatly, said Mr. Jenkins.

The more people rely on buses, the more they are targeted
Terrorist bus attacks can also occur in the developed countries as well. In fact, buses are attacked more than any other set of public surface transport targets in both developing and developed countries. However, the lethality of bus attacks in the developing countries is greater.

Mr. Butterworth said that, excluding Israel from the set of developed countries (because it is probably unique in its reliance on a public bus system instead of passenger, commuter, and subway rail), developed country attacks on buses generated a body count of 1.5 and a rate of 0.8 on bus stations and stops. By comparison, similar attacks in the developing world generated fatality rates of 3.2 for buses and 2.9 for bus stations and stops.

"The more people rely upon bus transportation, the more it becomes a lucrative terrorist target," he said. "Still, we have to remember that attacks against bus targets in the developed countries do happen, and they can be lethal, as indicated by the 2012 bus bombing in Burgas, Bulgaria, which killed 6, as well as last December's attack against a bus trolley in Volgograd, Russia, which killed 16."
Previous Transportation Security Perspectives include By the Numbers: Russia's Terrorists Increasingly Target Transportation ; Mineta Transportation Institute Says Subways Are Still in Terrorists' Sights; and The Terrorist Attack in Kunming, China: Does It Indicate a Growing Threat Worldwide? All are available for free download and no registration.


ABOUT BRIAN MICHAEL JENKINS
Brian Michael Jenkins is an international authority on terrorism and sophisticated crime. He directs the Mineta Transportation Institute's (MTI) National Transportation Safety and Security Center, which focuses on research into protecting surface transportation against terrorist attacks. He is also a senior advisor to the president of RAND. From 1989-98, Mr. Jenkins was deputy chairman of Kroll Associates, an international investigative and consulting firm. Before that, he was chairman of RAND's Political Science Department, where he also directed research on political violence. He has authored several books, chapters, and articles on counterterrorism, including International Terrorism: A New Mode of Conflict and Will Terrorists Go Nuclear? Most recently, he published When Armies Divide, a discussion about nuclear arms in the hands of rebelling armies. He also has been principal investigator for many peer-reviewed security-focused research reports for MTI.
ABOUT BRUCE R. BUTTERWORTH
Mr. Butterworth has worked at congressional, senior policy, and operational levels, including with the House Government Operations Committee, Department of Transportation, and the Office of the Secretary. He managed negotiations on air and maritime services in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) (now the World Trade Organization), chaired U.S. delegations to United Nations committees, and was part of the response to the bombing of Pan Am 103. He was an executive in airline security, and he launched a successful program of dangerous-goods regulation and cargo security after the 1995 ValuJet crash. He worked closely with Congress and other federal-level agencies and departments. Currently, he is a research associate at the Mineta Transportation Institute. Mr. Butterworth received an MS degree from the London School of Economics and a BA degree from the University of the Pacific (magna cum laude). He was a California State Scholar and a Rotary Foundation Fellow.

ABOUT THE MINETA TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE (MTI):
MTI conducts research, education, and information transfer programs focusing on surface transportation policy and management issues, especially related to transit. MTI was established by Congress in 1991 as part of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act and won national re-designation competitions in 2002, 2006 and 2011. The Institute is funded by Congress through the US DOT Research and Innovative Technology Administration, by the California Legislature through Caltrans, and public and private grants. In 2006 the US Department of Homeland Security selected MTI as a National Transportation Security Center of Excellence. The internationally respected members of the MTI Board of Trustees represent all major surface transportation modes. MTI is the lead institute for the Mineta National Transit Research Consortium, an affiliation of nine university transportation research centers. MTI is affiliated with San Jose (CA) State University's College of Business. Visit transweb.sjsu.edu
 
Contact: Donna Maurillo
MTI Communications Director
831-234-4009 (mobile)
donna.maurillo (at) sjsu.edu
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100318/MTILOGO
SOURCE Mineta Transportation Institute

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Palaver Was Not the First Film Shot in Nigeria

A scene from 'Palaver": "Haddon Mason (playing District Officer) wounded and at bay facing Sagaus" Dawiya and his men surround Allison's (Haddon Mason) band of warriors. Allison is wounded in the arm and the Mongu arrive just in time and see off Dawiya's men. Photo Credit: ZEN.CO.UK.

"Palaver" was one of the first films shot in Nigeria in the first quarter of the 20th century when the country was a colony of the British Empire. The film was made in 1926 and not 1904 (the wrong date published by the Nigerian Film Corporation), because, before "Palaver", Crossing the Great Sahara was made in 1924.

