How Two Nigerians Are Turning ‘Ogogoro’ Into Premium Brand Sold In Britain, Kenya, Gha

Chibueze Akukwe sticks a label on a bottle of an upmarket Nigerian spirit in a factory in Lagos State. He hopes stylish branding will help sell the tipple, fermented in nearby villages using techniques dating back centuries, to upmarket customers. A spirit called ‘Ogogoro’, referred to locally as “gin”, is extracted from palm trees before undergoing fermentation. The resulting drink is cheap, but varies in potency and quality, Reuters reported. Akukwe and his business partner, Lola Pedro, are aiming higher with Pedro’s palm spirit, combining traditional techniques with modern distillation processes to attract wealthy drinkers at home and abroad. Pedro’s is already sold in Ghana, Kenya and Britain. “I didn’t see much of a difference between some of the big name brand spirits that we know all across the globe, when you compare those with Ogogoro,” said Akukwe, speaking at the company’s distillery in Lagos, which produces half-litre bottles sold for $50. The brand is hoping to tap into a growing appetite for spirits in Africa’s most populous country after coronavirus restrictions forced people to host friends at home. Pedro’s declined to give details of its sales. Market research firm, Euromonitor, said Nigeria’s premium spirits market was growing from a low base, “creating interest among the younger, wealthier population whose budgets have been less affected by the COVID-19 epidemic.” Spirits are more usually drunk more at home than other alcoholic drinks and are seen as a growth area in Nigeria because of their high price and low production costs, said Stanbic IBTC Africa analyst, Fola Abimbola. “The spirits market is fragmented,” said Abimbola. “Smaller players can compete.” For Akukwe, the drink is more than just alcohol. “Our spirits deserve to be showcased,” he said. “Our culture and our heritage deserve to be showcased.” NigerianTribune

NIN glitches: JAMB finally begins registration of candidates for 2021 admissions

FRIDAY OLOKOR The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board on Saturday announced the commencement of registration of candidates for the 2021 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination and Direct Entry to tertiary education institutions in Nigeria. The decision came barely 48 hours after it had stopped the exercise over technical challenges of the National Identification Number. But a terse statement issued by the spokesperson for JAMB, Dr Fabian Benjamin, said registration for the examination had now commenced in full swing as all the issues had been resolved. “It was only put on hold to resolve the technical hitches. Registration is now in full swing,” he said, adding that some candidates had successfully registered for the examination. On Thursday, Benjamin apologised for the delay in the commencement of the registration exercise which, he said, was “speculated” to begin the same day. According to him, the delay was caused by some unforeseen circumstances occasioned by its determined effort to have NIN integration. “The advertisement is the surest indication of the beginning of the exercise as it has all the step-by-step process that candidates are required to follow. “However, this delay is caused by some unforeseen circumstances occasioned by our determined effort to have a NIN integration. This challenge is being resolved and once that is done, all processes shall commence. “Candidates are, therefore, requested to exercise some patience. The process shall be up and running shortly for our advertisement to be rolled out so that candidates can begin the creation of profiles.” PUNCH.

Despite loss of husband, little sign Queen Elizabeth will abdicate

By Michael Holden 1 day ago LONDON (Reuters) - Despite the death of her husband Prince Philip, her partner and confidante during a record-breaking reign, there is little chance that 94-year-old Queen Elizabeth will abdicate, royal watchers believe. Philip, Elizabeth's husband for more than seven decades and the longest-serving consort in British history, died on Friday aged 99. The love of her life, he married Elizabeth in 1947 and had been with her throughout her 69-year reign. He was the person who broke the news to her while they were in Kenya in 1952 that her father, George VI, had died and that she was now queen at the age of 25. Despite the huge hole in her life that Philip's death leaves, aides and royal experts have long said it would not lead to the queen, the world's oldest and longest-reigning living monarch, relinquishing the throne in favour of her son and heir Prince Charles. "I can assure you the queen will not abdicate," royal historian Hugo Vickers said. "There is every indication the queen is in extremely good health and with luck she will continue to be our queen for as long as possible." Elizabeth continued to carry out her official duties, albeit remotely because of COVID-19 restrictions, even while Philip was in hospital for four weeks earlier this year. Royal watchers say part of the reason why Elizabeth would avoid giving up the crown was the manner in which she became queen herself. When she was born in 1926, it was not expected she would ever become the monarch. But her uncle Edward VIII abdicated because of his love for American divorcee Wallis Simpson, which the British establishment deemed an unacceptable union, prompting a constitutional crisis which saw the crown passed to her father George VI when she was 10 years old. "It is a job for life," Elizabeth once said, echoing a promise she made on her 21st birthday in 1947. Speaking to the nation then while on tour of South Africa she said: "I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong." It was a commitment she repeated on the 60th anniversary of her accession, and when senior Buckingham Palace aides are asked whether abdication is possible, they have the same answer: "Life means life". That means she would not follow the leads of other European monarchs such as King Juan Carlos of Spain who abdicated in 2014, King Albert of Belgium who quit in 2013 and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands who stepped down the same year. As a deeply religious figure and titular head of the Church of England, Elizabeth sees the vows she took on her coronation day when she was anointed queen as unbreakable, according to royal commentators and those who know her well. However, she might pass on even more official duties to Charles, 72, and other members of the Windsor family who have taken over much of her workload. In the last decade, she has all but ended international tours, and reduced the number of her patronages, passing on her role at dozens of charities, academic institutions and sporting bodies to other members of the royal family. "While the queen might step back a little and we'll be seeing more of Prince Charles and Prince William doing representational work ... the queen will remain very firmly the queen," said royal historian Robert Lacey, the historical consultant to hit Netflix drama "The Crown". He pointed to the plans to mark the queen's 70th year on the throne for next summer already announced by the government. If the queen follows in the footsteps of her mother - who was known as Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and was still appearing in public almost up until her death aged

