Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka says being an itinerant teacher has become "a way of life" as he takes up a post as visiting professor at the University of Johannesburg. The 83-year-old Nigerian playwright and author told students and journalists at the South African university on Friday that the benefit of encountering different cultures during his travels is that "one does not stagnate." Soyinka was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in 1986. He says he and his Johannesburg students might create a play together, as well as discuss history and international relations along with literature. Soyinka drew laughter after saying:…

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Friday in Abuja said federal government planned to use Public Private Partnership, PPP, to provide basic infrastructure to the people. Osinbajo said this at the launch of PPP Disclosure Web Portal sponsored by World Bank and Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC). Represented by Mr Suleiman Hassan, Minister of State, Power, Works and Housing, Osinbajo emphasised the role of the private sector in providing basic infrastructure in collaboration with government under PPP arrangement. PPP Disclosure Web Portal encourages proactive disclosure of contract agreement between government and its contractors on PPP projects. The portal will make available…

House of Representatives on Friday restated its determination to pass a bill ‎to regulate non-governmental organisations, NGOs. Several Nigerians including former chairman of National Human Rights Commission, Chidi Odinkalu, have critic‎ised the bill describing it as unnecessary. Such critics say there are already enough existing laws that only need to be implemented and that the bill was designed to muscle NGOs and civil society organisations, CSOs. Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Umar Jibril, has, however, defended the decision of the lawmakers to pass the new NGO bill. In a statement on Friday, Mr. Jibril alleged that “some NGOs collected…

The rapid spread of "super malaria" in South East Asia is an alarming global threat, scientists are warning.This dangerous form of the malaria parasite cannot be killed with the main anti-malaria drugs. It emerged in Cambodia but has since spread through parts of Thailand, Laos and has arrived in southern Vietnam. The team at the Oxford Tropical Medicine Research Unit in Bangkok said there was a real danger of malaria becoming untreatable. Prof Arjen Dondorp, head of the unit, told the BBC News website: "We think it is a serious threat. "It is alarming that this strain is spreading so…