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Adeshina’s ‘your-land-or-your-life’ comment is bad for Nigeria

Adeshina’s ‘your-land-or-your-life’ comment is bad for Nigeria
Adeshina’s ‘your-land-or-your-life’ comment is bad for Nigeria

 

Adeshina’s ‘your-land-or-your-life’ comment is bad for Nigeria

Femi Adeshina, who is President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief spokesperson has confirmed Buhari’s position on the herdsmen-farmers crises. He has said that farmers must, as a matter of life and death, accept the controversial cattle ranching or else be killed off by the herdsmen. This Adeshina’s comment on a national TV is rather infuriating than placating. It leaves majority of Nigerians thinking if their government is capable of their protection.

One of the primary responsibilities of any government is the protection of lives and property of its citizens. Under the government, the citizens should be assured, even if it be faintly, that the government is capable of protecting them. Government should not allow the people to lose faith in is capacity, else, there will be fear and apprehension which can lead to the breakdown of law and order in the land.

Adeshina, who is President Muhammadu Buhari’s chief spokesperson has confirmed the fears of Nigerians that the government they elected might not be able to protect them in the phase of herdsmen-farmers crises. He advised land owners to allow their lands to be taken away from them instead of being killed by the herdsmen.  

Adeshina said that “The National Economic Council that recommended ranching didn’t just legislate it, there were recommendations”, so, it is left for Nigerians to either accept it or die.

At the last count, in the last three years, according to a United Nations report, 20, 000 lives have been lost to herdsmen-farmers clashes in the Northern Nigeria where the vagrant herdsmen attempted to seize lands belonging to local farmers. This is unprecedented and the government has been urged to find a lasting solution to the clashes.

Speaking on an the TV morning programme in response to a question on ancestral attachments to land, he  said: “Ancestral attachment? You can only have ancestral attachment when you are alive. If you are talking about ancestral attachment, if you are dead, how does the attachment matter?

Adeshina and the Federal Government forgets how important land is to Africans both in the rural and urban places. No land owner will be happy to allow a stranger to take over their land just like that.

The Government’s spokesman added: “Hundreds have been killed in Zamfara, are they Christians? People have been killed in Birnin Gwari, are they Christians? What is happening is criminality, pure and simple, and it must be brought to an end. Government has a big role to play in this but the people themselves have a role to play.

“Some people are saying don’t use government money to build ranches. If truly they don’t have lands, that is fine, but remember that Kogi State offered 15,000 hectares of land for cattle colony and in the midst of that offer vicious attacks were unleashed.
“In Plateau State, where we had the recent orgy of killings, the government has offered land for ranches and I tell you that some people are interested in this thing not being resolved. “The National Economic Council that recommended ranching didn’t just legislate it, there were recommendations. So, if your state genuinely does not have land for ranching, it is understandable; not every state will have land for ranches. But where you have land and you can do something, please do for peace. What will the land be used for if those who own it are dead at the end of the day?”

One of the suggestions being pioneered by the Federal Government is the controversial cattle ranching. This means that states must allocate their lands for the herdsmen to occupy. This suggestion is controversial because most people see cattle ranching as a way of introducing the explosive herdsmen to all parts of the country.

It beats our imagination that Adeshina does not an encouraging word for Nigerian farmers other than asking them to forfeit their ancestral homes in order not to be killed by herdsmen.

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Abacha Loot: How does Nigeria determine ‘poor homes’ beneficiaries?

 Abacha Loot: How does Nigeria determine ‘poor homes’ beneficiaries?
Abacha Loot: How does Nigeria determine ‘poor homes’ beneficiaries?

 Abacha Loot: How does Nigeria determine ‘poor homes’ beneficiaries?

Nigerian government has said that it will begin disbursement of the famed ‘Abacha loot’ to Nigerian poor homes from this July. The reason for choosing ‘poor homes’ is to enable the poorest of the poor from 19, out of 36 states, benefit N5000 monthly from country’s ‘stolen but recovered’ funds.

Former military president, Sani Abacha, was said to have stolen Nigeria’s wealth in millions of dollars and stashed same in Swiss banks about 20 years ago. Subsequent Nigerian governments have been making efforts to recover the funds and put them in good use.

Among numerous ideas of how to put the ‘Abacha loot’ in good use, the Mummadu Buhari government is to share $322m of the recovered fund to the poor.

But there are some questions that beg for answers about the Buhari’s idea: how does Nigeria know the poor homes? What can the sum of N5000 (Five Thousand Naira) much less than a 15$ USD do for a ‘poor home’ in a month? What is the criteria for choosing the 19 states out of 36 states of the federation? How did the government arrive at 302, 000 poor homes? Who is poor, is it the one who couldn’t afford a home or the one who doesn’t want t home?

The explanations at the recent meeting, on Thursday, of National Cash Transfer Office (NTCO), Civil Society Organisations and the Swiss Embassy did not answer the questions above.

The poor states, according to the NTCO are from: Niger, Kogi, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Kwara, Cross River, Bauchi, Gombe, Jigawa, Benue, Taraba, Adamawa, Kano, Katsina, Kaduna, Plateau, Nasarrawa, Anambra and Internally Displaced Camps (IDPs) in Borno. While, no doubt, there are very poor homes in those states, it beats out imagination that States like Ebonyi, Abia, are not in the list while states like Anambra, Kano, Katsina and Kaduna are listed to harbor the poorest in Nigeria. These 19 states have been receiving some handout from the Federal Government as a result of their ‘poor status’ from 2016.

