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BREAKING: FG Adds Chinese Language to Nigerian Secondary School Curriculum

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Mandarin has officially been included as one of the foreign languages to be taught in senior secondary schools across Nigeria, following a recent review of the national curriculum.

The announcement was made on Tuesday by Dr Danlami Hayyo, Secretary of Education for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), during the commissioning of the 14th Chinese Corner at Government Secondary School, Tudun Wada, Abuja.

Dr Hayyo stated, “May I inform you that in the recent review of our curriculum, the Chinese language has been selected as one of the international languages to offer in senior secondary schools.”

He added that the FCT had demonstrated foresight by introducing Mandarin early through the Chinese Corners initiative.

The Chinese Corner, an educational and cultural centre sponsored by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation, forms part of the company’s corporate social responsibility efforts.

According to Hayyo, the newly inaugurated centre is the 14th of its kind in the FCT, with similar facilities now present in several secondary schools across the territory.

Speaking on behalf of the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, Hayyo expressed gratitude to the Chinese government and its embassy in Nigeria for their continued support. He concluded his remarks with a Chinese proverb: “Hai nei cun zhiji, tianya ruo bi lin,” meaning, “A bosom friend brings distant lands near.”

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Renewable Energy: FG, Chinese Coy sign MoU, set to establish assembly plant in Oyo, FCT

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

The Federal Government on Tuesday signed two Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with a Chinese Company, Mutual Commitment Company (MCC) limited. The MoU was facilitated by the Rural Electrification Agency (REA), an agency of the Federal Ministry of Power.

Present at the ceremony to represent Nigeria were the Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu and the Managing Director of REA, Mr Abba Aliyu.

Speaking at the event which took place in Beijing on the eve of the opening ceremony of the African-China Co-operation Summit, Adelabu said the MoU event is important and will go down as a memorable day for Nigeria.

He congratulated the REA and the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) for the event as it goes a long way towards achieving Nigeria’s vision for the renewable energy sub sector of the entire electricity sector value chain.

He said the MoU signing is important for several factors. “ I know Nigeria and China have a lot of things in common one of which is the fact that Nigeria and China are both high population countries and with a country with high population, you have so much pressure.

The first pressure is that of energy access and the second being job creation. So when you take steps to achieve both, it is a thing of joy. I am particularly happy that this is happening during the tenure of President Bola Tinubu, as it is in line with achieving the Renewed Hope Agenda of the administration for the country.”

The Minister reiterated the fact that President Tinubu has prioritized the power sector as the driver for all other critical sectors of the economy and, “ he is giving us all the support to ensure we deliver on his electoral promises”.

He noted that energy access and expansion is government’s major priority because nothing can be achieved without strong, stable, functional and reliable electricity sector.

“ We have relied so much on centralization of our power sector for so long that it is not taking us anywhere”.

He revealed that almost 40 percent of Nigeria’s population lack access to energy with its attendant consequences. “So moving away from centralization, we have decided to adopt the distributed power model to ensure that every Nigerian has access to energy. A lot of our population reside in the rural areas, a lot of our institutions-educational and tertiary health institutions are isolated and they are still facing epileptic power supply.

We have also found out that the adoption of distributed energy model will expand the energy net for our rural dwellers, the rural businesses, our universities and tertiary health institutions. Which is why the focus is on renewable energy which we believe is scalable and can exist in isolation of national grid that is currently facing lots of pressure”.

According to him, as Nigeria continues to expend energy access, the country also wants to achieve transition to cleaner sources of energy that are sustainable and environment-friendly.

“Which is why we have both long-term and medium -term target to achieving net zero carbon emission by year 2060 and also to enable us achieve 30 percent of our energy generation coming from renewable energy by year 2030. So renewable energy is currently a major focus for us in the power sector”.

He said the two MoUs would achieve the vision for the renewable energy sub segment of the power sector with focus on five items— development of local capacity , noting that along the value chain of the renewable energy sector, a lot of human and material resources that are required are still significantly dependent on import which, “we believe we should reduce gradually.

