UGOCHUKWU EJINKEONYE

Armed Robbers In National Assembly, Says Obasanjo

2012-05-23T02:13:00.002-07:00

Nigeria's former president, Olusegun Obasanjo, on Tuesday descended on the nation’s legislature, judiciary and the police, describing them as corrupt, and that they held no hope for the country.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

Obasanjo described the majority of lawmakers at the national and state assemblies as “rogues and armed robbers,” and the judiciary as corrupt.

Obasanjo, however, rated the lawmakers as better than the police in crime and corruption.

He said, “Integrity is necessary for systems and institutions to be strong. Today, rogues, armed robbers are in the state Houses of Assembly and the National Assembly. What sort of laws will they make?

President Of Nigeria's Senate, David Mark And

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo

“The judiciary is also corrupt. During my tenure, many of the corrupt judges were removed, some are still there.

“If the Judiciary becomes corrupt, where is the hope for the nation? Justice, no doubt, will go to the highest bidder. The judiciary did not see anything wrong with a former governor but the same set of evidence was used to sentence him in the United Kingdom.

“The police are even worse. Well, I will not lament; I will only say, ‘let us understand our problems and emphasise the good ones.’”

The former President, who spoke at the fourth Academy for Entrepreneurial Studies, Nigeria, annual national conference in Lagos, also did not spare the citizenry, accusing them of lacking in diligence and integrity.

Acting Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed

Abubakar

The conference had the theme, “Strong Systems: Necessity for Building a Virile Nation.”

“The problem is that the diligence that was being undertaken before people are appointed or elected is no more today,” Obasanjo said.

He said the country needed strong, stable, enduring and sustainable institutions for the country to remain virile, dynamic and successful.

“I believe we will get there, but all Nigerians must play their roles,” Obasanjo said.

------------------------

--PUNCH

The Ruthless Killer Next Door

2012-05-22T08:49:00.003-07:00

World No Tobacco Day 2012 - May 31

The theme for this year's World No Tobacco Day is:

Tobacco Industry Interference
This year, attention will be focused on the very urgent need to expose and counter the brazen and increasingly aggressive attempts by tobacco companies to use their blood-stained billions to undermine campaigns and efforts world-wide to reduce and eventually completely halt the consumption of tobacco.

Join The Effort To Cage This Mercilless Killer

You Can Help Save The Tender Victims Of This Kind Of

Heartlessness

-------------------------

Warning

Tobacco Smokers Are Liable To Die

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Tobacco: The Ruthless Killer Next Door

--------------------------------

Simple And Casual... For Work!

2012-05-22T08:08:00.004-07:00

Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye In Ikeja, Lagos, For An
Assignment (Press Interview) On March 10, 2012

------------------------

Another Day At The Office - May 2012

---------------------

When Work Beckons....At Ikeja, March 10, 2012

Just A Normal Day At The Office...
Books Can Sometimes Distract From Work!

Bombings Driving Away Investors From Nigeria – Obasanjo

2012-05-22T03:24:00.002-07:00

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday described the current spate of bombing in the country as a direct and indirect consequence of governance, lamenting that such situation is driving away investors from Nigeria.

Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo

He also regretted that Nigerians have placed the need for personal security beyond the desire for general security, describing the development as one of the reasons for the rising insecurity.

Obasanjo said this while speaking on the topic, “Security, Governance and Leadership” at a one day symposium on this year’s democracy day celebration, convened by Jigawa State government.

The Scene Of A Bomb Blast At St. Theresa
Catholic Church Madalla, Niger State

According to him, “Nigerians are more concerned and agitated for the need for personal security, for many people the greatest source of anxiety is violent crime, but now bombing of public places and where people congregate has become the source of anxiety in the country for Nigerians. This is already giving us a very bad image. It is adversely affecting investment in Nigeria.

President Goodluck Jonathan Visits Victims Of A Bomb
Attack

“A lot of us see personal insecurity, economic insecurity and all forms of insecurity as a direct and indirect consequences of governance. Governance and security go hand in hand. The welfare and well being of the people, starting with their personal security is the direct responsibility of the government. Performance of government is measured by the level of security enjoyed by the people. "

Continuing, he said “it must be clearly stated that every citizen has a responsibility to contribute to the security of the state” adding that it is the main civic duty of every citizen.

--------------------------
--VANGUARD

Obama Calls Pastors To Explain Gay Marriage Support

2012-05-14T10:55:00.003-07:00

After making his historic remarks on same-sex unions last week, President Barack Obama led a conference call with black church pastors to explain his support for gay marriage, the New York Times reports. The call, which was held with "eight or so African-American ministers," occurred about two hours after the president's interview with ABC's Robin Roberts.

Obama explained to them that he struggled with the decision, pastors on the call told the paper, but several voiced their disapproval.

President Barack Obama With Wife Michelle And
Daughters Malia And Sasha

"They were wrestling with their ability to get over his theological position," the Rev. Delman Coates, a Maryland pastor who was on the call, told the Times.

The conference call was part of a quiet effort by the president to control potential political damage caused by his support of same-sex marriage.

According to the Times, Obama phoned "at least one [the Rev. Joel C. Hunter] of the five spiritual leaders he calls regularly for religious guidance, and his aides contacted other religious figures who have been supportive in the past."

The Rev. Joel C. Hunter

Hunter, the pastor of a conservative megachurch, said he wasn't surprised Obama didn't ask him advice before the ABC interview because "I would have tried to talk him out of it."
At services on Sunday, black churches were conflicted about President Obama's support of gay marriage, according to USA Today:

Some churches were silent on the issue. At others, pastors spoke against the president's decision Wednesday—but kindly of the man himself. A few blasted the president and his decision. A minority spoke in favor of the decision and expressed understanding of the president's change of heart.
Bishop Timothy Clark, head of the First Church of God, a large African-American church with a television ministry in Columbus, Ohio, was perhaps most typical. He felt compelled to address the president's comments at a Wednesday evening service and again Sunday morning. He was responding to an outpouring of calls, e-mails and text messages from members of his congregation after the president's remarks.

What did he hear from churchgoers? "No church or group is monolithic. Some were powerfully agitated and disappointed. Others were curious. 'Why now? To what end?' Others were hurt. And others, to be honest, told me it's not an issue and they don't have a problem with it."

President Obama Participates In An Interview
With ABC's Robin Roberts, May 9, 2012.
(Pete Souza/The White House)

What did the bishop tell his congregation? He opposes gay marriage. It is not just a social issue, he said, but a religious one for those who follow the Bible. "The spiritual issue is ground in the word of God." That said, "I believe the statement the president made and his decision was made in good faith. I am sure because the president is a good man. I know his decision was made after much thought and consideration and, I'm sure, even prayer."

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--YAHOO NEWS

Middle East Investors Slowly Wake Up To Africa

2012-05-14T10:14:00.001-07:00

Flush with cash from oil and stuck with few options for growth in developed markets, Middle East investors are increasingly looking to nearby Africa.
While the fast-growing continent offers plenty of opportunities, bankers say there are also a raft of challenges for Middle East investors, particularly due to the relatively small size of potential deals.

The New African Union (AU) Headquarters In
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Built By China And Donated
To The AU (Pix: AU Commission)

“We’re seeing more interest. I think it’s fair to say that we haven’t seen a lot of that crystallize into deals so far,” said Diana Layfield, Africa chief executive at Britain’s Standard Chartered Plc.
“The Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds are very interested in Africa, the challenge that they face is the increment at which they need to invest is way too large for the continent at the moment,” Layfield told Reuters in an interview on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum on Africa.
Held this week in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, the forum highlighted Africa’s attractions: It is home to some of the world’s fastest growing economies and rapidly rising disposable incomes. A decade of relative political stability has also helped the case for African investment.
“Definitely there will be more [investment] coming to Africa,” Saudi Arabian Minister for Agriculture Farad Balghunaim told Reuters.

African Union (AU) Summit In Session In Addis Ababa

“With the clear vision that is building up in African leadership now, there will more and more investors from Saudi Arabia,” he said in Addis Ababa.
But tapping that growth is not so easy, given the lack of liquidity in public capital markets. For private equity bankers, there is often a shortage of deals able to meet their mandate on size.
For instance, emerging markets private equity firm Actis told Reuters last month it is aiming for individual deals of $50 million or more in Africa, meaning it has to focus on the continent’s biggest economies – South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria – to find deals.

Some Middle East investors, therefore, are focusing on smaller deals to gain exposure to Africa.
Dubai’s Abraaj Capital is in the process of acquiring U.K.-based private equity firm Aureos Capital, which invests in small and medium-sized businesses in Africa, Latin America and Asia.
“We tend to have a sweet spot at around $10 million, but we have investments as low as $2 million and going up to about $35 million,” Davinder Sikand, Aureos’ regional managing partner for Africa told Reuters.
“Our focus has been to build regional champions. So we’ll take positions in businesses that can demonstrate management vision and build [them] out, recognizing that each of our markets other than Nigeria and South Africa are fairly small markets, and you need to build that scale.”

President Jacob Zuma Of South Africa (Right),
Dances With President Jakaya Kikwete Of Tanzania
At The Gala Dinner Hosted By Ethiopia And South
Africa During The Summit.(Pix: Photograph: Elmond Jiyane/EPA)

Due to the constraints in their home markets, Middle East investors are familiar with Africa’s challenges, such as the shoddy infrastructure, the scarcity of a highly trained workforce and the lack of liquidity in capital markets.
“The Middle East, part of which is rich in capital, is starting to look at Africa as an investment destination,” said Frederic Sicre, who is a partner at Abraaj Capital.
Sicre said he was “definitely” seeing more interest in African private equity from Middle East investors.
“Behind us are 200 of the wealthiest merchant families, royal families from the Middle East, sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East. We can pull them into looking at the infrastructure development space, or the big utility development space, into looking at the opportunities here.”
-------------------------------
--The Daily Star

70-Year-Old Virgin Wants To Marry

2012-05-11T08:16:00.004-07:00

A British lady, Pam Shaw, who has preserved her virginity till her 70th birthday, has announced that she is ready to settle down with any man that meets her standard.
According to her, she does not subscribe to pre-marital sex, hence she has kept herself from intimacy with any man till now.

Pam Shaw, 70-Year-Old Virgin
(John Robertson/Barcroft Media /Landov)

"Now's the time. I'm ready to take the plunge for the right bloke," She told a British tabloid recently about her desire to get married.

