Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok said on Saturday he dismissed the chief of police, Lieutenant-General Khaled Mahdi Ibrahim Al-Emam, and his deputy.
Lt.-Gen. Anan Hamed Mohammed Omar was appointed as the new police chief and Maj.-Gen. Muddathir Abd al-Rahman Nasr al-Din as his deputy, Hamdok added in a post on Twitter. (Reuters/NAN)
South Africa said on Saturday it was being punished for its advanced ability to detect new Coronavirus (COVID-19) variants early.
South Africa’s Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said this in a statement.
The allegation is coming as travel bans and restrictions imposed because of the new Omicron variant threaten to harm tourism and other sectors of the country’s economy.
South Africa has some of the world’s top epidemiologists and scientists, who have managed to detect emerging coronavirus variants and their mutations early on in their life cycle.
The Omicron variant was first discovered in South Africa and has since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel, and Hong Kong.
“This latest round of travel bans is akin to punishing South Africa for its advanced genomic sequencing and the ability to detect new variants quicker,” the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation said.
“Excellent science should be applauded and not punished,” the ministry said.
Many nations rushed on Friday and Saturday to announce travel curbs to South Africa and other countries in the region.
The foreign ministry noted that while the new variant was also detected in other countries, the global reaction to those countries have been “starkly different” to cases in southern Africa.
The new variant was first announced on Wednesday by a team of scientists in South Africa who said they had detected a variant that could possibly evade the body’s immune response and make it more transmissible.
The foreign ministry noted that while the new variant was also detected in other countries, the global reaction to those countries have been “starkly different” to cases in southern Africa.
The new variant was first announced on Wednesday by a team of scientists in South Africa who said they had detected a variant that could possibly evade the body’s immune response and make it more transmissible.
On Friday the World Health Organisation named it Omicron and designated it as a “variant of concern” – its most serious level – saying preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of re-infection. read more
“Our immediate concern is the damage that these restrictions are causing to families, the travel and tourism industries and business,” South African Foreign Minister Naledi Pandor said in the statement.
The government was engaging with countries that have imposed travel bans to persuade them to reconsider, it added.
On Friday, the World Health Organisation cautioned countries against hastily imposing travel restrictions linked to the variant, saying they should take a “risk-based and scientific approach”. (Reuters/NAN)
Australia and several other countries joined nations imposing restrictions on travel from southern Africa on Saturday after the discovery of the new Omicron coronavirus (COVID-19) variant sparked global concern and triggered a market sell-off.
The omicron variant – believed to be more contagious than previous variants of the disease – was first discovered in South Africa and has since been detected in Belgium, Botswana, Israel, and Hong Kong.
It could take weeks for scientists to fully understand the variant’s mutations and whether existing vaccines and treatments are effective against it.
Omicron is the fifth variant of concern designated by the World Health Organisation.
Although epidemiologists say travel curbs may be too late to stop Omicron from circulating globally, a string of countries including the United States, Brazil, Canada, and European Union nations announced travel bans or restrictions from southern Africa on Friday.
On Saturday, Australia said it would ban non-citizens who have been in nine southern African countries from entering and will require supervised 14-day quarantines for Australian citizens and their dependents returning from there.
Japan said it would extend its tightened border controls to three more African countries after imposing curbs on travel from South Africa, Botswana, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, and Lesotho on Friday.
Sri Lanka, Thailand and Oman also announced travel curbs on southern African nations.
In Britain, the main opposition Labor Party called on Saturday for a faster booster vaccination program, saying the gap between the second dose of a vaccination and the booster jab should be cut from six to five months.
“This new variant is a wake-up call,” said Labor’s junior health spokesman Alex Norris.
“The pandemic is not over. We need to urgently bolster our defenses to keep the virus at bay,” Norris added. (Reuters/NAN)
The United Nations’ special envoy to West Africa said on Thursday he was concerned Protesters burned tyres and pillaged a government building in Burkina Faso’s capital on Saturday after police fired tear gas to disperse a march against the state’s failure to stop a wave of violence by Islamist militants.
Activist groups called for renewed protests in response to a recent surge of attacks in the West African country, including one by al Qaeda-linked militants that killed 49 military police officers and four civilians two weeks ago.
The assault near the northern town of Inata was the deadliest Burkinabe security forces have suffered since an insurgency broke out in 2015 and has fuelled anger against the government and the French military forces that support it.
Since then, there have been scattered protests against President Roch Kabore’s government.
On Saturday morning, military police officers launched tear gas canisters to disperse about 100 protesters who were trying to march toward downtown Ouagadougou, the capital, a Reuters reporter said.
