BABILOWN~Mawolè

Nigeria : La Ministre du Pétrole Élue Présidente de l'OPEP

Nigeria Confab : Week 3

Banque Mondiale : 100 millions de Nigérians vivent dans la misère

Cités du Golfe du Bénin 1 : Lagos

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US Threatens Nigeria Ban on Ship Safety Concerns

The U.S. has threatened to ban ships from entering Nigeria unless the sub-Saharan African nation improves security in its ports and waterways, Bloomberg Businessweek reports. U.S. authorities gave Nigeria a 90-day ultimatum to improve safety, according to Leke Oyewole, special adviser on maritime affairs to President Goodluck Jonathan, at a conference in Lagos, citing a

letter from the U.S. government. He said the deadline expires in 45 days. As a result, Nigeria will revive its implementation of the International Ship and Port Facility Security code by August continued

Ghana : Obasanjo appeals to doctors to call off strike

A former Nigerian President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has added his voice to appeals to striking Ghanaian doctors to call off their industrial action. “No matter how right you are, you cannot shirk your responsibilities as doctors to your patients, whom you have sworn to save. Life lost cannot be resuscitated,” he stated. Chief Obasanjo made the appeal at a special congregation of the University for Development Studies (UDS) in Tamale during which an honorary doctorate degree was conferred on him for his selfless service to his country and humanity. Forty-seven students of the School of Medicine and Health Sciences who graduated in Human Biology, Medicine and Surgery were awarded certificates. The new doctors were inducted into practice after taking their Hippocratic Oath, which was administered by Dr Eric Asamoah, the Chairman of the Medical and Dental Council. The Overall Best Graduate Award in Medicine was received by Dr Daniel Atubiga. The graduands are the second batch of medical students to be trained by the university since it started its clinical training at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. Formerly, the students had their clinical training at the University of Ghana in Accra and the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. To demonstrate their commitment to service and the nation, the new doctors were led by President Dramani Mahama to recite the national pledge. “As you take the Hippocratic Oath, my advice is that you abide by what you have sworn to do forever and ever, Amen,” the President told them.

Reiterating his appeal to the doctors to return to work, President Mahama urged them to do away with their entrenched position to save precious lives as the post- migration committee of the new salary structure sped up work to address the various grievances. He said the government was to embark on a recruitment drive of doctors into the security services to augment their capacity to deal with emergency health cases in the country. According to him, the decision to recruit more doctors into the security services was part of measures being considered by the government to address the health needs of Ghanaians whenever there was a crisis in the sector, as was currently being experienced with the doctors’ strike. The President further called on the graduands to accept posting to the rural communities where their services were equally needed and consider themselves as agents of change for a better Ghana continued

Livre à Vous : Démocratie et Vodun au Bénin

 

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MALI : QUAND L’OCCIDENT CRÉTIN COMMENCE A REGRETTER…

MALI : QUAND L’OCCIDENT CRÉTIN COMMENCE A REGRETTER L’ÉLIMINATION CRAPULEUSE DU COLONEL KADHAFI

Au plus fort de la pression occidentale sur son régime, le colonel Mouammar el-Kadhafi a averti que s’il tombait, le chaos et la guerre sainte dépasserait l'Afrique du Nord. «Les gens de Ben Laden viendraient imposer des rançons sur terre et sur mer», avait-il déclaré. « Nous allons revenir à l'époque de Barberousse, des pirates, des Ottomans qui imposaient des rançons sur les bateaux. » (...) En un sens, tant la crise des otages en Algérie que la bataille qui fait rage au Mali sont des conséquences de la chute du colonel Kadhafi en 2011. Comme d'autres hommes forts de la région, le colonel Kadhafi avait surtout tenu en échec les diverses factions ethniques et tribales de son pays, soit par répression ou par cooptation dans son armée. Il a agi comme un couvercle, en gardant les éléments volatiles sous contrôle. Une fois que le couvercle a été retiré, et que les frontières forcées par les puissances étrangères sont devenues plus poreuses, il y eut une plus grande liberté pour les différents groupes - qu'il s'agisse des rebelles, des djihadistes ou des criminels - à se joindre ensemble et faire cause commune. (...)

Au Mali, par exemple, il y a les Touaregs, un peuple nomade ethniquement distinct à la fois des Arabes au nord, et les Noirs qui habitent le sud du Mali et qui contrôlent le gouvernement national. Ils ont combattu pour le colonel Kadhafi en Libye, puis ont repris le chemin de l'autre côté de la frontière, après sa chute, se regroupant avec les islamistes pour former une force de combat bien plus redoutable. Ils ont apporté avec eux des armes lourdes et une grande détermination nouvelle à renverser le gouvernement malien, qu’ils avaient combattu pendant des décennies dans une lutte essentiellement laïque pour une plus grande autonomie. Adenifuja Bolaji d'après un article du New York Time

Nigeria : L’Urine Electrique au Secours de l’Usine Electrique

1er anniversaire de l’assassinat de Kadhafi: le cercle «Agora» salue la mémoire du Guide

Tout comme les cent jours, les jeunes «panafricains» du cercle de réflexion n’ont pas voulu passer sous silence l’an 1 de l’assassinat du Guide de la révolution libyenne, Mouammar Kadhafi. A travers une conférence-débat grand public, ils ont salué la mémoire de Kadhafi. 20 octobre 2011-20 octobre 2012. Il y a un an que Mouammar Kadhafi, «au nom de la démocratisation de la Libye voulue par la Communauté internationale» est tué à Syrte, sa ville natale, dans des circonstances non encore élucidées. Pour commémorer l’an 1 de la mort du «Guide visionnaire», le cercle de réflexion «Agora», une organisation de jeunes ayant pour slogan «penser pour se construire, se construire pour une Afrique digne» a organisé samedi dernier sur le terrain d’handball de l’Université d’Abomey-Calavi, une conférence-débat grand public. Autour du thème : «La Communauté internationale et la démocratie par le feu», une communication présentée par le Révérend pasteur Bruno Symahou Ahouamagnagahou pour introduire le débat

modéré par Simon Oluwafèmi Kochoni. Dans sa communication, le révérend pasteur Ahouamagnagahou qui présente Mouammar Kadhafi comme un «modèle», a dénoncé les actions des pays occidentaux qui, sous la banière de la Communauté internationale, sont intervenus par les armes en Libye pour mettre fin «au nom de la démocratie» à la vie d’un «Panafricain». Qui par son projet d’«Etats-Unis d’Afrique» et de Fonds monétaire africain, allait à l’encontre des intérêts des Occidentaux. Fidèle à lui-même, Kadhafi qui ne s’est jamais départi de son programme inscrit lire la suite

Kidnapping d’un Américain à Cotonou : Le Bénin tiré d’Embarras !

Proximité du Nigéria ; les deux Faces de la Médaille

Le Nigéria ce n’est pas seulement le kpayo et le fayaho ; pas seulement le 10ème producteur de pétrole, et la nation la plus peuplée d’Afrique, mais c’est aussi les attaques meurtrières répétées à Dantokpa, les vols à mains armées de voitures, l’insécurité diffuse le long de la frontière, les pirates aux larges de nos côtes ou sur internet qui opèrent à partir du sol national, la tendance des Béninois désœuvrés à s’inspirer des techniques de fraude, des méthodes de falsification, d’usurpation et de détournement de biens d’autrui, des pratiques criminelles en vogue au Nigeria, comme les kidnappings qui y sont légion. Pour le Bénin, la proximité du Nigéria est une médaille dont l’avers est source de profit, mais dont le revers est source de fraudes, de crimes, d'insécurité, d’agression et de mort violente. Nulle n’ignore cette réalité du double effet de la proximité de notre grand voisin. Pas plus le peuple que le gouvernement. Celui-ci a, entre autres fonctions, pour devoir d’optimiser les sources de profit et de réduire les sources d’insécurité pour les citoyens. Pour ce faire, il a obligation de protéger le territoire national de tout danger. Cette semaine, les effets de cette influence néfaste du Nigéria ont défrayé la chronique avec l’affaire du kidnapping d’un citoyen américain. La mode criminelle de kidnapping venue du Nigéria a frappé en attirant dans son piège un citoyen américain. Deux types combinés de techniques criminelles made in Nigéria ont été mis en œuvre pour réaliser ce forfait. L’escroquerie sur internet et le kidnapping. Le but des criminels était sans doute d’avoir affaire à une partie potentiellement juteuse, puisqu’il s’agit du citoyen de la nation la plus riche et la plus puissante du monde ; nation qui en raison de sa culture démocratique qui valorise la liberté individuelle ne devrait pas, pensaient-ils, lésiner sur les moyens financiers pour libérer son ressortissant. Dans le même temps, les kidnappeurs ont spéculé sur l’attitude inverse du Bénin : pays à fausse démocratie, gangrené par la corruption à tous les niveaux, à commencer par celui des dirigeants : que ce soit la corruption électorale, ou celle de l’enrichissement personnel. Mais mal leur en a pris car, et une fois n’est pas coutume, les forces de l’ordre béninoise, faisant montre d’une exceptionnelle efficacité, les ont pris de vitesse et ont libéré leur victime. Ce succès qui est à mettre à l’actif de la police béninoise est tout à l’honneur du pays, notamment sous l’angle diplomatique. Les Etats-Unis avait eu a payer le prix fort au Bénin en la personne d’une de leurs ressortissantes, Catherine Puzey, bénévole du Peace Corps, et enseignante à Badjoude dans la Donga, sauvagement assassinée le 12 mars 2009. Or, comme l’habitude en est établie au Bénin où l’impunité est reine, en dépit d’inculpations prononcées sur la base d’indices forts, plausibles et concordants aucun coupable du meurtre n’a été désigné, encore moins jugé à ce jour! Les Etats-Unis ainsi que les parents de la victimes sont restés sur leur frustration et leur douleur. C’est dans ce contexte que survient ce second acte criminel concernant les Etats-Unis. On voit bien l’embarras du gouvernement béninois et la mauvaise réputation qu’il allait endosser si le kidnapping de l’Américain devait finir comme l’a été l’assassinat de Catherine Puzey. Mais, Dieu merci et de façon pour le moins inespérée, le dénouement a été heureux ! Au grand soulagement du Gouvernement Béninois et à la grande satisfaction des Américains.

