The African Union (AU) through funding from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) has begun funding an anti-corruption technology platform.

The civic engagement platform ‘ifollowthemoney’ seeks to empower youths with the right tools to seek and demand change and ultimately benefit from the dividends of democracy.

GIZ’s Adeshina Sylvester said the organisation partners and supports the AU on ways to connect with innovative actors in the continent, particularly in the governance and civic space.

Sylvester said this in Abuja at the presentation of the ifollowthemoney APK platform hosted on Web and Android play store by Connected Development (CODE).

He said: “GIZ supports the AU to think about ways to connect with innovative actors in the continent, particularly the governance and civic space. I am excited that CODE and particularly Follow the Money is a beneficiary of our Civic tech fund, we are glad that our support has contributed in a small way to the discussions we are having today. We are proud of the work so far, we would continue to seek opportunities and support the work that you do.”

Read Also: The African Union passport and regional integration

Founder CODE and Follow the Money, Hamzat Lawal said ifollowthemoney is a tool that seeks to reach over seven million people across Africa.

He added: “Follow the Money is now uploaded into the web, android and IOS platforms in Kenya, the Gambia, Malawi, Cameron, Liberia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Cape Verde and Nigeria. It’s going to be in six International languages which are Arabic, French, Swahili, Portuguese, English and Amharic.

“We are doing this to ensure that citizens in these countries are able to use data and evidence based outreaches to hold their countries to account.”

Lawal added that knowing that the African continent is plagued with corrupt practices where citizens most times do not have the platform to air their grievance or report some of these corrupt issues in their various communities.

The platform provides a unique avenue where citizens can document their needs and provide information on how governments is providing various interventions around basic education, health care, access to water, sanitation and hygiene and infrastructure.

The presidential candidate of Liberia’s opposition Unity Party Ambassador Joseph Nyuma Boakai, has carpeted President George Weah for endless foreign junketing, claiming it was returning the country to pre-war conflict situation.

The former Vice President, at a briefing in Monrovia, stated the major problem confronting Liberia at the moment was lack of leadership.

Urging Liberians to be prepared to vote out Weah in the 2023 presidential election, Ambassador Boakai accused President Weah of unconscionable corruption and profligacy that Liberians must bring to an end.

He said: “As I speak to you, President Weah has left the country and will be away for the next seven weeks without any tangible explanation to the Liberian people…it is needless to say that his long stay away from the country with no tangible reason is unprecedented in the history of the Liberian Presidency. Of course, we are aware that President Weah’s presence or absence are the same, but at least with minimum effect on our financial resources.”

Read Also: Weah makes stadium gesture to Sierra Leone

Accusing the Weah government of mind boggling corruption, Ambassador Boakai specifically cited the National Housing and Population Census preparation, which, he said has been marred by “controversies, characterised by outright corruption and lack of well-defined policies.”

The presidential front runner noted that all the reasons provided by the former leaders and rulers of the Republic as justification for the wars that led to the deaths of thousands of innocent souls, such as bad governance, corruption, misuse of public office, and failure to organise credible elections, are back in full swing.

“Today we are threatened by the same reasons that were used by insurgents to destroy our country. As responsible citizens, we will not fold our arms and allow an irresponsible Government to invite another crisis to Liberia,” he lamented.

Boakai also lamented the shortage and escalating prices of rice and other staple food and condemned the government’s inability to pay civil servants on time, with its attendant ripple effects on parents’ abilities to meet up with their responsibilities at the home front.

Delivering a damning verdict on the Weah government, the Presidential hopeful submitted: “Never have we seen such a display of reckless disregard for the concerns of the people of this country. Never have we seen so much display of greed, selfishness, corruption, and irresponsibility at the highest level of government. Never have we seen a President of Liberia become a laughing stock or joke in the world. Never have we lived under a government that brings so much shame and disgrace to our country. ”

To put an end to this, the Presidential front runner urged Liberians to remove the Weah government from power in 2023 “so that serious efforts can be made to better Liberia and protect the interest of future generations.”

“This will be done through the decisive and popular vote of the Liberian people in 2023,” Ambassador Boakai asserted.

An international conference with the theme: Africa‘s Economy: The Way Forward, is to hold at the Newark City Hall, Newark, New Jersey, United States of America on Saturday, October 22, 2022.

