The Chairman of Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa (OON), opens up about her heydays in school sports and how her office is working with relevant sports bodies in Nigeria, in this interview with ABIODUN ADEWALE During your speech at a recent table tennis event in Lagos, you mentioned that you were an athlete for school. How deep was your involvement in sports back then? I was involved and I mean at St. Teresa’s College, Ibadan I was a sports prefect. I participated in 400m, 800m, and one mile and even those days, we ran for the western state and we ran 400m. Beyond that, you will always see me leading the march past and this is why I like what Yemi Edun did with that table tennis tournament. Investing in sports is very important, catching them young and then it also helps in cognitive development. I thank Mr Yemi Edun for what he is doing here and I hope other Nigerians in the diaspora, just look back, and give back, no matter how small. You played a sort of table tennis exhibition game against 9ice at the event. Is that one of the games you enjoy? 9ice wanted to take the shine in that match but don’t mind that. I might not have played table tennis as much as him but during my school days I used to run for my school and I did well in 100m, 400m, 800m and even relays. Are there some of your contemporaries then in school who made it as a professional athlete? They are all retired. Senior Glory Ayanlaja was the lead athlete. Yinka Folorunso is late now. Those are the two I remember. So, did you also nurse the ambition of becoming an athlete? No, I never considered that. In those days, they don’t even encourage you especially when you are a bright student in school. We had competitions among schools and even among western states before moving to the national level. I just happened to be part of a relay team that did very well. Aside from athletics, what are your favourite sports? I love football and basketball. Any sport where Nigeria attracts global attention also draws me and I tend to pay attention to it subsequently. Related News NiDCOM resolved over 1,000 petitions in five years - Abike Dabiri-Erewa Family urges FG to save brother in South African prison 13 more trafficked Nigerian girls rescued from Ghana -- NiDCOM Tell us about your favourite teams in these sports and why you love them. In football, I will always go with the Nigeria national team. My favourites are the Super Eagles and Super Falcons as well as other age-grade teams because I know they do well too. I support these teams because of patriotism, it comes naturally. If we do what Yemi is doing, let’s encourage our teams and local sports. You find out we pay more attention to foreign clubs. In basketball, it depends, I just love the game. I love to watch them play. Did you watch the D’Tigress at the Olympics and how did they make you feel with their performance? It was a proud moment for me at the Olympics despite the results we had in other sports. I saw how good they were and I was rooting for them. They put Nigeria on the map again and I am very proud of them. They also reminded me that we have Nigerians in sports abroad. For instance, we have the Ogwumike sisters. They have done great in the WNBA and there are many others in different sports. I am so proud of them. We have to encourage those of them abroad too and they are willing to represent Nigeria and we are also willing to engage with them. That is where we are going now with the chairman of the National Sports Commission, Sheu Dikko. We need to reach out to them. I know of a lady in Gymnastics, all she said was let them just give me a training kit. So, let us encourage them, we will get more of them to participate in Nigeria. So, how are you engaging the sports commission to achieve these things? We are already doing that, we are engaging with Nigerians in the diaspora in the sporting field and we will be having a conversation with the chairman of the NSC Mr Dikko. We are already talking to a lot of them in basketball and athletics but we need to have that engagement with them. There is a lot of frustration along the way and that is reality. I know about two athletes who wanted to swim for Nigeria but it was kind of difficult. It’s important that this is the time to tap into the enormous resources to have them home which I’m sure Mr Dikko will. While doing that, the relevant sports bodies must also not forget the need to nurse the talents we have at home too. About what you do at NiDCOM, we get stories of athletes, especially footballers who get stranded in foreign countries with fake agents. Recently there was a particular Jerry Moses from Taraba State. How many more of these cases do you get and how do you get involved? There are many you don’t even hear about but as we get them we work with the relevant ministry, the Ministry of Sports and now we have the National Sports Commission. A lot of agents take them away, fake agents, so they need to be wary of agents who promise them heaven and earth and it never happens. There were two we brought back not long ago. The advocacy for equal pay in sports has been on for a while, do you also believe it is practicable? Of course, there should be equal pay, not only in sports but everywhere. I hope that changes.Boston's Syrian community reacts to the fall of the Assad government30 jili777 。

