ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, Wednesday, 16 March 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ — The Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union (AU), Jean Ping, has followed with great interest the holding of the second round of the presidential election in Niger, on 12 March 2011. He welcomes the smooth conduct of the election, as well as the calm, wisdom and the high sense of responsibility demonstrated by the people of Niger before and during the voting, as well as when the results were announced.
The Chairperson of the Commission congratulates Mr. Mahamadou Issoufou for the confidence bestowed upon him by the people of Niger, by electing him to the highest office in his country.
He reiterates his deep appreciation to General Salou Djibo, Head of State and Chairman of the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), and the members of the CSRD, as well as to the political forces of Niger, for having successfully concluded the transition, in accordance with their commitments.
The Chairperson of the Commission takes this opportunity to express his gratitude to all AU partners, notably the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the United Nations and the European Union (EU), for their accompaniment of the restoration of constitutional order in Niger.
He assures the people of Niger and the new authorities of the determination of the AU to continue to support them in their efforts to consolidate the democratic process and promote the socio‐economic development of their country.
The holding of this election and the inauguration of the new President will mark the conclusion of the process of restoring constitutional order in Niger. In this context, the AU welcomes the prospect of the resumption of the participation of Niger in its activities, as well as the valuable contribution that President Mahamadou Issoufou will be able to make to the promotion of peace and the integration of the continent.
SOURCE: African Union Commission (AUC)
With thanks to APO
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Private-army phenomenon exacerbates African conflicts -UN
Independence led to an upsurge in African conflicts. Ex-soldiers from all over the world flock to war zones for pay. European and US security firms are at large in African states.
Private-army phenomenon exacerbates African conflicts, UN says
Source: Deutsche Welle - www.dw-world.de
Author: Nick Amies
Private-army phenomenon exacerbates African conflicts, UN says
Source: Deutsche Welle - www.dw-world.de
Author: Nick Amies
Editor: Jennifer Abramsohn
Date: Thursday, 18 November 2010
Date: Thursday, 18 November 2010
A working group from the United Nations has been visiting South Africa this week to investigate the link between African conflicts and international mercenaries, and discuss ways to enforce legal regulations.
Africa is a continent that seems to be perpetually at war with itself. Nearly half of its 53 countries are home to an active conflict or a recently ended one.
The causes behind most of the dirty wars raging in nations such as Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Niger have been lost in time; the soldiers and rebels involved locked in a spiral of violence where killing is the only aim as ideological targets fade into the past.
But where there is little hope, there is considerable profit. Much of Africa is a fertile recruiting ground for private mercenaries and security contractors who are willing to do the dirty work for various governments, according to Dex Torricke-Barton from the Executive Office of the Secretary-General at the UN in New York.
"Many ex-military personnel from South Africa have offered their services over the last decade and there are also plenty of former European and US troops who are willing to fight," Torricke-Barton told Deutsche Welle.
"The vast majority of these people are contractors, and they perform a wide range of services including providing intelligence, risk assessment, training, and logistics - as well as fighting."
The well-paid private soldiers often operate with impunity, either under the shield of government command or through the shady subterfuge of multinationals who have hired them to protect their interests.
Currently a UN working group - its mouthful of an official name is the UN Working Group on the Use of Mercenaries as a Means of Violating Human Rights and Impeding the Exercise of the Right of Peoples to Self-determination - has been visiting South Africa this week to investigating the link between African conflicts and international mercenaries, and to discuss ways to enforce legal regulations.
The UN has said the growth of unaccountable private armies has exacerbated conflicts in Africa. It has suggested the hired guns are helping to keep the cycle of violence alive in many wars purely to reap financial rewards, while committing atrocities with no fear of prosecution.
Legal gray area
"There are many problems associated with the growing use of private security contractors in conflict zones," Torricke-Barton said. "Governments can rely on these people to avoid taking direct legal responsibility for their conduct, and to commit human-rights abuses which fail to get addressed through the current, weak international legal framework."
Allan Cowley, a former British army officer and military analyst, agreed that private soldiers "absolve the governments from any direct responsibility" in the conflicts they're waging.
"They work in a netherworld, a gray area between legality and criminality, where neither they nor their employers appear accountable for their actions," he told Deutsche Welle.
Earlier this decade, a golden era for private security firms heralded the rise of companies that have gained Western credibility - and sometimes notoriety - through their involvement in government-backed operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And the use of mercenaries has only increased in line with the grudging acceptance of their role in modern warfare.
Now the UN wants governments in Africa to enforce both new and existing laws in an attempt to rein in what many experts says is an exponentially expanding industry.
Turning a blind eye
"In the post-Cold War world, there has been a proliferation of new security challenges in Africa," said Torricke-Barton. "Governments and conventional military forces have been ill-equipped to deal with these, so they call in independent talent to solve their problems."