The conference, according to its organisers, Global Patriot Newspapers, is an attempt to begin a new conversation aimed at proffering fresh answers to old but still troubling questions, especially concerning why a Continent as resource rich as Africa must continue to remain the poverty capital of the world.

With Vice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN) as Special Guest of Honour, an array of experts cutting across different disciplines will, in a no holds barred manner, attempt to get to the roots of the seemingly unfathomable paradox of poverty in the midst of plenty that has so far remained the lot of Africa, the Mother Continent of all Blacks across the world.

Top diplomats, political leaders, captains of industry, senior government functionaries, Clerics, academics, media chiefs and others from all over the world will be part of the hybrid Conference that is to attempt to draw an economic road map for the African Continent with the aim of making the world a better place for all.

The programme will hold at the iconic and historic Rotunda of the Newark City Hall on Broad Street, Newark, New Jersey.

Read Also: Nigeria lags behind as South Africa gets 69% of Africa’s $74.2b insurance market

Global Patriot Newspapers, according to its Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Simon Ibe, has held two very successful Conferences in the past, the most recent being the International Conference on Patriotism, Security, Governance and National Development, focused on Nigeria, which held on Saturday, March 6, 2021, in collaboration with the Nigerian Consulate, New York, USA and Nigerians in Diaspora Organisation (NIDO), New Jersey, USA Chapter.

Last year (2021)’s Conference had Vice President Osinbajo as Keynote Speaker and Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and former President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Ambassador (Professor) Tijjani Mohammed-Bande as Chairman. It featured other Key Speakers such as Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, former Senate President and former Secretary to the Government of the Federation; activist lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), former Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, Dr. Abubakar Mohammed of the Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto, Professor M.J Balogun, former DG of ASCON and erstwhile Adviser to the UNGA President, among others.

The online platform’s first Conference, on Patriotism, Untapped Potentials & National Development, was held at 4Points By Sheraton Hotel, Victoria Island, Lagos on Thursday, November 23, 2017, and had as Keynote Speaker, Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and current Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in Nigeria’s upcoming 2023 General Election.

This year’s Conference on Africa’s Economy is parading an equally formidable line-up of committed pan Africanists and people of African Descent and will have participants from all over the world, all of who want remediation of the sorry situation that presently passes as the Economy of Africa.

Damiba was removed because he was unable to deal with the worsening situation bedevilling the country. This is the second coup in the space of nine month in Burkina Faso.

Traore was part of the group of Army Officers who overthrew a constitutionally elected government in January 2022. Here are 10 things to know about him:

·         Ibrahim Traore was born in Bondokuy, Mouhoun Province, in 1988.

·         He enrolled at the University of Ouagadougou in 2006 and graduated top of his class with a degree in fundamental and applied geology.

·         He joined the Burkinabè armed forces in 2010 and was recruited for the 12^th promotion of the Georges Namoano Military Academy in Pố, which houses the Commando training centre. After two years of training, he was assigned to the artillery regiment based in kaya in the Center-North region.

·         Ibrahim Traore became a lieutenant in 2014 and was later promoted to a Captain in 2020.

·         Captain Ibrahim Traore was appointed Chief of artillery of the 10^th support by Lieutenant-Colonel Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba.

·         Ibrahim Traore has fought on the front lines against Islamist militants in the north where some of them linked to the Islamist State group and Al-Qaeda.

·         He was among the army officers who initially supported Damiba when he took power in his own coup in January, promising to defeat the Islamists

·         . He overthrew his former comrade, Lt Col Paul-Henri Damiba in a successful organised coup on 30th September, after accusing him to fulfil his promise of quelling the Islamist insurgency that gripped Burkina Faso since 2015.

·         He became the President at 34, making him the youngest Head of State in Africa.

·         Captain Ibrahim Traore is seen as the famous revolutionary Thomas Sankara, who became a military president as the age of 33.

Sustainable Development Goal Four (SDG4) aims to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all.” It has 10 targets, including free primary and secondary education, equal access to quality pre-primary education, equal access to affordable technical, vocational and higher education and an increase in the number of people with relevant skills for financial success. Others are eliminating discrimination in education, universal literacy and numeracy, sustainable development and global citizenship education, and building and upgrading inclusive and safe schools. However, according to the World Bank’s regional education strategy for Sub-Saharan Africa, SDG4 will not be achieved by the 2030 set deadline.

