Piracy in Africa: The End of a New Beginning

Maritime insecurity in Africa, particularly in connection with acts of piracy, has constituted an important field of study for security researchers in recent years.

It has also frequently made local and global media headlines. Despite this trend, the focus in recent reports is starting to shift away from alarm towards detailing the diminishing threat of piracy around Somalia. Large-scale pirate activities there appear to be on the wane, but in what ways can we reasonably expect 2013 to be different from the past, in East Africa and elsewhere?

So far in 2013 the most notable event has been the increase in piracy incidents off the West African coast, particularly in the Gulf of Guinea. This continues the trend in 2012 noted by the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) where, despite a sizeable drop in the number of attacks in East Africa from 237 in 2011 to 75 in 2012, a total of 58 incidents were recorded in attacks off the West African coast in 2012, compared to 49 in 2011.

Increased naval patrols and capacity and the adoption of lessons and practices suitable to passage through these sea lanes and areas can account for the drop in attacks and might prompt hopes that piracy will eventually pose an insignificant security threat.

However, the attacks off West Africa differ from East African incidents mainly due to one factor - violent criminal acts are now connected with the movement of oil. The most recent attack took place off Côte d'Ivoire on 21 January 2013 when a large oil tanker named ITRI was hijacked, also demonstrating that the problem is not geographically limited to the Gulf of Guinea.

Crews in such cases are often assaulted while illegal oil bunkering occurs - a practice whereby the ship is drained of oil, which is subsequently spirited back to shore and either sold or refined.

This could result in oil spills, particularly around the already ravaged Niger delta. Offshore oil platforms, often seen as a means of avoiding land-based political instability, are now potential targets and frequently beyond immediate aid. Terrorist attacks on vulnerable installations could also occur, further prompting increases in the number of operations in partnership with the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM).

Many of these acts will be reported as being criminal rather than piratical, as they do not all occur in international waters but rather within the sovereign borders of states, which are set at 12 nautical miles offshore, and are thus subject to countries' own laws and legal systems, rather than being subject to international law as is commonly the case off Somalia.

Meanwhile, that of Nigeria is gradually gathering international attention though it is still largely localised. If the menace is not check appropriately, West Africa might degenerate into another Somalia just as the Islamists are allowed fertile grounds.

Israeli Airstrike aims at Weakening Syria's Military Research: A call for Hezbollah

Though Israel has not yet claimed responsibility for an airstrike targeting a military site near Damascus, experts believe that Tel Aviv aimed to further destabilize Syria and undermine its military capabilities.

Initial reports suggested that Israel conducted an airstrike on a convoy carrying sophisticated weapons that was preparing to cross the Syria-Lebanon border. Israeli officials said the vehicles may have contained chemical weapons and Russian-made anti-aircraft missiles intended for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“This episode boils down to a warning by Israel to Syria and Hezbollah not to engage in the transfer of sensitive weapons,” a regional security source told Reuters.

But the latest reports from Syria suggest that the airstrike hit the Jamraya research center in the suburbs of Damascus, far from the Lebanese border. An anonymous diplomatic source told Reuters that chemical weapons may be stored at the center, and that the vehicles in Hezbollah convoy were unlikely to be carrying such arms.

Israeli officials have not commented on the airstrike, but the assault may have revealed Tel Aviv’s plans, experts believe. After months of sustained rebel assaults on Syrian air defense systems and bases, the Israeli airstrike follows a pattern of other recent attempts to undermine Syria’s military capabilities.

Israeli officials have frequently expressed fears that Syrian President Bashar Assad will lose control of the country’s chemical weapons stockpiles. But Dr. Ali Mohamad, editor-in-chief of the Syria Tribune news website, believes the fears of chemical weapons was a pretext to destroy Syria's military research centers and ensure that Damascus is unable to produce arms for its military or regional allies.

Syrians know that “this is not at all about chemical weapons,” Dr. Mohamad told RT. “It’s about stopping the Syrian scientists’ military research projects.”

“It finally makes sense because the rebels or as they like to call themselves the revolutionaries, they have been attacking air defense bases near Damascus for the past seven months,” Dr. Mohamad said. “They’ve managed to attack the S-200 base and over four other surface-to-air missile bases.

Now this followed by an airstrike from Israel. So it all adds up, it makes sense. It only shows that Israel has a great interest in the instability in Syria and that it is being helped by groups of armed rebels in Syria.”

“Military research centers are responsible for developing weapons, in particular land-to-land long range missiles,” and Israel wants to stop this research process, Dr. Mohamed explained. “Of course Israel will claim that this is connected to a chemical weapons arsenal, but this is of course not true because nobody stores chemical weapons in a research center.”

“Let’s remember that the Syrian official who was responsible for all military research projects has been assassinated in Damascus by the rebels,” he said. “Let’s also remember that the person who orchestrated the Syrian long-range missile project colonel Dawoud Rajiha was also assassinated in Damascus.

This is about stopping the Syrian scientific military research projects and is about breaking the link that will help [Israel] overcome the Lebanese resistance and the Palestinian resistance.”

Syria will likely retaliate, but not in the form of a direct attack on Israel. Instead, Damascus will seek to arm Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance, Dr. Mohamed said.

Hezbollah also stated that the attack targeted a Syrian research center and was an attempt to cripple Syrian military capabilities. It declared its full solidarity for Syria’s “leadership, army and people” in a statement.

Russia condemns Israel's attack on Syria

The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement expressing deep concern over Israel’s airstrike on Syria saying that it violates the UN Charter.

The Ministry website says; if this information is confirmed that would mean that we have to deal with unprovoked attacks on the territory of a sovereign state which is inadmissible, whatever objectives are declared as a justification.

Russia has again called upon the international community to stop the violence in Syria, prevent foreign intervention in the conflict, and assist the start of a nationwide dialogue based on the Geneva agreements.

Syrian military command had reported that Israeli aircraft bombed a research facility near the country’s capital Damascus on Wednesday killing two people and wounding five. The statement called the attack a “blatant act of aggression” and blasted Israel for supporting Syrian terrorists.

So far, the Israel has refused to comment, but unnamed sources in the US have told news agencies that the Israeli Air Force did strike a truck convoy on the Syria-Lebanon border that supposedly carried anti-aircraft weapons. Lebanese media has reported a number of air raids conducted by Israel war planes over its territory but said nothing about any strikes.

If confirmed, the air strike will be Israel’s first attack on a Syrian target since 2007 when the Israeli Air Force destroyed what they thought to be an almost complete nuclear reactor in the East of the country, near the border with Iraq. Syria denied the site was a nuclear facility.

Wednesday’s alleged attack would also be Israel’s first direct intervention into the almost-two-year Syrian crisis caused by the standoff between President Bashar Assad and an armed opposition supported by radical Islamists.

Russia has repeatedly called upon the international community to help stop the violence by forcing the opposing sides to negotiation table. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says it was the opposition that rejected talks in Syria adding that the crisis would end when the opposition abandons its obsession with ousting Assad, and if this does not happen the fighting will continue and more people will die.

At the same time, Lavrov pointed out that the Russian point of view was that preserving or deposing President Assad’s regime was not a priority. What really mattered, he said, is an immediate stop to the bloodshed and the stabilization of the situation in Syria.

