"A Blot on the Conscience of the World" -- Soyinka

Soyinka appeal on the Darfur crisis and comment on vast ranging issues in Nigeria as well as on his recently published memoir, You Must Set Forth at Dawn: A Memoir in a 2 parts interview on Democracy Now

Part 1 and Part 2

Excerpt:

AMY GOODMAN: So what do you think has to happen right now?

WOLE SOYINKA: Well, first of all, there is another dimension. There’s another zone of responsibility, which nobody has said much about. Now, these crimes which are being committed, there’s a direct stated, quite overt and boastful purpose to it. The Janjaweed, when they kill, when they murder, burn and rape, they say clearly that they want to Arab-ize Darfur, that part of Africa. In other words, they’re acting on behalf of some very distorted notion of Arabism. Therefore, those on behalf of whom these crimes are being committed, I mean, in their name, so to speak, the Arab world, the Arab League, in particular, also has a primary responsibility to call their erring member to order.

Sudan, after all, wears two identities. It’s a member of the Africa Union, it’s a member of the Arab League. And it’s not enough to leave this task to the Africa Union. The Arab League has a clear responsibility, and I think that if a family member of the Arab world, you know, if a family member errs, then the entire family has a responsibility to say, “You cannot do this in our name. And if you do this, we expel you, we cut you off, we denounce you, and we proscribe you from our community.” I expect that kind of action of deep and profound moral integrity from the Arab world.

AMY GOODMAN: Wole Soyinka joined us in our studio yesterday. I began by asking him about the title of his book.

WOLE SOYINKA: Alright, I'll tell you the history of the title. My first working title was “Beyond the Word,” which is a literal explication of the contents of the book, of the nature of the events which are described in the book. But then one of my editors -- I went through three editors, by the way. All of them were on a very positive kind of direction. One of the editors ran into that poem of mine, which contains the lines “Traveler, you must set forth at dawn.” Title is “Death in the Dawn.” And she became very enamored of that title. When she proposed it, I said, “No, no, no.” And then I tried it out on some of my friends, and they said, “No, that's more lyrical, more poetic.” I said, “Yes, I know it is, but, you know, why? Why must –” So, I actually took a straw vote on that with some of my colleagues and so on -- “Beyond the Word,” “You Must Set Forth at Dawn.” And it came -- the voting came to about 60-40. And since I'm a true democrat, I decided to go with "You Must Set Forth at Dawn.

Nigeria, News, Soyinka, Democracy

Gluttons

The miser and the glutton are two facetious buzzards: one hides his store, and the other stores his hide.

Nigeria is never in short supply of professional underminers. Those whose sole duty as citizens is simply to retard the nation's progress. The likes of Arthur Nzeribe quickly come to mind. Nzeribe remains Nigeria's quintessential underminer-in-chief. His Association for Better Nigeria (ABN) played protagonist role in the prompt annulment of the freest and fairest election back in 1993 and served as the lunchpad for the nation's journey, with Abacha as ship captain, to the back of the beyond as one observer would later termed that whole period. Nzeribe nowadays, due to strength, is restricting his handiwork to local politics where he recently irked the temper of his constituents. As Nzeribe fade to background people like Chris Uba are coming out of internship to duly step into their undermining role lest the country begin to quickly find stability. But Uba still have lots undermining to do in the future.



In the meantime, gluttons like Ken Nnamani, Ibrahim Mantu and Ahmadu Ali swaddle the landscape. The first two are, respectively, the President and the Deputy President of the Senate while the third is the chairman of that political gang/party called PDP. While Nnamani has decided to keep his activity to stuffing his face and nothing else for now, the last two are "belle fools" looking for trouble. They are in the vanguard of the tenure elongation imbroglio threatning the nation's nascent democratic dispensation. Gluttons of course are known to consume immoderately to the point of waste and thereby dig their own graves with their teeth according to a french proverb.

Nigeria, News, Africa

Quick Sunday Postscript

From the Republic of Benin, there are a few things Obasanjo could learn about democracy. Also, Ghana's democracy is described as "strong" while Obasanjo's government is considers as "increasingly repressive". And from Jamaica a columnist from that little carribean nation thinks even Jamaicans would feel better about the state of their nation if they see Obasanjo's gigantic Nigeria.

