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Tag: President Barack Obama

  • When Madonna was starstruck by Barack Obama

    POP star Madonna has recalled being ‘starstruck’ by ‘hot’ President Barack Obama on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this past Thursday.

    The 60-year-old pop legend met Obama in June 2016 backstage at 30 Rockefeller Plaza while both were taping appearances for The Tonight Show.

    ‘Oh, my god. That is probably the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life. I had butterflies in my stomach. I was completely and utterly starstruck. I was gagging,’ Madonna said.

    ‘He’s so hot. …Sorry,’ said Madonna who wore a hat and veil reading ‘Art’ along with a black and blue lacy outfit that featured a heart-shaped front panel and sheer black skirt covered with hearts.

  • Trump defends daughter Ivanka’s seat at G20 table

    Trump defends daughter Ivanka’s seat at G20 table

    U.S. President Donald Trump defended his daughter, White House adviser Ivanka Trump, on Monday after she raised some eyebrows over the weekend by taking his place at a table with world leaders at a G20 meeting.

    She briefly sat in her father’s chair at the global gathering in Hamburg during a closed-door session on African development as the World Bank president spoke.

    Her appearance prompted a string of reactions on Twitter and caught the attention of the German media and other outlets.

    Early on Monday, Trump called the arrangement “very standard” in a tweet where he also noted that German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was hosting the G20 summit, agreed.

    Merkel had dismissed the move at a news conference after the G20 ended.

    “Ivanka belongs to the U.S. delegation,” Merkel, who has worked with her on various issues, said on Friday.

    Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, also defended Ivanka, saying on Sunday that the president’s daughter had often sat in on meetings with her and Trump, especially those regarding women and business.

    Ivanka Trump ran a clothing and jewellery business before taking a formal job at the White House after her father took office in January.

    She has made women’s issues one of her signature policy areas.

    At the G20, she also took the spotlight at a separate event alongside World Bank President Jim Yong Kim and other world leaders to launch a public-private loan programme aimed at boosting female entrepreneurs in developing countries.

    Lawrence Summers, a former World Bank official and economic adviser under former Democratic President Barack Obama, said it was rare for government heads to leave during major summits and that, when they must, foreign ministers or other very senior government officials normally fill in.

    “There is no precedent for a head of government’s adult child taking a seat,” he wrote in the Washington Post on Sunday.

    “There is no precedent for good reason.

    It was insulting to the others present and sent a signal of disempowerment regarding senior government officials.”

  • Full text of Donald Trump’s inauguration speech

    Full text of Donald Trump’s inauguration speech

    Chief Justice Roberts, President Carter, President Clinton, President Bush, President Obama, fellow Americans and people of the world, thank you.

    We, the citizens of America, are now joined in a great national effort to rebuild our country and restore its promise for all of our people.

    Together, we will determine the course of America and the world for many, many years to come. We will face challenges, we will confront hardships, but we will get the job done.

    Every four years, we gather on these steps to carry out the orderly and peaceful transfer of power, and we are grateful to President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama for their gracious aid throughout this transition. They have been magnificent. Thank you.

    Today’s ceremony, however, has very special meaning because today, we are not merely transferring power from one administration to another or from one party to another, but we are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people.

    For too long, a small group in our nation’s capital has reaped the rewards of government while the people have borne the cost. Washington flourished, but the people did not share in its wealth. Politicians prospered, but the jobs left and the factories closed. The establishment protected itself, but not the citizens of our country. Their victories have not been your victories. Their triumphs have not been your triumphs. And while they celebrated in our nation’s capital, there was little to celebrate for struggling families all across our land.

    That all changes starting right here and right now because this moment is your moment, it belongs to you.

    It belongs to everyone gathered here today and everyone watching all across America. This is your day. This is your celebration. And this, the United States of America, is your country.

    What truly matters is not which party controls our government, but whether our government is controlled by the people.

    January 20th, 2017, will be remembered as the day the people became the rulers of this nation again.

    The forgotten men and women of our country will be forgotten no longer.

    Everyone is listening to you now. You came by the tens of millions to become part of a historic movement, the likes of which the world has never seen before.

