BABILOWN~Mawolè

Remembering Nkrumah ; Ghana’s first President

Last Tuesday, February 24, 2015, marked exactly 49 years since the overthrow of that African referred to in his time as ‘the man ahead of his time’ by the Western world. He was a true leader, a liberator, the first President of the Republic of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. His overthrow was perpetrated by a group of military and policemen, led by key figures such as Col E.K. Kotoka, Major A.A. Afrifa and Inspector General of Police J.W.K. Harlley. Files of CIA The files of the US Central Intelligence Agency declassified in 1999 showed that the United States of America (USA) had been trying to influence people to overthrow President Kwame Nkrumah since 1964.  According to declassified files of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the US, these men received adequate support from the CIA. This was because Dr Nkrumah’s government posed a great threat to the US and her interests due to the strong socialist leaning of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah in the heat of the Cold War between the USA and the USSR. It is instructive in this vein to state that the existence of the National Liberation Movement (NLM) with its sole aim of defeating Nkrumah by fair or foul means, provided the impetus for the CIA agenda. The NLM, which engaged in violence, became the vanguard of opposition movements in the country and as aptly captured in his book titled ‘ The Political History of Ghana (1950-2013), Dr Obed Yao Asamoah describes how savage the NLM campaign was, leading to many fatalities, especially in 1955 when Dr Kofi Abrefa Busia was the NLM’s parliamentary leader. Emergence of Nkrumah continued

Ghanaians asked to rededicate themselves to ideals of Nkrumah

Ghanaians have been asked to rededicate themselves to the struggle against the takeover of state institutions by foreigners. Speaker after speaker at a lecture to commemorate the 49th anniversary of the overthrow of Ghana’s founding President, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, in Accra last Tuesday decried the sorry state of affairs in the country following the topple of Dr Nkrumah. In the view of  the apostles of the ideals and philosophy of Nkrumah, his overthrow reversed the country’s forward march to accelerated development. The function, which was on the theme: “Nkrumah never dies- Battling neo-colonialism, the last stage of Imperialism”, attracted scores of people to the College of Physicians and Surgeons, including ministers of state, members of the diplomatic corps and other groups. A leading member of the Socialists Forum of Ghana, Mr Kwesi Pratt Jnr,  took a swipe at those denigrating the ideas and ideals of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah. continued

Of ‘Dumso’ And Ghana’s Energy Sector Challenges: Part 1

A.    Introduction The impression being created by the Government is that the major challenge with Ghana’s erratic power supply evidenced by the persistent ‘dumsor-dumdum’ is the lack of generation capacity, and so signing additional power purchase contracts with independent power producers (IPPs) will automatically resolve this challenge. We are instead of the opinion that the current round of power outages has nothing to do with the lack of generation capacity, but more to do with fuel availability – light cycle crude oil and natural gas to power the thermal plants – and other causal factors. read more

Letter from Africa: Why do we rely on 'miracle cures'?

n our series of letters from African journalists, Ghanaian writer Elizabeth Ohene, a former government minister and member of the opposition, considers why so many Ghanaians turn to supernatural powers for help. Ours must be an advertiser's paradise. We believe in miracles and the more spectacular they are, the better. Radio and television stations and newspapers all make a brisk business selling "miracle cures" for all ailments. The streets are cluttered with billboards of all sizes telling us about the one-stop answer to all problems. A current favourite of mine is an advertisement that screams at you not to die of cancer and promises that be it "prostate, ovarian, stomach, cervical, liver, lung, breast, pancreatic" or whatever variety of cancer, you are assured of a 21-day phenomenal treatment. 'Magic pill' And while you are about it, a period of one to two months is all that is required to recover from male or female infertility, six months for full rehabilitation from a stroke or total recovery from diabetes, hypertension and hepatitis and one to three weeks for the clearance of fibroids. And oh yes, one month is needed for total recovery from burns, no matter "the degree of burns" on your body. continued

Nigeria : $9.3m arms deal: Oritsejafor opens up

Yoruba movies : Le Retour sur Scène de Pa Kasumu

Ace Yoruba actor,  Kayode Odumosu, aka Pa Kasumu, who was reported very ill and now better due to help from well meaning Nigerians, is recruperating very well at his Abeokuta home. Saturday Tribune  has confirmed that the actor is set to appear in a movie soon.   Pa Kasumu said in his Abeokuta home:, “Thank you, I am getting much better. Yes of course, I am returning to the acting scene. Recently, I worked with Tunji Bamisigbin, where I played the role of Papa Brazilian and  I was able to appear in two episodes of the series.” Though the actor is also set to travel to India for further treatment and check-up, he has remained optimistic and thanked  the well-meaning Nigerians like Governors Ibikunle Amosun and Babatunde Fashola of Ogun and Lagos states, as well as professional colleagues who reached to help him when his health deteriorated. ibinilori

