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By Paul Ndiho, Abuja, Nigeria
Last week more than 60 women and girls managed to escape from the Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram. They’re among several hundred that have been abducted in different parts of North Eastern Nigeria. However, Boko Haram is still holding more than 200 schoolgirls abducted in April.
Boko Haram triggered an international outcry when it captured more than 200 schoolgirls in Borno State’s Chibok town. It’s been nearly three months and still no news of their release. Parents of the abducted schoolgirls, concerned citizens and human rights activists are still pleading for action. I met up with the group in Unity Park in central Abuja over the girls, chanting: “Bring back our girls now and alive. Moreen Kabrik is one of the activists.

“We’re still carrying on with our campaign because our mission, our purpose of coming here everyday has not been achieved. The essence of our coming out here everyday is to serves as a reminder to each one of us as citizens of Nigeria, that something is wrong; our sisters are still being abducted. They haven’t come back yet to their parents and I think there is a need for us to continue coming out here.

“Initially the government said that they were doing everything they can, but we want to see results. We don’t want a situation where we see motion without movement. We want movement of the girls back to their parents and basically what the government is doing is trying to fight us.
In light of the recent developments including the bombing carried out by Boko Haram at Banex plaza, a popular shopping centre in the heart of the capital, Abuja — where at least 21 people died and several others injured, the government and security agencies continue to face criticism both at home and abroad – over how they have dealt with Boko Haram militants and the Kidnapped girls. However, the government says it’s fighting back. Mohammed Abubakar is Nigeria’s Inspector General of police or IGP.

“People don’t have a basic understanding of what terror is. You need to understand what terror is, their belief. It’s an ideological belief that they believe in and as far as I’m concerned, I know we have done so much. Not only as the police but all the security agencies, particularly the police as the lead internal security agency. So much is being done in terms of deployment, in terms of intelligence and terms of surveillance – Otherwise, the attacks could have been much more than this…”

The militant Islamist group Boko Haram has increasingly targeted civilians in its bloody five-year insurgency. Critics of the government say there are raising public anger over government’s inability to protect citizens from violent attacks. The Inspector general of police and other security agencies are focusing on preventing other attacks

“In recent times, we have had several arrests made in different states that prevented other attacks. But generally we’re doing everything to reassure the public that the government is on top of the security situation and we’re not overwhelmed by such situations.” 

I was given access to Banex Plaza shopping centre, the scene of a bomb blast that had killed 21 people in the upscale neighborhood.

“ The whole place has been cordoned off for security reasons of course and as you can see there is no business activity taking place at this time.

I spoke to Adrian Uchena, a trader and one of the eyewitnesses; who narrowly survived the powerful blast that shuttered the entire shopping mall. He explains what really happened on that fateful day.

“What happened here a couple weeks ago is that– – we experienced these unprecedented happenings by Boko Haram people. They want to come in here, and security refused them to enter with their jeep they pretended that they’re going to bank. When they refused them the second time, that’s when bomb blow up.”

Last Month’s bomb attack was the third on the capital since April, but the other two – car bombings of a bus station and street both in the suburb of Nyanya that killed about 90 people between them – did not strike at the heart of the city.
Security analysts say, a spate of deadly bombings outside of its northeastern heartlands – in Jos, Kano and Abuja – suggests Boko Haram is trying to push its sphere of influence outwards across Africa’s biggest economy and top oil producer.
Today the government says it’s doing everything in its power to make sure that something like this doesn’t happen again. People are getting back to their normal routine; renovations are taking place and hopefully things will change for better.