    At the center of this movement is a crucial conviction, that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Americans want great schools for their children, safe neighbourhoods for their families, and good jobs for themselves. These are just and reasonable demands of righteous people and a righteous public.

    But for too many of our citizens, a different reality exists: mothers and children trapped in poverty in our inner cities; rusted-out factories scattered like tombstones across the landscape of our nation; an education system flush with cash, but which leaves our young and beautiful students deprived of all knowledge; and the crime and the gangs and the drugs that have stolen too many lives and robbed our country of so much unrealized potential.

    This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.

    We are one nation and their pain is our pain. Their dreams are our dreams. And their success will be our success. We share one heart, one home, and one glorious destiny. The oath of office I take today is an oath of allegiance to all Americans.

    For many decades, we’ve enriched foreign industry at the expense of American industry; subsidised the armies of other countries, while allowing for the very sad depletion of our military. We’ve defended other nations’ borders while refusing to defend our own.

    And spent trillions and trillions of dollars overseas while America’s infrastructure has fallen into disrepair and decay. We’ve made other countries rich, while the wealth, strength and confidence of our country has dissipated over the horizon.

    One by one, the factories shuttered and left our shores, with not even a thought about the millions and millions of American workers that were left behind. The wealth of our middle class has been ripped from their homes and then redistributed all across the world.

    But that is the past. And now, we are looking only to the future.

    We assembled here today are issuing a new decree to be heard in every city, in every foreign capital, and in every hall of power. From this day forward, a new vision will govern our land. From this day forward, it’s going to be only America first, America first.

    Every decision on trade, on taxes, on immigration, on foreign affairs will be made to benefit American workers and American families. We must protect our borders from the ravages of other countries making our products, stealing our companies and destroying our jobs.

    Protection will lead to great prosperity and strength. I will fight for you with every breath in my body and I will never ever let you down.

    America will start winning again, winning like never before.

    We will bring back our jobs. We will bring back our borders. We will bring back our wealth. And we will bring back our dreams.

    We will build new roads and highways and bridges and airports and tunnels and railways all across our wonderful nation. We will get our people off of welfare and back to work, rebuilding our country with American hands and American labour.

    We will follow two simple rules; buy American and hire American.

    We will seek friendship and goodwill with the nations of the world, but we do so with the understanding that it is the right of all nations to put their own interests first. We do not seek to impose our way of life on anyone, but rather to let it shine as an example. We will shine for everyone to follow.

    We will reinforce old alliances and form new ones and unite the civilised world against radical Islamic terrorism, which we will eradicate from the face of the Earth.

    At the bedrock of our politics will be a total allegiance to the United States of America, and through our loyalty to our country, we will rediscover our loyalty to each other. When you open your heart to patriotism, there is no room for prejudice.

    The bible tells us how good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity. We must speak our minds openly, debate our disagreements honestly, but always pursue solidarity. When America is united, America is totally unstoppable.

    There should be no fear. We are protected and we will always be protected. We will be protected by the great men and women of our military and law enforcement. And most importantly, we will be protected by God.

    Finally, we must think big and dream even bigger. In America, we understand that a nation is only living as long as it is striving. We will no longer accept politicians who are all talks and no action, constantly complaining, but never doing anything about it.

    The time for empty talk is over. Now arrives the hour of action.

    Do not allow anyone to tell you that it cannot be done. No challenge can match the heart and fight and spirit of America. We will not fail. Our country will thrive and prosper again.

    We stand at the birth of a new millennium, ready to unlock the mysteries of space, to free the earth from the miseries of disease, and to harness the energies, industries and technologies of tomorrow. A new national pride will stir ourselves, lift our sights and heal our divisions.

    It’s time to remember that old wisdom our soldiers will never forget, that whether we are black or brown or white, we all bleed the same red blood of patriots.

    We all enjoy the same glorious freedoms and we all salute the same great American flag.

    And whether a child is born in the urban sprawl of Detroit or the wind-swept plains of Nebraska, they look up at the same night sky, they will their heart with the same dreams, and they are infused with the breath of life by the same almighty creator.

    So to all Americans in every city near and far, small and large, from mountain to mountain, from ocean to ocean, hear these words. You will never be ignored again.

