Continental Africans and the Africans in Diaspora: A 'Black World' divided upon Itself

In the 50s and 60s, when there was established consciousness, Continental Africans and African-Americans were gradually forging a powerful UNITED FRONT against Euro-oppressive powers. We had the likes of Nkrumah and Muhammad Ali coming together for the common good of Africa and the future of the entire 'Black World'. Long before them, we had W.E.B DuBois, Marcus Mosiah Garvey among others who postulated and fervently pursued the concept of Pan-Africanism and the economic emancipation of Africa.

Scholars like Papa John Henrik Clarke, Amos Wilson and others gave us the blueprints. Malcolm X was available with his fiery stance. Kwame Nkrumah was on ground to articulate and implement. Nnamdi Azikiwe was available to think along the continental line. The African-Americans were at the forefront of the battle. They were fighting three wars simultaneously: The war to free Africa, the war for the unity of the 'Black man and the Black woman' and the war against destructive racism in the Western hemisphere. Great ones!

Suddenly, the bullets began to fall. Martin Luther King Jnr gone. Malcolm X fell. Lumumba killed. Nkrumah deposed and left to be dejected. Steve Bantu Biko exterminated and in later years, Thomas Sankara. As this confusion reigned, the unity began to tear apart. Handshakes were no longer seen between the African-Americans, Africans in the Caribbean and the Continental Africans.

To set the record straight, Continental Africans are the major problem of the 'Black world'. We are the ones whose people sold some of the ancestors of the African-Americans into slavery. Whenever African-Americans are killed, we do not speak up for them. Even when the likes of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jnr were fighting for us, we were busy selling our resources cheaply to the same Supremacists and oppressors. The truth hurts but it must be told. Our grand slavery of the mind tore up every possibility of creating a better African world.

Whenever they are killed in America or elsewhere, we do not stand up for them yet they do not hesitate to lend their voices of protest whenever calamities happen to us in Africa. If anything happens to any Jew anywhere in the world, the state of Israel stands up for them. When South Africans proposed to get back their stolen lands back, Australia spoke first in defence of the European immigrants and apartheid villains (Whites) followed by Donald Trump. They will defend one another anywhere but this is not the case for Africans. 

This is the reason why many Africans in diaspora prefer to stick with the 'Black Identity' than the 'African Identity'. We have the African civilisation (Nubian, Kemetic, Benin, Ife, Dahomey, Zulu, Xhosa and others), the European Civilisation (Greek, Roman and others), the Asian Civilisation (Chinese, Indian, Japanese and others), the Arabian civilisation and many more but not a 'White Civilisation', 'Yellow Civilisation' or 'Black Civilisation'. In a bid to move away from anything associated with Africa, some of them now believe they are 'Black Indians' who had inhabited America before the coming of Columbus. We cannot blame them. They need an identity. 

Rather than court the African-Americans to come and invest so we can build together, Africans will prefer to sell their lands into European and Chinese slavery. The African-Americans and Africans in diaspora have the capability to join forces with us and lead us out of our quagmire. Take our music industry for instance; it was those from Jamaica and the Caribbean (Bob Marley, Peter Tosh and others) that moved Reggae. We followed them. Fela Anikulapo Kuti was influenced by Malcolm X, the politics of the Black Panther Party and he was tutored by an African-American woman (Sandra Smith) before he became conscious. 

Our modern music industry copied from the African-American hip hop and rap. Our modern scientific discussion and advancement cannot be separated from the Africans in diaspora. They are our surest link and lifeline if we really genuinely want to break the shackles of mental slavery and embrace development. Had we listened to Garvey, we would have been economically liberated in Africa. 

The pride of African culture today remains the African-Americans and the Africans in diaspora in general outside of Africa. Here, we hate ourselves, we loath our cultures, we lack thinking, we are basically everything associated with leeches. Rather than look at the cultural beauty in our various ethnic groups as a platform to unite and be creative, we tune to the frequency of hate and insults. We call the African-Americans names because we lack basic sense of history; that they did more for us that we can ever do for them.

It is a known fact that our current crop of leaders are puppets, sell outs, coons and 'house Negroes' who will do anything and everything to please their European and Chinese masters. They are perfectly mentally enslaved and psychologically effete to lead us out of our morass. The youths must begin to have a rethink. We should use the power of the information age to reach-out to our brothers and sisters in America and in the diaspora, connect with them and stand up for them when necessary for us to be able to rebuild our Africa. The African-Americans and Africans in diaspora cannot afford to give up on us. Together, we can create a better African world. We should always remember our motherland always. 

Culture Inspires and Secures the mind of the Child for the Future

There is beauty and power in being who you are. There is respect in indigenous creativity and innovation. 

It is only when we teach our children about their cultures and the greatness of their ancestral past which they must draw inspiration from to rebuild their heritage before we can secure the future. The effect of the hatred of our cultural patterns and ideologies is what we are experiencing today. We have lost everything that defines us willfully ignorantly. The most disturbing is that, despite our knack for foreign beliefs and ideologies, we are still backward. If we believe our cultural values were barbaric, hence our passion for foreign cultures, why then are we still backward and stagnant?

We said our traditions were 'evil' and replaced them with 'pure' ones from Arabia and Europe, how come we are more brutal and destructive now with the 'pure' foreign beliefs and cultures? How come the world now study us to understand poverty and pestilence but continues to study our ancestors to understand greatness and mysterious organisation of ideas like the Nubian and Kemetic pyramids, the Great Benin Kingdom and its Queen Idia mask, the Amazon of Dahomey, Great wall of Nwanemutapa Kingdom, Ife bronze, Dogon of Mali and others? Those ancestral 'evil' days were surely better than the modern 'pure' era.

We were not backward in our ancestral days. That is a fact. We were only peacefully gullible. Our ancestors accepted foreigners with open minds and arms, partly due to their limited exposure and partly due to nature's over-convenience, so much so that their hospitality was used and turned against them. They dealt with a better prepared and well armed Arabian and European contemporaries. That a thief stole from you or a rapist was able to rape your daughter at gunpoint proves that the thief or rapist was better prepared and well armed for the heinous crime while you were innocently ignorant. That was the fate of our ancestors. 

After the robbery and rape, rather than sit, put our brains to task and map out plans to get out of our quagmire and secure our lands despite our modern education, we accepted and over-subscribed to the robber and rapist's definition of us. We accepted the robber and rapist's beliefs and ideologies wholeheartedly. While the robber went back to his land, modified his belief, never allowed dogmatism to reign in his mind, embraced science and technology, we continue to passionately defend his belief in our land and refuse to think out of the box. We continue to breed children in that line of mental incarceration so much so that we prefer to run and escape to the land of those who robbed and raped us, even if the sea will consume us, than build our own land.

African migrants trying to cross into Italy. They are youthful, vibrant and energetic but they prefer to risk their lives on the sea than use their youthful energy to make revolutionary changes in their countries. That is a sign of a conquered people.

