Signs New Luxury Hotel in Abuja | Reuters
Luxury Hotel Development in the Nigerian Capital Supports FRHI's Worldwide Goal to Grow by 50% Over the Next Five Years
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES--(Marketwired - Sep 21, 2015) - Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, a luxury brand within the FRHI Hotels & Resorts (FRHI) portfolio, and Asset Management Group (AMG), today announced the development of a new 270-room luxury hotel in the Nigerian capital city of Abuja.
With a planned opening in 2019, Fairmont Abuja will be situated in the heart of the city's central business district and only 30 km from the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport. A close proximity to the new International Conference Centre, due to open in 2018, will make the hotel an ideal venue for corporate groups, conferences and social events.
"We are very excited to bring the Fairmont brand to the Nigerian capital, fulfilling a growing demand for luxury, genuine hospitality in addition to helping shape an exciting cultural and culinary landscape," said Jennifer Fox, president, FRHI International and Fairmont Brand. "As the continent's largest economy and biggest oil producer, Nigeria is experiencing robust and stable growth making it a world-class destination and enticing location for both business and leisure travel."
In an African city recognized for its beautiful rolling terrain, modern architecture and expansive road network, Fairmont Abuja will provide easy access to the diplomatic and government quarter, including the Presidential Complex, National Assembly and the Supreme Court. As Nigeria's purpose built and planned city, Abuja also houses divisions of the United Nations, World Bank and major international embassies and consulates.
The project is being developed by Asset Management Group (AMG), a leading firm in Nigeria that was incorporated in the early 1990s to acquire and develop real estate assets and provide financial and advisory services to businesses. Key projects in the company's portfolio include Harbor Point, a mixed use facility including the Fairmont Lagos, the first announced FRHI property in the country which is scheduled to open in 2017.
"Fairmont's history in managing luxury hotels and its positioning of being truly connected to the destinations where it operates makes it the ideal brand to manage our Abuja development," said Aisha Oyebode, Group CEO of AMG. "We are pleased that Fairmont Abuja will join a growing collection of iconic and legendary hotels across the globe."
Fairmont Abuja will feature 270 guestrooms and suites, Fairmont Gold - the brand's signature 'hotel within a hotel' concept - and approximately 50 branded residences. It will also boast more than 2,400 square meters (25,800 square feet) of meeting and event space, including a state-of-the-art ballroom, ideal for regional and international corporate travel and groups.
Appealing to the local community and international guests, the hotel's leisure offerings will include 850 square meters (9,100 square feet) of spa and fitness facilities, with tennis courts, a gymnasium and outdoor swimming pools. Leisure facilities and services will also be available to local residents through various membership programs.
As a renowned leader on the global culinary scene, Fairmont will extend its food and beverage expertise to this exciting city. Guests of Fairmont Abuja will be able to choose from an expansive selection of restaurants and lounges, including an all-day dining concept, lobby lounge, boutique caf, pool bar, entertainment bar as well as two specialty restaurants featuring world-class cuisine.
The project's whole-ownership Fairmont Residences complex, which will open for purchase in early 2017, will feature spacious luxury apartments ranging in size from one to five bedrooms. Home owners will enjoy their own private entrance, lobby and dedicated residence services, while also benefiting from the amenities and facilities provided by Fairmont Abuja.
The addition of Fairmont Abuja complements a growing portfolio of Fairmont hotels currently under development in the region, including Fairmont Lagos, which will feature 220 guestrooms and suites, 3,800 square meter (41,000 square foot) meeting and conference space, a wide selection of food and beverage options and a Willow Stream Spa.
About Fairmont
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts connects guests to the very best of its destinations, providing travelers with memorable travel experiences, thoughtful and attentive service and luxury hotels that are truly unforgettable. Each Fairmont property reflects the locale's energy, culture and history through locally inspired cuisine, spirited bars and lounges and distinctive design and decor. With more than 70 hotels globally, and many more in development, the Fairmont collection boasts some of the most iconic hotels in the world, including The Plaza in New York, The Savoy in London, Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai and Fairmont Le Chteau Frontenac in Qubec City. Fairmont is owned by FRHI Hotels & Resorts, a leading global hotel company that operates more than 130 hotels and branded residential properties under the Raffles, Fairmont and Swisstel brands. For more information or reservations, please visit fairmont.com.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSnMKWGckp2a+1e0+MKW20150921
Pentagon Taps Milley as Next Army Chief of Staff
The Pentagon chief today named Gen. Mark Milley a leader with a strong background in light infantry and Special Forces to replace Gen. Raymond Odierno as the Armys next chief of staff.