    Your voice, your hopes, and your dreams will define our American destiny. And your courage and goodness and love will forever guide us along the way.

    Together, we will make America strong again. We will make America wealthy again. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And yes, together we will make America great again.

    Thank you. God bless you. And God bless America.

    Thank you. God bless America.

  • Trump flops, Clinton scores high after first debate

    Trump flops, Clinton scores high after first debate

    As pundits predicted, the Republican Party candidate for the November 8 presidential election of the United States (U.S.), Mr. Donald J. Trump, last night, bungled the chance to refine his conduct and uncouth rhetoric at the first debate with his main challenger – Senator Hillary Clinton – held at Hofstra University in New York.
    For the whole of the 90 minutes, Clinton put the Grand Old Party (GOP) candidate on the defense, making Trump to speak less on his porgramme, but more on uncharitable comments he had previously made against African-American, Hispanics, Muslims, President Barack Obama’s citizenship and his approval of Russian hackers’ breaking into American computer network.
    Trump started the debate with the calm disposition. Some 30 minutes later, the Republican candidate became temperamental, interrupting his rival and Lester Holt, the debate’s anchor. Clad in a black suit, white shirt and blue tie, Trump drank periodically from a glass cup of water placed in his front, while his tie abnormally rested on the lapel as he charged his Clinton.
    Trump’s disagreement with Clinton at the debate, watched by over 100 million Americans, stemmed from jobs, taxes, nuclear threat, gun control, and racial expletives. For him, it was the time to debunk spiteful comments he made in the past and set the record straight. But, Clinton had ample opportunity to further woo undecided voters as she explained how she would lead the country if elected.
    Trump said America has become a third-world country because of the economy mismanagement. He took an open swipe at Clinton’s husband, saying former President Bill Clinton signed North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which he described as “one of the worst things that ever happened in the manufacturing industry”.
    Clinton did not betray any emotion when Trump criticised her husband. “That is your opinion,” she calmly replied Trump.
    Trump’s unpaid tax became prominent as the debate progressed. Clinton insinuated that the GOP candidate may not have paid any federal tax since he started as his business, nothing that Trump only turned in tax to state authorities when he wanted to get the license for his casino business.
    “That makes me smart,” Trump said, adding: “I will release my tax returns against my lawyer’s wishes when she (Clinton) releases her 33,000 e-mails that have been deleted. As soon as she releases them, I will release my tax returns.”
    Clinton admitted fault in her e-mail scandal.  “If I had to do it over again, I would obviously do it differently. But I’m not going to make any excuses. It was a mistake and I take responsibility for that,” she said.
    But, Trump dismissed Clinton’s admission of the mistake as disgraceful, saying: “That was more than a mistake. That was done purposely….I think it’s disgraceful. And believe me, this country thinks it is this…really thinks it is disgraceful also.”
    On bringing back manufacturers and job creation, Clinton said: “Let’s remember where we were eight years ago; we had the worst financial crisis – the great recession, the worst since the 1930s. That was, in large part, because of tax policies that slash taxes on the wealthy, failed to invest in the middle class, took their eyes off of Wall Street and created a perfect storm…
    “Nine million people lost their jobs. Five million people lost their homes. And 1$3 Trillion in family wealth was wiped out. Now, we have come back from that abyss. And it has not been easy. So we are now on the precipice of having a potentially much better economy. But the last thing we need to do is to go back to the policies that failed us in the first place. Independent experts have looked at what I have proposed and looked at what Donald (Trump) has proposed.
    “They have looked at my plans, and they have said okay if we can do this, and I intend to get it done, we will have 10 million more new jobs. It is because we will be making investments where we can grow the economy.”
    Trump disagreed, saying: “The first thing is…don’t let the jobs leave. The companies are leaving. I could name thousands of them; they are leaving and they are leaving in bigger numbers than ever…”
    In his usual rhetoric, Trump said: “Excuse me, I will bring back jobs. You (Clinton) can’t bring back jobs.”
    The GOP candidate insinuated that President Obama and Clinton created ISIS because of the manner America pulled out of Iraq. Trump said Obama should have left about 10,000 soldiers and taken over the Iraqi oil, noting that access to the oil field by Islamist militants led to the creation of ISIS.
    Clinton responded: “Our military is assisting in Iraq, and we are hoping that within the year, we will be able to push ISIS out of Iraq. And then, you know, really squeeze them in Syria. But we have to be cognizant of the fact that they’ve had foreign fighters coming to volunteer for them, foreign money, foreign weapons. So we have to make this the top priority, and I would also do everything possible to take out their leadership.”
    The Democratic candidate reiterated that she would employ diplomacy to deal with nuclear proliferation, describing Trump as a war-monger who would not have the patience to engage in diplomacy.
    Clinton said: “He (Trump) has said repeatedly that he didn’t care if other nations got nuclear weapons – Japan, South Korea, even Saudi Arabia. It has been the policy of the United States, Democrats and Republicans, to do everything we could to reduce the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
    “So, a man who can be provoked by a tweet shouldn’t have his fingers anywhere near the nuclear codes as far as I think anyone with any sense about this should be concerned.”
    The outcome of the debate may have given a large number of undecided voters the freedom to choose between the two candidates. Post-debate CNN polls showed that 55 per cent of undecided voter believe Trump does not have temperament and capacity to handle the Presidency. This is against 43 per cent who believe Clinton cannot.
    Also, 62 per cent of undecided voters believed Clinton won the debate, while 27 per cent thought Trump won. Although opinions are divided over the performance of the two leading candidates at the debate, but voters in Colorado believe Trump did not say much about his plan to lead the country.
    While concise post-debate traditional polling results on “who is likely to win the race” are still being awaited, Trump may have slid further in losing the support of millennial voters, because of his “woeful performance” at the debate.
    “Trump did not do any better,” says Alexander Price, a millennial voter, who watched the debate at the American Press Club building in Downtown Denver. He said the conduct of the Republican candidate did not change in the debate, saying: “This is a woeful performance for Mr. Trump.”
    [news_box style=”2″ display=”tag” link_target=”_blank” tag=”Millenials” count=”4″ show_more=”on” show_more_type=”link”]
  • Youths set tone for U.S. presidential debate