The 302,000 poor homes are derived from the National Social Register (NSR). Who is keeping the register and how are people encouraged to enlist in the register? It won’t be a surprise that the NSR is not a popular place. Mrs Linda Ekeator of the office of the Special Adviser to the President on Social Investment said the Abacha loot was invested in the social investment programme, because it was a programme that was already supported by the World Bank. She said that before the money was returned to Nigeria, there was an agreement with the Swiss government that it should be used for alleviating poverty and this was to be done with the supervision of the World Bank. If that is so, then Nigeria should find the right social investment scheme.

It is no surprise that this social investment idea of the Nigerian government has received knocks from some knowledgeable individuals including Senator Shehu Sani who said Nigeria should devise a better means to distribute the ‘wealth of the nation’.

There are better ways of wealth distribution. Each idea should be fashioned to accommodate all parts of the country from North to South. There is no part of Nigeria where you can’t find very poor households, even in the Federal Capital Territory. In the FCT, the very rich people in Asokoro and Maitama areas live side by side with the very poor. Immediately you move a distance off those high-brow areas, you meet the very poor people. It is like that in all states of the country.

It is high-time Nigerian government understands that they are elected to serve the entire country, not some ethnic interest. Out of the 19 states listed, 14 States are from the North. This is not balance by any standard.

There are already speculations that Nigerian government wants to use the ‘Abacha loot’ to fund the All Progressive Congress 2019 election campaign; that the beneficiaries of the N5000 per month are selected under the condition that they support the APC elections. While that may not be entirely correct, Discover Africa News believes that the logics fueling such speculations are sensible.    

One of the better ways of reaching out to the poor in any society including Nigeria is to make public facilities available to the poor: healthcare, school, agricultural facilities, road, water etc. The rich do not depend on government for these basic social amenities because they can afford it. The poor die in their numbers for lack of access to these facilities. How many health centres can the ‘Abacha loot’ build across all states of the country? How many health facilities can the money equip in each state of the country? How many health experts can the fund pay for rural healthcare programme? These are ways to reach out to the poor and vulnerable.

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Dangerous flipside of hasty death sentence on Adamawa Christian youths

Our Stand: Dangerous flipside of hasty death sentence on Adamawa Christian youths
Our Stand: Dangerous flipside of hasty death sentence on Adamawa Christian youths

 

Dangerous flipside of hasty death sentence on Adamawa Christian youths

About one year ago, on June 1st, 2017, some five Christian youths in Adamawa State, North East Nigeria were accused of attacking and killing a Fulani herdsman, by name Adamu Buba. That was at the time when herdsmen-farmers crisis was at a peak in the state.

The issue of herdsmen attack on farmers in their farms where many get killed and farms destroyed is no longer news. The crisis is not peculiar to Adamawa; it is happening in States across the country especially in the North-East, North-West and North-Central.

Amnesty International (AI) in a recent report claimed that clashes between farmers and herdsmen have claimed at least 168 lives in 2018 alone. In 2017, 549 deaths were recorded across 14 states, while thousands were displaced. These deaths are mostly Christian farmers.
Osai Ojigho, country’s director of AI regretted that no far-reaching action is being taken by the government to solve these crises and he called on the government to find a lasting solution to them.

Last week, Justice Abdul-Azeez Waziri of the Adamawa state’s High Court sentenced the Christian youths: Alex Amos, Alheri Phanuel, Holy Boniface, Jerry Gideon and Jari Sabagi to death for culpable homicide over the alleged killing of one herdsman—Buba.

From all perspectives, human lives are sacred and no human being should take the life of the other no matter what the circumstance is. We do not condone the acts allegedly committed by Alex Amos and co. However, we note with dismay that the same government which has not been able to successfully prosecute killer herdsmen and Boko Haram members who have killed and maimed thousands of innocent people, mostly Christians is now able, with the speed of light, to successfully prosecute and hand a death sentence on five Christian youths for allegedly killing one herdsman.

On February 19th, 2018, Boko Haram members raided a girls’ boarding secondary school in Dapchi, Yobe State, carting away 110 out of 906 on the school’s official roster. One of the abducted persons was a Christian girl, Leah Sharibu. Weeks after, other abductees were released and received by President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja. But Miss Sharibu (15) was withheld by her abductors because she refused to denounce her Christian faith. The government promised to quicken steps to release Miss Sharibu. But till this morning, nothing is seen to have been done by the Nigerian government to secure the release of the little girl and she is not even in the national discourse. Despite protests by the Christian community, nothing practically has been seen to have been done.  

From feelers from the communities, while the Muslim community is excited about this ‘justice’, the Christian community is not. Already the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has faulted the trial on alleged murdered herdsman and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and Catholics have warned politicians not to stoke nationwide violence with ‘quick rash’ decisions.

CAN asked the Federal Government to caution the Adamawa State government against a hasty implementation of the death sentence handed to five Christian youths for allegedly killing a Fulani herdsman.

CAN President, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, noted that while the umbrella Christian body does not support jungle justice or criminality, it regrets how hundreds of its members in Southern Kaduna, Benue, Taraba, Plateau, Enugu States and others have been killed and are still being killed daily by yet-to-be apprehended criminals parading as Fulani herdsmen.

In a statement, Ayokunle said: “Citizens stood helpless at the massacre of their peaceful fellow Nigerians and the international community watched in anguish how government’s security agencies could not bring the perpetrators of these heinous killings to book.”

 “Why did the court discharge the alleged killers of Madam Bridget Agbahime on the orders of the Kano State government? Why have security officials not arrested those behind the killings of Christians in Southern Kaduna, while those arrested for the murder of Mrs. Eunice Elisha Olawale in Kubwa, Abuja, have been set free by the Nigeria Police?” Ayokunle asked.

PFN also urged government to tread cautiously on the matter.

