admin2020

Opinion

The Shock Rise in Paedophilia in Nigeria | By: Tony Ogunlowo

Hardly a day goes by when there isn’t a news report about a minor being sexually abused by a much older person. And the shocking thing is that for every case reported dozens are not because the young victims are either too scared of their attackers or embarrassed to talk to anyone. And it’s so bad now that it’s rising to epidemic levels and soon Nigeria will be overtaking Cambodia and the Far East as the paedophile hotspot of the world!

Currently the law stipulates life imprisonment for rape of a minor under the new Sexual Offences Bill   but the law doesn’t deal with those who marry under-age girls to circumvent the law. Whilst it is a horrendous crime to rape anyone it’s even worse when the victim is a child and the perpetrator can get away with it by either marrying their victim or shutting them up. Most paedophiles get away with their crimes because they are much older and can intimidate or brainwash their victims. And most of the time the perpetrators of these crimes are people known to the victims as fathers, brothers, neighbours, uncles, in-laws etc.
Disturbingly, families are prepared to put up a wall of silence and pretend as if nothing is going wrong if there is a case of incest or paedophilia going on in their household. They all keep quiet, hoping it blow over, in an attempt to preserve their dignity often threatening the victim to remain quiet and not dealing with the perpertrator.  
Some tribes even encourage paedophilia by marrying off their under-age daughters to men old enough to be their grandfathers. And over the years no government policy or law has been put in place to outlaw this practice until recently and it’s still not enforced. Our society needs to shape up; it’s not okay for a 50-year old to be seen walking down the road with his new under-age wife. It doesn’t matter if he’s the richest man in Nigeria, an Oba or Emir. It’s morally wrong and the person belongs in jail! And for those who disagree or hide behind the flimsy excuse of ‘it’s our tradition’, how would you feel if your under-age son or daughter was being sexually abused by a 50-year old? Some men even think it’s ‘cool’ to sleep with an under-age child. It’s not and anybody who sleeps with an under-aged child, whether it’s consensual or not, is a paedophile. On a sadder note thirty-five Nigerian Senators actually voted, recently, for the legalization of child marriage! And the Senators in question all happen to be from the North and Muslims! Somebody ought to tell them we live in the 21st century now and such barbaric acts are not tolerable despite what the Koran says about marriage.
There are those who would like to argue that paedophilia is a disease. It’s not! It’s just a lame excuse given by depraved men to explain away their sick sexual cravings. How else would a certain Northern Senator explain spending $10,000 to ‘buy’ a 13-year old ‘bride’ from Egypt?
Our first duty should be to the children at risk. Everybody knows who these children at risk are and who they’re at risk from. Instead of minding our own business and turning a blind eye, ignoring the plight of the victim we should stand up to these people and report them to the authorities.
There should be more awareness so people can know what signs to look for if they believe a child is being groomed or abused, for example that ‘nice’ uncle who is always ‘touching’ his young niece and buying her presents is a potential suspect. Parents should learn how to be closer to their children; if you’re too distant to your child there will be things they won’t tell you, like most kids hold things back, and it’s your duty as a parent to sense when things are amiss. Children, just like anybody else, need a shoulder to cry upon and somebody they can talk about anything with. Be that parent they can come to.

Any rape victim, child or adult, doesn’t just carry the physical scars of their attack, which can include contacting a venereal disease or HIV, but emotional scars which are even harder to heal. They can suffer from post-traumatic stress for the rest of their lives. Overwhelmed by it can lead to depression and many have been driven to take their own lives.

We all know the Nigerian Police Force is not equipped to deal with child-rape cases (- or any case really!) and will probably tell the victim’s parents to sort it out themselves, calling it a family or personal matter. This is not good enough but the good news is that we live in the internet age and there are lots of avenues – social media – to shame them into taking action.

There are some organisations out there such as The Eight Foundation, Mirabel Centre and Women against Child Defilement who are not just helping victims of paedophiles but also offer advice and support. Unfortunately they are under-funded (- or not funded at all!) and there’s not enough of them.