Flanked by Milley and Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Gen. Martin Dempsey, Defense Secretary Ash Carter announced the nomination of Milley to be the 39th chief of staff of the Army.
President Obama has accepted the nomination, referring to Milley as a warrior and a statesmen.
He not only has plenty of operational and joint experience in Afghanistan, in Iraq and on the Joint staff, but he also has the intellect and vision to feed change throughout the Army, Carter said.
Carter spoke of Odiernos performance over the last four years, calling him a tremendous leader.
The past four years have been critical for our military and our country, marked by an every changing security environment and by persistent budget hurdles, Carter said, referring to Odiernos leadership.
Milley graduated and received his commission from Princeton University in 1980.
He has served in the 82d Airborne Division and the 5th Special Forces Group at Fort Bragg, N.C., the 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, Calif., the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., the 2d Infantry Division in Korea, the Joint Readiness Center at Fort Polk, La., the 25th Infantry Division at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, and the 101st Airborne (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Ky.
Milley has commanded the 1st Battalion, 506th Infantry in Korea, the 2d Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, and the III Corps at Fort Hood, Texas.
Additionally, he has served on the Operations Staff of the Joint Staff and as a Military Assistant to the Secretary of Defense in the Pentagon. He was also commanding general of III Corps and Fort Hood where he deployed as the C.G. of ISAF Joint Command and Deputy Commanding General, United States Forces-Afghanistan.
Millie is authorized to wear the Combat Infantryman Badge with star, Expert Infantryman Badge, Master Parachutist Badge, Scuba Diver Badge, Ranger Tab, and Special Forces Tab.
When he was in Afghanistan as commanding general of ISAF joint command, I had a lot of opportunity to observe Mark on the ground leading our coalition allies and partners and helping the Afghan people prepare to take responsibility for their own security, Carter said.
Mark and I flew to Iraq the day after an attack on the U.S. consulate there, and I saw Mark take command of the scene and stand with our people there I was impressed by his candor and good judgment, and I knew right away that he had more to offer the United States Army.
Odierno also praised Milley as an experienced leader.
The President has chosen a phenomenal leader in General Mark Milley as the 39th Chief of Staff of the Army, Odierno said in a written statement.
General Milley is an experienced, combat-tested, and caring leader. I have known General Milley for many years, have served with him in Iraq and watched him in Afghanistan. I am confident that he is the right leader to lead our Army into the future.
Odiernos time as Army chief was marked by many challenges. He has struggled to maintain Army readiness in the face of systematic defense-spending cuts known as sequestration.
Hes had to orchestrate a massive restructuring of the active force that has involved cutting about a dozen brigade combat teams to get the force down to 490,000 by 2016.
Not all of his decisions have been popular. He has faced significant push-back from theNational Guard for his decision to transfer the Guards AH-64 Apache gunships to the active force as part of the Armys Aviation Restructuring Initiative.
Odierno also killed the Armys top modernization effort last year. He was a strong supporter of the effort to replace the Bradley fighting vehicle with the new Ground Combat Vehicle, but the Army couldnt afford a fleet of expensive GCVs in the current budget climate.
Before becoming chief of staff, Odierno spent almost a decade of his career in Iraq. Troops often referred to the 6-foot, 6-inch general as the soldiers soldier.
He led the 4th Infantry Division in the 2003 invasion before going on to later command Multi-National Corps-Iraq from 2006 to 2008. Odierno returned to Iraq after a brief stint as Army vice chief of staff to succeed Petraeus in September 2008 as Multi-National Force-Iraq commander.
The career field artillery officers time in Iraq was not free from criticism. Some critics inside and outside the Army described his command the 4th Infantrys Division after the invasion as heavy-handed.
Some of Odiernos strategy involved conducting widespread cordon and search operations that had Americans bursting into tens of thousands of Iraqi homes and detaining tens of thousands of Iraqi civilians. Many turned out to be innocent and wound up so angered by the experience that they either supported or joined the insurgency, critics maintain.
To be fair, Odiernos unit was operating in the Sunni Triangle, an extremely violent area north of Baghdad which included Tikrit, Saddam Husseins home town.