Syria seems to be the last bastion of the Cold War struggle in terms of open support by Russia both in the media and at the UN and fragrant opposition by the US and other Western powers. The second unresolved Cold War dilemma is the Koreas.

Mali and the Burnt Manuscripts : A blow to History, Culture and Civilisation

Despite the claim by archivist that precious manuscripts have been safely moved earlier from Timbuktu to Bamako, some precious artifacts and manuscripts must also have been lost due to the destructive activities of the islamists in Mali.

A building housing over 60 thousand manuscripts from the ancient Muslim world and Greece was set aflame, raising fears of further damage to the country's cultural heritage after months of destruction by Islamists.

Timbuktu mayor Halley Ousmane, who is in Bamako, confirmed the fire at the Ahmed Baba Centre for Documentation and Research, which housed between 60,000 and 100,000 manuscripts, according to Mali's culture ministry.

"I spoke to my media officer this morning. What has happened in Timbuktu is dramatic," he said.

Ousmane said he had also been informed that Islamists had "burnt alive" a resident who had cried out "Vive la France".

The Ahmed Baba institute was set up in 1973. A new building was opened in 2009 following a bilateral agreement with South Africa to promote the conservation, research and promotion of the manuscripts as African heritage.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti on Monday indicated Rome was scrapping plans to provide logistical support for French-led forces in Mali due to a failure among the main parties to reach a political deal ahead of elections next month.

"I asked the leaders of the three parties of the majority to give their views but we did not receive the support we had hoped for," Monti, who is himself running as leader of the coalition of centrist parties, said in an interview with La7 television.

Defence Minister Giampaolo Di Paola last week said Italy would send a refuelling plane and two transport planes to carry troops and equipment in the conflict against Islamist-led rebels in Mali.

While expressing Italy's "strong support" for the operation, however, Foreign Minister Giulio Terzi said that "internal political conditions" meant Rome could not offer concrete backing at the moment.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for British Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that London was "keen" to contribute more in addition to two transport planes and a surveillance aircraft which have already been provided.

The manuscripts are very crucial to West Africa as well as African civilisation and history. Most of them represent the earliest objective and undiluted accounts and experiences of travellers; most especially Arab traders and Islamic missionaries.

France has so far done the best. The French troops have successfully taken over Kidal, the last stronghold of the Islamists. Reports have it that some of the main leaders of the Islamists have escaped into neighbouring countries especially Nigeria.

U.S Military Trains Coup Plotters

Gen. Carter Ham, the head of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM) has admitted bluntly the failure of U.S. military training to instill respect for human rights in a Malian army now accused of massacring Arabs and Tuaregs as it fights its way north into rebel-held territory. "We didn't spend probably the requisite time focusing on values, ethics, and a military ethos," Ham acknowledged, saying that most U.S. training for the Malians focused on tactics, strategy, and "technical matters."

Since 1985, the United States has sponsored approximately 156 Malian military officers and non-commissioned officers at U.S. professional military schools and given them training focused on professionalizing the military forces. Over the past three years, this funding has reached at least roughly $400,000 annually, and it is possible U.S. intelligence agencies have also funneled in support as well. Sadly, Mali is hardly an isolated case of U.S. military assistance programmes operating with dangerously little oversight and lacking a compelling central rationale.

Though good examples of successful U.S. military training programmes exist but lots of headline cases have gone badly wrong over the years -- from training Indonesian troops that carried out atrocities in East Timor to the billions poured into the Egyptian military to the scores of tainted graduates from the School of the Americas that ran riot in Central America during the 1980s.

In looking at the patterns of U.S. military assistance, the question is not who gets American military aid, but who doesn't. In 2012, the United States delivered bilateral security assistance to 134 countries -- meaning that every country on Earth had about a 75 percent chance of receiving U.S. military aid. Once you weed out places like North Korea and Vatican City, you are pretty much assured of receiving military aid no matter how large or small your country, no matter how democratic or despotic your regime, no matter how lofty or minimal your GDP.

There has been almost zero discussion of how to better focus U.S. military assistance around clear objectives and direct it to countries where it can make a lasting difference. And these aren't insignificant sums when taken together. The administration requested $9.8 billion in security assistance funding for fiscal year 2013.

Much of this military assistance -- through programmes like Foreign Military Financing; International Military Education and Training; Non-proliferation, Anti-terrorism, Demining, and Related Programmes; International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement; Peacekeeping Operations; and the Pakistan Counterinsurgency Capability Fund -- is supposed to be overseen by the State Department with the Defense Department doing the heavy lifting of actually delivering aid and training.

The rationale on paper for such assistance is straightforward and usually receives uncritical congressional support. U.S. military aid helps train security forces, finance the purchase of military equipment, bolster the ability of law enforcement to tackle the illegal narcotics trade, and shape cooperation on non-proliferation issues.

But more than anything, the Pentagon has always insisted that spreading military assistance so broadly is all about building relationships with fellow militaries -- a cost effective way of establishing contacts who will pick up the phone in a ministry of defence when needed. For many, U.S. dollars propped up an autocratic military in Egypt, other argue that it was the senior flag relationships between the Pentagon and Cairo that kept the military from opening fire on democratic protesters during the Arab Spring.

But U.S. military aid looks much better on paper than in practice, in large part because it is often delivered as if on autopilot without a reasoned discussion of its merits. The State Department largely offers rubber-stamp approvals, and the Foreign Service currently lacks personnel with the expertise needed to engage in a rigorous debate with the Pentagon about who deserves aid and why.

As Gordon Adams of the Stimson Center has argued, the State Department's "internal capacity to plan, budget, and manage these programmes needs to be seriously strengthened." This, combined with the general tendency of Congress to treat military spending requests as something just short of a papal writ, has meant that U.S. security assistance programmes receive very little oversight.

Equally troubling, military and economic assistance are treated as quite different creatures. For economic assistance, the United States has increasingly insisted that aid recipients at least demonstrate some marginal commitment to democracy and open markets. Not so on the military side, where concerns about corruption, the rule of law, and human rights are treated as something we are too polite to ask about.

Indeed, we probably would offer military training to everyone if it were not for the minor restrictions imposed by Senate Democrats like the Leahy Law, which prohibits U.S. military assistance to known thugs and war criminals that violate human rights with impunity. Yes, having military-to-military contacts through U.S. military training and aid is often useful and can build important relations and lasting trust.

But it is equally true that the list of U.S.-trained officers that have led coups against their sitting governments is a lengthy one in countries ranging from Honduras to Haiti to the Gambia. Contrary to what Ham's remark suggested, a few months spent studying tactics and logistics in Kansas or Georgia rarely seems to slow down a power-hungry colonel when he is hell bent on toppling the elected government that just threatened to cut his budget.

Underwriting security assistance to countries with autocratic leadership or nations that are of little strategic significance doesn't make much sense. U.S. military aid and training should be concentrated in a far fewer countries rather than being sprinkled all around the globe like fairy dust in hopes that good relations result.

Nations should be chosen to receive such military aid and training based on their commitment to reform -- both within the military and within the broader structures of democratic governance, free markets, and respect for human rights. Such aid should be a reward for high-performing countries, not a party favour dispensed at the door.

