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.

Is Africa going back to the predominant war era?

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has received serious reports of human rights abuses committed by Malian security forces against civilians near the central town of Niono, Reuters quoted the organization as saying.

 HRW issued a statement Saturday detailing abuses that included the killings of rebel-linked northern ethnic groups such as Tuaregs and Arabs. 

The activist group urged the Malian government and the French soldiers deployed in the country to “do their utmost to ensure the protection of all civilians.” French troops have been deployed to Mali in an attempt to stop the advance of the Islamist insurgency in northern part of the country. 

On Saturday, France called upon world leaders to provide logistic and financial aid to African armies in order to speed the reinforcement of French forces on the ground.  

As France is battling Islamists in Mali, Britain, her close ally in the war and raid is having another headache in Algeria.

Three Britons are confirmed to have been killed and three more are believed to be dead after the Algeria hostage crisis.

One further UK resident is also thought to be dead according to David Cameron.

Some 22 other Britons are now back in UK and are being reunited with their familie according to the foreign secretary.

A raid by Algerian troops ended a four-day siege at the In Amenas gas facility on Saturday. Algeria says at least 23 hostages and 32 militants died.

Algeria's minister of communications said the final death toll might rise and there would be an announcement in the next few hours.

The Foreign Office said the figures announced by the prime minister included a Briton killed on Wednesday in the initial raid by militants.

Africa is gradually degenerating into a continent of massive chaos, unrest and war once again and the leaders have no foresight to start tackling the menace now. They are waiting till it becomes a 'missile keg' and starts exploding everywhere till they act. 

Congo still boils. Sudan and South Sudan are only having timed peace. Central African Republic is crying internally. The presumed 'giant', Nigeria cannot combat the Boko Haram insurgency. The whole continent is fast becoming an headache for foreigners but no leader is ready to discuss the issue especially in relation to the bleak future it is creating.

Acting when everything is worsened will aid their permanent stay in office and assist their corrupt tendencies. This is the reason why they are silent. African media too is becoming dormant.

Myanmar and the Rebels: Ceasefire broken

President Thein Sein issued a ceasefire order to troops in the La Ja Yang area of Kachin near the border with China but the army did not respect the order and continues to shell the rebels according to the rebels spokesman.

It was due to take effect on Saturday morning, but Colonel James Lum Dau, a Thai-based spokesman for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), told Reuters the army had continued to attack over the weekend, both in La Ja Yang and elsewhere in the state.

An offensive in La Ja Yang from about 8 a.m. on Sunday morning had involved artillery and infantry, he said.

A 17-year ceasefire with the KIA broke down in June 2011 and fighting has been particularly intense in recent weeks.

Twenty months of fighting has displaced tens of thousands of people and, for some analysts, raised doubts about the sincerity of all the political and economic reforms pursued by Thein Sein in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

Addressing a development forum attended by donor countries and international aid organizations on Saturday, Thein Sein had invited the Kachin rebels to a 'political dialogue' with rebels from other states.

Ten other major rebel groups from various states have already agreed to a ceasefire.

A local source in Kachin, who did not want to be identified, confirmed the army attacks on Sunday, including one on a rebel position about five miles (eight km) from the KIA stronghold of Laiza.

Fighter jets had flown over the area but had not attacked, the source said.

New York-based Human Rights Watch last week accused the army of indiscriminately shelling the town of Laiza.

Loud explosions were also heard by residents of the town of Mai Ja Yang who felt the vibrations, the source said. The conflict with the rebels remains a central agony in the 'new Burma'.

Emir of Kano attacked: A case of Nemesis

Gunmen around 12 noon on Saturday attacked the convoy of the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Dr. Ado Bayero, killing his driver and a traditional guard who tried to protect him, and wounding two of his sons who were also int he convoy.

Daily Trust gathered that the Interim Management Officer of Kumbotso local government who was also in one of the vehicles is also feared dead.

Two of his sons, the Turakin Kano and the Ciroman Kano were also said to have sustained injuries and have been taken to the hospital for treatment.

The Emir was returning from a Quranic graduation ceremony which took place at Gidan Murtala mosque when the attack occurred. The window opposite where he was seated in the vehicle was also shattered during the attack but there are no indications he suffered any injuries.

The dead and wounded are said to have been taken to the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital, Kano. 

Nemesis has a way of calling and a plan of action to demand what rightfully belongs to it. Long before  now, the Sultan of Sokoto has said that they (the leaders) are the cause of the downfall of the North and its people. 

The Emir has been given a clean slate in a country where Traditional Institutions; the custodians of culture have been rubbished due to corruption. It is thus an irony that it was the Emir, now flown to London, that was attacked but a sign that the dog will turn to its master one day when no prey is left.

