Shockwaves are reverberating across Yorùbáland and the global Yorùbá diaspora following the sudden death of the Baba Ọba (King’s Father) of the famed Oyotunji African Village in South Carolina, USA. The late Baba Ọba, Lukman Arohunfale, a revered socialite and traditionalist, passed away under circumstances already sparking fierce controversy. His death comes just days after he publicly accused the newly installed Alaafin of Oyo, His Imperial Majesty Oba Akeem Adéyẹmọ Owoade, of allegedly ordering his courtiers to beat him mercilessly during a recent courtesy visit to the Oyo palace in Nigeria. In a widely circulated voice recording, the deceased recounted how what was meant to be a simple homage turned violent. Although the Baba Ọba had reportedly battled ill health in the past year, growing insinuations suggest that the alleged physical assault may have aggravated his condition, ultimately leading to his untimely death. The palace in Oyo recently denied that s...
The Niger Republic, a country that started commercial oil production in 2011, now exports petroleum products to Nigeria. For decades, Nigeria’s three major refineries have been grounded to near-zero capacity utilization with all of its refined fuel imported from other countries. According to Guardian, data obtained from the African Refiners & Distributors Association (ARA) revealed that strong refinery performance in the neighbouring Niger Republic meets local fuel demand, and the excess production is exported to Nigeria, Mali, and Burkina Faso. As Nigeria struggles to get its refineries working and to attract foreign investment to the downstream sector of the oil industry, Niger has built a single 20,000-barrel per day refinery with the configuration for the local market. The facility is currently turning out liquefied petroleum gas, 7 percent; gasoline, 32 percent; and diesel, 61 percent, to enable it to optimise stranded crude supply. Niger built its refineries in less than three years, pushing utilization from zero to about 90 percent in 2019.