"My standards are still very high, though. I'm hoping to bag a tall, dark and handsome millionaire," Shaw said.

It was her non-approval of sex before marriage that made her lead a life of abstinence all these years. "I've never really been intimate with a man..." She said.

Shaw In The 1960's
(John Robertson/Barcroft Media /Landov)

She also revealed that her deep commitment to her career allowed her little time to think seriously of settling down. But now, she is ready to consider marriage proposals.

"I feel I am ready to give marriage a go...You are never too old for anything", She said.

-- YAHOO

------------------------------

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Ndi-Igbo Germany Celebrates Odumegwu-Ojukwu

2012-05-10T00:50:00.002-07:00

The Ikemba, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu

North Carolina Bans Gay Marriage

2012-05-09T01:50:00.002-07:00

The Vote Makes North Carolina The 30th US State To Adopt A Ban On Gay Marriage...

President Obama 'Disappointed' In North Carolina Gay Marriage Ban Passage...

“Your efforts send a message to the state of North Carolina and to the country that we will not allow marriage to be redefined in this state,” Tami Fitzgerald, chair of Vote for Marriage NC, told supporters gathered in Raleigh. “The nation is watching North Carolina, and we have given them a high standard to follow.”

-----------------------

A Family:
President Barack Obama, His Wife, And Daughters

North Carolina overwhelmingly voted Tuesday in favor of a state constitutional amendment defining marriage between one man and one woman as the only legal union recognized by the state.
The vote makes North Carolina the 30th state to adopt a ban on gay marriage. While North Carolina law already bans same-sex marriage, the amendment means civil unions and potentially other types of domestic partnerships will no longer be recognized legally by the state.

More states will vote on gay marriage later this year. In November, Minnesota voters will cast ballots on a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as solely between one man and one woman. Washington state voters are also expected to consider a gay marriage ban while Maine in November will vote on whether to approve same-sex marriage.

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue

The vote in the key swing state came after a tough couple days for the White House on the issue of gay marriage, which President Barack Obama hasn’t publicly favored. But Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan both publicly endorsed marriage equality in recent days, making their boss look behind the curve in the gay community.
As expected, North Carolina voters overwhelmingly approved the state constitutional amendment 60 percent to 40 percent, with nearly half of precincts reporting.

“Your efforts send a message to the state of North Carolina and to the country that we will not allow marriage to be redefined in this state,” Tami Fitzgerald, chair of Vote for Marriage NC, told supporters gathered in Raleigh. “The nation is watching North Carolina, and we have given them a high standard to follow.”
Foes of the amendment suggested that its passage paves the way for unintended consequences for the state’s families.

North Carolina Rep. Brad Miller, a Democrat, said the constitutional amendment goes “well beyond” just establishing marriage as between one man and one woman.
“If you’re in a hospital, in your last illness and you’ve been with a partner for 30 years, if the law is that only certain family members may visit you — you can’t pick who your family members are,” Miller said in a live-streamed interview Tuesday night. “You can’t pick who your family is. The government has decided for you.”

A Happy Couple

Jen Jones, the communications director for Protect All NC Families — which opposed the amendment — told the Raleigh News & Observer that they had an “unprecedented coalition.”
“We were on TV as much as we wanted to be. We talked to everyone we could about unintended consequences,” she said.

An unusually high number of voters went to the polls early in North Carolina. According to state election officials, more than 500,000 voters cast their ballots ahead of Tuesday’s election, despite the lack of a competitive presidential primary. That’s more early voters than in 2008, when Obama and Hillary Clinton were locked in a fight for the Democratic nomination.

Opponents of the measure, though disappointed with their loss, cheered the high turnout and vowed to keep fighting.
----------------------------
--POLITICO

--------------------

Obama 'Disappointed' In North Carolina Gay Marriage Ban Passage

President Obama's reelection campaign is expressing their disappointment that North Carolina voters have decided to add a gay marriage amendment to the state's constitution.
“The President has long opposed divisive and discriminatory efforts to deny rights and benefits to same sex couples," Obama's North Carolina spokesman Cameron French said in a statement.

President Obama And His Wife, Michelle, In Central
London On 24 May 2010

"He believes the North Carolina measure singles out and discriminates against committed gay and lesbian couples, which is why he did not support it. President Obama has long believed that gay and lesbian couples deserve the same rights and legal protections as straight couples and is disappointed in the passage of this amendment," French said.

The AP reported Tuesday that the measure, called Amendment 1, passed by North Carolina voters. Obama has faced renewed questions about his 'evolving' stance on same-sex marriage in the wake of Vice President Joe Biden's remarks Sunday that he was "comfortable" with gay marriage.

Behold A Family!

The Obama campaign first announced their opposition to the measure in March.
Obama has staked out a position where he is nominally opposed to same-sex marriage (but "evolving"), but is also against state-level marriage bans — a stance unlikely to satisfy supporters on either side of the debate.

-------------------------
--Politico

Great Books Chicago 2012 - Things Fall Apart

2012-05-07T03:13:00.005-07:00

A Weekend Of Great Books Discussions And Cultural Events! (April 27–29, 2012)

Great Books Chicago is presented with generous support from Harrison Middleton University, Encyclopaedia Britannica and Penguin Books.

This Year's Theme Is Things Fall Apart.

"Things fall apart; the center cannot hold," wrote the poet Yeats. Left to themselves, bowing to the law of entropy, things tend to deteriorate and fall into disarray, in both our personal worlds and the larger world that we all share. Unless, of course, there comes into play a principle that pushes back against this downward spiral. Call it mind or will or soul or love or even hope—something is at work keeping things whole. Join us for a searching investigation of this essential tension between order and disorder that pervades every aspect of our existence: from our personal relations with friends and family to our place in the public arenas of history and economic cycles.

Great Books Chicago is the Great Books Foundation's annual event for anyone who loves reading and talking about outstanding literature. Since 2000, the Foundation has been hosting this 3-day program of lively book discussions, performances by outstanding musical and theatrical companies, and visits to museums and other interesting sites in and around the city. But most of all, Great Books Chicago is an opportunity to get together with old friends and make new acquaintances who share the same commitment to good conversation about books and ideas of enduring value. Whether you are a lifelong member of a Great Books group or a newcomer who would like to get to know the Great Books community firsthand, you will find Great Books Chicago a stimulating, enjoyable weekend.

The Weekend Included:

Lively Shared Inquiry™ discussions of Shakespeare's Timon of Athens;
Chinua Achebe's novel, Things Fall Apart;
and poems by Elizabeth Bishop, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Wislawa Szymborska, and W.B. Yeats
A performance of William Shakespeare's Timon of Athens by the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre
BoyGirlBoyGirl performance monologues inspired by one of this year's readings
"Boom or Bust", a witty talk by financial expert Alex Pollock on the ups and downs of human prosperity

Nigerian Girls Sold Into A Life Of Despair

2012-05-04T08:48:00.001-07:00

LATE Friday night on the outskirts of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso. As we enter the village of Samghandi our taxi's headlights cast beams of light onto swarms of mosquitoes and figures standing at the roadside. The car comes to a halt outside a neon-lit bar and Patrick Baudin gets out to meet our contact. The men shake hands and Baudin, a Christian pastor originally from the Ivory Coast, summons us to follow him with a nod of his head.

Rescued: Magali, 15, And Shakira, 19, Seated With
Patience, Were Trafficked From Nigeria.
Photo: Angela Catlin

''We should be quick,'' he says over thumping dance music as we walk into the venue. Inside, there are mirrors on the walls, and a green light throws a strange hue across a dance floor where young girls dance and wait tables, watched by men drinking beer. We sit in a corner and some of the girls join us. All hail from either Nigeria or Burkina Faso. Some have braided hair and nearly all wear miniskirts and tight vests; they could be out clubbing at the weekend in any town or city. But the girls are not here of their own free will. Victims of people traffickers, they are forced to sell their bodies for sex in the club's filthy back rooms. Some look barely 14 years old. One cradles an infant in her arms.

''Where do you come from and how old are you?'' Baudin asks her. ''I am from Lagos [Nigeria]. I am 22 years old,'' she replies. Even in black eyeliner and garish red lipstick, the girl looks barely 18. The others lie about their ages, too. One, a slim girl to my left wearing a turquoise top, says she is 22. She leans forward as if to speak but checks herself and stops. She seems nervous and glances around the club before moving closer again. ''We were brought here last week. They took our clothes, money, papers and mobile phones,'' she whispers. The girl says her name is Shakira. Her friend, Magali, has been crying. ''They said they would beat us if we did not work,'' she says.

Patience Was Trafficked From Nigeria To Burkina Faso.
Photo: Angela Catlin

The disco music is cranked up. Across the room from us a group of men is gathering. We decide to leave. Some of the girls, including Shakira and Magali, follow. As we walk towards our car, the men pull Baudin to the side. By now, a crowd has formed and threatening voices are raised above the music.

''What do you want here?'' says a scrawny man with high cheekbones.

Baudin ignores him and keeps walking, placing his arms protectively around the girls' shoulders. He quickens his pace and ushers Shakira and Magali towards the taxi. Magali dives into the front passenger seat and Shakira throws herself into the back and we quickly follow. Baudin orders the driver to go but as he tries to shut the door a crowd surrounds the car. ''On y va! On y va! (Let's go! Let's go!),'' Baudin yells as we attempt a frantic escape.

I had arrived in Burkina Faso a week earlier to investigate a human trafficking problem escalating into one of the worst in Africa. A former protectorate of France, having gained independence in 1960, Burkina Faso is a landlocked country surrounded by Mali, Niger, Benin, Togo, Ghana and the Ivory Coast. London-based organisation AFRUCA (Africans Unite Against Child Abuse) had tipped me off that criminal gangs - mostly Nigerian - were targeting Burkina Faso in order to circumvent tightened border controls elsewhere.
Baudin despairs at the misery here. A streetwise pastor, much of his time is spent helping girls forced into prostitution. He says the authorities are ill-equipped to combat the crime. Often he feels he is whistling in the wind, but he continues his crusade with the support of Christian mission organisation Serving in Mission.

This Cruel Slavery Is Also Happening In Mali

Other charities including Keogo and the African Solidarity Association also warn of a crisis. And the Red Cross is embarking on a controversial initiative whereby it will pay traffickers to cease their trade. A diplomat at the Nigerian embassy in Ouagadougou says Burkina Faso has the ''worst trafficking problem in West Africa''.