Directed by Geoffrey Barkas (born Geoffrey de Gruchy Barkas, 27 August 1896 – 3 September 1979), an English film maker active between the world wars. Barkas led the British Middle East Command Camouflage Directorate in the Second World War. His largest "film set" was Operation Bertram, the army-scale deception for the battle of El Alamein in October 1942. He won an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 1936 for his "Wings Over Everest".

Watch "Palaver" on http://www.colonialfilm.org.uk/node/1342.

• PALAVER (Alternative)
• PALAVER: A ROMANCE OF NORTHERN NIGERIA

 Technical Data

Year:

1926

Running Time:

108 minutes

Film Gauge (Format):

35mm Film

Colour:

Black/White

Sound:

Silent

Footage:

7329 ft

Production Credits

Production Countries:

Great Britain

Director

BARKAS, Geoffrey

Producer

BARKAS, Geoffrey

Script

BARKAS, Geoffrey

Synopsis

Filmed amongst the Sura and Angas people of the Bauchi Plateau in Northern Nigeria, where the rivalry between a British District Officer and a tin miner leads to war.

The film introduces the main protagonists. Yilkuba, the witch doctor of the Sura tribe, warns his king, Dawiya, to 'beware of war', while Mark Fernandez, a tin miner, receives a letter warning him that he will be replaced if his work does not improve. Meanwhile, the car belonging to nursing sister Jean Stuart breaks down and she spends the night in the hut of Captain Peter Allison, the District Officer. The next morning Fernandez visits Allison and finds Jean there in her pyjamas. Fernandez is next seen bribing Dawiya with alcohol('medicine') in order to get more men working in his mine, and then appears drunk at 'the social event of the year' at Vedni. Here he attempts unsuccessfully to dance with Jean and 'cut out' Allison. Allison, in his role as District Officer, subsequently 'holds court' and hears complaints against Dawiya. He visits Dawiya and discovers him drunk on 'unlawful liquor'. Allison suspects Fernandez, and on visiting him discovers the same type of liquor in his house. A drunk Fernandez visits his tin mine and strikes one of his workers. He then pays 'the penalty of excess' and collapses. During his illness, he is nursed by Jean, who pleads with him to take control of his life.

Meanwhile, Allison receives a letter revealing that Fernandez was deported in 1920, but has since changed his name. Jean asks Allison to help Fernandez, but Allison - aware of Fernandez's past - refuses. The two men fight and Fernandez with his hopes and plans shattered, 'plays his last card'. He convinces Dawiya that Allison is planning to arrest him. The misled Dawiya prepares for war - 'with strong liquor' - and Allison almost single-handedly holds off the attacking 'pagans'. After much fighting, Allison is wounded but victorious. Dawiya goes to Fernandez's house, kills him, and is then caught by Allison. The film ends with Allison sitting with Jean and asking her to marry him. They embrace in the final shot.

Context

Throughout August 1926, Bioscope ran a series of editorials and articles assessing the state of the British film industry and emphasising the importance of presenting British films throughout the Empire. The Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin had called for action in 1925 after noting the ‘danger to which we in this country and our Empire subject ourselves if we allow that method of propaganda [film] to be entirely in the hands of foreign countries’ (Royal Society of Arts, Journal, June 3 1927, 685).In August 1926 Sir Phillip Cunliffe-Lister, President of the Board of Trade, proposed in the House of Commons that ‘the whole question [of British films] should be discussed at the Imperial Conference’, after the Joint Trade Committee failed ‘to to find a solution to the British film problem’ (Bioscope, 5 August 1926).

On 5 August 1926 beneath an article entitled ‘British Industry in Hopeless Position’, there was a further article announcing ‘Three British Films in Three Days’. E. Gordon Craig, the managing director of New Era Films described this as ‘an epoch in the resuscitation of British production’ as the company announced that Nelson, Palaver, and Mons would be trade-shown on consecutive days in September. ‘Three British pictures in one week – three pictures which will convey the best of British ideals and sentiments’, wrote Bioscope (Bioscope, 5 August 1926, 19). The Times similarly discussed the release of Palaver within an article that began ‘the attempt to find an agreed scheme for the rehabilitation of the British film industry has failed’, as the press presented Palaver as part of a broader attempt to rehabilitate the British film industry (The Times, 31 August 1926, 10).