Odierno took those critiques to heart and returned to Iraq in 2006 with a new outlook on how the U.S. could retake control of a country spiraling into an uncontrollable wave of violence and potential civil war. Odierno was also one of the troop surges earliest champions, even when most of the Army brass worried that it would only mean more casualties.
There will be plenty of time in the months ahead for proper tributes and farewells, but for now let me just say that President Obama, Chairman Dempsey and I could not have been better served, Carter said.
Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/05/13/pentagon-taps-milley-as-next-army-chief-staff.html
Analysis of the Electoral Data in Nigeria's 2015 Presidential Elections
The Nigerian elections that took place this year was historic. For the first time since the formation of the Fourth Republic of Nigeria, in 1999, after another phase of military rule, Nigeria not only voted out an incumbent president but the People's Democratic Party (PDP). The PDP has been in power since 1999, and they have been described by most as not simply a political party but an institution in the country. Nigeria, until this year's historic elections, effectively had a one-party system.
While, in principle, there were other political parties in the political landscape -- in fact, this year alone 14 political parties had candidates in the presidential race -- no political party has been able to defeat PDP, until now. However, this year, in the face of political fragmentation, growing economic inequality and an economic crisis, deepening social inequality and security concerns posed by the insurgent group Boko Haram, the All Progressive Congress (APC) was able to defeat the PDP, forever altering the political landscape in Nigeria, for the better.
Now, I am neither a fan of Goodluck Jonathan, Nigeria's current president and the presidential candidate for the PDP, nor am I am fan of Muhammadu Buhari, the current president elect of Nigeria and the presidential candidate for the APC. I have been very vocal about my dislike for both politicians. However, this election was not about them, rather this election was about democracy. For the first time since the inception of Nigeria's fourth republic, Nigerians had a choice. But more than that, their choices expressed in their electoral votes, actually mattered. In this election, Nigerians and the world were able to see genuine electoral accountability and transparency at play in the country's political process.
Now, going out and voting does not yet make us a democracy as there are other substantive factors such as economic progress, social equality, human rights development, that are needed before Nigeria can fully become a democracy. But, electoral accountability is an important part of the democratic process and so it was very important to see that it was not simply a possible aspect of Nigeria's political reality, but an inevitable aspect as well.
If political commentators want to understand the underlying realities that shape the electoral process in Nigeria, the 2015 Nigerian elections would be the ideal election to study. As such, I did just that. I studied the electoral data from the Nigerian election in order to understand the factors that best shape our electoral realities and our political landscape. I was very much influenced by the work of American statistician Nate Silver, who uses a complex statistical algorithm to predict the electoral results for American elections. However, unlike Nate Silver I am not a statistician and I have no conceptual understanding of statistical algorithms and their applications. But, I am an individual with a keen understanding of Nigerian politics, and based on my years of research, I have found that one factor that largely influences Nigeria's politics is ethnicity and religion.
I do not mean for my analysis to be a reductive one, not in the least. I am not trying to argue that ethnicity and religion are the only drivers or even the main drivers of Nigerian politics. My argument is a little bit more conservative than that. I am simply arguing that ethnicity and religion are one of the main drivers of Nigerian politics. I approached the data analysis of the Nigerian election by looking at the 36 states in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory (Abuja), and tried to figure out how each state would vote if ethnicity and religion were the only determining factors of the Nigerian election. Now, of course, there were other determining factors, such as political, economic, security, and social instability as I previously mentioned, but I approached the electoral data as though the factors were non-determining. I also did not take into account the other 12 political parties that ran this election not because they are not an important part of Nigeria's democratic process, but because the PDP and the APC were the frontrunners in this elections and taking into account the other political parties would make the analysis more complicated than it needed to be.
If ethnicity and religion are assumed to be the only determining factors in Nigeria's election then it stands to reason that the Northern states are more likely to vote for Muhammadu Buhari (APC) while the South-Central, South-Eastern, and the Eastern states were more likely to vote for Goodluck Jonathan (PDP). The decades of complex historical dynamics and political alliances in Nigeria, which I would be unable to get into in this article, tells us this. It also means that middle-belt states such as Plateau State, Kogi State, Kwara State, Nasarwa state, Adamawa State, and Taraba State, amongst others ought to be considered swing state. But, Northern middle-belt states were more likely to vote for the APC while Southern middle-belt states were more likely to vote for the PDP. However, middle-belt states with a larger Muslim population were more likely to vote for the APC while middle-belt states with a larger Christian population were more likely to vote for the PDP.