Dans le même temps, la semaine qui s’achève a été marquée au Nigeria voisin par deux affaires de kidnapping à répercussion internationale ( car les kidnappings à caractère national sont innombrables et banals) dont les dénouements n’ont pas été tous heureux. L’Italien Modesto di Girolamo, kidnappé dans l’Etat de Kwara a été libéré sain et sauf. Les autorités nigérianes n’ont donné aucun détail sur sa libération. Monsieur di Girolamo a été kidnappé à Ilorin, la capitale du Kwara le lundi alors que l’ingénieur italien y était en mission de supervision pour le compte d’une société turinoise. Mais malheureusement le jeudi, on apprend la mort d’un autre ingénieur, allemand celui-là, kidnappé en janvier dans le Nord du Nigéria et qui a été tué lors d’une opération de sauvetage qui a échoué. Edgar Fritz Raupach avait été kidnappé dans la ville de Kano. Les auteurs présumés du kidnapping de l’Allemand seraient les membres de la secte Boko Haram qui sévit au Nigeria depuis plusieurs mois, entre assassinats, raids meurtriers, bombes humaines, voitures piégés et incendies en tous genres sans que le gouvernement fédéral n’en puisse venir à bout. Bien que les mauvaises habitudes criminelles qui trouvent de plus en plus écho auprès des jeunes béninois désœuvrées se fassent sur le modèle et sous l’influence de ce qui se passe au Nigéria voisin -- depuis la fraude par internet jusqu’au kidnapping, en passant par les attaques à mains armées -- force est de constater que l’un des rares kidnapping à répercussion internationale que notre pays ait connu se soit soldé par un dénouement heureux. Ce succès est à l’honneur du Bénin et à l’actif de la police nationale. Si le modèle nigérian est socialement inévitable en raison de la proximité de ce grand voisin, il est heureux de constater que l’efficacité de la lutte anticriminelle, et la politique sécuritaire nationale puissent prouver leur différence et leur autonomie. Banjo Adegboro

Security in Nigeria depends on human welfare, not state-centric bureaucratisation

Adoyi Onoja, 23 May 2012 The creation of a Ministry for Homeland Security further entrenches a militarized vision of security centred on the state. This is an internal version of 'peacekeeping', not the 'peacebuilding' the country needs. As Nigeria grapples with persistent insecurity challenges – the Boko Haram menace representing the latest – attention has shifted to the call for the creation of a Ministry of Homeland Security. The call highlights the source, understanding and role of Nigerian intellectuals in the debate on post Cold War security. The thrust of post Cold War security theory and practice attempted to broaden and deepen security away from states and military, to human welfare and non-military matters. Once the debate was ignited, it filtered into the developing world where the term ‘security’ has become misrepresented. In Nigeria, the perception, source and practise of security prevalent amongst scholars and practitioners are outside prevailing Nigerian realities. In Nigeria, the process of state formation ended with British colonisation. Colonisation imposed a pax Britannica while at the same time creating the conditions for new conflicts after independence. The struggle for control of the state by different forces was informed by the need to appropriate resources. These forces aggregated their interest in the name of pre-British communities and not the emerging Nigerian state. Military intervention in politics followed this partisan line. Thus while the West looked outside for its insecurity, in Nigeria it was – and is – within. The issues of arrested development – incomplete state formation and adjustment, enforced union during colonial rule, mismanaged unity in pre- and post- independence eras and poor governance heightening abject poverty and unleashing conflicts – ripened the scene for permanent insecurity. Most restraints to conflict, such as familial, religious, moral and civic norms, weakened or collapsed against the growing child that was Nigeria. It was at this point the military entered the fray believing that the crisis of law and order required militarised regimentation and discipline to prevent the disintegration of the country. Military rule mismanaged the state, perverted and centralised institutions, entrenched corruption and instituted a conception of security that dehumanises the human being. In the process the military diluted the function of civil and social institutions like the family, school, religious bodies, voluntary organisations and the workplace, whose contributions constitute security. Police effectiveness derived from the role played by these institutions, but with flagging confidence the police settled for the ogre of joint military-police operations. Nigerians believed the police had failed, hence the new order. Nor were the political class exempt. They grovel before the military in security matters even in spite of security sector reforms. The everyday insecurity confronting Nigerians is beyond the comprehension of the military. It stems from the unsatisfactory and unhealthy food they consume; the poorly staffed and equipped hospitals available; inability to pay for drugs which can only function with a healthy diet; the unhealthy and confidence sapping clothes they wear; the resentment-breeding schools they attend with classes under trees or in dilapidated buildings; to ill motivated teachers constantly searching for greener pastures; to school children turned into farm labourers, to ill equipped and ill motivated secondary and tertiary education; to the poor and non existing transport infrastructure; to the inadequate public housing scheme; to insufficient infrastructure like pipe borne water, electricity, sewage, drainage and  sanitation; to corrupt service providers and public servants; to the irregular payment of salary; to insecurity provided by the dozen ill motivated and brutalised security outfits. This variant of insecurity is beyond the comprehension of the military or the political class it mentored. Indeed the military and political classes have used all means at their disposal to distance themselves from their fellow citizens’ daily ordeal because they now feel threaten and therefore act to fortify their personal security. Years of military domination denied Nigerians a dispassionate knowledge of security. To recover, we need to purge society of their influence and reorient security knowledge beginning from the family. There are two possible referents of security – the state or the people. State-centred security is realist in its approach and saddles its defence to the armed forces. The pursuit of realist and human security in Nigeria respectively produce ‘peacekeeping’ and ‘peacebuilding’. Since Nigeria favours a militarised approach which creates conflicts, peacekeeping rather than peacebuilding prevails. Peacekeeping as an exercise of the state results from the work of idle hands, inducing conflicts exacerbated by lack of economic opportunities, which bolster vote-seeking politicians and the Boko Haram, and ultimately sanction state-centred security. People-centred security emerged post-Cold War exposing the inhuman living conditions of Nigerians due to poor governance. Ken Booth posited that insecurity is a life-determining condition because people understand what security is by knowing how insecurity feels. Direct and unavoidable danger is the determining condition of Nigeria’s people, since independence but particularly in the last thirty years. Poor governance and management of the Nigerian state is responsible for this. Peacebuilding thus begins with tackling poor governance. continued

Soyinka, Akpabio and Development Crux

 

Sémiologie de la Parole Yoruba

 

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WOLE SOYINKA, ANGO ABDULLAHI and THE NIGERIAN QUESTION

By Remi Oyeyemi "All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident." -- Arthur Schopenhauer (1788 –1860) German philosopher I have been an advocate for peaceful break-up of Nigeria. An alternative is the regionalization of the country to allow each ethnic nationality to be in control of its destiny. Either of this would definitely have serious consequences for the existence of Nigeria. Ineffective accusations of tribalism have always been thrown around in vain to silence people of my school of thought. Rather than engage in serious debates on how to resolve issues that led to this kind of agitation, name-calling, intimidation and harassment have been resorted to by the protagonists of Nigeria as is. But as the quote above suggests, TRUTH, more often than not, is not always acceptable, especially, if it hits us unprepared. Most of us like to be in denial. We do not like to face reality for a variety of reasons ranging from selfishness, naiveté, and insincerity to downright dishonesty. There are times in Nigerian history when the idea of autonomous entities within the Nigeria set up or total break-up of the country has been met with ridicule and or violently opposed. The Nigerian Civil War (1967-1970) and Gideon Orkar’s coup of April 22, 1990 are instances. What history and nature has taught us is that Nigeria has little or no chance to survive, except we have the will. But obviously we don’t. Hence, Nigeria has become an exercise

in futility. The next thing would thus be, to do what civilized people often do – sit around the table to discuss (a) How to restructure Nigeria to the satisfaction of all or (b) Break up peacefully with each and every ethnic nationality determining its own future, unfettered. Either has to be done peacefully to prevent unnecessary bloodletting that could result from forcing disparaging units to remain one. Thus, when the Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka in his speech to the South-South Economic Summit on April 26, this year, called on Nigerians to “drop lingering clamour for national conference,” saying “it is no longer necessary in view of emerging democratic liberties, ” it is a sign that the TRUTH about Nigeria is becoming “self-evident.” He had admonished that rather, Nigerians should begin to organize themselves on regional basis to devalue the Center and take their destinies in their hands. Professor Soyinka has always demonstrated his faith in the survival of Nigeria as an entity. He has risked his life for Nigeria’s survival several times. What he has done with his comments above is to recognize, just like others that the present state of Nigeria is no longer tenable. His suggestion still protects the sanctity of the Nigerian entity but changes its structure. continued

Ghana to export gas to Benin

Ghana will soon start exporting gas to Benin. This was the outcome of bilateral talks between President John Mills and his Beninoise counterpart Yayi Boni who paid a day’s working visit to Accra, Friday. The Energy ministers of both countries are expected finalize the necessary agreements. Head of Communications at the presidency Koku Anyidoho told Joy News the deal will be for “futuristic” purposes. He said the deal was a “running agreement in terms of energy supply”, adding as and when Ghana ups her gas production it will supply their Beninoise counterparts. The two leaders also discussed how the African union which Yayi Boni heads will be strengthened. Koku Anyidoho revealed it was President Mills who proposed President Yayi Boni to be made the AU chair

signifying a strong bond and relationship between them. President Mills said the interaction has strengthened bilateral ties between the two countries. He said they have also adopted a common position on food security for the impending G8 summit. Both presidents have been invited for the impending G8 Summit in Washington and Anyidoho stated their common position, especially on food security will be crucial at the summit. continued

Françafrique ou Hollande : Faut pas Rêver !