PFN National Publicity Secretary, Bishop Emmah Isong, said: “It sounds ridiculous that even when no herdsman has been arrested, prosecuted and condemned to death by any court in Nigeria for killing thousands of Christians in Benue, Taraba, Nassarawa and Kogi States, in Yola, Christians are being sentenced to death.”

Isong, noted: “It looks as if it is vengeance for a Yola court to condemn five Christians to death for allegedly killing a herdsman when herdsmen are rampaging everywhere, killing and maiming innocent Christians and going free. It is high time the Federal Government intervened and ensured those Christians are not killed, to forestall further religious conflict within that axis.”

Caritas Nigeria, an advocacy arm of the Catholic Church, also warned politicians to be “conscious of their utterances and actions, as wrong choices could escalate violence, which could plunge the West and Central African sub-regions into refugee theatres, as any major conflict in Nigeria has the potential to destabilise the entire continent. Dealing with the humanitarian crisis caused by Boko Haram and the ongoing crisis in the Middle Belt is bad enough,” National Director and Chief Executive Officer, Fr. Evaristus Bassey, yesterday, ahead World Refugee Day.
AI’s Ojigho noted: “The Nigerian authorities’ response to communal violence is totally inadequate, too slow and ineffective, and in some cases unlawful. Clashes between herdsmen and farmers in Adamawa, Benue, Taraba, Ondo and Kaduna have resulted in 168 deaths in January 2018 alone.
“Hundreds of people lost their lives last year, and the government is still not doing enough to protect communities from these violent clashes. Worse, the killers are getting away with murder,” he said.

We align ourselves with the call for caution to the Nigerian Government. These knotty issues of farmers-herders and Muslim and Christian crises and justice to the Muslim community over the alleged killing of a herdsman must be handled with caution. Nigeria must note that no human life is superior to the other.  

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How illegal migrant, Mamoudou Gassama, is bringing Mali global glory

President Emmanuel Macron and Gassama
President Emmanuel Macron and Gassama

How illegal migrant, Mamoudou Gassama, is bringing Mali global glory, By Kelechi Okoronkwo

One of the most important personalities on earth at the moment is Mamoudou Gassama, an illegal immigrant from Mali, who is understood to have been in France for only six months, and still making his way to Europe. He could have gone through the dangerous route crossing the Sahara and Mediterranean.

In France on Sunday, a theatre opened in Paris which has made Gassama a world hero. Now, Mali is known as a home of people with strength of the bones and strength of the character. Gassama was a passer-by and he saw a four-year boy hanging and dangling from the fourth floor of a building.  If left for a little longer time, the boy might get weak of holding the reel on the balcony and fall from the dizzying height. At that point,  France needed a hero to perform some magical arts.

Gassama immediately applied himself to the occasion, gliding through the balconies from first floor to the fourth floor. He rescued the boy before even the firefighters could arrive the scene.

The whole world has been wowed by an uncommon art and act by a 22-year old man from a ‘shithole’ country who had to brace himself to go through the Sahara desert and the Mediterranean sea to Europe in search of greener pasture. Gassama is just a lucky brave man; many of his contemporaries could have died in the sea or killed or maimed at on the journey.

This brings us to the precarious condition of African youths. From South to North, African youths are at the receiving end of bad governance which has occasioned war and crises and poverty. Joblessness.  This answers the question why African youths are moving in droves to Europe?

Mali is a West African country, eighth largest country in Africa with a population of about 18 million people according to a figure officially in 2016. 73 year-old Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, has been President of the country which is having its own share of political, religious and ethnic conflict.

In January 2012, an armed conflict broke out in northern Mali, in which Tuareg rebels took control of a territory in the north, and in April of that year, declared the secession of a new state, Azawad. The conflict was complicated by a military coup that took place in March and later fighting between Tuareg and Islamist rebels. In response to Islamist territorial gains, the French military launched Opération Serval in January 2013. A month later, Malian and French forces recaptured most of the north. Presidential elections were held on 28 July 2013, with a second-round run-off held on 11 August, and legislative elections were held on 24 November and 15 December 2013.

Despite the efforts by the European Union to stop people from crossing the Sahara and Mediterranean, Malian and indeed, African youth dare. Despite the gory news that come from Libya about migrants, invaluable human resources like Gassama leave in droves and prefer to die in the desert to staying back in their countries. Gassama’s story makes one to weep about Africa.

France has immediately discovered the Gassama’s strengths and quickly offered him citizenship and a job. That is all Gassama needs. Gassama will be offering France the same experience and character he would have been offering to Mali. Should be happy for Gassama or be sad for Africa?

At the time this is being written, when the whole world is agog, celebrating the brave Malian, no word has been received from the Malian government. There were neither words of commendation or those of condemnation. What could Mali government say about it? An African proverb says that someone who does not know how to act well does not know how to speak well.

Gassama, from his name may have come the Soninke ethnic group in Mali who are known for travelling. For the whole of Mali, just like in other West African countries, travelling overseas seems like a tradition. When Mali’s population is stated to be “12 million, the figure includes a diaspora estimated at about three million people” a BBC report had said.

“The Ministry for Overseas Malians says that remittances from the diaspora – estimated at more than $3bn (£2.25bn) per year – easily provide a third of the country’s GDP. Data collected by the ministry shows that of 89,134 Malians repatriated by force or voluntarily between 2002 and 2013, more than 90% (81,755) were sent back by other African countries – in particular, Ivory Coast, Libya, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia”, the BBC report said.

What is the role of African leaders in the whole of this; to make Africa our home? Will our youths stay back here in Africa and offer their strength in our service if our countries are made to work? Gassama is just one of the many African youths who had no option than to dare move, even through the Sahara and the Mediterranean, to Europe in search of jobs and better life.