Everybody needs to be vigilant. Child rape or paedophilia is not acceptable not just in this country but anywhere in the world.

Tony blogs at http://www.archangel641.blogspot.co.uk

0 297
Entertainment

Viola Davis becomes the first black actress to get 3 Oscar Nominations

There is no stopping this woman!
51 year-old actress, Viola Davis has become the first black actress in history to score 3 Oscar nominations.

Davis was previously nominated twice for Best Supporting Actress, in the film “Doubt” and also “The Help” which were shot in 2009 and 2012 respectively. However, her impeccable performance in “Fences” continues to earn her global acclaim, recall she won the Best Supporting Actress in the same film at the last Golden Globe.
0 326
Opinion

As Lai Mohammed manifests the lie in his name |By: Reno Omokri

Lai Mohammed, in true manifestation of his name, told a lie, when he scolded the advocacy group Bring Back Our Girls (BBOG) by saying that their use of ‘impudent’ language should “should have been reserved for those who did nothing in the first 500 days of the girls’ abduction”.
Of course Nigerians know that Lai Mohammed is synonymous with lying and it is no wonder that the Oby Ezekwesili led BBOG are firing at him, but to say that the Jonathan administration ‘did nothing’ to rescue the Chibok girls is a lie that will not go unchallenged. I will now give a timeline of events to prove unequivocally that Lai Mohammed is a liar and his words should henceforth be taken with a pinch of salt by Nigerians and the international community.
Timelines:
March 12, 2014: The then minister of state for education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, wrote the Governors of Borno, Yobe and Adamawa and advised them not to hold SSCE examinations in areas susceptible to the Boko Haram insurgency. This letter, with reference number HMSE/FME/147/VOL.1/150 and titled: ‘Security challenges and the conduct of the 2014 WASSCE and SSCE in Borno, Yobe and parts of Adamawa States’, is still available today should Lai Mohammed wish to read it.
April 14, 2014: Contrary to the advise given by the PDP led Federal Government of President Goodluck Jonathan, the APC led Government of Governor Kashim Shettima, for reasons best known to it, chose to ignore that advise and held the SSCE examinations in Chibok, a mainly Christian town that was susceptible to attacks from the Islamic extremist group, Boko Haram. On the day in question, the girls of Government Girls Secondary School Chibok were kidnapped by Boko Haram while preparing to write their final physics examinations.
Flash forward to April 2, 2016: Governor Kashim Shettima confesses in an interview with Premium Times that he, the chief security officer of the state, DID NOT inform then President Jonathan when the girls were kidnapped for reasons best known to him.
April 17, 2014: Exactly three days after the kidnap, President Jonathan who had been unaware of the issue because of the deliberate refusal of the APC led government of Borno state to brief him called for an emergency meeting at the Presidential villa.
May 4, 2014: After consistent confused and contradictory information from the Borno state Government and various other authority figures, the Presidency invited the principal actors in the Chibok saga to the Presidential villa to ascertain the truth. The Presidency was shocked at the non appearance by officials of the Borno state government. The governor’s wife who was invited shunned the event and when the then First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan saw the scanty representation from Borno she famously exclaimed ‘na only you waka come’?
May 6, 2014: The then National Publicity Secretary of the APC and now the current minister of information, Lai Mohammed, released a statement calling the Presidency’s intervention a ‘distraction’.
May 26, 2014: The Nigerian military revealed through Chief of Defence Staff, Air Marshal Alex Badeh, that it knew the location of the girls but could not attack because of fear of loss of lives of the girls after a similar operation in Sokoto to save an Italian and a Briton led to loss of lives of the hostages taken by an affiliate of Boko Haram.
Unspecified Date in May 2014: The Jonathan administration began secret negotiations to secure the release of the Chibok girls.
October 6, 2014: Then President Jonathan visits Niamey as part of efforts to secure the release of the Chibok girls with the help of the Nigerien government.
October 17, 2014: A truce was announced with Boko Haram after negotiations which was to allow for the release of the Chibok girls. The truce was broken by Boko Haram who reneged on their promise to release their captives.
There are other actions taken by the Jonathan admin which I have not listed here but the point I am making is that for Alhaji Lai Mohammed to say that that government did nothing is not just a lie, but a shameless attempt to rewrite history by a man who has scant regard for the truth. It is my prayer that the Chibok girls will be released but for that to happen, there must be complete transparency and truthfulness from government.
Finally let me say that a man like, Lai Mohammed, with an over bloated opinion of himself and the poverty inducing government in which he serves cannot argue with a man with an accurate command of the facts.
 