Australian Negotiator Insists Modu Sheriff, Ihejirika Sponsor B'Haram

Stephen Davis, an Australian hostage negotiator who spent some time in Nigeria trying to secure the release of more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls abducted by Boko Haram militants in Chibok, Borno State, told SaharaReporters that he stands by his widely reported allegations that former Governor Modu Sherriff of Borno State and a former Chief of Army staff, General Azubuike Ihejirika (ret.), were among the top sponsors of the Islamist insurgents who have massacred thousands of Nigerians and foreigners and made the northeast part of Nigeria a highly militarized zone.  In an extensive telephone interview with SaharaReporters yesterday, Dr. Davis also accused an unnamed senior official of the Central Bank of Nigeria as well as a man based in Cairo, Egypt whom he claimed operates as Boko Haram’s bagman. He said both men, in addition to Mr. Sheriff and former General Ihejirika, were major players in the funding and continued existence of the deadly Islamist sect. Dr. Davis told SaharaReporters that he did not want to name the CBN official as this may prejudice investigation by Nigeria’s security services. Both accused men have reacted furiously to Mr. Davis’ allegation, with the former Borno governor threatening to travel to Australia to sue his accuser while Mr. Ihejirika accused former Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nasir El Rufai, of being a “commander” of Boko Haram. Three days ago, Mr. El Rufai had posted transcripts and video of Mr. Davis’ accusations of the former governor and ex-Army chief on social media.

Nigeria : Key National Conference Recommendations

Scale of blatant corruption today far exceeds June 4 Revolt trigger

Former President Jerry John Rawlings has questioned why Ghanaians tolerate corruption in spite of its manifold negativities on national development and morals. He says as a nation, we know corruption is killing us in many ways, and he wonders why we tolerate it to the extent of sometimes hailing and idolising the corrupt. In a statement he issued on the occasion of the 35th Anniversary of the June 4 Uprising, he said only recently Ghana was adjudged the world’s fastest growing economy, and has also been applauded as one of a few to achieve ahead of time, the UN’s MDG of halving poverty, however in spite of all the high accolades, the masses can hardly feel the improvements. He counselled that if it is the expectation of some that part of the ill-gotten wealth of the corrupt will trickle down to them in some way and therefore choose to endorse them, it will never materialise. But it cannot also continue, for eventually there will be a price to pay for perpetrators and for us who look on in silence. “Corruption hurts us because it takes out of the public purse scarce resources that could be used to turn our economy into an engine for sustained growth. “Corruption hurts us because it siphons out of the economy the substantial investment that is needed in the social sector to pay the salaries of doctors, nurses and teachers, build more and better schools and hospitals, and create the physical infrastructure needed to take our nation to a greater level of human and economic development. continued

A Beninoise Woman Accuses Lagos DPO of Rape

Nigeria recommends 2020 target for Africa to attain UHC

La Violence Symbolique du Régionalisme de Yayi Boni.

Ghana : Pour l’Électricité, Yayi Viole l’Adage de la Charité

Monsieur Yayi Boni est confiant que le Ghana continuera de fournir l’électricité au Bénin malgré les difficultés d'alimentation que connaissent les Ghanéens. Les Ghanéens sont ébranlés sous un régime de délestage qui affecte ​​les entreprises à travers le pays. Le Président Yayi Boni a fait cette remarque au Salon du Jubilé de l' aéroport international de Kotoka, où il a été accueilli par le Président John Mahama jeudi. Il rendait visite au président Mahama avant le sommet de la CEDEAO qui va se tenir à Yamousukro, Côte-d'Ivoire. Le Président Mahama a indiqué que l’escale de Yayi Boni au Ghana a été rendue nécessaire par les faibles niveaux d'énergie que le Ghana fournit au Bénin en raison des problèmes énergétiques auxquels le Ghana est confronté depuis quelque temps. « Nous nous sommes engagés à fournir une certaine quantité d'énergie à la république du Bénin. Par suite de difficultés que nous rencontrons, je pense que les niveaux que nous avons fourni à nos partenaires Béninois et Togolais ont récemment été très faibles et donc il est venu pour se rendre compte des défis auxquels nous sommes confrontés et voir comment en tant que membres de la CEDEAO, et en tant que membres du Pool Ouest-africain de l’Énergie, nous pouvons résoudre ce problème » a déclaré le président Mahama. Le président Yayi Boni a dit son espoir que le Bénin va obtenir de l'énergie, malgré les défis, en ajoutant que son entretien avec Monsieur Mahama, ira bien au-delà de la question de l’énergie. « Le Ghana, a-t-il dit, continuera à tenir sa promesse, malgré les moments difficiles que connaît le pays. » Le Bénin et le Togo dépendent du Ghana pour l'approvisionnement en énergie. Amené et trad. par Binason Avèkes

8,000 bags of rice smuggled into Nigeria daily – Agriculture Minister

Badagry Slave Route faces environmental degradation

Tree felling as become a norm in Badagry. The breeze from the Atlantic Ocean whizzed past my face as I walked through the historical Slave Port on Gberefu Island in Badagry Town. It was as though the wind developed eight extremities like an Octopus, rustling over my head and lifting every strand of my braided hair from off my scalp into the air. This was how natural this Island was even centuries after the abolishment of Slave Trade in the world. But it is gradually losing its virginity to invasive human activities that could pre-empt an environmental catastrophe. Compared to my visit to this same place some five years ago, Gberefu Island from where Badagry town originated, is under attack from the environmentally unfriendly act of tree felling. This disturbance in the ecosystem balance could lead to coastal erosion and eventually an ocean surge, as has been recently experienced at the Alpha and Kuramo beaches on the Victoria Island axis. The consequence, environmentalists forecast, may be as huge as the loss of its historical significance as the world renowned slave trade port, as well as losing its potential to rake in millions of dollars from tourism. A lack of strong environmental regulatory laws to protect it may be responsible for the indiscriminate acts observed…. continued