 Kelechi Okoronkwo, a writer and Public Relations Executive sent this piece from Abuja.  

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Opinion

Behind the Smoke Screen: An Authoritarian New President, By Rafael Marques de Morais

João Lourenço, President of Angola, Left
João Lourenço, President of Angola, Left

 

Angola: Behind the Smoke Screen: An Authoritarian New President, By Rafael Marques de Morais

After the 2017 elections, the hopes ordinary Angolans placed on President João Lourenço were so high that many regarded him as a gift from God. Next September, his predecessor, José Eduardo dos Santos, will finally step down from the leadership of the ruling MPLA, after 39 years. The combined imperial powers of the country’s presidency and of the MPLA will make João Lourenço the absolute ruler of Angola, and it does not bode well for the country.

The political partisanship of the army and the militarization of justice are two troubling trends seen since Lourenço took office. Both need to be addressed urgently before he gets comfortable with absolute power.

Initially, President Lourenço enjoyed a surge of popularity thanks to a strong anti-corruption stance. He fired his predecessor’s children from key positions, and ditched some other rotten apples. He also allowed for some other senior officials to be publicly named formal suspects in grand corruption cases, though no one has yet been arrested.

But these early hopes have been dashed by the appointments and promotions that President Lourenço has made, and his popularity has sunk with the same speed as he earned it.

For instance, last April he appointed his own brother, General Sequeira João Lourenço, as deputy head of the President’s Intelligence Bureau, which oversees the armed forces, the national police and the intelligence services. In February, Lourenço’s government sold state-owned planes (https://goo.gl/YAoSw7) (Beechcraft 900s) to the same brother’s air company, SJL Aeronáutica, without a public tender and for an undisclosed price. Through acts like this, the president has exposed himself as a hypocrite.

What is most worrying is how the President, himself a general, is endangering the already fragile cohesion of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA) by handing it over to an MPLA apparatchik. The FAA originates from the 1992 integration of the former MPLA party-state People’s Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FAPLA) and UNITA’s former guerrilla Armed Forces for the Liberation of Angola (FALA). The integrated army withstood the civil war that returned and ravaged the country for ten more years after its creation.

Recently, President Lourenço dismissed the chief of the General Staff of the FAA, General Geraldo Sachipengo Nunda: the former FALA officer to become head of the FAA. Abroad, the move was seen as another outstanding sweep of Dos Santos’ cronies and protégés and as another example of tackling high-level corruption. The general’s name was associated with a multi billion-dollar scam. He had had been previously asked by the attorney general to resign. In an exclusive to Maka Angola (www.MakaAngola.org)General Nunda clarified his position (https://goo.gl/fREuiJ) and told how the attorney general had apologized to him for the formal announcement that he had been named a formal suspect in the scam. Legally, there was no case against him, only a political one.

General Nunda’s term was due to end in October, but the President sacked him in October and replaced him with General António Egídio de Sousa Santos “Disciplina”. The appointment sent shockwaves through the army and concerned sections within society who view General Santos as a largely political figure, with little aptitude for the job as head of the armed forces.

General Santos was previously deputy chief of the General Staff for Patriotic Education, which is the post-communist name for political commissariat. For two years until 2012, the general simultaneously held his position in the army and as a Central Committee member of the ruling MPLA (https://goo.gl/P1AJTi): an unconstitutional situation. He is best known for his partisanship and opportunism and lust for partying. He has thrown two lavish parties within a week to celebrate his rise to the top job of the army.

In the 1980s, Lourenço headed the National Political Directorate of the FAPLA. It was in charge of all the political commissars and controlled the army on behalf of the MPLA, under the one-party system. Former political commissars have risen to the top leadership, and among them are: the current vice-president, Bornito de Sousa; the minister of state and head of the President’s Intelligence Bureau, General Pedro Sebastião; and now the head of the army, General Sousa Santos.

Minutes after being sworn in, General Sousa Santos showed the press how inept and incoherent he is. Asked about the reaction of the rank and file to his appointment and his priorities for the army, he replied: “Allow me to cite the Bible. I am the good shepherd, and I know my flock, and my flock recognizes me.” The sound bite went viral on social media where many in the army, including generals, openly expressed their disbelief, and ridiculed him aplenty. Angola is a secular state. The general, who holds a PhD in History, forgot that in his attempt to dodge a basic question.

Angola has an army of over 138,000 soldiers, and more than 600 generals on active duty. Retired generals are like mushrooms, too many to count.

General Sousa Santos is a wolf in a sheep’s clothing. Four years ago, in 2014, we wrote about a generals’ involvement in a triumvirate which aimed to destabilize the army by placing it under the partisan control of MPLA (https://goo.gl/Y9nzpf) in the post-Dos Santos era.

At the time we wrote: “the secret discussion group aimed at fostering a climate of instability within the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA), in such a way as to justify purges. This strategy is known as the purification of the FAA.” The then head of the Military Intelligence and Security Service, General Zé Maria, led the group and the third party was Lieutenant-General João António Santana “Lungo” of the Security Studies Office within the Intelligence Bureau of the Presidency.

“The object of the scheme is to ensure that generals who were formerly with UNITA, then a rebel movement, and who joined the FAA as the result of peace accords are seen as loyal to the UNITA political leadership and therefore will be seen as a threat to the MPLA’s hold on power, particularly in the post-Dos Santos era.

“The main target of the intrigue is the current General Chief of Staff of the FAA, Geraldo Sachipengo Nunda, who left UNITA in 1993, joined the government forces, and was instrumental in destroying the war machine of his former commander, Jonas Savimbi. The rebel leader was killed in action in 2002, thus bringing the 27-year post-independence war to an end. Zé Maria and his allies are now circulating information within the FAA that Nunda is trying to promote ex-UNITA officers in order to make it easier for him eventually to seize power.”