Concern is increasing in Europe too over the increasing vulnerability of African girls to exploitation - particularly with several major sporting events coming up, including Euro 2012, the international soccer championship to be jointly hosted in June by Poland and Ukraine. Catherine Bearder of the European Parliament recently reported that strip clubs were already opening near the football stadiums in Kiev. And in Britain a group called the Anti-Trafficking Alliance has expressed concerns about the London Olympic Games, warning that past events have been linked with increases in trafficking, prostitution and sexual assaults. The group cited a report by Canadian anti-trafficking organisation The Future Group showing that during the 2004 Athens Olympic Games the number of trafficking victims almost doubled.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan (BBC)

In Ouagadougou, Baudin knows someone with contacts to a brothel and after a number of phone calls we are given permission to visit Mercy's Sex Shop in the Pissi district. A dingy bar at the side of a dusty road with no street lighting, it feels like the most desolate place on earth. Mercy, a fat, scowling woman from Nigeria, introduces five of her girls. The women are all Nigerian. They explain they were promised work in Europe but trafficked to Ouagadougou instead. The youngest, Patience, who claims she is 18, was brought to the city two years ago. She seems in another world, her eyes glazed over as if high, although drugs - alcohol aside - are not a major problem in the city. Discreetly, Baudin instructs Patience to call him if she wants help.

Leaving, however, is far from easy. Debts of up to 4 million West African francs ($A7800) must be paid back to brothel owners, and Baudin explains that juju (a form of witchcraft) is used by criminals to terrify their victims into silence. Girls are threatened that if they speak to the police something awful will afflict them and/or their families. The next day at Central Police HQ, Inspector Alain Kabore explains that witnesses are often too frightened to co-operate.

Another problem is corruption, which is rife in Ouagadougou. Baudin says that many police officers take bribes. In one of the bars we visit, a drunken off-duty policeman flashes his warrant card as he sits with his arm around a teenage prostitute. Baudin's claims are backed by two former traffickers. Nigerians Ebo Collins and Imo Kessi say that in previous arrests they paid bribes of up to 500,000 West African francs (CFAs) ($A955) to policemen to secure their release. With the average wage in the capital only about 30,000 CFAs ($58) a month, Kessi adds, human trafficking is an extremely lucrative business.
Baudin later expresses doubts about Collins' and Kessi's claims that they are no longer involved in the business. The 40-year-old has seen too much in his years spent campaigning on behalf of street children. He trusts few people.

President Blaise Compaore Of Burkina Faso

At times Baudin's courage verges on the foolhardy. On several occasions he takes us to red-light zones so we can witness the scale of the problem. One night in the Dapoya area, we pass a brothel called Ali Baba's. Girls are lined up in the streets. Baudin tells the driver to stop. As the car slows, he winds down a window and summons a young girl across to him. Her name is Bola and she comes from Lagos, Nigeria, and although she claims to be 22 she looks much younger.
''I am a minister. If you give your life to Christ then we can help you. Do you want to give up this work and this life?'' Baudin asks.
''Yes,'' Bola replies.
Baudin alights from the car. They speak for a few minutes until a woman appears from inside the club. She is the madam. She screams in French at Baudin and some men appear from inside the bar. Baudin sprints back to us but as the driver tries to accelerate we are surrounded. The mob rocks the car and reaches in through the windows to grab at photographer Angela Catlin's camera. A door is flung open and Baudin is dragged from the back.

Longing For Rescue!

He is ringed by angry people shouting and gesticulating - Ali Baba's bouncers. One pulls a knife and Baudin starts talking for his life. The situation only calms after we agree to pay money for his safe release. The frightened pastor says later that the presence of two white people probably saved him. Nevertheless, two nights later Baudin rescues Shakira and Magali from the brothel at Samghandi. Posing as charity workers, we have negotiated access to the club in order to interview the girls, and although events quickly lead to another volatile situation, we drive off with Shakira and Magali safely in the car.

Magali, 15, and Shakira, 19, have been extremely fortunate. They arrived from Nigeria seven days ago, having paid money for jobs in America. But on arrival at a bus station in Ouagadougou they were abducted by traffickers. The night we encounter them was to have been their first working as prostitutes. ''They told us we must have sex with men as we owed them money. We were told we would have to pay back 1,200,000 CFAs ($2300) but we refused to do what they said so they moved us to the village and threatened to kill us if we didn't work,'' Magali says.

''They told me my new name was to be 'Shakira','' says her friend, whose real name is Jennifer. The following day, Baudin takes the girls to police headquarters where they give statements to Kabore's anti-trafficking unit.
Magali and Jennifer are now safe. A week later, police raid the Samghandi club but despite several arrests, the bar remains open and young girls are still being
sold for sex.

Some names have been changed.

--------------------------------

Sydney Morning Herald

Charles Taylor Verdict A Warning To War Crimes Perpetrators

2012-04-26T07:56:00.001-07:00

Dakar/Nairobi/Brussels, 26 April 2012:

The landmark guilty verdict today against former Liberian President Charles Ghankay Taylor is a warning to those most responsible for atrocity crimes that they can be held accountable.

A decade after the war in Sierra Leone, the Special Court's ruling marks the first time that a former head of state has been found guilty of war-time atrocities by an internationally-backed court since the Nuremberg trials.

Former Liberian President Charles Taylor

The verdict is a fresh lesson to all those in power that they do not enjoy impunity and a sign of hope in Sierra Leone that those most responsible for the heinous crimes of the eleven-year civil war (1991-2002) are being brought to book. Nevertheless, Liberians are still waiting for Taylor and others to be tried for atrocities committed in the civil war in their country.

“The guilty verdict against Charles Taylor by the Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL) is a watershed moment in the fight to hold high-level perpetrators accountable”, says Gilles Yabi, Crisis Group's West Africa Project Director. “It is also a momentous day for the victims' families, who have waited patiently for this ruling since the court began its work”.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf

The verdict has been a long time coming. Taylor was indicted in March 2003 on multiple counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity and other serious violations of international law. He was accused of helping to plan, order and encourage acts including murder, terrorising civilians, mutilation, rape, sexual slavery and recruiting child soldiers. The charges stemmed from his support for Sierra Leone rebel groups as commander of the National Patriotic Front for Liberia from 1989 and after becoming president in 1997.

Under the peace agreement that ended Liberia's civil war in 2003, Taylor resigned as president. He was granted exile in Nigeria but extradited in March 2006 to Freetown, at the request of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and after he violated the terms of his exile by meddling in Liberian politics. Owing to regional security concerns, his trial before the SCSL - a court set up jointly by the government of Sierra Leone and the United Nations - was held in The Hague.

For African Rulers Only?

-------------------------

If I may say so, this is not a court set up to bring to book Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom or Presidents of the Unites States.

-- Robin Cook, Former British Foreign Minister On BBC Newsnight

-------------------------

This verdict ends the work of the court, which also convicted eight other individuals. Its mandate was to prosecute only those most responsible for the crimes within its jurisdiction. That brief was heavily criticised because it meant that many lesser perpetrators would go free, particularly given the weaknesses in Sierra Leone's justice system. While the judgment sends a strong message that heads of state can be prosecuted, many Liberians may feel short-changed. Despite the long and costly work of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which recommended prosecutions for the main perpetrators of atrocities during the Liberian civil war, impunity still prevails and remains an obstacle to national reconciliation.

“While this is a significant day for Sierra Leone, many in Liberia will have mixed feelings”, says Comfort Ero, Crisis Group's Africa Program Director. “Taylor and other Liberians have yet to be held to account for crimes committed in Liberia's civil war. Several suspects continue to serve in public office”.

--------------------------

--International Crises Group

------------------------

Bomb Blasts At ThisDay Newspapers Offices In Abuja And Kaduna

2012-04-26T05:44:00.002-07:00

Explosions At ThisDay Newspapers Offices In Abuja And Kaduna Kill Six People...

A suicide bomber detonated a car loaded with explosives Thursday at the office of a major Nigerian newspaper in the country's capital and another man threw a bomb near another newspaper office in Kaduna, killing at least six people in the attacks, witnesses said.
The attack in Abuja struck the offices of ThisDay, an influential daily newspaper.

ThisDay Abuja Office After The Blast

The bombing in Kaduna struck a building housing offices for ThisDay, The Moment and The Daily Sun newspapers, witnesses said.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attacks, though they mirrored others previously carried out by a radical Islamist sect responsible for hundreds of deaths in Nigeria this year alone.

In Abuja, the suicide bomber rammed his car through the gates of the ThisDay office and drove into the reception area before the explosion, said Nwakpa O. Nwakpa, a spokesman for the Nigerian Red Cross. The blast killed at least three people and wounded others, Nwakpa said.

Nduka Obaigbena, ThisDay Publisher

Soldiers and police officers quickly surrounded the building, which had part of its roof torn away and all its windows blown out by the force of the explosion.
Gbayode Somuyiwa, an official with the newspaper, said he heard the explosion damaged the company's printing press, but had no other information.

The attack in Kaduna also included a car loaded with explosives, though people at the newspaper office quickly surrounded the car, witnesses said. The driver then began shouting that there was a bomb inside the car, witness Jemilu Abdullahi said.
Those there allowed the man to open the trunk of the car and he pulled out an object and threw it at the crowd, which exploded, Abdullahi said. Abdullahi said at least three people died in that blast.

It is unclear why bombers targeted ThisDay, a newspaper owned by the politically connected media mogul Nduka Obaigbena. In 2002, rioting over an article published by ThisDay suggesting the Prophet Muhammad would have married a Miss World pageant contestant killed dozens in Kaduna.

The attack comes as the radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram continues its violent campaign against Nigeria's weak central government. The sect is blamed for killed more than 440 people this year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

-----------------------------

--Associated Press

Lives Threatened As Lagos Doctors Begin Indefinite Strike Today

2012-04-25T01:05:00.002-07:00

MEDICAL doctors working for the Lagos State government will today begin an indefinite strike, which may paralyse healthcare services in the state-owned public hospitals.
While the doctors under the aegis of the Medical Guild earlier warned of an impending industrial action by the end of this month, the sudden commencement will catch many Lagosians unaware. Many are still smarting from the pains of the last three-day warning strike.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola

The doctors reached a consensus to down tools yesterday at an emergency congress held at the Marina General Hospital.
Chairman of the Guild in Lagos, Dr. Olumuyiwa Odusote, said the doctors were embarking on indefinite strike to call for immediate withdrawal of queries and summons they earned following the last three-day warning strike and to ensure full implementation of the Consolidated Medical Salary Scale (CONMESS).