0 297
Opinion

Once Upon A Time in Gambia | By: Reuben Abati

I have very vivid memories of my last visit to The Gambia. This was in 2013 when President Goodluck Jonathan paid a two-day visit to the country.  In the course of that visit, President Jonathan commissioned the new Chancery of the Nigerian Embassy in Banjul, and also met with the Nigerian community, in addition to the usual bilateral meetings. Nigeria and The Gambia have very strong cultural and diplomatic relations.
We were quartered at a very nice, hospitable sea-side hotel, the Coco Ocean Resort. One of the first things I noticed was the large population of female tourists, lounging by the pool-side and the sea-side, with biceps-wielding, six-packs-flaunting young dark-skinned men on the prowl, with gigolo-ish gait and mien. A female member of our entourage who had gone to the restaurant alone, later returned – visibly shaken and alarmed and what was her problem: one of the male ushers in the hotel had asked her if she would need a man to keep her company so she could have a real taste of Gambian hospitality.
We laughed over it later, but you could not but wonder whether this was one of the reasons why The Gambia holds a special attraction for middle-aged ladies from Europe.  There was no time to conduct further research into that aspect of our encounter with The Gambia. I was far too busy for that. But there was no doubt that The Gambia under President Yahya Jammeh took the country’s tourism endowments seriously: a beautiful seaside, good weather, low crime rate, good hotels, beautiful women, adventurous young men, and a meek populace.
President Yahya Jammeh was determined to give President Jonathan and his delegation a good reception.  From the airport to the hotel, you would think a festival was afoot. A public holiday was declared and our visit was aired live on radio and television. When we got to the hotel, President Jonathan’s vehicle was immediately serenaded by a cavalcade of horse-riders and a full band of drummers, singers and bag-pipers in colourful costume. They led our convoy to the Presidential suite, where security had been heavily deployed in fitting recognition of the importance of the visitor.  President Jammeh like virtually every other West African President took a special liking to President Jonathan- the only one who was aloof and liked to act like the father of everyone was that one in Cameroon, although I must say when we went there for a security summit, he received us excellently well too.
We felt very much at home in The Gambia. We were kept in rooms that were a bit far away from the President. And whenever that happened, the aides were always excited. It meant we could have a little more freedom away from the searching eyes of the security people around the President. And those ones, I will tell their story someday because they were fond of disturbing other matters of state and personal interest by suddenly interrupting with calls: “Oga dey call you, Oga says you must come now, now” only to get to the big man and he tells you, “No, I didn’t ask after you.” By the time you hang around for a while, just in case the big man would change his mind, whatever plan you were pursuing would have been aborted, or seeing you, the boss would find an assignment for you or drag you into a meeting.  Angry, deflated, you went to the security man who made the phone call: “But you said Oga sent for me.” Those guys always managed a poker face: “But you know it is always good to stay around Oga in case he needs you.”
I was impressed by Jammeh’s hospitality and respectful disposition towards President Jonathan. I recall that in 2012, when President Jammeh tried to succeed President Jonathan as Chairman of the ECOWAS Authority, his own colleagues, including President Jonathan, opposed him. He rarely attended ECOWAS meetings. His then Vice President, the motherly, regal and polite Isatou Njie-Saidy always occupied The Gambian seat.  But he usually showed up when a new Chairman was to be elected.  Seniority is something that is taken seriously within the club of African Presidents.
They refer to themselves as “my brother, my brother”, but they are always very mindful of seniority and that is one of the reasons why the likes of Paul Biya, Robert Mugabe, Yoweri Museveni, Teodoro Obiang Mbasogo behave and speak as if they are God in human form. Each time Jammeh wanted the ECOWAS Chairmanship position, he behaved as if it was his birthright, but in 2012, and again in 2014, he was bypassed for junior Presidents as had been the case since he first expressed interest in the position in 2001. He was the only long-serving President who was never allowed to chair ECOWAS.  He must have been aware of President Jonathan and Nigeria’s stand on the question of his Chairmanship, but he never held it against both. In fact, Nigeria and Nigerians were so influential in The Gambia under Jammeh, ordinary Gambians complained openly about the overwhelming influence of Nigerians in their country.