Sarkozy, Hollande : du pareil au même ! La France a un nouveau Président. Et, à chaque scrutin, en France, il se trouve toujours des gens bien intentionnés pour se demander ce que l’Afrique pourrait espérer du nouvel élu. Ainsi , apprend-on, l’élection de Hollande a provoqué un branle bas dans le landerneau politique de certains pays d’Afrique centrale où des opposants se sont pris à rêver d’un changement de cap des nouveaux dirigeants à l’égard de leurs pays. Pauvres de nous Africains !  Disons -le d’emblée, l’élection d’un nouveau président en France est d’abord une bonne nouvelle pour les Français. Mais Il se fait que pour la première fois depuis longtemps, ceux qui ont voté contre Sarkozy, l’ont fait, pour les mêmes raisons que les Africains qui affirment ne pas le porter dans leur cœur. Son style de gouvernement , son omniprésence et son arrogance ont été souvent épinglés autant que sa personnalité plutôt impulsive, toujours prompte à utiliser des termes du registre familier pour ne pas dire plus. Tout le monde se souvient de son interpellation « casse-toi, pauvre con ! » à l’endroit d’un visiteur qui refusait de prendre sa main tendue en guise de salutation, au salon annuel d’agriculture au lendemain de son investiture. Et si certains justifient leur choix par des raisons purement politiques, ce n’est pas seulement à cause de la crise de la dette qu’il n’a pas réussi à juguler mais aussi pour la tendance de Sarkozy à favoriser le grand capital et surtout à ne pas s’en cacher. L’Afrique, elle, se souviendra longtemps de ce discours de Dakar et de cette petite phrase humiliante sur «  l’Africain qui n’est pas suffisamment entré dans l’histoire ».Elle se souviendra surtout de ce président de la droite dite décomplexée, arrogante qui avait d’abord déclaré à Cotonou que la « France se  souciait comme d’une guigne de la percée de la Chine en Afrique  » avant de se rétracter, comme tous ses prédécesseurs pour travailler sans complexe à consolider et préserver les « acquis » des grands patrons français parmi lesquels , il compte beaucoup d’amis. Ainsi en a-t-il été du puissant groupe Bolloré qui, sous son mandat, a opportunément étendu ses tentacules sur tous les ports du golfe de Guinée, de Dakar à Cotonou en passant par Abidjan et surtout Conakry où un contrat signé avec un concurrent a été résilié par le nouvel élu. De ce point de vue, pas grand-chose ou si peu changeront pour l’Afrique avec son successeur. On voit mal Hollande, le socialiste remettre fondamentalement en cause ces « acquis ». A preuve, au cours de la campagne, il a multiplié les symboles pour montrer sa filiation mitterrandienne. Or, nous savons ce qu’a été le double septennat de Mitterrand en Afrique. Une période de double langage où le statu quo a été maintenu et consolidé dans les pays dits du pré-carré en même temps qu’une forme de condescendance pour des régimes comme ceux du révolutionnaire Thomas Sankara. L’assassinat de ce dernier et l’adoubement de son successeur par Paris montre la distance qui sépare la vision des partisans africains de la rupture des liens néocoloniaux de celle de leurs « camarades socialistes français ». Ainsi, ni le Gabon d’omar Bongo, ni la Côte d’Ivoire d’Houphouet Boigny n’ont jamais été inquiétés par la politique africaine des socialistes français sous Mitterrand. Au contraire, le ministre de la Coopération Jean Pierre Cot qui ne s’accommodait pas des survivances de la Françafrique a été débarqué du gouvernement pour retourner à ses chers enseignements à l’université. Et bien des années plus tard, Sarkozy qui avait lui aussi évoqué la fin de cette Françafrique plusieurs fois honnie, a dû se séparer de l’un ses ministres d’ouverture , Jean Marie Bokel, transfuge du Ps, relégué à un ministère de moindre importance, après des propos aigre-doux à l’égard des gourous et des séides de la Françafrique. « Même après le discours de la Baule, pas grand-chose n’a changé véritablement dans les relations franco-africaines. Avant le soutien franc et inconditionnel de la gauche mitterrandienne au dictateur rwandais Juvénal Habyarimana jusqu’ en 94, année du génocide, il ya eu en 1992 l’appel au secours resté sans échos du Premier ministre Togolais Joseph Kocou Koffigoh dont les bureaux de la primature ont été encerclés par la soldatesque de Gnansingbé Eyadéma. Les troupes françaises dépêchées à la frontière bénino –togolaise de Hilla-Condji n’ont pas bougé d’un pouce, donnant du coup un nouveau souffle au régime autoritaire du général Eyadéma. La suite , on la connaît. La vérité est que la gauche et la droite française ont déjà fait leur mue en matière de politique africaine de la France . Fini, la colonisation de papa avec les barbouzes et les légionnaires de Kolwezi et bonjour les intérêts de la France. A preuve les socialistes français ne se sont pas opposés à l’intervention sarkozyenne en Lybie et en Côte d’Ivoire. Le camarade Gbagbo n’était plus contrôlable ni fréquentable. Les responsables du parti socialiste français le lui ont fait savoir le plus fermement du monde . Ce qui a contraint le camp Gbagbo à chercher d’autres soutiens ailleurs qu’en France, sans succès. L e président Mahamadou Issifou du Niger, producteur d’uranium est averti. Quand il lui viendra l’idée de s’en prendre aux intérêts d’Aréva , ses entrées à l’international socialiste ne lui seront d’aucun secours. suite

The Collapse of Moore's Law : Michio Kaku Explains

40th anniversary of the death of Dr Nkrumah

The Convention People’s Party (CPP) on Friday marked the 40th Anniversary celebration of the death of Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's First President. The ceremony took the form of a requiem mass and wreath laying at the Nkrumah Memorial Mausoleum Park in Accra. Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Bright Oblitei Akwetey, aspiring presidential candidate of CPP described Dr Nkrumah as an incorruptible, hardworking, visionary and outstanding thinker who was totally committed to serving Ghana and the African continent. He said Dr Nkrumah's achievements were not only remarkable but globally recognised and admired, which led to many people across the world voting him as the greatest African in the 20th Century. Mr Akwetey said, Dr Nkrumah inspired the mobilisation of African peoples and their leaders in the political struggle against apartheid and the total liberation of the continent from the chains of colonial rule and exploitation. He said the mounting of a magnificent statue in front of the new African Union

Headquarters in Addis Ababa to honour of Dr Nkrumah depicted his brand of selfless and exemplary servant-leadership for Africans and the Pan-African world. “It is understanding that many of us will naturally yearn for the return of Dr Nkrumah to our earthly life, in order to lead us courageously and inspiring for the second time in our current struggle against neo-colonialism and exploitative and impoverishing globalisation,” he said. “But the Great Osagyefo, as we are aware, will not come back soon enough to provide his rare charismatic, people-inspiring and sterling brand of leadership,” he said. continued

History of Nigeria's largest city fades amid boom

LAGOS, Nigeria (AP) -- What will one day be the most populous city in Africa was initially ignored by the Portuguese explorers who first claimed it, served as a hub for a brutal slave trade and once held the hope of a continent that even now struggles to overcome its colonial past. Lagos is an exciting, contradictory metropolis drawing millions through its streets daily hustling for success while darting between crumpled yellow minibuses, gang members and beggars.

But the buildings that once dominated its skyline continue to disappear as a booming population, decay and neglect claim the city's rich architectural past. Some preservationists have restored the ornamental archways of the city's Brazilian-style buildings and kept the wide-roofed British colonial homes of the past. However, they warn more needs to be done now before that history slips away forever. By 2015, the population of the city of Lagos will reach 12.4 million people, making the city the most populous on the entire continent, according to a 2010 study by the United Nations' Human Settlements Program. By 2025, the U.N. estimates more than 15.8 million people will be crowded into the city on the mainland and its islands. "The anticipated population boom is putting tremendous pressure on Lagos because she' continued

Lagos Unveils Plan to Build Seven Pedestrain Bridges

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Nigeria Epitome of Africa's Population Peril

Nigeria Tested by Rapid Rise in Population

LAGOS, Nigeria — In a quarter-century, at the rate Nigeria is growing, 300 million people — a population about as big as that of the present-day United States — will live in a country the size of Arizona and New Mexico. In this commercial hub, where the area’s population has by some estimates nearly doubled over 15 years to 21 million, living standards for many are falling. Lifelong residents like Peju Taofika and her three granddaughters inhabit a room in a typical apartment block known as a “Face Me, Face You” because whole families squeeze into 7-by-11-foot rooms along a narrow corridor. Up to 50 people share a kitchen, toilet and sink — though the pipes in the neighborhood often no longer carry water. At Alapere Primary School, more than 100 students cram into most classrooms, two to a desk. As graduates pour out of high schools and universities, Nigeria’s unemployment rate is nearly 50 percent for people in urban areas ages 15 to 24 — driving crime and discontent. The growing upper-middle class also feels the squeeze, as commutes from even nearby suburbs can run two to three hours. Last October, the United Nations announced the global population had breached seven billion and would expand rapidly for decades, taxing natural resources if countries cannot better manage the growth. Nearly all of the increase is in sub-Saharan Africa, where the population rise far outstrips economic expansion. Of the roughly 20 countries where women average more than five children, almost all are in the region.