Demonstrators in the city of Kaya also prevented the passage of a French military convoy on its way to neighbouring Niger for nearly a week.
In Ouagadougou, protesters erected barricades and burned tyres and trash cans.
Some demonstrators later vandalised a government records building across from the mayor’s office, leaving computers and documents in the street.
“Since he (Kabore) is in power, terrorists are spreading desolation in this country and he is incapable of finding a solution to this problem.
“So we ask for his immediate resignation,” Valentin Yamkoudougou, spokesperson for the “Save Burkina Faso” movement that organised the protest, told Reuters.
Kabore promised in a speech to the nation on Thursday to end “dysfunction” within the military after reports the gendarmes at the base near Inata had run out of food weeks before the attack.
The public’s angry response to the latest attacks has unnerved the authorities, who cut mobile internet access a week ago and refused to authorise Saturday’s demonstration.
about the situation in Burkina Faso and warned against any military takeover, following coups in three neighbouring countries over the past year. (Reuters/NAN)
The Ambazonian President Dr. Samuel Ekome Sako has called on the Federal Government to thoroughly investigate the killings of 11 persons including a chief in Taraba State by alleged separatists from Cameroon.
He insisted that the act was carried out by the Cameroonian government and not his people.
He made this plea in a short broadcast at the weekend.
Accordinh to him, in September they shared intelligence report of attack on the Nigerians by the Cameroonian military disguising as civilians to get the Nigeria on their side to annihilate his people.
Sako said: “ I just received information from some Nigerian bloggers of attacks on Manga community in Takum local government area of Taraba state, attacks by armed men that killed a local chief and some members of the community are reported missing. I am disheartened. I am in tears.
“I really sympathise with that community and it has been reported that it is Ambazonian separatists that are responsible for this act and Senator Emmanuel Gwacha representing the Taraba south has reported this to the senate calling the Nigerian government to do something as matter of urgency to protect the Taraba community.
“I applaud him for that invitation but I want it to be clear that let us remember that on September 3, we had received intelligence from our insiders in the Yaounde regime that there are plans to disguise their security people as Ambazonians and attack communities, civilians and security forces along the Sounthern borders with Nigeria to turn these communities against our people.
“Maybe to get the Nigerian security forces, military on their side to annihilate our people. We did share these intelligence with us. I gave this interview with the Punch on the 3rd of September. That is almost 2 months ago.
“Unfortunately the authorities did not take this serious probably not believing that a neigbouring country can go to that extent. Let me remind us that this is the modus operandi of Yaounde. They always carry out incursions across the borders into Nigeria in search of separatists.
“That has been the case in Cross River even in Taraba. Remember in 2018, they crossed into Nigeria and arrested our leaders. They have no respect to the territorial sovereignty of Nigeria.
“The Cameroonian government, don’t. They think they can get into Nigeria and do whatever they want. Two weeks ago, it was also reported that in Taraba state, the same security forces crossed the border to the Nigerian side in search of so called separatists.
“I am saying that this one that has just happened this time of Cameroon security and military forces who have put on civilian dresses mimicking Ambazonianas.
“I urge the Nigerian authorities to carry out an investigation to know the real perpetrators that we have told you before that are Cameroon security forces disguised in civilian attires. They did this deliberately. It was planned and we told you just so that they can input the crimes on Ambazonians and tell the Nigerian communities housing over our 125, 000 refugees for four to five years that what do we have to gain?
“Who gains in this act to cross over to kill a chief that is helping to host our people? How can we except the person who wants us all killed, who wants us not to even have the little hospitality that ensure of survival of over 125,000 of our people in Nigeria?”
Building sustainable peace and stability in Africa through improved understanding of the challenges of stability and emergence in a post COVID-19 world will be the thrust of the seventh edition of the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa holding on the 6th and 7th December, at the Abdou Diouf International Conference Centre in Diamniadio, Senegal.
This was stated by the Senegal’s Foreign Minister Aissata Tall Sall at the Working Launch of the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa held recently in Dakar.
It will be recalled that since 2014, the Dakar Forum, held under the high patronage of Senegalese President Macky Sall, has been one of the most important conferences on development and security in Africa, bringing together heads of state, policymakers from throughout Africa and from partner countries around the world such as Japan, international organisations, NGOs and key figures from the private sector.
This year’s Dakar Forum is likely to be particularly hotly anticipated given that the event did not take place in 2020 on account of the global public health crisis.
Tagged “The challenge of stability and emergence facing Africa in a post-COVID 19 world will bring together African Presidents, industry players, top security, intergovernmental agencies, research institutions, diplomats, civil society organizations, among others which will feature two plenary sessions and six workshops organized in two parts called Block 1 and 2 comprising each a plenary and three blocks 1 focuses on Post COVID-19 stability issues: security challenges and new threats. Block 2 deals with consolidating peace and security in Africa in support of emergence.
