Nigeria

Over a month ago, news of the unspeakable abduction of over a hundred girls in Chibok, a small town in Borno State, which is in the northern part of Nigeria, hit the world. As events unraveled, that figure increased to 276, as reported by the mainstream media.

'I will sell your girls in the market,' Abubakar Shekau

Dear President Goodluck Jonathan,

Greetings of Peace!

A conference on the security concerns of the most populous state in Africa was not held on the continent but in France, a former colonial power in the region.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Nigeria is remarkably diverse. Whether you consider, ethnicity, religion or culture, you will find such incredible diversity that makes you wonder how this collection of peoples could possibly have lived together for a century.

Mallam Danjuma Suleiman, 26, works for the China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) AK Railway Project in Jere, Kaduna South. The project, worth an estimated $874 million, is financed under the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme.

Kenyans are without this maddening drive and take things at their own pace; it can be very riling for an outsider or a newcomer and it can also very interesting for the social observer.

Nigeria’s president, Goodluck Jonathan, will on Monday, 17 March, 2014, inaugurate the 494-member National Conference whose task is to redefine “the way forward for our nation”. The initial antipathy to the conference, it seems, has given way to cautious optimism.

As a Nigerian, I am keenly aware of the incessant women-focused challenges facing the country and how unfortunately this impacts on women’s rights, which is why this year’s theme on International Women’s Day could not be more apt.