By our mode of thinking and actions, we have accepted that we are a conquered people and we are helpless and maybe, hopeless to do anything. When solutions stare us in the face, we turn our eyes away. As long as it is not foreigners who are proffering the solution, we will block our ears. Whatever foreigners in Europe or Asia say is all we love to hear. What does it cost to think, map out sustainable plans and be resolute to build our land so that our descendants will not suffer like us again? Currently, we are already creating a future in which the innocent children of today will have to live in slavery tomorrow. What does it cost to embrace our heritage and creatively innovate our way out?

Conquering the African Minds: The Arrows of the Arabs and the Europeans

'When the White men came to Africa, they had the Bible and we had the land. Then, they told us to close our eyes for prayer, when we opened our eyes, they had the land and we had the Bible.' ~Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa.
This quote has also been ascribed to the first President of Kenya, Jomo Kenyatta. 

Going back to history is of no use here, it will simply be too trite and and banal because the world is not blind to the twin facts of slavery and colonialism. Africans continue to live in what can be termed the slavery-colonial world of self-destruction. The continent has taken on this banner copiously with ignorance and 'natural gullibility'. Whilst the Arabs upon making contacts with Africa realised the blessings nature has bequeathed to Africa and made all necessary attempts to tap from them, Africans were indoctrinated into a belief that would come to hunt, haunt and hurt them later.

Arabs bought goods and in a bid to maintain an upper hand, they enforced what would later be used to continuously control the minds of Africans. While the Dogon people of Mali had mastered the art of astronomy a very long time, they were mentally relaxed with the blessings of nature and it was not projected beyond their frontiers. This was true of most African ingenious knowledge and accomplishments. This was due to the relatively peaceful and tranquil environmental conditions where nutritional needs were rightly met on a daily basis. Though that was somehow the nature of the world ab initio, that of Africa was exceptional because of the extreme fertility its land had and still has.

From the stone age to the present era, food has always been the most important in the lives of man but man shall not live by bread alone, hence man needs to think of how to develop and advance. The African writing system was localised; serving only Africans but with the contact of the Arabs and the apparent 'brutal' conversion to Islam, Africans began to lose some of its indigenous contents. The Arabs were trading as well as forcing religion down the throats of Africans. They also took slaves down to the Mediterranean, castrated the men and they died with almost no traces as documented by the Tarikhs. While they were growing with the trade, Africans were studying the religion of Islam.

Then came the Europeans who dared nature and moved beyond their frontiers. They defiled all hurdles and mounted great audacity to conquer challenges and whatever barriers nature imposed on them. They learnt and stole. They ventured into Africa and other parts of the globe beginning from Amerigo Vespucci down to Columbus and the Conquistadors. What followed was the enslavement of Africans. While Africans were being enslaved which had the blessing of the Pope and other notable adherents of Christianity, Europeans also forced religion down their throats.

Africans were made to accept a new master. The apparent peace they witnessed using Africans as slaves and stealing from the ingenuity and discoveries of the slaves gave birth to the industrial revolution. One who has less worry of what to eat and work not will be equipped with the utmost mental capacity to think and project; hence they were growing while Africa was plundered. Now, they have given us alternatives to development which are the religions. The religions ensure we die today; killing one another in religious competition. The religions ensure we blame some supernatural forces like the days of our forebears who offered sacrifices to gods but they were better than us because they never depended on foreigners for solutions and they created civilisations that the world continues to bow for.

Africa was not made to evolve; its development and advancement was brutally, inhumanly and inhumanely truncated. Its worldview was replaced by another superstructure hinged on respecting the masters who gave Africans religions and took away vital and viable elements of growth and advancement. African parents teach children to read the Bible and the Quran in order to conquer heaven while it does not matter to them how miserable their existence is on planet earth. On the other hand the 'masters' teach their children to study the sciences, conquer self first, then their environment and the Universe far into space. In the end one remains a slave forever and the other the master eternally. Ironically, the same African parents are ready to spend huge sums to train their children in the masters' lands.

Even when the 'slave' is a bit polished to make him or her look near a master, being a master can never really be possible because the brain has been underdeveloped from childhood. There is lack of concept for and of the environment but that of heaven. The wealth is to be stored in heaven while begging is the only means to survive on planet earth. Today, some religious fundamentalists can wake to bomb people in Somalia, Central African Republic, Mali, Nigeria, Kenya and host of other places using the umbrella of a concept that was sold to Africa around the 9th century by the Arabs while the other, while trying to curb the activities of the so-called terrorists, would rush to the 'masters', the Europeans who imposed the second religious concept beginning from the 15th century.

Teresa Brennan captured this well in her treatise Globalization and its Terrors; Daily Life in the West. She said the brains of the South (Africans majorly) have been decimated and desecrated because they are malnourished; not eating properly and combated my extreme poverty while the bodies of the North are useless; obesity and weakness because of much affluence and extreme good life conditions. The good life of the North depends on the hunger and poverty of the South.

Thus, the brains of the North will always enslave the bodies of the South. Not that the people of the South have no brains but they are functioning below capacity. Not that the people of the North have no bodies too but they are rendered really useless because goodies of life. This brings to mind the rush to be in foreign lands by Africans which equals modern slavery. Brain drain. Africans believe in trying to walk through the valley of the shadow of death without fear of evil while their mates in other climes are walking in Space; moon and Mars. Today, Africans export clergies while they import technology.

It is not a crime for us to learn from the world but we must understand that no one can build our homes for us. Doing everything to be like others; Arabs and Europeans while losing our cultures and values is to our detriment. It is the reason why we are confused in the world today. We are the only ones that foreigners dictate how to live for.  We are the only ones in the world who want to be like others even when we are racially discriminated against. We are the only ones who steal our wealth and give it to those who will still insult us as being thieves and backward. If we refuse to correct our enslaved mindset and colonial mentality, then we have no right to complain or lament. We should accept our fate as a conquered people.

'Free Sex' and Religion: An Analysis of Africa's Underdevelopment

Sex is a fact of life like death. The mind naturally craves for Food, Water, Sex and Sleep. This is the natural order of things. After eating, one must drink water and after sex, you will sleep. It is an established order. To be horny is not a crime and sometimes to masturbate has been described as a good therapy but all must be done for the right purposes.

Africans are always horny and at best, some masturbate. The most alarmingly disturbing is that all are done, for all intent and purposes, for the wrong reasons. Africans are only horny for religions. They masturbate profusely because of religions. When you see an average African looking pale and sex-starved, it is all because of religion. An average African wants to have religious sex almost every minute.

While reasonable people in the advanced world are horny too, they are horny for developmental reasons. Japanese, Chinese, Americans, Koreans, Indians among others are horny today for science and technology. They masturbate vehemently so as to be satisfied by going into space and even conquering earth. Apart from achieving a lot, most of them also make sure Africans are sexually satisfied through them so that they will be mentally incapable of thinking and finding solutions to their problems that is why Chinese goods flood the African markets. Consumerism always. No production!

Africans do not think of having sex with development and advancement. NO!!! Africans think of raping (embezzling) foreign aid and grants. Africans love free sex that continuously give them incurable diseases (underdevelopment and destruction). Today, some Africans are trying to undo a lot of things but they lack the necessary political proficiency and economic capabilities to turn things around, hence Facebook and Twitter are homes to their outbursts.