Everything went well during our state visit until it was time to meet with President Jammeh in the State House. It was part of my duty to introduce the Nigerian President’s delegation, except someone else seized the microphone and I stepped down.  In The Gambia, mere protocol recognition of the President of the country ended up being a major problem. His full titles had to be mentioned, and in a correct order in order not to upset him. The pre-meeting briefing by my Gambian counterpart dwelt too heavily on the titles: His Excellency, Sheik Professor Alhaji Dr Yahya Abdul-Aziz Awal Jemus Junkung (AJJ) Jammeh Nassiru Deen Babili Mansa, President of the Republic of The Gambia.  It was something like that. The security guards were also rough and menacing. Security men often do not understand the language of diplomacy. We went to many countries where we were treated roughly and our own security men often threatened to retaliate if the affected country ever visited Nigeria.  I don’t think we ever got a chance to retaliate because our protocol system proved to be more orderly.
The State House in The Gambia when we eventually went in, however, was quite modest.  It looked like the guest house section of Aso Villa. The meetings went well too. And Jammeh, to my surprise, spoke very well. He didn’t sound like the fool he was portrayed to be in the Western press. He was articulate, debonair, well-composed and mentally sharp. I guess these are required qualities for dictatorship and crookedness. And I admired Jammeh. He is afterall, my age-mate. He sat there, in his royalty, running a country, and I was there, switching between a microphone and a notebook, documenting his history.  But something else happened that gave a true picture of Jammeh’s Gambia.
Our official photographer, Callistus Ewelike (he took over from Kola Osiyemi– God bless his soul) had issues with Jammeh’s security men. Security men at State Houses around the world are unfriendly towards journalists. They seek to control access. They consider journalists busybodies, looking for negative news.  Accreditation and the use of tags should ordinarily take care of this, still, the security people just prefer to misbehave, and I witnessed that even in the United States where we were treated as if the visiting media was a team of terrorists. There was no violence in the US, but in The Gambia, they seized Callistus Ewelike’s camera and smashed it. Callistus is an aggressive, stubborn photo-journalist. He would fight if you try to stop him from doing his job.
He was a staff of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) handed over to me by Ima Niboro when Kola took ill. Callistus must have resisted the Gambia goons, claiming his right as President Jonathan’s Official Photographer. In The Gambia under Jammeh, the President and the security agencies ruled as if there would be no tomorrow. They trampled on everyone else’s rights. Anyone who tried to act like a free man was brutalized and dumped in prison.  For 22 years, Jammeh sat on his country and his people with the help of marabouts and security enforcers. He kissed the Koran everyday, but he did not act according to its dictates. He wore a trademark white garment, but his true garment was of a black colour from the kingdom of Satan.
Ewelike’s travails eventually became a full-fledged story on the second day of our visit when President Jammeh’s spokesperson and the rest of his media team started looking for me at the Coco Resort. We were to be treated to a luncheon before departure. The luncheon had started but I got cornered. Jammeh’s spokesman brought a brand new camera to replace the one the Gambian security people had destroyed. Callistus was with me. The Gambians apologized. Apology was taken and accepted. They said they didn’t want the two Presidents to hear about the incident. I gave them my word that I would not mention it to President Jonathan. Then, they pleaded that we should accept the replacement camera they brought.
I told them not to bother – as far as we were concerned, whatever happened was occupational hazard and Nigeria would replace its own damaged equipment. I looked at Callistus. He was eyeing the new camera greedily.  At a point, he called me aside and whispered: “Oga, this camera they are giving us is better than the one they smashed oh. This one na better camera. Oga, abi make we take am?”  I stood my ground. I also consulted Ambassadors Hassan Tukur and Daniel Hart who said accepting a replacement would amount to a diplomatic tit-for-tat. I thanked The Gambians for their good sense and assured them that we were fine with the photographic coverage of the visit so far, despite the damaged camera. I always had a back-up photographer and cameraman, in any case.
That encounter was a blessing in disguise. It saved me from the first course at the Presidential luncheon, which had started while we were outside the hall discussing the damaged camera. When we got back to Nigeria, close to eight persons on the Presidential delegation ended up in hospital due to food poisoning! They all took that first course. Nobody died but somehow the information got back to The Gambia and the chef was arrested and charged to court. Jammeh’s rulership of The Gambia was jinxed in many ways. The biggest jinx was his volte-face over the last Presidential election. Gambians deserve a new place in the sun and a new Gambia. But so much depends on new President Adama Barrow. He should look beyond the past and face the future. If he spends his time facing the past, he will disappoint his people and exhaust the enormous goodwill that has brought him to power.

