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Updated look at Nigeria as the country continues to experience religious violence – the north–south political and socio-religious issues are driving the country to a brink of extremely serious decisions. In this posting we provide an additional overview and the closer look at Boko Haram, the major player in the disaster race
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In this NEW section we present the official U.S. government statements, public opinion polls and general comments America makes about Africa, with the intent to keep Africa aware of the Africa temperament in the USA – to see “What America Sees” In this posting we present comments by Johnnie Carson of US State Dept re. Nigeria one year after the elections-READ MORE
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This posting provides an insight to mining and minerals, micro-loans to Kenya farmers and the textile industry struggle in Lesotho. Our Africa, Inc. postings and coverage provide a background for those conducting their “due diligence” for doing business and investing in and with Africa. PLUS our business and finance editors are at your service, if you have any specific questions to be answered about investments, business or finance of and with Africa-READ MORE
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In wake of the northern Mali self-declared independent statehood, IRIN, the international UN news service interviewed three experts and analysts closely familiar with what is and what is not happening, providing a clearer perspective to Mali and the Tuareg developments -READ MORE
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Timely report and opinion by Simon Allison which appeared and was distributed by the African Scientific Institute (ASI) about Kenya's Big Oil Find; and declares that Things Will Never Be the Same Again -READ MORE
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Before 70 million people viewed “KONY 2012” there was a very dramatic stage play “Butterflies of Uganda” which premiered in Los Angeles and played in Kampala – our report. In the informal settlement of Dagoretti in Nairobi, Kenya, a 13-member group called “Slum Drummers” builds drums, xylophones, and other musical instruments out of materials from dumpsites and metal scrap yards. Nigeria art treasures return home after a very successful museum tour in the U.S.
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We give you a hint of a great restaurant in Addis Ababa and a view of the classic Nairobi restaurant Carnivore – Plus a great Senegal food article which appeared in the “Saveur” magazine, courtesy of Peirre Thiam, our chef colleague. Plus read about Nairobi’s newest signature restaurant JIKO (”stove” in Swahili), at the Tribe Hotel. And you can link to the U.S. based African Dinner website that features African restaurants in all the major metropolitan areas of the U.S.-READ MORE
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| The African Times/USA presents Career Opportunities as a community outreach resource to our readers and site visitors. World Bank seeking new talent; Africa Development Bank’s new career program is outlined; U.S. White House internship information, a way to work with the U.S. President; Fulbright Scholarship availability and contacts for US and non-US applicants -READ MORE |
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| Informative piece from the UNESCO magazine “Courier” about Nelson Mandela’s time in the Robben Island prison and reading the magazine – good piece that fills in some of the Mandela history – followed by 19th Century travel book of West Africa by Mary Kingsley, published in 1892, a must read before your visit to Sierra Leone-READ MORE |
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| Profile of newly elected President of Zambia Michael Sata – PLUS seven other noteworthy African politicians Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso, Somalia Prime Minister; Re-elected President Paul Kagame of Rwanda, Al-Bashir, President of Sudan; Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, President of Nigeria; Jacob Zuma, President of South Africa; Sharif Ahmed, President of Somalia-READ MORE |
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| Closer look at the American AFRICOM operations as reported by the U.S. State Department in a recent testimony in Washington DC -READ MORE |
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| Closer look at North and South Sudans plus defining the oil crisis and what is taking place in Washington DC-READ MORE |
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| “The Land of Beautiful Horses” by our Travel Editor, reflecting on her visit to Turkey. Report of Zimbabwe tourism sector reawakening, followed by an Americana travel on Route 66 – the highway that opened up the American West, the principal route for millions of Americans immigrating to California – and listen to the great rendition of the song “Get Your Kicks on Route 66” -READ MORE |
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© Copyright The African Times Publications 2008
“The African Times/USA” and “Africa, Inc.” are trademarks of The African Times Publications.
All U.S.A. and international
rights reserved. |
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Africa’s Wealth
Africa’s petroleum and natural gas wealth is starting to overshadow most of the world’s proven reserves; the mineral wealth and rare earth deposits and Africa’s fertile farm lands are all the natural assets that the rest of the world envies and wants to own and control. This new reality has refocused attention on Africa, both political and economic.