Nigeria : Kidnappers’ den uncovered in Ibadan

Scores Of Human Skulls Found In Ibadan

Ghana : Nana Akufo-Addo to Run for President

Ghana : Nana Akufo-Addo sera Candidat aux Élections Présidentielles de 2016

 

Rawlings condemns double standards of developed countries

Nigéria : La Colère de Wole Soyinka

“La Canonisation de la Terreur” En Afrique, pour des raisons électoralistes, les dirigeants qui se disent pourtant démocratiquement élus agissent à l’encontre des valeurs démocratiques. Faisant montre d’une amoralité inouïe, ils glorifient des criminels, ceux qui ont assassiné des milliers de leurs concitoyens innocents, détourné des sommes colossales placées dans des banques étrangères, conduit leur pays dans le sang et la médiocrité vers les ténèbres de la misère de masse. Ces criminels sont aujourd’hui canonisés, comme Goodluck vient de le faire au Nigéria de Sanni Abasha et consorts – l’homme qui a cruellement tué Saro Wiwa entre autres – lors de la célébration du centenaire de la formation du Nigeria. Parce que cet acte  cynique est considéré comme électoralement payant. Pour gagner quatre ans à poser son cul sur le siège de la présidence nigériane, on n’hésite pas à faire faire un recul de plusieurs siècles à toute une nation. On a le même phénomène au Bénin, où la même mentalité d’apologie du crime, d’impunité cynique et d’amoralisme impénitent a conduit à faire de Kérékou un héros de la Démocratie, alors qu’il n’est qu’un dirigeant médiocre, un obscur dictateur qui a du sang sur les mains. L’Afrique se place encore une fois à contre courant de l’histoire. Sur le plan économique, alors que tous les continents du monde s’efforcent d’aller vers l’industrialisation à travers un savoir faire autonome, la domestication des technologies et leur appropriation, nous en sommes toujours à vivre d’une économie de rente indexée sur l’exploitation des ressources minières et pétrolières, dont les revenus sont pillés par une minorité corrompue, sans foi ni loi. Alors que sur le plan de la morale dans l’histoire, tous les peuples, de l’Amérique latine aux anciens pays du bloc soviétique, révisent leur passé et y séparent consciencieusement le bon grain de l’ivraie, jugeant leurs dirigeants criminels comme cela se doit – et les sorts d’un Pinochet, d’un Ceausescu ou d’un Milosevic sont là pour nous en convaincre – agissant bestialement à contre courant de l’histoire, l’Afrique en est encore à mettre sur un piédestal d’obscurs criminels, et ce au nom d’intérêts électoralistes à courte vue. C’est cette monstruosité éthique antihistorique que Wole Soyinka appelle ici “la canonisation de la terreur”, et qu'il fustige sans appel. Binason Avèkes

 

A Parakou, si Piquante était la Sauce

Nigeria: War, Denial, and Corruption

This is a guest post by Jim Sanders, a career, now retired, West Africa watcher for various federal agencies. The views expressed below are his personal views and do not reflect those of his former employers. Civil war is raging in Nigeria’s northeast. Abuja says it is winning, but when Boko Haram attacks a military base, kills numerous soldiers and their dependents, then burns barracks to the ground, such claims strain credulity. The Army, long able to discourage direct confrontation, and since independence the country’s most durable national institution may be starting to unravel. In contrast, Boko Haram, firmly ensconced in the grassroots, remains robust. Moreover, they appear to have one-upped Amazon.com because they may be keeping their weapons inventory on mobile platforms, rather than in fixed caches. Moving “warehouses” are hard to destroy. In Abuja, the country’s center, it is clear that when reform begins to threaten vested interests, Nigeria’s thin veneer of democracy wears off and progress toward “transparency” and “good governance”—passwords required for successful login to the comity of nations—is revealed as illusory. In light of these fundamental insecurities, Mr. Sanusi’s recent “suspension” from his position as governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria has proved shocking. None of this, however, will come as any surprise to Wang Xiaofang, author of The Civil Servant’s Notebook, a novel about politics and corruption in China. “Under the present system,” one of his characters opines, “the outcome of the law was in the hands of individual people, not in the hands of institutions, and the law often gave way to favors, connections, and even public opinion. The “iron fist of the law” only frightened the small fry, not the big fish.” Institutions, one of which Mr. Sanusi headed, prevented neither the disappearance of billions in oil revenue, nor Mr. Sanusi’s own removal. A single individual, the president, proved more powerful. American muckraker Lincoln Steffens would probably nod knowingly, too. Political corruption, he believed, was not a temporary evil that could be corrected by reforms, but rather a policy by which democracy was made over into a plutocracy. Bosses and crooks could stop corruption, he thought, but not reformers. They lacked the knowledge and tools, and were not up to a hard fight. In the Niger Delta, some amnestied militants are returning to oil theft, i.e., war against the state by other means, according to “Oil Thieves of the Niger Delta,” by Alexis Okeowo, source