It was learnt that the action was declared after policemen from the Lagos State Command disrupted the doctors’ congress and attempted to arrest their chairman, Odusote.
The government had also ordered the doctors to appear before a disciplinary panel set up to try the doctors for embarking on three days warning strike and for refusing to answer the queries issued them.

Governor Fashola (2nd left) Inspecting The Emergency,
Trauma And Burn Centre At The Gbagada General Hospital,
Lagos on Friday July 29, 2011 (Pix: PMNews)

The doctors on their part threatened to embark on indefinite strike again if the state government did not meet demands but were forced to begin the action today due to what they termed government harassment.

At the Health Service Commission (HSC) office at Lagos Hospital yesterday, heavily armed policemen were stationed at the entrance preventing people from entering the venue of the Personnel Management Board (PMB) meeting of the disciplinary panel set up to try the doctors.

Their employer, the Lagos State government, last week issued queries to doctors who participated in the warning-strike, and also placed advertisement in the national dailies to engage new doctors.

The doctors, between August and November 2010 as well as February and April 2011, paralysed healthcare services in the public hospitals over issue not unconnected with salary and emoluments.

Doctors At Work In A Lagos State Hospital

The Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Adeyemi Ibirogba, has, however, described the strike by doctors as a deliberate ploy to disrupt the administrative function in the state.

Ibirogba, while condemning the doctors’ disruption of activities at the Lagos Island Maternity yesterday, said it was imperative of the aggrieved medical practitioners to respect lives rather than using their selfish and personal interest to infringe untold hardships on innocent citizens.

Pregnant Women Appealing To Lagos State Governmnent

To Resolve Their Differences With The Doctors Who Are

Currently On Strike, Yesterday. (Pix: Vanguard)

The commissioner appealed to well meaning Lagosians to call on the striking doctors to see reasons and understand government situation.

“The state has conceded to some of their demands and if it should continue to bow to their pressure at the detriment of other professional bodies in the state service, the administrative settings of government will definitely be disrupted,” Ibirogba said.

-----------------------------
--The Guardian

Prof Victor Dike Sues Nigerian CBN Governor Sanusi For Plagiarism

2012-04-24T03:33:00.002-07:00

A United States-based Nigerian lecturer has sued the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Dr. Lamido Sanusi, for allegedly plagiarising his works.

The plaintiff, Prof. Victor Dike, of the School of Engineering and Technology, National University of Sacramento, California, said Sanusi breached his intellectual property rights without proper reference and citation in accordance with Copyright Acts in two separate convocation lectures he (Sanusi) presented.

*Sanusi Lamido Sanusi

Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)

The suit was filed on behalf of Dike by Mr. E. U. Chinedum at a Federal High Court, Abuja.

The matter concerns contents of various articles written and published by the plaintiff, including ‘Review of the challenges facing the Nigerian economy: (Is national development possible without technological capability?), published in the Journal of Sustainable Development in Africa (Volume 12).

Other materials involved in the matter are an article titled ‘Nigeria: Reform efforts and the unresolved socio-economic problems’, adapted from chapter nine of the book ‘Democracy and political life in Nigeria (2nd edition), as well as a write up titled ‘Nigeria’s bad governance and weak institution: Is the 2020 project achievable?’

Prof Victor E. Dike

Another article involved in the case is a work titled: ‘The state of education in Nigeria and the health of the nation’, published by the NESG Economic Indicators, vol. 8, No. 1, January-March 2002.

Dike, in his statement of claim, informed the court that he was the original author of the articles.

He alleged that Sanusi, in a public lecture delivered at the 8th Convocation Ceremony of Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, on November 26, 2010, titled ‘Growth prospects for the Nigerian economy’ used (copied verbatim and pasted) from the his (plaintiff’s) ‘academic articles without referring to him (plaintiff) as the original author of the works.

The plaintiff averred that in yet another public lecture delivered at the Convocation Square, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi, on December 10, 2010, titled ‘Global financial meltdown and the reforms in the Nigerian banking sector’, Sanusi also “copiously used (copied verbatim and pasted) articles originally written and published by the plaintiff without acknowledging the plaintiff as the author of the works from where he sourced the materials that made up his lecture”.

Dike added, “These articles have been published by the plaintiff and also variously cited by plethora of other writers, therefore the copyrights thereof belongs to the plaintiff”.

The plaintiff further informed the court that on discovering Sanusi’s actions, he promptly wrote him, reminding him of the breach of his copy rights.

However, according to the plaintiff, Sanusi replied to say that he (Dike) was properly acknowledged and referred him to where he acknowledged only one article by one “Victor E.D”.

The plaintiff is asking the court to order Sanusi to pay him N15m, covering compensation (N10m), and the fees charged by his counsel (N2m), cost of traveling to Nigeria (N1m), hotel accommodation, transport and other logistics (N1.5m).

After hearing an exparte motion by the plaintiff on Monday, Justice Adamu Bello granted an order for substituted service of the process on the CBN governor.

The case was adjourned till May 31 for mention.

Reacting to the development, the spokesperson for the CBN, Mr. Ugochukwu Okoroafor, said the suit against Sanusi was a mere distraction.

He said, “We are here at the World Bank meeting in Washington DC with the governor and somebody called me on this, but I haven’t heard anything like that. I have asked my people to find out because there is a whole lot of distraction going on.

“However, just think about it; what is he (Sanusi) gaining from plagiarizing? They are trying to distract the man from his work.”

---------------------------

-- PUNCH

At 70, Jacob Zuma Acquires Wife No 4

2012-04-23T09:58:00.001-07:00

At 70, And With 21 Children, South African President, Jacob Zuma, Marries His Fourth Wife, And The Sixth Time...

South Africa's polygamous president Jacob Zuma married for the sixth time on Friday, taking long-time girlfriend Bongi Ngema as his fourth wife in a private ceremony at his rural home.
His three other wives Sizakele Zuma, Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma and Tobeka Madiba-Zuma all attended the ceremony.

South African President Jacob Zuma Dances As He

Marries Bongi Ngema At His Home In Natal, South

Africa. Photograph: Reuters

Ngema, an activist and former information technology worker, is well known in South Africa and has already accompanied the president on foreign visits.
The ceremony raised few eyebrows in a country where polygamy is legal and an integral part of Zuma's Zulu culture.

The Harem Swell: Zuma And His Three Other Wives

The two had a traditional Zulu wedding and "the bride and groom later participated in the traditional competitive celebratory dance," the presidency said in a statement.
Zuma has 21 children, including a seven-year-old son with Ngema.

President Jacob Zuma And His Fourth Wife, Bongi Ngema
Cut Their Wedding Cake On Friday

His marriage to Home Affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma ended in divorce. Another wife, Kate Mantsho-Zuma, committed suicide in 2000.

Zuma And His Fourth Wife Dance

There is no official position of First Lady in South Africa. The presidency said none of the wives had a constitutional role or received any state funds.

[VIDEO]

Zuma's The Wedding Ceremony

-----------------------------
--The Guardian (UK)

Too Skinny! Is Angelina Jolie Starving Herself To Death?

2012-04-20T09:04:00.001-07:00

It is, perhaps, time to try and look away from the overflowing praise the western media usually heaped on American actress and director, Angelina Jolly, whom they always glowingly describe as “trim and beautiful” and tell ourselves the simple truth that stares everyone in the face every day, but which only very few would dare to admit, namely, This lady is starving herself to death in order to continue to conform with the “approved” notion of beauty, and remain the darling of the entertainment media!

Angelina Jolie

But if our eyes are not deceiving us, Angelina Jolly is just all skin and bones. She is badly emaciated. And whoever defined beauty that way must be using a very strange and overly bad dictionary!

Malnourished?

Now, we are not the only ones saying this.

As Angelina Jolly grabbed the headlines across the (western) world and soaked in the overwhelming compliments poured on her way due to her “exceptional beauty” after pictures of her appearance at the last Oscar Awards hit the headlines, Dr. Drew appeared on The VIEW—the American Talk and Variety Show, on March 2, 2012, and lamented that Ms. Jolly was “dangerously malnourished.”

At last, somebody has said the unsayable!

'She's malnourished… I just see malnutrition… We should not look at that as an ideal of beauty, even though she might be a beautiful woman … Something’s going on here,' Dr. insisted.

What an irony that Ms. Jolly is spending millions of dollars trying to feed underfed, malnourished children across the world, many of who look even healthier than she does. It is sad how a millionnaire actress and director is starving herself to death just to look "beautiful." But to many, she is scary skinny! Has she become enorexic? She surely needs some help.

Hail And Thunderstorms To Hit Britain As April Gets Wetter

2012-04-20T01:51:00.000-07:00

Britain Will Be Hit By Hail And Thunderstorms Today, As What Could Be One Of The Wettest Aprils On Record Continues To Cause Misery.

A band of heavy rain is expected to drench parts of the country, as forecasters issue a severe weather warning for downpours in Scotland and the north of England.

(Pix. Daily Mail)

Despite the declared “severe drought conditions” that have resulted in an ongoing hosepipe ban, there is also a risk of flooding and drivers are being warned about the wet roads.

Forecasters have predicted a risk of hail and thunder as the bad weather continues over the weekend.

Most of Britain is expected to suffer some showers today, with parts of the east of England and south Wales also enjoying sunny intervals.

Temperatures will reach a maximum of 14C in London and south east England.
On Saturday, the entire Met Office weather map is covered in a sea of dark clouds and raindrops, with similar scenes expected on Sunday.

Heavy Rain And Hail Storm Photo: ALAMY

Gardeners visiting the Royal Horticultural Society’s flower show in Cardiff today may be blessed with some sunny spells, before rain rolls in over the weekend.
Those running the London Marathon on Sunday are expected to start the race with a few sunny intervals before being drenched by heavy showers by the afternoon.

Forecasters Meteogroup predict weathe will “remain unsettled across the UK with a mixture of sunny intervals and heavy showers, these bringing the risk of hail and thunder.
“Some of the showers will be slow moving and prolonged, especially in the light winds across northern and eastern areas."