This is not an unexpected reversal of policy ambition, particularly in light of the damage done to education systems with COVID-19. However, the casual ease with which the World Bank is distancing itself from SDG4 is frightening when reminded of the learning crisis: 70 percent of 10-year-old children in Western and Central Africa cannot read and understand a simple text. More than 32 million children remain out of school, the largest for any region globally. The prospect of attaining SDG4 further dimmed in June when the World Bank launched its education strategy for Western and Central Africa at a regional ministerial meeting in Accra, Ghana. Surprisingly, the strategy’s scope and scale publically backs away from the SDG4 targets, with stakeholders surprised by its less than ambitious targets for reducing learning poverty in the region. Some quarters believe that the targets and goals indicatesa dismal policy failure. And they are right..

The first line of the World Bank’s 74-page regional strategy document highlights the extent of the learning crisis. Yet, its reduced targets – do not match the issues’ scale. The first regional education strategy in 20 years aims to reduce learning poverty from 80 per cent to 66 per cent by 2030, a mere 17.5 percent. Essentially, the World Bank will consider their policy successful if is 66 percent of children remain in learning poverty in 2030. For an organisation with the financial might , political influence and reach of the World Bank, this is poor. Based on the World Bank’s target, at least 17 million children from the region will remain extremely poorly educated long after the sustainable development goal has passed.

Read Also: Education cannot exceed the quality of our teachers

Curiously, at the Transforming Education Summit held recently as part of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA 77), the Commitment to Action (CTA) on Foundational Learning was pushed hard by global educationalists and mut lateral bodies. The commitment states: “By endorsing the CTA, countries and organisations commit to taking urgent and decisive action to reduce by half the global share of children unable to read and understand a simple text by age ten, by 2030.” It is ironic that the World Bank is a co-author.

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Shockingly, this means that the CTA the World Bank is pushing others to publicly endorse in the region, is far more ambitious than the World Bank’s own strategy for reducing poverty learning in West and Central Africa. From a policy perspective it is contradictory at best, confused at worst. Wouldn’t it be expected that the World Bank’s own strategy for the region was least as ambitious as the Commitment to Action it is asking other organisations and countries to endorse?

Stakeholders in the education sector are left baffled by the World Bank’s approach. As countries emerge from COVID-19 there is a sustained focus on tackling the learning crisis, now is not the moment for poor leadership from the global financing body of education; pursuing a strategy that only seeks a 17% improvement in learning poverty is woeful.

Nigeria has 18.5 million out-of-school children, while Burkina Faso has over 857,221. Ghana, with close to 1 million and Angola, with over 773,837, have some of the highest numbers on the continent. Instructively, the affected countries are not resting on their oars. Each has devised measures to reduce the learning poverty ailing them. Even as the Federal Government continues to prevaricate and pursue inchoate policies, some Nigerian states are taking matters into their own hands. Edo, Lagos and Kwara are exemplars in this regard. They have embraced innovative teaching and learning methods aided by technology to improve learning outcomes. Literacy and numeracy have improved significantly, and the trio is well on the way to having well-educated youth before 2030. The three states with technical partner, NewGlobe, are recording milestones that delight all stakeholders- government, teachers and parents.

Fittingly, a recent study by Nobel Prize-winning economist Professor Michael Kremer has studied the methodology underpinning the programs launched by the three Nigerian Governors. The study, notes that: “Attending schools delivering highly standardised education has the potential to produce dramatic learning gains at scale, suggesting that policymakers may wish to explore the incorporation of standardisation, including standardised lesson plans and teacher feedback and monitoring, in their systems.”

Nigeria is already tackling learning poverty in a much more ambitious way than the World Bank aspires to do; and aims to achieve more than the prescribed targets from the Transforming Education Summit (TES) commitment to action. It is right that political leaders are ambitious and create ambitious targets, but they rightly expect that global bodies will match their ambition and not create confusing targets that undermine them. and World Bank strategy. The youth of any nation, even the continent, is its future. Given the place of knowledge in this 21st century, their education cannot be toyed with.

