The Nation Newspaper

Category: Foreign

  • Lawan to South Africa: secure Nigerians’ business interests

    Lawan to South Africa: secure Nigerians’ business interests

    By Sanni Onogu, Abuja

    Senate President Ahmad Lawan has urged the South African authorities to reciprocate the Nigerian Government’s gesture by ensuring that the business interests of Nigerians in South Africa are secured.

    Lawan stated this when a three-man delegation, led by the High Commissioner of South Africa to Nigeria, Mr. Thamsanga Dennis Mseleku, visited his office on yesterday in Abuja, according to the Special Assistant (Press) to the Senate President, Ezrel Tabiowo.

    Other members on the visiting delegation include: Mr. Bobby J. Moroe, Minister Plenipotentiary; and Ms. Boipelo Lefatshe, First Secretary (Political).

    According to the Senate President, efforts by both countries to secure the business interest of its nationals would create better chances of employment for their citizens across board and guarantee stronger economic prospects for Nigeria and South Africa.

    “For quite some time now, there are many South African companies that find Nigeria to be home. We are trying to see if we can achieve the same in South Africa.

    “But, I want to assure you that we will continue to support the Executive arm of government in Nigeria to ensure that all South African business interests are protected.

    “I will, however, urge that we are able to bring both countries together, that is to mean it shouldn’t be an isolationist sort of arrangement.

    “When you have your businesses here, we should have Nigerians given the opportunity to participate in those businesses after some time. I believe that doing so will breed a closer relationship in terms of economic and social engagements,” Lawan said.

    Read Also: Why APC will continue to harvest defectors, by Lawan

    On the relationship between South Africa and Nigeria, the Senate President advocated for a synergy between the parliaments of both countries, adding that a collaboration of sorts would better serve the general interest of the African continent.

    “Our relations have taken some bashing in the last few years, but for the right steps taken by our Presidents, Muhammadu Buhari and Cyril Ramaphosa to exchange visits.

    “We believe that relations are being mended and seem better, particularly taking into consideration that Nigeria and South Africa are the political and economic giants having occupied the first and second positions in terms of status.

    “So, we need to continuously have a very good and cordial relationship because if we don’t, then Africa suffers.

    Mseleku said the visit was particularly to inform the Nigerian parliament of the presence of the South African Commission in Nigeria.

    “The purpose of our visit is to actually announce our presence in your lovely country to say we are now here representing South Africa, and we are ready to be available at all times when it comes to matters that relate to the relationship between our countries,” he said.

     

  • Sudan’s veteran PM al Mahdi passes away at 85

    Sudan’s veteran PM al Mahdi passes away at 85

    For the first time in years, Sudan has announced a three-day national mourning and ordered its flag to fly at half-mast in the country and in all its diplomatic missions following the death on Thursday of veteran politician Sadiq al Mahdi, aged 85.

    Mahdi passed away in the United Arab Emirates where he was flown in a special jet for treatment for COVID-19.

    Mahdi, the head of Ansar religious sect, Arabic for Supporters, was known to be a staunch advocate for democracy and democratic government in his country, for which he was jailed during the rule of President Omar Bashir. Bashir, who ruled Sudan from 1989-2019, ousted then elected Prime Minister Mahdi.

    Mahdi, who was known to be a relentless preacher for moderate interpretation of the Islamic code, and a fierce opponent of what he termed “deformed” application of the Islamic code by the Bashir government, enjoyed huge followers as a religious leader, not only in the Sudan but also in Chad, Niger, Mali, Cameroon and Nigeria. These were mostly followers of the West African leader Osman Dan Fodio.

    Mahdi’s family was hit hard by COVID-19, with 26 members contracting the virus. He was the most senior and the first to pass away.

    The body will be flown back to Sudan on Friday with the party he headed calling on supporters to strictly adhere to health and social distancing measures when attending the burial that would take place on Friday morning in Omdurman, the stronghold of the Ansar sect.

    “Today is a sad day for Sudan. The European Union and embassies of its member states have expressed their sincere condolences to the people and government of Sudan, to the members and the supporters of the Umma National Party on the death of H.E. Al Imam Al Sadig Al Sideeg Abdel Rahman Al Mahdi, the former Prime Minister of Sudan,” Mr. Robert van den Dool, Head of Delegation of the European Union to Sudan tweeted on Thursday.

    Loads of messages and obituaries have started pouring into the Sudanese main stream media following the announcement of the death.

    The Sudanese cabinet and collective presidency issued a statement on “the untimely death of the prime minister, an Oxonian by education a father of a huge family, children and grandchildren and grandson children”.