0 313
English Premier League, Sports

'I should have shut up, gone in and gone home' – Arsene Wenger has been charged with misconduct

Arsenal coach, Arsene Wenger has been slapped with a misconduct charge by the Football Association (FA) following his altercation with fourth official Anthony Taylor on Sunday during Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Burnley. Prior to the charge, Arsene Wenger was sent off from the technical area after allegedly abusing referee Jon Moss following the latter’s decision to award Burnley a late penalty but stopped near the tunnel to watch the rest of the match, before getting into a row with Taylor and pushing him away.

Although he apologized for his actions during his post-match press conference saying “I regret everything. I should have shut up, gone in and gone home. I apologize for that, Look, it was nothing bad. I said something that you hear every day in football. Overall nine times out of 10 you are not sent to the stand for that. If I am, I am and I should have shut up completely. I was quite calm the whole game, more than usual.” He is still facing disciplinary actions from the FA

“It is further alleged that following his dismissal from the technical area, his behaviour in remaining in the tunnel area and making physical contact with the fourth official amounted to improper conduct,” read an FA statement.

He has until 6pm on Thursday to respond to the Football Association charge

0 324
News

Nigerian government unveils 12 strategies to end recession

Minister of Budget and National Planning, Senator Udoma Udoma announced that it has outlined strategies to end the economic recession ravaging the country. He made the disclosure during the Second Presidential Business Forum presided over by acting President Yemi Osinbajo at the Presidential Villa in Abuja today.

He added that the medium term Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP 2017-2020) was being finalized to address current economic challenges, restore growth, and reposition the economy for sustained inclusive growth.
 
The 12 Plans
1. Restore production to 2.2mbpd and reach 2.5mbpd by 2020
2. Privatize selected assets
3. Accelerate non-oil revenue generation,
4. Drastically cut costs

5. Align monetary, trade and fiscal policies
6. Expand infrastructure especially power, roads and rails
7. Revamp the four existing refineries
8. Improve ease of doing business
9. Expand social investment programmes
10. Deliver on agricultural transformation
11. Accelerate implementation of National Industrial Revolution Plan using special economic zones
12. Focus on priority sectors in order to generate jobs, promote exports, boost growth and upgrade skills
 

0 364
Music

Meet MYOA, The Nigerian Soul Pop  Singer Who Will Be Performing At The American Superbowl.

