Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Greening Innovation

I remember travelling to Sokoto for the first time and being struck by how arid the land was - you could see far into the distance, and only see sand.   I understand it wasn’t like that decades ago.  Desertification is the result of climate change and global warming effects in that part of Nigeria.  Although there have been several campaigns urging communities to plant more trees as a means of mitigating desertification, it doesn’t look like these campaigns have been very successful.  On the other hand it might just be that the trees being planted cannot keep up with the rate of those being felled.  Tackling the root of the problem, which is finding an alternative to firewood energy for cooking is the approach adopted by SIFE in Katsina State.  Sokoto State may soon benefit from a similar approach.

Monday, December 10, 2012

Fighting Corruption


Corruption is a serious problem and its impact is evident in poor democratic growth, weak economies and ultimately general insecurity.  It is the root of many evils and must be addressed for any country to progress.  It is also an international issue and no country is immune, however it can also be controlled as we’ve seen from many countries.  The United Nations designated December 9 as International Anti-corruption day to focus the world’s attention to it.  In commemoration of this day we asked some of our friends in the media to share with us briefly what they think can be done to fight corruption in Nigeria.