Forget Super Tuesday, It’s Africa’s Super Sunday of Six Polls

Supporters of Guy Brice Parfait, who leads a party in support of Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, attend a rally in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, March 17. Republic of Congo is one of six countries and territories in Africa holding votes on Sunday.
Supporters of Guy Brice Parfait, who leads a party in support of Republic of Congo President Denis Sassou Nguesso, attend a rally in Brazzaville, Republic of Congo, March 17. Republic of Congo is one of six countries and territories in Africa holding votes on Sunday.

By    | NewsWeek

Move over Super Tuesday. On March 20, the continent of Africa has its very own Super Sunday, with five countries and one semi-autonomous archipelago holding polls over a single day that promises color, drama and possibly violence.

People will go to the polls in Republic of Congo to elect their president, while run-off polls between the two leading candidates in both Niger and Benin will also take place. A controversial election rerun is taking place on the holiday destination of Zanzibar, just off Tanzania’s east coast, while Senegalese voters will decide whether to reduce the length of presidential terms. Finally, the tiny islands of Cape Verde are holding parliamentary elections.

1. Republic of Congo

Almost half of the 4.2 million people in the country, also known as Congo-Brazzaville, live in poverty despite its petroleum wealth: Republic of Congo is Africa’s eighth-biggest oil producer and 36th in the world, pumping out 259,000 barrels of oil per day in 2014. The country’s current president, Denis Sassou Nguesso, is considered the runaway favorite to secure another term in office after 92 percent of voters backed an October 2015 referendum to allow him to run for a third consecutive term in office. Sunday’s poll is likely to be marked by tension, however, as at least four protesters were killed in October while demonstrating against the referendum. Nguesso was installed by the military in 1979 but was voted out in the first multi-party elections in 1992, before returning to power in 1997 following a bloody civil war. He faces eight opponents in the first round of polling, each of whom has pledged to support the opposition candidate in the case of a run-off vote.

2. Niger

In the West African state affected by the Boko Haram insurgency, incumbent Mahamadou Issoufou and opposition leader Hamad Amadou lock horns in a presidential run-off vote. The two candidates are not exactly on an equal footing, however, as Amadou has been imprisoned on baby-trafficking charges (which he denies) since November 2015 and had to campaign from behind bars. Amadou was flown to France earlier in March to receive medical treatment and there are doubts as to whether he will boycott Sunday’s vote. In any case, Issoufou is the favorite to gain re-election after polling 48 percent in the first round to Amadou’s 17 percent. While Issoufou claims to have boosted infrastructure and improved Niger’s international standing, living standards remain dire—Niger came last in the U.N.’s 2015 Human Development Index, meaning it has the ignominious honor of having the worst living conditions in the world.

3. Benin

Beninese President Thomas Boni Yayi proved to be somewhat of a rarity among African heads of state by honoring his country’s constitution and agreeing to step down at the end of his second term. Current Prime Minister Lionel Zinsou came top of the polls on March 6 with 28 percent, narrowly ahead of businessman Patrice Talon on 25 percent. Benin was the first sub-Saharan African country to adopt multi-party elections in 1990 and, despite a delay to the elections due to problems distributing polling cards, the vote was carried out peacefully, meaning that Benin may well be the least controversial of all the polls taking place across the continent on Sunday.

4. Zanzibar

A paradisiacal archipelago popular with European tourists, Zanzibar is also a semi-autonomous region of Tanzania with a troubled political history, with violence marring previous votes on Zanzibar in 1995, 2000 and 2005. Zanzibar’s result was controversially annulled following nationwide elections in Tanzania in October 2015, when the electoral commission claimed that the poll had been jeopardized by irregularities. The opposition Civic United Front (CUF) cried foul and has called for a boycott of Sunday’s rerun, which has also been criticized by a smattering of international representatives to Tanzania, including the U.S. Ambassador and British High Commissioner to the East African country. If the ruling Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) is again accused of rigging the polls on Sunday, there is the potential for another flare-up on the so-called Spice Islands.

5. Senegal

Senegalese President Macky Sall wants to reduce his time in power. Sall has become the first sitting African president to call a referendum aimed at reducing presidential terms—in his case, from seven to five years—and the vote is taking place on Sunday in the West African country. The president pledged to reduce term limits prior to his election in 2012 and has previously said that doing so would set a good example to other African leaders. Indeed, should Sall succeed, he would be bucking a trend which has seen heads of state in other countries—including Paul Kagame in Rwanda, Uganda’s Yoweri Museveni and Pierre Nkurunziza of Burundi—amending or ignoring their constitutions in order to stay in power.

6. Cape Verde

In the archipelago that lies some 570 kilometers (350 miles) west of Senegal in the Atlantic Ocean, Cape Verdeans will on Sunday vote for their 72 parliamentary representatives in the National Assembly. Cape Verde, which has a population of around 500,000 and is currently subject to a travel warning due to an outbreak of the Zika virus, is holding presidential elections later in 2016 and so Sunday’s vote should highlight which of the two dominant parties—the African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) or the Movement for Democracy (MpD)—is in the better position.