0 446
News

Equatorial Guinea Presents Offer to Join OPEC in 2017

 
The Ministry of Mines and Hydrocarbons of Equatorial Guinea (http://MMIE.gob.gq) announces that it has submitted its interest to join the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in 2017. H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang, Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, travelled to Vienna on January 20 to meet with OPEC officials and present the Government of Equatorial Guinea’s offer to become the 14th member of the cartel. With 32.5 million barrels per day of output projected this year, OPEC is the world’s largest organization of oil producers. The Minister’s trip to Vienna follows the Fourth Africa-Arab Summit, which hosted last November several OPEC members in Malabo, under the patronage of H.E. President Obiang Nguema Mbasogo.
“For decades, Equatorial Guinea has achieved a sterling track record as a dependable supplier of petroleum to consumers in all corners of the world. We firmly believe that Equatorial Guinea’s interests are fully aligned with those of OPEC in serving the best interests of the industry, Africa and the global economy,” said H.E. the Minister.
On December 10, 2016, Equatorial Guinea agreed to join 10 other non-OPEC countries to reduce 558,000 barrels per day of total oil production in 2017. Equatorial Guinea’s share of the cut is 12,000 barrels per day. Even through a two-year sustained slump in oil prices, Equatorial Guinea has maintained liquid output levels at a competitive level.
“There is a consensus amongst producers that an oversupply of oil has been dragging down the price of the barrel,” the Minister said. “Equatorial Guinea is doing its part to ensure stability in the market and that the industry continues to invest in exploring and developing our resources.”
Equatorial Guinea is the third largest oil and gas producer in sub-Saharan Africa. Its $10.6 billion of annual oil and gas exports account for 95 percent of the country’s total exports, with shipments sold every day to China, India, Japan, Korea and many other countries. The country has remained committed to investing in the entire energy supply chain through landmark projects such as the Bioko Oil Terminal, the Fortuna Floating Liquefied Natural Gas project, the Riaba Fertilizers plant, compressed natural gas and LNG. Equatorial Guinea is currently hosting its latest oil and gas licensing round, EG Ronda, putting on offer all of open acreage not currently operated or under direct negotiation. Equatorial Guinea has made 114 oil and gas discoveries to date with a drilling success rate of 42 percent.

0 370
Opinion

Start of the Trump years: What's In It For Africa? | By: Ogbonna Nwuke

I mopped at the TV screen as Donald Trump took a walk along the designated parade route, clutching unto his wife’s right hand and waving to the enthusiastic crowds. It was like a scene out of a well scripted Hollywood movie. Can’t really remember the name of the US musician who wrote a great song about life in America just as the Ronald Reagan years in the White House got underway. I am not even sure I remember the title of the song either. But still, I vividly remember the lyrics of that song which said America was staring at a movie. The song recalled how the American people looked up to John Wayne each time they were in trouble, concluding that with John Wayne gone, Americans glued to a movie, were more or less saying Ronald Reagan. A song you would say, and you would be dead right! Songs evoke all kinds of feelings, emotion and passion.

As I followed the live coverage on CNN, those lyrics kept flashing past. I realised those words captured the mood in America today as it did at the time of its release. Who could have believed at the time that America would settle for a film star as president? Who could have thought in this age that a Washington outsider would be sworn in as the latest American president?

That’s Uncle Sam for you! Especially if you talk like a tough aggressive guy from the wild Wild West with a smoking gun!! Whether we like or not; whether we reside in the US or outside of it; the rest of us appear right now to be staring at a movie as someone who knows very little about how Washington works, how the international system operates, steps into the world stage.

Obviously as history unfolds, the history maker is Donald Trump, a businessman whose handlers all through the fiery campaign that almost tore America apart likened to Ronald Reagan.
I really don’t know why Trump’s people chose to tag unto the Reagan name, or why the American people fell for it. I also doubt I’d like to know after all that has happened.
Trump had promised on his way to Capitol Hill to bring back American jobs; promised to make America great again; and promised to chase out Washington insiders whom he accused of ripping off ordinary Americans.

To get to the US presidency, Trump broke with tradition, tossed what was left of the etiquette governing electioneering behaviour into the thrash can, and recorded one of the most stunning of victories in American history.

As America enters into a new phase, Trump isn’t simply wrong when he says what’s happening in America is like never before seen. Within America where Trump is promising to unite a divided nation, there is really tension. Never, since after the civil rights movement has there been such a threat to national cohesion.