Growing interest in Africa's natural resources and the growing presence private firms there has led to an explosion in international investment, points out military analyst Cowley.
"A blind eye cannot see what's right under its nose," Cowley said. "Just as many of these companies pay little regard to the people and surroundings in which they operate, so they have even less concern about who they employ to protect their businesses, and how these security firms enforce their directives."
A number of African governments signed legislation in 2007 that required private soldiers and security firms to get official authorization to operate in war zones. However, these laws and older statutes have remained unimplemented by many of the signatories.
"There are many national, regional and international legal arrangements which relate to the use of mercenaries. But all of these legal layers have deficiencies of some form of another, and the legal status of contractors remains fuzzy at best in international law," said Torricke-Barton.
"Most of the work of modern private security contractors falls outside the purview of the 1989 UN Convention on Mercenaries ... A lot more work needs to be done by the international community to adapt the regulatory framework to the 21st century," he added.
Private security firms sign up to new Code of Conduct
The UN's efforts to address exactly these problems come just days after a landmark US and British-backed code-of-conduct was implemented by the Swiss government and the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law.
The code will be compulsory for any country using private security operators, and will require companies to meet standards in "recruitment, vetting personnel, training, control mechanisms, compliance with local and international laws and protection of human rights."
The code also imposes limits on the use of force and an assurance that staff cannot invoke contractual obligations or "superior orders" in a conflict zone to justify crimes, killings, torture, kidnappings and detentions. The aim is to prevent abuse and rein in excessive violence in lawless conflict zones.
The US and Britain are among the 35 countries that have backed the Swiss code, and 58 private security companies – including Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater – have already signed up.
Tuesday, November 02, 2010
Nigeria and its huge potentials is key to success of Africa
Africa: How to Grow African Economy -UK Financial Expert
Source: Daily Independent (Lagos) - www.independentngonline.com
Written by Abel Orukpe
Date: Monday, 01 November 2010
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'Reversing Brain Drain Is Key To Continent's Development', Says Wole Soyinka In Tunis
Source: Tunisia Online News
Date: 26 October 2010 - excerpt:
Source: Daily Independent (Lagos) - www.independentngonline.com
Written by Abel Orukpe
Date: Monday, 01 November 2010
(Lagos) - Former United Kingdom Secretary to the Treasury, Lord Paul Boateng, said Africa economies have the capacity to boom despite the current global meltdown ravaging economies around the globe.Hat tip: AllAfrica.com
He also said Nigeria and its huge potentials is the key to the success of Africa.
Boateng is participating at the Kuramo conference being organised by the Lagos State government in partnership with the organised private sector to bring together the best brains in all aspects of life to fashion out the best way to moving Africa economies forward.
He spoke with journalists at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos on why the economies of developing countries have continued to dwindle.
According to Boateng, "The good news is that Africa has proved to be remarkably resilient in terms of its economy during this current global downturn and we have every expectation that Africa would come through this difficult process for her world to make a stronger and better place."
He posited that to make the economies of developing countries work, Africans have the responsibility to ensure that their economies are well managed, adding that it is by doing this that African continent can grow and create jobs for its people.
In his words, "The key to that is that all of us recognising the responsibility that we have to ensure that the economy are managed well, that we have effective and sound micro- economic policy and that together we create a continent in which there is growth with jobs
Boateng, the first black cabinet minister in UK contended that the growth of developing economies and job creation go hand -in - hand and that if these aspects are fixed economies of developing countries, where African countries belong will be stronger for it.
"The truth is that both of them go together, growth and jobs and the good news is that Africa should be on track to come out of this recession stronger than it was before".
The former secretary to the treasury, who said he was delighted to be in Lagos, said that the Kuramo conference is a clear sign that the government and people of Lagos recognise the role of this great metropolis in rebuilding and strengthening the African economy.
On the future of Nigerian economy, he said: "Nigeria and its future, Nigeria and its huge potentials are the key to the success of Africa that is why all people of good will look to Nigeria to demonstrate leadership, to demonstrate the strength that historically I believe that it has and to fulfil that it displayed some what 50 years ago when the people of Nigeria won their independent so this is a great conference and we are looking forward very much to do a serious work in order to make sure that the economy of Africa and its people fulfil the potentials that they have."