General Ham sounded genuinely surprised that American-trained officers were up to nefarious deeds. Apparently Ham is not much of a history buff -- a U.S. trained captain led a coup against the government of Mali just last March.

Courtesy: Foreign Policy Analysis

Is Brazil the New China in Africa?

Africa continues to be the home of all powers in the world; emerging or established. After the coming and exploitation of Europe, the United States followed. China is still currently doing hers and now Brazil. African leaders never showed any sign of moving beyond the continent's inverstments beyond its frontiers so as to be a relevant player in the world. All they make her do is accept others to exploit her.

Brazil's role as a trade partner with Africa is increasing, but the political links between the continent and Brazil may prove more important. In December, senior representatives of the Chinese and Brazilian foreign ministries met in Beijing for what was billed the 'second China-Brazil consultation on African affairs'.

They claimed to have expanded their consensus on Africa issues. It is understandably tempting to draw parallels between China and Brazil's economic and political engagement in Africa, and both have generated much speculations. But how similar are the two emerging powers' interactions with the continent?

While Brazil is often held up as the 'new China', the two countries have very different motivations for their presence in Africa. Unlike China, Brazil is relatively self-sufficient in terms of natural resources, and as a result Brasilia has not pushed the Chinese model of large-scale resource-backed infrastructure deals.

As far as Brazil's exports are concerned, Africa has nowhere near the strategic importance of markets in China, the US, or even Argentina. As such, it seems that Brazil's relationship with Africa has thus far been predominantly political rather than commercial.

Since the first term of former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (2003-10), the Brazilian government has strengthened its diplomatic ties across Africa.

After taking office, Lula quickly doubled the budget of the Itamaraty (Brazil's foreign ministry), leading to a concerted expansion of embassies in developing countries in general, especially in Africa. Brazil now has 37 embassies on the continent - more than the UK, a former colonial power. Between them, Lula and his foreign minister Celso Amorim visited Africa 80 times between 2003 and 2008.

Furthermore, Brasilia often invokes its historical, social, linguistic, and cultural links with Africa as a means to position itself as a 'natural' partner. Lula often spoke of an "historic debt" that Brazil owes to Africa, a reference to the historical exchanges between Africa and Brasil in terms of culture, traditions and people (Brazil is home to more people of African descent than any other country outside Africa).

Although domestic rather than foreign policy appears to be the priority of the current President, Dilma Rousseff, she has continued to chart a similar course. Notably, she has talked of a shared experience of colonialism and last year spoke of building a relationship with Africa entirely free of the "colonial practices that devastated my continent and the African continent, free of all the colonial hells that we lived".

There are clear links between these two parts of the world, but promoting them is also a diplomatic exercise. Such overtures towards Africa fit Brazil's more general policy of presenting an image of being a benign and neutral leader among developing countries.

This strategy is cogently designed with the objective of giving Brazil more projection in multilateral forums such as the World Trade Organisation (WTO), and of achieving the government's long-standing ambition to securing a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

Alongside the political push, trade between the two regions has grown in total value over the last ten years, covering a wide range of sectors including oil and gas, fertilisers, beef, agricultural produce, minerals and automobiles. However, data from 2010 shows that Africa still only accounts for 5.3% of Brazil's total trade, a percentage that has decreased steadily since 2007, while trade with Asia has increased.

Nevertheless, while Brazil's strategy is political in emphasis, Brazilian businesses have often been central to the government's outreach programme. Lula and Rousseff have both fiercely advocated the formation of 'national champions': Brazilian conglomerates that expand the country's clout abroad and that aim to become worldwide market leaders.

To this end, the Brazilian state, via the Brazilian Development Bank(BNDES), often supports its private companies' African investments, taking advantage of its financial strength as a means to demonstrate Brazil's increasing global prominence. In Africa, Brazil's major construction and extractive firms - such as Petrobras, Vale and Odebrecht - have led the way in terms of investment and sales volume.

And while Brazilian investment in Africa remains a fraction of China's, investment value grew from $69 billion to $214 billion between 2001 and 2009. There have been particularly large investments in Lusophone Africa, often facilitated by credit offered to Brazilian companies by the BNDES: in Angola, BNDES credit has reached $3.2 billion. Notably, while Chinese policy banks such as the

China Exim Bank typically provide finance direct to African governments, the BNDES supports the expansions of Brasilian firms rather than foreign administrations. Further, Brazilian firms have often had to negotiate conflicting pressures from Brasilia: to promote Brasil abroad, but also to prioritise domestic investment and job creation in a time of diminished growth.

This is in contrast to Chinese policy whereby in the past decade, Chinese state-owned enterprises have often been charged with a mandate to aggressively expand at all costs in Africa. Brazil's expansion has been more cautious.

Brazilian investment in Africa is likely to continue in coming years. But as more investors inevitably make decisions in Africa on the basis of private interest and commercial returns, Brasilia may find it difficult to protect its national brand.

Private actors with differing agendas are becoming ever more visible, and there is a risk that this will undermine Brazil's political project of portraying itself as a partner which always prioritises mutual benefit in a spirit of co-operation and equality.

Massacre in Syria

The Syrian crisis is getting out of hand on a daily basis and the world watches on just as it was during the Rwandan genocide. Massacres continued everyday and the latest is that of the killing of about 71 people in Aleppo.

The bodies were found littering the street of Aleppo. Syria risks becoming a kind of Somalia in the Middle East. The bickering of World Powers with Russia and China on one hand supporting an end to the crisis by Syrians themselves and the United States, Britain, France and Turkey on the other urging the former two to do more to restrain Assad's assaults.

The UN special enjoy, Lakhdar Brahimi continues to lament with no action on the ground to salvage the situation. In as much as Western intervention is an anathema, Russia should do more to prevail on Assad to end the massacre with the best being his stepping down for good.

Malawi: Joyce Banda calls for bid for Presidential Jet

President Joyce Banda of Malawi after the demise of the erstwhile President, Bingu Wa Mutharika has continued to prove and the show the beauty of and in womanhood.

 She was the first Africa President to consider the plight of the people for real by cutting her emolument by 30% so as to re-invest it for the betterment of her country.

Upon her assumption of office, she rejected the private presidential jet bought by her predecessor. The jet was a source of controversy between Malawi and her donors.

The donors cut the aid for Malawi by 4.4million dollars but Mutharika remained unruffled. When she assumed office, she made her intention known to trade off the private jet.

Now, Banda has called for bids to get rid of the private jet. She is a real model and mother for Africa, especially the poorest of the poor.

Iran and World Powers should stop Bickering - Lavrov

Russia's foreign minister has taken a quick and smooth swipe at World powers and Iran. Sergei Lavrov said on Monday that Global powers and Iran should "stop behaving like little children" and agree a date and place for new talks on Tehran's nuclear programme.

European officials have accused Tehran of circumventing the arrangement of a meeting with the six nations, including Russia, that are trying to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons. Tehran says its nuclear programme is entirely for peaceful purposes.

"Some of our partners in the six powers and the Iranian side cannot come to an agreement about where to meet," Lavrov told a news conference after talks with Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders.

"We are ready to meet at any location as soon as possible," Lavrov said. "We believe the essence of our talks is far more important (than the site), and we hope that common sense will prevail and we will stop behaving like little children."