Instead of killing innocent Christians who have nothing to do with the Northern morass in Nigeria, the people should visit their anger on those leaders and their confederates who sold them and continue to use them to achieve their own obnoxious designs.

Paul Kagame: A model for Africa

When I read about the genocide of Rwanda, I begin to wonder what sort of humans my people have turned into in Africa. Beasts. The conclusion and end to the genocide did not come from outside of the continent, at least Rwanda has no oil majorly or gold centrally. In that case, neither the US nor France can intervene.

Bill Clinton and the United Nations refused to label the genocide with its proper appellation thus extricating themselves of any R2P. The solution to the Hutus' killing of Tutsis came from the sagacious, bold and farsighted courage of a Rwandan himself; Paul Kagame.

Kagame raised a rebel group composed of Tutsis, the tribe being hatched in the pogrom and crossed into Rwanda from Uganda. After winning the battle against the Hutu majority, he became President and since then, he has led Rwanda to a glorious era in which ethnic animosity is fast becoming a forgotten past.

No other leader has achieved this feat in Africa; of leading a massively divided country based on ethnic bigotry into prosperous 'united' nation. Nigeria currently still finds it hard to discuss her ethnic divide from the past to the present especially finding ways to get off the hook of the Civil War.

Kagame continues to show the result of what dedicated leadership is. A book has been written about him and his leadership style. In the book authored by the New York Times bestselling author, Patricia Crisafulli and Andrea Redmond, he is said to lead more like a company's CEO than a political leader and that is exactly what he is. With just a secondary school certifcate, Kagame has shown great wisdom in governance. Read More

Education and Leadership: The African Reality

Africa: Where are the leaders?

Education and acclaimed global ratings

Many foreign analysts continue to pop up the excitement hormone of many African leaders that their continent is moving towards a better era. They give and bring out numerous reports on how advanced the continent is. World Bank continues to give economic reports with no correlation with the reality on ground. Everything coming out with different indexes are best surrounded in myths and mysteries. There is no way any foreign analyst can successfully determine the condition of Africa based on foreign standards and experiences. Africa has been turned into a continent where greed and avarice kill all theories and modicum of practicality.

A renowned professor of Harvard university, Calestous Juma, opined that Africa is moving towards plausible advancement direction with the election of technocrats as leaders. About 13 African countries are led by technocrats which to him is a good sign of projection. His postulation brings a question to mind: Is education really enhancing leadership acumen in Africa? The best answer going by the current trend is NO. Nigeria has a zoologist who is PhD holder yet gaffe and make decisions like someone just out of the university with a youthful mindset.

In Kenya, Mwai Kibaki continues to talk about good governance while overtly watch trial deaths happening and occurring. Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe has been strengthened to a nauseous state where members act as lords when elections are around the corner. Of what benefit are leaders who are really educated but act like toddlers in decision making. Leaders who see and witness the burning of their continent with tribal and religious bigotry yet covertly ember the heat and inferno rather than do all they can to extinguish them. Analyses shall be done on a selected few to show the real reality.

President Pierre Nkurunziza – Burundi: attended University of Burundi and major in Education and Sports. Has sports and education advance under his reign and regime? Education is to simulate the creativity and passion in minds, hence sports and education ought to be flying under him in Burundi.

         

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf – Liberia: BA in Accounting at Madison Business College in Madison, Wisconsin
Diploma at the Economics Institute at the University of Colorado
Master’s Degree in Public Administration, Harvard University.

When President Sirleaf was elected, everyone hoped and believed the Liberian economy will pick up with great panache and awe-inspiring growth. Unfortunately, that continues to elude Liberians. The first rubber deal signed exempted the Firestone Rubber Natural Company from any environmental responsibility. A reminder of how shell operates with impunity in Nigeria. The Liberian economy ought to be a model in West Africa with the leadership of a renowned economist.

             

President José Eduardo dos Santos - Angola
He was awarded a scholarship in 1963 to study in the Soviet Union where he received a degree in petroleum engineering. Upon graduation in 1969, he stayed in the Soviet Union to continue his studies in Communications.

President dos Santos seems to be one among many that has proven his worth in his field. Angola has been doing well in the oil and gas sector and to a reasonable sense, he continues to stem the tide of insurgency in the country though more needs to be done. He took Angola to a level at which she competes with the African oil giant, Nigeria in oil and gas to the extent that Portugal, her former colonial master genuflects for her. Angola is brewing in an upcoming protest. The Arab and North Africa uprisings are influential foundation for the dissidents.