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'Reversing Brain Drain Is Key To Continent's Development', Says Wole Soyinka In Tunis
Source: Tunisia Online News
Date: 26 October 2010 - excerpt:
Addressing the African Development Bank's (AfDB) "Eminent Speakers" program in Tunis on Friday, Wole Soyinka, the first African to win the Nobel Literature Prize, said that the reversal of Africa's brain drain is key to the continent's development. ...Hat tip: allafrica.com/afrora.com
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Nigerian weapons haul shows lengths Iran will go to supply Hamas
Map of Niger courtesy of nigeriamasterweb.com article 19 February 2010: Niger President Toppled, Whisked Away
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Nigerian Weapons Haul Shows Lengths Iran Will Go to Supply Hamas
Source: The MidEast News Source - www.themedialine.org
Written by Benjamin Peim
Date: Sunday, 31 October 2010
Gaza-based groups learned in last war that home-made Qassams aren’t effective
The capture in Nigeria late last week of over a dozen containers filled with weapons highlights the lengths to which Iran is taking to supply its Hamas ally in the Gaza Strip, but leaves a question mark over how successful the arms conduit has been, analysts say.
The containers, unloaded in Lagos, the country’s largest port, came from a cargo ship originating in Iran, the company that owned the ship said in a statement. While their ultimate destination has not been confirmed, analysts believe the containers were bound for Gaza, ruled by the Muslim group Hamas.
“It’s getting harder to obtain the weapons so they’re using all types of funny places,” Martin van Creveld, a retired professor of military history at The Hebrew University in Jerusalem, told The Media Line. “They find a place that is so messy they can get through, and Nigeria apparently wasn’t messy enough.”
As Hamas’ main weapons supplier, Iran’s success in delivering missiles and other arms into Gaza will be a key factor in any future conflict with Israel. In its last confrontation with Hamas 14 months ago, Israel sustained almost no casualties, but if the Islamic group succeeds in obtaining more sophisticated weaponry it could put Israeli cities in rocket-range and jeopardize Israel’s control of the skies.
The shipping company, French-based CMA CGM, said it had been duped by Iranian trader who arranged the shipment. The shipper had listed the materials inside the containers as, “packages of glass wool and pallets of stone," but when Nigerian security service personnel opened the containers, they found rockets, bullets, mortars and other weapons under a thin layer of floor tiles.
In the past, Hamas and Iran have sought to bring weapons into Gaza through smuggling routes that wind along the east coast of Africa from the Sudan, north into Egypt. From there, they arrive in Gaza through tunnels under the border with Egypt. But, these routes have grown more difficult as Israel and Egypt crack down on weapons shipments.
“They [Hamas and Iran] were under heavy pressure by the Egyptians,” Yoram Schweitzer, head of the Terror Project at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv, told The Media Line. “These routes are under strict supervision, and there is probably some international political pressure as well.”
Israeli warplanes reportedly bombed a caravan of trucks in Sudan that were transporting weapons to Hamas in January 2009, although Israel has neither confirmed nor denied its involvement. The United States could be monitoring the situation, as well.
“They are aware of American capabilities to intercept arms on the east coast of Africa,” said Shmuel Bar, director of studies at the Institute for Policy and Strategy at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, Israel.
Bar said Iran has infrastructure in Nigeria, which makes it a prime spot to turn to for its smuggling operations. “They have more assets there than in Egypt and the security is weaker,” he told The Media Line.
Hamas has its own rocket workshops in Gaza where it manufactures simple, short-range Qassams, which constituted the mainstay of Hamas’ arsenal when it confronted Israel in the 2008-2009 Operation Cast Lead. Qassams have a range of about 10 kilometers (6.2 miles), which limits targets to mostly empty and agricultural land adjacent to the Gaza Strip.
No matter how much Hamas beefs up its inventory of Qassams, short-range rockets like the Qassam won’t significantly improve the group’s fighting capabilities, according to Bar. “The real game changer,” he said, would be surface-to-air missiles that threaten Israeli control of the skies over Gaza.
Without the ability to upgrade its weapons technology in Gaza, Hamas is seeking longer-range and more sophisticated rockets from abroad, analysts said.
“They want to upgrade their capabilities so they can strike further into Israel and possibly strike at our air traffic,” Bar said. “But there is nothing specific in this shipment to change the strategic balance.”
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said October 20 that Israel believes Hamas, in fact, has obtained surface-to-air strike capability. However, van Creveld, of The Hebrew University, told The Media Line it was likely they would only be capable of hitting helicopters. Jets, which are the key to Israel’s control of Gaza skies, are out of range for Hamas fighters for the time being, he said.
While this smuggling attempt failed, Hamas and Iran will continue their efforts to smuggle weapons into Gaza, analysts said.
“This is a permanent agenda they have,” Schweitzer said. “I don’t think this will deter them from trying to procure weapons in other venues in the future.”
