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Tag: AU

  • Nigeria, others lose $300bn to oil theft, illegal fishing

    Nigeria, others lose $300bn to oil theft, illegal fishing

    African countries have lost about $300 billion to oil theft and illegal fishing in the continent, the Chairperson of the African Union, Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma has said.

    She spoke yesterday at the opening ceremony of the first summit of Heads of States and Governments of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC),in Yaounde, the Cameroon.

    According to her, the continent has lost $200 billion in five decades to illegal fishing and $100 billion to illegal bunkering since 2003.

    “We cannot allow this incursion of resources to continue”. She warned

    President Goodluck Jonathan was among the 25 African leaders that were at the opening ceremony of the summit, which focuses on maritime safety and security in the Gulf of Guinea.

    The leaders gathered under the UN Resolution 2039 of February 2012, for the Gulf of Guinea region where 200 million people are living under threat of piracy, transnational maritime crimes.

    The summit is to provide a coordinated regional and international response to the scourges of piracy, drug trafficking, armed robbery and other illegal maritime activities in the Gulf of Guinea.

    At the summit, the leaders will review and adopt a series of measures that were previously reviewed at the March 2013 inter-ministerial conference held in Cotonou (Benin).

    The Nigerian Navy disclosed that the country records between 10 to 15 attacks monthly on its stretch of the Gulf of Guinea.

    According to statistics released at the summit, in the year 2012, 45 per cent of the crimes were committed on Nigeria’s borders, Togo 25 per cent, Ghana three per cent, DRC three per cent, Cameroon five per cent, Sierra Leone two per cent, Benin three per cent and Cote d’ Ivoire two per cent.

    The International Maritime Organization (IMO) also broke down the attacks recorded to 58 in 2011, 45 in 2012, 34 of which occurred between January and September of the same year as against 30 in 2011 during the same period.

    The attacks have resulted to insecurity, threats to economic growth and political stability in neighbouring countries.

    The UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon in his message delivered by Abou Moussa, commended the leaders of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC).

    The summit, he said, is the best option available to save citizens of the affected countries from poverty since crime diminishes their economic power.

    The host, President Paul Biya, called on his colleagues to make sacrifices to reverse the negative trend.

  • CBAAC seeks preservation of African history

    CBAAC seeks preservation of African history

    The African Union (AU) recently marked its 50th anniversary in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, during which the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), sought the preservation of African history.

    Days before President Goodluck  Ebele Jonathan led a delegation to the 50th anniversary of the African Union (AU), the flag of Nigeria had been flying at full mast in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethi`opia, otherwise called the Diplomatic capital of the continent.

    In particular, the ambience of the old Conference Centre of the AU in Bole area of Addis, which had that week been engrossed in celebratory mood, was filled with the spirit of the biggest country on the continent.

    This was through the activities of the Centre for Black and African Arts and Civilisation (CBAAC), which through its collaboration with the Nairobi-Kenya-based Trust African for Rock Art, TARA, had set up a Colloquium on African rock art and Pan African Renaissance to mark the golden anniversary of the AU.

    As it turned out, the colloquium was more or less a saving grace for what could have been a near absence of any major programme by the giant for Africa. Not that other African countries had any special programme set up anyway, save Sudan which staged an exhibition in the foyer of same Old Conference centre, but the Colloquium facilitated by the CBAAC emerged as a major cultural and educational event by Nigeria to mark the AU 50th celebration. It is also remarkable that it was staged in the Old Conference Centre, which was said to have been donated by Nigeria. Curiously however, nowhere in the building it is indicated that it was indeed a gift by Nigeria to the pan-African body.

    The colloquium impressively drew huge and active participation from the Nigeria culture bureaucracy, led by the  Minister for Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, High Chief Edem Duke; and including the Permanent secretary of the Ministry, Ms. Nkechi Ejele; the Federal Director of Culture, Mr George Nkanta Ufot, as well as  one of the Assistant Directors in the Federal Department of Culture, Ms. Grace Gekpe. Also in attendance were heads of culture parastatals including the Director of the National Troupe of Nigeria, Mr. Martin Adaji;  the Director General of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments, NCMM, Mallam Abdallah; the General Manager of National Theatre of Nigeria, Mallam Kabir Yussuf; and with a full complement of the directors of the CBAAC led by its Director General, Prof. Tunde Babawale – the chief host and convener of the discourse.