Thus, even though Plateau State is technically a Northern middle-belt state because it is on the Northern side of the border it has a larger Christian population, which notoriously has an ongoing, feud with its Muslim population, and as such Plateau State is more likely to vote the PDP. It also means that Kogi State and Kwara State, even though they are technically Southern middle-belt states are more likely to vote for the APC. Now, this was the framework I worked out, and it only follows if ethnicity and religion are assumed to be the only drivers of the Nigerian electoral process. It is also very difficult to separate ethnicity and religion because they often go hand in hand in the Nigerian electoral process, and it is hard to say which of the two factors have a more powerful influence in Nigeria's political reality. For example, it is hard to say if a Christian from the North would be more likely to vote for the APC or the PDP or if a Muslim from the East is more likely to vote for the APC or the PDP.
These dynamics seem inextricable, but this is not to say that their complexity is reduced or negated when the factors are taken together. From my framework, we can only ever estimate or approximate the electoral results if these factors are assumed. Also, I know I have already said this but I think it deserves further repeating, I am simply assuming that ethnicity and religion are the only drivers in the Nigerian electoral process for the purposes of this analysis. However, I am not asserting that they are the only factors in Nigeria's electoral process or its political landscape. Neither am I asserting that they are the only nor the main aspect of an individual's identity in Nigeria.
Now, if my original thesis is to hold, it also means that Southwestern states and Western states in Nigeria are more likely to vote for the APC due to the hostilities between Western Nigeria and Eastern Nigeria that has remained an ever present political reality in the county since its three-year civil war. However, even if Southwestern and Western States are more likely to vote for the APC, they are still to be considered Swing states in this election and so are the middle-belt states in Nigeria.
One last factor to take into account is that even though the Federal Capital territory (FCT) is technically in the North of Nigeria, it would be very hard on any given day to say which way the tide would swing in Abuja because, the capital is always a contentious political landscape. Nevertheless, I went into the election with the assumption that the FCT would be more likely to vote for the APC given its geopolitical position. However, one must always remember that it is a swing state and ought to be treated like one in future analysis. This framework that I came up with as I was trying to decipher and predict Nigeria's electoral results is not a quantitative statistical model, but it a qualitative model to take into account when trying to figure out the political direction of Nigeria's electoral results given the importance of ethnicity and religion in the country's electoral and political landscape.
I applied my newly derived framework when I was analyzing Nigeria's 2015 electoral results to the 36 states in Nigeria plus the FCT, in order to figure out what political party each state is more likely to vote for if ethnicity and religion are assumed to be the only driving forces in Nigeria's election. The results, to me, were astounding. Out of the 37 states in Nigeria, when my qualitative framework was applied to the electoral data, and I was able to correctly predict the presidential candidate that would win in 34 out of the 37 states in Nigeria. From the result of my analysis, I was able to deduce some very important findings.
Firstly, my framework still needs to be analyzed closely so that myself and other Nigerian political commentators that want to take on this fascinating project can perfect it or completely rebuild it. Some of the results, such as the electoral results from Benue State in the Southern middle-belt were very surprising to me, as the APC won in that state. Thus, my model still needs some reforming, if not a complete re-thinking and overturning of the framework.
Secondly, it was also the case that a lot of the electoral results were a lot closer together than predicted. This suggests to me that the other political factors at play in Nigeria's political landscape, which I put aside for the purposes of this analysis, are obviously at play, they are also very powerful factors, and further years of political advocacy and anticipated social equality would allow for these factors to even out or even override the factors of ethnicity and religion in Nigeria's political landscape though I never expect these other factors to fully outplay or undermine the importance of ethnicity and religion in Nigeria's political landscape.
Finally, ethnicity and religion, as my thesis suggests, are very important drivers and determining factors in Nigeria's electoral process and its political landscape. Future political actors could play on this dynamic when figuring out their political strategy for future elections. Also, and more importantly, Nigerian political commentators would do well to try and understand the dynamic that ethnicity and religion bring to Nigeria's political landscape, its history, and its importance in predicting future Nigerian elections. However, said commentators and political researchers would also do well in trying to build a model that further and slowly incorporates the other factors that influence Nigeria's political landscape because, as predicted, these factors are only going to get more powerful in future Nigerian elections.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/udoka-okafor/analysis-of-the-electoral-data-in-nigerias-2015-presidential-elections_b_7038154.html