Tuesday, June 08, 2010
Bill Gates dédicace un ballon de football au Nigeria en soutien à l’éradication de la polio en Afrique
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL - COMMUNIQUE DE PRESSE
CONTACT: Sandra Prufer, + 1 847 866-3208 sandra.prufer@rotary.org
Kiki Melonides, +1 847 866-3134 kiki.melonides@rotary.org
Bill Gates dédicace un ballon de football au Nigeria en soutien à l’éradication de la polio en Afrique
Les Rotary clubs du Nigeria et d’Afrique unissent leurs efforts alors que le ballon achève son périple de quatre mois à travers le continent africain.
ABUJA, Nigeria (8 juin 2010) – Bill Gates, co-président de la Fondation Bill & Melinda Gates a apporté son soutien à la campagne Bouter la polio hors d’Afrique en dédicaçant un ballon de football qui voyage de la ville du Cap à l’Égypte en préambule de la coupe du monde de football 2010. Au cours de ce voyage épique, durant lequel le ballon s’est déplacé dans 22 pays affectés par la polio ou à risques, les Rotary clubs d’Afrique ont mobilisé le public pour des campagnes de vaccination d’une grande amplitude et ont sensibilisé l’opinion à l’importance de l’éradication de la polio. Bill Gates a loué les efforts du Rotary pour éradiquer la maladie de l’Afrique et du reste du monde.
M. Gates a salué le Nigeria pour les résultats significatifs obtenus dans le combat contre la polio et s’est joint aux dirigeants nigérians pour souligner les campagnes de vaccination qui se déroulent actuellement en Afrique et qui ciblent plus de 100 millions d’enfants âgés de moins de 5 ans.
Depuis que le Rotary et ses partenaires ont commencé leur combat contre la polio en 1988, le nombre de cas a été réduit de 99 %. En Afrique, seul le Nigeria reste endémique, mais la maladie touche encore des enfants d’autres pays à risques, démontrant ainsi l’importance de vacciner contre la polio tous les enfants africains. Selon l’Organisation mondiale de la Santé, seulement trois nouveaux cas de polio avaient été constatés au 25 mai de cette année au Nigeria, contre 276 cas sur la même période en 2009.
« Les progrès récents dans le combat contre la polio au Nigeria constituent une réussite dont tous les Nigérians devraient être fiers, a déclaré Bill Gates. Grâce aux leaders politiques et traditionnels, au travail des professionnels de la Santé et aux parents qui souhaitent que leurs enfants soient protégés, le Nigeria est en bonne voie pour éliminer la polio. »
Après s’être déplacé pendant près de quatre mois dans tout le continent africain, le ballon s’apprête à atteindre sa destination finale, Alexandrie en Égypte. La conclusion de cette campagne de sensibilisation aura lieu à la bibliothèque d’Alexandrie le 12 juin sous les hospices de la première dame d’Egypte Suzanne Moubarak. Les joueurs de l’équipe d’Égypte championne d’Afrique taperont symboliquement dans le ballon pour le propulser hors d’Afrique dans la mer méditerranée. Hany Salama, star du cinéma et ambassadeur de bonne volonté de la polio sera également présent lors de l’évènement, ainsi que des enfants atteints de la polio, des représentants et des dignitaires gouvernementaux.
Comme l’explique Ismail Serageldin, directeur de la bibliothèque d’Alexandrie : « la polio existe toujours, mais elle peut être éradiquée. Nous ne devons pas céder à l’oubli ou au désintéressement qui laisseraient de si nombreuses victimes dans la misère. Nous sommes prêts du but. Ensemble, finissons-en. »
La campagne de sensibilisation panafricaine du Rotary « Kick Polio Out of Africa » (Bouter la polio hors d’Afrique), a été lancée le 23 février au Cap, par Monseigneur Desmond Tutu qui en a donné le coup d’envoi en tapant dans un ballon qu’il avait dédicacé. Lui-même touché par la polio lorsqu’il était enfant, il a rejoint la campagne du Rotary comme ambassadeur de bonne volonté.
Le ballon se rendra d’Égypte à Montréal (Canada), pour être présenté à la convention du Rotary dans la deuxième moitié du mois de juin. Le transport du ballon est assuré par DHL Express.
En soutien de la campagne, le Rotary invite les fans de football du monde entier à signer un ballon virtuel sur www.kickpoliooutofafrica.org et à rejoindre le grand mouvement mondial de solidarité envers les enfants africains - et les enfants du monde entier - pour les préserver de cette maladie paralysante et parfois mortelle. Les dédicaces virtuelles seront présentées aux responsables de l’Initiative mondiale pour l’éradication de la polio après la coupe du monde de football.
« Nous faisons appel aux footballeurs du continent pour assurer le succès de cette campagne. Des efforts unifiés galvanisant des sociétés entières sont seuls capables de bouter ce virus, qui ressemble tant à un ballon de foot, hors d'Afrique et enfin hors du monde », déclarait Nelson Mandela, ancien président d'Afrique du Sud, au cours de son discours devant l’Organisation pour l’Unité africaine en 1996, date officielle du lancement de la campagne Bouter la Polio hors d’Afrique.