According to the plotters at the time, the partisan control of the army by MPLA would be achieved with the appointment of General Sousa Santos to the top job. Such a plot had to be addressed among the top brass of the army, and it was General Nunda himself who prevailed against the others to maintain the cohesion of FAA, and the army as a pillar of peace and national unity. President Lourenço, against conventional wisdom, has adopted the plotters’ strategy. This must be denounced for the sake of peace and democracy.

Making Generals

Meanwhile, President Lourenço has lost no time in creating yet several more generals, one of them already dead. On April 19, the president posthumously promoted Angola’s founding President Agostinho Neto, who died in 1979, to the rank of three-star general of the Angolan Armed Forces (FAA). President Lourenço also awarded the former President José Eduardo dos Santos the rank of three-star general, and retired him from active duty through Commander-in-Chief Order 9/18.

The family of the late president Neto publicly dismissed the gesture as unnecessary, and called on Lourenço to devote his attention to the living rather than the dead.

But what shows General Lourenço to be a troubling copycat of General Dos Santos (ret.) is the promotion of the Chief Justice of the Constitutional Court, Manuel Miguel da Costa Aragão, to the rank of Brigadier. The chief justice has been a civilian for decades, and was transferred from the Supreme Court, where he held the same position, on Lourenço’s orders. In 2012 President Dos Santos promoted the then-chief justice of the Supreme Court, Cristiano André, to the rank of Lieutenant-General.

President Lourenço is maintaining the militarization of justice. Last December he appointed General Hélder Pitta Grós, who is still on active duty, to the country’s attorney general.

The signs are mounting that President Lourenço is hiding his authoritarian claws behind the façade of his anti-corruption rhetoric. Little else is happening in the country besides smoke screens and the maintenance of the status quo. This is worrisome.

So far, the only clear strategy from the president seems to be the consolidation of his personal power.

Rafael Marques de Morais  is of Maka Angola

 

 

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Editorial

EDITORIAL: Raila Odinga, where is Miguna Miguna?

Miguna Miguna participates in a gubernatorial debate at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nairobi, on June 29, 2017. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in 1993. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP 
Miguna Miguna participates in a gubernatorial debate at Crowne Plaza Hotel, Nairobi, on June 29, 2017. He earned a Juris Doctor from the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in 1993. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

EDITORIAL: Raila Odinga, where is Miguna Miguna?

It is appalling how short and failing human memories are. And most times, facts are never documented for any reference.

The leader or presumed leader of Kenya’s coalition of opposition forces, whose words are laws in the ears of opposition supporters, Raila Odinga, may have gone ahead with his life after ‘mending fences’ with the power that be. Now, Odinga appears to have entered into the good book of the Kenyatta government. But it is instructive to ask Odinga if he is aware of the whereabouts of his foot soldiers, among whom is Miguna Miguna.

On Tuesday, May 1st, Odinga finally cancelled his call for boycott of certain goods and services from certain providers like Safaricom, Brookside, Haco and Bidco, which he said benefited from the government of President Uhuru Kenyatta. That was less than two months after he agreed to work with his long-time rival, President Kenyatta.

In protest of the last year election which produced Kenyatta for his second term, Odinga asked his supporters on November 7th, 2017 to boycott those firms. And they did.

Mr Odinga has rescinded this call and told his supporters that they are now free to buy products from the four firms.

“Today I announce the end of the boycott of products from Safaricom, Bidco, Brookside and Haco. Our supporters can now feel free to use the products from the companies we had asked them to boycott last year,’ said Mr Odinga during Labour Day celebrations at Uhuru Park.

But while he announced this, Miguna Miguna has not found justice. And so are other opposition supporters, dead and alive. Miguna was reported to have travelled back to Canada from Dubai where Kenyatta’s Immigration officers forced him to.

Miguna Miguna has faced a lot of troubles for his support for Odinga. He was everywhere on December 12th during the mock inauguration of Odinga. It was not surprising that the authorities arrested Miguna alongside other opposition elements while Odinga, the arrowhead of opposition was not even questioned. Kenyan government went farther with Miguna’s case and sent him on exile to Canada. The government even disobeyed the court orders to ensure that Miguna gets full punishment for his actions.

In March, Miguna attempted to return home but he could not go farther than the airport where officials blocked his entrance to the country. According to a statement released by Kenyan immigration services, Miguna failed to provide the “requisite documents” to be allowed entry. And so he was pushed back to an Emirate Flight enroute Dubai. But Miguna refused boarding, citing an international law that guarantees him the right to choose his flight and demanding: “I am not going anywhere….where is my luggage? Where is my passport? You cannot take me from my country by force.

The Kenyan government accused Miguna of throwing a “tantrum” after footage emerged of him being manhandled by security staff at Nairobi’s airport. After some two days of resistance, Miguna was finally taken to Dubai from where he went to Canada where he is till today.

Odinga is now happy with Kenyatta but he has not issued a stern statement warning the government of the dangers of hurting Miguna Miguna, the way other human rights activists have done.

On 29 March, Irungu Houghton, the Executive Director of Amnesty International for Kenya, released a statement calling for authorities to allow Miguna to enter the country to participate in judicial proceedings, saying “The way Miguna was treated showed blatant disregard for his human rights, after the High Court ordered that he be allowed to re-enter the country. The Kenyan government must also respect and protect the right to freedom of expression and allow journalists to freely report on the case without harassment, intimidation or attacks.”