    Youths set tone for U.S. presidential debate

    Next Monday, Senator Hillary Clinton and Mr. Donald Trump – the leading candidates in the November 8 presidential election of the United States (U.S.) will meet eye-to-eye and face the American public in a first presidential debate.
    An estimation of 100 million people is expected to watch the event live across the U.S., leaving each candidate with choice on whether to continue verbal assaults on individual personality or steal the show to win the support of the voting public.
    According to Elizabeth Sherman, an Assistant Professor at the Department of Government at the American University in Washington DC, debates play key roles in influencing the voters’ decision and voting pattern in the history of the U.S elections.
    Any candidate who bungles the chance to articulate his policies and programmes before the large audience in the first presidential debate is likely to suffer sizeable setbacks in pre-election rating and drop in popularity.
    John Zogby, an internationally-acclaimed pollster, believes the November 8 election is a contest between candidates battling to win public trust. The founder of Zogby Poll – a credible poll predicting platform – said the manner the two leading contenders present themselves to the electorate at the first debate would most likely sway the public opinion about the readiness of each candidate and may eventually shift the pendulum in November.
    Trump, for instance, has made huge gains in pre-election polls, aggregating Clinton in some key battleground states. But the Republican Party candidate may rock the boat for his campaign if he goes to the debate to attack the personality of his rivals. Clinton’s rating may drop if she cannot convince the largest voting population on why she should be trusted.
    The youths are setting a template for the debate. If the candidates do not discuss solutions to the immediate challenges facing the country, the outcome may increase the lack of trust in the U.S. political system among the Millennials.
    The Millennials (youths born between 18 and 35 years) make up 31 per cent of the American voting population. This group of voters is losing confidence in the political class, because of the high tuition and unstable minimum wage, which makes many graduates unable to re-pay student loans.
    The rising youth resentment and their lack of trust in the U.S. two-party system was the subject of discussion at a meeting of foreign journalists on U.S. electioneering tour with members of New Leaders Council (NLC), a non-political leadership organisation established to engage the Millennials in entrepreneurship, leadership and political process.
    Investment and expansion of public education are ways to go for the U.S. to tackle its youth unemployment, says Richard Fowler, an NLC panelist and radio personality.
    He said: “We believe solving unemployment among the youth is by investing in public education and expanding the schools to accommodate many more Millennials. We cannot solve this problem through demagogy as being pushed by Donald Trump. We want a workable and meaningful solution to the problem.
    “We want a leadership that will prioritise the expansion of infrastructure and schools. We believe Mr. Trump may not have the solution to proffer. He has been going round, saying he wants to make America great again. But, he has not explicitly explained how wants to do that.”
    Fowler’s views represent the opinion of a large number of millennial voters who are looking for a reason to trust Trump.
    Clinton, however, does not enjoy a complete support of the Millennials, because of the role she played in what they called “needless assignment” in Syria which steps up the level terrorist threats against the U.S. But, the great number of the Millennials believes she possesses better political credential to succeed President Barack Obama next year.
    At the debate, Clinton needs to explain how she would expand Obama’s youth initiative, which, Fowler said, has reduced poverty drastically among low-income families. The Democratic candidate must convince the millennials how she would make tuition fees affordable, bring up a minimum wage, solve youths job crises and student loan repayment.
    Students’ group at the American University believes foreign policies of each candidate should a way to go. Carlos Veraza, a second year International Relations student, said the November 8 presidential election a contest between two sides of a coin. “America has a moral obligation to elect the better one,” he said.
    He said: “I believe Clinton would be a clam and strategist, president with good foreign policy. I believe she would not do things as crazy like Donald Trump said he would do. I think Clinton presidency would set a stage for a better united congress and lead a ‘united’ United States at this point in time.”
  • Millennials: Clinton, Trump must discuss issues