Malala Yousafzai Just Delivered the Elegant Donald Trump Rebuttal You’ve Been Waiting For

In an interview with United Kingdom’s Channel 4, Yousafzai warned hateful politicians about the danger of their anti-Muslim messages: “The more you speak about Islam and against all Muslims, the more terrorists we create,” she said. A good point—and a terrifying one, too.

She also commented this week more specifically about Donald Trump and his proposal that all Muslims be banned from entering the United States, calling it “full of hatred.”

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Speaking at a memorial for 134 children killed in a Taliban attack on a school in Pakistan, the global advocate for education elaborated: “That’s really tragic that you hear these comments which are full of hatred, full of this ideology of being discriminative toward others.”

Well said, Malala.

Threatening letter, suspicious package sent to Donald Trump’s son

Police and the FBI are investigating a threatening letter sent to the Manhattan apartment of Donald Trump's son Eric that contained a white powder, two law enforcement officials said Friday. (AP)
Police and the FBI are investigating a threatening letter sent to the Manhattan apartment of Donald Trump’s son Eric that contained a white powder, two law enforcement officials said Friday. (AP)

By Lindsey Bever | The Washington Post

New York police are investigating a suspicious package that was sent to the apartment of Donald Trump’s son, Eric, a law enforcement source said.

Police were called by security personnel at Eric Trump’s Manhattan apartment just after 7 p.m. Thursday, to investigate an envelope that contained a powdered substance, police confirmed to The Washington Post.

Police said in a statement that the package was accompanied by a threatening note ​that is currently being examined​ by law enforcement. Citing an unnamed source, ABC News reported that ​the note “said something to the effect of: Either Donald Trump drops out of the race or next time this will be real.”

CBS News reported that the letter warned that “harm will come to the kids” if Donald Trump doesn’t drop out.

Preliminary tests showed that the substance was not hazardous, police said.

Stephanie Shark, a spokeswoman for the FBI in New York, said the Joint Terrorism Task Force is leading the investigation, which includes authorities from the Secret Service, FBI, New York Police Department and Postal Inspection Service.

She said investigators still have to conduct interviews and send the powder to a national laboratory for more comprehensive testing.

“These things take as long as they take,” she said.

Shark said she was not in a position to comment about the letter.

The Trump campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Nor did the Trump Organization, where Eric Trump — the billionaire businessman’s third child — serves as executive vice president of development and acquisition.

Eric Trump has actively campaigned on behalf of his father, the Republican front-runner, and was with him Tuesday night in Palm Beach, Fla., to celebrate primary wins in multiple states, including Florida, North Carolina and Illinois.

ABC reported that the letter sent to the apartment “carried a Massachusetts postmark and was opened by Eric Trump’s wife, Lara.”

New York police told The Post that the envelope was opened “by a 33-year-old female,” but would not release a name. Lara is 33.

The threat comes days after white substances were delivered to Sen. Ted Cruz’s campaign headquarters in Houston and to Sen. Marco Rubio’s campaign headquarters in Washington. In both cases, the substances were nontoxic.

The powder sent to Rubio turned out to be laundry detergent, according to a spokesman for the senator’s now-scuttled campaign.

Kerry declares ISIS committing genocide against Christians, others

 

Secretary of State John Kerry declared Thursday that the Islamic State is committing genocide against Christians and other minorities in the Middle East, after facing heavy pressure from lawmakers and rights groups to make the rare designation.

“In my judgment, Daesh is responsible for genocide against groups in territory under its control, including Yazidis, Christians and Shia Muslims,” Kerry said at the State Department, referring to the terror group by an adapted acronym of its Arabic name.

He accused ISIS of “crimes against humanity” and “ethnic cleansing.”

The announcement was a surprise, at least in terms of the timing. A day earlier, a State Department spokesman said they would miss a congressionally mandated March 17 deadline to make a decision. Yet as the department took heat from lawmakers for the expected delay, the department confirmed Thursday morning that Kerry had reached the decision that Christians, Yazidis and Shiite groups are victims of genocide.

It comes after the House this week passed a nonbinding resolution by a 393-0 vote condemning ISIS atrocities as genocide.

Kerry’s finding will not obligate the United States to take additional action against ISIS militants and does not prejudge any prosecution against its members, said U.S. officials.

Kerry, though, urged others to join in holding the group “accountable”; he called for an “independent investigation” as well as a court or tribunal to take action to that end.

Saying the terror network is “genocidal” in what it says, believes and does, Kerry recited a litany of documented atrocities including the execution of Christians in Iraq “solely because of their faith” and of Yazidis.

Lawmakers and others who have advocated for the finding had sharply criticized the department’s disclosure Wednesday that the deadline would be missed. The officials said Kerry concluded his review just hours after that announcement and that the criticism had not affected his decision.

“Secretary Kerry is finally making the right call,” House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce, R-Calif., said in a statement after the announcement Thursday. He added that “President Obama should step up and lay out the broad, overarching plan that’s needed to actually defeat and destroy ISIS. This administration’s long pattern of paralysis and ineffectiveness in combating these radical Islamist terrorists is unacceptable.”