 Amnesty said: “The continuous disregard for court orders and attacks on the media is steadily eroding the rule of law and weakening human rights safeguards in the country,” and requested to “also launch a thorough, independent and impartial investigation into the unlawful use of force by the police to prevent journalists from doing their job”.

On 12 April 2018, former Kenyan Chief Justice Dr Willy Mutunga was reported to have called Migunas treatment inhumane and unconstitutional in an interview with John Githongo, He is quoted as stating that “It is nauseating. It is very painful,”

On 28 March 2018, Human Rights Watch issued a statement calling for Miguna’s release. Otsieno Namwaya of Human Rights watch said “Kenyan authorities should urgently obey the numerous court orders to either release or produce Miguna in court. Holding him at the airport without any form of judicial review, in violation of court orders, is a blatant example of arbitrary detention.”

We can only remind Odinga of the African proverb that a wise man does not throw away the umbrella that shielded him from rain  because another rainy season will surely come.

Also read:

Of Odinga and Miguna and adage of lizard and rat

Why Kenyatta May Win Kenya Again

Kenyatta wins election, murders peace

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Business Contributors

Congo and OPEC: A marriage of mutual need, By NJ Ayuk

NJ Ayuk is the founder and CEO of Centurion Law Group and the Africa Energy Chamber of Commerce.
NJ Ayuk is the founder and CEO of Centurion Law Group and the Africa Energy Chamber of Commerce.

 

Congo and OPEC: A marriage of mutual need, By NJ Ayuk

The Republic of the Congo has suffered dearly during the oil collapse; and Congolese President Denis Nguesso has pledged that the country would no longer be sitting on the side lines — suffering the effects of global decision-making in the oil industry without a voice. In an official communiqué announcing the bid for OPEC membership, he stated that he wished to “place our country in the rank of the world’s leaders.”

In January, officials from the Republic of Congo announced the country’s application for membership of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). This is no small move. After years of challenges with the collapse in the price of oil, the Republic of Congo is emerging from this period with a renewed agenda, focused on becoming an active voice in the global stage, rather than a silent victim of international oil price swings.

For Congo, OPEC membership means greater access to information, partnerships, contacts and a voice at the decision-making table. But, perhaps more than ever, it is OPEC that is to benefit from the rise in African political voices, particularly that of Congo.

At nearly 2 billion barrels of crude oil of proven reserves in a vastly underexplored territory, Congo represents a sleeping giant amidst African oil producers. An improved business climate has brought profound benefits to the country’s oil industry. New developments by French oil company Total in Congolese territory are set to expand the country’s oil output from 280,000 barrels per day to 350,000 in 2018.

An enhanced sector outlook coupled with new discoveries and strong leadership by younger and more capable leaders is rapidly attracting the interest of investors across the world. The election of Thérésa Goma to the position of director general of hydrocarbons in March is an example of a change in mentality, as is the ascendance of Jean Marc Tchicaya to the position of hydrocarbons minister — a younger and more dynamic figure than any of his predecessors.

Brazzaville is the host city of the headquarters of the African Petroleum Producers Organization, a club that has been gaining renewed relevance in recent years as African leaders search for intra-African cooperation on matters of energy. Further, Congo has also been expanding its bilateral relationships with the likes of Angola, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, moving towards a new policy of gas utilization.

The entrance of Congo as an active voice in OPEC can bring a much stronger foothold for the Vienna-based organization in the African oil circle, and reinforce its capability to coordinate production cuts and joint-strategies across the continent when necessary. For OPEC, this means greater representation, greater control over the world’s output, and in the end, greater power.

For Congo, the country will sit side-by-side with key oil giants, like Saudi Arabia and Venezuela; as well as Gabon, Angola, Nigeria and Equatorial Guinea, further reinforcing the strength of African voices amongst the cartel. It will be able to learn and contribute to policy and decision-making, and it will be ever more prepared to deal with the volatility of crude prices.

Congo’s bid for integration within the cartel also comes at a paramount moment for African foreign policy, as dependence in commodity prices and shifts in the international order have made ever more apparent the need for regional and intra-continental cooperation. African leaders are finally waking up to the fact that their international stand will not depend on the bilateral agreements they can reach with the likes of the US or China, but on their ability to cooperate and seek continent-wide agendas that can benefit Africa as a whole.

A united African voice

Let’s take a moment to look at Equatorial Guinea, and what this small nation has achieved in recent months with a change in foreign affairs strategy, with due credit given to the leadership of Gabriel Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines, Industry and Energy. Since it joined the OPEC in May 2017, Equatorial Guinea gained a de facto seat at the international negotiating table. Suddenly, a nation that produces around 130,000 barrels of crude per day (which is less than 2% of Saudi Arabia’s output), is given a say on international production cuts, price-managing strategies and access to a plethora of contacts and close partnerships that would otherwise be beyond its reach. It is no surprise that since then, Mr. Obiang Lima has been much more present in the press, speaking on behalf of his own nation but also as a member of the oil group. His main message is geared towards other Sub-Saharan African oil producers, and it reads: “Join OPEC, make your voice count”.

Through initiatives like LNG2Africa and bilateral partnerships with many African counterparts, Equatorial Guinea has been pushing an African agenda in recent years that is based on the clear understanding that intra-African cooperation can have a profound impact in raising the continent’s profile in the international stage. Mr. Obiang Lima knows that a united African voice can be heard much louder than if he speaks for himself, and that African representation in OPEC can further boost the continent as a whole.