In its review of Palaver, Bioscope stated that ‘it is a welcome sight to see the Union Jack in a film of this type’, further noting that ‘the narrative is inspiring, showing, as it does, the heroic work of those young Englishmen, who seek danger and hardship in the outposts of the Empire’ (Bioscope, 23 September 1926, 37).  The film’s pressbook further promoted the ‘heroic’ work of the British within Nigeria – ‘of this colonising genius and skill in the handling of native races Nigeria is a shining example’ – and attempted to validate historically the actions within the film. ‘Here, as elsewhere’, the publicity stated, ‘men of our race have plunged into the Unknown, and set themselves to transform chaos into order and security. Battling against slavery, human sacrifice and cannibalism, against torture and devil worship, against famine and disease, they have worked steadily on, winning the land for the natives under the Imperial Crown’ (‘Palaver Pressbook’). Such writing characterised the publicity reports on the film. When the film – advertised as ‘a marvellous story of Empire conquest in Northern Nigeria’ – played at the Stoll Picture Theatre for three nights at the end of April 1927, the programme stated that ‘Northern Nigeria is not a nice country to have to colonise’ as ‘slavery, human sacrifice, cannibalism – particularly devil worship – have been the chief obstacles, but gradually chaos has yielded to order’ (Stoll Herald, 24 April, 1927, 5).

Palaver was produced by Geoffrey Barkas and photographed by Stanley Rodwell. The pair had previously worked together filming the Prince of Wales’ Tour of Africa in 1925 and, when working on Palaver during the following year, secured local assistance through the Nigerian government, who helped in providing transport and in ‘obtaining suitable pictures of native life’ (CO 323/985/23). Barkas, who would subsequently film material in Africa for Rhodes of Africa (1936) and King Solomon’s Mines (1937), wrote a two-part account of his experiences producing Palaver in Bioscope. He initially outlined the personnel involved in the six-month production, beginning with himself (‘running the show. Selecting my native cast from cannibal pagan tribes. Finally producing the film’) and including his ‘assistant’, and soon to be wife, Natalie Webb. Barkas explained his methods of story writing – ‘I made a point of meeting as many actual District Officers as possible’ – of finding suitable locations and in particular of casting. Barkas stated that ‘it was a laborious business for the whole thing [filming] was entirely outside their [the locals] comprehension’. He suggested that the locals were particularly reticent when gun shots were fired and noted ‘the possible danger of so many raw savages entering into the spirit of the thing [attacking the District Officer within the film] with too much abandon’ (Bioscope, 5 August 1926, 22). The language he uses – he quotes one local as saying ’”Master, you are wise and powerful. You are our father and mother. We believe everything you say”’ – largely echoes the rhetoric within the film and he concludes by commenting on the ‘blind savagery from which they [the Africans] are so slowly emerging’ (Bioscope, 12 August, 1926, 20).

Palaver played at the Marble Arch Pavilion in March 1927, and a letter from a member of the Crown Agents to the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies in July 1927 stated that Palaver, ‘as far as is known, is being booked extensively by the cinema theatres’. The letter suggested, in light of the commercial failure of the short instructional documentaries within British Instructional’s Empire Series, that Palaver ‘would appear to be the type of film which is most likely to appeal to cinema audiences in this country’ (CO 323/985.323). However, the film was not a great commercial success, although it did enjoy a life beyond its initial release. For example, it played for a week at the Imperial Institute in January 1930 as part of a free programme of films provided by the Empire Marketing Board (The Times, 14 December 1929, 8).

Works Cited

‘Look to the Imperial Conference’, Bioscope, 5 August 1926, 2.
‘Three British Films in Three Days’, Bioscope, 5 August 1926, 19.
‘The Joys of Filming in West Africa’, Bioscope, 5 August 1926, 22.
‘The Joys of Filming in West Africa (Part II)’, Bioscope, 12 August, 1926, 20.
‘Three Big British Productions’, Bioscope, 9 September 1926, 23.
‘Palaver’, Bioscope, 23 September 1926, 37-38.
Holbrook, Arthur R., Colonel Sir, KBE, MP, ‘British Films’, Royal Society of Arts Journal, 3 June 1927, 684-709.
‘Letter from the Crown Agents to the Under Secretary of State, Colonial Office’, dated 11 July 1927, accessed at National Archives, CO 323/985/23.
‘Palaver Pressbook’ available at the BFI.
‘Palaver’, Stoll Herald, 24 April 1927, 5.
‘The Film World: Many New British Pictures’, The Times, 31 August 1926, 10.
‘Palaver’, The Times, 8 March 1927, 14.
‘Films at the Imperial Institute’, The Times, 14 December 1929, 8. COPYRIGHT: Colonial Film Office of the Royal British Empire..

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Happy Easter!

He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.
 - Matthew 28: 6, Holy Bible (New King James Version). 