The attention comes from the other side of the Indian Ocean, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. In most cases it is to secure the “others” long terms energy, resource and food futures and thus their own economic and political survival. This new interest and implementation are staring to resemble colonialism - more precisely “economic colonialism” – exploitation of Africa’s natural resources for the benefit of “others” and it is taking place in an uncontrolled environment.
The compensation in all cases involves great sums of money which in most cases are diverted to personal accounts; and heralding the investment project’s national infrastructure benefits – the first comes in primarily as bribes and the second in most cases, if not all, provides the infrastructure for the foreign investor’s projects plus a token big-ego-conference hall or a big-ego-sports stadium.
Africa needs to protect its continent-wide future. Africa needs to show strength in unity, have conviction and understand the “others” operational thrust and not loose control of Africa’s resources
Africa needs to coordinate the exploitation by “others” – three recommendations by The African Times are:
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Set up Africa’s own version of OPEC (as The African Times suggested some time ago).
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Have the Africa Development Bank review and advice on “others” agreements and contracts.
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Have the African Union adopt specific directives to oversee the “others” development strategies.
Africa is rich and the riches need to be protected and conserved for the benefit of Africa and her People!
Ethnicity of Africa
The April 2010 issue of the Africa Security Brief published by the Africa Center for Strategic Studies presented a paper by Clement Mweyang Aapengnuo, entitled “Misinterpreting Ethnic Conflicts.” His view of Africa’s ethnicities which are blamed for all the deadly dilemmas of Africa becomes more focused with the ICC trial of Mr. Tailor, the ex-President of Liberia and the upcoming elections in Kenya.
Aapengnuo presented a counter point to the general perception that Africa is trapped in a never-ending cycle of ethnic conflict. Although the Rwandan genocide, Darfur, northern Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, and the violent aftermath of the controversial Kenyan elections, among others, seemingly substantiate this perception.
Just as The African Times, his view is that ethnicity is not the driving force of African conflicts but a lever used by politicians to mobilize supporters in pursuit of power, wealth, and resources. It is true that the ethnic group is the predominant means of social identity in Africa, however most ethnic groups in Africa coexist peacefully with high degrees of mixing through interethnic marriage, economic partnerships, and shared values. Indeed, if they did not, nearly every village and province in Africa would be a cauldron of conflict.
Recognizing that ethnicity is a tool used by the unscrupulous and not the driver of intergroup conflicts should make the policy makers and the general international media reposition the presentation of the conflicts and rewrite the preventive and mitigation efforts.
In this regards we keep watching Kenya and its upcoming elections, where the ethnicity fervor is again being flared by the candidates’ owned media outlets.
Shall we ever learn and stop these unscrupulous, egocentric politico-fiends from broadcasting and spreading their death venom that promotes hatred and destruction for their own gains.
Debate - knowledge - opinions - ideas are all part of the AFRICA DIALOG. This is your opportunity to debate, come under the traditional village tree and become a part of the community.
We look forward to your comments:
editor@theafricantimes.com
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Not Again!!!
Both of You, Wake Up!!!
As Sudan and South Sudan sink deeper into full-scale conflict and hostile rhetoric nine months after the country split in two, people from both sides of the border are tweeting a very different message, one of peace, solidarity and frustration with their leaders. When will the old and the new “Big Men” and their entourages wake up, move aside and let the people live in peace, and with both Sudan’s combined wealth – realize tranquility and a peaceful future. Remember that power and brutal control equates to death and suffering for both sides. When will YOU wake up and move over??? |
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SOUTH SUDAN
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir has ordered the withdrawal of his troops from the Heglig oil field in Sudan. But Sudan's leader Omar al-Bashir later said his forces had retaken Heglig town. South Sudanese forces captured the area, accusing Khartoum of using it as a base to launch attacks. UN Chief Ban Ki-moon had described the occupation as illegal and also called on Sudan to stop bombing the South. Mr. Bashir had told supporters at a victory rally in Khartoum: "We thank God that he made successful your sons; the security forces, the police force and the defense forces - he has made them victorious." On state TV, his Defense Minister said Sudan's armed forces had entered Heglig 11:20 GMT. The escalating fighting and rhetoric between the two sides lead to fears of all-out war.