    With this high-power team, Nigeria could be said to have made a strong presence at the celebration; thus setting a template for what eventually turned out an impactful participation by the country in the golden jubilee as led by the President himself.

    The colloquium drew speakers in experts from institutions around the continent and the Diaspora, among them archaeologists, anthropologists, historians, culture scholars, artists and curators.

    In his introductory paper, which set template for the two-day discourse, the chief convener, Prof Babawale, explained that the project is focused on the reconstruction of Black and African peoples’ history. “African rock art provides glimpses and illumination into African history, culture and indeed civilisation,” he said, adding that, through research and study, the presence of Rock Art Sites has been established across Africa.

    Findings, Babawale said, have “revealed a wide distribution of Rock Paintings in the predominantly rocky areas of East, West, South and Central Africa as well as the Sahara”.

    Stressing the importance of the project, and especially the interest of Nigeria, which drew CBAAC into the partnership with TARA for the current efforts including the colloquium, Babawale said, “Findings revealed extensive distribution of Rock Paintings in the predominantly rocky areas of Nigeria, namely Ikom Local Government area of Cross River State and its environs; different locations in Bauchi State, and Iwo Eleru, in Ondo State. Searches also revealed extensive distribution of unique sets of stone paintings, otherwise known as Monoliths. The drawings which were on stones have been classified as “sophisticated” by scholars, with each carved stone carrying the NSIBIDI writing – a mode of writing credited to the Ejegham peoples, of the Bantu stock who were carriers of the Bantu Civilization, and who claimed to have migrated from the Congo Basin”.

    Nigerian ambassador to Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union and UNECA, Ambassador P. Lolo, had emphasised the significance of Rock Art to the continent’s quest for civilization. “It is a path to the African Renaissance”, he said, continuing that the colloquium was timely, coming in the in the course of the golden jubilee of the AU. Nigeria, stated the Ambassador, “is proud to champion the cause of reinstating the Rock Art as part of our (Africans) precious heritage.”

    Permanent Secretary of the Tourism and Culture and National Orientation Ministry, Ms Ejele, said that the CBAAC would remain committed to the preservation, documentation, promotion and exhibition of vital historical materials of the continent in line with its mandate of being the custodian of the properties of the second festival of World and Black African Arts and Civilization, FESTAC held in Nigeria in 1977.

    The African Union Commissioner for Social Affairs, Dr. Mustapha Sidiki Kaloko, said that the AU was impressed with Nigeria’s leadership role in the preservation and promotion of Rock Art, and is committed to partnering the country through CBAAC in exploring the social-cultural and economic benefits of resource. The colloquium, he said, has emerged as one of the highly valued events marking the AU’s landmark golden jubilee.

    Kaloko said time was auspicious for Africans to tap into their rich history and cultural heritage in the quest for development of the continent. The sheer spread of the Rock Art around many African countries, enthused Kaloko, is an indication that it could also serve as a source of further integration and unification of the various peoples of the continent.

    According to Kaloko, African youths should be exposed to the rich resources of their forbears through the inclusion of the teaching of the history and heritage in the continent.

    In his mesage to the colloquium which had over 40 experts from well over 30 institutions in attendance, the Deputy Director General of UNESCO, Getachew Engida, also praised the role Nigeria through CBAAC is playing in the preservation of various aspects of African heritage. The leadership role, according to him, is in tandem with the status of the country in the continent; and he pledged further support of the organisation to the efforts of the Nigerian government in ensuring that the educational potential of Rock Art was tapped for the benefit of the people, especially the youths.