BillMart Fintech and Eqaro Guarantees have partnered to offer guarantee solutions designed to build trust between lenders and businesses in the Indian trade finance ecosystem. With this collaboration, Eqaro’s guarantee products will be integrated into BillMart’s FinTech platform, the companies said in a Friday (Dec. 27) press release . The combination aims to help lenders minimize risks and provide businesses with secured financing options, according to the release. “Our goal is to simplify access to credit for businesses and reduce barriers to growth,” BillMart Fintech Managing Director and CEO Ashok Mittal said in the release. “This collaboration strengthens BillMart’s role as a trusted partner for businesses seeking innovative financial solutions.” Eqaro CEO Vikash Khandelwal said in the release that BillMart’s “technology-driven approach” complements Eqaro’s credit risk management expertise. “Together, we aim to redefine financial security for businesses, offering them the stability and confidence they need to thrive in today’s competitive environment,” Khandelwal said. BillMart’s digital lending platform provides businesses across India with access to trade finance and liquidity solutions, using artificial intelligence (AI)-powered analytics to facilitate data-driven lending decisions, according to the release. Eqaro uses credit analysis technology and reinsurance to offer guarantees in lieu of collateral and cash on behalf of individuals and businesses, per the release. Thirty-seven percent of Indian microbusinesses and small businesses (MSBs) have recently used embedded lending , according to “ The Embedded Lending Opportunity: India Edition ,” a PYMNTS Intelligence report commissioned by Visa . The report also found that more than two-thirds of these businesses said they are highly likely to switch to providers that offer embedded lending. In an earlier, separate product launch, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said in August that it planned to launch a technology platform designed to enable frictionless credit , especially for small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs). When announcing the launch of its pilot project for this platform in August 2023, the RBI said it aims to connect separate systems that hinder the timely delivery of rules-based lending. “With rapid progress in digitalization, India has embraced the concept of digital public infrastructure which encourages banks, [non-banking financial companies (NBFCs)], FinTech companies and startups to create and provide innovative solutions in payments, credit and other financial activities,” the RBI said at the time.

● St. Katharine Drexel Catholic High School teacher Cynthia Bettio has received Esri Canada’s Making a Difference Award. ● Esri Canada provides geographic information system (GIS) mapping tools used by municipalities like Stouffville to analyze and display geographic data. ● Bettio was recognized for an urban planning project where students created land-use plans for hypothetical Stouffville development sites. ● Students presented their concepts, which utilized Esri’s GIS software, to Stouffville’s Council in June. ● Bettio emphasizes connecting coursework to real-world and local issues to foster critical thinking and deeper understanding in students. Cynthia Bettio, head of Canadian and World Studies at St. Katharine Drexel Catholic High School (SKD), received Esri Canada’s Making a Difference Award for innovative use of GIS technology in education. Esri Canada provides geographic information system mapping and analytics solutions to more than 14,000 organizations. GIS enables data analysis and allows for the geographic display of information. Municipalities such as Stouffville use Esri’s services for a variety of purposes, including public-facing tools like the Town’s Development Activity Map. The award recognizes individuals and organizations that use Esri’s ArcGIS tools “to make a positive impact on their communities,” according to a recent Esri Canada press release. Bettio was honoured for her role in a multi-class urban planning project that utilized the company’s software during the 2023-2024 school year. After months of study, 24 SKD students presented Town Council with land-use plans for three hypothetical Stouffville development sites. Their work included collaboration with Town Staff, and final renderings and virtual tours were showcased to Councillors and the public during a packed June 2024 meeting. Their concepts were informed by investigation into surrounding land uses and focused on housing, parkland, and community amenities. Climate change mitigation strategies and renewable energy sources were also considered and implemented within their designs. “By incorporating Esri’s cloud-based mapping and analysis software...into her geography and history classes, Ms. Bettio transforms abstract subjects into dynamic, hands-on learning experiences,” the press release detailed. “She engages students with projects that integrate real-world data and local history, encouraging them to think critically, tackle complex problems, and make meaningful connections between their coursework and the world around them.” Bettio was also recognized for her efforts in a Grade 10 Advanced Placement Canadian History class project that tracked the evolution of various Richmond Hill parcels over more than a century. Students presented their final deliverables to the Richmond Hill Historical Association in 2023 using GIS tools. “If we want kids to care about the subjects that they are learning, we have to be able to show them where they connect to them,” Bettio said. “If we focus on local issues that are relevant to students’ lives, we can ask them to step back and examine the bigger picture with greater depth and understanding.”