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. 
~ John 8:32 (King James Version)  

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Nigeria Commits to Delivering Safe Water, Basic Toilets and Hygiene to its People

Nigeria Commits to Delivering Safe Water, Basic Toilets and Hygiene to its People

LONDON, United Kingdom, 17 April 2014-/African Media Agency (AMA)/- A group of Sub-Saharan African leaders have pledged to work harder to reach 325 million people on the continent without safe water and 644 million without basic toilets.

Nigeria has committed to end open defecation and achieve universal access to water and sanitation by 2025.

Between 2014 and 2016, Nigeria will focus on increasing political prioritization and mobilization of financial and human resources for scaling up of successful models such as Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) towards realizing the overall vision of the sector. Within the framework of integrated WASH delivery, emphasis will be on prioritizing provision of services to ensure that all un-served population and vulnerable groups are reached; and systems put in place to ensure sustainability. This is in-line with national priorities and the principles of inclusiveness on provision of basic services towards improving the health and socio-economic wellbeing of the people.

The pledges came as representatives of more than 50 governments gathered in Washington, DC on Friday, 11 April for the Sanitation and Water for All High Level Meeting, opened by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon opened the 11 April meeting with warnings that the crisis in water and sanitation will hold back efforts to eradicate poverty.

“Achieving sanitation and water for all may not be cost-free – but it will set people free. Access to sanitation and water means a child free of disease, a woman free of the back-breaking chore to fetch water, a girl free to attend school without fear, a village free of cholera, and a world of greater equality and dignity for all,” he said.

WaterAid, a founding partner in the Sanitation and Water for All partnership, welcomed the commitments.

“WaterAid welcomes the pledges African governments have made at the High Level Meeting to provide safe water and basic toilets. What is crucial now will be action to deliver those promises. One thousand children in Sub-Saharan Africa die every day from this health crisis. Safe water, basic toilets and proper hand-washing with soap can save those lives,” said Barbara Frost, WaterAid Chief Executive.

New data from the World Health Organisation and UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme (JMP) on Water Supply and Sanitation show the massive and growing inequalities in access to safe water and toilets around the world: 748 million globally without safe water and 2.5 billion without proper sanitation. In Sub-Saharan Africa, there remain 325 million without safe water and 644 million without basic sanitation.

Of the 1 billion people around the world still practicing open defecation, 227 million are in Sub-Saharan Africa; 9 in 10 of them live in rural areas.

Safe water, basic sanitation and hygiene can prevent illness and make a community healthier and more productive. They can also prevent infant and child mortality, improve rates of education, and prevent the vulnerability that comes when women and girls tasked with fetching water must walk long distances to do so, or when they do not have a safe place to relieve themselves.

“This crisis has had a devastating impact on Sub-Saharan Africa’s economy, development, and families. But sanitation is now recognised as essential in ending extreme poverty. Our challenge is to reach our poorest and most excluded and ensure that everyone’s right to water and sanitation is met in our lifetime. These pledges from African governments are a big step towards realising a healthier and more prosperous future for our continent,” said Nelson Gomonda, pan-African programme manager for WaterAid.

In total, government ministers from 44 developing countries made 265 commitments to increase access to water and sanitation, including promises to address massive inequalities in access,  including between urban and rural residents, rich and poor, and among ethnic groups and regions.

WaterAid has made its own commitments toward a vision of reaching everyone, everywhere by 2030 with safe water and sanitation, as a founding partner in the Sanitation and Water for All Partnership of more than 90 country governments, donors, civil society organisations and other development partners.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of WaterAid.

For more information or to arrange interviews please contact:

Carolynne Wheeler, Media Officer, +44 (0)7903 117715, carolynnewheeler@wateraid.org;

HratcheKoundarjian, News Manager, +44 (0)207 793 4909, hratchekoundarjian@wateraid.org

The official Nigerian commitments can be found here: http://bit.ly/1tcJ0Fh

Download pictures: http://assetbank.wateraid.org/assetbank-wateraid/images/assetbox/dbc443d8-e5bb-4058-8618-e0a777f4abc7/assetbox.html

Notes to Editors

WaterAid’s vision is of a world where everyone has access to safe water and sanitation.  The international organisation works in 26 countries across Africa, Asia, Central America and the Pacific Region to transform lives by improving access to safe water, hygiene and sanitation in some of the world’s poorest communities.  Since 1981, WaterAid has reached 19.2 million people with safe water and, since 2004, 15.1 million people with sanitation.  For more information, visit www.wateraid.org, follow @wateraidUK on Twitter or visit us on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/wateraid

Source

WaterAid

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Zenith International Film Festival: Coming Soon!