Notwithstanding, the World Bank needs to re-evaluate its ambitions and work with concerned countries to improve learning outcomes. Funding has remained a problem for some countries, and the global body can assist in this. It should support the region with the requisite funding and technical partnership to achieve SDG 4. Lowering the educational attainment goals is defeatist. It needs to reappraise its set goals for the interest of all.

A panel of security experts, journalists at a one-day dialogue brainstormed on new responses to the shortcomings of preventive diplomacy and peacekeeping in the management of conflicts crippling the African continent.

The roundtable discussion is prelude to the eighth edition of the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security scheduled for 24th and 25th of October with the theme as “Africa in the face of exogenous shocks: the challenges of stability and sovereignty”.

Heads of States and Government, ministers, leaders of international organizations such as AU, EU and UN, over 400 experts on peace and security from civil society will take part in the forum organised by the Senegal Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

At the luncheon in Dakar during the week, discussions on the state of play, evaluation and perspectives of peacekeeping missions on the continent; new reforms at the international and African levels; strategic autonomy in the area of security in Africa; role of diplomacy in conflict prevention and management dominated the discourse.

Read Also: 60 journalists benefit from Plateau health insurance scheme

The event attracted dignitaries including; Diplomats, international journalists, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese Abroad, Aissata Tall Sall; former chief of general staff (CGS) and former ambassador of Senegal to Germany, Lieutenant General (CR) Babacar Gaye; former UN Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations, current SRSG and head of MINUSMA, El-Ghassim Wane; Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security of ECOWAS, Ambassador Abdel Fatau-Musah, others.

The moderator, former Chief of the General Staff (CGS) and former Ambassador of Senegal to the People’s Republic of China Lieutenant General (CR) Abdoulaye Fall, in his remarks highlighted the nexus between preventive diplomacy and peacekeeping.

He explained that the two key term deal with diplomatic and operational processes aimed at the peaceful management of conflicts, with the support of stakeholders.

The Minister, Aissata Tall Sall in her remarks explained that the upcoming Dakar Forum is an international gathering due to the variety of persons, and topics to be discussed.

She said: “We are living with the consequences of COVID-19, shocks from the war in Ukraine, and other issues. It is therefore imperative for us to discuss classical issues on security, political instability”.

Sall further spoke on the importance of preventive diplomacy as a talking point and intervention for peace, and as such the forum will bring together actors, top military echelon, security experts, CSOs to discuss issues, ideas aimed at advancing the future of humanity.

Speaking, Amb. Fatou Musa in his presentation titled: “Rethinking/Reinvigorating Diplomacy for Conflict Prevention and Management” highlighted some of the challenges facing preventive diplomacy in Africa including Governance, strategic Interest, loss of monopoly over the means and use of force and communication.

He noted that world is going through a traumatic experience, adding that democracy must deliver beyond just conducting elections because many countries are faced with governance deficit.

At the forum, journalists who made salient contributions to the issues of peace and security in Africa, also proposed the formation of a network covering the forum of African Journalists for peace and security.

Scores of Nigerian nationals reside in Littoral and the West regions of Cameroon, answered present at the explanade of the Nigerian Consulate in Douala on October 1st to join their fellow compatriots living in other parts Cameroon, and of the world, to celebrate the 62nd anniversary of the independence of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The occasion organised to commemorate the Nigerian National Day was convened by Nigeria’s Consul General to the Littoral and West Regions of the Republic of Cameroon, HON. (HRM) Queen Efe Alexandra Clark-Omeru.

Nigerians and other dignitaries present, were in array of their independence and freedom of the sovereignty to the State, which their founding fathers such as Prime Minister Tafawa Balewa, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo , had fought to preserve from western imperialism.

October 1st, according to the resident Consul General for the Littoral and West Regions, HON. (HRM) Queen Efe Alexandra Clark- Omeru was time to celebrate its heroes, the strong force behind national unity.”Nigeria as a nation has come a long way in its history” she said.

“Our country has had several challenges which reflect the resilience of our people in conquering these challenges. This explains the undeniable fact that, to live together as a nation is our destiny. Despite differences in ethnic groups, Nigerians share common values and continue to fight together,” Queen Efe added.

