Foreign

U.S. picks 56 young Nigerians for Mandela Washington Fellowship

US President, Joe Biden

Adebayo Obajemu

The United States Mission in Nigeria said it has chosen 56 young ‘changemakers’ for the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF) for 2022.

The statement also indicated that U.S. Mission Nigeria has selected 16 alumni from the MWF cohort from 2021 to take part in this year’s Alumni Enrichment Institute.

Kathleen FitzGibbon, Deputy Chief of Mission, made this known at the pre-departure orientation programme in Abuja organised for the beneficiaries in preparation for their fellowship in the United States this Summer.

“For the 2021/2022 MWF application cycle, over 19,000 Nigerians started the application, and over 8,000 submitted the application by the deadline.

“Following this, a total of 56 Mandela Washingon fellowship awards were made available to Nigerians this year,” she said.

In a joyous mood, one of the fellows,
Mayokun Iyaomolere, an environmentalist who will be studying Civic Leadership Track at Appalachian State University, Boone, North Carolina, said getting selected is an exciting opportunity for him.

“I believe this will be a game-changer for me and every other fellow as we will learn optimised ways to enhance the quality and widen the scope of impact of our works,” he said.

Chisom Nwankwo, a social entrepreneur and cleantech expert who runs the Skilled Women Initiative said: “after having a Virtual fellowship in 2021 as a result of the COVID19 pandemic, I am really excited to be heading to Drexel University Pennslyvania this summer as an Alumni Enrichment participant of the MWF.”

“I am looking forward to creating new relationships that will be pivotal to the growth of my nonprofit TSWINI and the improvement of my knowledge on sustainable clean technology solutions,” she said.

Babajide Oluwase, the founder of Ecotutu, a cleantech company delivering a suite of cold chain solutions to African businesses, said it is really an exciting feeling for him to be selected for the fellowship.

“Upon completion of my studies in the United States, I look forward to integrating the learnings into my work to advance Ecotutu’s mission of democratizing access to affordable cooling solutions for African businesses.”

While admonishing the fellows, MWF program coordinator, Diran Adegoke, told fellows that the opportunity to travel to the United States is one to be cherished.

While making a presentation on “elevator speech” to the fellows, he encouraged them to present themselves in the best version possible and always remember that they are in the United States to represent Nigeria.

Launched in 2014, the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is the flagship exchange programme of the U.S. government-sponsored Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) created to further the United States’ commitment to investing in the future of Africa.

Each year, U.S. Missions across Sub-Saharan Africa select accomplished leaders, who have established records of promoting innovation and positive impact in their countries.

This summer, the Fellows will travel to the United States to participate in six-week Leadership Institutes studying Business, Civic Engagement, or Public Management at U.S. colleges and universities.

At the conclusion of the Leadership Institutes, the Fellows will attend the annual Mandela Washington Fellowship Summit, where Fellows, U.S. government officials, and representatives from businesses and organisations with an interest in Africa engage in high-level sessions and workshops.

After completing the Leadership Institutes and Summit, Fellows are eligible to participate in several MWF alumni opportunities, such as the Alumni Enrichment Institute, that build on the skills and connections developed during their summer exchange program.

Recall that since 2014, more than 5,000 young leaders from every country in Sub-Saharan Africa have participated in the MWF with 456 Fellows of the lot coming from Nigeria. Thus far, Nigeria remains the largest contributor of Fellows each year.

Talking about the import of the MWF, Ambassador Leonard said, “The United States is dedicated to investing in the next generation of young Nigerian leaders reinforcing the strong partnership between both nations.

The vision, courage, and drive to innovate of Mandela Washington Fellows will help shape the future of Nigeria for many generations to come.”

Foreign

David Nwamini, Ekweremadu accuser, seeks asylum in UK

” they will kill me if I come to Nigeria” — he pleads to court

The eyewitness reporter

David Nwamini, the accuser of Senator Ike Ekweremadu who sent the lawmaker to 10 years jail term in the United Kingdom over an organ trafficking case, has raised an alarm that he may be killed in Nigeria if he comes back.

Consequently, he has asked the court to allow him to stay back in the UK for safety reasons.

“They would arrest me and kill me in Nigeria” he reportedly told the court.