Those who lead the continent have permanently subscribe to the pornography produced only in California and abroad. No ingenuity. No introspection. No intuitive innovation. Foreign dictations always remain the best to them; hence they refused to look at the beautiful beauties ubiquitous within. The mental enslavement has made the dazzling African princesses to bleach just to fit the California (Western) standard because their African Kings (leaders) love FREE FOREIGN SEX which is really KILLING.

Reduce the level of being horny for religions in Africa and half of the problems are solved. This is so because they will no longer sit at home and blame invisible beings for their woes, rather they will begin to put their brains to task, THINK, invest in knowledge and not entertainment that teaches nothing, study the environment and conquer it for the general good and the future of the descendants.

Their leaders will no longer be horny and beg California Porn stars (aid, grants and massive financial borrowing and dependence) for satisfaction, rather they will act like real men, work dexterously and adroitly to win the winsome African damsels to be the real women of their lives for the best satisfaction. The satisfaction that generations yet unborn will live to benefit from.

Ironically, Africa oils this free sex industry. It is not at all FREE because it is the sweat of Africans that makes it stand. The constituents (raw materials and natural resources) are taken away from Africa and repackaged (finished goods and technology) BUT Africans believe it is FREE. Today, as always, FREE SEX is killing Africans. China is taking over now. Then, one should ask: 'Will Africa ever stop begging in the midst of over-abundance'?

As long as we have refused to embrace who we are, look within ingeniously and begin to creatively find our way out instead of plundering our wealth and resources while being dependent on foreign crumbs, then we will remain backward and the world will NEVER take us seriously. 

The Educated Ones Hold Nigeria to Ransom

The people the politicians use to carry out their nefarious political activities, beginning from electoral mobilisation to fraudulent acts, are mostly the uneducated and societally segregated ones. They are mentally helpless and economically hopeless. They don't dream of a country that will compete with China or others in the world. They just want to live, eat and die one day. They are religiously caged too. No religiously neutral person can win in their enclave. After the political victory, the politicians would turn to the educated hyenas on the prowl to permanently stamp the governance infamy. 

In the course of this hocus-pocus and shenanigans, the glimmer of hope ought to reside in the intellectual capabilities of the genuinely educated and enlightened minority. The crucial rescue mission usually rests on their shoulders. They are the ones who can galvanise the uneducated ones towards a mission of liberation. However, the Nigerian situation is almost seemingly completely irremediable and irredeemable because the educated ones are either in cahoots with the oppressors, support one form of oppression against another or wait patiently for their time to be the oppressors. 

Those with conscience are either running out of the country or simply doing their best to survive within the contraption because they have been mentally weakened with no enthusiastic vigour left in them. The last group simply stick to social media to keep talking and talking with no visible solutions or progress. Everybody has been beaten to the game. The country has been organised into a massive garrison where people simply wait for orders and dramatic activities from their so-called leaders. The failure of Nigeria in the 21st century is the EDUCATED ONES. They are the ones who understand how the world works, the development in other places and on the global scene but they are either in support of the oppressive system, waiting for their turn to oppress or they are just weakened to do anything tangible. 

Let us prepare as our lifeless brain creates the foundation for the re-colonisation; beginning from Macron's cultural diplomacy at the African Shrine to Theresa May's economic penetration and the combination of both cultural diplomacy and economic servitude by Angela Merkel. Don't forget after Merkel, we went to China to sign off the remaining piece. Slavery is surely interesting!

Culture and Science: A Wake-up Call for Africans

Each time I am in a position to explain the idea of culture to the children and young ones with impressionable minds, I usually think of the most simplest method that can be easily understood by them. It is in the quest of thinking of such a method that the idea of blood and physical appearance struck me. I am a strong believer in culture and I take special interest in science and technology. These are three formidable pillars of societal development and advancement. Culture builds the mind, science advances the mind. Culture is the foundation of a house, technology aids the design and aesthetics.

Culture is our physical appearance while science and technology represent the blood cells. In other words, science and technology are universal like the blood cells in humans while culture represents our physical appearances and differences. Every human being on earth possesses the blood cells; no one has a pink or yellow blood, it is the same RED BLOOD. However, we all have different physiognomy. This is instructive in itself. Science and technology, beginning from the existence of the first humans till the modern era, can be tapped and developed by any serious-minded society. They have been advanced by different people of different ages; from the first great Nubia-Kemetic civilisation in Africa to the Greco-Roman and Persian civilisations, down to Asian civilisations. Science and technology like the blood cells, belong to all humans but culture like the human physical appearance is unique.

Physically, it is not usually difficult to know a Chinese, an Arab or an African. What does this tell us? It shows that they possess certain things that are naturally special to them. This is what culture stands for. The Europeans and Asians understand this fact and they have continued to maintain their civilisations but how about the Africans? The Africans are the only set of people on earth today who exist in a state of confusion. They fight desperately to destroy their physical appearance literally and culturally. Some bleach their skins to beat the snow of Europe to the game while some simply tell you their cultures are 'archaic'. Then you ask, what happens to innovation? Everything in life has its phases. Innovation is the only concept that makes all things to be relevant.

Africans, rather than be ingeniously culturally Innovative, would prefer to be culturally enslaved by others. That is why they try to be more Royal than the Queen, holier than the Pope, more Jewish than the Rabbi and more Islamic than the Grand Mufti of Arabia. Can you ever hate your skin and love yourself? The result of hating your skin is bleaching. If you love the skin, you will do everything possible to improve it and that will build your beauty and uniqueness. It is the same with your culture. If you love your culture, you will separate the stones from the grains. You will be creative and innovative in building it than condemning it. 

Can you ever compare a bleached skin to the natural pink skin of any European? Meanwhile, the African blood is also contaminated. The average African does not understand or has refused to understand the power of science and technology in the globalised world. He remains attuned to miracles than surgical procedures. Whilst others build their health system to be medically fit by being scientifically and technologically creative, the African is religiously innovative; building the largest religious edifices and procuring private jets for heavenly spiritual evangelism.

If Africans are really serious about the daily lamentation of being underdeveloped, then we must begin to bring our minds back home. Europeans or Arabs will not build our homelands for us. They are also fighting for their survival and progress and they do not care who is enslaved or trampled upon for them to keep rising. Culture is a formidable foundation. It tells us who we are and how we must remain relevant. In its history, we learn where we began from and understand how we will be able to formulate implementable policies that will get us out of our quagmire. 

Culture is not static, it must grow in line with human creativity without losing its essence. This is the reason why cultural innovation is vital. Rather than lampoon what we have, we should put our brains to task and improve it. Pointedly, science and technology must not be joked with. If we do not dust ourselves off and begin to invest massively in the scientific and technological revolutions sweeping the world, we will remain a conquered people.

True Love For the Women of Africa; I am Her Emotion Always

I'm the voice that speaks to her when she lays;

I'm the spirit of her inner self,

I watch over her as she journeys to the land of fantasy.

I'm the rain that beats other suitors.

I'm the rising sun she wakes to see each day;                                5

I'm the beat of her heart,

The tune she dances to each day.