OPEC’s new breath

The successful results of the production cuts by OPEC have shown the cartel is regaining its stand in the international stage, demonstrating flexibility to the new market realities. Certainly, chief figure amongst all in the effort to bring sustainability to the international oil market was Mohammad Barkindo. The Nigerian Secretary General of OPEC spearheaded the landmark December 2016 agreement that saw the oil cartel and 11 non-OPEC members (including Equatorial Guinea at the time) sign on the cut down of 1.8 million barrels of crude oil per day (2% of global output), which has been extended until the end of 2018 and resulted in the progressive rising of crude oil to more sustainable prices that we witness today. When US President Donald Trump attacked OPEC recently for maintaining “artificially high prices”, his comments were met by a strong stand from Mr. Barkindo: “The Declaration of Cooperation entered into by 24 producing countries in December 2016 and implemented faithfully since 2017 has not only arrested the decline but rescued the oil industry from imminent collapse.” His statement is hard to argue with.

However, OPEC cannot sit idle on its own success. The need for coordination with several non-members for any global strategy to work also demonstrates how the organization needs to secure a wider net and solidify its position in order to continue to reach its goals. Its agenda is aligned with that of African nations at a time when these players wish to have more control over the commodities they are so dependent on.

Congo’s move towards membership of OPEC is a major landmark step that should not only be greeted and celebrated by the cartel, but also be followed by other nations across the continent. As the world’s remaining frontier market for oil exploration, Africa is increasingly positioning itself as the linchpin region for the future of the world’s energy industry. African nations cannot afford to not be at the negotiating table when the great decisions about their future are made, neither can OPEC afford to keep them out.

Author Biography – NJ Ayuk (CEO) Centurion Law Firm

NJ Ayuk JD/MBA is a leading energy lawyer and a strong advocate for African entrepreneurs, he is recognised as one of the foremost figures in African business today. A Global Shaper with the World Economic Forum, one of Forbes’ Top 10 Most Influential Men in Africa in 2015, and a well-known dealmaker in the petroleum and power sectors. He is the author of “Big Barrels” Africa Oil and Gas and Its quest to prosperity.  NJ Ayuk is the founder and CEO of Centurion Law Group and the Africa Energy Chamber of Commerce.

 

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Editorial

Disturbing parts of Buhari’s speech in Bauchi

The news and stories of wanton killings by herdsmen and suspected herdsmen in Nigeria’s northern parts have reached a deafening crescendo.
The news and stories of wanton killings by herdsmen and suspected herdsmen in Nigeria’s northern parts have reached a deafening crescendo.

 

Disturbing parts of Buhari’s speech in Bauchi

 

Nigeria is in chaos. Leaders should use all speaking opportunities to speak peace, not war, to Nigeria.

People are living in fear in all parts, especially in the Northern that West African country because of the activities of herdsmen who are killing and inflicting pain and fear on the people.

President Muhammadu Buhari has not made any strong statement condemning the activities of the herdsmen. And he got and squandered the opportunity to do so on Friday.

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Nigerian government should rise up to the herdsmen challenge

Buhari’s visit to Bauchi State, North-East Nigeria on Thursday and Friday was a good opportunity to make a strong statement against these marauding Fulani herdsmen. But instead of condemning herdsmen killings, Buhari assured them that he would have been a part of the herdsmen fighters had he not gone to school.

President Buhari said: “Now, look at the farmers /herdsmen’s clashes in the northern part of this country. I have been telling people that if I had not gone to school, I would not have gone into the military and where I come from since my cows are finished; maybe, I would have been involved in this fight”.

By that utterance, Buhari has emboldened the herdsmen to do more harm to their fellow citizens.

One would have expected Buhari to say words like, telling the killer-herdsmen to stop such activities forthwith; that killing a fellow human being is bad; that the government is working hard to ensure that there is peace in Nigeria.

 Buhari did not make any of such comments instead, he emboldened them by identifying in the course of their fight. There is no justification to Buhari’s stance on herdsmen/farmers clashes.

Before Buhari went to Bauchi, the herdsmen had invaded churches in Benue where priests and parishioners were killed. Between January and now, more than 200 people have been killed in Benue alone. Killings are happening simultaneously in other parts of Nigeria.  

Buhari addressed thousands of Bauchi residents in Hausa. He encouraged them to allow their children to go to school.

He said further, “Make every effort to put your children in school, plead with them to be patient and read hard. In this generation, you cannot make it except you are educated.

“But because I went to school, I got a job to do and because of that, desertification is everywhere, there is no bush we will go to and cut down trees and destroy farms and the rainy season is not promising. Because of that, education is the guarantee.

“You should strive hard and be educated, get the education that will benefit you and the society, it is not compulsory that government will give you what to do.”

We state categorically that Buhari’s speech in Bauchi is disturbing. The speech is not fitting of the person of a President of a country. He identified with the Funali alone instead of identifying with Nigeria in general. He chose to be Fulani instead of being a Nigerian. 

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Editorial Opinion

Nigerian government should rise up to the herdsmen challenge

The news and stories of wanton killings by herdsmen and suspected herdsmen in Nigeria’s northern parts have reached a deafening crescendo.
The news and stories of wanton killings by herdsmen and suspected herdsmen in Nigeria’s northern parts have reached a deafening crescendo.

Nigerian government should rise up to the herdsmen challenge

The news and stories of wanton killings by herdsmen and suspected herdsmen in Nigeria’s northern parts have reached a deafening crescendo.  This insecurity challenge has been able to reach this level because authorities, either past or present, failed to take requite actions to nip it in the bud. It is bitter but true that if head-on counter actions are not taken immediately, what is being experienced in Benue state, North-Central Nigeria, will soon snow-ball into a genocide.

The individuals who are being murdered in cold-blood are some people’s relatives: fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, friends and colleagues. And the death of a loved one hurts to the bone. The other person who is hurt may take a deadly counter action if care is not taken.  