    Millennials: Clinton, Trump must discuss issues

    Clinton It is about seven weeks to the United States (U.S.) presidential election, but the campaigns have been marred with verbal jabs and punches, especially among the standard bearers of the leading political parties – the Democrat and the Republican.
    But, for the Millennials, who make up the largest voting group in the election, the hot exchange between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will not thrive. How America would create a political system that would solve the immediate challenges facing the youth preoccupies the mind of registered voters within this group.
    Tuition fees are high and unaffordable to a large number of young Americans within the college age. The perceived drag-footing by the world leaders on the challenges posed by nuclear threats and the global climate condition is another worry the Millennials expressed, among other problems.
    Steven Olikara, co-founder and president of Millennial Action Project (MAP)
    Steven Olikara, co-founder and president of Millennial Action Project (MAP)

    Anyone who succeeds President Barack Obama after the election must address these challenges in order to create a sustainable future for the youth. This was the view of Steven Olikara, a co-founder and president of Millennial Action Project (MAP), when he addressed a group of foreign journalists participating in the ongoing Foreign Press Centres Tour, a programme of the U.S. Department of State Bureau of Public Affairs.

    The Millennials, Olikara said, are disillusioned by the current two-party model in the U.S., which they said has polarised the government system. He said many youth voters wanted a political system that would promote free enterprise as a model for solving immediate and future challenges the world is facing.
    He said: “We are disillusioned with the process and the Millennials don’t see voting as a solution to achieving the needed change in the system. Our tension span has become too short, because democracy and politics are, by design, is supposed to make meaningful change in people’s lives. This is not happening. 50 per cent of Millennials don’t believe the American challenges can be solved by politicians. But, this is not enough reason for us not to get involved.
    “The Millennials have great influence in this election, because of the large voting power. We believe those concerns we have expressed will be more represented in each candidate’s campaign. Candidates would be at a disadvantage not to consider our views and opinions on how things should be done and incorporated them on their policy platforms.”
    Olikara said candidates must consider justice reforms, human rights issues and promote multilateral cooperation within the government. He added that the rising tuition fees should be reviewed to increase access to education and immigration laws that would maintain the diversity of the U.S.
    Ms. Jessica Dahl, a tech entrepreneur, is addressing the decline in political engagement among the American youth, using Brigade – a social network for young voters. With thousands of youths engaging in online discussions and debates, the social network, Ms. Dahl said, is helping the Millennials to address civic issues they care about.
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    Ms. Jessica Dahl, techpreneur.