^{Thunder And Lightning Will Hit Britain}

The Met Office added there would be maximum temperatures of 14C in the south east
Their forecast states: “A day of sunshine and showers. Showers becoming increasingly heavy during the day with a risk of thunder and hail at times. More persistent rain possible in southwestern parts towards dusk. Becoming breezy, especially along the southern coast.”
For tomorrow, they predict: “Outbreaks of rain may affect the south coast at first. Otherwise showers, interspersed with sunshine, will develop, turning increasingly heavy with a risk of thunder and hail.”

When An Umbrella Proves Unhelpful

Despite the heavy rain, the hosepipe ban is still expected to remain in place for the entire summer.
The Environment Agency say months of rain is needed to refill aquifers and reservoirs, as warmer temperatures mean water evaporates rather than being absorbed.

Due to a dry start to the year, rain falling now is likely to be used by the vegetation that needs it, rather than feeding supplies, water companies claim.

- The Telegraph

TIME Names President Jonathan One Of The Most Influential People In The World

2012-04-18T10:15:00.001-07:00

The 100 Most Influential People in the World

They are the people who inspire us, entertain us, challenge us and change our world. Meet the breakouts, pioneers, moguls, leaders and icons who make up this year's TIME 100

TIME 100: The Full List

Jeremy Lin Christian Marclay Viola Davis Salman Khan Tim Tebow E.L. James Louis CK
Rihanna Marco Rubio Ali Ferzat René Redzepi Kristen Wiig Anthony Kennedy Novak Djokovic Ben Rattray Jessica Chastain Yani Tseng Raphael Saadiq Elinor Ostrom
Samira Ibrahim José Andrés Ann Patchett Dulce Matuz Henrik Schärfe Freeman Hrabowski
Maryam Durani Manal al-Sharif Anjali Gopalan Rached Ghannouchi Barbara Van Dahlen
Ron Fouchier Donald Sadoway Hans Rosling Asghar Farhadi Sarah Burton Anonymous
Pete Cashmore Cami Anderson Ali Babacan and Ahmet Davutoglu Ai-jen Poo
Marc Andreessen Preet Bharara Robert Grant Andrew Lo Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Alexei Navalny Ray Dalio Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber al-Thani Chelsea Handler
Harvey Weinstein Chen Lihua Warren Buffett Alice Walton Harold Hamm Sheryl Sandberg
Sara Blakely Tim Cook Eike Batista Daniel Ek Virginia Rometty Barack Obama
Goodluck Jonathan Xi Jinping Fatou Bensouda Christine Lagarde Mario Draghi
U Thein Sein Ayatullah Ali Khamenei Mitt Romney Juan Manuel Santos Timothy Dolan
Portia Simpson Miller Mario Monti Wang Yang Maria das Graças Silva Foster
Andrew Cuomo Iftikhar Chaudhry Mamata Banerjee Walter Isaacson Ron Paul
Benjamin Netanyahu Dilma Rousseff Erik Martin Cecile Richards Angela Merkel
Lionel Messi Tilda Swinton Hillary Clinton Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, and Pippa Middleton Adele Matt Lauer Oscar Pistorius Claire Danes Stephen Colbert
------------------------------------------------
Goodluck Jonathan

By Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Wednesday, Apr. 18, 2012

Pres. Goodluck Jonathan (Joseph Penney / REUTERS )
Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan exemplifies the African political renaissance at a time when the people of the continent are starting to reap the fruit of their resources and their hard work. President Jonathan, 54, possesses the qualities needed at this moment of great challenges, having come to power at a crucial moment in the history of Nigeria. The country has grown out of its past of corruption, mismanagement and brutality, but the foundation of good governance is still fragile.

In two short years, President Jonathan has shown the same dexterity he demonstrated as governor of Bayelsa, the same ability to find the remedies to the many complexities of running a nascent democracy. He has spearheaded the fight against corruption and turned Nigeria into an example of good governance. He has also made a significant impact on consolidating peace and security in West Africa. From the onset of our own crisis, Liberia has benefitted from the support of Nigeria. President Jonathan not only upheld the trend but added to it. With leaders like President Jonathan, Africa is sure to move toward prosperity, freedom and dignity for all of its people.

[INTERVIEW] We Focus On Children And The Sick -- Fr. Duru, Founder, "Azione Verde"

2012-04-17T06:21:00.012-07:00

About a decade ago, Boniface Duru, a priest from the Catholic Diocese of Orlu, Imo State, Nigeria, residing in Rome, founded an NGO called Azione Verde, which has for many years now offered scholarships to many brilliant but less privileged children and free medical services to a lot of rural dwellers in Nigeria. In this interview with Nigerian Journalist and Writer, UGOCHUKWU EJINKEONYE, Fr. Duru speaks on the activities of his group, the state of education and healthcare delivery in Nigeria, and the future programmes of his organization.

Excerpts:

Rev. Fr. Boniface Duru During The Interview

Since your NGO has an Italian name. I think it would be appropriate to commence by saying what it means in English.

Well the NGO is called “Azione Verde” which means “Green Action”. And the name emerged from our philosophy that “children are the basis for development.” Children must go to school and not work. They must be properly taken care of. I believe that a nation that has no care for her children has no future. So green is a sign of hope, a sign of the future, and a sign of health and even wealth. Green is always a positive sign wherever it shows. So that is why we chose the name – the Green Action, and our attention is focused on the children and the sick. So that’s why it is called Azione Verde.

Thank you. I had wanted to ask you the areas you focus on, but it is like you have touched briefly on them. I understand you have built a school in a rural community in Orlu in Imo State and that annually you fly in a number of medical personnel from Europe to attend to the health needs of people in some rural areas. Maybe, you can elaborate on this.

We have two basic areas of attention: one, we concentrate on the children because we believe that to make a positive impact on the future and development of a nation, there is need to educate the children. So our first focus is to make meaningful and lasting impact on children. Actually, I am against the aspect of humanitarian efforts geared towards bringing used clothes and then food items for the people. No, I believe that the only way to sustain development is to prepare the children, give them a different culture without obliterating the positive one they already have and then you would have made a lot of contribution to national development. Our second focus: to sustain a nation, there is need to also take care of the sick because a sick nation is a weak nation. In a nation where several of the people that constitute the workforce are sick, then the ability to produce and develop is grossly reduced.

Fr. Boniface Duru With The Azione Verde Medical
Team In Orlu Imo State

Tell me more about your healthcare programme.

We actually do what we call village to village treatment. Once every year we bring in doctors and nurses from overseas. Each time we bring in about 40 people – doctors, nurses and medical assistants – and then we move from village to village visiting sick people. And where we encounter very serious cases, we refer them to good hospitals and pay the bills. In some occasions, we have had cause to fly people outside the country for further treatment and brought them back when they became healthy again.

Where do you attend to the people? Do you have some kind of affiliation with some hospitals or do you create temporary health centres in classrooms or community halls in those villages?

When we started, we were using the seven hospitals owned by the Catholic Diocese of Orlu in Imo State. So we would put out announcements inviting people requiring medical attention to come to those hospitals. These structures were on ground and spread throughout the diocese, so we used them at the beginning. Then, gradually, we started using other structures. For instance, when we went outside Orlu to Mbaise (Imo State), we used a health centre. And when we went to other places, we attended to the people at their community squares.

Boniface Duru With Some Of The Children On The

Azione Verde Scholarship

Could you recall when the idea of founding an NGO occurred to you?

I wouldn’t want to use the term, “the idea of founding an NGO” occurring to me. I would rather say it was the NGO that came to me. Well, my intention was to make a positive contribution to development in Africa. When I came to Rome, I became a chaplain in a hospital for four years. So during the first two years, I saw the difference between the way the doctors there took care of their patients and the way it was done here in many of our hospitals. It dawned on me that a lot of deaths which took place here and still take place were caused by carelessness on the part of our medical personnel. Down here, we have many hospitals but only very few can qualify to be called hospitals indeed. This brought tears to my eyes as I reflected on the many avoidable deaths that occurred in our hospitals regularly. Every day, I wept at the hospital, as I considered that very simple sicknesses that killed people in Africa could easily be taken care of given the right personnel, equipment and drugs. So, that moved me to begin to question the quality of drugs used in our hospitals and how far the relevant supervisory agencies go to ensure control over what is given to patients and all that. So I was worried and started thinking about it. I started holding meetings with some of the doctors there asking them whether they would be willing to join me to visit my country if I was able to put together an organisation and they readily agreed. Down here there is hardly any control on the quality of drugs being brought in.

But we have NAFDAC in Nigeria here?

Even NAFDAC does very little. In Europe, there are no drugs coming in from China but

Nigeria

is full of Chinese drugs and it is this same NAFDAC that allows these drugs to come in. And some of these drugs are not qualified to answer that name. So I was worried about this. Then on the other hand, I saw that the cause of most problems in Nigeria, and in Africa, is illiteracy. We are mostly illiterate people. Even many of those who claim to be educated are not properly educated; and as you know, there is this saying that half-education is dangerous and that is what is causing problems in many places in Africa. So I said: how can children be trained? How can we make positive contributions to development? The only answer was that children must be given quality education early enough before they become adults and become preoccupied with many other things. You remember the expression Tabula rasa. Tabula rasa means a vacant human mind occupied by no thought or experience, just like white paper. And on a white paper you can write, but on a paper already filled with several writings, you cannot write. So only children have the mind that could still be described as Tabula rasa, a kind of clean slate with enough space for you to write something on. But sending these children to school is not enough. Their education must be combined with formation. Education and formation produce balanced human beings. Education without formation may produce giants, but they would be negative giants. The result is always destructive. So that was why I started putting together these ideas, and writing them down. And from there we took off, and from stage to stage, we got to where we are today.

Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye [Left] Interviewing

Boniface Duru

How is your secondary school doing?

Yes, we have built a secondary school. You have seen the pictures, but actually we want to upgrade it now to a University of Science and Information Technology because we want to make a contribution in those areas of learning.

Now, your school is located in a rural community. I don’t know how much you charge as fees, but I hope it is such that can be affordable to the people there.

Yes, we are not talking about the fees now. We are talking about the quality of what is being offered, and the effective operation of the institution. Well, for your information, we have about 1,000 children benefiting from our scholarship programme. We select children who are orphans, those from very poor families, and those who are very intelligent. So the condition is not just that the person cannot afford to pay his or her fees. We also want them to be able to demonstrate a capacity to cope with the standard of education we are advocating. That is what actually forms the basis for the school. And we are trying to use it to change the society like I said before. We want to form and educate children and mould them to become responsible and productive members of the society. When education is combined with formation, it produces balanced human beings that are very responsible.