The pan-Africa event will be enriched by the presence of high-level attendees from both Francophone and Anglophone Africa, including Mohamed Bazoum, the recently-installed President of Niger, and the South African head of state, Cyril Ramaphosa. The discussions held in December will build on the high-level dialogue which has characterized previous editions of the Forum. The conference, first launched at the 2013 Elysée Summit in France, swiftly became a major event, networking opportunity, and an international showcase for Senegalese diplomacy.
During the first part of the conference, focused on stability post-Covid, participants will confer on the lessons learned from the coronavirus outbreak, evaluating how to collectively address pandemics. The conceptualizing of a post-pandemic Africa will also be placed in a broader context, with participants at this year’s Dakar Forum invited to discuss some of the other main issues which Africa is facing as the continent embarks on its recovery from the Covid crisis. One session will be held on how the twin challenges of climate and demographic changes, frequently cited as factors which could lead to instability and insecurity on the continent, are affecting Africa’s security and development. Another session will focus on cyber security and disinformation, which have emerged as increasingly acute risks for African policymakers and businesses.
Sall said that stability and security remain essential pillars of development, with which they form an interdependent triad in achieving sustainable well-being, to the benefit of people. The Africa states have resolutely committed themselves to this through Agenda 2063. Despite the steady progress made, Africa is still facing multiple challenges, exacerbated by an increasingly difficult global economic environment.
She said “this renders state vulnerable to violent extremism which insidiously contributes to the socio-economic destabilization and the collapse of state structures. In that connection, Africa leaders reaffirmed during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Africa Union in 2013, their commitment to making peace and security issues a top priority.
She further said that in April 2020, at the height of the health crisis, 18 heads of state, government and international institutions from Africa and Europe called on the world to mobilise the international community to work together to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly two years after the emergence of what was a s real strategic surprise, the African continent has clearly proven to be resilient, confuting the most pessimistic predictions.
She noted that while Africa States are showing some health resilience, business and people are bearing the brunt of the harsh economic and social consequences of the sharp slowdown in growth. Affecting all territories regardless of their level of development, this unprecedented crisis called for robust responses from states to support their economics and health systems. For their part, despite their efforts, African states still face significant structural constraints which, unlike those in the west, do not allow them to meet funding requirements needed to support recovery.
She pointed out that as a region with probably the most development potential, Africa has many assets-a young population, natural resources, cultural diversity, a skilled diaspora, a strong political will that must be harnessed to tackle sustainably the challenges of stability and emergence facing it. This is all the more vital as the effects of the pandemic have wiped out the gains made so far through national plans for economic and social emergence. After experiencing a contraction in growth of 1.9% in 2020, Africa is not expected to return to its previous level of activity before 2025, thus widening the already glaring and inequality-generating instability.
She asserted that while in the areas of health, vaccination campaigns allow Europe, Asia and North America to foresee the prospect of bringing progressively the COVID-19 pandemic under control, Sub-Saharan Africa seems to be paying the price of its heavy dependent on external partners.
“In this context Africa needs to formulate new responses centers in particular, around a rethink of multilaterism and security polies. He paradigm shift highlights the need to better coordinate the actions of states and other actors the content in order to promote civil-military synergies capable of supporting capacity building approaches in crisis areas”.
Sall further said “It could help consolidate governance and create a suitable framework for more efficient use of development assistance, but above all mobilise private sector investors and entrepreneurs, Africa and non-Africa like in support of peace, security and emergence”.
She posited that the forum will be an opportunity for key decision-makers and actors in peace and security across the continent to reflect on the challenges and emergence in a post pandemic world by addressing issues relating to the strategic empowerment of African countries, the consolidation and coordination of cooperation mechanism, the promoting of good governance practices, the fight against emerging threats, including cybercrime and misinformation. It will also provide an opportunity to take stock of lessons learned from COVD-19 pandemic to enable Africa to better respond to future major public health issues.
FW de Klerk, an apartheid-era leader who helped to bring about the end of white-minority rule in South Africa, has died of cancer at the age of 85, his foundation said on Thursday.
De Klerk helped orchestrate the release of Nelson Mandela, with whom he later shared the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.
However, for many South Africans, he never did enough to fully atone for apartheid or for the human rights abuses carried out by the security forces when he was president.
De Klerk, born in Johannesburg on March 18, 1936, was the son of a prominent politician.
He studied law and worked as an attorney for several years until he was elected to parliament as a National Party candidate in 1972.