Nigeria : SSS secures warrant of arrest for El-Rufai

Kufuor monopolised corruption for himself – Rawlings

Former President Jerry Rawlings has accused his successor, John Kufuor, of monopolising corruption during his two-term tenure in office between 2001 and 2009. “The difference between John Mills and Kufuor is that Kufuor was so autocratic; they had used the military and the police to subjugate the spirit of the people that he was the only one who could do corrupt things plus his family and those he would allow, and he would jail anybody else who did not have his permission to be corrupt, so there was a way in which his regime looked orderly because nobody else could engage in it except himself or gave you the permission” Rawlings told XYZ News Monday when he signed a book of condolence in honour of late South African President, Nelson Mandela, at the South African High Commission in Accra. According to him, “The regime got so corrupt that America had to send the CIA boss…to come and warn Kufuor that ‘if you don’t contain your corruption, there’ll be a coup d’etat and it will be very popular and that’s why America will not be able to help you’”,

He said Parliament should have stepped in to rein in Kufuor’s unbridled corruption but failed to do so. “…So I’m just saying it to demonstrate to you that he had reached so far…That was the moment when parliament should have started preparing to impeach him. The world was waiting to hear it, to see it, but multiparty democracy lost that fine opportunity, now we are back to square one. How do we contain corruption? And it is getting out of hand” Rawlings bemoaned. continued

Nigeria : Stella Oduah’s Honorary Ph.D is Fake

The American National Centre for Education Statistics has told PREMIUM TIMES that the Pacific Christian University, Glendale, which Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah, claimed awarded her a doctorate degree, does not exist, confirming this newspaper’s Wednesday’s report that the minister’s purported honorary Ph.D is fake. The National Centre for Education Statistics is an agency under the U.S. Department of Education. Responding to a PREMIUM TIMES’ inquiry, the spokesperson for the agency, which maintains a comprehensive and up-to-date database of all American public and private educational institutions, said, “Thank you for your inquiry. I do not see a university in our database that is Pacific Christian University in Glendale”. She however suggested that the closest to Pacific Christian University in the database might be Hope International University in Fullerton which she believed used to be known as Pacific Christian College. Contacted,  Every Delarosa of the registrar’s office at Hope International University confirmed that the institution used to be known as Pacific Christian College and not Pacific Christian University as Mrs. Oduah indicated in her resume. Even at that, Ms. Delarosa insisted Mrs. Oduah could not be referring to Hope University because the institution changed its name from Pacific Christian College in 1997 while Mrs Oduah claimed she was awarded a doctorate in Business Administration 1998. The Hope University official also explained that the institution, even when it was known as Pacific Christian College, had never had a campus in Glendale. She said the university was based in Long Beach city at the time. “We do not have any records of any candidate by the name Stella Oduah or related names,” Ms. Delarosa said, after pouring through the university record. “Whether now that we are Hope University and in the past when we were Pacific Christian College, we did not give any such person a degree here.” This newspaper had Wednesday reported that the aviation minister lied on oath to the Nigerian Senate, by claiming that a Pacific Christian University awarded her an honorary doctorate degree in 1998. continued

Mandela’s philosophy and Africa’s under-development

2014 Budget - How Rep. Ambushed Okonjo-I. With Questions

Hard for Goodluck Jonathan Not to Run in 2015-But Can He Win?

Nigeria : 37 PDP House of Reps Members Defect to APC

Nkrumah’s Ghana ‘snubbed’ Mandela in 1962 – KB Asante

Retired Diplomat, K. B. Asante says the government of Ghana’s first President, Dr. Kwame Nkrumah “in a way snubbed Mandela” and the African National Congress (ANC), when the late anti-apartheid icon came to Ghana in the 1960s to seek support in the fight apartheid. Samia Nkrumah, a daughter of the pan-Africanist leader, had denied claims that her father deliberately refused to meet the late South African President during the heady days of the apartheid regime. The late South African President, as part of his African tour to rally support for his fight against the apartheid regime, was in Ghana in 1962 with a delegation of the ANC to meet Dr Nkrumah, but never had the opportunity to do so. Samia, who is the Convention People’s Party’s Chairperson, told TV3 that her father could not meet Mandela at the time because he had just survived an assassination attempt at Kulungugu in northern Ghana and was hospitalised. According to her, there was no rift between her father and Mandela. Mandela was, however, quoted by renowned Ghanaian Journalist, Cameron Duodo, in his article ‘Mandela and I’, to have said: “Ah, Ghana! I was there in 1962. I went there to see President Kwame Nkrumah. But I never got to see him. I waited for several days, but the Foreign Minister, Ako Adjei, said I would have to wait, as Nkrumah was about to address a meeting of other freedom fighters.” According to Mandela, “So I didn’t think it would be useful to hang around in Accra and I left for Liberia. There, I was received promptly by President William Tubman!” In the article, Cameron Duodo said: ‘I had been warned that A K Barden, director of Nkrumah’s Bureau of African Affairs, preferred the Pan-Africanist Congress to the ANC. [I later learnt that Mandela's informer was the raving beauty, Genoveva Marais, Nkrumah's very good "friend", who hailed from South Africa.]‘ Nkrumah’s Government’s preference for the Pan-Africanist Congress to the ANC was confirmed by Mr. K B Asante in an article titled, “Let us now praise great and famous men” published in the Daily Graphic Monday, December 16, 2013.   K B Asante who worked closely with Dr Nkrumah at the time was later quoted Radioxyzonline as saying that: “…what I know is that Nkrumah’s policy, based on our intelligence reports and so on, did not favour ANC. We were then – I was the African Affairs Secretary – were supporting the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) because they were more active; they believed in armed struggle, they were fighting for real independence for South Africa. ANC was there but we thought it was not that active”. According to him, Nkrumah’s Government, after the Sharpville massacre on March 21, 1960, in which 69 South African students were gunned down, including 8 women and 10 children, by the apartheid Police and 180 others injured, should have reviewed its anti-ANC policy since Mandela had at the time, become a “freedom fighter” contrary to the “bourgeois” perception the Nkrumah Government had of the ANC. “…We should have changed policy but unfortunately, the Bureau of African Affairs did not realise that things had changed; that Mandela and his group were then leading the fight, and so when he came here – in fact I wasn’t aware that he came, later I heard he came – they [Bureau of African Affairs] did not provide access”, K B Asante recalled. He said unlike today: “…Before you saw the President those days, you had to go through the appropriate channels, and the Bureau of African Affairs did not facilitate that contact and therefore the ANC, I would say was not – even in recent years – has not been happy with Ghana…So that is true, we in a way snubbed Mandela”. A debate started in Ghana recently about which of the two freedom fighters was greater on the Continent. continued