Prince Philip death: Why was the Duke of Edinburgh not a king?

Chelsea Ritschel As the world mourns the death of the Queen’s husband at the age of 99, attention is being shone on the life and duties of the Duke of Edinburgh. The royal family announced the royal’s passing in a statement Friday, which read: “It is with deep sorrow that Her Majesty The Queen announces the death of her beloved husband, His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. “His Royal Highness passed away peacefully this morning at Windsor Castle. Further announcements will be made in due course. The Royal Family join with people around the world in mourning his loss.” The Queen and Prince Philip married in 1947, at which point the royal dropped his title as Prince of Greece and Denmark to take on the title of Duke of Edinburgh. However, when Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne following her father’s death in 1952, her husband did not gain the title King of England, but rather of Prince Consort. In 1957, the Queen officially made her husband a prince, with the palace releasing a statement at the time that read: “The Queen has been pleased by Letters Patent under the Great Seal of the Realm bearing date 22nd February, 1957, to give and grant unto His Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh, K.G., K.T., G.B.E., the style and titular dignity of a Prince of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Whitehall. “The Queen has been pleased to declare her will and pleasure that His ‘Royal Highness the Duke of Edinburgh shall henceforth be known as His Royal Highness The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.” The Duke of Edinburgh was not granted the title of king because of a rule that states the husband of a ruling queen is called prince consort, just as wives of kings are typically referred to as queen consort. Under the royal family’s longstanding rule, the title of king is only given to a royal who inherits the throne and can reign, which is the case for the Queen and Prince Philip’s eldest son Prince Charles when he ascends to the throne. When Prince Charles does take the throne, his wife Camilla Parker-Bowles may be granted the title of queen consort, although Clarence House previously announced that “it is intended that Mrs Parker Bowles should use the title HRH The Princess Consort when The Prince of Wales accedes to The Throne”. Following Prince Philip’s death, which comes after he was recently hospitalised while fighting an infection, there has been an outpouring of condolences from around the world as people pay their respects to the royal family. The duke died just months before his 100th birthday on 10 June.

Nigeria exempted from UK’s list of high-risk countries for money laundering

April 10,2021 by Jemilat Nasiru The UK has exempted Nigeria from its list of high-risk countries for money laundering, TheCable can report. The list, comprising 21 countries, was released as part of post-Brexit developments. Until the end of the Brexit transition period, the list of high-risk countries was determined by the EU under the 4th Anti Money Laundering Directive. From January 1, 2021, the UK has had its own standalone list. Since then, any amendments made by the European Union to its list do not have effect in the UK. The EU had in March 2019 added Nigeria to countries on its “dirty money blacklist”. The EU said the nations in this category pose a threat because of tax controls on terrorism financing and money laundering. Advertisement The Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit, however, announced that Nigeria was officially withdrawn from the list by the Council of Europe on March 5, 2019. Ghana, Senegal, Iran and Morocco are among the countries listed in the UK’s Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (High-Risk Countries) Regulations 2021 which took effect on March 26. Others include Syria, Uganda, Zimbabwe and Pakistan. “These Regulations amend the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/692) (“the MLRs”) to insert as Schedule 3ZA a new UK list of high-risk third countries for the purposes of enhanced customer due diligence requirements,” read an explanatory note attached to the regulation seen by TheCable. “Regulation 2 substitutes for the definition of “high-risk third country” in regulation 33(3)(a) of the MLRs a definition which refers to the list of countries in this Schedule, rather than to the list in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1675 of 14th July 2016 supplementing Directive (EU) 2015/849 of the European Parliament and of the Council by identifying high-risk third countries with strategic deficiencies (“the CDR”). It also makes a consequential amendment to a further reference to the CDR. Regulation 3 revokes the CDR.”