I'm the scary lion all hyenas become jittery for,

For she is my lioness, I build the jungle around her.

I'm the King she kneels for,                                                         10

The royal head that admires her hair and retina with panache.

She's the Queen that decorates my crown,

Without her, my crown is mundane.

I'm the one whom she freely gives her passion,

When I kneel at her feet in search of the journey of the soul.         15

She's the neck; one whom my beads fit always.

Who's the man who prides himself as a man without you?

You're life in deed and in truth.

I'm the fiery furnace that burns out all insults targeted at you.

I must be the sacrifice in needed instances for your womb is life.   20

She's the shining light with the smile of the rainbow.

In the dunes, her perfect aura aerates;

With the radiance so aromatic like the angelic fragrance.

She dances in trance with maximum pleasure,

Like the seraph of peace that she is.

Have you ever heard her sonorous voice?                                    25

So euphonious and mellifluous.

The nightingale competes but loses each time.

Take me away, far away in your wings,

That I may celebrate with you alone.

I shall sleep in your bossom, forgetting worries and sorrows.         30

Your marvellous royal skin;

Dazzling like the freshest diamond,

Discovered from cave havillah,

Sooths and suits my soulful cravings.

My heart searches and roves,                                                      35

For I'm your emotion with pride.

Somalia: AU Reinforces to go for Al Shabaab; the Continuous Headache of Africa

Somalia could rightly be termed as the United States Vietnam in Africa and can also be compared to Soviet's Afghanistan because the US left amid humiliation after Aideed and his men disgraced American soldiers. An African quote from Nigeria says: 'The rain did not say it will not bring down a house, it is the owner that will strive to prevent such an occurrence.' Another says: 'The owner of the house cannot be around and weed will design his house'.

After the Kenyan Westgate attack, al Shabaab came under the scrutiny of Africa and the leaders have cogently beam continuous searchlight of solutions on Somalia. Al Shabaab now appears to threaten the African continent at large because the hand of terrorism is unseen. If it had threatened the horn centrally; most especially Kenya and Ethiopia long before now, it could go beyond that as it now seems to have real existential disaffection for the AU troops.

The African Union backed a call to boost by about a third the number of troops in an African peacekeeping force in Somalia to reinforce a campaign against the Islamist militants there who attacked the Nairobi shopping mall last month. The union's Peace and Security Council said 6,235 soldiers and police should be added to the AMISOM peacekeeping force to take its total strength to 23,966 uniformed personnel for a limited period of 18 to 24 months.

The decision needs the approval of the UN Security Council. AMISOM is made up of troops mainly from Kenya, Uganda and Burundi. Ethiopia has also sent in soldiers, but they are not under AMISOM command. Sierra Leone is having around 800 soldiers too among the AU forces. The AU council emphasizes on the need for renewed efforts to degrade the capabilities of al Shabaab, in view of the continued threat it poses both within Somalia and in the region.

The United States recently launched an attack to capture the supposed leader of al Shabaab that led the Kenyan Westgate attack but failed. Al Shabaab quickly responded by deploying around 200 fighters to the town of Barawe where the manhunt took place. Another of such was carried out in Libya and was successful.

The only sorrowful part is that African leaders continuously refused to learn by calling on the West for help. Those who turned Libya into what it is today and failed in Somalia, rather caused more division cannot do anything concrete to favour Africa. If they can end insurgencies, with the massive firepower employed in Somalia by the Clinton-led administration in the 90s, al Shabaab should not be breathing today.

It was the combined efforts of Kenya and Ethiopia that brought mild sanity back to Somalia; hence, Ethiopian Prime Minister, Hailemariam Desalegn made an aberration calling on foreign powers to interfere in Somalia again. One wonders when Africans will take their destinies in their hands and stop the moronic act of begging all over the globe.

Road to Ethiopia: International Criminal Court versus Countries in Africa

It is high time Africa and Africans started taking their destinies in their hands. Since the creation of the International Criminal Court, its level of jumping into African affairs have skyrocketed, almost like the speed of light whenever any event is going on in Africa. If the invasion of Afghanistan is for self-defence, how about the 2003 invasion of Iraq? As at then, the Rome statute has been in place. If Britain and the US are not signatories; hence Tony Blair and George Bush can walk freely, Sudan too is not a signatory. So, why the noise on Omar al Bashar?

Going by the confession of Charles Taylor and and the declassified CIA document of him being a CIA agent, one then will be forced to question the kind of brains Africans tend to possess in the age of massive innovative advancements. Even if CIA had used Taylor and now apparently want to discard the monster after helping him out of jail and allowed him commit crimes that can only be equated with those of the colonial eras against his own people, is Taylor a robot without natural reasoning abilities? Why are African leaders so inhumanly destructive because of being stooges to some external elements as well as personal ego and financial aggrandizement?

Those sending weapons down to Africa; both to governments, terrorists, militants and rebels are also those in control of peacekeepers and other 'justice' systems. They determine who is bad or good for Africa and Africans using their stooges and proteges in Africa. Although impunity is really centrally the problem in Africa; the rapaciously destructive capacities of the leaders need to be checked but must be by the people themselves if genuine development is to be achieved not by the external powers who killed those who wanted to fix Africa and put it on track like Steve Bantu Biko, Patrice Lumumba among others.

African leaders are to debate the continent's romance game with the International Criminal Court at a special summit on 11 October amid growing opposition to the tribunal. The African Union consisting of 54 African nations has accused The Hague-based ICC of singling out Africans for prosecution and has previously called for the court to drop crimes against humanity trials of Kenya's leadership. President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto are facing charges on crimes against humanity.

Kenyatta and Ruto, as well as former radio boss Joshua Arap Sang, face crimes against humanity charges for their alleged roles in orchestrating ethnic violence after disputed 2007 elections. The violence left at least 1,100 dead and more than 600 000 homeless. Despite appeals for them to be tried in Kenya, the ICC refused. Last month, Kenyan lawmakers voted on a motion to withdraw recognition of the court's jurisdiction. The ICC has also made it resoundingly clear that any move by the AU to leave will have no effect on the current trials.

If the AU decides to leave, pulling out will be a lengthy process that must be done by nations on an individual basis and this will likely jettison the move because some countries like Nigeria are comfortable. Nigeria has always been an headache to any African solidarity ab initio. It was used to spearhead the Monrovia cravings that killed any radical move to end imperialism in the 60s. This delayed the must needed and desired unity in Africa; hence, the OAU was formed rather than an AU backed by an African High Command which could have prevented most of the destructive wars Africa experienced after the colonialists left, leaving their brainwashed Africans with occidental minds to continue the tales of woes, bloodshed and throes.

The AU member states collectively accused the ICC in May of going after as well as hunting Africans. The trial of Ruto and Sang is already under way, and Kenyatta's trial is set to begin in November. The three pledged their co-operation with the court and maintain their innocence. The ICC maintains that it is not targeting Africa as a continent, pointing out that many of the cases under investigation in Africa were referred to the court by the countries themselves.

