Journalists, filmmakers, content creators and others interested in receiving funding support of up to $30,000 have been asked to partake in the Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund created by a group known as Africa No Filter.

A statement issued by the organisation disclosed that the money would be given to emerging artists and storytellers, whose work shines a light on entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship in Africa.

It was stated that the Tony Elumelu Storytellers Fund is a standalone initiative and extension of his commitment to catalysing a redefined African success story, powered by Africa’s youth and their creative ideas.

Intending participants, according to the notice, must be aged between 18 and 35 years, living on the continent or in the Diaspora. They must have a platform or portfolio of work that shines the light on entrepreneurship in Africa and must file their applications on or before July 29, 2022.

Africa No Filter explained that the $30,000 fund is provided for by Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life Assurance, the insurance subsidiaries of the pan-African investment group, Heirs Holdings and it is to honour the Chairman of the firm, Mr Tony Elumelu, who has, through his Tony Elumelu Foundation (TEF), led the championing of entrepreneurship in Africa and has empowered over 15,000 young African entrepreneurs across the continent through a $100 million commitment.

“I have always believed in the potential of young African entrepreneurs to transform Africa. This initiative aligns with our beliefs and extends the work that we do at the Tony Elumelu Foundation.

“Empowering young creative entrepreneurs and the creative sector provides a channel for us to project Africa’s positives globally. We need their voices to tell our often less-told stories of triumph, resilience, hard work and innovation,” Mr Elumelu said.

“Our partnership is significant because this is the first African funding we have received towards the fight for narrative change. We are also excited to be partnering with one of Africa’s leading entrepreneurs to celebrate entrepreneurship on the continent through storytelling.

“We need more success stories, more awareness and more celebrations around entrepreneurial ideas and the dynamic young people driving change here,” an Executive Director at Africa No Filter, Moky Makura, stated.

The Chief Marketing Officer of Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life, Ifesinachi Okpagu, while commenting on the initiative, stated that, “We are pleased to support this initiative that directly impacts the lives of young African creatives.

“As frontrunners of digital innovation in the insurance space, Heirs Insurance and Heirs Life both recognise the important role the creative sector plays in transforming Africa’s narrative. We are on the same transformative path, and this initiative clearly demonstrates that the ideas that we need to boost Africa are right here on the continent.”

NIMASA to Sustain Success in War Against Piracy in Gulf of Guinea

Aduragbemi Omiyale is a journalist with Business Post Nigeria, who has passion for news writing. In her leisure time, she loves to read.

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The Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) has promised to sustain the recent success it has recorded in the war against piracy in the Gulf of Guinea.

The agency made this pledge while signing a deal for the acquisition of N1.16 billion high-speed boats from Japan to boost security along the Gulf of Guinea.

Speaking at the signing ceremony, the Minister of State Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Mr Clem Agba, who signed on behalf of Nigeria said that the procurement of the high-speed boat worth $2.78 million will greatly enhance the operations of the Deep Blue project.

He commended the Japanese government for their interest and interventions in Nigeria for Economic development.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Nigeria, Mr Kazuyoshi Matsunaga signed on behalf of the Japanese Government, with the Director-General of NIMASA, Mr Bashir Jamoh in attendance.

“This project to strengthen the operations of NIMASA will definitely strengthen the partnership between the Government of Japan and the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

“Nigeria also appreciates the recent exchange of notes we signed for Emergency Improvement of Electricity Supply Facilities in Abuja, and the role Japan played in the development of the National Power Development Master-plan designed to guide the Government on the optimal energy mix and efficiency for Nigeria”.

On his part, the Director-General of NIMASA, Mr Jamoh, said, “This high-speed boat is a welcome addition to our growing arsenal of platforms and assets to reinforce service for coastal security, not only in Nigeria but also in the Gulf of Guinea, as over 60 per cent of shipping activities in the region pass through Nigerian waters”.

“This vessel will be incorporated into the Deep Blue project which already has 2 special Mission Vessels; 2 Special Mission Aircrafts; 3 Special Mission Helicopters; 10 Unmanned Air Systems and vehicles; 17 fast-moving interceptor boats; 16 armoured vehicles and the C4i centre.”

Similarly, Mr Kazuyoshi who signed on behalf of the Japanese Government noted that the project is to support the measures adopted by the Nigerian Government to deal with the threat of the blue economy, to prevent and suppress piracy, armed robbery, and any other unlawful act against ships in Nigerian waters.

Mr Kazuyoshi said: “in the Gulf of Guinea, as you know, the piracy problem is hindering the economic development of the coastal areas. A slowdown in economic development impoverishes the coastal population, forcing some of them into piracy for their livelihood. We need to break this vicious cycle.

An appeal has been made to governments across the globe to urgently do something about the rising costs of land and building materials in order not to deny citizens affordable houses.

This plea was made by the acting Managing Director and Chief Finance Officer of Shelter Afrique, Mr Kingsley Muwowo, at the 11th World Urban Forum held in Katowice, Poland from June 26-30, 2022, with the theme Transforming Our Cities for a Better Urban Future.

Mr Muwowo, while speaking on Delivering Affordable Housing Across Continents, lamented that the aforementioned factors could derail efforts to speed up the development of affordable housing across the globe.