    She said Brigade makes it easy for a user to find nearby voters who may be passionate about the same national and local issues with the user, thereby influencing policies and voting pattern. Apart from helping the youth to elect the candidate they want in office, Ms Dahl said the ongoing debates on the network would give the voters a power to keep politicians accountable.

    The social network, which established last year, empowers users to pledge their vote for a candidate and recruit other followers to do the same.
    Earlier, the Managing Director of International Media Engagement for Bureau of Public Affairs, Richard Buangan, said the aim of the tour was to allow foreign reporters to educate the global on how the American youth participate in and influence the U.S. political system, especially during election period. 
    He said the reporting would galvanise youth groups across the globe and in the participating countries to engage in and promote sustainable political cultures.
    “In attending this tour and producing media reports in their home media outlets, the participating journalists will be able to convey to global and their home audiences what they learn about youth and politics in the United States,” he said.
  • Obama woos Americans to vote Clinton

    Obama woos Americans to vote Clinton

    President Barack Obama, in a rousing speech on Wednesday offered full-hearted support to Hillary Clinton in her campaign to defeat Republican Donald Trump and become the first woman elected U.S. president

    “There has never been a man or woman, not me, not Bill (Clinton) – nobody more qualified than Hillary Clinton to serve as president of the United States,” Obama said to cheers at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia.

    “Tonight, I ask you to do for Hillary Clinton what you did for me. I ask you to carry her the same way you carried me.”

    After Obama’s speech, Clinton joined him on stage where they hugged, clasped hands and waved to the crowd.

    Obama and Clinton were rivals in the hard-fought campaign for the 2008 Democratic nomination. After winning that election to become America’s first black president, he appointed her his secretary of state.

    Speaking to delegates, Obama offered an alternative to businessman Trump’s vision of the U.S. as being under siege from illegal immigrants, crime and terrorism and losing its way in the world.

    “I am more optimistic about the future of America than ever before,” Obama said at the Wells Fargo Centre.

    Clinton made history on Tuesday when she became the first woman to secure the presidential nomination from a major party.

    When she formally accepts it on Thursday, she will become the Democratic standard-bearer against Republican nominee Trump in the Nov. 8 election.

    Obama took aim at Trump’s campaign slogan and promise to “Make America Great Again.”

    “America is already great. America is already strong. And I promise you, our strength, our greatness, does not depend on Donald Trump,” he said.

  • Zika virus causes birth defects- CDC

    Zika virus causes birth defects- CDC

    The United State Centres for Disease Control and prevention {CDC} has confirmed that the dreaded  Zika virus causes microcephaly and other birth defects,

    This was disclosed on Wednesday through the Director  of CDC, Dr. Tom Frieden .

    According to CDC, based on all of the available evidence,  two separate sets of criteria to determine a pathogen or environmental exposure causes a birth defect have been met.

    In the same vein, Dr. Sonja Rasmussen, lead author of the report and editor-in-chief of CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report reiterated further that there was no alternative explanation to account for the increase in these congenital defects among women who had the Zika virus during pregnancy.

    Also unknown is the full range of health problems that can result from the virus. Cases of Zika-related microcephaly and congenital birth defects appear to be more severe than what pediatricians see from non-Zika related microcephaly based on clinical reports.

    These include smaller head measurements than expected and a condition called fetal brain disruption sequence in which the virus has a destructive effect on the brain.

    Reinforcing the CDC announcement, researchers released a new study looking at brain scans of babies born with suspected Zika related microcephaly in Pernambuco, Brazil, between July and December of last year. They looked at MRI and CT scans of 23 babies and found most of them had severe brain damage they characterized as “extremely severe” and an indication of “poor prognosis of neurological function.”

    “We know mosquito bites spread other diseases as well, so it’s important for pregnant women, and everyone, to not get bitten by mosquitoes,” Rasmussen said. That means wearing long pants and long sleeves when outside, using mosquito repellant and removing any standing water from around homes and throughout communities.

    CDC teams have been proceeding as if this was the case even without the official conclusion, but now Rasmussen hopes this will not only raise awareness about prevention but also add focus to ongoing Zika research.