“Also, we will be able to produce jobs for our large youthful population that is growing everyday. Our polytechnics , technical colleges and universities are turning up graduates on a yearly basis without assurance of job placement. This will go a long way to make it happen, at the same time, we will be able to achieve our energy access expansion”.

According to the Minister, northern Africa countries such as Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Algeria have achieved 100 percent electrification of their countries and South Africa, about 95 percent.

“It is unfortunate that Nigeria is still at 62 percent, though there are still some African countries with worse level of achievements but this is not where we belong. If these countries are able to achieve this, why is it not possible for Nigeria with the level of our natural endowment ? We have the gas, the dams are also there for the hydro power electric.

The wind, both desert and coastal is there while sunshine is also effective. So what are we waiting for? A step like today’s, will enable us move up on our level of electrification.

This will consequently lead to growth in our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) because of the economic activities that would be created. This will also save us foreign exchange expenditure on importation and create jobs for our people, if we assembly these things locally”.

Speaking earlier, Aliyu reiterated the importance of the ceremony as it is capable of delivering on the Presidential mandate of building local capacity and creating more job opportunities. “ We will track this and ensure the delivery of the commitment within the tenure of the present administration.

We will also track the economic factor that this initiative will drive, the level of GDP contribution, the employment opportunities provided and the socio-economic activities that will crystallize”.

He said MCC is presently engaged in Nigeria with the construction of 12megawatts and 3 megawatts power plants in Maiduguri and Kaduna, respectively.

Vice Chairman of MCC, Yan Zhezhu who spoke through an interpreter expressed appreciation on the power minister’s commitment to Nigeria’s energy growth. “We are not new to Nigeria having started in Oyo State a long time ago.

Presently, we have ongoing projects in Maiduguri and Kaduna and we appreciate the cooperation we have so far received. Our projects have seen us working with States and the Federal Government in Nigeria and we are committed to do more”.

Meanwhile, the National grid on Monday hit a record high of 5,313 megawatts, a record high in the last three years. On the heels of this, the Minister called on the Distribution Companies to make use of the opportunity to take more energy in order to prevent grid collapse as frequency drops, when power is produced and not picked by the DISCOs, adding that efforts would be made to encourage industries to purchase bulk energy.

However, a top official of one of the DISCOs in the country said the companies are finding it difficult to pick the extra energy being produced because, “ we are not happy with the tariff on other bands apart from Band A. As it is now, we are basically operating at a loss. Yes, they supply more power but this problem could be solved with improved tariff for the other bands and more meter penetration to recover cost”, he said.

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Africa & World

Shock! As Chinese Communist Party Govt move to rewrite the Bible, ‘Brainwash Christians’

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

In a shocking video widely circulated on YouTube, attempt has begun with the rewriting of the Bible by Chinese Communist Party Government, a move aimed at changing the original narrative of incidences in the Bible and portrayal of Jesus Christ.

The communist party of China wants to rewrite the Bible and force their version on Chinese Christians.
One of the changes in this new version turns Jesus Christ into a murderer.

According to report, Chinese govt persecution of Christians has led to more church growth, with China having as many as 130 million Christians in their underground church.

This has caused the communist party of China to now target the Bible itself with what it calls an “An update with Socialist values”.

The new Bible remove passages that don’t agree with communist beliefs. This is intended to confuse Chinese people and prevent them from becoming Christians.

One example of their revision in a high school textbook is John 8: 7-11 the story about the woman caught in adultery. “Jesus said to the angry crowd who were about to cast a stone on the woman who had sinned, Jesus said to the crowd, let he who is without sin cast the first stone.

“When the words came to their ears, they stopped moving forward. When everyone went out, Jesus stones the woman himself and said, I am also a sinner”.

The communist party is against Christian and the Bible because they see it as a tool that will take control away from them. Hence they force millions of Children to renounce their faith in public and delete all authentic Bibles from their app stores.

However, the Christians in China are resolute in their faith in Christ. According to one pastor of the underground Church in China, “the communist party have chosen an enemy(Jesus Christ) that can never be imprisoned, but they are doomed to lose”.