Boniface Duru With Former Nigerian President

Olusegun Obasanjo

It is like for now your focus is Imo State?

Yes, for now the base of this organization is in Imo State. Why? I am from Imo State, and as they say, Charity begins at home, but the horizon of the organization extends far beyond Imo State. We have people benefiting from our facilities everywhere. For now there are no children attending our school. We use different structures. So a child in Abeokuta can go to a school in Abeokuta under our scholarship, because we started the scholarship programme before we built the school. The children are attending schools at different places, but they must be recommended. So every academic year, our secretariat pays their school fees wherever they are. We are responsible for their fees, books, uniforms, bus fares and several other things. Sometimes, a child costs us about a hundred thousand naira a year, and sometimes more than that. We have already produced a medical doctor through our scholarship programme. We have also produced a psychologist who is at the moment at the orientation camp in preparation for the compulsory National Youth Service Corps (NYSC).

Now, let’s return to your healthcare programme. How do you get your volunteers? Do you have people who are regular on your list? Are they all from Italy or do you have some others volunteering from other parts of Europe?

If you look at our magazine, you will see that our organization has a universal spread. It is called Azione Verde Internationale because of its international nature. We have people from the United States. We have some doctors from several other places who are members of our organization. We also have members from Malta,

Canada

– in fact, from all over the world. Anyone from anywhere who appreciates the value of what we are doing can become a member.

The Azione Verde Medical Team At Work

So you have permanent members then, or is it that each time you are coming to Africa, you advertise for volunteers and people respond?

Yes, like now, if you visit our website (www.azioneverde.org) you will see the date of our next visit to

Nigeria

. So those interested to be part of our programme can apply. Already, some nurses are applying from the United States. Anybody who is interested can come. It is not limited to some people.

I heard that you received one of the highest honours in Italy for your humanitarian services. Tell me about it?

Yes, I received this award in 2010 and it is an award given only to Italian citizens from the Basilicata Region, but for the first time in their history, they selected me as one of the recipients. Why? Because they saw the value of what I am doing. It is not just about what I am doing in Africa, coming to Nigeria regularly to render some help. But then they had also seen the positive effect of my work on their own young people, because in Italy alone this organization has about a thousand volunteers; and then from time to time we are having meetings. I re-educate them on the value of appreciating our common humanity, as we strive to achieve a better understanding of others outside our immediate environments. It is also another way of exposing the young people to international frontiers. So when we bring them here, they see our people, and see that we don’t live on trees, for instance. They see that those living here are also people as they are, and when they go back home, they join me to re-educate their own people. And I must tell you that they enjoy coming here. For 12 years we have done this and we have had no accidents. For this, they selected me and gave me the award.

Boniface Duru And His Team With Governor

Rochas Okorocha Of Imo State

Now, you are talking about re-education, new attitudes towards other people and better appreciation of others outside our immediate environments. In 2007, a young Nigerian wrote an article in the Washington Post entitled: “Stop Trying To ‘Save’ Africa”, and observed that humanitarian efforts in Africa by Western celebrities and NGOs appear sometimes to be geared towards promoting “the stereotype of Africa as a black hole of disease and death.” Now I would like you to talk about the people volunteering for your organization? What is their attitude towards Africa? Is it a case of embarking on a hazardous mission to the jungle to “save” some perennially helpless creatures? Or do they come to meet human beings faced with challenges just like any other people on earth?

Actually, when you read the founding philosophy of this organization, you will see that I made it clear that men should meet men on common grounds, where I will shake your hands because I appreciate you and you shake my hands because you appreciate me. So when I talk to them, I tell them that we have no problems about food. Yes, Nigeria has no food problem. Nigeria has no clothing problem. Nigeria is not a poor country. Nigeria has a basic problem of mismanagement, and, if you like, corruption. And if you want to change Nigeria, you have to help form the children who tomorrow will become the protagonists of their own environment. If anybody is coming to

Nigeria

because he wants to give out food to some suffering, starving people, that is wrong. You can say that about Rwanda, not Nigeria. You can say that about some other African states, because they lack food and water. So, overseas I tell them: don’t bring food to Nigeria, we are rich. Don’t bring clothes to us; we may even have more than you have. Come to us and see how we are. We want to educate our people. Some people don’t have equal opportunities and this is created by corruption, as you know. So, one very effective way to combat this corrupt practice is to help these children become adequately equipped to become the protagonists of their environments. The only way to empower them is to give them education. And not only education; you have to give them formation too. A lot of people say to me out there: we want to come to Nigeria and adopt children. And I say, no! We want you to come and visit Nigeria and see how you can help us form responsible future leaders and agents of change. When these children become doctors and lawyers, they can then come overseas and then your meeting with them will be a dignified one. Indeed, if you come overseas and see our people suffering and see what our people sell there to make money, you will weep. Some young men are out there selling toothpastes, buttons, socks, underwear; they go from one house to another. Sometimes they don’t even sell anything; they just ask for help. They tell people: please help us, we are poor. So this is a problem. And the only way you can avoid the continued reoccurrence of this problem is to properly train these children. I live overseas and I am able to talk to five thousand Italians and they listen to me. Why? Because of that little education and formation that I got. So if we are able to give it to our children today, in 10 to 15 years, they will do the same thing. And when you have people like me or 2,000 people with the same vision, then our country will change automatically.

Boniface Duru During The Interview

Recently, you met with the governor of Imo State, Mr. Rochas Okorocha. I want to know if there is any form of collaboration you discussed with him to further what you are doing?

Yes, the Governor was very positive about what we are doing because it also tallies with his own vision. The other day, somebody was asking me whether I sold my own ideas to Governor Okorocha? I only replied, as they say, that great minds think alike. He found out that what he is doing is in line with our own work. So he was very happy. That was that. He welcomed us. Actually, we didn’t get anything from the state government because my organisation is not asking for money. We do our things ourselves. Our collaboration is on the level of ideas. He also supported us by giving us security, but, like I said, our collaboration remains on the level of ideas and vision. Imo State government is not funding Azione Verde and Azione Verde is not funding Imo State. The governor is just is a good, hardworking man. That is all.

Now, the credibility of any NGO depends to a large extent on its sources of funding. So who are the people funding your NGO?

Yes, many people, many Nigerians always ask me this question. Journalists, too, have shown interest in our source of funding. We don’t have any big brother. Like I told you, we don’t ask for money from anybody. We don’t even have grants. We source the funds ourselves. The volunteers that come with me pay their air fares. We also make contributions to arrange for what we eat and how we stay. So nobody funds this organisation. For the work we are doing, we have our levies. Everybody levies himself, all the members of the organisation. So sometimes also, we do a few collections from ourselves for the running of the school and the other structures. So, we don’t have a European Union (EU) grant or something like that. We have not even gone to the EU to ask for any. A lot of people who know me personally as a priest, however, make some donations. Not much money, really, but it’s helpful. They give you what they have, and they are happy about the way the funds are managed and the transparency with which everything is carried out. But I must tell you that 85% of what we spend is based on my personal effort, then the remaining 15% comes from the group.

Boniface Duru With Ugochukwu Ejinkeonye
During The interview

The year 2012 is still young, what have you scheduled to accomplish before it runs out?

We want to inaugurate our university. We are trying to find the funds for the registration, because, you know, Nigeria demands a huge amount of money as deposit from people wishing to establish private universities. So we are trying to do that and then finish it up. This is what is basic on our agenda. Our organisation is ten years old. Actually we hit ten last year but we are doing our anniversary this year and we are also enlarging the scope of our work. For instance, for the first time, we are extending our mission to Congo and Cameroon because we have opened our offices in those two countries. So we will inaugurate our office in Congo this year.

That’s important because I was wondering whether you don’t intend to reach out to other African nations? So, it’s good you have said that. Now I want to look at the quality of the school you are setting up. You know that many schools these days have the problem of standards. How do you intend to ensure the realization of the standard you have in mind?

Actually we are trying to introduce an innovation in education. Like I said, we are establishing a university of science and information technology. We have a group of experts in Italy who are drawing up the curriculum. We want to train our students to be productive and not just to acquire ‘head knowledge’. We are not aiming to turn out people who merely memorize their lessons shortly before entering the exam hall in order to merely acquire paper qualification. We want to produce tested scientists so that in a very short time, we’ll start sending back technology to Europe. That’s what the school is all about. Being a journalist, too, I will want to teach what I studied. I will want a situation whereby we do journalism differently. Within our school we will have our own television and radio stations where our students will practice. This is what we want to do.

Boniface Duru With Former Imo State Governor
Achike Udenwa At Government House, Owerri

You said you are upgrading the secondary school to a university?

Yes, we will move the secondary school to another location but still under our management. My intention also is to repeat this model of secondary school everywhere in Nigeria. So as soon as we take off, the secondary school will be sited in every state in Nigeria and it is our secondary schools that will feed the university.

So nobody can come from outside?

No, no! Because we want to have these children formed. Personally, I will teach them on the use of ideas to change the nation because what is Azione Verde today is built on ideas. And when you have an idea, and follow it and put it into practice, it becomes a reality.

Do you think your university will be able to absorb all the people your secondary schools would be turning out every year?

Yes, the university will do that in the first few years. Then as the number of students grow, so will the departments and campuses of the university. We can, for instance, have a secondary school in Abeokuta, and then after four or five years, we would have a department of the university in Abeokuta. And then if we have one in Calabar, we will repeat the same thing there. So that is the intention.

Azione Verde Centre Under Construction
In Orlu

Through the Faculty of Education, you will be able to train and retrain some teachers for your schools?

Yes, some of these children will become teachers automatically because they will go to specialize in Italy and in other parts of Europe. And then, definitely, they will come back to the school and teach. Not all of them will come back, you know, because some might want to go into other areas, but some of them will definitely come back.

In Imo State today, many parents are withdrawing their kids from private schools and enrolling them in the public schools since Governor Rochas Okorocha came into office and started his programme of restoring quality in public schools and also introduced his scholarship scheme. Don’t you think this might pose a formidable challenge to those of you running private schools?

Well, what Rochas is doing is good if that will be sustained. That is what we all want. But you still must understand that the state system lacks formation and this is why the church-owned or private schools with vision must still strive. So, the private school operators must not be threatened by this development because it is what we all are looking for. But the problem lies in the sustainability because the next administration might not be able to sustain what Rochas has started today. Rochas may be there for the next four or eight years. Then, after, him some fellow might come in and the system might crash. But even if the thing is sustained, private schools can co-exist with public schools and complement each other. We are all pursuing the same goal of providing quality education to Nigerian children. It is left for parents to look at what each institution is capable of offering and choose where to enroll their kids.