    According to CNN, , President Barack Obama will sign a bill that offers incentives to companies working on Zika treatments and vaccines. White House press secretary Josh Earnest said the bill is positive but meager, in reference to the pending request to Congress for $1.9 billion in emergency Zika funds.

    “In some ways, it’s akin to passing out umbrellas in the advance of a potential hurricane. An umbrella might come in handy, but it’s going to be insufficient to ensure that communities all across the country are protected from a potentially significant impact.”

    Last week the World Health Organization {WHO} reported that the mosquito-borne virus causes microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome.

    The CDC however, said they are not yet ready to conclude the virus causes Guillain-Barré syndrome. More than 1,000 cases of microcephaly and other fetal malformations believed to be Zika-associated have been reported from six countries, according to the WHO.

     

  • When Baba met Barack

    When Baba met Barack

    Fresh from his electoral triumph in 2011, former President Goodluck Jonathan travelled to Washington D. C. where he would briefly meet President Barack Obama before heading for New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly High Level Meeting on AIDS.

    At the event he shared a platform with former United States President Bill Clinton. After wishing him well, Clinton said to Jonathan who was turned out in his trademark caftan and black bowler hat: “I can tell you the Secretary of State (his wife Hillary) tells me your hats are always cool.” The diplomats and VIPs at the meeting cheered and laughed heartily.

    “And I envy your name,” Clinton added to more laughter. “If I’d had a name like Goodluck, I might still be in office!” Four years later not even his uniquely optimistic name could help him cling to power – leaving Obama to welcome a new Nigerian president in whom the world invests the tall hope to deliver what Jonathan couldn’t.

    No one would ever accuse Buhari of being a fashion plate, so it wasn’t his dress sense that his host went on about. He praised his character instead. In a continent where leaders have become notorious for graft, frivolity, fickleness and excess, it certainly was a plus that a Nigerian president was being celebrated as an example for Africa.

    Towards the tail end of Jonathan’s tenure, much of the goodwill which he initially had with the US had largely evaporated. While the Americans were critical of his administration’s abysmal record on corruption, the greatest source of strain had to do with tackling the insurgency.

    The much-hyped US offer to help Nigeria track down and rescue the Chibok girls collapsed in a cloud of controversy over how the armed forces handled the intelligence they received. Some say the body language of the local security leadership suggested they weren’t too keen on having American cowboys riding roughshod over them and taking all the glory.

    Little surprise therefore that before the foreign helpers could parachute into our territory, the former Chief of Defence Staff, Air Chief Marshall Alex Badeh declared authoritatively that his forces knew where the schoolgirls were being held. Who knows, the handover notes received by the new service chief might just contain this top secret.

    As the elections drew close, relations between Nigeria and the Americans grew decidedly chilly in the light of their pointed allegations of human rights abuses against our troops and refusal to sell us arms on those grounds. With his ratings tanking, a desperate Jonathan was forced to resort to unorthodox measures. The $15 million cash seizure debacle in Johannesburg was the outcome and the rest is history.

    The speed with which the Americans invited President Muhammadu Buhari over, and the special welcome laid out for him, underscores how keen they are to mend fences with a traditional ally on the African continent.

    In the course of his almost six-year stay in Aso Rock, Jonathan met with Obama three times but I don’t recall anything arresting that was said between both men beyond the anodyne diplomatese.  Contrast that with the US president’s effusive praise for Buhari’s integrity and vision.

    So at the level of symbolism, there was a sense that the visit went quite well for the president and his country. For the first time in a very long time, the narrative emanating from these parts was positive: a seamless transition from an incumbent government to the opposition and an anti-graft leader in a nation that has become notorious for corruption. Apparently something good can still come out of Nigeria.

    But not everyone is swayed by the positive spin that has been put on the visit. Those who would have us believe Nigerians made a historic mistake by voting Buhari in March have been nitpicking. They point at everything from the gender insensitivity that saw the president travelling without a single woman in his team and having his son along for the ride.

    But of greater significance is the claim that the four-day trip was a waste of money because it didn’t produce a promise to sell things like the potent Apache or Cobra helicopters for use against the insurgents in the North-East. That sense of dissatisfaction was enhanced by Buhari’s statement bemoaning the continued refusal of the Americans to sell us arms hiding behind the Leahy Law, which bars such transactions with nations whose forces are accused of grave human rights abuses.