The second is a report that Chinese Communist Party authorities in Henan province “forced Protestant churches to replace the Ten Commandments with Xi Jinping quotes,” changing the first commandment from, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” (Exodus 20:3, KJV) to, “Resolutely guard against the infiltration of Western ideology.”

Two Christian pastors at the Congressional meeting testified on persecution in China, noting that many Chinese pastors and Christians are undeterred. International Christian Concern (ICC) recently published a report describing the growth of the underground church in Iran, where government repression seems to cause the church to grow rather than stifle it. As the early church father Tertullian wrote, “the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.”

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JUST IN: Chinese takes over Nigeria’s guest houses in Liverpool, to sell on eBay for $2.2 million

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

A Chinese investment group racing to recover up to $70 million in arbitration awards from Nigeria has concluded plans to list two residential structures it confiscated from the country for sale on global online marketplace eBay, Peoples Gazette was told by people familiar with the arrangement.

Zhongshang Fucheng Industrial Investment Ltd took possession of two buildings linked to the Nigerian government in Liverpool, United Kingdom, in June 2024, years after Nigeria failed to settle an arbitration judgement handed down in 2021, The Gazette learnt.

The properties, 15, Aigburth Hall Road, Liverpool and Beech Lodge, 49, Calderstones Road, Liverpool, were targeted after a December 2021 British court order gave Zhongshang executives the power to seize Nigerian assets in the UK to retrieve the $70 million payment, which remained outstanding as of August 20, 2024, with two per cent monthly interest accruals.

Zhongshang was awarded $55,675,000 plus interest of $9,400,000 and costs of £2,864,445 as of the date of the arbitration verdict on March 26, 2021, court documents said. The case stemmed from a dispute between Zhongshang and Ogun State. The firm said the state violated a 2001 trade treaty between Nigeria and China when its rights to a free trade zone were rescinded in 2016.

The company dragged Nigeria before the arbitration panel in the UK in 2018, alleging that Nigeria allowed its federal organs like the police, immigration and export processing authority to be deployed by Ogun State without due process. Court documents said two Zhongshang executives were expelled from Nigeria between mid and late 2016 after one of them had allegedly been detained and tortured by the police.

The case has once again thrown Nigeria into confusion, barely months after the country luckily escaped a similar arbitration decision that awarded over $11 billion to a consortium called P&ID. The arbitration verdict was thrown out after it was later discovered that P&ID owners were involved in bribery and corruption.

However, the Zhongshang case appeared different, with several European courts already granted enforcement orders in the UK, Belgium, France and other countries, where Nigerian-owned jets and other assets are being tracked down. An appellate panel recently declined to grant Nigeria sovereign immunity protection over Zhongshang’s recovery efforts in the United States.

A consultant working with Zhongshang said the company has been working to put the two Liverpool houses up for sale, including on eBay, where the source said up to $2.2 million would be asked for both.

“They said the value of both properties should be around $2.2 million, so they already put together a plan to sell them to willing buyers,” the consultant said under anonymity to discuss client deliberations. “Some websites like eBay might bring buyers faster than other methods.”

Even though the properties belonged to Nigeria, they were seized because they weren’t listed as Nigerian diplomatic or consular assets. The Gazette learnt that those currently occupying the properties had no ties to the Nigerian mission in the UK. It was unclear when Nigeria bought the assets, but a senior judge said its officials had regularly rented out both places to guests.

In her June 14, 2024, ruling allowing Zhongshang to seize the buildings from Nigeria, Master Lisa Sullivan of the UK High Court, King’s Bench Division, said: “The properties are currently used for the purpose of leases to residential tenants unconnected with Nigeria and its mission. Those are commercial purposes for the purpose of s13(4) of the SIA and therefore the enforcement against the properties is not barred by state immunity.”

The source said the sale wouldn’t be done in secret because the Nigerian people deserved to know how much all recovered assets were being sold until the full amount had been recovered.

“Zhongshang promised to be transparent with the sale because of the keen public interest of Nigerians in the matter,” the consultant added.