The determination marks only the second time a U.S. administration has declared that a genocide was being committed during an ongoing conflict.

The first was in 2004, when then-Secretary of State Colin Powell determined that atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region constituted genocide. Powell reached that determination amid much lobbying from human rights groups, but only after State Department lawyers advised him that it would not — contrary to legal advice offered to previous administrations — obligate the United States to act to stop it.

In that case, the lawyers decided that the 1948 U.N. Convention against genocide did not require countries to prevent genocide from taking place outside their territory. Powell instead called for the U.N. Security Council to appoint a commission to investigate and take appropriate legal action if it agreed with the genocide determination.

The officials said Kerry’s determination followed a similar finding by department lawyers.

Although the United States is involved in military strikes against ISIS and has helped prevent some incidents of ethnic cleansing, notably of Yazidis, some advocates argue that a genocide determination would require additional U.S. action.

In making his decision, Kerry weighed whether the militants’ targeting of Christians and other minorities meets the definition of genocide, according to the U.N. Convention: “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”

His determination, however, does not carry the legal implication of a verdict of guilt or conviction on genocide charges, the officials said. Such decisions will be left to international or other tribunals.

In a bid to push the review process, several groups released reports last week documenting what they said is clear evidence that the legal standard has been met.

The Knights of Columbus and In Defense of Christians, which had applauded Monday’s House resolution, said they hoped the delay would ensure that Kerry makes the determination.

“There is only one legal term for this, and that is genocide,” said Knights of Columbus chief Carl Anderson.

The groups’ 280-page report identified by name more than 1,100 Christians who they said had been killed by ISIS. It detailed numerous instances of people kidnapped, raped, sold into slavery and driven from their homes, along with the destruction of churches.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Protesters block main road to Trump rally

PHOENIX (AP) — Protesters blocked a main highway leading into the Phoenix suburb where Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump staged a campaign rally Saturday alongside Arizona’s contentious sheriff, Joe Arpaio.

Tempers flared at the rally itself, but without the violence that marred Trump’s event in Chicago a week earlier and with none of the candidate’s usual goading of protesters from the stage.

For hours, about two dozen protesters parked their cars in the middle of the main road to the event, unfurling banners reading “Dump Trump” and “Must Stop Trump,” and chanting “Trump is hate.” Traffic was backed up for miles, with drivers honking in fury.

The road was eventually cleared and protesters marched down the highway to the rally site, weaving between Trump supporters who booed and jeered them.

Trump supporter Geroy Morgan, 62, made it to the rally but was furious at the demonstrators, some of whom still stood around after the event ended.

“We come here, the silent majority, to express our opinions,” Morgan said. “They don’t have any permits or rights.”

Trump and Arpaio have formed a political alliance in recent months, and the billionaire hopes Arizona can serve as a model on how he could win in November. The tough-talking lawman is sheriff of Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix and nearly two-thirds of Arizona’s population. He forced inmates to wear pink underwear and live outside in tents during triple-digit heat. The sheriff has endorsed Trump and introduced him at the rally.

Protesters were blocking a main highway leading into the Phoenix suburb where Republican presidential front-runner …

In Fountain Hills, thousands gathered for the outdoor rally in the suburb where Arpaio lives. Officers with the sheriff’s department were posted throughout the park, on rooftops and on patrol. Officers wearing bulletproof vests stood alongside a Humvee with a gun turret on top.

Trump told the crowd that he is “winning by massive landslides” and vowed to rebuild the military and build a border wall with Mexico. He drew cheers from the crowd when he vowed to protect the Second Amendment — which for pro-gun Arizona is a particularly important issue.

He never acknowledged the earlier blockade or the protesters in the crowd.

Trump supporters waved signs saying “Hillary for Prison” — referring to Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton — and “Joe for VP,” a reference to Arpaio.

One man standing near the megaphone yelled to the protesters, “if you don’t like America, go back to the country you came from.” One of the protesters responded: “Go back to Europe.”

Trump supporter David Nelson, 62, had to walk about four miles to the rally because demonstrators had blocked the road.

“You don’t see me at Bernie’s disrupting their crowd,” he said, referring to Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders, who was campaigning on the Arizona-Mexico border on Saturday. “I give them respect.”

Arizona votes Tuesday in a winner-take-all Republican primary as well as a Democratic race.

Some had feared that the event in Fountain Hills could devolve into violence reminiscent of last week’s Trump rally in Chicago, which was canceled over safety concerns. The cancellation sparked isolated physical confrontations between Trump supporters and protesters. Confrontations involving protesters, Trump supporters and police have become standard at Trump rallies across the country. And Trump has incorporated reactions to them into his usual campaign speech.

Earlier Saturday, about 50 protesters gathered outside the Phoenix Convention Center where Fox News host Sean Hannity was set to interview Trump. They held signs, played music and made speeches, calling Trump “despicable” and “a fascist.” One of them, Salvador Reza, said: “He’s working to create division.”

Trump supporters trickled through protesters and security to attend — many wearing red, white and blue.

Jason Kitson, 41, from Phoenix, said Trump’s hardline stance on immigration is what’s needed in Arizona to prevent cross-border drug and human smuggling.