The amiable Nigeria CG, pinpointed instances where Nigerians have stood as one in combating epidemics such as the Ebola outback,. Covid-19 , more to that, they have all been in one accord in the fight against the Boko Haram militia insurgencies in the Northern part of the country. In all this, Queen Clark-Omeru said, Cameroon has remained their strategic partner.

“The Nigerian government took all measures to push back these pandemics. As we ponder on the remnants of the militant insurgencies in our country, we want to emphasize that Cameroon has been a great supporter of Nigeria. Their encouragement meant a lot to us. This experience should serve as an example to countries to always prepare in case of such threats” she noted

Saluting President Buhari’s administration

“Nigeria is made and still making remarkable progress in diverse areas under President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR), the precarious security situation in the country has recorded remarkable steps of progress as our gallant security personnel have continued to demonstrate commitment to degrade the activities of insurgency, militancy and banditry through the Multinational Joint Task Force which comprises Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad, Niger and Benin republic, the Government has continued to transform and diversify the economy with a focus on boosting the agricultural sector and investing in infrastructural development among numerous remarkable achievement of the current administration.”

Excellent bilateral relationship

Cameroon and Nigeria over the years have enjoyed excellent bilateral relationships. An example of such, could be seen in the strategic visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to Yaoundé in 2015 and a return of visit made by President Paul Biya to Abuja, Nigeria in 2016. This relationship has for long been sustained by the presence of the Nigerian Consulate in Cameroon. The Nigerian Consulate in Douala was established in1972 but closed down in 1984 after which it was reopened in 1985. It was again closed in 1989 and reopened in 1992. The Consulate had remained open from that time till date.

The Consul General sees the constant struggle to maintain a diplomatic mission in Douala as important to their collaboration with Cameroon. Nigerian Cameroon Tourism and Trade Cooperation, birthed in 1997, shall have its 3rd edition in 2023. The Consul General then enjoined Cameroonians to make use of the diverse trading opportunities available for Cameroonians in Nigerian markets. Besides, the present of a plethora of Nigerian companies in Cameroon is an extension of the excellent trade relationship both nations share.

She has described the warm welcome she received from the Governor of the Littoral region, Samuel Dieudonné Ivaha Diboua since her arrival in June 2021 and that of Governor Awa Fonka Augustine upon her visit to the West Region in between May and June 2022 as a “show of brotherly love” The chief of cabinet at the Littoral Governor’s office, Stéphane Bile, who represented the Governor of the Littoral region, called on all Nigerians to feel at home in Cameroon as well as in Douala.

Nigerians Enjoined to be law-abiding

The commemoration of the Nigerian National Day in Douala, was also a time for Nigerian leaders to remind their compatriotes to remain law-abiding citizens and respect the laws of their host country. Nigerian peace Keeper and cultural custodian, Eze Thomas Johnathan Onyengubo known in his venerated title as Eze Gburu Gburu 1, observed that, it is important for fellow Nigerians to keep an excellent relationship with the people of Cameroon by respecting the laws of their host country and avoid all forms of malpractices.

In the same vein, the President of the Nigerian Union in Douala, Chief BIC Okujiakwu, called on Nigerians to be patriotic citizens and contribute to the development of the country at home and abroad.

“In keeping the legacy of our founding fathers, we have to Put first the progress of the nation, keep it strong and safe in unity and respect. Nigerians have over 250 languages but we are one people” he said.

Eze Martins Ulor, Vice President of the Nigerian Union, West region also saluted the Consul General for showing great patriotism since her arrival and urge Nigerians to follow her footsteps for patriotism.

“She’s a patriotic woman who has the love of the country in her heart and that’s why we are having this colorful celebration in respect of our dear country Nigeria. I will like every Nigerian home and abroad to emulate her spirit of patriotism.”

Meanwhile, the Nigeria government directed all the Nigerian Missions in diaspora to project Nigeria Nollywood during the Independence Day celebration. It could be recalled that Nigeria Nollywood has attracted lots of countries due to outstanding script and shot of videos that made it appealing in Africa continent.

The CG, who has been regarded as Nigeria mother in Cameroon due to her diligence and effort in her region, applauded the Nigeria companies who came out in large numbers to support and celebrate Nigeria colourfully. Her effort in unifying Nigerians in Cameroon is worthy to be regarded as excellent.