He went on to hold several top ministerial posts before being elected president in 1989, a position he held until 1994.
De Klerk left behind his wife Elita, his children Jan and Susan, as well as his grandchildren, the foundation said.(dpa/NAN)
Many Nigerians watching last month’s collapse of the Afghan government to the Taliban have felt a sense of familiarity and some dread, a reminder of the dangers of allowing violent extremism to proliferate.
As a Nigerian, I experience the ripple effects of my country’s own violent extremist fight, even though our insurgency is almost a thousand miles away on the other side of the country. Since Boko Haram began its fight against the government, more than 2.4 million people have been displaced by the conflict. The effects can be in southern states like Lagos, Kwara, Kogi and Oyo, where children from the Northeast run after cars for alms and families sleep on the streets.
These are daily reminders of the cost of violent extremism and the necessity of tackling its causes, such as poor governance, violation of human rights and rule of law, and unresolved conflicts. All these drivers live and breathe in Nigeria and many countries across Africa.
Despite their cultural differences and distance apart, Nigeria and Afghanistan share similarities. Like Afghanistan until recently, Nigeria’s conflict with Boko Haram in the North East has been forgotten by much of the world and even by some in Nigeria. But, like the Taliban in Afghanistan, the conflict continues to threaten Nigeria all the same. In addition to causing violence and displacing people, insurgencies in Nigeria and throughout Africa cause as much as $97 billion a year in lost economic activity.
One of the root causes of unrest is the use of state violence such as extrajudicial killings instead of relying on the rule of law. Though Boko Haram began its insurgency in 2002, its most notorious acts of violence–the use of children as “suicide bombers” and kidnapping of girls–did not come until after the arrest and extrajudicial killing of its founder, Mohammed Yussuf in 2009. The killing of Yussuf, rather than end the insurgency, brought forward new leaders and unleashed even worse violence.
But rule of law on its own is not enough — good governance is also necessary. Before he was killed, Yussuf had also been arrested and released without facing trial. From my experience as a lawyer, it is not uncommon for police to prosecute with insufficient evidence. This practice has led to many potential criminals walking free and undermines confidence in the legal system. In this case, it led to a missed opportunity to make Yussuf face his crimes in a court of law.
Nigeria’s government has a history of tackling major, institutional problems with small, ad hoc solutions instead of holistic policy reform that can cause system-wide change. The same could apply to how the government has responded to Boko Haram. Inquiry and conciliation mechanisms would have helped in the initial phase of Boko Haram’s activities, heading off the major violent insurgency that we experience now. The government does need to use force to respond to the violent threat of Boko Haram, but other means of resolving conflicts such as conciliation, negotiation, restorative justice could also be used.
The reasons for violent extremism are unique to every country and there’s a limit to the comparisons that can be made. However, there are common grounds – poor governance, lack of rule of law, and inefficient dispute resolution — which are identifiable and must be addressed to de-escalate deep-rooted problems.
The Taliban’s recent achievements may inspire more violent extremism across the globe particularly in Nigeria. The Taliban and Boko Haram share a similar goal to establish an Islamic state. In fact, Boko Haram has also shown that it will take inspiration from abroad, and in one of its early actions actually flew the flag of the Afghanistan Taliban.
The genuine belief that a group could pull off a violent uprising without consequences in another country can motivate groups with resources to attempt it in their own country.
Finally, while governments such as Nigeria should seek to end conflicts peacefully through dispute resolution, good governance and the rule of law, there must also be accountability for people responsible for the violence. At the moment, Nigeria’s government is giving amnesty to former Boko Haram fighters who agree to renounce violence. While re-integrating fighters into society is good, removing consequences for participating in violent acts will create a lack of accountability and could encourage future violent insurgencies. Fighters for Boko Haram or the Taliban and others who participate in violent extremism should be reintegrated into their societies. Still, there should also be punishment for those who committed human rights abuses.
Until we fix governance, the rule of law and inefficient dispute resolution, democracies will never quell violent extremism and may even collapse in the face of violence as it has in Afghanistan. Leaders in Nigeria, the rest of Africa and around the world must learn to prevent violent extremism by supporting democratic principles and actively working to end the world’s injustice because there can never be peace without justice.
Nelson Olanipekun is a human rights lawyer and the founder of Citizens Gavel, a leading human rights organization in Nigeria. He is a 2021 Aspen Institute New Voices Fellow.
Nigeria is blessed not only with enormous natural resources but also with amazing people doing amazing things around the world.