The court was founded primarily to try genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. The African diplomats are expected to discuss a possible united pullout from the ICC. African countries account for 34 of the 122 parties to have ratified the Rome Statute, the court's founding treaty, which took effect on July 1, 2002. Mwencha, a Kenyan said the cases of Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto were not specifically earmarked for discussion, saying only that the "agenda is very broad".

African countries with the pan-African bloc act appallingly when it comes to being parties and signatories to treaties in the world. They hardly put forward the national interests of their countries, that is if many of the leaders understand what national interest is and its valued functions in world affairs anyway. The Nyerere formula ought to be followed strictly in which African nations will separate the grain from the chaff in treaties especially multilateral ones; pick the ones that are best and opt out or discard the imperialist and colonial-inclined ones. African leaders are the real albatross of the continent by failing to set and observe people-oriented priorities as well as implement policies towards the advancement of the continent.

World Bank, Nigeria and the Partnership on Road Constructions

No nation is an island and no country can stand on its own without dependence but not a precarious dependence. Dependency must be based on shared trusts and benefits. The Nigerian government just like most African countries has continued to seek external supports in almost every aspect of its national activities. Borrowing and has become a norm even when the regime will not live to pay the massive debt.

The Federal Government of Nigeria called for more financial support from the World Bank to enable it develop more economically viable roads. The Minister of Works, Mike Onolememen pleaded for the assistance when speaking at a meeting with a delegation from the World Bank's Federal Road Development Programme.

Onolememen acknowledged the efforts of the bank in assisting the Federal Government to transform the country’s road sector. He solicited for more funding to enable government open more arterial roads. The minister told the visiting team that work would begin on the Akure-Ilesha road project before the end of October, adding that the government signed the contract a few weeks ago.

He gave an update on some of the road projects being financed by the World Bank in collaboration with the Federal Government. The World Bank Federal Road Development Project Team was led by Mohammed Essakali. The team paid a visit to the minister to give an update on a number of road projects being funded by the Federal Government and the World Bank, and supervised by the ministry.

Onolememen said that the road would be given the needed attention in view of its importance to the economy of the South-West states and the country as a whole. According to the minister, the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan has in the last three years invested heavily in road construction. Earlier, Essakali noted the improvement in the country’s road network, and urged the government to keep up the pace.

Earlier Nigerian President begged President Obama to help him develop Nigeria nay Africa. The country is almost tilting towards accepting the US covert control in counter-terrorism measures. Nigerians know their country is capable of standing without begging but the leaders prefer the begging style because it gives them more avenue to perform obnoxious magic with state finance.

The World Bank is not a charity organisation. It has a way of getting back whatever fund it releases. The hidden deal is always kept secret which obfuscates the reality of such financial support. Nigeria is rich enough not to beg for any external assistance on the large scale it does but the forces to keep it at the lowest rung of the ladder internally are mammoth and strong.

Nigerian Army and Terrorists' Deaths: 30 killed again but where is the Peace?

Support for the Nigerian Armed Forces is a crucial one especially in the war against the notorious and inhuman terrorists in the nomenclature of Boko Haram. After the state of emergency was declared, many logical Nigerians expected the army to perform reasonably well and within months the armed forces did not disappoint Nigerians. The armed forces were able to drastically reduce the acts and activities of the dreaded sect.

This became a real plus to the Nigerian Armed Forces coupled with the high level of professionalism in which the war was conducted though skeptics rained lots of issues based on human rights violations. However, the armed forces deserve their praises. What is now worrisome is the daily records of killings and deaths revealed by the army. The army which took over from the Joint Task Force is always quick to state it has killed numbers of Boko Haram members almost on a day to day basis.

This is really disturbing considering the kind of cloudy operation that occurred in Apo in Abuja in which some people believed and suspected to be Boko Haram members were killed amid doubt among the citizens. Despite these numerous records of deaths, Boko Haram continues to carry out its heinous acts. Though, it is understandable that a guerrilla warfare like that of the Boko Haram war is not an easy one but then, the army should be able to start thinking of better ways at arresting the situation as written in this article long ago.

The Nigerian Army reportedly killed more than 30 suspected terrorists during raids on Boko Haram camps and hideouts in Borno state. The military said the clampdown was aimed at frustrating planned attacks on Bama town by the members of the sect. According to press statement, they were killed in both air and ground attacks.

During the attack, five Hilux vehicles mounted with anti-aircraft guns conveying terrorists and one 18-seaters bus conveying the terrorists stores were destroyed. In a related development, troops of 7 Division pursued and engaged Boko Haram terrorists who fled Damboa town following encounter with security forces, resulting in the killing of 30 of the terrorists.

Army Public Relations Officer of 7 Division, Captain Aliyu Ibrahim Danja informed the public that the division was currently conducting aggressive operations on terrorists' locations along the Maiduguri-Damaturu road. The highway is a bedrock of terror activities. He said: "This is in order to ensure safety of citizens not only within towns and villages but also those plying roads within the division's area of responsibility."

Announcing deaths everyday, even if it is to dampen the psychology of members of the sect, will be doing more harm than good. The army risks estranging itself from the people who should naturally be their confidants. To win this war perfectly, high level of intelligence is needed. The hearts of the people are needed. With numerous deaths being announced daily, the army will look more like killing agents than soldiers fighting its own citizens.

This is not an external war, the people can never be comfortable hearing of deaths everyday especially when the sect continues to appear indirectly defiantly strong. Recently, students were butchered in Yobe despite the state of emergency. All these successful invasions of Boko Haram risk casting a serious shadow on the triumphant records of the army. The army needs to begin the process of winning the hearts of the people for a long term victory not rushing to announce deaths which could get the people scared as the soldiers' activities cannot be verified factually.

Thinking the Recolonisation of Africa: US, UK Counter-terrorism Forces Storm Nigeria

A Nigerian news portal, 'Abusidiqu' once reported a wikileaks revelation on how an Algerian-based CIA-sponsored agency gave $40 million to members of the Boko Haram sect promising them more if they continue in their acts. This claim cannot be dismissed considering the act of the CIA in Syria too. The French military also was also financing the rebels in Mali before they grew out of hand. French forces also airlifted and dropped sophisticated weapons for rebels in Libya, especially in Misrata, during the no-fly-zone turned regime-change war. These weapons were unaccounted for but today as always and usual, terrorists roving West Africa are said to get their weapons from Gaddafi and as an aftermath of his fall. Boko Haram also began kidnapping after France paid it N500 million to free some French nationals held hostage.

Africa still continues to be their chessboard, a continent they can always penetrate when the need arises. United States has expanded its African-based forces in the name of AFRICOM. The rate at which terrorists are roaming the continent is giving the foreigners the desired outcome. Terrorism and foreign dominance in Africa seem to be working hand in hand. Kenya rushed to beckon on Israeli storm-troopers as well as American and British 'experts'. Terrorism is weakening and showing the weakness of Africa which the leaders have allowed and bolstering and strengthening those who led the continent to the state of torpidity and massive quagmire.