    The statement described Mahdi as “a great statesman, religious figure, thinker and supporter of civilians, human rights, interfaith dialogue and democracy in Sudan. He was a friend of Europe, peace and the world.”

    It said through good and bad times, Mahdi showed the power of a strong will applied to a worthy cause. (PANA/NAN)

  • Ethiopian PM orders army to attack Tigray’s capital

    Ethiopian PM orders army to attack Tigray’s capital

    ETHIOPIA’S Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has ordered the army to attack the capital of the Tigray region after a 72-hour ultimatum for the region’s ruling party to surrender expired.

    Ahmed, last year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, ordered the federal troops to move on Mekelle after weeks of fighting in the semi-autonomous region.

    In a statement, Ahmed said the action would “conclude the third and final phase of our rule of law operations”.

    He said the forces would take “great care” to protect “innocent civilians” and called on people in the city to “disarm, stay at home and stay away from military targets”.

    Ahmed added that “all efforts” would be made to ensure the city is not “severely damaged”. He claimed that thousands of special forces in the region had already surrendered.

    The fighting has been met with international concern. The UN and humanitarian organisations have stated they are concerned for the 500,000 citizens and 200 aid workers in Mekelle.

    “Warnings don’t absolve the Ethiopian military of the duty to protect civilians during military operations in urban areas. Thousands live there…Violations by one side don’t justify violations by the other,” tweeted Kenneth Roth, the executive director of non-profit Human Rights Watch.

    Ahmed ordered operations in the region on November 4, 2020, stating that it was in response to the region’s ruling Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) attack on an Ethiopian military base.

    The liberation front played a large role in Ethiopian politics for decades, according to Human Rights Watch.

  • U.S. congresswoman, others boost EndSARS movement

    U.S. congresswoman, others boost EndSARS movement

    UNITED States Congresswoman Barbara Lee has joined United States (U.S.)-based Nigerian-native artist, peace activist and entrepreneur Prince Ayo Manuel Ajisebutu and the global community to observe a candlelight vigil for the lives lost during Nigeria’s violent military campaign against #EndSARS protestors.

    The #EndSARS movement calls for the dismantling of the state police unit known as the Special Anti-Robbery Squad or SARS, and has expanded to broader calls for government reform and an end to police brutality.

    “The activists and heroes who gave their lives in an effort to end police violence and to bring a more peaceful inclusive Nigeria are not only important to Nigerians in Nigeria, but important to me personally and the Nigerians in my community and to everyone in my congressional district and throughout the country,” said Lee.

    Read Also: EndSARS: Social action and epistemic justice

     

    “The United States Congress is paying attention and we stand with you,” Lee continued. “I’ve joined with my colleagues to call on the president to acknowledge the demands of the Nigerian people to stop the violence and to lead real investigations into police brutality. We’ve also urged both the United Nations and the United States Department of State to support the efforts of the Nigerian people to demand Justice, accountability, and an end to violence from their government.”

    Lee encouraged Nigerians in America to call their Congressional representatives to urge them to  co-sponsor “H. Res. 1216” (11/24/2020 House Resolution 1216), which condemns the use of excessive force by Nigerian security forces, calls for an investigation into the Lekki Toll Gate shootings in Lagos.

  • How terrorism can be defeated, by Indian High Commissioner

    How terrorism can be defeated, by Indian High Commissioner

    Our Reporter

     

    INDIAN High Commissioner to Nigeria Shri Abhay Thakur has highlighted the need for collaboration among nations to defeat terrorism and other emerging threats to global peace and security.

    Thakur, who spoke at the passing out of the participants of the Army War College Course 4 in Abuja, noted that no country can fight security challenges alone.

    He said: “It is extremely important that we work together hand in hand, share views and intelligence as countries and that is the best way we can fight terrorism. We need communication; it is important that we work together, compare notes and share intelligence and experiences. In fact, India and Nigeria are discussing closely.

    “The next phase in the Nigeria and India collaboration is very important. India has essentially been one of the biggest contributor to the UN peacekeeping forces. India is collaborating closely with Nigeria in training and capacity-building. We have senior Nigerian officers trained in India. In fact, we have the rare honour of having three Nigerian presidents, who had the privilege of being beneficiaries of India training programme – General Ibrahim Babangida, General Olusegun Obasanjo and Muhammadu Buhari, the current President of Nigeria.

    “Our defence operations are also within the NDA Kaduna, there is a great collaboration between India and the NDA in setting up the college. I will like to say that we stand with the Nigerian Armed Forces as they defeat the Boko Haram menace.”

    The guest lecturer and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative in Nigeria, Dr. Mohammed Yaya, hailed the commitment of the Nigerian Armed Forces in tackling insecurity.