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I mistakenly signed Ogun multibillion-naira trade zone to dubious Chinese investors, Ibikunle Amosun confesses

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Former Governor Ibikunle Amosun on Saturday said he was deceived into handing over a free trade facility in Ogun State to an investment group from China, introducing a disturbing dimension to the ongoing legal battle that threatens the depletion of Nigeria’s assets abroad.

Mr Amosun, governor of the southwestern Nigerian state from 2011 to 2019, admitted in a statement personally signed by him that he didn’t do even a cursory assessment of facts before asking a Chinese team to take over the Ogun-Guandong Free Trade Zone in 2012. His decision marked the onset of a protracted legal crisis that led to aggrieved Chinese investors’ recent targeting of Nigeria’s assets in Europe and the United States.

The free trade zone was conceived in 2007 between Ogun State under Governor Gbenga Daniel and Guangdong Xinguang International China Africa Investment Ltd (or China Africa) to facility seamless trade between Nigeria and China in Igbesa, Ogun State. China Africa, the major investor at 60 per cent of the stake, was developing the 10,000 hectares facility when, in 2012, a year after Mr Amosun assumed office, another firm that identified itself as Zhongfu International Investment Ltd came in with tales about how the place was being poorly administered and thereafter sought to manage it.

Mr Amosun, in his statement, said he subsequently asked Zhongfu investors to take over as the interim managers of the trade zone before his administration could find time to investigate the allegations.

“Zhongfu International Investment FXE, pretending to be a concerned and genuine tenant and Zone stakeholder, volunteered very damaging and destructive information about the official representatives of Guangdong Province, the Joint Venturer and lawful Zone Managers, China Africa Investment FXE and subsequently requested to be appointed as Interim Zone Managers.

“Based on the information at the government’s disposal at the time, Zhongfu International Investment FXE was appointed interim zone manager on March 15, 2012, pending further evaluation. The whole idea was to ensure that someone was in charge and thereby prevent unwholesome and untoward development in the zone pending the completion of our fact-finding exercise.

“It was later discovered that the information and claims volunteered by Zhongfu International Investment FXE against China Africa Investment FXE were tissues of lies.

“Unknown to Ogun government at the time, Zhongfu International Investment FXE merely sought to de-market China Africa Investment FXE and to surreptitiously covert the state-owned assets of Guangdong Province in China together with the zone ownership and management rights of their business rival,” Mr Amosun said.

The former governor said Chinese authorities later directly intervened through several notes from the country’s mission in Nigeria.

“It was further discovered – much later – through the intervention of the Chinese Government via Diplomatic Note 1601, dated March 11, 2016,” Mr Amosun said, saying the Chinese government told him the company he had terminated was the rightful owner of the investment.

Mr Amosun said that after he ousted Zhongfu International Investment, the company approached Nigerian courts in different jurisdictions to ventilate its legal and business rights but lost all four cases filed. He didn’t list out the cases.

Consequently, the former governor urged the federal government and Ogun State to continue desisting from entering into any resolutions that would benefit Zhongfu.

“Nigeria should not give Zhongfu International Investment FXE any listening ear as doing so would amount to indulging and, encouraging an unlawful entity without locus standi to appropriate our common patrimon,” Mr Amosun said. “This matter of Zhongfu International Investment FXE should be treated the way Nigeria treated the P&ID case. There is no basis for negotiation.”

Mr Amosun has recently been criticised as the source of Nigeria’s confrontation with Chinese investors before international arbitration panels. The Chinese have been trying to seize private jets used by President Bola Tinubu in France.

On August 9, an appellate judicial panel in the United States authorised Zhongfu’s parent firm Zhongshan to proceed with its legal efforts to seize Nigeria’s assets in the U.S. Zhongshan had in 2021 obtained a compensation judgment in the United Kingdom to the tune of $60 million, which it has since been trying to enforce in France, the U.S. and other countries where Nigeria’s assets could be targeted.

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Eight Chinese Nationals Remanded In Kuje Prison Over Illegal Mining

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

A FEDERAL high court in Abuja has remanded 8 Chinese nationals and a Nigerian to Kuje Prison in Abuja.

