Nigeria has acquired a terrible worldwide reputation for corruption and financial crimes, including 419 scams. In this article, the BBC profiles Nuhu Ribadu, who was appointed to run the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which was set up three years ago. He memorably told a reporter that his ambition was to bring the rich and the powerful to justice.

The public hearing on the Freedom of Information Bill scheduled to take place at the Senate yesterday, March 22, has been postponed to April 12, 2005.  The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information, Senator Tawar Wada, announced to scores of disappointed stakeholders that the public hearing had to be postponed due to the crisis that had engulfed the Senate over allegations that some members of the National Assembly had received a N55 million bribe from the now dismissed Minister of Education, Professor Fabian Osuji, to ensure the passage of the Ministry's budget for 2005.

"Glorified secondary schools" is the derisive term coined by Nigerians to describe their country's universities. Classrooms are overcrowded, with many students sitting on the floor during lectures. Libraries lack books, and laboratories are ill-equipped to conduct experiments. "It is not what it used to be in terms of facilities, in terms of teaching aids, in terms of infrastructures. It certainly has deteriorated quite considerably," says Bola Fajemirokun, an environmental activist who graduated from the University of Lagos 20 years ago.

Measles killed more than 500 children between January and mid-March in Nigeria, Africa's most populous country, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Sunday. An overwhelming majority of the 561 deaths occurred in Nigeria’s northern region, where doctors say people are wary of vaccinations largely for religious reasons. And of the 23,575 cases recorded so far this year, WHO said more than 90 percent of the total were in the north.

Nigeria’s education minister has been detained for questioning on suspicion he bribed parliamentarians to approve his annual budget, a senior official at the country’s anti-graft agency told IRIN on Monday. Education Minister Fabian Osuji was arrested last Thursday and questioned for three days before his release on Saturday by investigators of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), said the official, who asked to remain anonymous.

Amnesty International fears that a military operation by the Joint Task Force Operation Restore Hope in the town of Odioma, Bayelsa State in the Niger Delta has resulted in the death of at least 15 civilians, the rape of at least two women, injuries to many people and the razing of the majority of houses in the town, the organization warned. Amnesty International has been informed that soldiers of the Joint Task Force, comprised of army and navy units, were called in to Odioma by the State authorities on 19 February to reduce tension between communities and to seek out and arrest youths who allegedly killed 12 community members, including four councillors, earlier in February.

The purpose of this four-year contract position is to provide overall strategic leadership and management in implementing the 2005-2009 PPFN strategic plan: ensuring congruence between the country situation and the plan; facilitating linkages and contacts with government, IPPF, donors, and partners for resources to SRH and PPFN; and supporting PPFN governance and management organs at national and regional levels.

The Nigeria chapter of Teachers Without Borders is glad to announce the 2005 Conference Of Religious Educators & Leaders (COREL) at the Azi Nyako Youth Development Centre, Dadin Kowa, Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria from April 1 - 2, 2005. The Conference, which shall be a special " Community Gathering for Teaching and Learning Sessions", shall focus on "Building a Culture of Peace in Nigeria, Creation of Educational Programs for Religious Harmony, Religion's Role in HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care as well as the Role of Religious Educators and Leaders in National Rebirth". We are still receiving applications for persons interested in participating as well as calling for scholarly papers for presentation at the conference in any of the subject areas in the panel sessions. The panel sessions shall cover the following areas: Culture of Peace; Religious Education in Nigeria; HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care for PLWHA; Religion and Politics in Nigeria.

Partners for Development seeks a Country Program Director to lead its dynamic and expanding Nigeria program. The Country Program Director's specific duties include overseeing ongoing program activities; program development, new business prospecting, and proposal preparation for Nigeria and other African countries; financial management; and developing and strengthening management systems. The successful candidate will have an MA or MS with an international development focus and a minimum of five years of field management experience in Africa, preferably in public health, and local capacity-building.