Nigeria, News, Ghana, Jamaica, Africa

Nigeria's Stunted Democracy

According to democracy scholar Larry Diamond's maximalist criterion for democratic consolidation, democracy should "become so broadly and profoundly legitimate, and so habitually practiced and observed, that it is unlikely to break down." Needless to say Obasanjo has failed this criterion. Seven full years after the return to democracy we are still unsure how it work, if it work or when it work. Nigerians are being required in a democracy to get police permit before they can be allow to hold public meetings or demonstrations. Laws are being proposed without regard or consultations with those to be affected by their possible outcomes. Oppositions are being stiffled at every corner and is recently approaching the Abacha level. Courts' rulings are selectively and opportunistically executed. The list is endless.

Democracy entail adherence to the rule of law to work minimally and definitely tolerance of oppositions to maximally survive without fear of it breaking down. When oppositions are unsure of ballot box as the only effective route to power they become despair and won't care if democracy crashes or survive. At present Obasanjo is the number one threat to the survival of democracy in Nigeria poking hot rod at its very heart.

Nigeria, News, Africa, Democracy

Obasanjo's Score Card

The following graphic show the pains and gains of Obasanjo's regime over the past 6-7 years he is in office. As it clearly show we have more poor people, more unemployed, products cost more and the stress all these bring takes their toll first with the higher infant mortality and death rates and second with the general life expectancy declination. As for the gains more people can communicate on their mobiles, increase in literacy and of course the partial reduction/write-off of the country's external debt.



Nigeria, News, Democracy

Taylor's vacation is over

Now this is a good news. The warlord can now account for all the distress he caused the subregion throughout the 90s.

40 million in Nigerian polio immunization drive

By Christine Jaulmes

Nigeria is the last polio-endemic country in Africa, with the world’s highest number of reported cases in 2005. Now the National Programme on Immunization (NPI), supported by UNICEF, the World Health Organization and other partners, aims to immunize every child in Nigeria against polio.

The country’s second round of National Immunization Days concluded last week, using a unique approach to vaccinate more than 40 million children under the age of five. Teams of workers went directly to homes, stood in market stalls and even boarded boats to rural islands in order to ensure that no child would be missed.

http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/nigeria_31797.html

Zimbabwean Farmers Find a New Life in Nigeria

Forced out of Zimbabwe by President Robert Mugabe's infamous land-reform program, a small group of white farmers is taking advantage of a second chance in Nigeria.

Bukola Saraki, the governor of Kwara State, wooed the white commercial farmers despite some local opposition. He hopes to harness the expertise of the farmers from Zimbabwe to jump-start Nigeria's commercial agricultural sector. Nigeria spends billions annually on food imports.

Farmer Dan Swart says teaching people "the finer points of farming and finance" could "make Nigeria the breadbasket of West Africa."

A first-year yield of 4,000 tons of corn may be "the biggest single yield in Nigeria for the last 40 years," says farmer Alan Jack. He coordinated the move to Kwara state and he's recruiting an additional 40 farmers to join the initial band of 13.

As he prepared to fly to Zimbabwe to recruit more white farmers, Alan Jack said he looked forward to coming back to Nigeria, his new home.

"We're very happy here," he says. "We're back doing what we do best, which is farm... Africa needs more success stories."

Un-informed Experts At It Again

The recent articles on Nigeria by Jeffrey Tayler, Worse Than Iraq? for the Atlantic Monthly and G. Pascal Zachary, Nigeria: The Next Quagmire? for Alertnet.org attenuated both writers', and to larger extent western experts' analyses of events in Nigeria in particular and Africa in general as lacking. Both authors wrote on Nigeria because they believed it is the next Iraq. Their un-informed knowledge of Nigeria led them to supposed the recent militancy in the Niger Delta region as evidence of bigger implosion to come. We might be reminded that that road was paved for them by the impertinent and subversive U.S intelligence report "warning" that Nigeria might break up in 15 years with no new evidence other than the Nigeria's ever recurring ethnic afflictions. And since all the recent oil price increases are blamed on the unrest in Nigeria it is natural for the experts to dust up their expertise cap and don it. Now suddenly Nigeria's oil has become so influential as to cause ripples around the world. This is suspect and this is where the ruling politicians must be very very careful on security. Under the military rule dangers like this were minimum not because the military juntas cared more about the national security than their gullible civillian counterparts but rather for fear of usurpation. And so during all the destructive military years it was impossible neither for U.S intelligence warning about Nigeria disintegrating in no time nor experts comparing it to Iraq. They all generally kept their "expertise" opinion to human right violations by the juntas and could go no further. But now democracy has changed that.