The experienced Nigeria diplomat expresses gratitude to companies like Dangote Cement Cameroon, UBA Cameroon, Air peace Limited, Union Camerounaise de Brasseries (UCB) and some individuals that supported the event both financially and materially.

She extended the appreciation to members of the Consular and Diplomatic Corps, the Head of the Branch Office of the Ministry of External Relations, Traditional and Religious Leaders, Captains of Industry, and Merchant Princes, President of the Nigerian Union in the Littoral and West Regions, fellow compatriots-Nigeria living in Littoral of the press.

Gas flaring is one of the biggest drivers of climate change and continues unabated, even though we won a landmark legal case ruling to end it for good.  In Gbemre v. Shell, 2005, the Federal High Court ruled that oil companies must stop gas flaring in the Niger Delta due to its impact on communities’ collective survival and life-threatening environmental effects, such as acid rain. These impacts are still being felt today, with health hazards including cancer, respiratory problems and infertility plaguing our population, whose livelihoods have also been destroyed by toxic soot and oil spills.

Last year Shell was in the dock again, this time in the Hague, being ordered to cut emissions by 45% by 2030 in line with Paris Agreement obligations. There has been a wave of climate litigation since my case, and communities are undoubtedly more aware of the need to fight against ecocide and the crimes against humanity being committed by oil giants and the governments in their pockets. But the long arm of the law only reaches so far.

One of the most prominent investors in energy is the World Bank, and they operate with almost total impunity. Ask any Nigerian in Delta State whose lives have been destroyed by rich countries’ appetite for oil, gas and coal, and they won’t have heard of the World Bank’s financing of fossil fuels projects worldwide – USD 12 billion and counting since the Paris Agreement.

The World Bank claims to use public money to “end extreme poverty by 2030 and increase prosperity”, but in reality, the global financial system, including the World Bank, is buried as deeply in the pockets of the oil lobby as the Nigerian government. David Malpass was appointed by the Trump administration to run the World Bank and has denied that global warming is artificial. He should be using the full weight of its political and economic leverage to get the planet onto a 1.5°C maximum warming pathway. Still, the Bank promotes false solutions designed to protect the profits of big polluters, and Nigeria is its favourite guinea pig.

Read Also: Africa and climate change: Conversation with John Kerry towards COP27

In February, the Bank announced funding for Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS); a controversial and unproven technology that claims to suck carbon from the atmosphere and store it underground to ‘help Nigeria reach its emissions targets, despite criticisms that this techno-fix reinforces fossil fuel dependence. The World Bank’s climate action plan makes a few passing references to it, using weasel words to the effect that carbon capture “may” be a solution, which is the Bank’s acknowledgement that the concept holds zero scientific backings. Yet millions of dollars have been invested to help Nigeria move forward with burying carbon, which is simply a pretext to continue burning fossil fuels instead of switching to clean energy.

The science is clear: we need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels to achieve a safe climate for all. Even politicians and policymakers need a planet to live on. But the greed of the fossil fuel industry prevents any development of a genuinely green transition. The oil giant executives are lobbying for carbon capture and other false solutions. Look at who runs the global carbon capture storage trade group.

The Bank’s continued investment in fossil fuels is one of many greenwashing scandals exposing corporate greed while the planet burns. ‘Net Zero’ promises to offer governments and multinationals a big loophole to continue emitting carbon while promising to offset it with unrealistic tree planting schemes that could only feasibly lead to land grabs in the global south. Shell’s Net Zero pledge would need land three times that of its Dutch home country. The finance world has also recently been rocked by whistleblowers unravelling the lies and deception built into ESG funds, which claim to rate companies for their sustainable investment credentials when in reality, they invest in fossil fuels too.

Progress was celebrated at the last UN Climate Talks in Glasgow, where a deal was struck by almost 40 nations and financial institutions, purportedly to stop public money from funding fossil fuels projects, but the bank was conspicuously absent from this deal. We have to ask ourselves, why?

The Bank continues to fund the multinationals who are destroying the planet. Shell has been exploiting people in my community since 1958. We are being wiped out or are refugees in our own country. We are tired. We are dying.