Kitson said the wall Trump vows to building all along the Mexican border may or may not be realistic, but it “is getting people’s attention.”

Several thousand miles away in New York, demonstrators also took to the streets to protest the Republican presidential hopeful.

The protesters gathered Saturday in Manhattan’s Columbus Circle, across from Central Park, with a heavy police presence. Demonstrators chanted: “Donald Trump, go away, racist, sexist, anti-gay.”

They marched across south Central Park to Trump Tower, the Fifth Avenue skyscraper where Trump lives. Then they marched back to Columbus Circle for a rally.

___

Associated Press writers Ryan VanVelzer in Phoenix, Vivian Salama in Washington and Jacob Pearson in New York contributed to this report.

How PDP and APC Created New Biafran Agitations

87a6d2d8735399c717eea027ef9b47ebBy SKC Ogbonnia….

Socially,  Unlike my father, my mother Esther Oligwe Ogbonnia hardly cares who wins or who loses in presidential politics so far there is peace. Not in 2015!

Full of excitement following Muhammadu Buhari’s victory, I placed a call to my mother in Nigeria, but she was not her usual cheerful self.

SKC (Me): “Mama, why are you sounding strange?”

Mother: “Hmmm…I am okay but not very okay. There is trouble. The problem seems to be your friend—the Hausa man. They say the man has become the president again by force and plans to take away our Bible. They also say he is the same person who caused us harm during the war, and is going to replace all our people in government work with Hausa.”

SKC:  “Who is saying all those things about Buhari? When did you become a politician?

Mother: “Well, I am not a politician. And I may never have crossed River Niger or know how to count 1.2.3, but I can smell counterfeit from a distance. My son, the fear of that man is rearing up everywhere—in the church, our meetings, and the marketplace. Even our ‘who is who’ in the North have already packed back to Enugu. I pray this aura of doom will not be felt where you are in America…”

SKC: “Mama, please do not mind them. I am very happy to have supported the man. As I told you before, he is better than Jonathan by far. He will end corruption and provide jobs for our youths. Kidnapping and armed robbery will go away. Those saying bad things about Buhari are some of the same people who stole the money meant to complete Ugbo road. They are afraid he will put them in prison. That is why”

Mother: “So the Buhari man is truly a good person?  But did you hear that he locked up Jim Nwobodo and one good man from Onitsha area for no just cause? Do you know they also say that he killed one young boy from Udi Agbaja for nothing? Biko, how did you know the man?”

SKC: No, I did not know Buhari before. However, when he was head of state, there was no corruption. Watch…things will change within few months. NEPA will provide light day and night… You will say, I told you so.”

Mother: “Well, I have heard you, my son. So, we should not worry? I am feeling better now, but I don’t know about our people. They see the man as danger…”

Clearly, the general perception of Muhammadu Buhari in the East before the election was that of a jihadist, dictator, and a bigot—all roped in one, thanks to a montage of propaganda orchestrated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The then ruling party did everything humanly possible to cling on to power. And you can’t blame them. Having squandered our common wealth while at the helm, PDP had nothing on the ground for the Igbo masses and thus needed to sustain mass following by deceit.

For example, one infantile lie drummed since 2011 to prevent the restless Igbo youths from revolt had been that “Things will get better once President Goodluck Jonathan zones presidency to the Igbos after his tenure.” It was not surprising, therefore, that Buhari’s victory was readily seen as a coup d’état in the East, particularly among the jobless youths, who thence seem to have nowhere else to perch than clench their angst towards one form of Biafra or another.

The gist, if it is not already manifest, is that these new Biafrans, most of who are under the aegis of PDP Youth Wing, are the byproduct of the party’s gloomy narratives of Buhari. In fact, any careful review of the recent activities of Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), leaves no one in doubt that his rebellion was heightened by the defeat of Jonathan and PDP. And it does not take a genius to discern why prominent opposition leaders from the East have continued to tiptoe around the Biafran agitation even when it has widened.

For sure, the rallying cry for the current Biafran movement is the inexplicable marginalization of the Igbos. But we must not ignore one bitter truth: The last 16 years of democratic rule did not take place under Muhammadu Buhari or the All Progressive Congress (APC)—but squarely under PDP where every ethnic group, including the Igbos and their Southern neighbors were well represented.

Yet both President Buhari and APC have not helped matters. Upon assuming office, Buhari’s body language, including lopsided political appointments, began to appear as if the old Eastern Region was an illegal alien. To add salt to an open injury, the president shocked the democratic world by stoking a statement generally interpreted as a plot to marginalize the zones that gave him fewer votes. This gaffe was definitely beyond the pale and had deserved every damage control.

Sadly, instead of telling the president the simple truth, many APC leaders went as far lampooning the Igbos for expressing their right to choose. The ruling party conveniently brushed aside the fact that virtually all Nigerian presidential elections in history were influenced by ethnic sentiments, yet there is no record where a section of the country was denied its share of the national cake on the basis of voting pattern. The whole APC approach on political appointments triggered a nationwide outrage, with many groups charging the new government of ethnic chauvinism. According to a faction of the Movement for the Actualization of Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), the development was a clear testament “that Buhari is not seeing Ndigbo as part of Nigeria.”