Elsewhere in the developing world, in Asia and Latin America, fertility rates have fallen sharply in recent generations and now resemble those in the United States — just above two children per woman. That transformation was driven in each country by a mix of educational and employment opportunities for women, access to contraception, urbanization and an evolving middle class. Whether similar forces will defuse the population bomb in sub-Sarahan Africa is unclear. “The pace of growth in Africa is unlike anything else ever in history and a critical problem,” said Joel E. Cohen, a professor of population at Rockefeller University in New York City. “What is effective in the context of these countries may not be what worked in Latin America or Kerala or Bangladesh.” Across sub-Saharan Africa, alarmed governments have begun to act, often reversing longstanding policies that encouraged or accepted large families. Nigeria made contraceptives free last year, and officials are promoting smaller families as a key to economic salvation, holding up the financial gains in nations like Thailand as inspiration. continued

 

Coup d’État de Deuxième Génération : La Guinée Bissau Reprend le Flambeau

Guinée-Bissau: tentative de coup d'Etat, la résidence du Premier ministre attaquée

La Guinée-Bissau a été de nouveau secouée jeudi soir par une tentative de coup d'Etat: des militaires ont attaqué la résidence du Premier ministre sortant Carlos Gomes Junior, candidat à la présidentielle du 29 avril, bouclé le centre de la capitale et arrêté des responsables politiques. A l'issue d'une réunion de ministres à Abidjan, la Communauté économique des Etats d'Afrique de l'Ouest (Cédéao) a condamné "formellement et rigoureusement" cette tentative de putsch et promis la "fermeté", quelques semaines après un coup d'Etat militaire au Mali lui aussi survenu juste avant une élection. Carlos Gomes Junior "se trouvait dans sa résidence où des militants de son parti étaient venus lui témoigner de leur fidélité, quand une première roquette RPG a percuté l'entrée principale de sa villa", a déclaré à l'AFP un agent de sécurité posté dans la résidence. "Il y a eu une débandade et une riposte de nos collègues. (M. Gomes) a tenté de sortir en profitant de la confusion. Ensuite je ne l'ai plus revu car j'ai moi aussi cherché à m'enfuir de là", a-t-il raconté. "Nous recherchons activement Carlos Gomes Junior. Quel que soit l'endroit où il peut se cacher, nous le débusquerons avant l'aube", a assuré à l'AFP un militaire. Un cordon de sécurité avait été installé par des militaires autour du palais présidentiel et des rues environnantes, sans qu'il soit possible dans l'immédiat de connaître le sort du chef de l'Etat par intérim Raimundo Pereira. Le siège du Parti africain pour l'indépendance de la Guinée-Bissau et du Cap-Vert (PAIGC, au pouvoir), dirigé par M. Gomes, était occupé par au moins une vingtaine de soldats. Une dizaine d'autres, en armes, avaient pris le contrôle de la radio nationale en début de soirée. Des violences étaient redoutées depuis plusieurs jours dans cette ex-colonie portugaise dont l'histoire est jalonnée de putschs, tentatives de coups d'Etat militaires et violences politiques depuis son indépendance en 1974. La Guinée-Bissau est devenue en outre ces dernières années une plaque tournante du trafic de cocaïne entre l'Amérique du Sud et l'Europe. "Nous avons arrêté plusieurs responsables politiques", a indiqué à l'AFP un officier sous couvert d'anonymat. "Ils sont avec nous dans la forteresse d'Amura, siège de l'état-major", a-t-il dit, sans préciser l'identité des personnes interpellées. D'autres responsables sont "activement recherchés", a-t-il ajouté. Des militaires, par groupes de quatre ou cinq et armés de lance-roquettes RPG et de kalachnikov, patrouillaient dans les principales artères de Bissau. Boycott de la présidentielle par Kumba Yala Certains étaient postés devant la représentation des Nations unies et des ambassades dont celle du Portugal, ex-puissance coloniale. La circulation était interdite dans les rues qui longent ces chancelleries, apparemment pour empêcher que des personnalités ne s'y réfugient.

Aucun bilan sur d'éventuelles victimes n'était pour l'heure disponible. A l'hôpital central Simao Mendes de Bissau, il n'a pas été fait état de blessés après les tirs, même si des sirènes d'ambulances s'étaient fait entendre dans la soirée. Aucune radio n'émettait plus, pas plus que la télévision nationale. La ville a été plongée dans l'obscurité après une coupure générale de courant. Les tirs, essentiellement concentrés autour de la résidence du Premier ministre, ont duré environ une heure. La capitale a retrouvé le calme dans la soirée. Plus tôt jeudi, l'opposition bissau-guinéenne menée par l'ex-président Kumba Yala, qui est censé affronter le 29 avril au second tour de l'élection présidentielle Carlos Gomes Junior, avait appelé au boycott du scrutin, et mis en garde quiconque battrait campagne. Les cinq principaux candidats d'opposition, dont Kumba Yala, ont appelé leurs "militants et sympathisants à ne pas voter le 29 avril", au nom de la "justice", au cours d'une conférence de presse. "Quiconque s'aventurera à battre campagne assumera la responsabilité de tout ce qui adviendra", a menacé Kumba Yala, sans plus de précision. Il avait dénoncé des "fraudes massives" au premier tour du 18 mars et prévenu qu'il ne participerait pas au second tour. "J'ai dit et je le répète: je ne veux pas d'un second tour", a-t-il encore martelé. Carlos Gomes Junior avait obtenu au premier tour 48,97% des voix et Kumba Yala 23,26%. La présidentielle a été organisée à la suite du décès en janvier du président Malam Bacaï Sanha, mort à Paris où il avait été hospitalisé pour une maladie dont il souffrait depuis plusieurs années. La campagne électorale pour le second tour devait débuter vendredi pour s'achever le 27 avril. source

North not afraid of Nigeria’s break up – Junaid (1)

By CHARLES KUMOLU & GBENGA OKE …Says; ‘We’re ready for National Conference’ Russian trained medical doctor and political radical, Dr. Junaid Mohammed was a member of the second republic House of Representatives and subsequently, the Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, OMPADEC where he has claimed to have had one Dr. Goodluck Jonathan under his supervision. Known for his verbal explosions during the second republic, Dr. Junaidu had for long been unusually quiet. Well that is until his return to the fray where he has plunged head-on into the battle of the Nigeria question. Dr. Junaidu was the convener of the Northern group of professionals, politicians and policy experts that few weeks ago positioned the North for a debate on the Nigeria question. In this interview with Vanguard, he responds in his own distinctive way to the issues of Nigeria’s federalism that have recently dogged the polity. Excerpts:

HOW did the tension in the polity get to this state? The situation in the country should be seen from the position that a human being is a rational animal because God made it possible for us to learn from our mistakes and other people’s mistakes. It is always better to learn from other people’s mistake because when you learn from your mistake, you learn the hard way. It was an American Philosopher George Santayana, who said that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. continued

Climate change may kill 184m people by 25th century – Nwangi

By CHINENYEH OZOR Nsukka—A Kenyan don has estimated that climate change problem would kill about 184 million people by the 25th century with Africa recording the highest victims. Prof John Gowhan Nwangi of the Egertion University, Kenya disclosed this is an interview with Vanguard after delivering a key note address entitled “Agricultural extension strategies for effective mitigation against the effect of climate change,’’ at the 17th annual conference of Agricultural Society of Nigeria, AESON, hosted by University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN. He explained that the 184 million people would become victims of such changes through attendant disasters.

He noted that African governments have not shown enough interest to provide and encourage strategies that could mitigate climate change effects, though Africa was most vulnerable to effects of climate change. Nwangi stressed that Africa had the largest number of poor people in the world, saying that climate change has killed so many people continued

If Ojukwu Is A Hero Who Is The Villain?

Once a person and above all a personality dies it is common practice to treat him or her with kindness and with more compassion and general understanding. After death, hatchets are buried and hitherto foes are seen through less hostile prisms. The case was not different in the case of the Emeka Ojukwu, but we also saw something beyond mere compassion. In death, Ojukwu was not just buried with compassion and dignity, he was apotheosized. It must be said at this point that Emeka Ojukwu was neither the first military officer, military governor, regional leader nor politician to die and get a national or state funeral in Nigeria. Many other leaders have held such posts after him and many more have had state funerals before him but I doubt anything can be compared to what we saw for the Biafran leader. No doubt, the National Burial Committee chaired by Justice Chukwudifu Oputa and co-chaired by Senator Uche Chukwumerije did a fantastic job but the Eze IgboGburugburu had led a life with an end only few can even dream of. The glorification of the dead Emeka Ojukwu began in Lagos where he grew up and studied in Nigeria like me. As a big fan of Ikemba, I was there at the Tafawa Balewa Square with some old and new friends to pay our last tributes to this great man and what we met there was a rare enchanting pan Nigerian spirit on display. Protagonists of the occasion were not just the expected Lagosians of Igbo origin shouting “Igbo Kwenu” but a host of well known Nigerians from different parts of the federation there at the occasion as Nigerians and feeling at home at the event.