Rev. Fr. Boniface Duru

You keep talking about combining education with formation. Now assuming Rochas or any other governor is attracted to such an alternative and then invites you and your team to come and sell the idea to the public schools system?

That would be fine. It would be for us a big victory. We can reinstate what was originally in the public schools because in the past our schools run by the Irish were known for the combination of formation and education and that was why when the colonial structures started crumbling, the educational structures followed suit. Those you see among public servants behaving responsibly in the various offices were mostly those trained by those expatriates. And when we – the latter day students – took over, the structures started crumbling.

You’ve made your point, but I wonder how many people out there that would readily agree with you about the positive values of colonialism.

Yes, you cannot tell me that colonialism had no positive elements. Colonialism had a lot of positive elements and I was just saying now that our inability to separate the positive elements of colonialism is the problem we are having today because we seem to have retained and sustained only the negative elements. Today what happens? The colonial masters built roads from Enugu, Coal City, to Port-Harcourt because they wanted to move the coal from there to the sea ports and then to their country. Today what are your politicians doing? The first week they assume office, they build the road only to their villages. Is it not the same thing? So they only picked the negative aspect but don’t let us forget that some of these colonial people died here in order to help us.

Well, we hope to find a more convenient time to further explore this interesting subject, but for now, do you have any final word to the youths of this country especially about values?

Yes, I still feel that we can change our people but you know the problem there is that nobody gives what he does not have. Sometimes we blame the youths but the youths have nothing to offer because nothing was given to them. The failure of our first generation politicians to carry over the positive values of our colonial system into the new dispensation is at the root of the leadership crises in the country. Instead, when they took over, they started fighting a system that had sustained them and destroyed even the beneficial structures they had inherited, when they had nothing to offer themselves. And because they did not have a better alternative, they were unable to produce those saints and those angels that will sustain and move our country forward. And that’s why we have remained where we are.

Thank you very much for your time.

Thank you for coming and speaking with us.

---------------------------

Interview Conducted Saturday, March 10, 2012, In Lagos, Nigeria

Okonjo-Iweala: Why I Lost World Bank Presidency

2012-04-17T00:40:00.008-07:00

HOURS before the official announcement yesterday of United States (U.S.) nominee, Jim Yong Kim, as the new president of the World Bank in Washington DC, Nigeria’s Co-ordinating Minister for the Economy and Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who was the key contender in the race, said the appointment was not being decided on merit and that the American would win.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

America’s might and not merit, she said, would be the deciding factor.
Her prediction eventually came to pass with the selection of the American, Kim, by the board of the bank yesterday.
Okonjo-Iweala, however claimed triumphantly yesterday that her bid had helped bring change to the process.
Kim will succeed Robert Zoellick, who is stepping down at the end of his term in June.
The U.S. faced a challenge for the first time in 66 years from two strong developing countries’ candidates.
The other candidate, former Colombian Finance Minister Jose Antonio Ocampo, dropped out on Friday complaining that the selection process was all political.

New World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim

“It will never ever be the same again,” Okonjo-Iweala said.
“So, we have won a big victory. Who gets to run the World Bank — we have shown we can contest this thing and Africa can produce people capable of running the entire architecture.”
Under a tacit agreement since the Bretton Woods institutions were founded nearly 70 years ago, the U.S. has always put an American at the helm of the World Bank and Europe has picked a European to lead the International Monetary Fund.
Okonjo-Iweala, a respected Harvard-educated economist, was widely seen as a strong candidate to challenge the status quo.
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala, who had earlier in the day spoken at the 2012 Budget briefing in Abuja, assured Nigerians that she would be around to implement the Appropriation.
On her predictable defeat in the race for the World Bank job, she had said:
“It is voting with political weight and shares and therefore the U.S. will get it.”
She also spoke of how she had been under pressure from some powerful forces in the bank to withdraw from the race to allow for a consensus candidate for the job.
She said before the final decision yesterday: “ The African Business team that invited me said I should stay. So, I have to stay till the end. Some of the World Bank’s rule, unless they have officially announced that their rules required that I have to drop, but if they don’t announce it, I don’t know how I can step down. They are saying the rules demand that there should be a consensus candidate; that the person must emerge by consensus. And if they must select the person by consensus, it means the last person must leave. But I could not do that until they announce that publicly.”
They did not publish the rules for every body to know.”

Robert Zoellick: Time To Say Goodbye!

“Let me tell you something: the reason why I am so buoyant and we are so buoyant, like Mr. President said and Mr. Quattara also said, is that we have already won because Africa has presented someone, not just there to take aid but someone who understands architecture of the World Bank,” she concluded.
Reacting to Okonjo-Iweala’s loss, former Adviser to a Nigerian Executive Director at African Development Bank, Chief Lawson Omokhodion, said it was totally inconceivable that she could be successfully enthroned as the World Bank President .
According to him, the World Bank presidency does not come based on primordial sentiment, but through exercise of a voting power.
He said: “Nigeria, ab initio, never had the platform on which its citizens would have attained that position. It was a waste of resources and people’s expectations to have, in fact, believed that she would be the president.

World Bank Headquarters In Washington

“No Nigerian has ever been able to win ADB Presidency, let alone aspiring to World Bank Presidency. Even, there is no Nigerian who is an Executive Director in the World Bank. It was a fiasco from the beginning. The best Nigeria has had is the position of an alternate director.”
Omokodion stated further that the World Bank presidency cannot go to a country which is not a good example to the world, adding that “those countries said to have proposed Okonjo-Iweala are the same countries that spearheaded the perennial opposition to the Nigerian candidacy to the ADB presidency.”
On the selection of Korean-American physician Kim, the bank in a statement said: “The Executive Directors selected Dr. Jim Yong Kim as President for a five-year term beginning on July 1, 2012. The President is Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). The President is also ex-officio Chair of the Boards of Directors of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the Administrative Council of the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

US President Barack Obama, US Nominee For World
Bank Presidency, Jim Yong Kim, US Secretary Of State,
Hillary Clinton, During The Announcement Of Mr. Kim
As US Nominee In The Rose Garden At The White
House On Friday, March 23, 2012

“We, the Executive Directors, wish to express our deep appreciation to all the nominees, Jim Yong Kim, José Antonio Ocampo and Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala. Their candidacies enriched the discussion of the role of the President and of the World Bank Group’s future direction. The final nominees received support from different member-countries, which reflected the high calibre of the candidates. We all look forward to working with Dr. Kim when he assumes his responsibilities.
“Dr. Kim is currently President of Dartmouth College. A U.S. national, Dr. Kim is a co-founder of Partners in Health (PIH) and a former director of the Department of HIV/AIDS at the World Health Organisation (WHO). Before assuming the Dartmouth presidency, Dr. Kim held professorships at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. He also served as chair of the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School, chief of the Division of Global Health Equity at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and director of the François Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health.

President Goodluck Jonathan Of Nigeria

Born in 1959 in Seoul, South Korea, Kim moved with his family to the U.S. at the age of five and grew up in Muscatine, Iowa. Dr. Kim graduated magna cum laude from Brown University in 1982. He earned a medical doctorate from Harvard Medical School in 1991 and a Ph.D. in anthropology from Harvard University in 1993.
He is married to Dr. Younsook Lim, a pediatrician. The couple has two young sons.
-----------------------------
-The Guardian

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RELATED POST

The Return of Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

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Extreme Sexual Violence Against Women And Girls In Mali

2012-04-12T04:03:00.001-07:00

A senior UN official has strongly condemned the reported acts of sexual violence committed against Malian women and girls amid renewed fighting. Allegations include “abductions, public rapes and subjecting women and girls to acts of sexual violence in front of family members.”

“As unrest continues in northern Mali, an alarming number of acts of sexual violence have been reported,” said the Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, Margot Wallström on 10 April. Wallström stressed that any party to the conflict credibly suspected of committing or being responsible for patterns of rape and other forms of sexual violence can be publicly named and shamed by the Secretary-General as a basis for Security Council action.

Weep For Malian Women And Girls

“Acts of conflict-related sexual violence can constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity for which combatants and their commanders will be held to account,” she said.
Last month, rebel Malian soldiers took control of the country and announced the dissolution of the Government led by President Amadou Toumani Toure. In addition, renewed fighting in northern Mali, between Government forces and Tuareg rebels, has uprooted more than 200,000 people since January, with the majority seeking safety in neighbouring countries and some 93,000 believed to be internally displaced, the UN reports.
Wallström emphasized that any peaceful solution to the conflict must include women and must address the crime of rape, as sexual violence contributes to the destabilization of the region and the denial of women’s rights.

Meanwhile, the Security Council has urged the military rebels who seized control of the government to immediately implement the agreement they signed last week with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), which provides a series of steps to restore constitutional order in the country.

This Woman Fled Her Village Of Souggan In Mali
To Northern Niger, In February With Her Children
Due To Insecurity. Photo: UNHCR/H.Caux

In a statement issued to the press last night [9 April], Council members reaffirmed “the need to uphold and respect the sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of Mali and reject categorically any declarations to the contrary,” and demanded “an immediate cessation of hostilities in the north of Mali by rebel groups.”
The Council also condemned all violence against humanitarian workers after it was reported that seven Algerian diplomats were abducted in the town of Gao in northern Mali last week. The Council called for the immediate release of all abductees and renewed its call to all parties in Mali to seek a peaceful solution through appropriate political dialogue.
The members of the Council reiterated their serious concern over the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, and expressed deep concern at the increased terrorist threat in the northern part of the country due to the presence among the rebels of members of the terrorist group Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and extremist elements.

Malian Refugee Women Wait To Receive Relief

Items From UNHCR In Northern Niger

- Photo- UNHCR-H Caux

Mali is a landlocked country in Western Africa, bordering Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d’Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west.
Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with a population of just 14.5 million. Its capital is Bamako.
Mali consists of eight regions and its borders on the north reach deep into the middle of the Sahara, while the country’s southern part, where the majority of inhabitants live, features the Niger and Sénégal rivers.