    He outlined the UNDP’s thematic areas, which he said, are focused on alleviating the plight of the less privileged and vulnerable in the rural areas.

    Chief of Army Staff Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, represented by the Army Chief of Police and Plans, Lt-Gen. Lamidi Adeosun, urged the participants to put the experience they garnered from the course to bear in the discharge of their duty.

    According to him, “the Army War College Nigeria has continued to play vital role in the achievement of the Nigerian Army’s mission since its inception in February 2017. During the inauguration of course one of the college, I made it clear that this college was a child of necessity given the peculiarities of our contemporary security challenges. I also stressed that this citadel of learning was specifically conceived to address the observed gaps in the professional military education of our personnel at the operational level.

    “Today, after about three years of uninterrupted activities, I am delighted to inform all present here that our vision has paid the right dividends. The college has continued to turn out highly capable operational level commanders with very good understanding of operational act and requisite skills for the effective application of land power. It is on record that the graduates of this college have added value to Nigerian Army war fighting capabilities in our various operational engagements.”

    Highlight of the event was the inauguration of an ultra-modern office and residential building at the college.

     

     

  • Turkish court issues life sentences in trial of 2016 coup leaders

    Turkish court issues life sentences in trial of 2016 coup leaders

    Agency Reporter

    A Turkish court handed down dozens of life sentences on Thursday for some of the nearly 500 defendants, including army commanders and pilots, accused of leading a 2016 coup attempt from an airbase near the capital Ankara.

    More than 250 people were killed on July 15, 2016, when rogue soldiers commandeered warplanes, helicopters, and tanks and sought to take control of state institutions and overthrow the government of President Tayyip Erdogan.

    The trial was the highest-profile of dozens of court cases targeting thousands of people accused of involvement in the coup attempt, which Ankara blamed on supporters of the U.S.-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen.

    Former air force commander Akin Ozturk and others at the Akinci air base near Ankara were accused of directing the coup and bombing government buildings, including parliament, and attempting to kill Erdogan.

    Four ringleaders, dubbed “civilian imams” over ties to Gulen’s network, were given 79 aggravated life sentences for charges of attempting to assassinate the president, murder, and seeking to overthrow the constitutional order, state-owned Anadolu news agency said.

    READ ALSO: Turkish central bank raises interest rates to 15 percent

    F-16 warplane pilots were also among those given aggravated life sentences – the severest punishment in Turkish courts – meaning there is no possibility of parole.

    Turkey’s then-military chief and now defence Minister Hulusi Akar and other commanders were held captive for several hours at the base on the night of the coup. A total of 475 people were on trial, 365 of them in custody.

    Sustained Crackdown

    The 79-year-old cleric Gulen, who was once an ally of Erdogan and has denied any role in the coup, was one of six defendants being tried in absentia. Their dossiers were separated from the main trial, media reports said.

    The government declared a state of emergency in Turkey – a NATO member and candidate for European Union membership – after the failed coup and carried out a large-scale crackdown which alarmed Ankara’s Western allies.

    Some 292,000 people have been detained over alleged links to Gulen, nearly 100,000 of them jailed pending trial, Anadolu cited Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu as saying.

    Some 150,000 civil servants were sacked or suspended after the coup, with some 20,000 expelled from the military. Courts have handed down more than 2,500 life sentences.

    Four years on, police operations targeting suspects accused of links to Gulen continue on a regular basis.

    The government has said the crackdown was needed given the security challenges which Turkey has faced to root out a network of Gulen supporters deeply embedded in the state apparatus.

    (www.newsnow.co.uk)

  • Ex-Sudan PM Sadiq Al-Mahdi dies of COVID-19

    Ex-Sudan PM Sadiq Al-Mahdi dies of COVID-19

    Our Reporter

    Sudan’s former Prime Minister Sadiq Al-Mahdi and head of the opposition National Umma Party has died from a coronavirus infection at the age of 84.

    The country’s last democratically elected prime minister died yesterday, three weeks after being hospitalised in the UAE.

    According to Sudanese media, Al-Mahdi’s health had deteriorated after reportedly suffering from severe pneumonia brought on by the virus.

    Al-Mahdi was overthrown in the 1989 coup that brought former long-time President Omar Al-Bashir to power. His moderate party went on to ally with Sudan’s pro-democracy uprising movement that ultimately led the military to remove Al-Bashir from power last April. He was also one of the staunchest opponents of Sudan’s recent warming of ties with Israel, which he dismissed as “an apartheid state” over its treatment of the Palestinians.

    READ ALSO: Protesters’ doctor dies of COVID-19

    Sudan’s transitional military-civilian government has declared three days of national mourning. According to a statement by his party, Al-Mahdi’s body will arrive in Khartoum tomorrow morning with his funeral set take place in his home city of Omdurman, situated in Khartoum state, at the dome of his grandfather Imam Mohammad Ahmed Al-Mahdi where he will be buried.