Three rounds of talks in the first half of last year between Iran and the six powers - Russia, the United States, China, Britain, France and Germany - produced no breakthrough, increasing speculation Israel could attack Iranian nuclear installations.

Talks had been expected to resume after the U.S. presidential election, possibly as early as this month. An Iranian news agency reported this month that talks might resume on January 28 and 29, but the EU said there was no agreement.

Iran continues to perform her war games in and around the Strait of Hormuz in preparation for a possible 'attack' if possible by the U.S. and Israel. The U.S. too and other allies have also performed similar war games around the strait.

Mali is being liberated

PARIS, Jan 28 (Reuters) - A French-led offensive in Mali that forced out al Qaeda-allied Islamist insurgents from the towns of Gao and Timbuktu at the weekend shows that Mali is slowly being freed, the French foreign minister said on Monday.

"Little by little, Mali is being liberated," Laurent Fabius told France 2 television. But Fabius cautioned that armed fighters from the Islamist alliance in north Mali, who had sought to impose Islamic law in the vast desert area, were now hiding and could reappear.

"The terrorist groups are carrying out a strategy of evasion and some of them could return in the north, primarily in Mali," Fabius warned. He declined to say whether France would intervene again if the militants returned.

Weekend gains by French and Malian forces capped a two-week offensive, involving warplanes and ground troops, launched to halt a southward push toward the capital, Bamako, by the loose coalition of Islamic militants.

French and Malian armoured columns forced fighters out of the central Malian towns of Diabaly and Douentza last week, and in recent days have inched their way northward.

"We are winning back a series of towns with the Malians," said Fabius, adding that troops from an African intervention force were preparing to deploy. Soldiers from Chad and Nigeria are already on the ground. (Reporting By Alexandria Sage)

James Ibori says his Lekki House is no Secret

Tony Eluemunor, spokesman for James Ibori speaking on behalf of his boss says James Ibori's Lekki house was never a secret as it was listed down in Asset declaration forms he filled in 1999, 2003 and 2007. The EFCC had one January 24 made it public that the jailed former Delta State Governor has a discovered mansion at Lekki. The property was discovered at 5, Alpha Beach Road, Lekki in Lagos.

The statement reads:  
"Despite EFCC’s insinuations to the contrary, the Alpha Beach Road house was built as far back as 1994, and so could not have, by any leap of the imagination, been built with proceeds, corrupt or not corrupt, from my office as State Governor because I began to live in that house five good years before I was voted into office”.

"Also, if the stories published about the house were actually based on EFCC’s statement, it means that the EFCC has accepted that Ibori was actually enormously rich at least half a decade before he became Governor of Delta State- after all, EFCC and the media called the house a “mansion”. 

"So, perhaps trying to hide this fact that Ibori was a man of means before he became governor, the EFCC and their agents are using all infernal tricks to cast doubts about when Ibori actually built that house.

"For the records, Chief Ibori reiterates that the house was not only built in 1994 before he became governor, it has featured in his asset declarations.

"Also, Chief Ibori has been cooperating fully with the Crown Prosecution since the preliminary stages of the confiscation process began, in line with the United Kingdom Criminal Justice Act (CJA) of 1988, so he does not see why the house has become an issue – especially as Nigeria has surrendered her jurisdictional sovereignty to Britain," the statement said. 

Nigerians continue to destroy their countries with greed. Funds meant to be used for public use as well as uplift millions out of poverty are used for personal purposes yet these leaders will still have the guts to deny and insult the intelligence of people. A nation of stealing comedians called leaders.

Nigeria: Police Harassment Increases at Sabo Divisional Headquarters

The Nigeria Police Force, Sabo Divisional Headquarters has developed a nauseous knack for harassing citizens and peace-loving Nigerians. The Police headquarters has taken on slapping as a new mode of intimidation and harassment.

The first case of harassment occurred at the entrance of University of Lagos when a student was arrested by a supposed police officer with no uniform on. He was molested and brutally harassed after being alleged of collecting cash from a girl for admission.

While proving the officer's acts as being wrong, he was dragged to the Security Post of University of Lagos. From there, the Security men allowed him to be taken away without due hearing.

Upon getting to the police station, the friends of the arrested tried to establish the cause of arrest and confirm the next line of action but the police in their characteristic cunning and crafty manner avoided all questions relating to any positive resolution.

One of the friends of the arrested boldly made it known that their friend must not be kept for more than 24 hours at the station. This angered the policemen and the young man was beaten and slapped brutally.

Another incidence of slaps occurred when another student of University of Lagos with her friends were harassed at Sabo. She was walking with her friends including a Flying Officer of the Nigerian Airforce when a police officer broke traffic rule in disobedience of traffic control light.

The young lady nearly escaped being hit and she complained. The police officer came down and said nothing other than to slap her. The Flying Officer went to the scene to try and question the policemen but before they could say Jack Robinson, they have all been dragged and packed to the police station.

At the station, the policemen said they will spray all of them with no accountability for their souls and dead bodies. All the police officers on duty without any knowledge of what happened were humming this statement. Later, the Flying Officer was apologised to after knowing who he is. How about others molested, intimated and harassed?

Nigeria Police Force has complete colonial orientation. It is the headquarters of criminals. They are never willing to end human rights abuses.

Russia and the Gay Ban: Distancing Herself from Europe

Russia has distanced itself from the homosexual 'madness' sweeping across Europe and North America by passing anti-gay law. The bill was passed by the State Duma and it has been criticised by international rights group.

The bill has the backing of 338 deputies, with only one lawmaker opposing it, Sergei Kuzin of United Russia, and one abstaining, Dmitry Gudkov of A Just Russia.

The bill, which stipulates fines for promoting homosexuality among minors, was introduced in the Duma in March by Novosibirsk regional lawmakers. The date for its consideration in the Duma had been pushed back several times before being voted on in a first reading Friday.

Gudkov wrote on Twitter that the bill was being used to distract people from "more important" topics, such as a bill passed in a first reading this week giving regions the option not to hold gubernatorial elections.

Human rights organizations said the bill would aggravate divisions in society over the issue of gay rights.

The bill is already being protested against by gay activists. A protest led to a clash between the activists and the pro-bill supporters. Police arrested 20 people in connexion to the clashes.

Similar laws have been passed in St. Petersburg and several regions including Novosibirsk, Ryazan, Arkhangelsk and Kostroma.

"A similar bill in the Ryazan region was recognized as being discriminatory by the UN Committee on Human Rights in October," said Yulia Gorbunova of Human Rights Watch. "We are concerned that instead of adjusting Russian legislation to international norms, our government wants to make the law work on the federal level."

Russia seems to be proving that she is a distinct entity in Europe with certain indigenous standards and customs.

Over 40 Nigerians Repatriated from the United Kingdom and Spain

The United Kindom and Spain have repatriated over 40 Nigerians. Speaking at the London Immigration Office, a Nigerian immigration officer, Issa lawal said those repatriated are people who have been jailed for a long time and have completed their jail terms. Others include illegal migrants most especially those with fraudulent papers.

The UK has her own internal economic quagmire. She has not fully recovered from the recession and has been trying to meet the employment demand of her citizens. Spain is also battling high unemployment rate. Her citizens are emigrating more to South America. The last thing they need now is to habour 'misfits' and those who will strain the insatiable social amenities the more.