The presidency reluctantly addressed the dilemma, quipping that, “At the end of the exercise, no part of the country will be left feeling left out.” Unfortunately, recent events suggest otherwise. The much-awaited ministerial allocations have come and gone but failed to reflect the balance needed to allay the fear of Igbo marginalization.

Although it is true that Igbos, particularly Chibuike Amaechi, Kachikwu Ibe, and Godwin Emefiele, occupy powerful positions in the central government, the gesture is wallowed in mistrust. The crème of Igbo intelligentsia as well as leaders of the Biafran agitation perceive the motive as a postwar federal agenda to drive a wedge between the Igbos of the South East and their brothers and sisters of the South-South. Moreover, many are dismayed with the attempt by the Federal Government to isolate the history of Biafran movement solely to the Southeast. After all, not only does the Igbo territory extend beyond the Southeast, the die-hard leaders of the Biafran war included the natives of the South-South zone, such as Chukwuma Nzeogwu, Phillip Effiong, and Joe Achusia, to name a few.

This medley of unforced errors on the part of APC government did nothing but play into the prevailing PDP narratives—those very fears narrated by my mother when I had called from America after Buhari’s victory. Today, the opposition is gaily saying “I told you so.” For the restless Eastern youths, it was the perfect excuse to finally embrace the call for secession from Nigeria—with Nnamdi Kanu as the totemic leader. Kanu has since been arrested and denied bail by the federal authorities. And different pleas for his release have also been rebuffed, leading to mass protests and loss of property as well as innocent lives.

But the quagmire must not continue. Rather than brute force, there is the need for solution through diplomacy.

First, President Buhari should go above the fray and order without further delay the release of Nnamdi Kanu. There is no doubt that Kanu’s rhetoric is hugely offensive, and deserves every condemnation, but keeping him behind bars for expressing his fundamental rights of self-determination does more harm than good. The matter is gradually gaining worldwide sympathy, and Nigeria’s economy must not be exposed to a new wave of ethnic havoc on top of Boko Haram.

Second, the APC government ought to find ways to dialogue with the pro-Biafra groups and reassure them of a genuine desire to carry the Igbos along, with specific attention to youth employment. Such dialogue can help the agitators to realize that the real enemies include their own brothers, faceless politicians, who carted away development funds in the East.

Third, but most ironic, if the war against corruption is a good omen, Buhari must be careful to avoid being mired into another form of Igbo marginalization. Even though the anticorruption war has already visited high profile culprits in every other zone of the federation, notorious politicians in the Southeast are still acting as if Goodluck Jonathan still holds sway. It is time to double up and expose the political merchants who abetted ageless money-spinners, such as Enugu-Onitsha/Enugu-PH Expressways, 2nd River Niger Bridge, Dredging of River Niger, Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Sam Mbakwe International Cargo Airport, Constitutional Amendment exercise, the criminal demolition of Eastern Nigeria Secretariat at Enugu and, of course, various abandoned Constituency projects littered across the area.  The president may as well head further south to unmask the incubus choking other vital projects with huge employment opportunities, particularly Calabar and PH ports, PH International Airport, and the East-West Highway. Seeing is believing. Nothing can assuage the feelings of these youths more than prosecuting the crooked politicians who exploited the poor masses for selfish gains.

The view immediately above mirrors a topical goal of the current Biafran movement which, in its own words, strives to hold accountable “all looters, embezzlers, kidnappers, sponsors of terrorism, child traffickers, corrupt judges, crooked university lecturers, murderous Nigerian security forces and all thieving individuals masquerading as public officials who steal public funds thereby preventing developmental projects from impacting positively on the lives of the ordinary people.”  This very idea of the pro-Biafra group is hardly unpopular. In fact, one may think their statement was adapted word-for-word from the campaign book of President Muhammadu Buhari. Said differently, these youths and Buhari share common dreams for a corrupt free society, after all. And they need each other. Sustaining our hard-fought change demands broad participation across the breadth and depth of Nigeria.

Dr.  SKC Ogbonnia, Ph.D., is the current president of Nigerians in Diaspora Organization (NIDO) – Houston Chapter.

A High Court judge faults Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission

President Buhari... Some lawyers have accused Buhari of using his fight against corruption to settle political scores. Human rights groups say some judges and lawyers are corrupt.
President Buhari… Some lawyers have accused Buhari of using his fight against corruption to settle political scores. Human rights groups say some judges and lawyers are corrupt.

ABUJA, Nigeria (AP) — A High Court judge has accused Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the army of behaving as if the country is still under military dictatorship and ordered the immediate release of a colonel detained without charges for nearly three months.

Judge Yusuf Haliru said the detention of Col. Nicholas Ashinze was illegal. Ashinze was aide to former presidential security adviser Sambo Dasuki, who also was arrested in December on allegations of diverting $2.9 billion meant to buy arms to fight the Boko Haram insurgency. Three different courts have ordered Dasuki’s release but President Muhammadu Buhari has said he must stay in jail.