The process of apotheosis of Ojukwu was initiated by Dr Tunji Braithwaite, the Lagos based legendary lawyer, politician and childhood friend of the late Biafran leader, who in his capacity as chairman of the Lagos event for Ojukwu stunned most listeners when he took the microphone and in an unusual short speech, for Nigerian standards, declared that his friend, Emeka, only waged war against corruption, lies, and injustice not against his fatherland. In his own words he said; “let me correct the wrong impression that Ojukwu declared war against his fatherland, what he declared war against was corruption, lies and injustice. That’s why we would continue to declare war against lies, injustice and corruption so that we can have a united and better Nigeria”! His speech was received and continuously interrupted by the thunderous applause of the square. Continued

Les Chimpanzés aussi Font la Police

La police n'est pas le propre de l'homme. De nombreuses autres espèces animales ont leurs gardiens de la paix, notamment nos cousins les grands singes. Des actions de maintien de l'ordre ont ainsi été rapportées chez les chimpanzés, les bonobos, les gorilles des montagnes et les orangs-outans, mais aussi chez des singes plus petits comme certaines espèces de babouins et de macaques. Maintenir l'ordre est un enjeu crucial pour la stabilité des groupes sociaux dans lesquels vivent ces animaux et par "faire la police", les éthologues entendent "intervenir de manière impartiale" (c'est-à-dire sans favoriser personne) dans un conflit entre plusieurs protagonistes. Un comportement

d'un grand intérêt pour les chercheurs parce qu'il pourrait indiquer un germe de sens moral poussant certains individus à jouer un rôle de médiateur non pas pour en tirer forcément de bénéfice personnel – au contraire, il y a une prise de risque physique certaine à séparer des congénères qui se querellent – mais pour le bien collectif, pour conserver la cohésion de la société. suite

SNC: Understanding the Sovereign Position in Nigeria, by Prof Amoda

…The intricacies of a national conference that is sovereign By Jide Ajani Away from the maddening political choristers, this is an interview that attempts to remove the fog from the eyes of both pro and anti Sovereign National Conference, SNC, politicians. John Moyibi Amoda is a Professor of political science of international repute. When Sunday vanguard decided to speak with him on the raging controversy over the SNC, it went with a level of expectations. Amoda did not disappoint.  Though verging some times on the esoteric and complex realism, Amoda’s insight into the arguments on both sides of the divide bring a very different perspective to the argument all together. To understand his thesis, please follow his choice of words.  Excerpts: The buzz word today is SOVEREIGN NATIONAL CONFERENCE, SNC.  As a professor of political science, what sense do you make of the fervency for this call now? Why now? Why the call for NC; why call for SC? Why SNC now; why the urgency now? Why now? What is different about now as opposed to previous calls for SNC is the fact that SNC has assumed the status of a national consensus about its desirability. The call for SNC is no longer the view of a dissident minority. The Sheraton Conference of The Summit Group chaired by Professor Pat Utomi cut across regional, ethnic, religious and ideological divides. As you noted it is become a panacea for its proponents. As its proponents have moved the prescriptions of SNC to the centre stage, by that very achievement they have also compelled their opponents to forge an opposing coalition. The polarization of the Establishment into pro and anti SNC interest groups now characterizes the search for solutions to the problem Nigeria has become. Why the call for National Conference now? The question itself reveals the assumption of its proponents; a national conference is proposed to address the root causes of the Nation-In-Crises. Poverty, corruption, militancy, communal violence pitching indigenes against settlers, boundary conflicts between communities, all these contextualized by Boko Haram insurgency, frame conflict generating reform policies of government. All these issues together describe the Nation-In-Crisis and turn attention to what are the determinants of these crises. Those who have reached the conclusion that Nigeria’s system of government and governance is faulty are calling for a Sovereign National Conference. Those who believe that the Nation-In-Crisis operates a system with faults, are pressing for reform of the subsisting order.

In between, is the President’s advocacy of a Transformation Regime that is yet to be fully articulated in terms of analysis and prescription. No one is at rest in the present situation. But all are in agreement that there is need for talk, talk among citizen groups about the nation and how its crises are to be understood and addressed. The anti-subsidy mass protests have defined the attitude of the citizenry – which summarized in one word is distrust of government. Stemming from these calls, and understanding the complexities of today’s Nigeria, would you say calls for a SNC are justified? The call for a SNC is not frivolous. No one can say the Nigerian ship of state is not in troubled waters. There is a gale out there and the warnings concerning “Things Falling Apart” because the centre no longer holds are to be taken seriously. Thus the question is not one of justification because people like Professor Ben Nwabueze have reached the conclusion that an SNC is required. The question is how are conclusions from root_cause analyses to be evaluated? SNC is a prescription from analysis and evaluation is not the conducting of a vote on agreement or disagreement on the proposition that a SNC is required. Evaluation is not an action call. Evaluation involves going over the facts described, understanding the facts in terms of the integrity of the structures of Nigeria as a society instituted by its builders. Continued

Oil wealth can’t enhance development –World Bank chief

The Vice President (Africa), World Bank, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, has warned the nation’s leaders against working against development through uncontrolable sharing of oil wealth. Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education in the former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration, argued that rather than depending solely on oil wealth, Nigeria and other oil-rich African countries should start investing in human capital development and sustainable agricultural programmes to transform their economies. The former presidential aide spoke in Abeokuta on Monday during the inauguration of Feed Africa Programme organised as part of activities marking the 75th birthday of Obasanjo. The FAP, which is initiated by the Centre for Human Security, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, to tackle the threat of food insecurity, is to take off as a pilot scheme in Delta State.  In a keynote address on the occasion, Ezekwesili lamented the

overdependence on oil wealth and non-renewable capital by African countries. She noted that oil wealth alone could not translate into economic development. She canvassed the proper management of the natural endowment for human and physical capital development to enhance food security in the African continent. Ezekwesili cited Japan and Singapore as examples of non-oil producing countries that ranked among the greatest nations of the world with the robust economies, urging Nigeria to take up the challenge of. continued

Soldiers rehabilitate Ohan Bridge

By DEMOLA AKINYEMI Ilorin—Residents of Kwara and Oyo states, Wednesday, heaved a sigh of relief following the rehabilitation of Ohan Bridge by the Nigerian Army engineers which has now been opened for vehicular use. The bridge serves as the main link between Kwara and  Oyo states and  Cotonou in Benin Republic. The bridge which also linked various farmlands whereby foodstuffs were transported had been closed since 2009 following a major accident on the bridge that led to the death of several people  and cows. However, following the inability of the Federal Government and its agencies to repair the bridge after several attempts, Nigerian Army engineers took over the job. At the opening of the bridge, the General Officer  Commanding, GOC,  2 Mechanised Division, Ibadan, Major-General Mohammed Abubakar, said the rehabilitation/ reconstruction was in line with one of the social responsibilities of the Nigerian Army to the civil populace as encouraged by the Chief of Army Staff, COAS.

Abubakar stressed that the Nigerian Army was ever-ready ‘’to assist any community which seeks its assistance in the area of community development.’’ An army engineer,  Ebelebe, who supervised the project, said a team soldiers executed the project within three months. Commissioner for Works and Transport, Dr. Amuda Kannike, who represented Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State on the occasion, said the repairs cost the state government over N42 million. continued

West African Subregion Loses $2 Billion Annually to Maritime Attacks

Piracy is a major problem, as NewsBlaze often reports, thanks to ECOTERRA. The West African subregion loses $2 billion annually to maritime attacks, according to Ambassador Susan E. Rice, U.S. Permanent Representative to the UN. On her remarks at a Security Council Debate On Piracy and Maritime Armed Robbery in the Gulf of Guinea, Ms. Rice said that the impact of maritime crime on local economies is staggering. She cites that loses of West African subregion due to prevailing piracy in Gulf of Guinea is a high price for a region with extensive development needs and already fragile economies. "Benin saw a 70-percent decrease in the number of ships entering the port of Cotonou, following its designation as a high risk by a maritime insurance company last August. And no price can be placed on the loss of life, as occured on February 13th when gunmen shot and killed the captain and chief engineer of a cargo ship off the coast of Nigeria." -Ms. Rice To address the problem of piracy in Gulf of Guniea, the U.S. government stresses that piracy in the Gulf of Guinea requires the strongest possible regional response, with international help.Since 2007, the U.S. has provided approximately $35 million in assistance to regional states to build maritime security capacity, including coastal radars, equipment, boats, and associated training.She stresses that the United States is committed to working with our African and other international partners through programs like the Africa Partnership Station and the Africa Maritime Law Enforcement Partnership.She notes that Obangame Express 2012- a regional Gulf of Guinea maritime exercise to help local forces improve

their capabilities to counter illicit maritime activities will conclude in the coming days. The exercise includes participation from Nigeria, Cameroon, Ghana, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome & Principe, Togo, Benin, and Republic of Congo, as well as non-African partners. "There can be no doubt that the situation has become more grave in Gulf of Guinea." -Ms. Rice She underlines that the primary responsibility for patrolling and securing offshore areas, of course, rests with the countries of the Gulf of Guinea…. continued