The federal government had arraigned them for illegal mining activities in Lokpaukwu community, Umuchieze, within Umunneochi Local Government Area of Abia State.

In a statement, Segun Tomori, Special Assistant on Media to the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dele Alake, said the suspects, including eight Chinese nationals and one Nigerian were apprehended by the Mining Marshals, an elite security outfit crafted from the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

The defendants are Shen Yongchan, Mo Baixian, Xiao Bin, Huang Xu Fa, Ma Bingli, Yang Jian, Li Peiyin, Que Wenyong, Hiyk Edward Desmond, and Wanda Company Limited.

Upon hearing the pleas and arguments from both sides, they were remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre until the adjourned date for the continuation of the trial.

The statement read in part: “The Mining Marshals, codenamed “Operation Hayakin Kogo,”Is the brainchild of the Minister of Solid Minerals Development, Dr. Dele Alake. This initiative is a pivotal component of his 7-point agenda aimed at sanitizing the mining environment.

“The trial of the suspects began yesterday before Justice J.K Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja. The prosecution filed a 3-count charge, bordering on mining without lawful authority, obstruction of lawful mining operations amongst others.

“The Mining Marshals, led by ACC John Onoja, comprise a 2,570-strong force dedicated to eliminating the nefarious activities of criminal syndicates in mining areas across the country.

“The Minister is committed to strengthening the operations of the Mining Marshals through the infusion of technology and more equipment to ultimately ensure that the nation reaps maximum benefits from its God-given mineral resources.”

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Chinese Expatriate ‘Kills’ Nigerian Who Rejected Love Advances

by Folarin Kehinde
written by Folarin Kehinde

Ocheze Ogbonna, a female crane operator at Inner Galaxy Steel Company, Umuahala-Obuzor in Ukwa West Local Government Area of Abia State, has been allegedly killed by a Chinese national who wanted to be in a relationship with her.

According to the member representing Ukwa East/Ukwa West Federal Constituency of Abia State in the House of Representatives, Chris Nkwonta, Ogbonna died after the Chinese expatriate working at the Inner Galaxy Steel Company located in Umuahala-Obuzor pushed her down from the crane for rejecting his love advances.

The development comes after Frank Geng Quarong, a Chinese man, killed his Nigerian lover, Ummukulsum Sani Buhari, for walking out of their relationship.

Quarong had claimed that after spending N60 million on her in the two years they dated, she abandoned him.

“Besides huge amounts of money I used to spend on her, I used to take her out to places like Bristol Palace and Central Hotel to eat food. I bought her house worth N4 million, a car worth N10 million. N18 million as capital to start business, and spent N500,000 worth of bags and shoes on her new shop and N1 million worth of laces and wrappers and a house in Abuja which she started building,” he had told a court in Kano.

He added that he bought her gold wears worth N5 million, N6 million to go and process her certificate at Sokoto University and N1 million to install the solar system in their house.

Meanwhile, the Federal lawmaker has expressed deep sadness over the death of his constituent, Ocheze, describing the alleged action of the Chinese expatriate as wicked.

While maintaining that his constituency is known for peace, the federal lawmaker demanded justice for the victim.

“Miss Ocheze Ogbonna’s death orchestrated by a Chinese expatriate is a gross abuse of the rules of engagement and a total disregard for the sanctity of human life and an affront on their host community, Umuahala-Obuzor and the peace loving people of Ukwa West Local Government Area.”

“This barbaric act once again calls to mind the incessant calls by well-meaning Nigerians that the Chinese expatriates operating in Nigeria do not have regard for human lives and must be called to order immediately to avert the breakdown of law and order.

“I strongly condemn the dastardly act and brutal killing of late Miss Ocheze Ogbonna by the Chinese expatriate who has been identified as Mr Power.

“I hereby call on the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Kayode Egbetokun, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Taoreed Lagbaja, the Abia State Commissioner of Police, CP, Kenechukwu Onwuemelie, the Honourable Minister of State, Labour and Productivity, Hon Barr. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), to ensure that the culprit, who I understand is being shielded by the security agents, is brought to book and made to face the full wrath of the law,” he said in a statement.

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