« Source de nombreux bénévoles et partenaire privé de l’Initiative mondiale pour l’éradication de la polio, le Rotary a alloué 388 millions de dollars aux efforts d’éradication en Afrique, affirme June Webber, organisatrice de la campagne sud-africaine du Rotary. Alors que nous célébrons la première coupe du monde de football sur le sol Africain et le 20e anniversaire de la libération de Nelson Mandela de prison, les Rotariens et nos partenaires sont déterminés à offrir à cet ancien président emblématique une raison de plus de rentrer dans l’histoire. »
Le capitaine de l’équipe nigériane de football Nwankwo Kanu a rejoint la campagne en annonçant qu’il avait deux objectifs cette année : que le Nigeria se distingue lors de la coupe du monde de football et que la polio soit éradiquée d’Afrique.
L’éradication de la polio est depuis plus de 20 ans la priorité absolue du Rotary. L’organisation de service humanitaire internationale a consacré plus de 900 millions de dollars à cette cause et est le fer de lance de l’Initiative mondiale d’éradication de la polio aux cotés de l’organisation mondiale de la Santé, du CDC d’Atlanta et de l’Unicef.
Le Rotary s’est également récemment engagé à collecter 200 millions de dollars en réponse à la subvention de la Fondation Bill & Melinda Gates de 355 millions de dollars. La somme totale servira à soutenir les actions d’éradication.
Des progrès fantastiques ont donc été réalisés et le nombre de cas de polio est passé de près de 350 000 en 1988 à moins de 2 000 en 2009. Plus de deux milliards d’enfants ont été vaccinés dans 122 pays, évitant cinq millions de cas de paralysie et 250 000 morts infantiles.
Pour suivre le parcours du ballon : http://kickpoliooutofafrica.wordpress.com.
Pour signer le ballon virtuel : www.kickpoliooutofafrica.org.
Pour consulter des vidéos et des photos : www.thenewsmarket.com/rotaryinternational
# # #
Le Rotary est une organisation mondiale de plus de 1,2 million de membres issus du monde des affaires, des professions libérales et du monde civique, qui apportent un service humanitaire. Il existe plus de 33 000 Rotary clubs dans plus de 200 pays et régions. Les Rotariens s’investissent dans des actions locales visant à répondre aux grands problèmes d'aujourd'hui tels que la pauvreté, les maladies et l’illettrisme.
Distribué par l’Organisation de la Presse Africaine au nom de Rotary International
Sunday, May 09, 2010
Ping mourns Yar'Adua, congratulates President Jonathan
Ping mourns Yar'Adua, congratulates President Jonathan
From (Pana) Afrique en ligne - Friday, 07 May 2010:
From (Pana) Afrique en ligne - Friday, 07 May 2010:
(Dar es Salaam, Tanzania) - With the passing of President Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigeria and Africa have lost one of their illustrious sons, and an activist committed to the unity and well-being of all peoples of the continent, said Jean Ping, Chairperson of the African Union Commission. Ping presented his deepest condolences to the Permanent Mission of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to the African Union, and requested the Ambassador to convey them to the Government and people of 'this great brotherly country of Africa.'
In addition, the Chairperson has invited all of Africa to pray for the rest of the soul of the late President Yar'Adua and the soothing of hearts within his family and the entire population of Nigeria.
In his eulogy, Ping said he still remembered 'the brilliance, wisdom and vigour with which President Yar'Adua chaired on 29 October 2009, in the Nigerian capital Abuja, the 207th meeting of the Peace and Security Council, which took historic decisions on the situation in the Sudan, with the adoption of the Report and Recommendations of the AU High-Level Panel on Darfur.'
On the same occasion, the PSC took decisions on the situation in Guinea and Niger, which Ping said 'have contributed to accelerating the search for solutions to the crises in both countries.'
Also, Yar'Adua will be remembered for chairing the AU Summit of the PSC in Sharmel Sheikh, Egypt, in July 2008.
Meanwhile, Ping has sent his 'warm congratulations and best wishes for success' to Nigeria's new leader, President Goodluck Jonathan, who was sworn Thursday, saying he was assuming a 'noble and exciting mission to lead this great country of our continent.'
Sunday, March 07, 2010
Red Cross & UN: Africa polio eradication scheme launched, targeting 85 million children
The campaign will target children under the age of five in 19 countries
Many analysts believe the key to its success lies with Nigeria.
From BBC News Online at 10:48 GMT, Saturday, 6 March 2010:
Africa polio eradication scheme launched
Many analysts believe the key to its success lies with Nigeria.
