Pirates Hijacked Vessel off the Coast of Gabon

Barely some weeks after West and Central African leaders met to discuss the rising case of piracy and insecurity in the Gulf of Guinea, pirates struck again. The new technique really worked perfectly well. The pirates seemingly boarded the Malta-flagged Cotton tanker, carrying a partly loaded cargo of fuel oil, on Monday near Port Gentil, Gabon, in the first reported attack in that region in the past five years, Turkish operator Geden Lines said according to Reuters.

The piracy was on an oil products tanker with 24 crew on board off the Gabon coast, the vessel's operator said on Wednesday. "The company is in contact with the families of the 24 Indian crew members on board and the appropriate authorities have been contacted," Geden Lines said in a statement.

The Gulf of Guinea is really under real and imagined threats with the piracy scourge. It includes Nigeria, Ghana and Cote D'Ivoire as well as Gabon and remains a major source of oil, cocoa and, increasingly, metals for world markets. International navies are not actively engaged in counter-piracy missions in the region.

The anchorage of vessels off West African coastal nations, with little protection makes them readied target for criminals unlike waters off Somalia and the Horn of Africa, where ships can move past at high speed with armed guards on board.

The UN had earlier lauded the efforts of the West African leaders who met in Cameroon on the rising case of piracy and even called for the intervention of a multinational naval force. "The attack occurred around 200 nautical miles (NM) further south than the previous most southerly attack, which was around 160NM southwest of Bonny Island (in Nigeria) on 26 April," security firm AKE said.

"It therefore marks a significant expansion of the geographical range of Gulf of Guinea piracy. It also demonstrates the regional nature of the illegal fuel trade, the supply of which tankers such as Cotton are generally hijacked for."

West African Leaders Call for the Presence of Multinational Naval Force for Maritime Security

West African leaders seem to be waking up from slumber but as usual, almost powerless to walk out of bed alone without external supports. The leaders held maritime security summit in Cameroon due to the growing cases of piracy in the resource-rich Gulf of Guinea.

Member states of Economic Community of West African States and Economic Community of East African States took part in the summit held in Yaounde. The participating states signed a Memorandum of Agreement on joint prevention and repression of illegal activities in the gulf which will establish a concrete basis for the two regional blocs to share intelligence, conduct joint patrols and jointly repress piracy in their maritime domain.

The Memorandum of Agreement among ECOWAS, ECCAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission on Maritime Safety and Security in West and Central Africa is the policy statements of the heads of state and government on maritime safety and security; as well as a Code of Conduct on the fight against piracy, armed robbery and illegal maritime activities.

President Alassane Ouattara of Cote D'Ivoire stated that a multinational naval force is needed to curb and stem the tide of the rising activities of pirates in the Gulf of Guinea which have overtaken that of the coast of Somalia. In 2012, 960 maritime personnels were abducted in the Gulf of Guinea compared to 861 off the Somali coast.

Weah, Mboma, Okocha, Domoraud and Milla Play for Peace in Liberia

Liberia was the home of some of Africa's most troublesome wars years ago; the wars took the lives of thousands and paralised all activities in the West African nation. Two bloody wars were fought almost concurrently spilling over into Sierra Leone. Charles Taylor, who was the arrow-head of the wars is facing trial at the Hague.

The First Liberian Civil War was an internal conflict in Liberia from 1989 until 1996. The conflict killed over 200,000 people and eventually led to the involvement of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and of the United Nations. The peace did not last long, and in 1999 the Second Liberian Civil War broke out.

After the exit of Charles Taylor and election conducted in which Nigeria under President Olusegun Obasanjo played a crucial role in seeing to its peaceful outcome and resolution of all grievances, George Weah who also contested but lost controversially to Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became a peace ambassador of Liberia.

Weah, who was recently chosen to be Liberia’s Peace Ambassador, invited Cameroonians Roger Milla and Patrick Mboma, JJ Okocha of Nigeria and Cyril Domoraud of Ivory Coast for a glittering exhibition match in the capital Monrovia on Saturday.

“I know my job is very difficult but I want you all… to join me in sending the message of peace to our people. My appeal to you all is to help me achieve peace,” Weah said as he launched a campaign for post-war reconcilation.

Thousands of Liberians enjoyed a display of skill put on by the veterans before Weah presented his Ballon d’Or — which he was awarded for being European Footballer of the Year in 1995 — to the people of Liberia.

Deep psychological and physical wounds remain in Liberia after two back-to-back civil wars which ran from 1989 to 2003 and left a quarter of a million people dead. His major mission is to bring lasting peace back to his beloved country.

Pope Benedict XVI's Resignation and African Leaders

Pope Benedict XVI became the first Pope in 600 years to willingly resign from office. The Papal Nuncio has no rival forcing him to quit. There is neither a protest or a mass uprising in the Catholic fold demanding the great hero of Christiandom steps down. Upon the realisation that his health can no longer serve as the foundation of his ordained mission, the Pope, to the amazement and shock of the world announced he will exit the prestigious seat in the Vatican by February 28, 2013.

The Pope is within the age bracket of Robert Mugabe (80) yet Mugabe still seek rounds of years in Zimbabwe. Lacking in ideas and foresight, Mugabe has led flowering and blossoming Zimbabwe into the abyss. So many African leaders exist today who continue to rule and hold on to power despite failing health and lack of sagacity. Paul Biya of Cameroon has no date of exit. Yahya Jammeh has turned Gambia into a personal property.

Eyadema Jnr in Togo does not look as if he is ready at all to consider death not to talk of leaving the Presidential Palace. Idris Deby rules on in Chad despite the growing opposition to his rule. How about Yoweri Museveni of Uganda? He went as far as telling BBC that he is too experienced to leave and exit office. If he will not leave by himself, death will. 

Many African leaders die in office due to stupidity. Umar Bongo of Gabon spent 47 years in office before death bade him farewell. Nigeria's erstwhile President's case is the most pathetic. Despite having good intentions and leading truly with a patriotic mind, Umar Musa Yar'Adua died in office due to pressure within his party or better still pressure from the national 'godfather' Olusegun Obasanjo not to leave the stage so that he can achieve his nefarious whims and caprices.

He was sick like the Pope but never considered resignation as an option. Maummar Gaddafi despite being a leader with good track records in the betterment of the lives of Libyans and advancement of his country was killed due to the sit-tight syndrome of African leaders. They are many. Just too many. Is it Hosni Mubarak of Egypt or Ben-Ali of Tunisia? Too numerous.

One singular error people especially foreigners and their apologists in Africa make is to say the sit-tight syndrome is Africa's culture. During the era of the monarchs in traditional African societies, sick men never ruled. When a leader was sick, he must step down. If a society with a calamitous economy like that of Zimbabwe existed in traditional African societies, the people would have risen against such a leader and in Yorubaland, he would be made to open the 'calabash' as a sign of rejection.

African leaders are nothing but bunch of destroyers. They believe resignation is an act of cowardice. Though I do not subscribe to this because I know resignation is never in their minds not to talk of it as an act of cowardice. All they harbour in their corrupt souls is GREED. The irony is that they have successfully built a team of successors among the youths who cannot wait to continue the plundering. The have trained successors. The Pope's announcement that he will never influence the choice of his successor is not an act African leaders can buy or subscribe to.