Now while both writers' recordings of the Nigeria crisis are basically correct, these however were nothing new as the country has grappled with them since 1914's amalgamation and even fought a destructive civil war because of them and so their conclusion: that Nigeria is on the verge of civil war and implosion and might be the next Iraq betrayed ignorant. That both writers suffixed their titles with question mark merely confirmed this fact.

But of course the Nigerian lukeworm politicians and their policies on national security hasn't helped matter. Atiku's recent call for U.S assistance on the Niger Delta crisis is one example. Why would Nigeria need Americans to maintain security within its own border? The Nigerian Army send troops for peace-keeping to troubled spots around the world but cannot maintain same at home? Also retired Gen. Victor Malu, the former COAS had warned Obasanjo against giving the Americans too much leeway at the Defence Headquaters. He was not heard but instead removed. All these are risky national security policies. Outside of subversive outside elements Nigeria's chances of implosion are as slim as America making Iraq peaceful again.

Nigeria, News

Notes On Niger Delta Crisis

Stealing, fighting, seeking power
From Africa Confidential

Some of the militant leaders linked to the attacks on oil facilities in the Niger Delta earn tens of thousands of dollars from contracts with the oil majors. The FNDIC leaders Kingsley Otuaro and Messio German run contracting companies working with the oil majors. In Okerenkoko, Messio’s Integrate Production System Surveillance (IPSS) signed a second annual contract with Shell in November to provide security for the company’s huge Jones Creek flow station, where Okerenkoko is one of five ‘host communities’. Messio says the first contract was worth 24 million naira (US$164,000). The second, running from 1 November to 31 October, was for an initial N18 mn. ($123,000), including ‘incident-free bonuses’ of N3.6 mn. ($24,700) a quarter.
IPSS is not officially registered and its contracts look like disguised protection payments. ‘I sincerely believe MEND will not blow up any pipeline [in Okerenkoko] because the security boys would not allow it’, says Messio. He adds that pipeline vandalisation used to be common until a memorandum from him and Otuaro prompted Shell to hire IPSS.
Messio says Shell has since hired local contracting firms all over Delta state. Similar arrangements in Bayelsa are a source of friction between rival Ijaw communities. Shell admits it faces ‘pressure for cash payments for non-legitimate reasons’, but ruled in 2003 that it would no longer pay communities except for legitimate business reasons. Chevron’s similar clean-up last year involved a Global Memorandum of Understanding, designed to end practices such as the hiring of ‘ghost workers’ to pacify local youths. It also said it was ending the designation of ‘host communities’ for its flow stations (oil rigs have ‘impacted communities’) but the message does not seem to have reached the creeks.
An outfit called The Host Communities of Nigeria wants a constitutional amendment to ensure that 13 per cent of government oil revenues go directly to them, rather than to the state governments which, they say, steal most of the money. Leaders in this move are FNDIC’s Messio and the Gbaramatu chiefs.
Shell has been targeted by MEND in the latest violence but not Chevron, the opposite of what happened in 2003. Then, Chevron facilities were attacked in both Ijaw and Itsekiri areas. Ijaws felt that Itsekiris were getting a disproportionate number of oil jobs (Ijaws call that ‘differentials’).
Otuaro denies any link with MEND and says that Shell is targetted because it is less responsive to ‘opinion leaders’ such as himself, especially in paying for trips to the creeks to calm down angry youths or give jobs to local people. complains that Shell refused work to one of his contracting companies, Bruz-Otus, when drilling new wells around Jones Creek last year. Shadro Services Limited, which is owned by Otuaro and his brother Shadrack Otuaro, has lucrative contracts with Shell at Jones Creek and the Egwa oilfield. This pattern of business and militancy is repeated across the region.

Nigeria, News, Niger Delta

Extradite Charles Taylor Now!

Now that the Liberian government has done what the Nigerian government was asking but never really wanted, an extradition request for Taylor, Obasanjo should finally give in and let justice prevail. The man who caused over ten years of carnage in his country and de-established the subregion shouldn't be walking free. Extradite Taylor Now!

How third term campaigners hijacked hearing in South West

By Loremikan, Campaign for Democracy, CD

IT will not be strange to you that we in the UAD and the CDHR for years, have been deliberating on the need to have a people’s participatory constitutional and democratic government. As a matter of fact we intensified our work on the concept of constitutionalism immediately we had a civilian administration in 1999, despite our reservation on the persons and parties that found themselves in our various public offices.