From BBC News Online at 10:48 GMT, Saturday, 6 March 2010:
Africa polio eradication scheme launched
A campaign has been launched to eradicate polio in west and central Africa, targeting 85 million children.
Some 400,000 health workers and volunteers will go from door-to-door in 19 countries, giving oral polio vaccine to children under the age of five.
Africa has made significant progress in the fight against polio, which attacks the nervous system, but the virus has still not been stamped out.
Previous efforts at eradication failed as too few children were vaccinated.
The effort is a joint campaign by the Red Cross and United Nations.
Many analysts believe the key to its success lies with Nigeria.
In the past, campaigns in the north of the country were met with suspicion by religious leaders, some of whom even suggested the vaccinations were an attempt to spread sterility and HIV.
But religious groups are now showing support for vaccination drives, and correspondents say there is optimism that the debilitating, sometimes fatal, virus can be eradicated.
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Tony Blair instrumental to Nigeria's debt relief by Olusegun Obasanjo
Saturday, February 20, 2010 by Creativity and Thougthfulness
Source: www.thisdayonline.com/
TONY BLAIR INSTRUMENTAL TO NIGERIA’S DEBT RELIEF BY OLUSEGUN OBASANJO
Source: www.thisdayonline.com/
TONY BLAIR INSTRUMENTAL TO NIGERIA’S DEBT RELIEF BY OLUSEGUN OBASANJO
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair, who is in Nigeria for the THISDAY’s Nigeria at 50, 2010 Awards, yesterday relived the diplomatic interactions that contributed to the success of their administrations.
Speaking at an Inter-faith Malaria Initiative organised by the Nigeria Inter-faith Action Association with funding support from Federal Government, World Bank, Centre for Inter-faith Action on Global Poverty and the Tony Blair Faith Foundation held at the Kuje Town Hall in Abuja, Obasanjo said the former British premier made a significant contribution to Nigeria’s exit from the Paris Club and other creditor nations.
Obasanjo, whose entry into the venue of the event elicited wild, nostalgic cheers from the audience, said while he travelled round the globe to get Nigeria off the Paris Club debt yoke, he received promises from world leaders which were not fruitful thus prompting his government to search for a facilitator and a member of the Group of Seven industrialised nations (G7) which they found in Mr. Blair.
He said the debt relief allowed the country to channel resources into the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) projects notably funds needed to fight infant mortality and morbidity occasioned by such diseases as malaria.
“Since I left public office, I have engaged in issues of health and education which are very critical and I have always looked for an opportunity to meet Tony Blair and say thank you.
“In my eight years of leadership, Blair was in the vanguard of support in the area of health but more importantly in the area of debt relief. I visited world leaders but we needed somebody in G7 to get us debt relief. Blair led G7 to get us debt relief.
“What that has done for us is that the money we would have used to service debt is now being used on MDGs for infant mortality and other things. The money we used for the MDGs came from there,” he said.
He commended the inter-faith initiative which he said was deployed under his administration to tackle HIV/AIDS and it worked.
“People hear Nigeria as a land of religious crisis and destruction of lives. This one is about peace. Why are we not telling the world that we are religious and not religious fanatics. What we hear after the terror incident involving Nigeria is that when we call terrorism, Americans catch cold,” he said, eliciting laughter from the audience.
In his remarks, the former British premier recalled that he spoke severally with President Obasanjo on his African Commission initiative which led to the commitment of huge sums of money to alleviation of poverty in Africa for which the former president was instrumental.
He commended religious leaders notably the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), Archbishop John Onaiyekan, for their commitment in the fight against malaria and noted that the coming together of religious leaders on the effort to eradicate malaria and other initiatives would go a long way in ensuring religious harmony in the country.
“The issue of religious faith will be of the same significance to the 21st century as political ideology was to the 20th century. In an era of globalisation, there is nothing more important than getting people of different faiths and cultures to understand each other better and live in peace and mutual respect; and to give faith itself its proper place in the future,” he said.
Also yesterday, Blair visited Acting President Goodluck Jonathan at his Akinola Aguda residence, Presidential Villa, Abuja and commended him for holding the country together in the face of the daunting political leadership facing the country.
Blair also expressed concern about recent political developments in the country and thanked Jonathan for the skilful way he has handled the country.
Fielding questions from newsmen at the end of about 30 minutes parley with Jonathan, Blair expressed satisfaction that the relation between Nigeria and the United Kingdom had remained very strong over the years. He expressed the hope that Nigeria would continue to play a leading role in the African continent as it’s mandatory on her.
Said Blair: “First of all I would say I am delighted to have seen the Acting President and to discuss with him and hear from him the situation here in Nigeria and the wider region and we were able to talk about some of the issues that are of mutual interest to the relationship between Britain and Nigeria. That relationship is a strong one, and I want it to stay strong.