By Paul Ndiho

Nearly a year ago, U.S President Barack Obama unveiled a new “Power initiative for Africa” with the goal to dramatically increase access to power in sub-Saharan Africa. U.S. Government officials, African energy ministers, along with representatives from more than 30 U.S companies in the energy and petroleum sectors recently met Ethiopia to discuss energy policies and energy efficient technologies.
More than two-thirds of the population of sub-Saharan Africa is without electricity and more than 85 percent of those living in rural areas lack access to power. The Power Africa Initiative is expected to build on Africa’s enormous power potential, including new discoveries of vast reserves of oil and gas, and the potential to develop clean geothermal, hydro, wind and solar energy.
President Obama explained the need for the 7 billion dollar initiative last year while speaking at the University of Cape Town.
“Access to electricity is fundamental to opportunity in this age. It is the light that children study by. The energy that allows an idea to be transformed into a real business. The lifeline for families to meet their most basic needs. And it’s the connection that is needed to plug Africa into the grid of the global economy. You got to have power,”
The program was formally launched last week to make power more accessible to Africans who are not being serviced by their national grids, through small scale energy solutions dubbed ‘Beyond the Grid’. The initiative will use partnerships with 27 investors and energy companies committing to investing over 1 billion US dollars to grow off-grid and small scale solutions on the continent.
“Our Power Africa program already supports over 25 small-scale energy projects, but Beyond the Grid will expand this significantly facilitating over 1 billion in new private sector investments.”
According to the International Energy Agency, the region will require more than 300 billion U.S. dollars in investment to achieve universal electricity access by 2030.
The Power Africa Initiative aims to install 10,000 megawatts of new generation capacity, connect 20 million new customers, and improve electric reliability across the continent. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Desalegn Hailemariam welcomed the initiative saying private sector investment in energy had been slow.
“Until recently the private sector has not shown much interest to invest in power sector in Africa due to its long return period. We the African governments also have not created the necessary environments to ease the risk associated with long term investment.”
Africa is rich in energy. There are enormous untapped resources of gas, oil, coal, geothermal, solar and wind power that could easily meet the region’s requirements.
Analysts say the big obstacle to electrification in Africa is not constructing power stations and building overhead power lines. It is working out how to help the region’s households – many with limited and irregular cash flows, little collateral and no access to credit – to pay for the huge investment needed to bring electricity to them.

By Paul Ndiho

April 28th, 2014

South Africans head to the polls on May 7, with elections falling nearly exactly on the 20th anniversary of the first post-apartheid elections, held on April 27, 1994 – formally ending the racist regime known as apartheid.
April 27 marked the 20th anniversary of South Africa’s first multiracial elections, which ended three centuries of white domination – and 46 years of formalized oppression of the black majority under the apartheid system.

Here in the United States, civil rights organization and activists alike stood in solidarity with the people of South Africa and the ruling African National Congress – ANC, which spearheaded the fight against apartheid, and has remained in power since 1994. Nicole lee is the president of Trans Africa, the organization that lead the free south Africa movement in the U.S. She says the country has not changed much.
“I think apartheid in itself was evil. It was built not only an ideology, but built upon structures. And so there was a lot of structural violence within the apartheid. That the fact that the political system is overturned that doesn’t mean the economic system is changed very much”
Critics of the government say that unemployment in South Africa is very high, at around 25 percent and labor unrest frequently halts production in the mainstay mining and auto sectors.
The violence at the Marikina platinum plant in 2012 still weighs heavily on the minds of many citizens. Police killed 34 miners who were striking for better wages.
Graphic images of bullet-riddled bodies of the workers were reminiscent of the country’s racist past and lee says the nation still has a long way to go.
“I think that the situation in South Africa still remains economically grave for many South Africans especially black South Africans, the lack of jobs, the lack of adequate health care, the lack of education, that’s still is a major factor.”
Despite the significant strides made in the last couple years in the areas of civil society, woman organizations, and community organizations, Nicole Lee explains that more needs to be done.
“There are a lot of changes that need to be made. And one of the things that Trans Africa does now we stand inside with the people of South Africa, with the civil society organization that are pushing for change. And we really think that is the appropriate place. That is where we stood during the partied and we stand there today.”
During the apartheid struggle, many Americans kept the anti-apartheid movement alive, particularly members of the African American community. They staged demonstrations in the churches, on campuses, in corporate boardrooms and trade union halls. Cecelie counts, was one of the protesters. She says it was a natural reaction for most African-Americans, because of the history of black people in America.

“In 1984 when the apartheid regime cracked down once again and it was broadcast on television we just had to channel that energy in protests. It was those actions of the apartheid government and the slowness of our own government to change its policy and recognize that it was wrong to support in the name of constructive engagement the apartheid regime that caused us to start civil disobedience. They were sit-ins, they’re arrests. It wasn’t just demonstrations, the demonstrations had been going on for some time – what was new was the civil disobedience.”
The fight to end apartheid was a global fight that had roots here in the United States. Key players in the anti-apartheid movement; including people like Randall Robinson, founder and former president of Trans Africa forum, advocates who later became members of congress like Maxine Walters, and others, led protests and called for U.S. sanctions against south Africa.
“The fact that apartheid ended with the help of the international community just gives us some hope that when people come together they can force change.”
The most prominent person of the apartheid era was the late nelson Mandela. The anti-apartheid hero died last December at the age of 95, but his legacy to South Africa and the world was his unwavering courage, forgiveness and hope, that touched and inspired people around the world. He showed that the dream of a just society is possible – and he challenged future generations to lead the way towards it.