Zenith International Film Festival is an annual independent film festival for the promotion of the best in motion picture, from script to screen; where the most ambitious filmmakers will meet the most ambitious film distributors from all over the world. Participation is strictly by application and competition is only by official selection and only 20 films will be selected by the international jury.
The inaugural annual Zenith International Film Festival will be launched in Lagos before the end of 2014. We may not be the first and we may not be the biggest, but our mission is to be among the best international film festivals in the world.
More details will be announced later.

For inquiries, contact: Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima
Email: publisher@nigeriansreport.com.

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How Muslims in Northern Nigeria Created their Frankenstein's Monster Boko Haram

How Muslims in Northern Nigeria Created their Frankenstein's Monster Boko Haram

Frankenstein is an all time classic gothic novel of British Author Mary Shelley and has been adapted for both theater and motion picture and also simplified for children’s literature and very popular among English speaking communities all over the world since the publication in 1818. And since Victor Frankenstein’s monster got out of control and turned against him, many of such similar tragic occurrences have become analogies of the creature.

Northern Nigeria is under the siege of the blood thirsty Islamic terrorist cult the Congregation of the People of Tradition for Proselytism and Jihad (Arabic: جماعة اهل السنة للدعوة والجهاد‎ Jamāʻat Ahl as-Sunnah lid-daʻwa wal-Jihād) popularly known as Boko Haram founded by the late Mohammed Yusuf in 2002 and has attacked and killed over 13, 000 people so far. The cult is now led by Abubakar Shekau and linked to other jihadist groups outside Nigeria such as the Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). But the Boko Haram is committing horrifying atrocities that even the dreaded Harakat al-Shabaab al-Mujahideen of Somalia and Al- Qaeda have not committed by massacring innocent school children, kidnapping and Molesting school girls and older women in the Sharia states of northern Nigeria and the state of emergency declared in those states has failed to stop the insurgents who recently killed over 100 people with a car bomb at the Nyanya Motor Park in Abuja early morning of Monday April 14, 2014 and then the following day kidnapped 200 pupils at a Girls Secondary School in Chibok, a border town between Borno and Adamawa States and the Joint Task Force (JTF) of the Nigerian Armed Forces allowed them to escape without stopping them with military helicopters or planes.

These horrifying and terrifying atrocities have left millions of Nigerians petrified and wondering how Nigeria degenerated to this hellish state. But most of us forget that Muslims in northern Nigeria created their Frankenstein's monster Boko Haram over the years whilst the Nigerian government was watching and did nothing to stop it.

Have we forgotten how many innocent Igbos and non-Muslims who were attacked and murdered by Muslims in different incidents at many parts of northern Nigeria and these murderers were never prosecuted and in fact, many of them were later sponsored on pilgrimages to Mecca for their Hajj by the Nigerian government with public funds from our oil money.

Have we forgotten the Igbo man who was mobbed and beheaded by Muslims, because they alleged that his wife insulted their prophet by using pages from a discarded Koran to wipe the anus of their child? They paraded the severed head on their streets whilst their Imams, Emirs and Sultans nodded in approval and the murderers were never arrested or prosecuted.
What of the innocent female Christian school teacher who was invigilating an examination at a secondary school in Gombe state when she was mobbed and lynched by Muslim secondary school pupils accusing her of desecrating the Koran , reported by the BBC News on Wednesday, 21 March 2007, 19:44 GMT.
.http://www.huliq.com/16016/nigeria-muslim-pupils-murder-female-christian-teacher-in-northern-nigeria

The list of the heinous crimes committed by Muslims in northern Nigeria is too long to mention all the cases here. But lest we forget, that on Wednesday, September 12, 2001, a day after the horrifying four coordinated terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda on the United States in New York City and the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area on Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Muslims in northern Nigeria took to the streets and celebrated their victory over the superpower USA; and many of them marched with posters of Osama bin Laden; a Muslim film crew made a movie “Ibro Usama”, in which Osama bin Laden was mimed by Rabilu Musa, a popular comedian and also stickers and posters of Osama bin Laden were displayed all over northern Nigeria, and 'Osama' became the most popular name for newborn sons.
See 9/11 in Nigeria: Translating Local into Global Conflicts by Johannes Harnischfeger
http://www.afrikanistik-aegyptologie-online.de/archiv/2012/3292/

When all these abnormal and demonic religious rituals were going on, all the Muslims in Nigeria were still smiling, clinking glasses and sipping tea and wine, because the victims were non-Muslims until their Frankenstein's monster metamorphosed into Boko Haram and then turned against them. Now they are scampering from pillar to post and are at their wits end on how to escape from their worst fears as the nightmares are getting worse before their very eyes day by day. And I am afraid that the worst is yet to come.
Their Frankenstein's Monster Boko Haram is out of control.