          

President Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé - Togo
Degree in financial business management Sorbonne, Paris
Master of Business Administration degree The George Washington University United States.

Togo is one of the poorest in Africa and West Africa yet a Master Degree holder is her President. This in a way is a very queasy status yet the international financial institutions tells Africa the lion is charging.

           

President Dr. Thomas Yayi Boni – Benin

Studied economics at the National University of Benin. He studied banking at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar, Senegal, and later economics and politics at the University of Orléans in France and at Paris University, where he completed a doctorate in economics in 1976.

Benin Republic almost totally depend on trade with Nigeria with much smuggling and illegal transportation of contraband goods like cars and foodstuffs into Nigeria through the 'notorious' Seme border. Benin over the years has not shown high developmental thrust despite the qualification of the leader in business and economics. One would naturally expect the president to influence greatly, the orientation and diversification of the economy from dependency to a self-sustaining one. Sadly, this is not so.

           

King Mohammed VI - Morocco
B.A in law at the College of law of the Mohammed V University, Rabat.
Certificat d'Études Supérieures (CES) in political sciences & Diplôme d'Études Approfondies DEA in public law. Trained in Brussels with Jacques Delors, then President of the European Commission. Doctorate in law (PhD) with "Very Honourable" distinction and the Congratulations of the Jury on 29 October 1993 from the French University of Nice Sophia An tipolis for his thesis on "EEC-Maghreb Relations."

King Mohammed has lived up to good expectations by not allowing the Monarchy to be swept away by the North African uprising and the Arab Spring due to his 'foresighted' policies. His rule to a reasonable level gives Moroccans the unique identity of belonging to a sustainable country. Moroccans though tried to stir and shake up the system but the leadership style of the Monarch based on 'Constitutional Monarchy' salvaged the situation. Morocco has a model and a standard best suited for Morocco.

          

Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan

Jonathan holds a B.Sc degree in Zoology in which he attained Second Class Honours. He holds an M.Sc degree in Hydrobiology and Fisheries biology, and a PhD degree in Zoology from the University of Port Harcourt He worked as an education inspector, lecturer, and environmental-protection officer.

Jonathan is a President that was voted into office due to his 'amiable' countenance and educational background. The president has proven so far that there is no synergy between higher education and leadership or so it seems. All his policies and decisions are at best that of someone just going in for higher education. Disappointment in all ways is what Nigerians get. Report came out in London that lions are going into extinction in Nigeria and tourism is massively collapsing yet no one is acting.

One expects a zoologist to be passionate about wildlife but such is not the case. Education is meant to be soaring high in Nigeria but it continues to retard. More universities, less qualified graduates. No equipments, no educational resources. All going down the drain. Nigeria is consistently broke. The economy is crying. Corruption smiles on. Shell continues to act impudently and with massive impunity against the environment with gas-flaring and environmental degradation yet an environment-protection officer is at the helm of affairs. So far, so good, Nigerians have not seen any justification and synergy in the educational qualifications, policies and actions.

                

President Mwai Emilio Kibaki – Kenya

Economics, History and Political Science at Makerere University College, Kampala, Uganda. Bachelors of Science with Distinction in Public Finance at the London School of Economics

Kenya under Mwai Kibaki has witnessed advancement in education, economy and technology but leadership greed is killing all prospects to the future. The sit-tight syndrome is a canker-worm eating the country just like it is around the continent except is places like Ghana, Botswana and South Africa. Here too education should have informed Mwai Kibaki that no man is an island of leadership or an emporium of knowledge to warrant continuous stay in power as if no other human exists. History is disgraced by Kibaki because he refused to learn from it.

             

President Paul Kagame - Rwanda
Attended Ntare Secondary School in Uganda

Paul Kagame has revealed that leadership and higher education does not necessarily correlate. They are two distinguished entities that depend on the capability and capacity of the person involved. Kagame was a rebel soldier with just a secondary school education yet Rwanda is skyrocketing in all facets. Her economy is growing, she stood her ground against Western control unlike most African leaders. Rwanda under Kagame has a veritably sustainable economy and society. The Rwanda experience shows that education is not a central criteria for leadership sagacity, hence Professor Calestous Juma's assertion on the prospect of plausible advancement for Africa hinged on the elections of technocrats is not particularly justifiable.

African leaders continuously make the continent a disgrace to Africans. The UN gave West African nations the legal framework to intervene in Mali but the leaders acted not. The delay in assisting Mali to curb the violence is the same in every other countries on the continent. It takes the efforts of the Jimmy Carter Foundation in line with the UN to make the 'peaceful' disintegration of Sudan possible. The Libyan question was allowed to turn into a NATO affair because African leaders are incapable of managing African affairs. What then is the basis of all the educational statuses?