By Paul Ndiho

Jumia, a Nigerian online shopping website is now one of the biggest online retailers in the West African nation. It features electronics, home appliances, clothes and kid’s items. With 26 million U.S. dollars in investments, the company is giving other Nigerian based online firms a run for their money.
Lagos has approximately 21 million people, and a trip to a shopping mall can literary wipe out your entire day if you get stuck in traffic.
However, with easier access to the internet, more Nigerians are shopping on online, it’s cheaper and shoppers don’t have to worry hassling with traffic. Inspired by a retail giant like amazon, Jumia was created in May 2012, with a goal to maximize the e-commerce space.
“The e-commerce model is extremely relevant for Nigeria, especially because of all the hassle that everyone can experience every time they go to a shopping mall.”
Analysts say that many shoppers spend a lot of time fighting traffic – or trying to gain entry to the crowded parking lots of a shopping mall. But shopping online eliminates the need to stand in long queues, potentially changing the way shopping most done in Nigeria.
Jeremy Doutte notes that his retail store has approximately 100,000 Nigerian customer accounts and sales are increasing by 15 percent every month.
“we want to re-empower the Nigerians with their time and if we can build a service and a company in two years whereby people can shop everything at any time and on Saturday, instead of spending two hours in traffic at the palms mall, people can just shop from their couch, in twenty minutes, order everything they want and get delivered within 24 hours and now actually, we are managing to serve a considerable amount of orders within 24 hours in Lagos.”
Jumia also has operations in morocco, Ivory Coast, Egypt and Kenya and it aims to be Africa’s answer to amazon, although e-commerce remains in its infancy on the continent. The company is not yet profitable, but it’s spending heavily to grab a larger market share. Doutte says that in emerging markets outside Nigeria, it is usually price comparison that entices shoppers onto the web.

“shopping online in Nigeria just makes sense and we usually say that people can shop online for two reasons, price and convenience and usually in emerging markets, people shop online for price. Why? Because the online website is just a great comparator, you can compare the prices and see they’re reliable. I think that Nigeria maybe one of the only countries in the world, emerging markets where people shop online for convenience, and are ready to pay the price.”
Co-C.E.O Nicolas martin says their website’s traffic success in delivering customers, far outweighs the headache it causes for deliveries.
“it’s painful for us, extremely painful for us to navigate through the traffic, but with professional way of navigating through, it’s actually a bit easier than for the Nigerian customer that has to face it during office hours or at the shop opening hours and so to get to the mall, it’s actually extremely painful for our customer.”
The Lagos firm’s sales are growing fast. It now has 10 centers throughout several cities in the south and the capital Abuja. Jumia is also planning to open a center in a new mall in the main northern city of Kano.
Despite success, many challenges remain including; infrastructure problems, port delays, supply chain woes and getting people to trust websites with their bank card details. Online fraud is another thing that many Nigerians worry about. But for what it’s worth,  I’ll not be surprised to see Jumia launch an initial public offering (IPO) at the New York Stock Exchange in a few years.

By Paul Ndiho BIDCO a premiere East African manufacturer of edible cooking oils, baking products, personal hygiene products, laundry detergents and soaps, will invest about 200 million US dollars by 2017 to meet increasing demand. The Family-owned conglomerate earns 250 million US dollars a year from its operations in Africa. It has factories in neighboring Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.  Managing Director, Vimal Shah said last week that the group expects its annual revenue from Kenya to grow by four times in the next couple years largely due the increased investment and demand for consumer goods. “According to us, East Africa if you look at all the figures, east Africa is going to become… today we are at 130 million people, it’s going to be 400 to 500 million people by 2050 east Africa alone. So when you look at all that, that demand, its demand led all this growth that’s coming in is demand led. Its consumption, it’s a consumption story, right? And that’s what it’s going to be.”