~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, a prize winning Nigerian writer and author of In the House of Dogs, Bye, Bye Mugabe, Nollywood Mirror and other books.

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British Museum To Host VIP Premiere of "Invasion 1897" in August

 Lancelot Imasuen has confirmed that the British Museum will host the VIP Premiere of his Centenary epic “Invasion 1897” on August 16, 2014 in London, with the Art Exhibition of the famous Benin bronze artworks in the British Museum where the famous Iyoba Bronze Head of Idia, the first Queen Mother of Benin Kingdom (from the 16th century) is kept with hundreds of the over 2, 500 Benin bronze art works looted from the palace of Oba Ovonramwen Nogbaisi (1888–1897), during the British Punitive Expedition in 1897.

“Invasion 1897” has been endorsed by the Benin monarch, Oba Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolopolo Erediauwa 1, Crown Prince Eheneden Erediauwa, Edaiken N'Uselu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Italy and of the Benin Royal Dynasty Trust, Sir. Chief (DR) Gabriel Osawaru Igbinedion, the Esama of the Benin Kingdom, Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilization (CBAAC) and the Obong of Calabar, HRH Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi-Otu V who recently welcomed the Crown Prince and his royal entourage of prominent Benin chiefs, Lancelot Imasuen and others to his palace in Calabar and they visited the last home of Oba Ovonramwen where he died in 1914 whilst on exile in Calabar, the first Nigerian capital city as the seat of Government of the Niger Coast Protectorate, Southern Protectorate and Oil River Protectorate during British colonial rule.

Oba Ovonramwen and his family in Calarbar.


The Crown Prince and his Benin Royal Dynasty Trust also requested from the Obong of Calabar a special dance troupe to accompany him to the United States, where he will be a Special Guest Speaker at this year’s edition of the annual Arts and Culture Expo/Award, holding in Atlanta from May 2-3, which will showcase Nigeria's cultural exhibitions, hospitality and with a Tourism Investment Symposium. The dance troupe is expected to present a cultural display to celebrate the culture of the community that hosted Oba Ovonramwen in Calabar, Cross River state.

Lancelot Imasuen on location in London during the making of "Invasion 1897" in 2013.

The VIP premiere at the British Museum will be followed by the public premiere at the Odeon Cinema in London with a road show on the highlights of the historical film.

"Invasion 1897" will also premiere in Brasilia, during the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, in Toronto, Canada and in over 30 other countries and including a nationwide school tour of over 25 polytechnics and universities in Nigeria.

§"Invasion 1897" has an international cast, including famous British actors Garett  Mort, Rudolph Walker, Charles "Chucky" Venn, Annika Álofti, Hannah Raehse-Felstead, Tim Robinson, Rob Spackman, Patrick Thompson and Keith Davinson and the top Nigerian actors include Segun Arinze, Charles Inojie, Nosa Ehimwen, Paul Obazele, Leo Mezie, Mike Omoriegbe as Oba Ovonrawmen, Idiata Otiagbe and the late Justus Esiri in a cameo role. 

WELLS ENTERTAINMENT, FOR THE BEST FILM PRODUCTION EQUIPMENT AND ACCESSORIES YOU NEED TO MAKE THE BEST MOVIES AND MUSIC VIDEOS.

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Nigeria is Largest Recipient of Foreign Direct Investment in Africa

 Nigeria is the largest African economy and that is a fact and established as Africa's Economic Powerhouse.

Nigeria’s new economic position validates the hard work that people across Nigerian society continue to put into an economy that is the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in Africa.

According to UNCTAD, in 2011 Nigeria generated the fourth highest return on foreign direct investment globally. On avergae foreign investors made a 36% return on their investment.

Foreign investors and their local partners are making windfall profits out of the Nigerian economy.

Based upon new GDP calculations, current GDP per capita is around $2.938, which means that the average Nigerian is almost twice as well off as the average Indian, roughly equal to the average Moroccan, slightly less well off than a Swazi citizen and almost two and a half times worse off than an average South African.

Above all, Nigeria’s economic supremacy represents a large responsibility for the government. Not only in spearheading broad-based national development, by improving basic infrastructure. But also in showing economic leadership for the African continent as a whole.

To this end, the Nigerian government has started to make a concerted effort to boost domestic power generation capacity and more than doubled power generated in the space of 8 months, according to the Nigerian ministry of power.

Improving transportation links across the country is also another key ingredient in converting wealth into development.