Between that 1999 and 2003, we had promoted, hosted, organized seminars, workshops, and lectures across the six geo-political zones of the country. While CDHR as an organisation, has promoted and floated over 40 Constitutional Clubs in the higher institutions of the country. Till date, some of these clubs still operate and promote our interest in certain universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education in the country and UAD has drafted a model Constitution for Nigeria as a reference point for Constitutional amendments. Essentially, our concern on the issue of constitutionalism that is significant to human development and progress, encouraged our presence at Osogbo on February 22 and 23, 2006.

However, we got to Osogbo only to find out that the gathering there is a pre-determined one. We were confronted with a group of persons, including public officers who have made up their minds, on who to admit to the venue, who to recognize, and who to allow to make speech. As if that was all, the gathering have also agreed somewhere, somehow on who and what the speakers should say. Namely extension of the present administration or call for a third term for the offices of the president, vice president, governors and deputy governors of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

You will only appreciate what we went through if you were with us at Osogbo. Right at the main gate of the Osun State House of Assembly Complex, were fully armed security operatives, made up of regular police, mobile police and operatives of State Security Services. Our experience with this law enforcement officers suggested they have instruction not to allow certain persons, groups or organisations into the complex.

Aside these, people who came with different opinions as to the third term agenda for the President and Governors were shouted down, intimidated and insulted in manners liable to insinuating public disorder. While this was going on, members of the Panel could not caution the over zealous pro-third term agents lurking around the hearing premises.

A glaring example was that of Mr. Bamidele Aturu who was not allowed to express the position of his organization based on an untenable excuse that he refused to apologise for or withdraw a statement he made earlier concerning the South-west Governors’ dilemma on the third term issue. After series of bullying, intimidation, witch-hunting and untold insults from the pro-third term people, Mr. Bamidele Aturu was ushered out by security operatives at the instance of the panel leadership. We view this as a flagrant violation of our fundamental human rights to expression of opinions and fair hearing as entrenched in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Africa Peoples’’ Charter on Human and Political Rights and even the subsisting much faulted 1999 Constitution of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Moreso, we berate in strong terms, the conduct of the hearing exercise which was made an exclusive reserve of PDP office holders and gladiators only. Contrary opinions were supplanted to give way to the self-serving third term agenda of President Olusegun Obasanjo. While the stage-managed close door hearing exercise was going on inside the Assembly Complex, the armed mobile policemen at the gate of the Complex have already descended on persons who have also being alleged to have come with contrary positions, as opposed to the conspiratorial third term agenda. Mr. Abiodun Aremu, the Convener of the United Action for Democracy (UAD), Mr. Muyiwa Jimoh, the President of Apapa Youth Movement, Lagos and several student activists from higher institutions in the South-west were molested, brutalized, assaulted, stripped half-naked; their two hands were callously tied backwards with their wears after which they were bundled into the Mobile Police truck with Registration Number PF 5645 SPY and then taken to an unknown destination.

On the second day of the panel’s hearing which was Thursday, 23rd February, 2006, the panel’s disposition towards many organizations that attended the hearing showed that the entire process was masterminded and pre-programmed to uphold the selfish vendetta of the PDP-led Administration most especially the much touted third term agenda.

Several civil society organizations like the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights represented by Mr. Shina Loremikan, Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) represented by Dr. Bamgbose (UNAAB), Electoral network Reform represented by Mr. Eze, Gender and Constitution Reform Network (GECORN) which Barrister Biola Akiode came to represent were all barred from expressing their positions.

In a swift turn of events and abject disservice to public conscience, some imaginary Non-governmental organizations that were not in existence up to the last six months were assembled by the pro-third term PDP gladiators and the panel subsequently granted them the opportunity to present their memoranda thereby lending credence to their treacherous third term phenomenon while organizations like CDHR, CFCR, GECORN, ASUU, ERN, CF, JODAR and NADL all of which have made serious contributions to Constitution-making since the year 1999 were disallowed from ventilating their views in the just concluded exercise. An organization like CDHR organized a Conference on the 1999 Constitution, Constitutionalism, Democracy and the Rule of Law in the year 2000 and subsequently published a book which was a compendium of the series of contributions made at the conference.

The book “Path to Peoples’’ Constitution\” was the memorandum intended for presentation by CDHR at the public hearing but the panel and its staff frustrated all efforts at expressing the popular opinions of Nigerians on the 1999 Constitutions as contained in the book.