Sénégal : WADE à l’Heure H au Temps T

Sénégal: Wade hué ou tué ? Sur le Sénégal, une dernière dépêche via internet tombe. Et dans ma curiosité/précipitation, je lis : « Sénégal: Wade tué lors de son arrivée au bureau de vote » Ma joie était à son comble ; je voulais savourer l’évènement, et j’embrassais le peuple sénégalais de loin, d’avoir “Do The Right Thing,” dans une affaire scabreuse qui sentait le roussi, le sapin et la honte… Mais à la relecture, je devais éteindre la flamme vite allumée de ma joie ;

la vraie dépêche était : « Sénégal: Wade hué lors de son arrivée au bureau de vote»… Hélas, l’obscur géronte n’était pas tué, mais simplement hué… Hadès attendra… Thanatos aussi… De H à T la distance n’est pourtant pas très grande… Courage, Frères et Sœurs du Sénégal, l’Afrique et le Monde entier vous regarde ! A l’heure H au temps T, You must do the right thing ! continued

Ghana: Bird's Eye Chili Peppers - a Millennium Challenge Corporation Success Story

Washington — Diners across the world know the Bird's Eye chili pepper for the distinctive zing it brings to dishes. But Ghanaian farmers know the pepper as "green gold" -- and funding from the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is helping them turn the crop into a profitable export. An organization of 110 farmers at the Kpando-Torkor farm, on the east banks of Lake Volta, has begun to capitalize on the export market after receiving training funded by MCC under a five-year, $547 million compact with Ghana, MCC announced February 21. Before the MCC compact, which was recently completed, the farmers planted a variety of crops for sale in local markets but did not grow export-quality chili peppers. But since 2009, they have expanded production to include growing and exporting Bird's Eye chili peppers. In their first two pepper harvest seasons, the farm cultivated nearly 29 metric tons of export-quality peppers from just 1.5 hectares. "I am gratified the people of Ghana embraced MCC's innovative

approach to development. It is an approach that reflects the values of Ghanaians dedicated to creating a life of opportunity," MCC chief executive Daniel Yohannes said during recent ceremonies in Ghana celebrating the completion of the compact. Expected to provide economic opportunities for more than 1.2 million Ghanaians over 20 years, the compact has created more than 1,200 farmer-based organizations (FBOs), trained more than 66,000 farmers in commercial agriculture, enhanced rural credit and banking services, and constructed new roads and post-harvest facilities. continued

GHANA : Cedi Depreciates By 5.9%

Ghana Cedis The Cedi depreciated at a much faster pace of 5.9 per cent in January 2012 compared to 1.9 per cent in January 2011 mainly on account of strong demand for foreign exchange and certain speculative activities. The Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Paa Kwesi Amissah Arthur, delivering the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) report for the last quarter of 2011 and its impact on current developments on Wednesday in Accra, said the cedi depreciated by 4.9 per cent against the US dollar in 2011, compared to 3.1 per cent in 2010. “In trade-weighted terms, a real effective depreciation of 1.7 per cent was recorded, compared to 1.5 per cent in 2010.

According to him, the rapid growth in imports in 2011 and the unusual surge in demand for foreign exchange during the last quarter of the year created a misalignment in Bank of Ghana’s foreign exchange cash flow. “Initially, this led to a marginal depreciation in the interbank rate as banks searched for resources to meet their customers’ requirements. continued

Wade’s descent into infamy

By Rotimi Fasan SENEGALESE President, Abdoulaye Wade, is an old man by any standard. You only need to look at him to know. While according to official records he was born in 1926, street lore has it that he might be much older given poor record keeping in those days. Which means the president might be entirely blameless in the mix-up in his age. Was it not in 2003, on the eve of his seventieth birthday, that JP Clark-Bekederemo, one of Nigeria’s celebrated writers, discovered he was born in 1933? Up till that time any fresh student of English or Literature, in Nigeria, believed the writer of Song of a Goat among other memorable plays and poems was born in 1935. This probably proves right those who say that age is  a mere number, for I doubt if that difference in his date of birth had any fundamental effect on the person of Professor Clark. Yet one might say there is nothing strange about Mr. Wade reducing his age if he had done so deliberately. It’s wide spread practice in these parts of the world. For both understandable and quite dishonest reasons people, even those that are ordinarily honest, lie about their age.

So President Wade would only be doing the typical by reducing his age. While his actual age might be disputable, what is not disputable is that President Wade is quite advanced in age even if he is one old man with apparently very strong constitution. This much is clear when you see the president in person. This brings me to the strange part of his story- his reluctance to leave office after almost 13 years. Given the history of African leaders, this part of the story might not be strange after all. Were the likes of Kamuzu-Banda and Houphouet Boigny young men when they chose to turn their stay in office into life presidencies? continued

Use Ghanaian languages for national cohesion and development-Prof Osam

February 10, 2012 | Filed under: Latest news | Posted by: VibeGhana Ghana must adopt utilitarian approach to the study of local languages to serve as a powerful tool for national cohesion and economic development, an African linguist advocated on Thursday in Accra. Professor E. Kweku Osam, Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Legon, In charge of Academic and Student Affairs, made the remarks at the first in a series of the university’s Inaugural Lectures. He asked policy makers and the Government to rethink the country’s language policies in order to give Ghanaians economic motivation to study and use native languages. According to him, a policy that would ensure that Ghanaian languages were taken seriously was not an option but a must, given the current trend where the intergenerational transfer of the native languages was in danger. Prof Osam suggested that the Government, the largest employer, could roll out an employment policy that engaged the services of only those who could read speak and write one or two Ghanaian languages.

He added that such demonstration of linguistic competency in the Ghanaian language would serve as incentive for the citizenry to learn them. Speaking on the theme: Of Cocoa, Cassava and Chocolate: The Dilemma of an African Linguist,” Prof Osam expressed worry that Ghanaian languages, like some of the country’s export commodities, mainly cocoa, could not boast of any economically-significant value-addition. He stressed that rather than running solely for the sake of catching up with the rest of the developed countries, Ghana needed firstly to harness her resources to satisfy the domestic needs of the citizenry before thinking about the rest of the world. continued

Kerredine, «J’veux m’intégrer», la chanson anti-UMP, Française et Malin

Image extraite du clip «j'veux m'intégrer» de Kerredine. – DR

Kerredine, producteur, auteur et compositeur du tube de Zaz Je veux, répond aux propos de responsables de l’UMP sur les questions d’immigration dans une chanson grinçante J’veux m’intégrer mise en ligne sur internet. En costume-cravate, il se présente dans une vidéo postée sur Youtube comme un «bac +6», «premier de sa promo», mais victime d’un «délit de faciès». «J’veux m’intégrer, j’mangerais du porc s’il le fallait (…) La racaille ce n’est pas moi, ce sont les Auvergnats, c’est Hortefeux qui le dit», chante-t-il sur un air de jazz manouche. «Tu me parles d’identité nationale. Va faire un tour à l’Elysée. Il y a un Hongrois et une Rital. Eux aussi sont des enfants d’étrangers», fredonne Kerredine, dans une pose parodiant les photos présidentielles. «Tu sais que là j’en ai ras-le-bol d’être à chaque fois stigmatisé. Ce n’est pas le discours du Front National, mais non c’est

celui de l’UMP», ajoute-t-il dans une séquence tournée devant le siège de l’UMP à Paris. La chanson est issue du premier album du chanteur, dont la sortie est prévue en avril. Pour promouvoir le disque, le musicien a lancé mi-décembre une web-série où il se déclare candidat pour l’élection présidentielle de 2012 et dans laquelle apparaissent plusieurs personnalités, dont Zaz, Anggun, Jade Foret (compagne d’Arnaud Lagardère) et même Jack Lang.

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Nigeria: the challenge of “Boko Haram II”

The radical Islamist group Boko Haram poses an increasing threat to the Nigerian state in the country’s north. How has it become so powerful and effective? The ingredients of an answer lie in the complex history, power-relationships and social inequalities of this marginalised region, says Morten Bøås. The tradition of Islamic radicalism that exists in northern Nigeria has mainly been non-worldly: the advocacy of a purer way of Islamic life. This changed at the turn of the millennium with the emergence of so-called “Taliban” groups. They both had a more coherent worldview (which sought the establishment of an Islamic government in Nigeria) and were willing to use violence to further their objectives. These groups were crushed by the Nigerian state in 2004, but Boko Haram - which had been established in 2002, and which the government saw as an unthreatening religious organisation - continued to exist. After the group turned violent, its original leader, Mohammed Yusuf, was arrested and killed in 2009. At the time this was seen as having put an end to the organisation, but this proved not to be the case. Boko Haram has re-emerged from the ashes of the death of its original leader as an avant-garde organisation embracing the strategy of hyper-violent, spectacular and deadly terrorist attacks. The question is how this could happen. The marginalisation of northern Nigeria within the context of the country as a whole, and the inequality between the north and south of Nigeria and how this may have alienated some northerners, must be taken into consideration as part

of the answer. This article, however, seeks also to place Boko Haram into a broader context, by exploring three factors: * historical forces leading to its emergence * issues concerning internal collusion between Boko Haram activists and well-connected Nigerian “big men” * external support for the organisation through emerging Af- rican jihadist networks. A movement reborn The long tradition of Islamic radicalism in northern Nigeria notwithstanding, actual organised armed struggle against the state is new. It first appeared around 2002, though the nature of the multiple bomb-attacks in Kano on 25 December 2011 (targeting churches and Christian worshippers) and 20 January 2012 (targeting police stations and other government buildings) suggests that this struggle has entered a new phase. continued