The country’s economic structure centers around agriculture and fishing. Some of Mali’s natural resources are gold, uranium, livestock, and salt. About half the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.25 a day.
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Newstime Africa

Robert Mugabe Returns To Zimbabwe, Dismisses Reports About Health Crises

2012-04-12T01:10:00.005-07:00

President Robert Mugabe arrived home from Asia this morning as his party denied reports he had suffered a health emergency. Mugabe, 88, was met at the main Harare airport by party leaders and military chiefs under normal protocol. He did not speak to waiting reporters.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe And Wife Grace
Mugabe Arrive At Nigeria`s Nnamdi Azikiwe International
Airport In Abuja November 1, 2000. REUTERS

Mugabe's party dismissed reports that he had been gravely ill as "a lot of hogwash" by hostile Western media organizations.

He is scheduled to chair a ministerial meeting later today, two days later than first scheduled, the party said.

Mugabe has made ten trips to

Singapore

in the past 16 months, reportedly for medical treatment. Said to be under treatment for prostate cancer, has called for elections this year and has been nominated as his party's only presidential candidate.

"Fit As Fiddle!" Robert Mugabe Being Assisted To

Walk By Aides

This time around, Mugabe left Harare on March 31 to supervise post graduate studies for his daughter Bona, 22, in Hong Kong, his office said.

Information Minister Webster Shamu had invited reporters to the Harare airport to witness Mugabe's arrival. He said the media had "spread rumors."

"As you can see, the man is fit ... Why do we lie and why do we panic?" he said, castigating reporters.

Mugabe landed in a private jet chartered by a diamond mining company. The state airline he routinely used was grounded by debts in January.

Robert Mugabe With Wife Grace

Reporters said his arrival was brisk and businesslike. Mugabe held the hand of his wife Grace and was dressed as usual in an impeccable dark business suit.

Mugabe has appeared robust at recent public appearances. In broadcasts marking his 88th birthday in February he said he was "as fit as a fiddle."

In the broadcasts, he also acknowledged he had not groomed a successor in his fractious ZANU PF party, a shaky coalition with former opposition leader Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangrai formed by regional mediators after violent, disputed elections in 2008.

President Robert Mugabe, Vice-Presidents Joice Mujuru

And Joseph Msika, Share A Happy Moment. Gen Solomon

Mujuru (Joice's Husband And Army Commander ) Died

Last Year In A Mysterious Fire Incident That Burned Him

Beyond Recognition

Persistent reports of his failing health have intensified infighting in the party between factions led by Vie President Joice Mujuru and Defense Minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Mujuru's group has been weakened by the death of her husband, a former guerrilla leader and army commander seen as a major ZANU PF power broker.

Gen. Solomon Mujuru was burnt beyond recognition in a mysterious house fire last year and though questions remained over how he died a court ruled there was no foul play in his death.

Do These Kids Really Count In All These?

Mujuru's family has demanded his remains are exhumed from a national shrine for independent forensic analysis.

Mugabe led the nation to independence from Britain in 1980. Critics blame his policies for an economic meltdown in Zimbabwe and an upsurge in political violence, intimidation and human rights abuses over the past decade.

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-Associated Press

Uganda: No Resolution To Growing Tensions

2012-04-11T10:47:00.001-07:00

Africa Report N°187

Nairobi/Brussels, 5 April 2012

Unless President Yoweri Museveni breaks with the ways of his predecessors and the trend of his own lengthy rule, popular protests and discontent will grow in Uganda.

Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni

Uganda: No Resolution to Growing Tensions, the latest International Crisis Group report, examines the increasing dissatisfaction with Museveni's administration. The main cause of the social unrest is a slow and continuing shift from constitutional-style government to patronage-based, personal rule. In his two decades of power, the president has come to rely like his predecessors - though without their wanton brutality - increasingly on centralised power, patronage and coercion to maintain control.

“Democratic initiatives lost momentum after the first decade of Museveni's rule”, says EJ Hogendoorn, Crisis Group's Horn of Africa Project Director. “Instead of supporting the no-party system as the framework for unfettered participation, the president began using it to further his own objectives”.

Interview With President Yoweri Museveni Of Uganda

The British Protectorate of Uganda merged a highly diverse region of competing kingdoms and more loosely organised pastoral societies into a single entity. Milton Obote, independent Uganda's first president, and Idi Amin worsened those divisions. They entered office with broad coalitions that soon foundered over colonial cleavages and turned instead to patronage and coercion to remain in power.

After the National Resistance Movement (NRM) seized power in 1986, Museveni seemed at first to put the country on a more inclusive path in order to restore civilian control, rule of law and economic growth. He created a non-partisan "democratic" system that many enthusiastically embraced, and an elaborate consultative process led to a new constitution in 1995 with checks and balances.

President Yoweri Museveni And His Wife, Janet

But after a decade in power the president began using the no-party system to further his own objectives. Over time, he replaced veteran politicians and longstanding NRM members who criticised his policies with trusted members of his inner circle. He also created a patronage network loyal to him.

Museveni was elected to a fourth term in February 2011. He injected huge amounts of official funds into his campaign, and the government and NRM harassed the opposition. While Museveni won majorities throughout the country, it is uncertain whether this reflected more his popularity or the power of his purse and other state resources.

The discovery of significant oil reserves is unlikely to reduce social and political tensions. The oil may ensure Museveni's control by enabling him to consolidate his system of patronage, but it could also feed corruption and disrupt the steady growth produced by economic diversification. Five years after learning that the country will become a major oil producer, the government is just beginning to put a regulatory framework in place.

US President Barack Obama, His Wife, Michelle,

And President Yoweri Museveni And His Wife,

Janet, At The White House, Washington

Meanwhile, popular protests are increasing. “Walk to Work” demonstrations continue in Kampala and other urban centres despite a violent crackdown.

“The president's re-election, access to material resources, tactical skill, ability to deflect international criticism and ambition to control the country's transition to an oil exporter suggest that he will try to continue to consolidate his personal power and direct Uganda's future for some time to come, despite the consequences this may have for long-term stability”, says Comfort Ero, Crisis Group's Africa Program Director. “Unless he changes course, however, tension will grow. Considering Uganda's violent past, conflict might then become more deadly”.

CLICK HERE FOR FULL PDF REPORT

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- International Crises Group

================

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Why Some African Leaders Are Smiling At The Storm In North Africa

Cancer-stricken Robert Mugabe 'Fighting For Life' In Singapore Hospital

2012-04-10T02:52:00.007-07:00

Zimbabwean Ruler 'Close To Death'

He Is Believed To Be Suffering From Prostate Cancer

Close Family Members Are At His Bedside

Mugabe Has Already Agreed To Hand Over Power To Defence Minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa

Zimbabwean Ruler, Robert Mugabe

Zimbabwean ruler, Robert Mugabe, was said to be close to death last night.

The 88-year-old, who is believed to be suffering from prostate cancer, flew to Singapore by private jet on Saturday for treatment.

His wife, Grace, and close family members are reported to be at his bedside.
Mugabe has undergone several bouts of therapy in Asia in recent years.

Robert Mugabe And His Wife, Grace

But his condition has now deteriorated and there were claims last night that he has agreed to hand over power to his feared henchman and defence minister, Emmerson Mnangagwa.

Rumours over Mugabe’s health have been rife in recent weeks because of his frail appearance. There was heightened speculation yesterday when the Zimbabwe government postponed a cabinet meeting at the last minute.

The Zimbabwe Mail, quoting a senior official of Mugabe’s ZANU-PF party, said the leader, who has ruled the country since its independence from Britain in 1980, was undergoing intensive treatment in Asia.

Robert Mugabe Said On February 21, 2012, That

He Had No Plans To Retire

Mugabe was supposedly in Singapore to oversee his daughter Bona’s enrolment at university.

But registration does not start until September and opponents said it was unlikely he would travel abroad to deal with such a matter in person.

Sources in Iran, which has a warm relationship with Zimbabwe, said Mugabe had agreed on his successor.

The Tehran Times said he had entered into a ‘gentleman’s agreement’ to hand over power to 65-year-old Mnangagwa, who helped orchestrate the violent opposition to Britain in the 1970s.

Robert Mugabe Celebrated His 88th Birthday In February
With A Crocodile-shaped Cape

The former Zimbabwe intelligence chief was also widely blamed for the brutality following the 2008 presidential election after Mugabe’s rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, took an early lead in the voting.

He is also thought to have played a major role in the crackdown of the opposition Zapu party in the 1980s that left thousands of civilians dead.

There was no comment on Mugabe’s health from either his family or from the Zimbabwe government.Mugabe’s aides have denied there is a medical emergency, claiming he is enjoying an Easter break in Asia with his family.

Emmerson Mnangagwa: There Are Reports That Mugabe
Has Agreed To Hand Over Power To Him

But Zimbabwe’s vice president, Joice Mujuru, has reportedly cut short her trip to Asia to return home and prepare for the possibility of Mugabe’s death.

Mugabe is understood to have travelled to Singapore eight times last year for medical treatment. A diplomatic cable released last year by Wikileaks said he was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2008 and given five years to live because it had spread.

He is said to have defied pleas from his own doctors to step down.

His ailing health has been cited as the main reason that a hard line faction of his ZANU-PF party has pushed to rush through new elections.

Too Sick To Move?
Robert Mugabe Being Assisted To Walk By Aides

The Zimbabwe Mail quoted a British-based Zimbabwe analyst, who wished to remain anonymous, as saying: ‘Mugabe’s health impacts entirely on Zimbabwe’s political landscape. Everything revolves around his health and his age.’

In February, Mugabe declared himself ‘fit as a fiddle’. Last month he celebrated his 88th birthday with a lavish party in the capital, Harare, reputed to have cost £650,000.

The leader was said to have feasted on a cake in the shape of a crocodile.

Mugabe was hailed as a hero by many Africans when he came to power 32 years ago with Zimbabwe looked on as a model for a successful transition from white rule.

Robert Mugabe, His Wife, Grace And Late
Muammar Gaddafi Of Libya

But the nation’s fortunes have plunged together with Mugabe’s reputation.

He is now regarded as one of the world’s worst human rights abusers. He has been accused of murdering thousands of his own citizens and brutally crushing all opposition to his rule.

His policies have also been blamed for driving Zimbabwe into bankruptcy.
Mugabe’s land reforms in particular, leading to violent seizures from white farmers, have been harshly criticised by the British and American governments.
--------------------------
- Daily Mail

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Robert Mugabe And Wife Grace Owe £220,000 To Zimbabwe's Failing Power Firm

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