    Tourism, Culture and National Orientation Minister, Chief Duke had expressed Nigeria’s deep commitment to exploring and exploiting the inherent properties of the Rock Art to harness its social-cultural and economic benefits to boost tourism potentials of the continent. He said that the Rock Art could help stem rural-urban migration by facilitating creation of jobs and helping to boost the economies of those countries where it is found. While lamenting the lack of deep interest in the study of African histories in many parts of Africa, the Minister urged other African countries on the continent to deeply explore the potentials of the Rock Art. He called for the declaration of a decade for the African History. Duke urged a systematic preservation of Rock Art in such a way that it can be reinterpreted into other discourses about Africa’s contribution to world civilisation.

    The colloquium was boosted with the exhibition of photographs of the various discoveries and sites where the Rock Art could be found around Africa as sourced from TARA, which is the custodian of the images. The impressive collection of images and map of sites mounted in the foyer of the first floor of the Conference Centre was declared open by the African Union Social Affairs Commissioner, Dr. Kaloko, assisted by High Chief Edem Duke.

    In tracing the origin of the African Rock Art project, the CBAAC head, Prof. Babawale had stated that the Rock Art and the Pan–African Renaissance project “began as a mere dialogue between two individuals, Ms. Amolo Ng’weno of Kenya and retired General Ishola Williams of the Pan-African Strategic and Policy Research Group (PANAFSTRAG) in the course of a meeting on an on-going pictorial coverage of some unique rock paintings in East, and Southern Africa, by David Coulson of the Trust for African Rock Art (TARA). The dialogue later metamorphosed into small group discussions which resulted in the revisit of the pre-historic art and artists as well as art works. The desire to further action on the subject informed the broadening of the membership of the discussion group, to include African Agencies, experts and scholars involved in the study of African history and civilization”.

    Babawale continued, “Thus, CBAAC was invited to further engage scholars and experts in the field of Archaeology, Anthropology, Cultural Linguistics, Curatorial and allied services to unearth the intangible heritage information hidden in African Rock Art. The maiden two-day meeting held in Nairobi, Kenya, from May 23 and 24, 2006. It was hosted by the Trust for Rock Art (TARA), a non-governmental agency based in Nairobi, Kenya, in whose custody some of the Rock Art photographs are kept.

    “It was unanimously agreed at the forum that CBAAC should serve as the “arrowhead” of the Pan-African project on the reconstruction of the history of the Black and African people’s. CBAAC and TARA were thereafter, mandated to liaise with scholars in the area of Rock Art studies — Archaeology; Culture Linguistics; Palaeontology, Anthropology, Folklore, and other areas of relevance to Rock Art, in East and Western Africa, in preparation for the Phase II of the project. CBAAC was further mandated to undertake further studies on the presence of Rock Art Sites in West Africa, with particular emphasis on Nigeria”.

    Babawale said the various research  efforts of the CBAAC, which covered areas, such as Geji, Shyra, Marshall Caves and Shadawanka Rock Sites – all in different locations within Bauchi State.

  • AU endorses Nigeria for UN council seat

    AU endorses Nigeria for UN council seat

    The 23rd Ordinary Session of African Union Executive Council, on Thursday night in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, unanimously endorsed Nigeria’s candidature for a United Nations Security Council  non-permanent seat in 2014.

    Foreign Affairs Minister, Olugbega Ashiru confirmed Nigeria’s endorsement by the council to the News Agency  of Nigeria (NAN) in Addis Ababa.

    Ashiru, who is attending the 23rd Executive Council meeting in Addis Ababa, said the council would elect new members in October in New York.

    He said that Nigeria needs to get 2/3 of the votes from other regional bodies to secure the seat during the election.

    “We now have a lot of work to do to secure the votes of the Organisation of Islamic Countries, The Caribbeans, the Asians and the European Union, among others.“

    NAN reports that Nigeria last served in the prestigious council from 2010-2011 and is seeking a re-election for another two-terms – 2014-2015.

    The country is promoting its contribution to peacekeeping and security in Africa  as credentials that qualifies it for membership of the council.

    For now, Nigeria and Chad are campaigning for the two available African seats at the council.

    The forthcoming election is to replace Togo, Morocco, Pakistan,Azerbaijan and Guatemala, whose two-year term at the council expires on December 31.