“I have done lots of work with the previous president of Nigeria while I was in the office and all of Africa and we know that without Nigeria fulfilling its potentials and exacting its leadership, it will be greatly difficult for the whole of Africa.
“I said to the Acting President that I want to thank him for the wise way he and the institution of Nigeria government have handled themselves in the last few days and I want to say it has been a pretty difficult situation and I think they have handled it with skill.”
When asked what the response of Jonathan was on the issues discussed. Blair said, “He was explaining to me the importance of maintaining the right constitutional process and we both agree that one of the greatest things to have happened is returning to democratic government and we would want to see that maintained.
“There is no place for nothing else and I am actually optimistic that this will happen, there is the great desire on the part of the legislature and the acting president himself to make sure that even in what seems to be unique and difficult situation, the country has been able to function and move forward in a proper way and in a way that helps its people,” he said.
Source:www.thisdayonline.com/
Friday, February 19, 2010
CSRD coup ousts Niger President Mamadou Tandja
A newsreader on Niger television said the country's borders had been closed and a curfew was now in force. The 'patriotic' military announcement was made on TV. See video clip in the following report.
Military coup ousts Niger president
From BBC News online at 23:34 GMT, Thursday, 18 February 2010:
Idy Baraou
BBC News, Niamey
Military coup ousts Niger president
From BBC News online at 23:34 GMT, Thursday, 18 February 2010:
A coup has taken place in Niger and the president has been captured after a gun battle in the capital, Niamey.AT THE SCENE:
In a television announcement, a spokesman for the plotters said Niger's constitution had been suspended and all state institutions dissolved.
The country was now being led by a group called the Supreme Council for the Restoration of Democracy (CSRD), the spokesman said.
President Mamadou Tandja is believed to be in captivity at a military barracks.
Reports say government ministers are also being held.
Making the announcement on television, the spokesman for the coup leaders, wearing a military uniform, was surrounded by a large group of soldiers.
He called on the people of Niger to "remain calm and stay united around the ideals postulated by the CSRD", to "make Niger an example of democracy and good governance".
"We call on national and international opinions to support us in our patriotic action to save Niger and its population from poverty, deception and corruption," he added.
A newsreader on Niger television said the country's borders had been closed and a curfew was now in force.
Tensions have been growing since last year in the uranium-rich nation.
Mr Tandja was widely criticised when he changed the constitution in August to allow him to stand for a third term.
Long-term tensions
A BBC correspondent said earlier that tanks were firing and witnesses reported seeing injured people being taken to hospital.
The exchange of gunfire has been between soldiers but it is confusing and one cannot tell one side from another. I saw tanks being fired and soldiers on the streets using machine guns.
The area near the presidential palace is where the business of government takes place and at least four military barracks are based there.
People have fled the area and some civil servants have locked themselves inside their offices.
Earlier, smoke could be seen from the roof of the office where President Mamadou Tandja was holding his cabinet meeting.
An unnamed French official told AFP that the president had been seized.
"All I can say is that it would appear that Tandja is not in a good position," he told the news agency on condition of anonymity.
Soldiers captured Mr Tandja while he was chairing his weekly cabinet meeting, a government source told the BBC.
AFP later reported an official as saying Mr Tandja was possibly being held at a military barracks about 20km (13 miles) west of Niamey.
A witness told the news agency that the bodies of three soldiers had been taken to a military mortuary.
The situation in Niamey remains unclear - there has apparently been no large-scale deployment of military personnel.
The government and opposition have been holding on-off talks since December - mediated by the regional body Ecowas - to try to resolve the country's political crisis.
Constructive engagement
Ecowas has told the BBC that it is closely following developments in Niger.
The organisation's political director, Abdel-Fatau Musah, said that, if needed, Ecowas would be in the country as quickly as it could to ensure order was maintained and constitutional order restored as soon as possible.
Mr Musah said that while Ecowas would never recognise a military takeover, it would maintain a constructive engagement with those in authority in Niger.
Mr Tandja, a former army officer, was first voted into office in 1999 and was returned to power in an election in 2004.
Niger has experienced long periods of military rule since independence from France in 1960.
It is one of the world's poorest countries, but Mr Tandja's supporters argue that his decade in power has brought a measure of economic stability.
Under his tenure, work has begun on the world's second-biggest uranium mine, and energy deals have been signed with Chinese firms
Idy Baraou
BBC News, Niamey
The exchange of gunfire has been between soldiers but it is confusing and one cannot tell one side from another. I saw tanks being fired and soldiers on the streets using machine guns.Click on coup label here below to read related reports and latest updates.
The area near the presidential palace is where the business of government takes place and at least four military barracks are based there.
People have fled the area and some civil servants have locked themselves inside their offices.