To cap it, there have been several controversies as well as angry demonstrations that are trailing the Trump administration. These include women groups who insist as Trump takes over the oval office that they won’t let anyone roll back rights they have earned over the years or allow any one for that matter to infringe on the rights of their children. There are many among black and Latino communities who are worried and sick about the future of their families in a country that they call home. So are the Muslim families too. These worries are arising from Trump’s utterances during the campaign and the impact that those comments are having among white supremacists who think a new dawn is here.

Washington watchers are amazed too by the number of billionaires who have been appointed into the Trump cabinet. And impressed by attempts to halt companies in America that are trying to ship out on account of what they see as higher taxes.While Americans attempt to come to terms with the reality of the moment, it is abroad that anxiety over the Trump era is currently mounting.What will happen? What will a world with Donald Trump as US president be like?
Although there has always been some kind of consistency in America’s outlook to the world, whether  it is the Republicans or Democrats who are in power, not many members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation for instance, can predict in which direction Trump would pull when it comes to America’s alliances.

Besides, the world isn’t as peaceful and stable as Trump takes centre stage. There is a frightening refugee crisis that has taken a global dimension, creating serious immigration problems. Europeans who are hard hit by the influx are still grappling with solutions as the situation escalates.

The Middle East hasn’t come close to a two-state solution as envisaged by the United Nations, and the rivalry of the super powers hasn’t helped matters, particularly in Syria. Tension mounts in Turkey and along the Kurdish border. Israel remains as intransigent as ever, threatening to redefine its role with the UN while Iran becomes more of a force to reckon with in the region. The Saudis who have a war of their own haven’t been outdone either. They seem to have become more belligerent.  The ascendancy of ISIS and other jihadist groups which are spreading as far as Europe and Africa has further complicated security concerns.

There is global warming to think about. Trouble is Trump doesn’t seem to realize how much of a threat this is to the human habitat.

This is not to forget nuclear proliferation in Asia, namely in Pakistan, North Korea and India. There is the rumble in the China seas to worry about, China’s face off with Taiwan to figure out and China’s growing influence worldwide to contend with.

But what has Trump in stock for Africa where the oil curse, massive corruption, crippling trade imbalances in the international community, and worsening terrorism holds sway?
Most of Africa depends on foreign aid from wealthy countries, including America. What would be the US attitude towards Africa now that Trump is in charge?
Will he extend an olive branch or simply allow Africa to sort out itself against the backdrop of his America first agenda?

Africa holds a lot of promise when it comes to investment opportunities. Rich in human and materials, Africa is in dire need of attention and most Africans would judge the Trump years, not by what it does to make America great again, but by what America does to make Africa a better place.

Helping to sort out Africa could help reduce international migration problems, open more markets and address massive unemployment challenges.

In the days to come, it is evident that Africans would look forward to a Trump policy on Africa which points the way forward and defines its relationship with the United States.
Together Africa and the United States can really make a new movie. The one who can help direct the developmental film is here, the cast with all who work behind the scene are ready for the shoot while the world is waiting for the ultimate product to premiere.

In the meantime, I can only join all other concerned citizens of our changing world to say welcome to President Trump even as many afraid of the future engage in anti-American demonstrations.

Ogbonna Nwuke sent in this piece from Port Harcourt, Rivers State

 

0 271
Sports

Alex Ferguson reacts to Wayne Rooney's latest feat.

Wayne Rooney’s brilliant long-range, freekick effort against Stoke City today, which got millions of people talking has impressed an Old Trafford icon and the most successful manager of the club, Sir Alex Ferguson.

Rooney who eclipsed Sir Bobby Charlton’s 249-goal record now holds the record as the highest goalscorer for United with 250 goals.

Heaping praises on the player who has scored his second goal in the season, Sir Alex Ferguson told manutd.com: “I would like to say huge congratulations to Wayne on reaching this milestone. “It is no mean feat to score so many goals and he breaks a record that has stood for over 40 years. Wayne thoroughly deserves his place in the history books of this great club and I am sure that he will go on to score many more goals.”

He added, “Well done Wayne, I am absolutely delighted for you, you have been a great servant to this club and long may it continue.”

 

0 272
Open chat