Urfan Sharif told social workers that his daughter Sara “brings a smile to my face” before he went on to murder her, new documents show. Sharif, who was convicted of Sara’s murder on Wednesday, also described her as “one of the best kids” when visited by social workers in February 2015. But staff at Surrey County Council had previously recorded that they did not “trust” Sharif, and described his parenting style as “quite dictatorial”. Sharif was found guilty of murdering his daughter in August last year along with her stepmother, Beinash Batool. Sara’s uncle, Faisal Malik, was convicted of causing or allowing her death following a trial at the Old Bailey. Documents previously released to the media from three separate sets of family court proceedings – which were allowed to be published following the verdicts – showed that concerns were raised by Surrey County Council about Sara’s care within a week of her birth in 2013, with Sharif and Sara’s mother, Olga, known to social services as early as 2010. But new documents, released on Thursday, show that in 2014, a social worker said engagements with the parents “causes the local authority not to trust” Sharif. The same year, the council applied for Sara to be taken into emergency care, telling a family court it had “significant concerns” about the children returning to Sharif, “given the history of allegations of physical abuse of the children and domestic abuse with Mr Sharif as the perpetrator”. As part of that application, the council told the court that in 2013, Sharif was assessed as having “repeatedly overlooked” the needs of Sara and her siblings, and said “there is no evidence to suggest that this assessment of Mr Sharif would be any different now”. The report added that “there is evidence to suggest Mr Sharif poses a risk” to Sara, and that she was at “immediate risk of harm”. As part of the same set of proceedings, a report by a social worker said: “Mr Sharif described Sara as ‘one of the best kids, she is very good and brings a smile to my face. She gives hugs and kisses, she plays with you, she understands what you say to her and knows what she needs when going out. She has very good hygiene and is not a messy eater.” Urfan Sharif will be sentenced for Sara’s murder on Tuesday (Surrey Police/PA) Despite the council’s concerns, Sara remained in contact with her father, and later moved to his home in Woking in 2019. Having previously said in 2015 that there is “no violence in our home”, Sharif later admitted to jurors at his trial that he hit Sara with a cricket bat as she was bound with packaging tape, repeatedly throttled her with his bare hands, and battered her over the head with a mobile phone, in a campaign of abuse. He will be sentenced alongside Batool and Malik on Tuesday. Following the guilty verdicts, Rachael Wardell, executive director for children, families and lifelong learning at Surrey County Council, said: “Sara’s death is incredibly distressing and we share in the profound horror at the terrible details that have emerged during the trial. “We cannot begin to comprehend the suffering that poor Sara endured at the hands of members of her family who should have loved, protected, and cared for her. “The focus of the trial has been on the evidence needed to secure the convictions of those responsible for Sara’s death. This means that until the independent safeguarding review concludes, a complete picture cannot be understood or commented upon. “What is clear from the evidence we’ve heard in court is that the perpetrators went to extreme lengths to conceal the truth from everyone. “We are resolute in our commitment to protecting children, and we are determined to play a full and active part in the forthcoming review alongside partner agencies, to thoroughly understand the wider circumstances surrounding Sara’s tragic death.”