In what looks or appears more like a continuously established situation, the Nigerian Navy Chief of Training and Operations, Rear Admiral Babalola Ogunjimi disclosed that foreign Special Forces have arrived Nigeria for counter-terrorism operations which specifically will be for operations against the deadly and dreaded Boko Haram sect. This is coming after the United States raided Libya and Somalia to prove its reach, capacity and capability. the Nigerian Navy Chief stated that the Nigerian military, in conjunction with Special Forces from the United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (US), Spain and Netherlands have begun a joint training to combat terrorism in the country.

He said 150 of them were drawn from units of the Nigerian Armed Forces-Army, Navy and Air Force- while 739 are from the foreign Special Forces. Ogunjimi said the training called "African Winds", began on October 3, and was expected to last for 14 days and would be followed by four days' exercise. He said the exercise would be conducted by Mobile Training Teams (MTTs) of the Special Forces in Lagos and Calabar, respectively.

"It is expected that the "African Winds" training and exercise will further improve the capacity of the Nigerian Armed Forces to deal with numerous security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea", adding that some of the challenges include crude oil theft and attacks on merchant ships. Ogunjimi said the programme was in furtherance of the Chief of Defence Staff's drive to promote effective joint services operations among Nigerian Armed Forces and friendly military from other countries.

According to him, the exercise in Lagos will take place between October 15 and 18 at Ibeshe Beach and the Navy Ordinance Depot (NOD) Waterfront. The exercise that will be conducted in Lagos include Amphibious Raid, Maritime Counter Terrorism, Vessel Boarding Stop and Search in an opposed environment and Hydrographic survey," he said. He  further said the Calabar exercise would hold between October 21 and 24 at the Tinapa and Muddy Beach in the state and Oron Beach in Akwa Ibom State.

Ogunjimi further revealed that the exercises to be conducted in Calabar include Riverine and Jungle operations which would be carried out by a combined force from US., UK and the Netherlands marines. He said an amphibious raid exercise planned and executed by troops from the Army, Navy Special Boat Service and the NNS Jubilee, would be conducted at Oron Beach to end the exercise. "African Winds" is the nickname for a maritime capacity building training programmes for the Armed Forces of Nigeria in conjunction with the Netherland Maritime Forces under the US sponsored African Partnership Station. Other countries covered by the programme are Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Benin and Cameroon.

Under the programme, the Netherlands Maritime Forces is providing an amphibious logistic support ship, the HMNLS Rotherdam, to support the training and exercise," he said. He said the ship contained 688 troops, four helicopters and six special boats called Landing Craft Utility (LCU) and Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP). He said  other facilities in the ship included Fast Raid Interception Special Forces Craft used in inserting small number of specially trained troops from sea to land, particularly in the creeks. Rather than build their military bodies and forces to a sophisticated level to be able to combat modern demands and challenges, African leaders prefer to be notoriously corrupt; dwindling their nations' wealth while genuflecting for aid from those who destroyed and continue to destroy the continent.

"African Winds" is really a perfect title considering how systemic and systematic the wind of recolonisation is blowing. It is blowing so fast and speedy that African leaders pretentiously act as if they are unaware of the rising trend. Spain is a country notable for its American colonies built by African slaves. The Netherlands too is another notorious country of slave raiders and traders. The United Kingdom did hers too and its even the most versed in the act which she transferred to the 'Almighty' United States of America today. Africa seems to have accepted its destiny to 'forever' be backward and relegated to the background always while feeding the highest percentage of those it kowtows for.

One begins to wonder when ignorant African leaders will begin to see the relationship between Western push into the continent and their financing of terrorism thereof. The situation is extremely appalling. Many Africans rush to accept the incursion on the ground that terrorists are perpetuating heinous crimes yet most of the weapons used are Western-manufactured. A pertinent question was once asked: 'Why has terrorists not attacked Israel on the scale they do elsewhere?' Al Qaeda was created during Soviet incursion into Afghanistan. Today, the US finances Saudi Arabia which automatically finances the radical Sunnis and Salafists. When they attack any country, America and the foreign powers will be the best for such a country.

US raids Libya and Somalia in Search of Terrorists; Captures One, Fails in the Other

Abu Anas al-Liby has been seized by US forces in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the Pentagon has revealed. His real name is Nazih al-Ragye while the above is his pseudonym. John Kerry speaking in Indonesia, ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit said: "We hope this makes clear that the United States of America will never stop in its effort to hold those accountable who conduct acts of terror. Those members of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations literally can run but they can't hide. We will continue to try to bring people to justice."

Liby, a Libyan believed to be 49, has been under US indictment for his alleged role in the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, which killed 224 people. The US government has also been offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture, under the State Department's Rewards for Justice programme.

On his own part, Pentagon spokesman George Little said: "As the result of a US counter-terrorism operation, Abu Anas al-Liby is currently lawfully detained by the US military in a secure location outside of Libya." Liby was apparently 'kidnapped'. Local witnesses said he was returning from morning prayers before he was rounded up and whisked away. He returned to Libya after the demise of Gaddafi. This definitely is another confirmation of the havoc NATO and Western-led regime change invasions are doing which could have occurred in Syria but for Putin's sagacity.

Another of such raid to capture al Shabaab's commander ended in failure. The raid on Liby was done without the US informing the Libyan authority. If Somalia is devoid of any real authority, has Libya turned into that too? Anyway, the Libyan government has become a full stooge since it sees NATO and its attendant sponsors as liberators. The Prime Minister of the Libyan Government has demanded that his 'bosses' in White House and the Pentagon give an explanation on the raid.

Al Shabaab's Fortress in Somalia Attacked by 'Western' Forces

The Westgate Mall attack in Kenya opened the eyes of Africa and Africans to the full reality that there is really an unfinished business in Somalia which serves as the training bastion for fundamentalists and terrorists. Somalia since 1991 has been a real headache for its neighbours in the horn of Africa; notably Kenya and Ethiopia. It served as the port haven for militants now roving some countries on the continent. Speculations even went around that the UN bombing that happened in Nigeria was carried out by a suicide bomber trained in Somalia before Boko Haram itself became sophisticated.

The US intervention in Somalia in the early 90s in an operation code-named 'Black Hawk Down' could not defeat or effectively decimate the ranks and files of the militants. The operation ended in a shocking 'defeat' for the United States as it was forced to withdraw its troops due to the notorious ways in which Farah Aideed and his men humiliated American soldiers. Westgate has however drawn worldwide interest on a larger scale probably in what al Shabaab is capable of doing and the havoc it can orchestrate.

Reuters quoting members of the al Shabaab militants reports that "Western" forces attacked a house in one of its coastal bases in the town of Barawe under the cover of dark, killing one rebel fighter. Foreign forces landed on the beach at Barawe, about 180 km (110 miles) south of Mogadishu, and launched an assault that drew gunfire from rebel fighters, Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, spokesman for al Shabaab's military operations.

It was not immediately clear why the Barawe base had been targeted specifically, nor whether the assault was related to the attack on a Kenyan mall two weeks ago, which the al Qaeda-linked group said it carried out and which killed at least 67. Western navies patrol the sea off Somalia - mired in conflict for more than two decades - and have in the past launched strikes on land from warships.