Boko Haram: Nigeria imports tomatoes from Benin

Nigeria: $700 Million Abacha Loot Fully Returned- Swiss Envoy

Ambassador of Switzerland to Nigeria, Dr. Hans-Rudolf Hodel, yesterday said all the $700 million in Swiss bank accounts belonging to the late head of state General Sani Abacha have been returned to Nigeria. Hodel said this at a news conference in Abuja. He added that Swiss and Nigerian governments have agreed to request the World Bank to participate in the review of the use of the funds on welfare projects. "Regarding Sani Abacha, Switzerland has restituted and returned $700 million of illicit assets to Nigeria," he said. The ambassador said in addition to the return of the funds, Switzerland also funded a project of an NGO network which monitored the use of the recovered monies in the various development projects. On the case against the late Abacha's son Abba, Hodel said proceedings over support of a criminal organisation were still pending in Geneva. He added: "There are special procedures to deal with foreign clients who are PEPs (politically-exposed persons). Swiss banks must put clients into different risk categories. They might decide not to start business relationship with a PEP because of the reputation risk involved. Swiss banks are obliged by law to report well-founded suspicions of criminal activity and simultaneously freeze the assets in question." When asked on a recent report on Swiss traders involved in opaque $6.8 billion oil deals in Nigeria, the envoy said they have not received any formal request regarding that. "I have no knowledge that we have been contacted by the authorities. In case they will start proceedings and they will need our help, of course with international legal cooperation we will help them if they approach us. But until now, they have not approached us," he said. source

Dialogue on branding Ghana, South Africa held in Accra

Ghana lost $70m to EO Group & Sabre

Nigerian Navy to Export War Ships

Lagos – The Nigerian Navy says it is building commercial war ships for export within the African countries. The Chief of Naval Staff (CNS), Vice Adm. Dele Ezeoba, said this on Tuesday when he inspected the second indigenous patrol ship under construction at the Naval Dockyard, Victoria Island, Lagos. Ezeoba expressed confident that the Nigerian Navy was skilled enough to build patrol ships between 10 and 38 metres in size for export. “The Nigerian Navy will no longer buy a ship of between 10 and 12 metres in size, because we have the capacity and capability to build them in our dockyard,’’ he said. According to him, the ship under construction is in the same class with first indigenous 31 metres patrol ship, NSS Andoni, but was redesigned and upgraded to 38 metres. Ezeoba said that the ship building business would not only attract economic value but create job for hundreds of thousands of Nigerians in the maritime sector and beyond. He assured that the second indigenous ship would be delivered to Nigerian Navy by the dockyard for its inauguration into the fleets latest by June 2014. At the NSS Beecroft, the Naval Chief also inaugurated four new patrol shaldag mante boats to enhance operational capability of the base in addition to the six of their class which were inaugurated in December 2012. Earlier, while addressing officers and rating at the Naval Training Command, Apapa, Ezeoba announced plan to build a new Navy barrack in Abuja in order to address the accommodation problem in the service. He said that the Naval Headquarters was looking at the possibility of channelling the lodging allowances of officers and ratings, which amounted to N3.6 billion annually, into building more houses within a year.(NAN) source

Nigeria: FG Replies Amaechi On 'Missing' U.S.$5 Billion

The Federal Ministry of Finance yesterday denied making secret withdrawals from the Excess Crude Account (ECA) without the knowledge of state governments. It was reacting to Rivers State Governor Rotimi Amaechi who claimed at the weekend in Sokoto that $5 billion was missing from the account. In a statement in Abuja yesterday, the ministry said the monies were shared over a period of months among the three tiers of government with the express approval of state governors. "Governor Amaechi... has been closely involved and actively participated in making requests to the Presidency for the ECA to be shared for the purpose of augmenting the regular allocations from the Federation Account whenever there is a shortfall," the statement said. "The $5 billion in the ECA which Governor Amaechi referred to in his statement has been shared to the three tiers of government to make up for the revenue shortfalls during the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee process. Part of this fund also went for SURE-