  • Nigeria seeks AU’s support for UN seat

    Nigeria seeks AU’s support for UN seat

    Nigeria is to formally request the African Union to endorse its bid for a non-permanent seat of the United Nations Security Council in 2014-2015, during the body’s forthcoming summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

    Foreign Affairs Minister, Olugbenga Ashiru, made made the announcement on Friday in Abuja while briefing journalists on the forthcoming AU meeting in Addis Ababa, scheduled for May 25 to May 27.

    “Specifically Nigeria’s bid for the non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council will be formally presented to the AU.

    “ECOWAS has not only endorsed Nigeria’s candidature, the African Group at the UN in New York, has similarly, declared its support for Nigeria’s bid.

    “In addition, Nigeria is presenting candidates for two elections that will come up before the executive council during the summit.

    “They include the African Union Commission on Human and People’s Right and the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child.’’

    He said that Nigeria had already received the endorsement of the AU for the election of its candidates to the presidency of the Executive Council of the International Civil Aviation Organisation.

    The election comes up in Montreal, Canada, later in the year.

    He said that Nigeria’s bid for the UN seat and other regional international positions were of great significance to the country.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria last served in the prestigious UN Security Council from 2010-2011 and is seeking a re-election for another two-terms from 2014-2015.

    The country is promoting its contributions to peacekeeping and security in Africa accomplishments as credentials that qualify it for another term of membership.

    NAN reports that Nigeria and Chad are campaigning for the two available African seats at the council.

    The forthcoming election is to replace Togo, Morocco, Pakistan, Azerbaijan and Guatemala, whose two-year-term at the council expires on December 31.

  • Prison kids

    Prison kids

    •This is shameful; government must address it immediately

    Prison is one hellhole that no one would wish to experience. It is primarily a place of punishment for crime. This reality makes it absurd and horrifying to learn that there is a high population of kids who committed no crimes and are languishing in the country’s prisons. Even if they did commit crimes, minors are, by law, exempted from imprisonment. The appalling news is from a report by the African Union (AU) on the rights and welfare of the Nigerian child. An estimated 6,000 children reportedly live in prisons and detention centres across the country, many of whom were born there.

    The 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices recently released by the United States’ Department of State painted a picture of the deplorable circumstances of children in the country’s prisons. According to the document, “Authorities sometimes held female and male prisoners together, especially in rural areas, and prisons had no facilities to care for pregnant women or nursing mothers. Infants born to inmate mothers usually remained with the mother until weaned. Juvenile suspects were often held with adult prisoners.”

    Since the law clearly forbids the imprisonment of children, this situation of caged kids opens the prison authorities to the charge of lawlessness. This irony in which the custodians of law breakers have themselves shown disrespect for the law is made even more pronounced by a piece of information in the US report. “Despite a government order to identify and release such children and their mothers, authorities had not done so by year’s end,” said the report.

    It is pathetic to visualise such children behind bars, both literally and metaphorically. It goes without saying that they are likely to suffer arrested development in various aspects, including growth, education, and socialisation. The country’s prison environment, as described in the report, is certainly not a place to raise any child. The document said, “Most of the country’s 234 prisons, built 70 to 80 years earlier, lacked basic facilities. Lack of potable water, inadequate sewage facilities, and severe overcrowding resulted in dangerous and unsanitary conditions.” Furthermore, it said, “Disease remained pervasive in cramped, poorly ventilated prison facilities, which had chronic shortages of medical supplies. Inadequate medical treatment caused many prisoners to die from treatable illnesses.”

    Even if children in this context are lucky to survive the harsh conditions, it can only be imagined the degree of damage that would have been done to their psyche. Hardened, as they would surely be, by the tough terms of existence in prison, can they possibly grow into socially well-adjusted adults? In a regrettable sense, they just might be embryonic criminals. This scenario should prick society’s conscience. It must be acknowledged that through no fault of theirs, but by birth and environment, these unfortunate children have found themselves exposed to negative influences that would likely shape their future. This is as unsettling as it is unacceptable.