This is April. Between January and now, no fewer than 200 persons have been mowed down in different parts of Benue state alone. The state government seemed to be confused on what to do to protect the lives and property of its citizenry. And the Federal government seemed not to be showing adequate concern to the plights of the people of Benue. People are living like ghosts in parts of Benue state as we write this. 

When President Muhammadu Buhari eventually visited Benue after the hews and cries, he deflected the blame of continuous coordinated attacks on the hapless Benue farmers on the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Idris whom he said refused to heed to his directive to watch Benue closely. One would have expected Buhari to express deep frown at what the Police boss did by meting-out any punishment on him. But we were all wrong. Buhari did not even issue a query, to the best of our knowledge, to Idris. And the business continued as usual. 

Incidents around the body language of the president towards the herdsmen ravenous attacks on the armless citizens suggest conspiracy. Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom showed evidence to the world that he complained to the President when he got security reports about the January herdsmen attack. But the government did little or nothing to thwart the attack. Citizens cried out through various platforms, calling for government attention but nothing tangible was done to rescue those victims. For instance, the Rev. Father, Joseph Gor, who was murdered alongside other 17 parishioners cried out for help when he noticed untoward movement of herdsmen in his locality.  Was the voice of a priest too little to be heard or were the lives of his parishioners too insignificant? It is a pity that what Rev. Father Gor feared happened to him the same way he feared it.

Between yesterday and today, more 20 persons have been reported killed by the same herdsmen in the same Benue. They victims have been Christians in the church or going to or returning from the church. What is happening? Has the government been stretched to its limit that they cannot take any action? Or are they waiting for a full-blown war?

Whoever that is in charge of security in Nigeria should wake up; or Buhari should find a replacement for them immediately. Nobody’s position is more important than human lives. Buhari will not gain anything when he keeps the office of his allies while the souls of the people perish.

We call for immediate rejig of the security apparatus in Nigeria. All hands must be on deck to achieve this. The National Assembly and the Judiciary should exert the pressure of checks and balances on the Executive now that the chips are down. The entire security system is already flawed by indications. And the earlier Nigeria takes drastic action, the better for everyone.  

Categories
Opinion

The man who’s awaken the world about Congo

Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. Founder & President, Rainbowpush Coalition
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Founder & President, Rainbowpush Coalition

 

The man who’s awaken the world about Congo

By Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr

Finally, the world met in Geneva on Friday 13th of April to gather the necessary financing to bring relief aid to desperate people of DRCongo. And this, subsequently to the efforts of DRC’s -Prime Minister Samy Badibanga Ntita. It is the first time ever that the International Community met to pledge financing for humanitarian aid to a war-torn country, big as one fourth of the United States, with some of its people unfortunately living in hellish conditions.

The hundred million Congolese thought the international community had abandoned them to their fate, in a crisis hidden behind the horrific news from Yemen and Syria. The stakes are high, with almost two billion dollars needed, which tells how much this mega-crisis has been forgotten and underfinanced.

Behind the figures, it is about humanity. It is challenging our hearts and willingness to deliver solidarity on a global scale. This is the unbelievable story of fifteen million people whose villages have been burnt down, their hospitals, schools and livelihoods looted and destroyed. The Congolese people of Kivu, Kasaï, Tanganyika and other regions of DR Congo have been attacked by armed men, in some cases by the Government security forces. Five million of them have been forced to flee and hide in the forests, after witnessing and being subjected to brutal rapes and killings of men, women and their children; the weapons of choice being guns, gasoline and machetes. In Kasaï, Kivu and Ituri, heart bleeding testimonials of survivors describe a situation which looks like the broad day light slaughterhouse of human beings

As we’ve just lost Winnie Mandela, who successfully fought apartheid in South Africa, as an eternal contribution to the freedom of black people in Africa and worldwide, it is shocking and outrageous. And it is sad that 13 million people are left in great need for relief aid after suffering so much violence. Today indeed, the DRCongo is the most important challenge to human dignity and global solidarity in Africa, if not in the world. This is coming out as an embarrassment  to the  International  Community, when one  considers that the equivalent  of a  9/11 has  been happening daily, for more than ten years, a problem now being exacerbated in the regions of Kasaï, Kivu and Ituri.  

We also remember our fellow compatriot Michael Sharp brutally killed and beheaded in Kasaï, central DR Congo, together with Zaida Catalan, during an investigation for the United Nations. We pray for them and for their families.  

Though the United Nations signalled alert calls after summer 2017, little has happened since. Aid workers and NGOs are still left to make impossible choices with little food aid or healthcare. Sadly, information indicates that the Government is hindering aid delivery, claiming taxes on relief aid, and finally refused to participate to the Geneva Conference.  

We owe this first ever International Conference for DR Congo people to a man from Congo himself, my friend Samy Badibanga, who embarked in November last year on convincing the United Nations, the European Union, and developed Nations around the world to organize an International Conference to gather 1,68 billion dollars to finance the humanitarian needs of the people of DR Congo. Samy has led this work with Cardinal Mosengwo and Reverend Bokundoa towards its completion and deserves high recognition for the good and hope he just brought to his people.

The world now sees and knows what is going on in the Congo, and the everyday life of millions of women, left alone to provide for their children, amid their villages being burnt down and their husbands slaughtered in front of them. I hereby applaud Samy’s decisive commitment, faith in God and humanity, his work and achievement with the Churches of Congo. We now pray for relief aid to rapidly bring food, schools, healthcare, shelter, protection and security.  

At Rainbow Push (https://RainbowPush.org), we’ll now pray for hope and strength to fill the heart of our fellow humans in DR Congo. Faith without deeds is indeed a contradiction. God bless Samy, the Congo and the whole Africa.

Keep Hope Alive
Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Founder & President, Rainbow Push Coalition

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