The hearing exercise was abruptly brought to an end before noon on Thursday, 23rd February, 2006 with the panel not adducing any reason for closing so early an event which should reasonably last till 6.00 pm in the evening. All the organizations mentioned, despite being registered after much persuasion were denied the opportunity of expressing their positions. The entire exercise was therefore a close door meeting for the ratification of the third term agenda of Obasanjo. We strongly detest this development and view it as a serious threat to the sustenance of democracy in Nigeria for it is in itself a gross misrepresentation of the popular interest and aspirations of the Nigerian people. On a last note, we demand for an unconditional release of the Convener of UAD and the twenty-three activists that are presently detained at Ayetoro Police Station, Osogbo, Osun State.

The names of the organizations prevented from airing their views at the South-West public hearing on the review of 1999 Constitution at Osogbo, Osun State on Wednesday, 22nd February, 2006 (1) Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) (2) Journalists for Democratic Rights (JODER) (3) United Action for Democracy (UAD) (4) Apapa Youth Movement (5) Citizens Forum for Constitutional Reform (CFCR) (6) Children’’s Rights (7) Women Advocacy, Research and Documentation Dentre (WARD C) (8) National Association of Democratic Lawyers (NADL) (9) Campaign for Democracy (CD) (10) Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) (11) Citizens’ Forum (CF) (12) National Association of Labour and Civil Society Organisation (NALACSO) (13) All-Nigeria Autobike Owners and Workers Association (ANACOWA) (14) The Grassroots Initiative (GI)

A Ray of Hope

Of the saddening and glooming news emanating from Nigeria these days was this report that Shell on Friday was slapped with $1.5billion fine for environmental pollution by a federal high court in Port Harcourt. Just last year another court in Benin city had ordered Shell to stop its pollution and gas flaring. This development happilly points to a new direction on solving the myriad problems plaquing the Niger Delta region and Nigeria in general. The federal government of Obasanjo has continously shown its disinterest in helping its own people this leaves the courts as the only hopeful alternative and the Nigerian courts in all honesty despite having to carry out their operations in a non conducive environment still remain the only hope of the less priviledged in such a predatory society as ours outside of an hobbesian solution. The problem is Nigerians rarely appeal to legal authorities to right wrongs against them. Either they complicitly try to bribe their way around or simply suffer the injustice with grunt and the government with its continous flagrant disobedience of court rulings hasn't help matter but still if we want our democracy to work we must learn to use courts as means of redress.

Obasanjo is irresponsibly dangerous

WARRI— EIGHT persons were feared dead yesterday while about 10 houses were burnt after a military helicopter gunship fired on several barges being used by illegal oil bunkerers at Perezouweikore-gbere, an Ijaw community in the Warri South local government area of Delta State.

Obasanjo's using helicopter gunship to fight illegal bunkering in Warri shows once again the total state of aphasia this administration is in. The lack of idea plagueing the ruling elites. Why use bomb on your own community when you can simply shut down whatever illegal operation was going on peacefully and positively? Is the Nigerian army at war?

“The gunship, on a routine patrol this morning, spotted some barges used by the bunkerers. Accordingly, the barges were destroyed,” said Major Said Hammed, spokesman for the joint military task force based in the Delta.
Hammed said it was not clear whether anyone had been killed in the attack. Around eight barges were destroyed on a river near the scene of the attack.

It spotted the barges and threw bomb on it? These were barges with petrol in them and the possibility of explosion didn't even cautioned these military dimwits, or of human beings getting injured or killed. This is preposterious!!!

Hammed said the task force commander, Brig. Gen Elias Zamani, in turn reported to the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Alexander Ogomudia, who ordered the air strike.
Accordingly, he said, the Air Force was ordered to destroy the barges. “The bombardment of the barges caused an explosion, which community leaders now refer to as the bombardment of the entire community.”

When you bombed oil barges within the community vicinity, what do you expect?

“They attacked our people with rocket launchers and so many people are right now missing. Somebody’s hand was cut off by bullet, while several people were inflicted with bullet wounds. We are calling on the Federal Government to come to our rescue. War has been declared on us. Those who were fishing when the attack was launched sustained several injuries and we are looking for over eight persons and we do not know if they are dead now.

So this is how government's operation restore hope is to be carry out then? To annihilate a whole community so that oil business can be secure?

The military operation, which reportedly took place around 1pm yesterday, left the oil city of Warri swarming with victims of the bombardment who claimed the military aircraft took off from Osubi Airstrip, owned by Shell, to rain bombs on their community. The victims most of whom were brought in by speed boats had series of wounds as soldiers guarding the Miller Waterside Jetty prevented newsmen from speaking to them as they were being evacuated.