Source: http://thinksecurityafrica.org/galleries/nigeria-africas-economic-powerhouse/

Photo Gallery: NIGERIA, Africa's Economic Powerhouse

Nigeria's new status as Africa's largest economy puts the spotlight on Nigeria as a key engine for regional progress. The photo gallery assesses the relationship between the economy and security in Nigeria, and assesses how this impacts security in Africa as well.

LONDON, April 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest photogallery on the Nigerian economy from Think Security Africa, profiles Nigeria's economy and assesses the inter-relationship between economic issues and security in Nigeria. Furthermore, Nigeria's status as the leading economy in Africa highlights the role that Nigeria will play in boosting economic and social security in Africa. The photogallery assesses key economic data provided by UNCTAD relating to Nigeria, and explains that the Nigerian economy continues to be the single largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment in Africa, and in 2011 it was the economy yielding the fourth highest return on FDI globally.

Despite this good news, the vast majority of Nigerians are still waiting to benefit from the profitability of Nigeria's economy. For this reason economic issues pose a key challenge for security in Nigeria. In 2013 Nigeria was ranked 153 (out of 186) on the UNDP's Human Development Index. The photogallery looks at the day-to-day impact of infrastructure challenges for the majority of Nigerians, focusing on challenges with electricity and basic infrastructure. It also explains how the Nigerian government is responding to these challenges.

"There is no definitive way to establish the relationship between security and development, however it is not possible to ignore the fact that the most persistent threats to security in Nigeria are occurring in the least developed regions of the country," says Adunola Abiola, founder of Think Security Africa.
Nigeria's terrorism challenges have become regionalized, for this reason translating economic power into national development is not only important for security in Nigeria, it is also important for security in Africa as a whole.

The gallery can be viewed at: http://www.thinksecurityafrica.org/galleries/nigeria-africas-economic-powerhouse.

Think Security Africa (TSA) is an independent think tank specializing in security in Africa. The core mission of TSA is to improve understanding of security in Africa, and engage in objective research into the causes and potential solutions to insecurity across Africa. TSA's resources are used by governments, inter-governmental organizations, journalists and business to assist with their Africa-focused missions.

SOURCE Think Security Africa
CONTACT: Joel Tavon, Think Security Africa, +44 203 287 0008

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100 Citizen Journalists Mobilized for Community Health in the Niger Delta

 Knight International Journalism Fellows Babatunde Akpeji and Cece Fadope with Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, aka "Orikinla Osinachi", Publisher/Editor of Nigerians Report Online, Nollywood Mirror, Nollywood Digital and other publications in print and electronic media.

Over 100 citizen journalists are being trained to use mobile phones to report on vital health issues affecting people in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria.

The project was launched by Babatunde Akpeji, a Knight International Journalism Fellow with the International Center for Journalists in Washington, D.C and  funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the U.S. Embassy in Nigeria, and is affiliated with the African Health Journalists Association, a PanAfrican organization based in Lagos, Nigeria.

 Cece Fadope talking to the participants in one of the training sessions.

 A participant receiving a Samsung Galaxy S5 from Declan Okpalaeke.

Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima, aka "Orikinla Osinachi", Nigeria's most powerful Citizen Journalist and founder of Citizen Journalists Association of Nigeria (CJAN) joined the citizen journalists in their last training workshop of the Vital Voices for Health program, which is now part of the HALA Nigeria Project on  Saturday, March 1, 2014 at the Aldgate Congress Resort Hotel, Abacha Road, GRA in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

A participant receiving a Samsung Galaxy S5 from Cece Fadope.

The training was organized by Mr. Babatunde Akpeji. Babatunde Akpeji, a Knight International Journalism Fellow who is building a network of citizen journalists to cover health in Nigeria’s Delta region, an area rich in resources but wracked by severe poverty. The citizen journalists use mobile phones to send information to media organizations in Lagos and Abuja, ensuring better coverage of health problems related to poverty and environmental concerns. Through this program, major media organizations will greatly expand the amount of information they bring to the public about the Niger Delta, and marginalized communities will gain a voice in the media. During his fellowship, Babatunde also mentors health journalists in the Nigerian capital Abuja. These include journalists at Daily Trust, the most prominent newspaper in Northern Nigeria, where a previous Knight Fellow, Sunday Dare, established a weekly health section.