A Future Fit World Bank must help reduce carbon emissions by shifting financing from fossil fuels to renewables such as solar and help ensure that new infrastructures are decentralized, benefits local communities and prepares workforces to operate a clean economy. The World Bank should stop using public money to bankroll dirty polluters, sign the Glasgow Clean Energy statement before the next COP and leave fossil fuels in the ground.

The World Bank should align all policies, programmes and projects into a 1.5-degree roadmap with poverty alleviation at its heart and priorities investment in Global South renewable energy projects, with civil society input, toward publicly owned, democratically controlled systems that serve the common good instead of private profit. 

A truly World Bank set up to alleviate poverty would invest in democratic renewable energy, not false solutions based on dubious technology and wishful thinking, which allows their allies, the 1%, the continue profiting from drilling and flaring. It’s business as usual. Despite their expensive adverts about renewables, which are a fraction of their business interests, they are not seriously pursuing solar, wind or green technologies, which would create jobs and wealth for the many, not the few. It’s time for a future fit World Bank, which doesn’t bankroll polluters and aligns its investments with a maximum 1.5 degree warming roadmap. The bank must stop hoarding reserves and mobilise green finance. At a minimum, it should recruit leaders who respect the scientific evidence that climate change is our most urgent pressing issue.

CONTACT:  Gbemre Jonah is supporting the global calls for World Bank reform. He can be reached on 09076661611 I Email: gbemrej@gmail.com

The ages of some of the Presidents in Africa are beyond the retirement age for workers.

The retirement age in most African countries for the working force is 60 years old.

Some African Presidents are ruling even though they are far older than 60years.

Here are the top five oldest African Presidents:

*Paul Biya – Cameroon 87years

The 87-year-old has been Cameroonian President since November 6, 1982, till date. Biya is the 7th on the list of the top 10 oldest Presidents in the world.

*Manuel Pinto da Costa – São Tomé and Príncipe 83 years

Manuel Pinto da Costa served as the first President in São Tomé and príncipe from 1975 to 1991.The Santoméan Economist was also re-lected President in August 2011.

*Alpha Conde – Guinea 82 years

Conde was elected President of Guinea in 2010 after two unsuccessful attempts in 1993 and 1998. His assumption of the office was historic since he become the first freely elected president in the country’s history and one of the oldest African Presidents.
He is seeking a third term in the October presidential poll.

*Alassane Ouattara – Ivory Coast 78 years

Alassane Ouattara has been President of Côte d’lvoire since 2011.Before then, he served as the Prime Minister from November 1990 to December 1993. Alassane become the President of the Rally of the Republicans(RDR), an Ivorian political party in 1999. He won the 2010 election and has governed since then.

He will contest for another term in the upcoming October election following the sudden death of Amadou Gon Coulibaly whom he had hand-picked as successor and presidential candidate.

*Muhammad Buhari – Nigeria 77 years

President Buhari previously served as Head of State from December 1983 to August 1985 after he took power in a military coup d’état. He was elected President in 2015 after three unsuccessful bids in 2003,2007 and 2011. He was re-elected in 2019 and will hand over on May 29, 2023.

Given the outcome of sundry studies into disease pattern – both of causation and effect – there is a certain degree of consensus to the effect that efforts by regional governments in Africa, conjoined with international assistance to reduce poverty and improve human capital, yield minimal results due to losses sustained from tropical diseases and their ripple effects on critical sectors.

One such is the COVID-19 pandemic. It stands as an unfortunate but potent reminder that infectious diseases do not respect borders and are capable of negatively affecting economies. The concomitant implication being the onset and long term perpetuation of tight financial conditions across the world with higher-than-expected inflation rates. There is undoubtedly a rebound in the global economy, but things are certainly not back to what they used to be – and it will take quite a while to get there.

An estimated 75 per cent of infectious diseases affecting humanity today are of animal origin, making it necessary to have a functional and efficient mechanism for monitoring and preventing the emergence and mobility of diseases, particularly across state borders. The fact, on the other hand, is that existing efforts to curb trans-boundary movement of communicable diseases is significantly insufficient, particularly in low-income countries – which happen to be the most vulnerable.