P payments and the balance for subsidy payments to oil marketers." It said Rivers State received N56.2 billion, the second highest share among the states, for January to September from the account. "It is therefore curious that Governor Amaechi seems not to know the whereabouts of the N56.2 billion which Rivers State has received from the ECA this year," the ministry said. Amaechi had also accused Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of refusing to sign the African Development Bank (ADB) loan for a water project in Port Harcourt. continued

Ghana, Ivory Coast agree on resolving maritime dispute

Ghana and Ivory Coast have agreed to constitute a joint team to establish the geographical boundaries of a disputed area off the coast of Ghana, rich in oil and gas. Ivory Coast recently renewed its efforts to claim the oil-rich C100 maritime area, which Ghana said is part of its territorial waters. Ghana thought it had exclusive possession and occupation of the territory until April this year, when Ivory Coast announced it had struck oil on a block off Ivory Coast and adjacent Ghana’s Jubilee Field. The territory is estimated to hold about 2 billion barrels of oil reserves and another 1.2 trillion cubic feet of natural gas. Ghanaian and Ivorian officials held a two-day meeting in Accra on Monday and Tuesday, and agreed to send a joint team to the area to clearly demarcate the boundaries. Ghana’s team was led by the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, while Ivory

Coast Ambassador to Ghana Bernard Ehui-Koutoua led his country's side. At the end of talks the two countries set June 2014 to conclude the delimitation. Alhaji Inusah Fuseini told Joy News Fred Smith that a joint team will visit the disputed area on November 26. Meanwhile, a law lecturer, Mr Kofi Abotsi said the issue was a complex one that required a cross national trans-boundary committee to address the concerns of both countries to prevent any dispute from escalation. …. continued

Pollution detector designed to protect heritage sites

A simple detector could help conservators at World Heritage sites in the developing world understand and protect against atmospheric pollutants that can damage valuable artefacts. The pollutant-measuring device has been prototyped by Henoc Agbota, an engineer at University College London, United Kingdom, and presented last week (30 October) at a conference marking the end of a five-year funding programme for heritage science run from the university. Agbota’s work was prompted by last year's decision by UNESCO (the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) that its World Heritage Committee would begin asking their certified sites to provide yearly figures for atmospheric pollutant levels. In response, Agbota surveyed 25 correct developing world sites and found that few had the capacity to do this. At the Royal Palaces of Abomey, the historical seat of the rulers of the Kingdom of Dahomey in modern-day Benin, conservators care for artefacts such as stone bas-reliefs, wooden thrones and metal weapons. Urbain Hadonou, one of the conservators, tells SciDev.Net that he runs a project called museum school through which local cultural researchers come to study the artefacts. But such projects could be at risk unless artefacts are protected from harmful pollution.

Almost three-quarters of the respondents to Agbota’s survey reported observing damage to objects that they attributed to pollution. This took the form of particle deposits, corrosion and the formation of ‘black crusts’ on artefacts. Agbota hopes his device will help to avoid this damage. His instrument consists of a series of so called piezoelectric quartz crystals — which generate electric currents as they expand or contact by minute amounts — coated with varying thicknesses of copper, iron, nickel or tin. As pollutants absorb to these metallic surfaces, they change the crystals’ mass, altering the electrical output and allowing pollution levels to be calculated.  continued

Nigeria's Outrageous Vehicles Importation Bill

editorial Recently, the director-general, National Automotive Council, Alhaji Aminu Jalal, said that last year, the country spent about N1.2trillion on the importation of various brands of vehicles. These vehicles ranged from fairly used cars, otherwise known as Tokunbo, to brand new cars. Jalal added that this is exclusive of the amount spent on tractors and military vehicles imported during the year under review. The breakdown shows that N550bn worth of vehicles, N500bn spare parts and N150bn worth of tyres were brought into the country, by the three tiers of government, private corporate organisations, as well as individuals. This is unacceptable in any market-driven economy. A nation desirous of freeing itself from dependency would have insisted on the manufacturers siting their companies here. A few years ago, assembly plants in the country were doing well and employing thousands of artisans, engineers and administrators. Curiously, the NAC helmsman made these revelations at the corporate headquarters of Peugeot Automobile of Nigeria in Kaduna. Nigerians' penchant for jettisoning home-made products is becoming legendary. Regrettably, this fad has had adverse effects on industrialisation. It is a notorious fact that PAN at the height of its glory in the 1980s had 4,000 permanent workers, several casual workers and many under indirect employment. It produced no fewer than 90,000 cars annually. Today it is a shadow of itself, producing only a miserly 3,000 cars a year, with a staff strength of only 250. Over the years, this lack of protectionism has stifled the economy. There has been no clear policy to halt this drift and the automobile sector, like most other promising sectors of our national life, has witnessed a free fall. Most government officials are guilty of this shallow preference for foreign-made goods and vehicles. Our finance ministers and the Customs top echelons often boast about the high revenue generated from imported cars. It is said to have raked in over N300bn in 2012.