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) is pleased to announce a programme which it is hosting in Nigeria on 21 and 22 March, 2005 in collaboration with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the theme of Reforming the Nigerian Higher Education System.

The Senate Committee on Information is planning to hold a one-day public hearing on the Freedom of Information Bill on March 15 to seek public input into the proposed law, before presenting a final text to the full house. The Committee's Chairman, Senator Tawar Wada, announced the date Wednesday when its members met with a delegation of the Freedom of Information Coalition.

One issue that has feverishly gripped the heart of the local and international media reports and commentaries on the political developments in Nigeria, in the past few weeks, is the Obasanjo regime's planned "National Political Reform Conference", otherwise known as "National Dialogue". The National Dialogue commenced last Monday, February 21. Although, the formal agenda for the conference was not released – even a few days prior to its commencement – government officials at the presidency indicated what would be discussed at the National Dialogue – which has been proposed over the last three months – when the sitting started in Abuja, Nigeria's capital city. Issues like fiscal policies, revenue allocation, federalism, types of political system at the centre and in the states, etc., are to be discussed. However, a no-go area for discussion is on the unity of Nigeria, which the government says is not negotiable. Similarly, the economic "reforms" of the government that are presently being carried out at the dictates of imperialism – as represented in the IMF and World Bank economic reform agenda for Nigeria – were not on the agenda. As far as the regime is concerned, the devastating on-going anti- worker and anti-poor reforms of the economy are a fait accompli.

Nigerian Health Minister Eyitayo Lambo on Wednesday announced that the government plans to expand its antiretroviral drug program to provide low-cost drugs to 100,000 HIV-positive people by the end of this year, Reuters reports. Nigeria in 2002 launched a program to provide antiretroviral drugs to HIV-positive people in the nation at a cost of about $7 per person per month.

The Freedom of Information Bill scaled a major hurdle this week at the Senate as it sailed through the second reading with strong support from most senators.  The Senate, which concluded debates on the Bill, passed it for the second reading and referred it to the Senate Committee on Information to conduct a more detailed examination of the Bill and report back to the full house in three weeks. Unlike last Thursday’s proceedings where sharp differences characterized the comments on the Bill, most of the senators who spoke during today’s discussions described it as a Bill whose time has come and stressed that it must be passed by the Senate.

This summary has been prepared for policy analysts working for Oxfam, international, continental and regional networks and allies to inform us on the key deliberations and decisions of the most important decision-making organ of the African Union. It captures key decisions, upcoming dates and opportunities for continental policy development.

The sequence of the Summits is as follows; one week of intense meetings starting with the Permanent Representatives Council (Addis based Ambassadors), Council of Ministers (National Ministers) and the Assembly itself (Heads of States). While the Assembly is the supreme decision making body, the discussions from Ambassador level are important to understand the issues being prioritized and deliberated.

The first briefing on health and HIV/AIDS is reproduced below. The rest of the briefings, including those on food security, refugees, trade and debt, are available through the link below.

1. Health and HIV/AIDS

Permanent Representatives Committee
Ninth Ordinary Session
PRC/Rpt (1X)

On HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and other related infectious diseases, the PRC observed;

The need for Africa to take the lead in Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) negotiations to promote access to affordable generic drugs - Africa has to plan properly for dialogue at TRIPs negotiations and other fora;

Assembly of the Africa Union
Fourth Ordinary Session
Decisions and Declarations

Assembly/ AU /Dec. 55 (1V)

CALLS UPON the international community, especially the rich industrialized countries,
to fully fund the Global Fund in line with previous commitments made in this regard, and taking into account the magnitude of the health emergency presented by these diseases in Africa;

URGES Member States to:
Take the lead in TRIPs negotiations and in implementing measures identified for promoting access to affordable generic drugs;
Ensure that every child receives polio immunization in 2005;
Prepare inter-ministerial costed development and deployment plans to address the Human Resources for Health crisis;
Prepare health literacy strategies to achieve an energized continent-wide health promotion endeavour;

URGES Member States to intensify efforts towards more effective and well-coordinated implementation of national programmes to promote health systems development as well as improve access to prevention, treatment, care and support; along the “Three ones initiative”; the “3 by 5 Strategy” and Global “Child Survival Partnership”;

RESOLVES to take all the necessary measures to produce with the support of the international community, quality generic drugs in Africa, supporting industrial development and making full use of the flexibility in international trade law and; REQUESTS the AU Commission within the framework of NEPAD to lead the development of a Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Plan for Africa;

CALLS UPON the International Community to match the US$19 billion gap in health financing which the WHO has determined that Africa is not in a position to self finance.