Some lawyers have accused Buhari of using his fight against corruption to settle political scores. Human rights groups say some judges and lawyers are corrupt.

South Sudan Soldiers Suffocated 60-Plus Men And Boys, Report Says

Jason Beaubien  | NPR’s Global Health and Development Correspondent

Last month, I visited a displaced persons camp in South Sudan and met a woman who said she’d spent almost a year hiding in a swamp. She spent her days submerged, her head just above water. At night she’d emerge to search for food.

She’s one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have fled their homes over the past two years to escape that country’s brutal civil war. It’s hard to imagine that so many people would give up their worldly goods and flee into the bush. A new report from Amnesty International helps explain why.

The report, issued Thursday, looks at one atrocity that not only claimed dozens of lives, but sowed fear in the living left behind.

Amnesty International says that in October of 2015, government soldiers rounded up more than 60 men and boys in Leer, a town in the northern Unity state, locked them in a shipping container until they suffocated, then dumped their bodies in a nearby field. They were accused of supporting the opposition rebels.

“Witnesses described to us how the men were detained. How they were forced into this container,” says Lama Fakih, a crisis adviser with Amnesty International who spent two weeks last month in South Sudan investigating the massacre. Amnesty International interviewed 42 people who saw parts of the incident, she says. “Some [of the witnesses] were just outside the container and could hear the detainees banging on the sides of the container, screaming.”

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Hundreds of thousands of South Sudanese have fled their homes because of the ongoing civil war. (Above) Kids at a displaced persons camp in Bentiu. Many of the residents came from the part of South Sudan where the shipping container massacre reportedly occurred.

 

According to the report, soldiers opened the container to remove the bodies of some of the men who’d suffocated to death but then locked the doors again with the rest of the people inside. After 24 hours, all but one of the detainees were dead.

This incident is significant for several reasons. First, Amnesty International is calling it a war crime by the Sudanese government against its own people. Second, it occurred two months after the warring parties — the forces of South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and troops led by his former vice president, Reik Machar — signed a peace accord. An international commission charged with monitoring that cease-fire also documented reports of the shipping container killing in a confidential memo dated Dec. 18, 2015. Some details in that memo are slightly different from what Amnesty International found, but the main facts are strikingly similar.

The cease-fire commission’s report said, “Between 20 and 22 October 2015 a group of Government Forces were involved in some sort of operation in Leer County, during which cattle were seized and about 50 people (reports vary between 53 and 60) were rounded up and put in a shipping container in Leer. The container is in the compound used by Government Forces as a headquarters. A large number of those people suffocated. Their bodies were taken and thrown into the bush along the Gandor road.”

The “compound” where this happened was a church.

Government troops had commandeered the grounds of the Comboni Catholic Church in Leer after the clergy had fled. The soldiers were using the church grounds as a base.

“Unsubstantiated reports suggest that the few [detainees] who survived were killed,” the cease-fire commission memo adds. “There are further reports that the only survivor was an eight-year-old boy.”

Amnesty International heard that there was a lone boy who survived but puts his age at 12. One of the unnamed witnesses in the AI report says that when the shipping container was finally opened, there was a pile of bodies 3 feet high. “What we saw was tragic … the container was full of people, they had fallen over one another and onto the floor,” she’s quoted as saying.

This massacre is being blamed on government forces, but reports from the African Union, Human Rights Watch and others say both sides in this civil war have committed crimes against humanity including raping women, castrating child soldiers, killing civilians and even allegedly forcing captives to drink human blood.

“Sadly this is one horrific experience in a long litany of violations that we have documented being perpetrated by government forces or allied militias against the civilian population,” says Amnesty International’s Lama Fakih about the shipping container incident. “And again the abuses we have documented took place after the signing of the peace agreement.”

South Sudanese government spokesmen didn’t respond to two messages from NPR seeking comment on this new Amnesty International report.

Nigeria: 32 killed in pre-election violence in oil state

Nigeria’s governing party charged Thursday that 32 of its members have been shot, clubbed and beheaded in escalating violence as oil-rich Rivers state prepares for a rerun of legislative elections previously annulled amid fraud and killings.

Rivers state is a stronghold of the opposition Democrats. The party denies responsibility and blames the spate of killings over two weeks on “satanic cult clashes,” according to state government spokesman Austin Tam George, who is also an official of the Democrats party. He accused the governing party of “reckless and false allegations” to destabilize the opposition administration.

Image: SabrinaDan Photo via Flickr
Image: SabrinaDan Photo via Flickr

Rivers police spokesman Ahmad Muhammad acknowledged there had been “some murders” and said the gang leader believed to be behind it has been arrested.

The state committee of President Muhammadu Buhari’s All Progressives Congress accused opposition leaders of hiring gangsters to kill and intimidate its members. Party members are “fast becoming an endangered species” and fear will keep many from the March 19 polls for federal and state legislators in the southern state, it said in a statement.

It released a list of 32 names of party members it said have been killed, some by gunshots, several beheaded, others clubbed to death and one man burned alive.

“It is most likely that the violence is going to get worse,” warned Dakuku Peterside, who lost the governorship election in Rivers.

