Metro

Egyptian Crocodile Museum celebrates 12th year anniversary

Published

2 years ago

February 3, 2023

The Egyptian Crocodile Museum, the first ever museum in Africa devoted exclusively to crocodiles, has marked the 12th year anniversary of its existence since its inauguration in 2012.

While marking the anniversary on Thursday, Egypt’s Antiquities Minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, said the celebration will include a scientific symposium organised to introduce the museum and its collection.

The Crocodile Museum, located next to the Kom Ombo temple, north of Aswan, highlights the crocodile-headed god, Sobek, with its main exhibition hall displaying the mummified mummies of the Nile crocodiles, dating back many centuries.

Some of the mummified crocodiles, according to museum records, measure up to 4.30 meters, while the smallest are 2 meters, while the museum also display a collection of fetuses, eyes, and golden and ivory teeth of mummified crocodiles.

“The museum also shows statues of different sizes of the god Sobek and a tomb model that simulates what was discovered in the Shutb cemetery,” the Minister said.

“The Crocodile Museum displays 22 mummified crocodiles of various sizes out of forty to have been unearthed in Aswan.

“The crocodiles are arrayed on a sand hill inside a large glass showcase, allowing visitors to see how crocodiles passed their days in ancient Egypt.

“A collection of crocodile coffins and wooden sarcophagi, along with crocodile foetuses and eggs, are also on display, in addition to stelae and statues depicting the crocodile-god Sobek, bearing a human body and the head of a crocodile. Replicas of Sobek’s original tombs and niches are also on display,” he added.

Abdel Hamid Maarouf, head of the ministry’s ancient Egypt department, noted that the crocodile museum was the third museum to be inaugurated in Egypt recently, after the Imhotep Museum at the Saqqara Necropolis and the Meneptah Museum on Luxor’s west bank.

He explained that Sobek had been worshiped in ancient Upper Egypt, especially in Kom Ombo, where a great temple was built in his honour.

“Following a crocodile’s death, it was treated like a god, mummified and buried like a pharaoh, replete with funerary items,” he said.

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Metro

Zambia: Farmers’ union warns of uncertain future for agriculture sector

Published

18 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

The Small-Scale Farmers Development Agency (SAFADA) of Zambia has warned of uncertainty on the future of the agricultural sector, stating that its outlook over the next 25 years remains uncertain and gloomy.

The Executive Director of SAFADA, Boyd Moobwe, who raised the concerns in a telephone interview with Zambia Monitor on Saturday, expressed regrets that the agric sector was facing critical challenges that could hinder its contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and overall economic growth by 2030.

Moobwe admitted that the rapid changes in agriculture due to new technologies and innovations, has been slow amid the inconsistent implementation of these advancements which raises questions about the sector’s ability to survive amidst the growing threats of climate change, political instability, and economic difficulties.

The SAFADA Director pointed out that many of the problems plaguing agriculture were self-inflicted.

“The current measures for agricultural and rural financing are inadequate due to poor data analysis and utilisation,” Moobwe said.

Agriculture, he said, “had the potential to revive the economy if proper policies were introduced and if small-scale farmers were fully involved in planning and implementing agricultural projects.”

Metro

Nigeria: CSO urges President Tinubu to investigate missing funds in Humanitarian Ministry

Published

23 hours ago

November 24, 2024

Isaac Dachen

A Nigerian civil society organization, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP), has called on President Bola Tinubu to launch an investigation into the over N57 billion that allegedly went missing in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation in 2021.

The organisation, in a statement on Sunday, urged the president to direct the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, as well as other anti-corruption agencies to commence a probe into the allegations without delay.

In the letter issued by SERAP’s Deputy Director, Kolawole Oluwadare and addressed to President Tinubu, the group warned against sweeping the allegations under the carpet as the Nigerian public has a right to know what happened to their money.

“The allegations amount to stealing from the poor. There is a legitimate public interest in ensuring justice and accountability for these grave allegations,” the watch dog group said.

“The allegations also suggest a grave violation of the public trust, the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), the country’s anticorruption legislation, and international anticorruption obligations.

“Hundreds of billions of naira are also reportedly missing in other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“Poor Nigerians have continued to pay the price for the widespread and grand corruption in the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviations and other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“According to the 2021 annual audited report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, (the ministry) in 2021 failed to account for over N54 billion meant to pay monthly stipends to Batch C1 N-Power volunteers and non-graduate trainees between August and December 2021.

“The money was not directly paid to the beneficiaries. The Auditor-General is concerned that the money may have been diverted. He wants the money recovered and remitted to the treasury. He also wants suspected perpetrators of the diversion to be sanctioned in line with the Financial Regulations.

“The ministry reportedly failed to account for over N2.6 billion of public funds meant for the home-grown school feeding programme during Covid-19, as the programme was never executed. The money was allegedly paid to five contractors to procure, package and distribute Covid-19 palliatives to Kano, Zamfara and Abia states, but without any trace.

“The ministry also reportedly spent over N78 million to carry out a survey on the ministry’s Covid-19 response to states and vulnerable groups but without any approval or document.

“The ministry also reportedly failed to account for N400 million meant to pay stipends to 4,450 independent monitors for October, November, and December 2021.

“We would be grateful if the recommended measures are taken within seven days of the receipt and/or publication of this letter. If we have not heard from you by then, SERAP shall consider appropriate legal actions to compel your government to comply with our request in the public interest.

“SERAP urges you to immediately enforce the judgment by Hon. Justice Deinde Isaac Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos, ordering your government to release the spending details of N729 billion by Mrs Sadia Umar-Farouk, the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disasters Management and Social Development,” SERAP warned.