    It is immensely disappointing that the activities of prison monitors in the country have had little or no positive effect on this state of affairs. Both the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), which compiles an annual prison audit, and the Federal Ministry of Justice, which executes the Federal Government Prison Decongestion Programme sadly fall short of public expectation in this matter. These bodies should not only be aware of the improper circumstances of the prison kids, they also ought to take urgent steps to correct the anomaly.

    It is worrying that the US report highlighted the failure of prison authorities to carry out the government’s directive on the identification and release of prison kids and their mothers. The government should promptly address this apparent disobedience of authority. The continued existence of children in jails does the country a disservice.

  • UN, AU, ECOWAS and Mali

    Hardball is certainly not done with Mali. Today is the fourth time he will be commenting on the subject of the divided country, a division foolishly aggravated by that country’s military under the coup leader, Captain Amadou Sanogo. The long-awaited approval by the United Nations (UN) Security Council authorising military action against separatist Tuareg rebels in northern Mali has finally been given. It follows the resolve of both the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to forcibly reunite Mali and prevent Al-Qaeda from developing deep roots in the region. Nigeria was at the forefront of the effort to put together a regional intervention force to retake the northern part of Mali already declared independent by Tuareg rebels under the aegis of the National Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA). The UN-approved intervention force, African-led International Support Mission in Mali (AFISMA), has a one-year mandate.But in giving the approval last week, the Security Council was more cautious than the AU and ECOWAS have been in the past nine months. Even though the caution appear obfuscated, it is still remarkable. Said the world body: “(The Security Council) urges the transitional authorities of Mali, consistent with the Framework agreement of 6 April 2012 signed under the auspices of ECOWAS, to finalize a transitional roadmap through broad-based and inclusive political dialogue, to fully restore constitutional order and national unity, including through the holding of peaceful, credible and inclusive presidential and legislative elections, in accordance with the agreement mentioned above which calls for elections by April 2013 or as soon as technically possible, requests the Secretary-General, in close coordination with ECOWAS and the African Union, to continue to assist the transitional authorities of Mali in the preparation of such a roadmap, including the conduct of an electoral process based on consensually established ground rules and further urges the transitional authorities of Mali to ensure its timely implementation.”

    In other words, the UN recognises the nexus between political development in Mali and the success of AFISMA. The AU and ECOWAS have, however, over the months appeared eager to gloss over the pernicious influence the coup leaders still wield over the transitional government in Mali. Only recently, the coup leaders forced the resignation of the prime minister, the eminent astrophysicist, Cheick Modibo Diarra, and installed Django Sissoko as replacement. The UN deplored this meddlesomeness, but ECOWAS has made only feeble statements on the peremptory dismissal.

    This prompted Hardball on December 13 to warn that diarchy was creeping in on Mali. He wrote: “It seems all but clear that Mali is quietly but agonisingly slipping into diarchy. This is a traumatic transformation for a country that in 1992 transited into full and stable democracy with the election of Alpha Oumar Konare. His re-election in 1997 and the peaceful transition to another elected president, Amadou Toumani Toure, in 2002 convinced the world that Mali had become a democratic trailblazer for the region. Unfortunately in March this year, a few months before Toure passed the baton to a successor, the army under Captain Amadou Sanogo staged a coup d’etat. Even though international pressure and ECOWAS muscle-flexing compelled Sanogo to transfer interim presidential power to the Speaker of the Mali National Assembly, Dioncounda Traore, and head of government business to Cheick Modibo Diarra, a former Foreign minister, effective power has remained with the coup leader who continues to enjoy the perks of leadership without the corresponding responsibility.”

    It must be reiterated once again, even though the UN was surprisingly not firm enough on the matter, that the Malian conundrum could never be solved as long as the coup leaders retain effective control. Democratic Nigeria must make Captain Sanogo and his cohorts relinquish power as a precondition for our participation in AFISMA. It is naïve and short-sighted to expect that Sanogo and his men would not complicate the campaign for unity if allowed so much elbow room as they currently enjoy. It is even difficult to see northern rebels entering into negotiation with the transitional government, as the UN has directed, when the coup leaders still wield enormous influence in Bamako. More crucially, it is hard to see AFISMA succeeding in the face of an indulgent UN, an absentminded AU, and an unreflective ECOWAS.