SOUTH AFRICA
South Africa's President Jacob Zuma will marry for the sixth time, making long-term fiancée Gloria Bongi Ngema his fourth current wife. Mr. Zuma is a Zulu traditionalist, and polygamy is legal in South Africa. Mr. Zuma usually takes one wife with him on official events, on a rotating basis. The marriage will be his sixth, he is divorced from one wife and another took her own life in 2000. Ms Ngema - a businesswoman from Durban - is already a familiar figure at the president's side. Mr. Zuma, who became president in 2009, recently celebrated his 70th birthday and has 21 children. Mr. Zuma was acquitted of rape charges in 2006, though he admitted having unprotected sex with the woman, and in 2009 he fathered a child out of wedlock with the daughter of a senior football official.
GUINEA BISSAU
The African Union says it has suspended Guinea-Bissau's membership of the organization after its recent coup by the nation's military. Soldiers toppled the government over its alleged plans to reduce the size of the army. At an AU Headquarters meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, the AU's Peace and Security Council decided to suspend Guinea-Bissau "until the restoration of constitutional order". The suspension took immediate effect. The AU also stated it will ask for international sanctions to be imposed on the country. The junta say they acted to prevent foreign intervention and a plot to "wipe out" Guinea-Bissau's army, which has long meddled in politics and is said by Western intelligence agencies to play a key part in trafficking drugs. Guinea-Bissau has become the major staging post for gangs smuggling cocaine to Europe from Latin America.
MALI
Amadou Toumani Toure, ousted as Mali's President in last month's coup, has arrived in Dakar, Senegal with "his entire family" of about 15 people. Directly after the coup he hid in the Senegalese embassy in Mali. And prior to his negotiated departure Mr. Toure formally resigned, as part of a deal for the soldiers to hand back power to the yet to be fully organized government. His departure from Mali is a sad end for a man seen as a great African statesman who ended years of Mali military rule, handing power to civilians after organizing elections in 1992. Ten years later, he was elected to power himself. The new government and the military junta have additional pressure in the north of the country with the Tuareg rebellion which since the coup has taken full control of the entire northern part of the country.
EGYPT
Ten candidates who had applied to run in the Egyptian presidential election have lost their appeals against disqualification, officials say. A judicial panel found no new evidence was offered by the hopefuls, including ex-spy chief Omar Suleiman and Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat al-Shater. The ultraconservative Salafist, Hazem Abu Ismail, also lost his appeal. The three were considered front-runners. All observes in Cairo say the decision reshapes the election. A final list of candidates is due to be published on April 26, when the election campaign officially begins. Hundreds of supporters of Mr. Abu Ismail are staging a sit-in outside the commission's headquarters in Cairo which is surrounded by military police and armored cars. When their candidate's rejection was announced, some of them threw stones and briefly scuffled with police. Mr. Abu Ismail also arrived at the building, telling supporters: "We are exposed to a conspiracy by parties that you cannot imagine. What is happening inside the committee is treachery to create divisions."
UGANDA
Pressure is mounting on Uganda’s President Musevi to retire after his current term ends in 2016. Senior religious leaders have urged him to plan his smooth exit to allow for a peaceful transfer of power. Many members of Parliament are planning to introduce a constitutional amendment bill to restore presidential term limits. Museveni, who has been in power since 1986, says he will retire only if his party decides so. In 2005, Parliament amended the constitution and removed the article which had provided that an individual could only be President for two five-year terms. This paved the way for President Museveni to seek re-election in 2006 and 2011. “It is very important to restore term limits,” said Gerald Karuhanga a Member of Parliament. He said in Uganda’s 50 years of independence there has not been peaceful transfer of power. “It is also adding a voice to a call to President Museveni that his time is up. He has been President for 27 years; he will have been President for 30 years when he completes his current term,” said Karuhanga.
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