The 2015 presidential and legislative elections were relatively peaceful except in Rivers, where the National Human Rights Commission said nearly 100 people died.

WAELE/ARCELFA: Securing the dignity of African women

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By Anthony Obi Ogbo  |  Houston, Texas

At a Presentation event held in Ondo State of Nigeria to benefit rural women with 60 sets of 8HP Milling Machine, Otunba Dr Basirat Nahibi  (OON), founder and president of the Women Advancement for Economic and Leadership Empowerment in Africa (WAELE/ARCELFA) reinstated a mission to stand as a stronger voice toward meeting the aspirations of the African Women regarding economic empowerment and social freedom. This was in October, 2005.

In her words, Dr. Nahibi  said, “We believe that by partnering with this administration, we can reduce if not eradicate poverty totally in our dear country. You can always count on our support whenever you need us while we expect same from you to sustain the growth of this young organization.” This basically explains the core objectives of WAELE/ARCELFA as an entity, and it social responsibility to the women gender.

In her words, Dr. Nahibi said, “We believe that by partnering with this administration, we can reduce if not eradicate poverty totally in our dear country. You can always count on our support whenever you need us while we expect same from you to sustain the growth of this young organization.”
In her words, Dr. Nahibi said, “We believe that by partnering with this administration, we can reduce if not eradicate poverty totally in our dear country. You can always count on our support whenever you need us while we expect same from you to sustain the growth of this young organization.”

WAELE/ARCELFA was founded on   May 8 2004 to meet the sociopolitical needs of women in African and inspire them to participate in the economic decision-making; peace and conflict resolution; and affairs of governance in the continent. Today the group has spread through 42 African Countries, assisting African rural women to organizing themselves for improved livelihoods through targeted events and programs.

Globally, issues about women is swiftly gaining unprecedented attention. Mid December 2015, the United Nations (UN) Women introduced new policy brief series to pave the way for gender equality and women’s rights. Briefs focus on national social protection; gender equality; child development and job creation; protecting women’s income security in old age; and possibilities of macroeconomic policy for gender equality.

On another significant note, according to the UN Women, African continent has demonstrated a commitment to promote gender equality and the empowerment of women. For instance, almost all countries have ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; more than half have ratified the African Union’s Protocol on the Rights of Women in Africa.  These values accord with the mission of the Women Advancement for Economic and leadership Empowerment (WAELE/ARCELFA) in unifying various women groups and providing a stronger voice toward meeting the needs and prospects of the African Women.

International Guardian sat one-one-one with Dr. Nahibi and discussed her leadership of an entity that has made several impacts in the state of the African women. She is a known figure in the Nigeria’s political arena, who in 1978 joined the then People’s Redemption Party (PRP) in the country’s quest for a second republic. She was a member of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and also a founding member of both the All Progressives Party (APP) and  Congress for Progressive Change (CPC). Her partisan involvement in the current Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and All Progressive Congress (APC) substantiates her status as a godmother in the country’s political confraternity.Yet, Dr. Nahibi mentioned nothing about politics, but consistently stressed the urgent need to address regional issues about gender inequality, hunger, and uncertainties that permeate various region in the continent. She is currently a member of the African Union (AU) Committee of 30 for African Women Fund, and spoke heavily about WAELE/ARCELFA’s effort to attain peace and stability; and recognition and acceptance of women in the leadership process in the continent. “It has been a long journey, I tell you. I recall on the 11th September 2006 when WAELE/ARCELFA visited His Excellency Mr. Jakaya Mrisho Kikwete, President of the United Republic of Tanzania in Dar-Es-Salaam to commend him on the appointment of 16 female Ministers and other women in top decision making positions – we sat down with him and discussed the problems affecting African women and the way forward. The meeting was successful,” she said.

In furtherance of their mission to advocate a peaceful region, WAELE/ARCELFA collaborated with the Sudanese General Women Union (SGWU) to hold a peace meeting in Khartoum on Darfur issues in October 2008. The group visited President Omer Al-Basher to discuss the Darfur issue as well as issues concerning Sudan and the Republic of Chad. As a result of this meeting, the Sudanese border with Chad and Sudanese Embassy in Ndjamena were re-opened. “Special credit was given to WAELE/ARCELFA peace mission to Khartoum when this border was re – opened by the Sudanese Government, and these are just a few out of the numerous regional engagement we have facilitated to attain a peaceful region,” Dr. Nahibi said.

Dr. Nahibi continued on Sudan, “My group visited the Internally Displaced Person’s camp (IDP) in Al – Fashir, Northern Darfur in May 2009 and organized peace meeting with the Dafurian women in collaboration with Sudanese General Women Union (SGWU). More than 3,000 women participated in the peace meeting. Also we visited South Sudan in October 2010, met with the First Lady H.E. Mrs. Kiir and discussed the need for peace in both North & South Sudan after a prevalent referendum. That was not all – WAELE/ARCELFA also visited South Sudan in Feb 2014 on a peace mission and delivered relief materials to the IDP.”

Other rewarding peace missions by WAELE/ARCELFA include; a visited to the women of Tindouf, Algeria in Dec 2010; a special mission to Saharawi refugee camp in December, 2010, and another visit to  Juba, South Sudan from in February 2014 for a PEACE operation.