Lots of catching up to do in communication for Africa

The image below show how much is still needed in communication technology in Africa

Money Miss Road And Why We're Poor

Lles Leba On why the govt may be a money miss road

In order to restrain unbridled credit expansion without commensurate productivity and inadvertently cause inflation, the CBN, according to Professor Soludo, will be forced to intervene in the market and borrow back part of the cash it earlier injected, with the instrument of Treasury bills at a cost of tens of billions of naira!

Taiwo Akerele-Oziametu on Pat Utomi at 50

SUDDENLY, Pat Utomi is 50 years old today! How time flies? This is a man that some few years back was regarded as the Nigerian "whizkid" having bagged a P.hd at the "unripe" age of 26, becoming a Special Assistant to the Nigerian President at 27, still becoming unemployable at 32 having risen to the position of Acting Managing Director of a conglomerate at 29 years of age!

And Utomi on Why Nations Are poor

The point of these profiles in poverty is that the poor have varied characteristics. They are not only lumpen-proletariat. It is also about fact that invariably most of us are made poor because there are far many poor people among us. A collective will to drastically reduce poverty is therefore in the collective best interest.

Looking for Tolerance in the Muslim World

The muslim world will have to wake up to the fact that Mohammed as a historical and religious figure is subject to be worshipped, ridiculed, insulted, glorified, satirized, studied and whole lots of other passive verb one can think of. It comes with the territory. It neither remove from his importance as a religious founder nor tarnish his image in anyway. The conveniency however with which the muslim world always get offended over issues relating to Islam denotes insecurity of which I deemed unwarranted. This underlies how much changes the muslim world will have to undergo; changes however which the arch-conservative and feudalist leaders in power over there seem not ready for. After over 1000 years of practise, islam still can't be as closed as to be offended by cartoon caricatures and issueing fatwas at the ready. If islam is to really be a peaceful religion it has to be a tolerant religion.



Tags: Nigeria,News,Islam, Religion

Fascism In Law and Democracy

The proposed law by the Obasanjo administration to ban outright homosexuality in the country is unconstitutional at best and fascistic at worst. According to Obasanjo's minister of justice Bayo Ojo, the proposed law is in response to Obasanjo's concern over homosexual relations and marriage encroaching on the Nigerian nation. Arguing further Bayo Ojo a lawyer, versed in critical legal studies believes that homosexual is basically "un-African", and to drive home his point he refered us to the "holy books", the Bible and the Quran. Of course the minister missed the irony here. Is there anything more un-African than those "holy books"? And since when regional characteristics become a criteria for making law?

Justification for proposing law cannot be its geographical non-identity. This amount to intellectual bankruptcy on the part of the law giver. Law neither hinges on paternalistic whim nor on moral nor on religious world views. Law's authority is to force social integration and enable justice and in democracy the price we pay for our freedom is that equal freedom must be accord dissenting views and morals. Our morality cannot be the basis for law making otherwise law as a means of social integration fails and merely becomes a strategy of social domination.

Nigeria, News, Homosexual, Law, Democracy

'How to write about Africa' by Binyavanga Wainaina

Kenyan Binyavanga Wainaina's sarcastically written excellent essay How To Write About Africa makes for good read in the current Granta magazine which is a special on Africa.

In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. Don't get bogged down with precise descriptions. Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book. The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your reader doesn't care about all that, so keep your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular.

Nigeria, News, Africa, Wainaina

Odd Facts : The Land Of Twins

Nigeria holds the World Record in Multiple Births.

Twins info about Nigeria:
Most of the multiple births, comes from the women of the Yoruba Ethnic group in the Western part of the Country who have the highest number of multiple births in the world.
Nigeria has more of Identical twins than Fraternal twins.
The tribe of birth determines the names of twins in Nigeria. Among the Hausas Northern tribe of Nigeria, the first is called Hassan, while the second is called Hussien. In the Yoruba tribe of Western Nigeria, they are called Taiwo and Kehinde. While in Mid-western of Nigeria (Edo State) It is Odion and Akhere.

Source: Twinsworld

In Igbo-Ora, residents have no explanation of why their own town should be more twin prone than any other. Some attribute the phenomenon to providence, others to lineage and still others to diet, specifically the reputed high oestrogen content of agida, a local variant of the popular yam root tuber used as a staple.