    The best way to determine whether the visit was a success is to go back to what Buhari outlined as his objectives before setting out. He was going to discuss military and defence cooperation as well as measures to strengthen and intensify bilateral cooperation against terrorism in Nigeria and West Africa. The administration’s war against corruption, as well as fresh measures to boost Nigeria-US trade relations were also up for discussion.

    In all that was laid out before the trip, there was very little that was specific and nothing suggested that the delegation was going to force their hosts to sign on to sell us arms. Obviously, emerging from the visit with such a deal would have been a massive coup.

    That said, it would be churlish not to acknowledge that the swift thawing of relations between the traditional allies was important. In the course of the visit, the World Health Organization (WHO), representatives of the World Bank, committed to spend $300 million to fight malaria in Nigeria.

    In terms of numbers, that sum was dwarfed by the World Bank’s pledge to invest $ 2.1 billion for rebuilding the infrastructure devastated by the insurgency in the North-East.

    Buhari has repeatedly stated his determination to recover monies plundered from the nation’s coffers by government officials and others. His plans received a boost as the Americans offered to track illicit money from Nigeria in all their jurisdictions.

    Given what we now know about outrageous sums that found their way into private pockets in recent years, a nation that cannot pay its workers’ salaries should not sneer at any deal to recover monies running into billions of dollars. I suspect that such arrangements didn’t deliver much in the past because friends of Nigeria couldn’t find reliable and zealous partners in our political leadership to get the job done. In Buhari they sense they have a man they can do business with.

    In the face of an insurgency that has received second wind with a wave of suicide bombings, a showpiece arms sales agreement would have been the icing on the cake. It is disappointing that it didn’t happen. It would have been expecting too much to think the Americans – no matter their desire for a fresh start with Nigeria – would rush into such a commitment with a seven-week old administration which still has a lot to prove.

    For now it is convenient for them to hide behind the Leahy Law. Rather than waste energy griping and pointing out the hypocrisy of the Americans who have never allowed a little thing like human rights stand in the way when they want to sell arms to some of their ‘special allies,’ Nigeria should consider what her options are.

    If we’re so enamoured of the Apache and Cobra attack helicopters, then we can begin to work to get off the list of countries categorised as human rights abusers. Buhari has committed himself to probing allegations made against the military by Amnesty International and has also pledged that under his watch, such practices would not be permitted. I’m sure that the US would be looking to see what concrete action he takes in this regard. Author of the act, Senator Patrick Leahy has suggested as much in his biting reaction to Buhari’s criticism.

    The alternative is to take our cash into the market place. The US and UK are not the only countries that sell arms. France, Russia and China to name a few are big players in the global arms industry. All three are keen to extend their scope of influence in Africa and around the world.

    All said and done, even if all Buhari achieved in Washington was the restoration of an old friendship, he should be applauded. Given her challenges, Nigeria needs all help it can get from friends around the world. That is far better than the hulking, sulking embarrassment it was fast becoming in the recent past.

  • Obamas, Clintons join Vice President Biden at son Beau’s funeral

    President Barack Obama and his family joined a host of U.S. political figures including Bill and Hillary Clinton on yesterday to mourn Vice President Joe Biden’s son, Beau, who died last week of brain cancer at the age of 46.

    One thousand people filled the St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church in Wilmington for a funeral Mass for Biden, a former Delaware attorney general who also served a year-long term in Iraq as a member of the Delaware Army National Guard.

    The vice president processed into the church with his family at the beginning of the service.

    Beau Biden was diagnosed with brain cancer in August 2013 and underwent surgery, radiation and chemotherapy. It recurred in the spring of this year.

    His death was another tragic chapter in the life of the vice president, who lost his first wife and his daughter in a car accident shortly after winning election to the U.S. Senate in 1972. Beau and his brother Hunter were injured in the crash but survived.

    Beau Biden, who was married with two children, has been praised over the last week as having lived a life of exemplary service. His death has drawn wide U.S. media coverage and an outpouring of sympathy for the vice president.

    Obama, whose family is close to the Bidens and who had a personal relationship with Beau, was asked by the vice president to deliver a eulogy.