Last year, the National Assembly alone paid richly for imported cars. The 109 senators got at least a Toyota Prado jeep each and the 360 representatives were bought Toyota Camry model cars. All Supreme Court justices are driven about in foreign-made Mercedes Benz cars, while recent events have shown that it seems some ministers are addicted to foreign-made armoured, luxury cars of different makes. We need no soothsayers to tell us that this year, the country's vehicles import bill will surpass last year's. This trend is not good for our country and it will not help the economy to grow or recover either. The country needs a policy to encourage automobile companies to locate at least their assembly plants in Nigeria. If pursued, this will enhance industrialisation, create healthy competition, improve production standards of vehicles at globally competitive prices and boost technology transfer in the transport sector, as well as the nation's local content and employment continued

Nigeria: Govt Spends N634 Billion On Kerosene Subsidy

The federal government has been accused of spending N634 billion, the equivalent of one-third of the country's capital budget, to fund deep seated corruption in the downstream sector in the name of paying for kerosene subsidy for the past three years. Speaking in Lagos Thursday at a seminar organised by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Hon. Dakuku Peterside, criticised the federal government and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for the scam in the kerosene subsidy. "We are all businessmen who want to outsmart each other but in a case where NNPC is the sole importer of kerosene, and yet the masses are paying for it, I don't know how many of us here go to the gas station to get kerosene to buy at N50. The implication of this is that the 11 million litres we import daily develop wings and fly out of our country," he explained. He stated that in 2010 Nigeria spent N110,068,533,988 just to subsidise imported kerosene. Peterside said in 2011, a whooping N324,089,961,319 was spent on kerosene subsidy, stressing that in the same year, corruption was democratised in the downstream sector. "Some investigations also showed that the downstream sector is entrenched in deep corruption in Nigeria. That year we spent N324,089,961,319 on kerosene subsidy. In 2012, although we are yet to reconcile this, we spent N200,000 billion subsidising kerosene.

"And so in three years, we have spent N634 billion subsidising kerosene which is one-third of what we spend in a year on the capital budget," he said. "No country that spends most of its funds on consumption will grow. And so that explains why Nigeria is not moving forward. How can we move forward when most of our funds are spent servicing corruption?" he asked. "We complain that the roads are not working. Somebody will say we should pray to cast away demons and that demons are the ones affecting our roads. No demon is affecting out roads; we are the ones with the problems on our roads. "We cry about roads; we cry about one problem or the other, but if we have our way, we will buy more bulletproof cars than what we have now. That is the truth," Peterside said. He described the downstream sector as the "mother of corruption and fraud," adding that the sector is the beginning and end of corruption. continued

Nigeria: BMW cars- O-Iweala Granted N10 Million Waiver

More revelations emerged yesterday during the resumed investigation of the House of Representatives into the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA)'s alleged purchase of two BMW cars for the minister of aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, as the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) disclosed that the Federal Ministry of Finance directed that a waiver of N10.1 million be granted in the importation of the cars. This is just as the minister of aviation again failed to honour the invitation of the committee. The committee had last week adjourned the hearing to enable Oduah return from Israel and appear before the committee. However, she was absent from the meeting and a correspondence signed by the permanent secretary of the minister of the ministry of aviation, George Ossi and sent to the committee by NCAA stated that she was in transit at the time she was expected to appear yesterday, but would be available at 2.00 pm today. But the Committee on Aviation chairperson, Hon Nkiruka Onyejiocha, insisted that she appear unfailingly at 10.00 am today, stating that her failure to do so would be assumed an indication that she does not want to attend the hearing. "Tomorrow's date is sacrosanct, please communicate that to her," Onyejiocha said, after explaining that it was in the spirit of fair hearing that the lawmakers had shifted the dates to enable her state her case before the committee. Mr Manasseh Daniel Jatau, a deputy comptroller of modernisation, research and economic relations in the service, who represented the comptroller general of NCS, Abdullahi Dikko, who is in the

Netherlands on official assignment, said the point of entry of the cars was Tin Can Port in Lagos. He said that no import duty was collected from the owner of the goods, Coscharis Motors, as a one-year duty waiver for 300 cars was granted in the name of the company, for importation of cars for the 18th National Sports Festival, EKO 2012 Games in Lagos. Jatau said the exemption on the two BMW cars along with 298 others, was at the expense of the Lagos State Government, who would have been the beneficiaries of the payment of N772.132m for the 300 cars and N10.1m for the two BMW cars. Documents presented to the committee by the NCS showed that the Import Duty, VAT, ETLS, CISS and Port Charges Waiver Certificate was issued by the ministry of finance on November 20, 2012, and was signed by the director of revenue, Mrs Rose Ngozi Maranzu, on behalf of the minister of finance. continued

Ghana now fastest growing economy in sub-Saharan Africa

Mr Seth Adjei Baah, President of Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry, on Monday noted that Ghana is currently one of the fastest growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa. He said the country’s business environment is also conducive and supportive of foreign investments. Mr Adjei Baah, who was speaking at a day’s business forum of Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Turkey IZMIR Chamber of Commerce (ICC) in Accra, said Ghana is loaded with many trade and investment opportunities. The forum served as a platform for Turkish businessmen to meet with their Ghanaian counterparts to discuss trade and investment opportunities. It is also facilitated the establishment of an honorary consulate in Izmir to advance trade and development between the two countries. The visiting Turkish entrepreneurs would hold business meetings with their Ghanaian counterparts in areas such as agriculture and agro-processing, banking and finance, construction and real estate

development, tourism, telecommunications, information and communication technology, oil and gas extraction, mining and quarrying. Mr Ekrem Demirtas, President of IZMIR Chamber of Commerce, who led the delegation, said the visit sought to promote a working environment that would enable the two countries work together to fulfil the common objectives of regional economic development and social advancement.