"Agida grows in clusters and anybody who eats it is bound to have babies in multiples" said Mojisola Adeniyi, whose father had four sets of twins, of
which she was one. Robert Asiedu, a yam specialist at the internationally-funded International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Ibadan, 60km east of Igbo-Ora, is sceptical of a yam lin

Source: Science In Africa

It's a curious, but little-known fact that the rate of twin births in West Africa is about four times higher than in the rest of the world. The centre of this twin zone is Igbo-Ora, a sleepy southwest town in Nigeria.

Source: BBC World Service

Nigeria, News, Twins, Fact

Demonstration Of Craze

This Sunday Punch front page is just to serve as a reminder that we still have a long way to go with our "demonstration of craze." A really long way.


Nigeria, News

Infamous 'Nigerian scam' gets Russian spin

What is Abacha and the jailed Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky have in common? Yes thats right they both inspire scammers. Baiting guillible foreigners in the name of the despot has been Nigerian scammers classic template since the dictator kicked the bucket in 1998 (who hasn't recieved one email from Mariam Abacha or his son Mohammed?) but now the Russians have put a new spin on it and don't be surprise if you recieve a email from Leila Khodorkovsky or Larissa Sosnitskaya requesting your help to transfer/invest US$45 million (euro37 million) of the tycoon's money.

"Dear friend, I got your reliable contact from my husband's business diary ..." begins one letter from "Leila Khodorkovsky," claiming to be the billionaire's wife — whose actual name is Inna. The letter requests assistance investing US$45 million (euro37 million) of the tycoon's money and promises compensation.

More...
Nigeria, News, Russia, Scam

Assessing America's behaviour Towards Nigeria

Paul I. Adujie asks:
Why else would the United States, a supposedly friendly nation with Nigeria, always find itself frequently engaged in the throwing of verbal and undiplomatic projectiles and cudgels at Nigeria?

Real Talk

A very interesting interview with Sowore.

People who can't sleep can't dream, I would like to see a Nigeria the day after a revolution. Seriously, the world of dreams smacks of certain laziness that makes me think we are still on our knees waiting for answered prayers; it depicts a surreal life of something out of space. Dreams make me think of complacency, you don't really need to go to sleep to know how you want Nigeria to be!

Alert on the going on in Aviation

Kola Animasaun's Voice of Reason this Sunday called attention to the supposed reorganisation going on in the beleagured Nigerian aviation. He particularly made mention of Babalola's appointment of Harold Olusegun Demuren, as the director-general of NCAA. Demuren was a senior officer of the scraped FCAA and and also the owner of Afrijet Airlines, a mostly air cargo company. This obvious conflict of interest mysteriously escaped Babalola and so now we have this.

"The NCAA boss, who was until his appointment the managing director of Afrijet Airlines, reportedly grounded the aircraft on grounds of safety.But Mr. Ibidapo alleged that the grounding was borne out of the need to favour Afrijet Airlines for continuation of the airlift.According to him, the grounded aircraft had successfully airlifted pilgrims shortly before the new NCAA boss assumed duty."

I couldn't agree more with Animasaun that Obasanjo should seek second opinion. Demuren with his three directorate solution is definitely wrong for the job. This impending tragedy must be rectify before its too late.

Nigeria, News, World, Africa, Aviation

Site of the Week: Nigerian Blogs Aggregator

The featured site this week is Nigerianbloggers.com, a parking lot for naija bloggers. Its a very novel and timely site for us Nigerians writing about our thoughts and opinion of daily events in the country and around the world. The site is pristine enough which allowed it to focus on its stated goal with the featured blogs listed alphabetically accompany by the RSS feeds of the recently updated blogs and their summary direct from Technorati.com.

From the site:
Nigerian Blogs aggregator was founded by Kayode Muyibi on the 24th of August 2005 as a move to establish a home for live feeds for all Nigerian written blogs arround the globe and also blogs of Nigerian interests especially by expatriates based in Nigeria.

Their future plans:
1. Blogging Awards. (Team ready but waiting for my feedback)
2. Blog entry of the week.
3. A Chat room ,Still looking for a good server.
4. A sourvenier Shop, selling shirts and sourveneirs with beautiful logos of "I AM A NIGERIAN BLOGGER" etc.
5 A section for freebies. Still contemplating on whether it is necessary. Stay tuned.