George Floyd’s Cause of Death Is Crucial in Trial. Forensic Pathologists Explain.

The prosecution in Derek Chauvin’s trial is trying to establish that George Floyd died from a lack of oxygen. Here, experts break down the key medical terminology surrounding his autopsies. By Sheri Fink Published April 8, 2021 Updated April 9, 2021 Dr. Andrew Baker may be one of the most important witnesses to be called in the murder trial of Derek Chauvin. It was his duty to determine why George Floyd died. Dr. Baker, the Hennepin County medical examiner, conducted Mr. Floyd’s initial autopsy and determined ultimately that his heart and lungs stopped functioning while he was being subdued, restrained and compressed by police officers. The manner of Mr. Floyd’s death, Dr. Baker concluded, was homicide. And in the months since, almost everything he said in the autopsy report has been parsed and pored over by experts and laypeople alike. In opening statements last week, the prosecution indicated that they would pursue an unusual strategy: challenging some aspects of Dr. Baker’s findings and introducing a reason that he did not cite — insufficient oxygen — as Mr. Floyd’s cause of death. ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story For their part, Mr. Chauvin’s defense team told jurors that the pre-existing heart disease, high blood pressure and recent drug use documented by Dr. Baker led to Mr. Floyd’s death from what they said was a heart arrhythmia. What is a medical examiner? In the United States, some jurisdictions use coroners and others use medical examiners to determine the cause of certain deaths, including those that occur in police custody. Unlike coroners, medical examiners are required to be physicians. Dr. Baker, who is expected to testify in the coming days, is certified in the field of forensic pathology and is the chief medical examiner of Hennepin County. The medical examiner’s office is an independent agency. It is not part of law enforcement. Is there always one cause of death? When someone dies, a death certificate is filled out for both public health and legal reasons. The form includes a cause of death in the first section and contributing factors in the second section. “We usually have to come up with one cause,” said Dr. Judy Melinek, a board-certified forensic pathologist. Everything else significant “that might be wrong with a person is ‘contributing.’” After Genetic Testing, I Took a Chance on an ‘Imperfect’ Pregnancy Pathologists describe the cause of death as the immediate injury or disease that leads to death. It is the “disease or injury which starts the lethal sequence of events without an intervening cause,” Dr. Melinek said. What is the manner of death? The manner of death refers to the circumstances surrounding the death. There are usually five choices (a few jurisdictions include more): natural, accident, suicide, homicide or undetermined. Homicide is often described as “death at the hands of another or others.” A homicide is not necessarily criminal — homicides can be a matter of self-defense, for example. The courts, not medical examiners, determine criminal culpability. Is more than an autopsy considered? In addition to examining the body, which usually occurs quickly, pathologists consider other materials such as the police report, videos, medical records and toxicology reports, said Dr. Priya Banerjee, a board-certified forensic pathologist. “We don’t practice in a black box,” she said. Until all the results of the investigation are in, she said, she typically says the case is pending further study. The police caused George Floyd’s death, but drugs and heart disease played a role, the medical examiner says. In their own words: The interaction with police ‘was just more than Mr. Floyd could take.’ How the medical examiner’s previous statements may help the defense. Is this helpful? Are the cause and manner of death always clear? In a vast majority of cases, the cause and manner of death are evident, forensic pathologists say. But in some situations, the professional opinions of well-trained and experienced experts can differ. “Some cases are much more complicated than others,” Dr. Banerjee said. When an “autopsy wasn’t a slam dunk,” Dr. Banerjee said, the written cause of death can be “more verbose because it’s taking into consideration many things.” Key Coverage of The Trial of Derek Chauvin That can occur when an autopsy does not reveal a lethal injury like a gunshot wound to the brain. “Autopsies are good at showing demonstrable changes in the body’s tissues,” said Dr. Christopher Happy, a board-certified forensic pathologist, “but they’re not good at showing things that were functional, like a seizure or respiratory depression or an arrhythmia unless there’s some lesion associated with that.” What did Dr. Baker ultimately determine? Dr. Baker described Mr. Floyd’s cause of death as “cardiopulmonary arrest complicating law enforcement subdual, restraint, and neck compression.” The manner of death, he wrote, was homicide. The use of the term cardiopulmonary arrest led to public confusion because some people wrongly assumed it meant that Mr. Floyd had a heart attack. Cardiopulmonary arrest means “the heart stops beating and the lungs stop moving,” Dr. Cyril Wecht said. Some pathologists say they do not include it as a cause of death because it describes all deaths. Dr. Baker also detailed “other significant conditions” including pre-existing ones such as severe disease of the vessels of Mr. Floyd’s heart. He also described laboratory findings of the opioid drug fentanyl and methamphetamines in Mr. Floyd’s blood. Not including these under cause of death means he concluded that “those were there before but didn’t start the lethal sequence of events,” Dr. Melinek said. Listing them “is meant to clarify” what made Mr. Floyd more vulnerable to the cause of death, she said, “not excuse it.” Here, context matters. Dr. Baker told prosecutors that if Mr. Floyd had been “found dead at home alone” with “no other apparent causes,” they wrote, it could have been acceptable to determine that Mr. Floyd died of an overdose because of the relatively high levels of fentanyl found in his blood collected at the hospital. Instead, recordings revealed both the prolonged restraint of Mr. Floyd just before his death and also that he appeared agitated rather than lethargic, which could suggest tolerance to higher doses of fentanyl. The drug typically “causes you to become relaxed,” Dr. Wecht said. By contrast, Dr. Melinek said, Mr. Chauvin’s defense attorneys appear to be trying to use the medical findings to convince the jury that Mr. Floyd “was essentially a ticking time bomb, already had pre-existing conditions that made this endpoint happen, not because excessive force was used.” Only asserting that he was at higher risk of death from police restraint because of underlying health conditions or drug use would likely be legally insufficient, some experts said. What did his preliminary findings say? The medical examiner’s office had not finished its investigation when prosecutors filed a charging document saying that preliminary findings had shown no physical evidence to support a diagnosis of “traumatic asphyxia or strangulation.” It said that the combined effects of police restraint, underlying health conditions including heart disease and “any potential intoxicants in his system likely contributed to his death.” Forensic pathologists said that in high-profile cases, it can be problematic to release findings early because they may be misinterpreted or incomplete. “I basically never release preliminary cause of death,” Dr. Banerjee said. What did a second autopsy of Mr. Floyd find? After the initial autopsy, forensic pathologists no longer have access to an intact body, and sometimes organs or tissues are unavailable, having been removed for further study. Even so, doctors sometimes document findings that an examiner missed in the first autopsy or that were not apparent. “There are multiple reasons you might see something at second autopsy that’s not seen at the first and vice versa,” Dr. Melinek said. Mr. Floyd’s family hired Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson to perform a second autopsy. Both experts said that pressure on Mr. Floyd’s neck and back during his restraint by the police led him to die of asphyxia, a term Dr. Baker did not use in his official report. After performing a second autopsy, Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson said that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxia. After performing a second autopsy, Dr. Michael Baden and Dr. Allecia Wilson said that Mr. Floyd died of asphyxia.Credit...Celeste Sloman for The New York Times The word asphyxia derives from an ancient Greek term that means “without pulse.” Doctors now use it to mean the deprivation of oxygen, which can occur for many reasons. At the center of the case is whether Mr. Chauvin’s actions led to any of them, such as inhibiting the movement of the diaphragm that allows the lungs to expand, or reducing the flow of blood carrying oxygen to vital tissues. Oxygen deprivation may occur not only from neck compression, experts said, but also from pressure on the back when someone is lying face down, and it may not leave major physical traces. The cause of death described by both Dr. Baker and the pathologists who performed the second autopsy amounted to substantially the same thing, some experts said, which was “that external pressure in a prone position to Mr. Floyd caused his death,” Dr. Banerjee said. Shaila Dewan contributed reporting. Sheri Fink is a correspondent in the investigative unit. She won the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting and shared the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting. She received her M.D. and Ph.D. from Stanford University.