    Imam Mohammad Ahmad Al-Mahdi was a religious leader who proclaimed himself to be the Mahdi or “Rightly Guided One”, an eschatological figure in Islamic tradition whose Mahdist movement waged a successful war against Egyptian-Ottoman rule in Sudan in the second half of the nineteenth century.

    (www.newsnow.co.uk)

  • Duchess of Sussex speaks on miscarriage ‘pain, grief’

    Duchess of Sussex speaks on miscarriage ‘pain, grief’

    THE Duchess of Sussex Meghan has revealed she had a miscarriage in July, writing in an article of feeling “an almost unbearable grief”.

    “I knew, as I clutched my firstborn child, that I was losing my second,” Meghan said in a piece for the New York Times.

    She went on to describe how she watched “my husband’s heart break as he tried to hold the shattered pieces of mine”.

    Meghan wrote that “loss and pain have plagued every one of us in 2020”.

    The 39-year-old shared her experience to urge people to “commit to asking others, ‘are you OK?’” over the Thanksgiving holiday in the U.S.

    A source close to the duchess confirmed to the BBC that the duchess is currently in good health and the couple wanted to talk about what happened in July, having come to appreciate how common miscarriage is.

    A Buckingham Palace spokesman said: “It’s a deeply personal matter, we would not comment on.”

  • Ethiopia’s PM rejects international interference

    Ethiopia’s PM rejects international interference

    Our Reporter

     

    ETHIOPIA has urged the international community to refrain from “unwelcome and unlawful acts of interference” in its affairs following calls to end the conflict in the northern Tigray region.

    Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has called the military offensive a “law-enforcement operation”.

    His deadline to Tigray fighters to surrender will lapse yesterday.

    Hundreds of people have reportedly been killed and thousands have been forced from their homes.

    Aid groups fear the conflict could trigger a humanitarian crisis and destabilise the Horn of Africa region.

    The UN said it was alarmed by the threat of major hostilities if the Ethiopian army advanced on Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, home to about 500,000 people.

    In a statement released, Abiy said when it came to help from outside “the international community should stand by until the government of Ethiopia submits its requests for assistance”.

    On Tuesday, a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the fighting in Tigray ended without a statement, according to AFP news agency, with African countries reportedly requesting more time to allow for diplomatic efforts by the African Union to continue.

    Meanwhile, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell met with Ethiopia’s foreign minister to discuss the conflict.

    “I expressed my great concern regarding increasing ethnic-targeted violence, numerous casualties and violations of human rights and of international humanitarian law,” Borrell said after their Tuesday meeting.

     

  • EU threatens to pull out of Brexit talks

    EU threatens to pull out of Brexit talks

    Our Reporter

     

    EUROPEAN Union’s (EU) chief negotiator Michel Barnier has warned David Frost that without a major negotiating shift by Downing Street within the next 48 hours, he will pull out of the Brexit negotiations in London this weekend, pushing the talks into a fresh crisis.

    In talks via videoconference on Tuesday, Barnier told his British counterpart that further negotiations would be pointless if the UK was not willing to compromise on the outstanding issues.

    Should Barnier effectively walk out on the negotiations, it would present the most dangerous moment yet for the troubled talks, with just 36 days to go before the end of the transition period.

    While Brussels might hope such a move would put the UK prime minister under pressure to give Frost new negotiating instructions, it might also embolden those within the Tory party who believe no deal is the better outcome.

    During a speech in the European parliament on Wednesday, the European commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said the EU was willing to be “creative” to get a deal with the UK but admitted an agreement was in the balance with “very little time ahead of us”.

    Physical talks are on hold after a member of the EU negotiating team tested positive for coronavirus, but Barnier is expected to leave quarantine today evening.

    He is due to head to London on Friday for a last-ditch push for an agreement once he receives a negative coronavirus test.

    “These are decisive days for negotiations with the United Kingdom,” Von der Leyen told MEPs. “But, frankly, I cannot tell you today if in the end, there will be a deal.”

    “We will do all in our power to reach an agreement. We’re ready to be creative,” she said. “But we are not ready to put into question the integrity of the single market, the main safeguard for European prosperity and wealth.”

    Von der Leyen said legal texts on judicial and social security coordination, trade in goods and services and transport were almost finalised. “However, there’s still three issues that can make the difference between a deal and no deal,” she added.

    She said fishing communities needed “predictability” from year to year over access to British waters, in a reference to Downing Street’s wish to hold annual negotiations over catches in UK seas, with the option of blocking access.