Blogs, Nigeria, News

The Persistent Praise On Muazu Can't Be Ignore

I first heard of Gov. Ahmed Muazu of Bauchi state's good work on Nairaland and ordinarily I didn't paid much attention to it because Bauchi is one of the shariah state in the country which make it uninteresting, at least to me, in term of what one might expect from a community adhering to such barbaric tenet. However the more recent news and analysis about the performing Muazu can't be ignore inspite of his sharia introduction into Bauchi state. I am not witnessed to his performance but lots of people has and so I'm ready to take their word for it. If the praise accruing on him are justified, then the Nigerian democratic option can't be jeopadized any more. All we need is time and we shall get there. kudos.

Debt {Return} Skewed Argument

US Lawmakers Call Nigerian Debt "Odious"

"We feel that the U.S. should not accept the payment of debt from Nigeria given that it is one of the world's most impoverished countries," said the letter. It added that a write-off would cost the United States, the world's largest economy, "a relatively small amount in terms of the U.S. budget, but large in terms of the potential impact in Nigeria".

The lawmakers, led by Rep. Donald Payne, a New Jersey Democrat, and Rep. Maxine Waters, a Democrat of California, noted that 20 percent of Nigerian children do not live to the age of five. In the impoverished West African nation, 2,500 children die every day from preventable diseases, while more than 300,000 Nigerians die each year from HIV/AIDS.

A fool's argument

Read him here

The Coming Census

There has never been a conducted Nigerian census without controversy and contradictions which make this year's planned head count all the more interesting. The volatility of the planned census is underlined by the fact that religion and ethnicity data will not feature on the census questionaire. This means that Nigerians are not mature enough to accept whatever results those excluded data might bring. This is telling indeed. According to the chairman of the National Population Commission (NPC), Chief Samu'ila Danko Makama, "the stakeholders brainstormed over two days and agreed on every variable except two, religion and ethnicity. There were two schools of thought. One held that the two variables should be included, the other felt it should be excluded, because they have a potential to generate a lot of controversy, and in the end, we will not have acceptable census.

"So the stakeholders decided that the National Population Commission should submit a paper to the Federal Government outlining the merits and demerits of inclusion or otherwise of the two variables from the 2006 census," (This Day, December 18, 2005 ). This is indeed immmature. The cut the limb to heal the wound classical approach to solving problem in Nigeria. Lets recall that the planned census was to have taken placed in 2003 but was postponed to 2005 due to the general elections of 2003 and then again postponed till this year. Meaning government could have avoided conducting it if it could. Statistics like religion and ethnicity are not necessarily have to be included on census form but the evading approach by the government point toward inability to face the problem head on. One day we would still want to know how many muslims, christians and others we have in Nigeria and how many Ijaw, Nupe, Efik, Igalas and others we are. Lets hope we will be mature enough in the future and confident enough to include those data without them having to generate controversy.

So after this cutting and chopping, it is expected that NPC will not have excuse to a)try to postpone it again and b) to let the exercise fail or embroil in controversy when finally conducted. The EU is supporting the exercise with about 20 billion naira, which cover more than half of the estimated total cost of the exercise so the best enumeration tools and officers are expected. The importance of well conducted census cannot be overemphasised. Indeed 2006 will show how far we have gone in this post military journey called democracy.




Nigeria, News

Marwa's Ordeal

It was as a surprise, the end of year news about Marwa's ordeal with EFCC. Marwa was among the more popular gov. of erstwhile Abacha's administration and a probable presidential hopeful. The guardian newspaper had considered him a rising star for 2007. Of course I don't buy into the nonsense of his travail having to do with his presidential ambition and Obasanjo's third term but he must have really pissed someone off high on up to get in trouble like that. His site is currently down and no word from his supporter's site as yet who considered him "the Nigerian Option"; but his unrequested name analysis from kabalarian philosophy produced this:

Though the name Marwa creates the urge to understand and help others, we emphasize that it causes procrastination, lack of confidence, and the inability to realize your goals and ambitions. This name, when combined with the last name, can frustrate happiness, contentment, and success, as well as cause health weaknesses in the fluid systems.

Nonsense of course but it does underline the present bad luck plaquing him.Anyway corruption free loving society can't be bother on what underlying reason a thief is caught but that he is caught.

More:
From AgainstBabangida site
Marwa finally opens up
The Marwa Movement

In The News

First woman police commissioner appointed in Ekiti state.

419 is still biting....incredulously

Child labour in cocoa
farms????

More evidence of lack of self organization as NFA can't properly elect its president.

Also Chidi Anselm Odinkalu discussed why the disgraced Balogun should be disbarred and CBN Gives New Conditions for Foreign Reserve Management

Happy New Year 2006

This is wishing every one out there happy new year and best of lucks in all your endeavour. We hope for good news in 2006.