Below are Nigerians who are making us proud by leading global organisations:
1. Amina Jane Mohammed
The former Minister of Environment under President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2017 was born in the UK to a Hausa-Fulani father and a British nurse. In January 2017, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres announced his intention to appoint Mohammed Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations. She has been functioning in that capacity to the admiration of all.
2. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala is the first woman and first African to be appointed as the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation(WTO). Mrs Okonjo-Iweala served as Finance Minister under former Presidents Obasanjo and Goodluck Jonathan. She also holds the position of board of Director in various fortune 500 companies and world bank groups.
3. Akinwumi “Akin” Adesina
Akinwunmi is a former Minister of Agriculture under former President Jonathan. He holds a Bachelor in Agricultural Economics from OAU. He was elected as President of the African Development Bank in 2015 and re-elected for a second term in 2020. He is the first Nigerian to hold the post.
4. Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu
Former DG of Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu, was appointed Assistant DG of Health Emergency Intelligence at the World Health Organisation (WHO). This appointment came after an effective leadership in combating the surge of coronavirus in Nigeria. He was trained as an infectious disease epidemiologist with over 20 years of experience working in senior public health and leadership positions in several national public health institutes.
5. HE Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo
Mohammad Sanusi is the Secretary General of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). He hailed from Yola, Adamawa State. He had his BSc in Political Science, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He held several governmental positions at local and federal level, including at the NNPC before his appointment was stamped by OPEC.
Sudan’s military seized power in a coup on Monday, arresting members of a transitional government that was supposed to guide the country to democracy following the overthrow of long-ruling autocrat Omar al-Bashir in a popular uprising two years ago.
Gunfire was heard as opponents of the takeover took to the street and medics said several people had been hurt in clashes.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who headed the Sovereign Council that had shared power between the military and civilians, said the council had been dissolved.
He announced a state of emergency, saying the military needed to protect the country’s safety and security.
“We guarantee the armed forces’ commitment to completing the democratic transition until we hand over to a civilian elected government,” he said, setting elections for July 2023.
“What the country is going through now is a real threat and danger to the dreams of the youth and the hopes of the nation.”
Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok was detained and taken to an undisclosed location after refusing to issue a statement in support of the takeover, said the information ministry, which was still apparently under the control of Hamdok’s supporters.
The ministry called Burhan’s announcement a military coup and urged resistance.
It said tens of thousands of people opposed to the takeover had taken to the streets and had faced gunfire near the military headquarters in Khartoum.
At least 12 people were injured in clashes, a doctors’ committee said, without providing further details.
In Khartoum’s twin city Omdurman, protesters barricaded streets and chanted in support of civilian rule.
“We will defend democracy until the end,” said one protester, 21-year-old Iman Ahmed.
“Burhan cannot deceive us. This is a military coup,” said another young man who gave his name as Saleh.
Sudan – which has a history of coups – has been on edge since a failed plot last month unleashed recriminations between military and civilian groups sharing power uneasily following Bashir’s overthrow.
Tensions had built as a coalition of rebel groups and political parties aligned themselves with the military and called on it to dissolve the civilian government, while several cabinet ministers took part in huge protests in Khartoum and other cities against the prospect of military rule.
The director of Hamdok’s office, Adam Hereika, told Reuters the military had mounted the takeover despite “positive movements” towards an agreement with Hamdok following meetings with U.S. special envoy Jeffrey Feltman.
Joint forces from the military and from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces were stationed in the streets of Khartoum.
The information ministry said troops had arrested civilian members of the Sovereign Council and government figures.
It called on Sudanese to oppose the military attempt “to block the democratic transition”.
“We raise our voices loudly to reject this coup attempt,” it said in a statement.
The military was meant to pass leadership of the Sovereign Council to a civilian figure in the coming months but transitional authorities had struggled to move forward on issues including whether to hand Bashir over to the International Criminal Court, where he is wanted for war crimes.
In recent weeks, civilian officials had claimed credit for some tentative signs of economic stabilisation after a sharp devaluation of the currency and the lifting of fuel subsidies.
Burhan said it was incumbent on the armed forces to act after infighting between some political forces and “the striving for power” and “incitement to chaos and violence”.
U.S. envoy Feltman, who visited Sudan on Saturday and Sunday, said a military takeover would put U.S. aid at risk.
The U.S. Embassy urged those disrupting the transition to democracy to stand down and let the civilian-led government continue its work.
The United Nations, Arab League, and African Union all expressed concern.
Sudan’s political leaders should be released and human rights respected, AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat said in a statement.
Military forces stormed Sudanese Radio and Television headquarters in Omdurman and arrested employees, the information ministry said on its Facebook page.
Two major political parties, the Umma and the Sudanese Congress, condemned what they called a coup and campaign of arrests. (Reuters/NAN)