No foreign military units typically involved in such operations in Somalia have said they were involved in the strike. One Western official in the region declined to comment. Kenyan forces stationed in the southern parts of Somalia were unavailable for comment. "Westerners in boats attacked our base at Barawe beach and one was martyred from our side," Musab said. "No planes or helicopters took part in the fight. The attackers left weapons, medicine and stains of blood, we chased them," he said.

Many residents said they were woken by the noise of heavy gunfire late on Friday night. "We were awoken by heavy gunfire last night, we thought an al Shabaab base at the beach was captured," Sumira Nur, a mother of four told Reuters from Barawe on Saturday. "We also heard sounds of shells but we do not know where they landed. We don't have any other information," she said.

Although the United States does not report its activities in Somalia, it has used drones in recent years to kill Somali and foreign al Shabaab fighters. In January, the French military used helicopters to attack an al Shabaab base in a southern Somalia village to rescue a French hostage. Two French commandos were killed and the insurgents later claimed they had killed the agent. Western nations are worried that Somalia will sink back into chaos and provide a launchpad for Islamist militancy despite a fragile recovery after two decades of war.

Al Shabaab were driven out of Mogadishu in late 2011 and are struggling to hold on to territory elsewhere in the face of attacks by Kenyan, Ethiopian and African Union forces trying to prevent Islamist militancy spreading out from Somalia. Al Shabaab wants to impose its strict version of sharia, or Islamic law, across the Horn of Africa state. Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Pentagon was seeking to send drones to Kenya as part of a $40 million (25 million pounds)-plus military aid package to help four African countries fighting al Qaeda and al Shabaab militants.

The Kenyan and Ethiopian troops coupled with the AU forces performed creditably well in decimating the militants. Without them, al Shabaab would have grown exceptionally and extremely stronger than it could have ever been imagined. The coordination of the Westgate attack and the later threats and rantings of the terrorist group show that it is ready to effect more devastating attacks of the shores of Somalia if not properly handled or shown the way of force too.

"An Investment in Education is an Investment in the Future" ~Patience Jonathan

In what apparently would have been a lovely prepared speech but turned out to be an ironic reality, the First Lady of Nigeria, Dame Patience Jonathan said education is the foundation and the most powerful tool for the growth of a nation; this time Nigeria. The First Lady's speech was a stark sarcastic irony of the situation on ground in Nigeria. Education in Nigeria has become an apologetic apology. It is going down the drain with all stakeholders to be blamed.

The nation is currently being gripped by massive strikes; beginning from the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) down to the developing strike of the Academic Staff Union of polytechnics (ASUP) which recently called off an earlier one before ASUU took over. The colleges of education are also threatening to go on strike. The National Union of Teachers has also rendered its voice favouring a strike within some weeks if the lingering ASUU imbroglio is not resolved.

Although the government has the bulk of the blame as embezzlement, mismanagement of funds as well as endemic and unrepentant corrupt practices are the exclusive preserve of officials than investment in the future educationally, the lecturers too lack innovation and real research capabilities. They are mostly at best not in sync with the real functions of what education should be doing in a nation that needs development. They are also just like the government in corrupt practices; notoriously sleeping with female students and collecting bribes from the male ones for marks. Thus, the highest numbers of the graduates are half-baked.

The First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, said there is the need to invest in education so as to safeguard the future of upcoming generations. Mrs Jonathan made the remark at the launching of the N500 million fund raising of the Nigeria Air Force Officers Wives Association (NAFOWA) boarding school in Abuja. According to her, the school is not only important to the future of children, but critical to the future and development of the country.

She revealed that "an investment in education is an investment in the future of our dear country Nigeria. It has been observed that with improved education, so many other areas of human existence are positively affected." The president's wife said education aside being a tool to read and write could bring about the kind of social change that would benefit humanity. "Education goes beyond mere learning how to read and write. It is a tool that can bring about the kind of social change that will benefit all of humanity."

"Making education accessible to all is very essential to bringing about social progress. Through education, girls and boys are equipped with critical skills to help them realise their talents and contribute meaningfully to national development," she said. She urged relevant stakeholders, well-meaning individuals and organisations, to complement government's effort by investing in education to safeguard the future generation.

The educational system in Nigeria is extremely perverted. Corruption among the students too are so nauseously appalling. Students in conjunction with parents and examination officials have become so notorious in malpractices, dancing to the general societal syndrome of shortcuts and fast access to getting things done without merit. The national development Nigeria seeks is dim owing to the unrepentant acts of illegalities among the citizenry beginning from those at the top.

On Samsung and its Refrigerator: Designing Products for Africa or Dumping Products in Africa?

Africa as a continent continues to be diplomatically hailed as a growing hub of investments while logical realities are pointing otherwise. Africa is a continent where economic growth is always at a constant war with economic development. Standard of living and per capital income among Africans are extremely relatively the lowest in the world. The poorest of the poorest nations are also in Africa yet the swindlers claim Africa is growing fast. This will be so anyway for as long as it is yielding profits to them and them alone.

Foreign multinationals have dominated Africa with the strongest of grips. Africa is a potent market where all sort of goods can be imported even the ones with no real standard check or verifiable authenticity unlike what is obtainable in the countries where the substandard goods are coming from as regards their own importation. However, Africans are part of the arrangement to always export fake and substandard goods into their countries especially Nigerians.

Reuters reports that Samsung Electronics is betting on a top-end refrigerator designed not to lose its cool in Africa as a way into the continent's consumer markets, where there is growing demand for prestige products which meet local needs. The refrigerator comes with a sticker saying it is "Built for Africa", meaning that while it is basically the same flagship product on sale elsewhere in the world it has been tailored to suit local conditions.

The South Korean firm's strategy is simple, and increasingly followed by a number of multinational firms looking to sell in an expanding African market - lay off the cut-rate goods, launch major products in Africa at the same time as the rest of the world but give them local appeal to build brand allegiance among consumers who are set to move up the income ladder.

"Africa is not a dumping ground for technology. You always have to keep in mind that you are creating your market for the future," said Thierry Boulanger, a director for Samsung at its African headquarters in Johannesburg. Samsung's "Built For Africa" refrigerators come with an extra layer of insulation guaranteed to keep food in the freezer frozen for a longer period of time without being powered.

Rolling blackouts are not uncommon in major urban African centres as power-strapped utilities try to lighten the load during peak demand. As a result the "dura-cool" refrigerator has boosted Samsung's standing in Africa's refrigerator market to a 23.5 percent share, with the company leading the sector for two straight years, Samsung says.

Also in the "Built for Africa" product line are certain flat-screen TVs and monitors and air conditioners with built-in protectors to avoid damage from the power surges that follow outages, and built-in solar panels for netbook computers.

Consumers in Africa, apart from the few rich individuals, usually do not have the wherewithal to purchase the ostentatious articles with standard labels due to the harsh economic realities. This is the bane of the flooding of the continent with substandard products. It has been said that even the soft drinks like Coca Cola among others produced elsewhere outside the shores of Africa are different from the ones produced in Africa especially those produced in Nigeria.