Abuja: Nigeria's unfinished capital built on 'stolen' land

Ghana : UDS honours Rawlings with Doctorate Degree

The University for Development Studies (UDS) on Saturday conferred an honorary Doctor of Letters on former President Jerry John Rawlings in recognition of his contribution towards the founding and establishment of the university in 1992. A citation in support of the honour said, while others said it was unnecessary and waste of resources at the time to set up another public university, you were not discouraged but pushed us to ensure that UDS came into being. Dr Rawlings made a donation of 50,000 dollars, which was used to establish the UDS in 1992. Dr A.B Salifu, Chairman of the UDS Council, who led the university to confer the honours on Dr Rawlings at a special congregation of the university in Tamale, said: “For us at UDS community, Rawlings is our hero.” He said the establishment of UDS marked a turning point in the socio-economic and education life of northern Ghana. The event was graced by Ministers of State, members of the academia, chiefs from northern Ghana and the Ashanti Region amongst others. In his acceptance speech, Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings entreated all to be men of character and speak up against corruption in all spheres of life to ensure the development of the country. He urged the UDS to maintain its trimester academic programme, which allowed students to spend part of their academic course in community service and to become part of the communities, saying this is fostering unity among the people.

He called for more resources for the university and urged its alumni to take the lead role in this regard. President John Mahama spoke against political interference in the administration of public universities, saying such a practice must not be entertained. He described the former President’s award as “Eight years too late.” He said there is the need to redouble efforts to enable the north to catch up with the rest of the country in terms of development. President Mahama said government would continue to support the UDS to expand in faculty and infrastructure to enable it admit more students to contribute to the socio-economic development of the country. President Mahama announced a GH¢200,000.00 fund for the UDS to engage in special research purposes. continued

Nigeria: Pro-Jonathan Rally Turns Violent in Kaduna, Several Injured

A pro-Jonathan political rally, disguised as a Unity and Peace rally, has ended abruptly on a tragic note in Kaduna, with an unspecified number of participants reportedly injured, with some dripping with blood. At least two people were stabbed and rushed to hospital while several others suffered minor injuries after participants began to use dangerous weapons on one another, witnesses said. The rally, reportedly bankrolled by a governor from the South-south geopolitical zone, was organized under the auspices of the Northern Youth Forum, which has members in the 19 northern states. The governor is believed to have shelled out N500million for the rally meant to buoy President Jonathan's acceptance in the north ahead of the 2015 presidential election. The participants, those familiar with the organisation of the rally said, were bused to Kaduna from all the 19 northern states and paid N3000 each. In the invitations to participants, organizer Jubril Tafida, a former vice-chairman of a local government in Kaduna and current youth leader of the Northern Youth Forum, had claimed the rally was called to promote unity in the north.

But shortly after the event began at the Murtala Muhammed Square in central Kaduna, it dawned on participants that the rally was organised to drum up support for the reelection bid of President Goodluck Jonathan, witnesses said. Muhammed Bello, who attended the event, said the rally turned violent after Mr. Tafilda and other speakers began to heap praises on President Jonathan in their speeches. "As they praised Jonathan, some elements in the crowd began exhibiting campaign posters of the President," Mr. Bello said. "A lot of participants became angry and they started throwing stones and bottles at the organizers. People started running in different directions. Some people were saying they don't want to hear Jonathan's name at the rally." Another witness said the police was later called in to restore order.   read more

Nigeria: Plane nosedives in Lagos, up to 16 dead

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) — A chartered airplane nosedived into the ground and burst into flames near tanks of aviation fuel on the outskirts of Lagos, Nigeria, on Thursday, killing up to 16 people, officials said. Six survivors were rushed to the hospital, two in critical condition, Joe Obi, spokesman for Nigeria's Aviation Ministry, told The Associated Press. Obi said 14 people were killed on the aircraft that was carrying 20 people — 13 passengers and seven crew members. However Lagos state Deputy Gov. Victoria Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire told reporters that 13 people died and there were seven survivors. Later, Capt. Usman Muktar, commissioner of the Accident Investigation and Prevention Bureau investigating the accident, said there were only four survivors. There was no way to immediately account for the discrepancy, though some survivors may have died in the hospitals and some bodies apparently are burned beyond recognition. The deputy governor appealed to family members to come forward for DNA tests to help identify the victims' remains. She spoke to reporters outside Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, where some of the wounded are being treated.

Federal Aviation Agency spokesman Yakubu Dati said the Brazilian-made turboprop Embraer-120 crashed at 9:20 a.m. (0820 GMT) shortly after taking off from Murtala Muhammed Airport's domestic terminal. Police Commissioner Waheed Sanau said the plane was chartered from Associated Airline to fly from Lagos to Akure in Ondo state and crashed into open land near a tollgate shortly after taking off. The front of the aircraft was completely destroyed, indicating it was the first part to hit the ground. The wrecked remains, surrounded by security officers and rescue workers, lay about 30 meters (yards) from massive tanks storing aviation fuel. Local news reports said the plane was carrying mourners and the body of former Ondo state Gov. Olusegun Agagu, who died on Sept. 13. Dati said Agagu's casket and the black box that records data from the aircraft had been recovered.   continued

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