His impact statement was read in court, at the sentencing that saw Ekweremadu, his wife, Beatrice, 56, and the doctor-middleman, Obinna Obeta, 51, jailed, for 10 years and 8 months, 4 years and six months, and 10 years, respectively.

The three were found guilty at the Old Bailey of conspiring to arrange the travel of a young man with a view to exploiting him for his body part.

The Ekweremadus’ 25-year-old daughter, Sonia, has a severe kidney disease. It was for her the donor was sourced and brought to the UK.

According to David, he was approached with an opportunity to work in the UK, which he had always dreamed of but never thought would happen.

“He (Dr Obina Obeta) did not tell me he brought me here for this reason. He did not tell me anything about this.

“I would have not agreed to any of this. My body is not for sale.

“I worry for my safety in Nigeria. Those people can do anything. I think they could arrest me or kill me in Nigeria.

“My plan now is to work and to get an education and to play football,” David said, adding that he does not want to claim compensation from the “bad people” as it would be “cursed and bad luck”.

He also said someone visited his father in Nigeria and asked the father to get him to drop the case.

Although it is lawful to donate a kidney, it becomes criminal if there is a reward.

The Ekweremadus were arrested on June 21 last year as they arrived at Heathrow Airport.

Foreign

UK court shuns Nigeria, ECOWAS pleas as it sentences Ekweremadu to 10 years imprisonment for organ trafficking

The eyewitness reporter

The United Kingdom court on Friday sentenced former Deputy Senate President of Nigeria, Ike Ekweremadu, to nine years and eight months in prison for organ trafficking plot.

This was despite the plea for clemency made by the Nigerian government and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) that the court should temper justice with mercy.

The court also sentenced his wife, Beatrice, to four years six months while the medical doctor, who act as a ‘middleman’ in the plot, Dr Obinna Obeta, was sentenced to 10 years and his medical licence was also suspended.

The Ekweremadus’ daughter Sonia, who has a serious kidney condition, wept as she was cleared of the same charge.

Mr Justice Johnson told the defendants: “In each of your cases the offence you committed is so serious that neither a fine nor a community sentence can be justified.”

It was alleged that the 21-year-old street trader was to be rewarded for donating the organ to Sonia Ekweremadu, in an £80,000 private procedure at London’s Royal Free Hospital.

The case marked the first-time defendants have been convicted under the Modern Slavery Act of an organ harvesting conspiracy.

While it is lawful to donate a kidney, it becomes criminal if money or another material advantage is rewarded.

The prosecution claimed the donor was offered up to £7,000 along with the promise of a better life in the UK.

The donor did not understand until his first appointment with a consultant at the hospital that he was there for a kidney transplant, the Old Bailey was told

On March 23, the jury pronounced a guilty verdict on the senator, his wife, Beatrice, and Obinna Obeta, a doctor who acted as the middleman.

The jury held that they conspired to bring the 21-year-old at the centre of the matter to London to exploit him for his kidney.

Foreign

Nigeria missing as UNCTAD lists top African countries in service exports.

The Eyewitness reporter

Nigeria was not listed among the top five countries in Africa in service exports in 2021 as Egypt tops the list as announced by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in December.

According to the report, Egypt topped African countries regarding services exports in 2021 by around $20 billion

Egypt has also come second in maritime routes in Africa in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022.

According to the report, Egypt has achieved a considerable growth in services exports by 45.5 percent year-on-year in 2021.

Morocco followed Egypt in services exports then Ghana, South Africa, and Ethiopia.

Egypt also came third on the list of the top five countries regarding goods exports in Africa in 2021 by around $40 billion, achieving growth of around 60 percent year-on-year.

In maritime routes, Egypt was preceded by Morocco, South Africa, then Ghana, and Togo.

Earlier this month, Egypt announced a plan to develop Egyptian commodity exports to African countries to reach $15 billion during the coming few years.

Egypt’s exports to Africa have increased by 25.4 percent during Q1 2022 compared to Q1 2021, the Cabinet said in a statement in mid-December.

According to Egypt’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS), Egypt’s exports to the African Union countries have reached more than $5.4 billion in 2021 compared to around $3.9 billion in 2020.

Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Algeria, and Kenya received more than 60 percent of Egyptian exports, according to CAPMAS.