Nigerians have always being repatriated and sometimes killed with impunity in some countries. The Nigerian government has never seen this as a shame for it to make moves to make the country conducive for Nigerians so as to fulfill their dreams and aspirations in their homeland.

Nigerians are being exterminated in Libya after the killing of Maummar Gaddafi under the watch of the same TNC Nigeria supported because of the West and NATO yet the government remains mute.

More Nigerians will still experience this fate because no country says Nigerians should not determine their destiny by shaking up the corrupt system to its foundation and get rid of the thieves who circumvent the country's bliss and advancement. This must be done for Nigeria to take her pride of place among the commity of nations.

Official: Foreigners aid Oil Crime in Nigeria

'A bad workman blames his tools.' -English proverb

A Nigerian official in the Petroleum Industry says the increase in oil crime rates and pipelines vandalisation is a result of foreign interventions in the purchase of illegal crude oil from criminals in Nigeria.

Abolore while visiting Areppo, scene of the most recent pipeline vandalisation and fire mishap stated that the power of the vandals and perpetrators of oil crimes is on the rise because there are ready-made foreign buyers and foreign cash for the illegal products.

The worrisome aspect of this statement is maybe there exists any difference between the vandals, the government and oil officials cum workers. They are all oil thieves. The government condemning foreigners berth oil in the coast of Togo so as to perform 'magic' in supply. An act similar to piracy. Officials also connive with oil marketers to fraud the country and the people.

One begins to wonder where lies the legitimacy in the statement when Shell pays government specially for security to avoid being subjected to environmental laws and accountability. Where is the legitimacy when citizens are executed as in the case of Ken Saro Wiwa for Shell BP to continue operations.

The government indicting the foreigners is the same government with numerous oil scandals; swimming in corruption without any iota of responsibility, accountability and concern for the welfare of the people. Without any crack in the wall, lizards cannot partition the inside of a fence into rooms.

Africa's Economy: High Prospects of Boom with Caused Failures

Africa today:

$1.6 trillion – Africa’s collective GDP in 2008, roughly that of Brazil or Russia
$860 billion – Africa’s combined consumer spending in 2008
$316 million – the amount of new mobile subscribers signed up in Africa since the year 2000
60 percent –  Africa’s share of the world’s total amount of uncultivated land
52 the number of African cities with more than 1 million people living urbanized
20 the number of African companies with revenues in excess of $3 billion

Africa tomorrow:

$2.6 trillion – Africa’s collective GDP in 2020
$1.4 trillion – Africa’s consumer spending in 2020
1.1 billion the number of Africans of working age in 2040
128 million the number of African households with discretionary income in 2020
50 percent –  the portion of Africans living in cities by 2030

Africa is a destination for cheap and less costly labour which makes the prospects of booming economic activities high. The coming of more Foreign Direct Investments will be gingered by this. It remains a hot spot for investors.

It is worthy of note that Africa’s acceleration resulted from more than just a resource boom. Their have been various attempts by governments to terminate political unrest, implement enhanced macroeconomic policies creating better business climates but all these are again truncated with leadership greed.

Africa is a continent of commodities. Natural resources accounted for 24 percent of GDP from 2000 to 2008. The rest came stemmed from other sectors i.e. retail, wholesale, transportation, telecommunications and manufacturing. This is also a positive sign of economic growth since the 80’s.

Additional efforts to privatise state-owned enterprises, reducing trade barriers, cutting corporate taxes where applicable and improved regulatory systems, have stimulated economic blood flow. The headache is this angle is the lack of adequate regulations to properly guide the workings of the private sectors, hence, abuse and 'slavery' exist in most industries especially that of the Chinese, Indians and other Asian countries.

In the year 2000 foreign direct investment in Africa stood at $9 billion. Today FDI stands at in excess of $100 billion just from China alone.

Although Africa has all these resources its future is critically dependent on other developments and measures that need to be resuscitated to peak performance in order to competitively compete holistically.

Such sectors are education from kindergarten levels. Infrastructure for education needs dramatic attention, inclusive of modern technology that can be accessed on the Chinese market. Africa as at now has not astutely taken on the sector which is a critical pivot for development.

Upgrading and improving the syllabus for teacher education programmes. Special attention must be given to the food security in rural areas where children can also access upgraded medical facilities impacting on the high mortality rates.

No greater impact will occur than by 2020 where the forecast for urbanisation will be devastating for sustainable growth. Today 40 percent of Africa’s population live in her cities. By 2020 it is projected that more than half of African households will have discretionary spending power, straining urbanisation and impacting on the pollution levels for which Africa will also have to comply.

Impacting on green solutions is the lack of refuse and waste recycling throughout Africa. The one in Nigeria in Lagos is at best a concept in its nurturing state. These industries are neglected across the continent. Metals, plastics and alternative manufacturing from recycled metals and plastics are lagging industries throughout African that enjoy high employment.

The four most advanced economies in Africa – Egypt, Morocco, South Africa and Tunisia currently enjoy advanced manufacturing and services industries. These countries are also classified as diverse economies and will face some challenges related higher labour costs and volatility in the export markets.

Africa has been exercising her economic policies and stimulating the heart of sovereign industries in order to achieve continental growth. So far we have every right to believe that we are on course for recovery and maybe a renaissance in the making.

Now more than ever, inter-continental remedies are needed to achieve stability, improve human rights, promote economic democracy outside of political ambitions and re-establish Africa as a continent proud of her heritage. To get to that desired destination, African leaders need to end avarice and imbibe dynamic patriotism wholly.

Statistics Courtesy: Ventures Africa.

Another Nigeria and Libya: Mali Forces and undue Executions

Mali could be on the verge of creating a haven for a long-term insurgency-style of continuous attacks that could gradually consume West Africa with the constant human rights abuses the Malian army has been accused of committing.

Mali's army has sealed off a central town amid allegations that some of its soldiers had summarily executed dozens of people allegedly connected to rebel fighters. The experience of Nigeria in the Boko Haram menace ought to be a foundation structure for counter-activities on the rebels.

The International Federation of Human Rights Leagues said on Thursday that in the central town of Sevare at least 11 people were executed in a military camp near a bus station and the town's hospital, citing evidence gathered by local researchers.

Credible reports also pointed to around 20 other people having been executed in the same area and the bodies having been dumped in wells or otherwise disposed of, the organisation said. At Niono, two Malian Tuaregs were executed by Malian soldiers, according to the FIDH. All these executions and killings are properly documented.

The rights group, Human Rights Watch, said its investigators had spoken to witnesses who saw the executions of two Tuareg men in the village of Siribala, near Niono. The group also said witnesses had reported "credible information" of soldiers sexually abusing women in a village near Sevare, and called on the government to urgently investigate these incidents, AFP news agency reported.

The majority of the al-Qaeda-linked rebels being hunted by the armies are either Tuaregs or Arabs, reports say.

 But Mali's army has denied the claims. General Ibrahima Dahirou Dembele, the Malian army chief, promised that any soldier involved in abuses would be brought to book.

"One mustn't get confused. Every white skin is not a terrorist or a jihadist and among the enemy which attacked our different position were many black skins. We are among brothers, whether one is black or white."

Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French defence minister, urged extreme "vigilance" against any abuses, saying the "honour of the (Malian) troops is at stake".

Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said: "We cannot accept any rights violations. The international community will face a very serious situation if (the intervention force) is identified with abuses." The rebels in Mali are the same people NATO and the West armed against Gaddafi in Libya a Russian official said.

A circulating news now is that the rebels have become factional and one group is ready for negotiation. How credible this group will be is yet to be known as it is almost a tradition for rebel groups to split under such intense firepower.

Mali could end up becoming another Libya in which weapons will be freely circulated among groups after being delivered by Western powers. The Kremlin confirms this as well as Hillary Clinton in her statement delivered to congress on Wednesday.

Oxfam: World's Richest Countries can end Poverty

Oxfam has released a report revealing how the world's most wealthy nations can save the world from poverty. The report detailed how those at the upper rung of the financial ladder can salvage the heinous worm called poverty.

The $240 billion net income of the world's 100 richest billionaires would have ended poverty four times over, according to the London-based group's report. The group has called on world leaders to commit to reducing inequality to the levels it was at in 1990, and to curb income extremes on both sides of the spectrum.

The release of the report was timed to coincide with the holding of the World Economic Forum in Davos. The group says that the world's richest one percent have seen their income increase by 60 percent in the last 20 years, with the latest world financial crisis only serving to hasten, rather than hinder, the process.

"We sometimes talk about the 'have-nots' and the 'haves' - well, we're talking about the 'have-lots'. We're an anti-poverty agency. We focus on poverty, we work with the poorest people around the world. You don't normally hear us discuss wealth. But it's gotten so out of control between rich and poor that one of the obstacles to solving extreme poverty is now extreme wealth," Ben Phillips, a campaign director at Oxfam, told Al Jazeera.

"We can no longer pretend that the creation of wealth for a few will inevitably benefit the many – too often the reverse is true," said Jeremy Hobbs, an executive director at Oxfam. "Concentration of resources in the hands of the top one per cent depresses economic activity and makes life harder for everyone else – particularly those at the bottom of the economic ladder.

"In a world where even basic resources such as land and water are increasingly scarce, we cannot afford to concentrate assets in the hands of a few and leave the many to struggle over what’s left." Hobbs said that "a global new deal" is required, encompassing a wide array of issues, from tax havens to employment laws, in order to address income inequality.

Closing tax havens, the group said, could yield an additional $189 billion in additional tax revenues. According to Oxfam's figures, as much as $32 trillion is currently stored in tax havens.

In a statement, Oxfam warned that "extreme wealth and income is not only unethical it is also economically inefficient, politically corrosive, socially divisive and environmentally destructive."

The financially buoyant countries are not ready to be committed to the betterment of humanity. Their main interest has always been and will always be the continual entrenchment of financial blissfulness for the microscopic few at the expense of the wretched masses.

Africa is at the centre of the suffering yet she supplies the world the needed resources. Africa gives life to others but she is killing herself.

Africa: Libyan Militants Supported Algerian Islamists

The interconnectedness among various militants and Islamist groups in Africa is growing nauseously. The militants who seized an Algerian gas plant before they were killed in a bloodbath received logistical aid from Islamists in Libya, a well-informed source told AFP on Tuesday

International media groups, including AFP, were able to get from Islamist circles based in Eastern Libya telephone numbers of the kidnappers as they last Wednesday overran the In Amenas gas plant in the deep Algerian desert.

37 foreigners were killed in the 4-day siege of the remote desert gas plant, some of them executed with a bullet to the head, Algerian premier Abdelmalek Sellal said on Monday. He said that a total of 29 militants were also killed and three captured in the siege, which got concluded on Saturday when Algerian special forces stormed the gas complex.

Algeria said its special forces managed to free 685 Algerian and 107 foreign hostages, most of them on Thursday, during their first rescue operation. During the deadly standoff, several media outlets had talked of a “Libyan connection” to the siege.

Algerian website TSA cited a security source saying the kidnappers had entered Algeria from Libya in official Libyan vehicles, while other outlets argued that the weapons the kidnappers used came from Libya.

When questioned by AFP, Libyan officials simply reiterated the words of their prime minister, Ali Zeidan, who denied that the kidnappers entered Algeria from Libya, saying the Libyan territory was not being used for launching operations that threaten security of neighbouring countries.

Algerian premier Sellal on Monday that the militants had crossed from Northern Mali. The Libyan source said that Libyan Islamists had no organisational link with the group, “Signatories in Blood” which led the four-day siege of the gas complex.

The group is led by one-eyed Mokhtar Belmokhtar, one of the founders of Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM ). Belmokhtar left Al-Qaeda in October to create his own group. Jaber al-Abidi, an analyst, has no doubt Libyans were involved.

“It is clear that there is a link between Libyan extremist groups and those who led the In Amenas operation,” said Jaber al-Obeidi, an analyst and political activist. “Libyan extremists are present in northern Mali and helped carry weapons from Libya after the fall of the regime” of Gaddafi, he added.

The “Signatories in Blood” group had said that its attack on the gas complex was in retaliation for French intervention in northern Mali. Algeria’s Sellal dismissed this, saying the assault had been planned for nearly two months, long before France intervened in northern Mali.

Since the fall of Gaddafi’s regime in October 2011, Libyan Islamists have gained influence and inherited a large military arsenal from the conflict that ousted and killed him. Their ability to strike was illustrated by the murderous assault launched September 11 on the US consulate in Libya’s eastern city of Benghazi that killed the American ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans coupled with attacks on security men.

According to the Libyan source, the Islamists who attacked the gas facility entered Mali “transiting through Niger and Libya from the Salvador triangle,” a barren stretch of desert that borders Libya, Algeria and Niger. Libya has long struggled to monitor its 4,000-kilometre (2,500-mile) land border. Boko Haram is also said to be strengthened by the various Islamist groups around Nigeria, in the Sahel and Sahara.

Mali and the Return of Mass Unrest in Africa: Remembering Kwame Nkrumah

The various resurgent unrest in Africa in both Sudan and South Sudan, attempted coup in Eritrea, lack of peace in DR Congo, rebel movement in Central African Republic, Islamists in Mali, Somalia and Algeria, Boko Haram in Nigeria and in other numerous flash-points around the continent remind one of nothing than the exertions of Nkrumah towards building a formidable continent and his predictions just as accurate as they are happening now.

The Osagyefo (Kwame Nkrumah) in the independence era of Africa; 1960, worked tirelessly across Africa preaching the gospel of a united and unified Africa. He postulated that Africa is not yet fully independent till she can control her destiny economically. Nkrumah strive for an Africa with a global voice. His actions were hinged on the creation of a United States of Africa with a United African Government backed militarily by an African High Command.

The African High Command will be a standing and standby force responsible for checking any heinous, nefarious and nauseous activities of saboteurs and rebels. The African High command will be a readily available force to be deployed. The failure of ECOWAS to act fast in Mali, AU's obfuscating mission in Somalia and Sudan are cases that proved the neglected sagacity of Nkrumah right.

The rationale for this was emphasised. He stated that Africa shall be consumed by smaller wars due to the numerous arbitrary borders created by the departing Europeans. They succeeded in establishing a 'keg of destructive explosive missiles' meant to be detonated continuously to ensure and preserve Western agenda on the continent. Nigeria and Liberia were two countries that stood against the futuristic wisdom of Nkrumah cogently and they are reaping from the sabotage anyway.