President Olusegun Obasanjo opened a conference to draft changes to the constitution on Monday with a warning that delegates should not question the fundamental unity of Nigeria. “The National Political and Reform Conference is not designed to dismember or disintegrate Nigeria,” Obasanjo told the 400 delegates assembled in the federal capital Abuja. Obasanjo is a retired army general who fought as a military officer against the attempt by the Igbo people of southeastern Nigeria to form the breakaway state of Biafra in the 1967-1970 civil war.

The Swiss supreme court last Wednesday ordered the handover to Nigeria of hundreds of millions of dollars tied to the African nation's late dictator General Sani Abacha. A week after rejecting attempts by Abacha's family and associates to halt the return of US$458 million, the Federal Tribunal gave Swiss authorities a green light to give the money back to Nigeria.

The latest number of ratifications to the Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa stands at ten, following intensive campaigning at the Fourth Ordinary Summit of the African Union (AU) that took place between 24-31 January in Abuja, Nigeria.

Members of a coalition of civil society organisations operating under the banner of Solidarity for African Women's Rights (SOAWR) worked during the summit to accelerate the ratification of the Protocol by African governments.

As part of their campaigning work, SOAWR representatives handed out red cards to ministers of those countries who have not signed or ratified the protocol. Ministers of those countries who have signed the Protocol but not ratified received yellow cards, while those countries who had signed and ratified the Protocol received a congratulatory green card.

Sparked to action by having received a yellow card (signed, but not ratified), Senegal sought to correct the record in a meeting of 51 African ministers by noting that they should have been awarded a green card. Senegal had erroneously submitted their ratification to the AU by fax, but this had been rejected. Senegal's President Wade later arrived in Abuja with the original instrument of ratification.

Following the summit, The Comoros, Libya, Rwanda, Namibia, Lesotho, South Africa, Nigeria, Senegal, Djibouti and Mali had ratified the protocol. A further two countries, Benin and Guinea, are in the process of ratification, while 24 other African countries have signed. Once 15 countries have ratified the Protocol it will come into force and the process of domesticating the provisions of the Protocol in national law will begin. The Protocol offers significant protection to the rights of women in Africa.

At the AU meeting, Winnie Byanyima, gender director in the office of the AU chairperson, said: "We must remember that rights are not given, they are claimed. I would like to thank the 19 women's organisations calling on the Heads of States to ratify the Protocol and deposit their instruments of ratification. Thanks to the efforts of your campaigns, we will acquire the number that we require. You should note that the Protocol stands apart from the tradition of most African instruments that are not ratified at such speed. We plan to work with you in future to promote women's rights."

A controversial national conference to discuss political reform in Nigeria will start next Monday, despite fierce criticism, the president has said. The National Political Conference could lead to constitutional changes, but parliament refuses to fund the project. The conference is being boycotted by the opposition, which says it has too few powers. Civic and human rights groups have long demanded the chance to debate relations between Nigeria's many ethnic groups.

Harris Corp.'s work in Nigeria has helped the West African nation boost its wireless coverage 87 percent in less than a year and increased the value of contracts related to the project to more than $65 million. The Melbourne-based communications and electronics manufacturer announced Tuesday it has linked 120 communities across thousands of miles to create a network for MTN Nigeria, the region's largest cellular operator. For the next phase of the project, Harris technicians will travel to the more far-flung provinces and smaller villages, giving some access to wireless voice and data services for the first time.