Le Nigeria a Dépensé 8, 1 Milliards de Francs Pour Sécuriser les Eaux de Cotonou

Par GODWIN Oritse L’année dernière le Nigeria a dépensé environ N2.6 milliards pour assurer la sécurité des voies navigables de Cotonou, une initiative qui a depuis lors mis en échec les activités des pirates autour de la zone. M. Leke Oyewole, le conseiller aux affaires maritimes du Président Goodluck Jonathan, qui en faisait l’annonce, a insisté sur la nécessité pour le Nigeria d’assurer la sécurité des voies navigables du Bénin en raison des liens qui unissent les deux pays. Oyewole a noté que parce que la question a été traitée de manière décisive dans cette région, il y a une paix relative sur cet axe. Le montant, selon Oyewole, a été dépensé au cours des six premiers mois de la mise en œuvre du projet L'expert maritime a précisé que le Nigeria a agi en conformité avec l'accord bilatéral entre les deux pays. Il a déclaré que le geste du Nigéria a été salué par la Communauté Economique des Etats de Afrique de l'Ouest (CEDEAO) et l'Organisation maritime internationale (OMI). M. Leke Oyewole a en outre révélé que les choses en étaient venues à un tel point que le Président de la République du Bénin M. Boni Yayi est venu voir le président Jonathan pour solliciter de l'aide sur la menace des pirates des eaux de Cotonou. "Immédiatement après cette demande, a dit M Oyewole, le président nigérian a envoyé des hommes et du matériel dans la zone pour contrecarrer la menace des pirates dans ce pays

Selon le Conseiller spécial, la marine nigériane assure actuellement la sécurité des opérations off-shore de la République du Bénin. De plus, à l’en croire, le Nigeria serait à la recherche des voies et moyens en vue d'impliquer d'autres pays de la côte ouest-africaine afin de former un organe régional de sécurisation de la côte ouest africain tout entière. M. Leke Oyewole a également révélé que plusieurs réunions ont été organisées pour travailler sur la possibilité et les modalités d’une plate-forme pour créer cette collaboration régionale en préparation. Dores et déjà, a dit M. Leke Oyewole, l'Union européenne, l'Organisation des Nations Unies et la France sont très intéressées par le geste du Nigéria envers le Bénin et ont montré beaucoup d’intérêt à l’initiative du projet de sécurisation concertée. source Trad. Binason Avèkes

Nigeria spends N2.6bn to secure Cotonou waters

NIgeria last year spent about N2.6 billion to provide security for the waterways of Cotonou, the Benin Republic capital, a development that has so far checkmated the activities of pirates around the area. Disclosing this to Vanguard recently in Lagos, Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Maritime affairs, Mr. Leke Oyewole, said that the Nigerian government had to ensure that the waterways of Benin Republic are secured because of the understanding between both countries. Oyewole noted that since the issue was decisively dealt with in that region, there has been some relative peace in that axis. The amount, according to Oyewole, was spent within the first six months of the operation of the project The maritime expert stated that Nigeria is doing this in line with the bilateral agreement between both countries. He stated that the move by Nigeria to assist a neighbouring country has gotten her commendations from the Economic Community of the

West African States (ECOWAS) and the International Maritime Organisation (IMO). He further disclosed that at a point the President of Benin Republic Mr. Yayi Boni came to President Jonathan to solicit for help on the menace of pirates of Cotonou waters. “Immediately after the complained, the Nigerian President swung into and sent men and materials to the country to quell the menace of pirates in that country. continued

China’s Love Of Africa

The new African Union headquarters built and fully funded by the Chinese government at a cost of $200 million. The building hosted this year’s AU Summit in the Ethiopian capital. The towering building – Addis Ababa’s tallest – symbolizes China’s strengthening ties with Africa, a major source of foreign investment from China. AFP

THE $200 million new headquarters of the African Union – a gift from China – is another confirmation of the continent’s inability to get things done by itself. Almost 50 years after the formation of the Organisation of African Unity, OAU, the AU’s forebear, the continent could not afford the AU’s new edifice that has cast a permanent role for China in Africa. Disgraced Libyan despot Moammar Gadhafi could be largely thanked for the new building. As AU Chairman in 2009, he was planning to move the AU’s headquarters from Addis Ababa to his native Sirte. The Ethiopians, who have been close to China, secured the AU headquarters with the offer from China, which built and furnished it. Addis Ababa has been Africa’s diplomatic capital since the formation of the OAU in 1963. The choice of Addis Ababa was mostly because of the influence of the late Emperor Haile Selassie, one of the

driving forces behind creation of the OAU. The 2,550-seat big conference hall, a 650-seat medium conference hall, five press conference rooms, two VIP rooms, and other facilities will ensure African leaders meet in more comfort. Previous summits have held in the United Nations conference centre, as the AU headquarters building was too small. continued

President Mills To Unveil Nkrumah’s Statue

The African Union (AU) will honour the founder and first President of Ghana, Osagyefo Dr Kwame Nkrumah, with the unveiling of a statue in Addis Ababa, for the role he played in African liberation struggle and the Pan African Movement. In line with that, President John Evans Atta Mills, who leaves Accra today, for Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to attend the 18th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the AU, has invited Dr Francis Nkrumah and Ms Samia Nkrumah to join him at the unveiling ceremony in honour of their father. The statue has been mounted at the forecourt of the newly constructed AU Building in Addis Ababa. The President is expected to deliver the keynote address on the theme: “Boosting Intra-African Trade”, and also be the guest of honour at the unveiling ceremony. continued

Ghanaians urged to remember Nigeria in prayer

Accra, Jan. 27, GNA- Global Intercessory Prayer Organisation (GIPO), a non governmental organization, has call on Ghanaians to show more concern for Nigeria’s current instability by praying for that country. This according to the NGO, was due to the crucial deepening relationship that existed between the two countries. In a statement copied to the GNA on Friday, the Association noted with concern the rate at which churches were being burnt and property destroyed. The statement extolled the huge role Nigeria played in the socio-economic development of some countries in the West African sub-region including Ghana. “It is a well known fact that Nigerian investments have helped a lot in the socio-economic development of this country.

“The West African Gas Pipeline project and the proliferation of Nigerian-owned banks in the country are typical examples of the corporation between the two countries”. It said Ghana and Nigeria were the two major powers in the West African sub-region and should therefore stand together and take the leading role in promoting cooperation among other African countries. continued

Soyinka : Le Nigeria ne Pourra pas Continuer avec le Système Présidentiel

Dr.Joe Okei-Odumakin,  Wole Soyinka et Past.Tunde Bakare au cours d'un Forum du  groupe Save Nigeria

Dans un récent Forum tenu à Ikeja, lagos, Soyinka a décrit le système politique actuel en vigueur au Nigeria comme un désastre, compte tenu de la quantité substantielle d’argent pillé par les élus. Selon lui, « nous arrivons à un moment où nous allons nous demander si cette nation peut se permettre le régime présidentiel. Il n'y a pas moyen de combattre la corruption sans changer le système législatif actuel. La réduction de 25% du salaire de base ne remédiera pas à la situation, mais le vrai remède réside dans une refonte totale de l'ensemble du système. » Le Nigeria pourra-t-il continuer à s’offrir le système de gouvernement présidentiel ? « La manière dont les élus s’accaparent d’une grande partie du budget est absurde. Le régime présidentiel est un désastre complet qui est implanté à ASSO ROCK ( Présidence du Nigeria et cœur politique) pour saigner le pays à blanc. Nous avons affaire avec une situation pour le moins cancéreuse, vous combattez un bras de la corruption, et un autre pousse. »  « Bien qu’il prenne des coups à la mesure de son expansion, a dit le lauréat du prix Nobel, comme dans certains autres pays, la corruption doit être considérée comme un déshonneur public, mais ici, plus vous êtes corrompu, plus on vous honore et vous fait chef.» Wole Soyinka a dit avoir récemment pensé à une métaphore permettant de décrire le niveau de corruption dans le pays et que le mot Hydropus, une combinaison de Hydre et Octopus (poulpe) selon lui y correspondait parfaitement Soyinka a déclaré qu’un poulpe a beaucoup de tentacules avec lesquelles il se nourrit. Tandis que l’hydre possède plusieurs têtes et ne meurt pas lorsque l’une de ses têtes est coupée. De même, Wole Soyinka considère le système législatif du pays comme "hydropus" de la corruption avec certains législateurs qui gagnent plus que le président américain ! Commentant les récentes protestations contre la suppression de la subvention du carburant organisée par les syndicats et groupes de la société civile, Soyinka a déclaré : «Les Nigérians ont démontré une solidarité qui est rare. Je vous félicite. L'organisation a été très intéressante. Je mets en garde ceux qui essaient d'ajouter une coloration ethnique à la manifestation de renoncer à cela parce qu'il est détestable et démoralisant d'ajouter une coloration ethnique à une protestation contre la politique impopulaire du gouvernement. »