The Osagyefo was accused of pursuing a programmme for personal benefits because Ghana seemed sound as at then having got independence earlier. One wonders what difference exists in getting independence three years earlier. The foundation he laid in Ghana in making the country a unified whole without tribal tones represents the pillar for Ghana's advancement today. Those countries who stood against a united Africa's mission are today in abject poverty and unrest.

Most African leaders abhor unity because of greed. The lack of trust they display all the time is to ensure nothing tampers with their greed and avarice. Their corrupt personal gains are above the continent's glory and advancement.

New Convocation Dates for University of Lagos: Jonathan Becomes Perplexed

With series of meetings and close door activities over the postponement of the heroic Golden Jubilee Convocation Ceremonies, the authority of the University of Lagos has set new dates for the ceremonies. The dates are 7^th, 8^th and 9^th of February, 2013. Presenting the dates to the President, the authority gave him alternatives of choosing either towards the tail end of January or early February and he chose the afforementioned dates.

The fiasco over the change of nomenclature from University of Lagos (UNILAG) to Moshood Abiola University (MAULAG) was buried with the rejection of the bill by the House of Representatives. With the throwing out of such move, the President has no other alternative than to accept that the institution must remain what it is, in deed and in truth.

The main headache of the Presidency is no longer to hold the convocation, it is now whether President Jonathan will attend or not. Information from a reliable source stated that the Presidency is really very worried over his attedance because of irate students. Out of the three days scheduled for the events, President Jonathan is likely to be present by the weekend when most activities have been concluded and students will be scanty.

The representative of the President while speaking to officials in the school downplayed the name-change saying it was just an honour for a virile Nigerian, Moshood Abiola, and that the President had no ulterior motive. The President himself was reported to have communicated such to the University after his defeat. The authority wants his presence so he can with his own mouth mention the University's name in deed and in truth.

The President was playing, malingering and meadering because he knew the University Council will soon be dissolved so his calculation was to use that as a medium of delay but the University authority took him back to history that the University had had a convocation ceremony without the Council in a known distant past and that still serve as a reference and precedent.

Two historical events will also be happening at the ceremonies, for the first time in the history of University of Lagos, the Vice Chancellor will be inaugurated. The known procedure before is for the VC to be elected and work begins but now, the precedent of official inauguration is to be laid. Moreso, the new Pro-chancellor of the University, Jerry Gana will be inaugurated. The events are specially constituted to honour the renowed, amiable and dedicated Vice Chancellor, Professor Adetokunbo Babatunde Shofoluwe of blessed memory. The university still waits for the appointment of a new Chancellor after the demise of the erstwhile Chancellor, the Attah of Igala.

The defeat of the President over the change of nomenclature is a sign that reasoning backed up with action will go a long way in checkmating the nefarious and obnoxious activities of the worms called leaders in Nigeria nay Africa. All the citizens must do especially those in the academics is to stand and defend the future.

Africa and Obama's Second Term: Expectations and Counter-Expectations

Africans no longer stood still to watch the inauguration of Barack Hussein Obama as was witnessed four years ago. The President's acts during the period clearly showed he was and will always be the president of the United States not of Africa. He proved he will neither be the President of both 'continents' nor fully that of one and partially that of another.

As the president of the United States publicly takes the oath of office for the second time, it is understandable why, in stark contrast to four years ago when Barack Obama's unique personal history made his election to the White House the cause for intense pride and excitement across Africa, many Africans have shrugged off the event and carried on with their lives.

To be fair, many Africans' expectations of the then-new American president were wildly unrealistic and Obama had quite a number of pressing challenges demanding his immediate attention, not least of all th United States' economic meltdown and healthcare system.

Nevertheless, the sense of let-down acutely felt, both in African capitals and among the Africa constituency in Washington, over the lack of engagement during most of the administration's first term, remains palpable. Even for the administration's most reflexive defenders, there is no getting around the data.

While veteran diplomat Johnnie Carson was installed as assistant secretary of state for African affairs within four months of Obama's first inauguration, an ambassador to the African Union was not on post until nine months after the president's swearing in and, until just nine months ago, there was no permanent assistant administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) for Africa.

The U.S. Strategy toward Sub-Saharan Africa was not released until June of last year. As for the president himself, he has not set foot on African soil since his brief visits to Egypt and Ghana during his first year in office--and the latter a stopover lasting less than twenty-four hours.

Of course, the administration has scored some noteworthy successes, not least of which was helping see the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) to its fulfillment in the largely peaceful referendum and subsequent secession of South Sudan--although the continuing conflict between

Africa's newest independent state and the country it left behind remains a challenge the administration must tackle in its second term alongside the overall lack of economic development and general governance capacity in Juba.

Somalia must also be monitored;defeat of Somalia's al-Shabaab as a military force, the improved security in and around Mogadishu, and the installation of a new parliament, president, and prime minister represent relatively big advances, even if the progress is still far from consolidated.

Africa could receive more attention during his second term but not to the benefits and desired directions of Africans. His actions, if African leaders are wise enough are to tell them that no one can build their countries and continents for them. No foreign country will ever make policies to favour and uplift their continent. They must wake up.

Nigeria and Religion Again!!! Fall of France and Nigeria Predicted in Mali

“No Nation Can Fight Islam And Succeed” (Sheik Gumi)
Islamic cleric Sheik Ahmad Mahmoud Gumi has raised an opposing view to the decision by the Nigerian government to send troops to fight on the side of France against so-called “Islamic terrorists” in Mali.

In a post on his website, the cleric argued that there was no justifiable reason to send troops.

He wrote:

“Today Nigerian troops are committed in Mali to fight ‘Islamic terrorists’ without intellectually looking at the repercussion of such an adventure. We all know that the ‘War against terror’ which Islam also fights can easily be turned into war against Islam. There is a thin line between the two. And if caution is not taken, the situation can seriously be dangerous for the nation and more so for the government.

“One thing is very clear. No nation on earth can fight Islam and succeed. A Russian General was interviewed just before the illegal Bush Jr's attack on Iraq to oust Saddam Hussein and he urged Bush to tap into Russia's experiences in Afghanistan. The General said: “I advise the US not to attack Iraq, because if it does that, then it will be fighting the whole Muslim community and whoever fights the whole Muslim community will not succeed”.

"When I heard those words, I was amused. First I knew that Saddam Hussein was not a favorite of many Muslims, I therefore wondered who will fight for him if Iraq is attacked. Secondly, what weapons do the Muslims have that the superpowers cannot defeat in warfare?

“I now see what he means. The Soviet Union fought the Mujahideen for almost 13 years in Afghanistan and ended up disintegrated. Now, the USA is facing a similar challenge that made the Soviet Union unmanageable and finally fall. The USA has been a free country where money flows in and out, where business flourishes with little hindrance. But the moment Bush lied and tried to attack Iraq, a sovereign nation, all the Muslim states - even those that are moderate – were frightened by his recklessness.

“Americans were also frightened of a possible backlash from such an adventure, inflaming an already volatile situation. The end result has been stringent monitoring and restriction of the flow of money in and out of the country. A self-imposed umbilical stenosis, a self-imposed strangulation. Nobody will again trust the USA, therefore people now prefer Asia for their business, medical care and even education.