Experts have argued that growing mobile human populations are vital drivers of the rapid spread in emerging diseases. A case in point is the impact that a substantial increase in worldwide air travel has had in heightening bio threats. So, an outbreak in one part of the world, is no longer the problem of just that part of the world.

Transboundary animal diseases (TADs) are highly contagious and often epidemic or endemic diseases capable of being transmitted across and beyond the borders of sovereign states or enclaves with clearly defined boundaries. In contrast, neglected tropical disease (NTD) is another broad term encompassing many diseases, including the TADs and other critical endemic diseases significantly impacting a nation’s population and their livelihoods. Specifically, endemic TADs to Africa are increasingly becoming intractable amongst human and animal populations. These diseases include Peste des petit ruminants (PPR), tuberculosis, contagious bovine pleuropneumonia (CBPP), and foot and mouth disease (FMD). The continent has also recently seen a rise in the African swine fever (ASF), African horse sickness (AHS), lumpy skin disease (LSD), avian influenza (AI), and other high-profile zoonoses like monkeypox, yellow fever and Marburg.

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The concern at this time is that the pervasive influence of TADs and NTDs creates the conditions for a systematic devastation African states. The emerging and re-emerging forms of these diseases continue to challenge poor and unprepared African communities plagued with inadequate basic infrastructure. These challenges pose significant economic, animal, and public health consequences, deepening poverty and social conflicts, while threatening population survivability in most developing countries.

Border control is key to the effective containment of infectious disease spread. In Africa, this is a significant issue. We have seen animals, including their by-products, move freely across borders between nationalities and without basic checks. Diseases spread along with these migrations, further aggravated by weather events such as droughts, occasional floods, and heat waves – capable of driving the spread of diseases. The problem is worsened by inadequate surveillance and a dysfunctional quarantine architecture at the borders between African countries.

Another significant contributor is economical and commercial activities. The livestock subsector has experienced considerable growth aided by emerging technologies. Increased trade and interconnectivity between nations have also led to substantial import and export of diseases to countries that are, for the most part, unprepared to deal with the threats posed by them.

Framework and infrastructures for disease monitoring, surveillance, containment and prevention in most African member states are rudimentary and highly variable across regions, compounded by a lack of political will, poor research facilities and inadequate technologies to cater for the human and animal population needs. Also, a significant gap in Africa’s disease eradication campaigns is the inability of its scientists and academics to develop indigenous, innovative solutions adaptable and easily implementable for its climatic and socio-demographics. The continent continues to rely on importing patented diagnostic technology with hefty prices and limitations.

Alison Nwokeoji, a Nigerian-born Researcher with the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield recently warned that future disease outbreaks might be more devastating to Africa than the Coronavirus, saying that an apathetic view appears to have gained traction, to the effect that Africa was lucky with COVID-19.

To quote Nwokeoji’s exact words, “There is this erroneous belief that certain groups or ethnicities can survive anything – when it comes to infectious diseases, you can’t bank on that thought”. In his view, the wise response for Africa would be to prepare better and see Covid as a warning. “Emerging and re-emerging biothreats, natural and synthetic, continue to evolve to overcome our best defences. The wise thing for any nation, rich or poor, is to prepare”.

Nwokeoji’s views about the need to evolve a functional and proactive health defence architecture is shared by Obi Adigwe, Director General of the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD) who agrees that the negative human, environmental and economic cost of not preparing for infectious diseases is profound and survivors continue to bear the consequences for years or generations after the event.

The duo are not settling for words only, but have taken concrete action by signing up to be part of a multi-disciplinary team of global experts constituting a Disease Detection and Prevention Consortium drawn from the University of Sheffield (TUOS), the National Institute for Pharmaceutical Research and Development (NIPRD), Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS), the West African Health Organization (WAHO) and others.

The Consortium has set the following critical objectives in its sight:
a) validate and deploy an already developed inexpensive and rapid diagnostic platform for detection of prevalent TADs and NTDs in Africa b) partner institutions and communities across African member states to facilitate the stewardship of the disease surveillance process
c) implement a detailed framework for disease surveillance that meets the African social, ecological and environmental needs.

Overall, the Consortium hopes to provide a veritable platform for evaluating the state of preparedness for disease outbreaks while identifying and closing gaps in the prevention process.

Hassan, a Public Relations consultant, writes from Lagos.