NigComSat: Nigeria’s Satellite Company Still Not Profitable 14 Years After Launch

When the Nigerian Communication Satellite company, NigComSat, was incorporated in 2006, the government had ambitious plans to make it world-class. The country’s excitement overflowed the following year with the launch of Sub-Saharan Africa’s first geostationary communication satellite. By April, it will be 14 years since the journey started, but NigComSat’s scorecard remains unsatisfactory. Domiciled under the Federal …

Nigeria’s Deadly History Of Electoral Violence In Five Charts

Ever since it gained independence, Nigeria’s electoral processes have been rattled by all forms of violence. The patterns remain strong as the country prepares to hold another round of elections next year. Nearly all of Nigeria’s general elections since independence have been tainted with the brush strokes of violence.  The outrage that trailed the first election conducted …

Banking Made Easy … But Not For People With Disabilities In West Africa

For a lot of bank users, accessing financial services has never been smoother. But persons with disabilities in Nigeria and Ghana continue to be left out, no thanks to barriers in buildings, behaviours, and policies. Ibrahim Omotosho, 39, drove into a bank in Abeokuta, Southwest Nigeria, in July 2020 to pick up his debit card. …

Keeping Up With The Chibok Girls: Chasing Dreams, Battling Discrimination, Dropping Out

Two hundred and seventy-six girls were kidnapped. Among them, over 100 are still missing. But, also, well over a hundred either escaped or were released by their captors. How are they faring? Over the course of two days, nine girls converge in a tiny hotel room in Yola. As a group, they are some of …

Chinese Expats In Nigeria Facing Increased Security Risks. What’s The Big Picture?

In the past decade, close to 50 Chinese nationals in Nigeria have either been killed or kidnapped. Considering China is one of Africa’s biggest investors, does Nigeria stand to lose if this trend continues? Chinese manufacturing investment in Africa is said to be the continent’s best hope “to industrialise in this generation”. But, in Nigeria, rising insecurity …

Russia Claims U.S. Is Making Bioweapons In Nigeria. True?

One of the reasons given by Russia to justify its invasion of Ukraine is that it is trying to prevent the development of biological weapons by the United States. Somehow, Nigeria has now found its name in this web of controversy. Key takeaways: The laboratories pictured in the graphic shared by the Russian government are …

Nigeria Has Not Released Crime Statistics In Four Years. Why?

While the police has frameworks in place including approved funding to gather data, the federal statistical agency says it has not been cooperative. The last time Nigeria released a crime statistics report was June 2018 and experts say this is costly for a country wrestling with insecurity across various fronts. The federal agency in charge …

Poor Treatment Of Young Africans Living With HIV Threatens Global Eradication Plans

Young people living with HIV in West and Central Africa say they still face abuse, discrimination, and disappointing healthcare services. This reality, in turn, makes ending the epidemic as a public health threat in the next decade a lot more difficult. E.L. found out she was HIV positive eight years ago. When her husband cautioned …

16 Days In Northwest Nigeria: Excerpts From A Conflict Reporter’s Diary

Between May 31 and June 16, 2021, this journalist visited different communities in Sokoto, Zamfara, and Katsina to document how rising insecurity was affecting people’s lives. Here he gives a glimpse into his journal. The day is Sunday, May 30, 2021. I’ll be going to the field again. And this time to another part of …

The Anatomy Of A Terror Attack In Northwest Nigeria

Reconstructing a typical terrorist attack based on interviews with dozens of victims across three states in the region. It all started 11 years ago, or six, or maybe more recently — depending on what community you are from and how soon they got to you. Before that, you had not grown accustomed to the explosive …