“From market studies, the cost of land should constitute between 10 per cent and 15 per cent of the total cost of a housing unit for it to be affordable, but this isn’t the case in many countries,” he said.

Commenting further, he said, “In Kenya, for instance, the cost of land makes up between 40 per cent and 60 per cent of the total cost of a housing unit, like the case with Nairobi which is the most expensive in the entire continent of Africa.”

“How do you deliver affordable housing when you’ve got the most expensive land?” he queried, pointing out that “if we don’t address the issues around land, we will not be able to effectively tackle the issue of affordable housing.”

Mr Muwowo also decried the rising construction cost – which he blamed on old building codes, punitive tax regimes, and the high cost of financing such projects in various countries.

He added that the Russian – Ukraine war had also resulted in the sharp increase in prices of critical construction materials. Russia is considered the fourth-largest steel exporter globally, serving over 150 countries and territories.

“In the built environment, the conflict has exacerbated and exposed the dangers of overreliance on importing building materials. Prices of building materials have increased and continue to do so, a burden that the homeowners will ultimately share,” Mr Muwowo said.

The price of steel in Kenya, for instance, has significantly shot up over the past few months.

The prices of steel bars and nails have risen by between 80 per cent to 90 per cent and 13 per cent to 43 per cent, respectively, in the past few months in the country.

Additionally, the conflict has resulted in a shortage of coal, which is a crucial source of energy in cement production through clinker manufacturing resulting in price hikes.

Speaking at the same event, European Investment Bank Vice President Prof. Teresa Czerwińska said the rising cost of housing in many cities across the world was a major concern for the bank.

“We have managed to make education and healthcare relatively cheap and accessible by putting in place proper policy interventions. Housing is a fundamental human right and we can apply a similar framework in ensuring housing remains affordable and available,” Prof.  Czerwińska said.

The World Urban Forum (WUF) is a global event on sustainable urbanization convened every two years by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-Habitat).

It was established in 2001 by the United Nations to examine rapid urbanization and its impact on communities, cities, economies, climate change and policies. The first WUF was held in Nairobi, Kenya in 2002 and has been held around the world ever since.

A suspected drug trafficker has been arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) for concealing  22 blocks of heroin weighing 23.55 kilograms in packs of baby food at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Ikeja, Lagos.

According to a statement issued on Sunday by the agency, the consignment with a street value of over N4.5 billion came from Johannesburg, South Africa on board a South African Airways flight on Wednesday, June 29 as part of a consolidated cargo that arrived at the SAHCO import shed of the Lagos airport.

After a series of follow-up operations that led to the arrest of two freight agents, the actual receiver of the drug consignment, Mr Chike Okeke Eweni, who allegedly distributes the substance for his South Africa-based partner, was arrested the following day, Thursday, June 30 at a logistics warehouse in Ajao Estate, Ikeja.

Mr Chike who hails from Anaocha LGA, Anambra State, claimed during a preliminary interview that he’s also into fish farming.

Before his arrest, NDLEA officers at the airport had on Monday, June 27 arrested a former driver with a public transport company, BRT, Mr Muyiwa Babalola Bolujoko, for ingesting 90 pellets of cocaine. He was arrested at the screening point before boarding a Qatar Airways flight en route from Doha to Sharjah, with his trip expected to terminate in Dubai, UAE.

The 39-year-old from Ijebu South LGA, Ogun State, was placed under excretion observation after body scan results confirmed drug ingestion. While in custody, the suspect excreted all the 90 pellets in four excretions.

He claimed he left his N60, 000 per month job as a BRT driver in February and decided to work as a drug courier to raise funds to buy a shuttle bus popularly called Korope in Lagos to continue his transport business.

Operatives also on Thursday, June 30, intercepted an inbound consignment of khat leaves, which arrived at the NAHCO import shed of the Lagos airport on a Royal Air Maroc flight from the Middle East. A total of 71 cartons of dried khat leaves with a gross weight of 2,434.3 kg were discovered in the cargo.

In the same vein, anti-narcotic officers of the Agency also last Thursday seized 36 parcels of Colorado, a variant of cannabis with a total weight of 19.30kg which arrived at the NAHCO import shed from Los Angeles, US on a Delta Airlines flight.

After a series of follow-up operations in which four persons were arrested, the alleged owner of the drug consignment, Mr Abibu Afis Sola was eventually nabbed on Friday, July 1 in the Gbagada area of Lagos.

Meanwhile, in Rivers state, NDLEA operatives on Wednesday, June 29 arrested a 68-year-old woman, Mrs Celina Ekeke at Obunku community, Oyigbo LGA with 231.2kg cannabis, while one Mr Shedrack Eze, was arrested the following day Thursday, June 30 at Yankarfe, Zaria, Kaduna state with 250,000 tablets of Exol 5, weighing 75 kg.

In Borno state, Mr Usman Haruna, 27, was arrested at the BCG checkpoint in Biu on Saturday, July 2 with 19.7kg of cannabis.

In his remark, the Chairman/Chief Executive of the NDLEA, Mr Mohamed Buba Marwa expressed satisfaction with the exemplary performance of the officers and men of the MMIA command in the past week while also commending those of Rivers, Kaduna and Borno for being vigilant.

He charged them and others across the country to remain steps ahead of the tricks by the desperate drug cartels.