Mali degenerated into real chaos because they were sleeping. Central African Republic is left on its own. Congo continues to wallow in insurgency and sufferings because the leaders cannot sit and think of a tomorrow. Nigeria is on her kneels with Boko Haram. Peace is elusive in Libya and everybody is watching. Kenya is bequeathed with pre-election tribal violence and they are folding arms. Joseph Kony is more than Uganda and the only way to tackle him is to call the US. African leaders have bastardized the concept of leadership and education.

Photos: Saharavibes and wikimedia

Obama and the Second Term Swearing-in Ceremony

Providence does bring a kind of symmetrical and coincidental occurrences which makes analysis sometimes obfuscating and sometimes interesting. As Israel prepares for election on January 22, Obama's inauguration comes up for his final lapse in the White House on January 20 which makes the affairs interesting.

The expected population is around 800,000, a sharp drop in the 1.8 million audience his first term swearing-in ceremony in office commanded in 2009. This is expected as the president has had more tough time battling established 'popular culture' with his skin pigmentation being a sort of impediment.

From Obamacare to Israel to fiscalcliff to gun control and recently back to Israel, the President has been seen by many whites as an 'imported leader' but his leadership sagacity has made him held his ground and come out hale and hearty.

On Sunday, following a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery, Obama will be sworn in officially at the White House at 1655 GMT, meeting the constitutional requirement that he do so on January 20. That portion will be private - except for a media presence - with a small audience of mostly family members.

Both times he will be sworn in by Supreme Court Justice John Roberts who, in 2009 after flubbing the oath the first time, administered it to Obama again in the White House the day after his inauguration. The president's two recitations this year will be the third and fourth time he has taken the oath.

Obama's speech will focus on the American values, his imbroglio with the Republican-led house on issues like fiscalcliff, immigration laws, gun control and his major agendas in his second term. He will also bear in mind the changes in the Middle East, the United States' commitment to Israel and America's 'international responsibilities'.

Israel's Election: Obama and Netanyahu on Palestine and Iran

The Israeli election is fast approaching and the centre-left Labour party led by Shelly Yachimovich is walking around the economy to garner strength during the election. Binyamin Netanyahu is favoured to win the election convincingly. Obama's mild face-off with Netanyahu is also boosting the morale of Netanyahu's campaign.

The whole affairs on security is a central campaign fact for the Likud Party; Iran's nuclear programme, Hamas defiant acts and the election of an Islamist regime in Egypt. All these are set to assist Netanyahu's Likud Party. Since no one party has ever won a real majority in Parliament, Netanyahu's choice becomes hard in coalition formation.

The Likud Party on January 22 will come out better and as the winner but the choice of Netanyahu remains tough in the race to gaining a convincing coalition to control the majority in Parliament. The extreme proportional representation forces Netanyahu to align with Yisrael Beitenu, a party who is more hawkish to the Palestinians than Netanyahu himself. 

Another party to watch out for in the new coalition is Habayit Hayehudi (The Jewish Home) led by the business and software mogul, Naftali Bennett. The coalition around Netanyahu brings the Palestinian question back into the campaign proper. Bennett is an hardline Jew who is really opposed to any home for the Palestinians.

While the criticism of Obama that Netanyahu's Israel is the main stumbling block to any peace with Palestine is being discussed within the party, it nonetheless has ironically bolstered Netanyahu's image and chances as the man who is for a real Jewish homeland since he supports settlements wholeheartedly.

Both Shelly Yachimovich, Netanyahu's closest rival and Binyamin had hoped to concentrate on domestic issues with the economy being the focus of the Labour Party and security being the point of campaign for the Likud Party but the 'Palestine Ghost' is once again proving to be one that has stubbornly refused death. After Palestine comes Iran and her nuclear programme.

Since Chuck Hagel, Obama's preferred Secretary of Defense is seen within Israel not as a war hawk, it makes a whole lot of sense to re-elect Netanyahu and the coalition who can meander and make the Islamic regime realise that Israel will always be ready to strike. Obama himself is indirectly sent a message that settlement and a 'single' homeland for all is the only solution not a two-state solution.

Africa: A Haven of Militants and Foreign Headaches

As the French troops are set for a major combat operations on the ground in Mali, Islamists were at it again in Algeria. 

A convoy of about 30 armoured vehicles set out on Tuesday for Diabaly, 350km (220 miles) to the north, a town captured by the rebels the day before.