Wole Soyinka a souligné que «la protestation contre la suppression de la subvention sur le pétrole au Nigeria pourrait être comparée à celle de la Grèce, où les gens ont vu la politique du gouvernement comme une tentative de les appauvrir et ont décidé d'y résister. » Toujours déplorant le taux de croissance de la corruption dans le pays, il la décrit comme un monstre à tête d'hydre qui doit être traité dans l'intérêt de la bonne gouvernance. La bigoterie religieuse et la régression économique Soyinka a ajouté que si le Nigeria doit s'attaquer à la corruption, il faut partir de la législature. « Nous parlons d'un changement de système où certains élus gagnent plus que le président américain. Le système actuel de gouvernance au Nigéria est un désastre total. » L’activiste a plaidé pour la convocation d'une Conférence Nationale Souveraine, (SNC). A cet égard, il a notamment déclaré : «C'est sur ces bases que nous en appelons à la Conférence nationale. Non pas parce que les élus ne peuvent pas faire des lois, mais parce qu'ils ne peuvent pas faire des lois contre eux-mêmes. Pourquoi faut-il légiférer à temps plein, ce qui est devenu un cancer dans notre système. » source Vanguard Binason Avèkes

‘Benin Customs extort Nigerian importers, agents’

 

TEN of the Benin Republic Customs are extorting Nigerian businessmen and agents at Seme border and also subjecting them to multiple duty payments, which violates the Economic Community of West African States (EECOWAS) treaty. Some importers, who don’t want their names mentioned, told our correspondent that cargoes billed for Nigeria from Benin Republic are now being subjected to multiple duty payment by the Beninoise Customs. “Besides, they collect extra charges of between N80, 000 and N100, 000, which are not receipted just to get our cargoes and trucks to the Nigerian side of the border,” the businessmen said. But under ECOWAS treaty, trucks conveying goods from Benin Republic to Nigeria are designated as transit goods, which ordinarily should attract minimal duty having satisfied the import regulation law of Benin Republic but the customs ignore this.

The importers said the problem arose as a result of the ECOWAS joint development project sponsored by the European Union (EU), which has forced the Nigeria Customs Service, Seme command and other security agencies around the border to relocate their offices to the Nigeria end of the border. The relocation was necessitated by the plan to demolish the ECOWAS building, which hitherto accommodated the security agencies, such as the Immigration, Customs, Port Health, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) and other security agencies. continued

Pierre Bourdieu, une pensée en mouvement

Dix ans après sa disparition, Pierre Bourdieu bouge encore, écrit Nicolas Truong. On est bien loin des polémiques dont le sociologue fut la cible, au moment où il adressait de sévères critiques au milieu politique et journalistique, écrit Le Monde dans un supplément publié dans son édition datée du mardi 24 janvier. Que reste-t-il des travaux du sociologue de la domination sociale et de la misère du monde ? De la mondialisation au féminisme jusqu'à l'avenir de l'Europe, réflexions sur l'actualité d'une pensée indignée.  Pour Axel Honneth, la grande théorie critique de Bourdieu est pétrie de contradictions et d'échecs.  Mais Bourdieu est plus un entraîneur qu'un maître à penser, réplique Gisèle Sapiro. Bourdieu est le concepteur d'une féconde révolution symbolique. C'est surtout un inspirateur propre à la réflexion de notre ère post-industrielle, insiste Nancy Fraser. C'est avant tout l'héritier de la pensée de Blaise Pascal, écrit Jacques Bouveresse. Pour Loïc Wacquant, si Bourdieu était parmi nous aujourd'hui, il "pointerait d'abord l'encombrement de l'espace public par une

foultitude de faux problèmes fabriqués par les technocrates d'État, les vendeurs de sondages, les pseudo "think tanks" et les médias friands de thématiques "sexy" qui permettent de faire de l'audimat et de vendre de la copie et réaffirmerait l'urgence de construire un État social européen digne du nom". Soit, mais si la théorie de la société est fondamentale chez Bourdieu, elle n'est pas assez forte pour pour changer le monde, écrit Robert Castel, il faut "allumer des contre-feux face à la crise pour inventer une société solidaire", ajoute-t-il. source

Nigerian vessel pays fine to Ghana government for dumping toxic waste

A Nigerian vessel, Spirit River, that dumped toxic waste at an engineered landfill site at Sofokrom in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis last year, has paid a penalty of $220,000 to the Ghana government.

The Public Relations Officer of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA), Mr Opoku Boateng told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Sekondi. The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) spearheaded the move for the compensation. Mr Boateng noted that since the toxic waste was deposited within the territory of the Metropolis as well as a facility constructed by the assembly, the people in the twin-city must benefit from the compensation given to the government. The assembly had officially petitioned the MEST for a portion of the amount for a project that would benefit the people in the metropolis. continued

Text of Jonathan’s broadcast announcing new fuel price

On January 16, 2012 · In News PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS ON THE  IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DEREGULATION POLICY IN THE DOWNSTREAM SECTOR OF THE PETROLEUM INDUSTRY, SUNDAY, JANUARY 15, 2012 Dear Compatriots, 1.    This is the second time in two weeks I will address you on the deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector. In the last seven days, the nation has witnessed a disruption of economic activities.  Although, the economic imperatives for the policy have been well articulated by government, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) went ahead to declare a nationwide strike. 2.    There was also near-breakdown of law and order in certain parts of the country as a result of the activities of some persons or groups of persons who took advantage of the situation to further their narrow interests by engaging in acts of intimidation, harassment and outright subversion of the Nigerian state. I express my sympathy to those who were adversely affected by the protests. 3.    At the inception of the deregulation policy, Government had set up the Justice Alfa Belgore Committee to liaise with Labour and other stakeholders to address likely grey areas in the policy, but despite all our efforts, Labour refused the option of dialogue and also disobeyed a restraining order of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria.   4.    However, following the intervention of the Leadership of the National Assembly, and other well-meaning Nigerians, Labour accepted to meet with government, but this yielded no tangible result.

5.    It has become clear to government and all well-meaning Nigerians that other interests beyond the implementation of the deregulation policy have hijacked the protest. This has prevented an objective assessment and consideration of all the contending issues for which dialogue was initiated by government. These same interests seek to promote discord, anarchy, and insecurity to the detriment of public peace. 6.    Government appreciates that the implementation of the deregulation policy would cause initial hardships and commends Nigerians who have put forth suggestions and credible alternatives in this regard. Government also salutes Nigerians who by and large, conducted themselves peacefully while expressing their grievances. Let me assure you that government will continue to respect the people’s right to express themselves within the confines of the law and in accordance with the dictates of our democratic space continued

Boko Haram: militant political network or criminal calling card?

A wave of attacks in northern and central Nigeria have been attributed to the Islamist organisation Boko Haram. But the true extent of their capabilities and goals remain something of a mystery, explains Murray Last. This article was first published on the Royal Africa Society's African Arguments blog. Political assassination is new neither in Nigeria nor in the history of Islam (nor indeed in Christian histories). But, in the large northern-Nigerian metropolis of Maiduguri, Boko Haram’s current campaign of assassination, both to intimidate systematically all opposition to it and to revenge itself on the authorities who sought to destroy it in 2009, is indeed new. I refer to the group as “Boko Haram” (or BH) because “Boko Haram”, though that is just its Hausa nickname, has now come to signify more than just a set of unconventional religious ideas. It is important to view the current campaign as both political and religious; though there is a religious dimension, it would be wrong to write off BH as religious ‘cranks’. Theirs is also an insurgency against the local Nigerian state which, in the eyes of BH, is secular (or at least not properly Muslim).  It is their politics that make them dangerous. The majority of those assassinated in Borno and Bauchi have been agents of governments at all levels – local dignitaries or their less protected younger brothers (the Shehu of Borno’s; the former governor’s), policemen and now soldiers have been shot. But the campaign has also, in the name of Islamic righteousness, targeted ‘ulama who criticised BH as well as drinkers in bars, and markets where beer was sold. Assassination is done in daylight, in public, usually with impunity; it’s not surreptitious, being done with guns (AK-47s) and explosives (IEDs, car-bombs, ‘grenades’), often by men driving-by on motorbikes or riding in buses. Some targeted assassinations, however, have been carried out in private houses, by men entering on foot; an early (2007) assassination was of an imam even during dawn prayer inside his mosque (in Kano). The recent death toll is put at 150 or more. Attacks or fears of attack have now spread widely: not only  in Bauchi and Adamawa but also in southern Kaduna and Abuja, in Niger and Kogi states; even Lagos has tried screening all bus passengers as they board, and major bridges (such as those near Lokoja) are under guard all night.

The Carrot As the Nigerian constitution allows citizens to believe in whatever religion (or version of religion) they like, mere membership of BH, if it is treated as a religious group, is technically not illegal. Hence the courts cannot convict people of merely belonging to or supporting BH; at worst they release them on bail or hold them indefinitely ‘awaiting trial’. In consequence the police and army tend to shoot the men they suspect as ‘terrorists’ rather than arrest them. In doing so, civilians who happen to be ‘in the way’ are apt to get hurt too. The new Terrorism (Prevention) Act may make it easier for the police to class BH as a terrorist organisation, but till recently the police are reported to have been trying “de-radicalisation” and “moral suasion” (whatever that might entail) on some hundred suspects they took in raids. This is presumably the ‘carrot’ of the president’s “carrot and stick” policy towards Boko Haram. How far it will work is of course uncertain, since it is permissible, Islamically, to feign submission in order to survive. At root, however, it is not the business of the Government to convert BH to the ‘true faith’; it is to bring an end to the violence. continued