World Bank to help Congo Develop its Mining Sector

Sylvie Dosso Kouame, an official of the World Bank revealed that the World Bank is set to support the Republic of Congo in the development of the mining sector in an effort to diversify the economy. She stated: "It is an honour to have this opportunity to reaffirm the bank's willingness to support the Republic of Congo in its efforts to diversify its economy and manage its natural resources. The statement was made in Brazzaville at the opening of the first international conference on mines in Congo according to NAN.

"The government's decision to identify the mining sector as a priority sector is a very important one because the Republic of Congo can effectively become a major power in the mining industry both on the African and world stage and significantly stimulate the non-petroleum economy," she said. She spoke at a two-day conference organised by the Republic of Congo's Mines ministry in partnership with Ametrade Ltd., to bring together participants from Africa and elsewhere to promote opportunities in the Congolese mining sector.

She further opined that the eventual strategy of promoting the mining sector would contribute towards development and reduce poverty in the country. Kouame urged the Congolese government to revise its legal and taxation laws on the mining sector. According to her, this would help to consolidate the progress achieved since the coming into force of the mining code in 2005. The World Bank's official emphasise on the need for the state to have the necessary expertise when negotiating contracts with mining companies.

The World Bank has been accused of not being fair over the years when it comes to African matters. It has best served the interests of the foreign powers seeking to milk and suck Africa dry. The most worrisome and mind-boggling is that African leaders and policy-makers rush to those whose policies have not benefited any country on the continent beginning from the notorious structural adjustment programme of the 80s to the deregulation policy of the present era. Its policies have never suited Africa yet Africans kowtow to allow more.

Rwandan Army Slapped the United States on the Sanctions Imposed on Kigali

Rwandan army has taken a good swipe at the United States' sanctions for the use of child soldiers by rebels it is accused of supporting in Democratic Republic of Congo, saying it had no factual basis. "It is surprising that Rwanda would be liable for matters that are neither on its territory nor in its practices," army spokesperson Joseph Nzabamwita said in a statement, adding that the "decision to include Rwanda among states that use child soldiers is not based on evidence or facts".

This is not the first time Rwanda is showing that it cannot be tossed around by anybody. When Britain stated that it would withdraw aid from the East African nation over the same allegation of supporting the M23 rebels, President Paul Kagame minced no word is putting Britain in its proper and deserved place by telling it to keep its aid. He went further to say that Africa has come of age and should not complain of been controlled by the imperialists. The audacity of Kagame stems from the fact he has led Rwanda to become prosperous after the colossal Rwandan genocide of 1994.

The United Nations also accuses Rwanda of backing the M23, a charge the country has rigorously adamantly denied. Various human rights groups not excluding the UN rights body have also accused the M23 rebels of committing serious atrocities; including rape and murder, in addition to the use of child soldiers, in a conflict that has caused tens of thousands of refugees to flee.

The United States, due to all these allegations, slammed sanctions on Rwanda centrally over the use of child soldiers by the rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the United States was invoking the 2008 Child Soldiers Protection Act in sanctioning Rwanda, as Washington seeks to end "any involvement in the recruitment of child soldiers".

The sanctions were linked to actions by the M23. Thomas-Greenfield said the US will continue to have discussions with the Rwandan government on the issue. The sanctions terminate financial and military assistance for the fiscal year 2014, which began on 1 October. The sanctions will end all international military education and training in financial year 2014.

The United States slams Sanctions on Rwanda Over M23 Rebels Acts

Rwanda continues to be the potential target for the activities of the M23 rebels whom it has been accused of supporting without remorse. The M23 was founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under the 2009 peace deal. In April 2012, the M23 revolted and launched the latest rebellion, ravaging DR Congo's mineral-rich and conflict-prone east.

The United Nations also accuses Rwanda of backing the M23, a charge the country has rigorously adamantly denied. Various human rights groups not excluding the UN rights body have also accused the M23 rebels of committing serious atrocities; including rape and murder, in addition to the use of child soldiers, in a conflict that has caused tens of thousands of refugees to flee.

The United States, due to all these allegations, slammed sanctions on Rwanda centrally over the use of child soldiers by the rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the United States was invoking the 2008 Child Soldiers Protection Act in sanctioning Rwanda, as Washington seeks to end "any involvement in the recruitment of child soldiers".

The sanctions were linked to actions by the M23. Thomas-Greenfield said the US will continue to have discussions with the Rwandan government on the issue. The sanctions terminate financial and military assistance for the fiscal year 2014, which began on 1 October. The sanctions will end all international military education and training in financial year 2014.

The US will however continue to support peacekeeping training that is not restricted to this child soldiers prevention act. United Nations Brigade, created by the Security Council and composed of Tanzanian, South African and Malawian soldiers has been able to record tremendous gains in DR Congo. It has driven the rebels far into the border with Rwanda which made resumption of peace talks in Uganda almost inevitable.

United States to hold on on Fresh Sanctions on Iran to Give Room for Diplomacy

The US Senate is weighing a new round of fresh sanctions against Iran following the passage in July of a House bill that would seek to further cut Iran's oil exports by another one million barrels a day for the next year to almost zero according to reported estimates. The legislation also vows military force against Iran should they defy orders not to pursue a nuclear weapon. Wendy Sherman warned during the hearing that the current government shutdown is curtailing the government's ability to oversee the existing sanctions. "Our ability to do that, to enforce sanctions, to stop sanction evaders, is being hampered significantly by the shutdown," according to Sherman.

RT reports that the top US State Department official urged members of Congress to hold onto fresh sanctions against Iran to give President Barack Obama's administration time to assess the new conciliatory tone from the Iranian government. "Let me assure you that we will continue to vigorously enforce the sanctions that are in place as we explore a negotiated resolution, and will be especially focused on sanctions evasion and efforts by the Iranians to relieve the pressure," Wendy Sherman, undersecretary of state for political affairs, said during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing.

Sherman asked lawmakers to at least wait until US and Iranian officials meet in Geneva in mid-October (15th and 16th ) before moving forward with more sanctions. Sherman is leading the US delegation in talks with Iran. The UK, Germany, France, Russia, and China will also participate in the Geneva talks, although direct Iran-US meetings are expected be the most important of the negotiations. Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu had said the that overtures from Rouhani are from a "wolf in sheep's clothing." This is having a great influence on the conservatives in the House.

The US, United Nations, and European Union have all joined to press Iran with punitive sanctions for what they say are measures to curb Tehran's nuclear weapons programme. Iran counters the claims, saying that it simply aims to produce and use nuclear energy. The sanctions in place have devastated the Iranian economy, cutting oil exports in half while causing crippling inflation and high unemployment. Yet new President Hassan Rouhani has recently expressed a desire to reconcile with US officials, marking the possibility of new relations between the countries.

Sanctions on Iranian oil exports, shipping, and insurance businesses are biting on the economy of Tehran and costing the Islamic Republic billions in revenue each month. Existing measures already pressure countries including China, India, and Japan to reduce importing Iranian oil by threatening to block their banks from the US financial system. Recently, political prisoners wrote to President Obama about the sanctions with a view to advising him to explore the peaceful avenue the Rouhani government represents. Tehran also released numerous political prisoners whom Washington called 'prisoners of conscience'. This act also sent a kind of goodwill message to the White House.