The first units of an African force are set to arrive on Wednesday to bolster the French with Nigeria sending 190 soldiers. The Islamists entered Diabaly on Monday, taking the town from Malian forces. French war planes have since attacked the rebel positions.

As France is getting set, Islamist militants seized five Japanese nationals and a French citizen from an oil facility in Ain Amenas in southern Algeria on Wednesday, local and diplomatic sources told Reuters.

The foreigners were taken from the facility in the morning, they said. There was no immediate confirmation of the abduction from Algerian officials.

French foreign ministry officials said they had no immediate comment on the hostage report and were still trying to verify the information.

With the setback in Somalia and the heavy firepower of the Islamists in Mali, France remained resolute. Residents in Mali greeted the French contigents with joy, waving at the soldiers with passionate optimism. The heavy strikes at rebel positions paved the way for the coming possible ground assaults.

The BBC  correspondent in Mali says France and the Malian army need to take the towns of Konna and Diabaly to advance their campaigns. 

Nigeria and her 190 Soldiers in Mali!!! A Mission of Jokes

Nigeria has decided to send 190 soldiers down to Mali after France has taken the initiative to combat the Islamists. What will be the effect of 190 soldiers in a vast land called Northern Mali?

Nigeria's act is at best laughable. The United Nations has given the West African body, ECOWAS the 'legal military framework' to tackle the insurgency but the body postponed any action all in the name of preparations. This is giving the Islamist rebels more time to get to Bamako.

Colonel Yerima said: “The degenerating crisis in the Republic of Mali compelled the decision of ECOWAS Heads of Government to intervene with a deployment of their military forces.

“Following this decision and in line with Nigeria’s acclaimed peacekeeping roles and in the spirit of African brotherhood, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, has ordered the immediate deployment of Nigerian troops to Mali.

‘‘The President approved the deployment of a Battallion and in the next 24 hours, a Company of the Battalion [190] will be deployed. The remainder would be deployed later. Already, the Force Commander, Major General S U Abdulkadir, is on ground in Mali.

The United Nations Security Council Resolution 2085 of December 2012 approved the deployment of ECOWAS Security Force to assist Mali in reclaiming the northern part of the country from Islamic militants. Nigeria is still largely unable to address the Boko Haram hazard.

West Africa has proven that Africa will continue to depend on foreign actions to tackle her morass and menace. The colonel even said the EU remains in close touch with all international actors including the AU, ECOWAS and the UN. I wonder what actions the AU and ECOWAS have taken. 

The US and NATO in Mali?

The stage could be set for the coming of the United States and NATO into Mali. NATO and the United Kingdom has reiterated that they will not intervene militarily in Mali with boots on the ground. UK has sponsored France with aircraft and ready to provide more logistics. The call within the Republican circle that Obama should respond to France is reminiscent of Libya.

France has called on the Security Council of the United Nations to discuss and this might shore of international support for the mission. The Islamists on their part have promised France a long war. The have being launching a counter-offensive to drive home the point that the war is continuous and could get to mainland France.

The Obama administration should give France whatever aid it needs to combat Islamist militants in Mali, the top Republican on foreign affairs issues said Tuesday. 

“I expect the Obama administration to honour appropriate requests for intelligence and logistics support from France,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-Calif.) said in a statement. “When confronting a shared threat, we should have our ally’s back.”

Royce's comments come amid reports that France is beefing up its intervention to roll back Islamists who have taken over the northern part of the desert country and are threatening the rest of the country. The French intervention was requested by the country's president, who took over following a military coup last year that has been denounced by the Obama administration.

Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta said Monday the United States has a “responsibility” to help roll back the al Qaeda-linked militants in Mali.

“I welcome France taking the initiative to combat this serious security threat in West Africa,” Royce said. “The vast area of Northern Mali gives these al Qaeda-linked militants space to operate, and the weapons flowing out of Libya makes them deadly. This cancer could not go unaddressed.

“This isn’t avant garde for the French. They have shown leadership in working with Ivory Coast and other African governments to improve security. Paris understands the high stakes.”

If the United States is involved, then NATO cannot be extricated from Mali too. The fear is that another Libya might be brewing in West Africa and more weapons will be in circulation; hence, another vicious circle of violence and instability if they leave.

Convocation postponed in University of Lagos

          

The imbroglio between the Federal Government and the Senate of the University of Lagos took a dynamic turn with the recent memo in circulation among officials of the University that the Golden Jubilee Convocation Ceremonies slated for Thursday, Friday and Saturday; January 17th, 18th and 19th respectively will no longer be held due to the intransigence of the Jonathan-led administration. The administration reveals that unless the name is changed to MAULAG (Moshood Abiola University), there will be no signing of any convocation ceremony.