“All this was started by an idiot who caused untold hardship for his citizens and others alike. Today, Bush Jr and his defense secretary ‘Hamana’ Rumsfeld are nonentities even in their own country. They are not respected and they will forever be tormented with the sights of so many American youth that were maimed and had limbs amputated from the deceptive war against ‘terror’ they manipulated.

“As for Nigeria, we can see a parallel when in the late 60’s Maj. Nzeogwu assassinated the Northern premier and the Biafran War ensued. Ojukwu, in his declaration of war,said bluntly that he was fighting Islam and the menace of Arabs which he claimed. The end results were that he destroyed lives, went into exile and to date Biafra ceases to exist except of course in the mind of its proponents.

“And worse still for him, Islam has reached the shores of the Delta. This brief description of a chain of events should be a clear counsel to people leading Nigeria today; no one can fight Islam or the Muslims and succeed. It is futile to attempt it. They will only destroy their own lives and cause untold hardship to others. They will be cursed not only by people they injured but by their own people as Bush Jr is regarded now in America. Therefore if the government has such plans or are deceived by some Islamaphobes in their circles they should reverse their policies immediately.

“There is no border sharing between Nigeria and Mali. There is Niger republic, Burkina Faso and Togo in between. All these nations did not report terrorism and yet suddenly we read in the news that ‘the Army Chief of Staff (COAS) Azubuike Ihejirika, who did not offer evidence, claimed that terrorists trained in Mali had already arrived on Nigerian shores. See: http://saharareporters.com/news-page/‘terrorists’-mali-seen-nigeria-..., Posted: January 17, 2013 - 22:19.

“If what he said is true, then Nigeria is unnecessarily plunging itself into a War that will have a grievous consequence on our security without any foreseen benefit.

"Let us encourage the Malians to tackle their insurgency peacefully, and not by taking sides. If however, the SS&SE (COAS) wants to use the volatile situation to build on what his predecessor Azazi implanted, then we leave him to posterity. Time will tell. All we do is to urge Muslims to be calm, prayerful and watchful.” 

Nigeria: A Known Ocean of Corruption

African Cup of Nations began without the citizens of Nigeria having the opportunity to locally watch any of the actions. This is a shame too long to bear and condone. The Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) is responsible for the negotiation of broadcasting rights in such an events and it went ahead to do that in the Cup of African Nations but was shocked with the level at which LC2 was about to milk Nigeria.

Ghana and South Africa as well as many African nations paid $2 million dollars for their broadcasting rights but when it came to Nigeria, the parade was changed. Rather than the usual flat rate of $2 million dollars, $8 million dollars was demanded. The greatest shock is the disparity in the amount. From 2 to 8, a whooping difference of $6 million dollars. An amount that could lift thousands out of poverty.

High Chief Raymond has done justice on the matter. If not watching the Nations Cup will send a signal to many that Nigeria cannot continue to be a land where every Tom, Dick and Harry come to demand, get whatever they want and siphon funds at will, then so be it. The next action of the government should be to investigate the matter and know those behind the inflation.

Some Nigerians definitely will be behind the cost inflation beyond standard. Those elements who wish to benefit from scandals always. If no crack exist in the wall, the lizard will not have a stadium inside the fence. Nigeria is expected to pay such a huge amount which automatically amounts to a loss in a commercialised deal that gain is meant to be accrued from. It is not the fault of those who inflated the cost, they already know they have accomplices and confederates in the ocean of corruption.

Patriot Missiles Arrive in Turkey

Turkey's defence against the Assad regime has been bolstered with the arrival of the Patriot Missiles. In a bid to avoid direct confrontations with the the Syrian military as much as possible, Turkey called for the deployment of the missiles to guard her border with Syria.

The Turkish port of Iskenderun welcomed a German ship carrying patriot missile equipment as part of an effort to stop violence in Syria from spilling over its borders.

240 German troops had earlier touched down in Turkey to be deployed to the border with Syria, as part of a NATO mission. The Suecia Seaways vessel later arrived on Monday after the Netherlands-registered Louise Russ ship also carrying missile kits pulled into the area on Sunday night. 

The German batteries are part of a NATO contingent of Patriot missiles that intercept incoming ballistic missiles, which will remain in Turkey for a year. Two Dutch and two US batteries are also being deployed to other parts of southern Turkey.

In December, NATO announced its decision to position Patriot anti-missile systems near Turkey's southern border to defend against the threat of cross-border attacks and bringing the United States and its allies closer to the Civil War raging between Syrian opposition rebels and President Bashar Assad's regime.

Turkey, a NATO member, requested the missiles to boost its air defences. Violence has flared along the border in recent months, with Turkey firing artillery across the frontier to retaliate for Syrian shells hitting Turkish soil.

Iran and Russia have objected to the move saying Syria could just be a smokescreen to upturn the military balance and calculations in favour of NATO and the United States. They believe the missiles might be available more to spy on their weapons' systems than counter Assad's forces.

Henry Okah is convicted

The long term imbroglio between President Jonathan and Henry Okah, the acclaimed leader of the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) is gradually finally being laid to rest with the conviction of Okah. 

A South African court on Monday convicted Nigerian national Henry Okah of 13 terrorism charges, including bombings that killed 12 people in Abuja on independence day 2010.

“I have come to the conclusion that the state proved beyond reasonable doubt the guilt of the accused,” said Judge Nels Claassen, handing down the verdict in the South Gauteng High Court.

Okah was found guilty of masterminding attacks including twin car bombings that killed 12 people in Abuja on October 1, 2010 and two explosions in March 2010 in the southern Nigerian city of Warri, a major hub of the oil-rich Delta region.

Okah continues to deny involvement in the blasts. He said the charges were politically motivated. He also denied leading MEND, but had said he sympathised with their goals.

However the South African court found Okah was the leader of the movement after uncovering documentary evidence including his wife’s handwritten notes. (AFP) 

Okah's brother who has been held in Nigeria ever since in connexion with the bombing had written a long letter smuggled out of prison detailing all the conspiracy against his brother as revealed by his interview and questioning by men of the State Security Service (SSS). 

It now looks as if becoming the President is another avenue to get back at those one is not in good terms with.

Is Yemen safer than Africa!!?

Africa has been turned into a continent of emigrants; either seeking greener pastures or running from wars and agonies. If Africans run abroad to Europe, the United States, China and other economically vibrant countries in Asia and the Middle East, everybody to a reasonable and good extent will understand. But when Africans run to Yemen, then something terrible is really wrong with the continent.

Yemen is notorious for al Qaeda activities and she is still grappling with fratricidal wars. A shocking and surprising report came out from the UN refugees' Commission that Africans are trooping into Yemen to escape wars and agonies. A fate they are going to meet in Yemen but it looks as if in all, Yemen is preferable to them.

Since 2006, the commission has never witnessed such an influx. The refugees are coming en masse despite the hazards in the maritime travel. The boats are over-packed which makes everything more precarious yet people are not debarred from the journey. Read More 

Africa and Africans need to wake up seriously before all these completely get out of hand. Africans risk becoming the major destroyers of their continent most especially through the greed of the leaders and the coming avarice of some followers likely to be leaders. This is evident in the various rebel movements and sectionalism.