The following are the names of the citizen journalists who have benefited from the training so far:
 
1.  Tivie Gideon
2.  Charles Ukorebi
3.  Assim - Ita Bernedette
4.  Uche Doris Ogadinma
5.  Jona Gbemre
6.  Odey Sunday
7.  Efanga Alali
8.  Keziah Clifford
9.  Akiri Murphy
10. Christabel Ene
11. Blessing Orijos
12. Prince Barbs Pawuru
13. Uba Ibegwura
14. Christopher Clifford
15. Akpotu Monday Ziworitin
16. Tontiemotei Yeiyei
17. Fineface Dumnamene
18. Elder Dandy Mgbenwa
19. Ikechukwu Cyprian Ahaka
20. Barigha Inango Mercy
21. Letam Noble Bere
22. Williams I. Bitere
23. Damian Gbogbara
24. Grace George
25. Esther Ndeesor
26. Ifedishu Marian
27. Maclean Ayebakuro
28. Leraka Nuka Martins
29. Memesi Ogaga
30. Nduka Agunyai
31. Needom Emmanuel
32. Nornubari Kote
33. Osimini Eugene
34. Owolo Santus
35. Santus Nubari Gift
36. Ogori Michael
37. Walter Destiny Biolagha
38. Christopher Keni Ogbudu
39. Jack Jackson
40. Eso Oyenike Lenient
41. Yahaya Otaru Abdullahi
42. Imonima Oghenero Goddey
43. Olajumoke Aderonke Moradeyo
44. Adeuga Adedunmola
45. Akhihiero Ojeisemi
46. Oluwayemisi Akindejoye
47. Isijola Kikelomo
48. Daniel Edobor
49. Tietie Osagie
50. Hayble Morrison
51. Odofin David O.
52. Olorunfunmi Oludayo Samson
53. Emefiele Efom Miriam
54. Isabor Dorcas
55. Owolabi Bunmi
56. Falokun Success Desayo
57. Alasa Zekeri Ikelebe
58. Aiyede Femi Thomas
59. Olakoyenikan Oluwaseun

  

“Hala Nigeria: Many Voices, Better Lives,” an unprecedented project that brings together five Knight International Journalism Fellows to pool their expertise, will increase public engagement and amplify citizen voices in health news in Africa’s most populous country.

The project, which means “Speak Out, Nigeria,” is using new digital tools to spur citizen engagement and promote data-driven reporting to take advantage of Nigeria’s new open data movement. It is also organizing public events around key health issues and engaging citizen journalists to expand coverage into neglected regions.

The fellows are collaborating with a wide range of partners, including media organizations, academic institutions and health experts. Partners include:

• Code4Nigeria, an open data initiative that connects government, media and civil society to ensure greater transparency and accountability by making official data available to the public.

• Hacks/Hackers Lagos, a group of journalists and technologists who build and adapt tools that newsrooms can use to increase transparency and accountability. It will offer data boot camps and hackathons.

• African Health Journalists Association (AHJA), a Pan-African network of journalists who cover health problems, policies and services. AHJA provides resources and training opportunities for health journalists across the continent.

Four members of the team are based in Nigeria:

Declan Okpalaeke, a veteran health journalist and trainer who is co-founder and director of AHJA. He serves as the lead editorial strategist and media trainer for Hala Nigeria. He will supervise a nationwide health story contest that will reward the best stories that engage the public. The top prize: Technology fellows will be embedded in the winning newsrooms to train journalists to use the latest digital and data tools.

Oluseun Onigbinde, the project’s lead innovator. He is creating and adapting digital tools to enhance public engagement. Onigbinde also is leading training workshops to ensure that journalists make the best use of new tools and resources. He is also linking journalists to technologists to promote ongoing collaborations that result in innovative media coverage of health problems and services.

Cece Fadope, a media consultant with extensive expertise in building partnerships and managing projects. She is leading a “listening campaign” to survey citizens, journalists and civil society organizations about their health priorities, enabling the project to focus on the issues that matter most to Nigerians. She also is organizing public events such as town hall meetings in collaboration with media organizations and other partners.

Babatunde Akpeji, a multimedia journalist who has built a vibrant citizen journalist network in the Niger Delta. He will expand the network, give its members new tools to engage other citizens, and connect their work to the broader Hala project.

The Fellows work in close collaboration with Knight International Journalism Fellow Justin Arenstein, who is based in South Africa and serves as chief digital strategist for ICFJ and for the African Media Initiative, based in Kenya. Arenstein was instrumental in launching Code4Africa in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa, and guided the creation of Hacks/Hackers chapters in 13 African countries. He has also launched the African News Innovation Challenge, a contest that provided funding for projects across the continent that are changing the way media organizations use data, engage citizens, tell stories and sustain themselves financially. The Knight Fellows working on the Hala Nigeria project are funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

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