In accordance with its mission, how has WAELE/ARCELFA lived up to its expectation in unifying various women groups and providing a stronger voice towards meeting the aspirations African Women? Dr. Nahibi said that her organization has conducted a number of conferences and seminars to enhance gender sensitivity of various governments in Africa and to empower women to assert their God-given rights to aspire to positions of leadership in government, private sector, and the civil society.

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She said, “We held our first continental conference in Bamako, Mali, in March 2004, and 14 African countries participated. The second WAELE/ARCELFA continental conference themed “African women in a contemporary world:  issues on political and economic development” was held at the ECOWAS Secretariat, Abuja in July 2005. During this event, representatives from 18 African countries attended. If I may recall, Hon. Mrs. Gertrude Mongella, former President of Pan African Parliament led the Tanzanian delegation and delivered the keynote address. Also, in October 2006, our continental conference took place in Abuja, Nigerian at the International Conference Centre. Senator Joy Emodi gave the keynote address,” themed, “Politics and nation building: the role of Nigerian women.”

WAELE/ARCELFA has been consistent with using its conferences to organize women at continental levels to address their communal needs.  In the 2010 continental conference held in Abuja, for instance, 35 African countries participated. Among special guests were General Yakubu Gowon, a former Nigeria Head of State, Hon. Joyce Banda, Vice President of Malawi, and Hon. Joice Mujuru, Vice President of Zimbabwe. In September 2011, WAELE/ARCELFA’s 4th continental conference, 45 countries participated while Amb Frank Ruddy of United State delivered the Keynote address.

Women and Gender Cluster: Kenya Nairobi 17th -18th Oct, 2015. At the moment, WAELE/ARCELFA’s economic empowerment has visibly empowered thousands of women in sub-Saharan African regions.
Women and Gender Cluster: Kenya Nairobi 17th -18th Oct, 2015. At the moment, WAELE/ARCELFA’s economic empowerment has visibly empowered thousands of women in sub-Saharan African regions.

In addition to the conferences, the organization’s humanitarian projects across various regions have been successful in providing underprivileged women with basic necessities.  For instance, during the ethnic religious crises between the Christians and Muslims in Plateau State of Nigeria, WAELE/ARCELFA donated tons household items;  including blankets, mats, buckets, bowls, and foodstuffs to the victims. In 2008, the group visited the Chadian refugees during civil strife and handed out to hundreds of victims; bags of rice, maize, and millet, and salt, cartons of spaghetti, detergents, and plastic cups. Other relief items included; 5,000 slippers, 5,000 buckets, 2,000 mats, 2,000 blankets & and 200 boxes of milk. In 2014, the group also visited Juba, South Sudan where hundreds of underprivileged victims of the system were presented with similar relief materials.

The progress made so far by WAELE/ARCELFA in the sub-Saharan African regions on women affairs has been enormous. Dr. Nahibi admitted that the current situation regarding gender equality and the empowerment of women in Africa needed more work, but touted her group’s unwavering mission in bridging the equality gap and reducing economic inadequacies. “We have tried in many areas on gender equality and empowerments though advocacy and conferences.  However, we still have a lot of work to do regarding the 35% affirmative action which is still unachievable in many of the countries including Nigeria.  This year, we are also focusing on gender violence and women rights,” she noted.

At the moment, WAELE/ARCELFA’s economic empowerment has visibly empowered thousands of women in sub-Saharan African regions. In Nigeria alone, noted Dr. Nahibi, “More than 10,000 women in Akwa Ibom, Borno, Ondo & Abia States of have been successfully rewarded with economic empowerment equipment to boost productions in their individual trades and disciplines.  Indeed, those that are into cassava processing could only produce two bags of cassava manually with hard labor in a week, but after giving them the equipment, they can now produce more than 20 bags daily. Similarly, the women that are into palm oil processing could only produce 20 liters in a week. It is my pleasure to bring to your knowledge that with the assistance of WAELE/ARCELFA, they can now produce 400 liters in a day.”

Dr. Nahibi is also involved with the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (ECOSOCC), coordinating the West Africa headquarter of the Women and Gender Cluster. She is also a member of African Union (AU) Steering Committee for the Fund for African Women. African union ECOSSOC promotes dialogue between all segments of Africa people on issues concerning the continent and its future. The committee also creates strong partnership avenues between governments and all segments of civil societies, especially; women, the youth, children and the Diaspora, organized labor, private sectors, and professional groups

According to Dr. Nahibi, “as a team, we have been able to propagate the participation of Africa civil societies in the implementation of the policies and the program of the African Union – the most crucial aspect being the support of policies and programs that promote peace, securities, and stabilities; and foster continental developments & integration.”

“It is my hope that international organizations and other humanitarian entities in Africa and around the globe collaborate with us and support us as we promote and defend not just the culture of gender equality but also the culture of good governance, and democratic principles, human rights, and social justice. I would also call on the media – both local and international to support our effort in promoting and strengthening the institutional, human and operational capacities of the African civil society,” Dr. Nahibi concluded.

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