FG approves 20 private varsities, says existing 197 too small

Friday Olokor, Abuja 5:57 am THE Federal Government on Thursday said the 197 universities in Nigeria were too small given the country’s growing population which presently stood at over 200 million. The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, represented by the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, stated this during the presentation of provisional licences to 20 newly approved private universities by the National Universities Commission. With the approval, Nigeria now has 99 private universities, and a total of 197 universities, private and public. “In relation to Nigeria’s population of over 200 million, the current 193 universities is quite low when compared to those of other economies such as, Brazil (209 million) 441 universities, Mexico (126 million) 375 universities, Russia (145 million) 741 universities. “In 2019, the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board announced that out of over 1.8 million candidates registered for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination, only 612,000 were admitted in Nigerian universities, representing 34 per cent. This shows gross inadequacy in terms of access. The above scenario indicates that Nigeria needs more universities.” Read Also Private varsities experiencing influx of public school students Nothing wrong in NUC approving 20 universities at once, there are opportunities for varsities to tap –Caleb University VC, Owens-Ibie NUC approves Enugu Federal College’s degree programmes The universities granted provisional licences included Mudiame University, Irrua, Edo State; James Hope University, Lagos; Maryam Abacha American University of Nigeria, Kano; Capital City University, Kano; Ahman Pategi University, Pategi, Kwara State; and University of Offa, Kwara State. Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Prof. Sunny Eromosele, promoter of Mudiame University, Irrua, Edo State, hailed the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), for approving the establishment of the universities.