Earlier, smoke could be seen from the roof of the office where President Mamadou Tandja was holding his cabinet meeting.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Coup attempt launched in Niger
Elite guards are fighting to put down a suspected coup attempt against President Mamadou Tandja in the uranium-rich African country Niger.
Niger produces close to eight percent of the world's uranium, traditionally in partnership with French and Canadian mining firms.
In the last two years, it has signed deals with two Chinese state owned companies to extract uranium and pump oil from new wells. One of the Chinese deals, agreed in June 2008, is worth £3 billion.
Niger, where the main religion is Islam, is one of the countries in the region where Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the network's North African affiliate - has become active. Read full story here below.
Niger's President Mamadou Tandja Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Coup attempt launched in Niger
From The Daily Telegraph by Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Published: 2:36PM GMT UK Thursday, 18 February 2010:
Click on coup label here below to read related reports and latest updates.
Niger produces close to eight percent of the world's uranium, traditionally in partnership with French and Canadian mining firms.
In the last two years, it has signed deals with two Chinese state owned companies to extract uranium and pump oil from new wells. One of the Chinese deals, agreed in June 2008, is worth £3 billion.
Niger, where the main religion is Islam, is one of the countries in the region where Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the network's North African affiliate - has become active. Read full story here below.
Niger's President Mamadou Tandja Photo: AFP/GETTY IMAGES
Coup attempt launched in Niger
From The Daily Telegraph by Mike Pflanz, West Africa Correspondent
Published: 2:36PM GMT UK Thursday, 18 February 2010:
The sounds of machine-gun fire and heavy weapons were heard from the government district of the capital Niamey, and smoke was rising from the presidential palace.Also, read IRIN news report, Thursday, 18 February 2010 re NIGER: Constitution crisis turned coup.
It was not immediately clear who was behind the apparent attempt to oust President Tandja, who changed his country's constitution in August to allow him to stay in power.
"We heard automatic gunfire and then large detonations. The house was shaking. It lasted about a half hour, non-stop," Claire Deschamps, a French national living in Niamey, told the AFP news agency.
Soldiers were blocking the road near to the prime minister's office, and all other streets nearby were said to be deserted, with shops shuttered.
The president was not thought to have been injured during the first bout of sustained gunfire.
A member of his personal staff at the presidential palace told the Reuters news agency that "for now everything is alright".
But tensions have been rising in the vast West African country on the southern fringes of the Sahara, since the constitutional amendment two months ago.
Mr Tandja forced the change through by claiming that "his people" wanted him to stay past his prescribed two term limit in order to "finish the work I have started".
At the same time, he dissolved parliament and awarded himself extra powers, moves which drew international criticism and sanctions from neighbouring states.
Mr Tandja won elections in 1999 and 2004 that were widely seen as free and fair.
Niger produces close to eight percent of the world's uranium, traditionally in partnership with French and Canadian mining firms.
In the last two years, it has signed deals with two Chinese state owned companies to extract uranium and pump oil from new wells. One of the Chinese deals, agreed in June 2008, is worth £3 billion.
Niger, where the main religion is Islam, is one of the countries in the region where Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb - the network's North African affiliate - has become active.
Click on coup label here below to read related reports and latest updates.
Coup attempt underway in Niger
Snapshot of Google's newsreel on Thursday, 18 February 2010; at 17:18 pm GMT UK:
Friday, January 22, 2010
Nigeria: Army troops and vehicles are now patrolling the streets of riot-hit Jos
The army has taken over responsibility for security in the central city of Jos, Nigeria's Vice-President Goodluck Jonathan has said.
At least 65 Christians and 200 Muslims are believed to have died in religious rioting in Jos in recent days.
Mr Jonathan said the situation in Jos under control and those responsible would be brought to justice.
It is unclear what the trigger was for the latest bout of violence, but there have been reports it started after football match.
Other reports suggested it began after an argument over the rebuilding of homes destroyed in the 2008 clashes.
Correspondents say such clashes in Nigeria are often blamed on sectarianism.
However, poverty and access to resources such as land often lie at the root of the violence.
Full story: BBC News 03:46 GMT, Friday, 22 January 2010 - Nigeria army takes control of riot-hit Jos
At least 65 Christians and 200 Muslims are believed to have died in religious rioting in Jos in recent days.
Mr Jonathan said the situation in Jos under control and those responsible would be brought to justice.
It is unclear what the trigger was for the latest bout of violence, but there have been reports it started after football match.
Other reports suggested it began after an argument over the rebuilding of homes destroyed in the 2008 clashes.
Correspondents say such clashes in Nigeria are often blamed on sectarianism.
However, poverty and access to resources such as land often lie at the root of the violence.
Full story: BBC News 03:46 GMT, Friday, 22 January 2010 - Nigeria army takes control of riot-hit Jos
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