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newstfionline · 3 years

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Wednesday, September 29, 2021

FBI Data Show An Unprecedented Spike In Murders Nationwide In 2020 (NPR) The number of murders in the United States jumped by nearly 30% in 2020 compared to the previous year in the largest single-year increase ever recorded in the country, according to official FBI statistics released Monday. The data show 21,570 homicides in the U.S. in 2020, which is a staggering 4,901 more than in 2019. The tally makes clear—in concrete terms—just how violent last year was. The overall violent crime rate, which includes murder, assault, robbery and rape, inched up around 5%, while property crimes continued their long-running decline and dropped 8% from 2019. But the spike in murders jumps out in the FBI report because of the sheer scale of the change. Jeff Asher, a data consultant who studies crime rates, said the increase is the largest since national records began being kept in 1960s. The homicide rate thus far in 2021 is up 10% from last year.

Haitians returning to a homeland that’s far from welcoming (AP) Deported from the United States, Pierre Charles landed a week ago in Port-au-Prince, a capital more dangerous and dystopian than the one he’d left four years before. Unable to reach his family, he left the airport alone, on foot. At least 2,853 Haitians deported from Texas have landed here in the last week with $15-$100 in cash handouts and a “good luck out there” from migration officials—many setting foot in the country for the first time in years, even decades. More than a city, Port-au-Prince it is an archipelago of gang-controlled islands in a sea of despair. Some neighborhoods are abandoned. Others are barricaded behind fires, destroyed cars and piles of garbage, occupied by heavily armed men. On Saturday, a local newspaper reported 10 kidnappings in the previous 24 hours including a journalist, a singer’s mother and a couple driving with their toddler, who was left behind in the car. Even before the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse a in July, the government was weak—the Palace of Justice inactive, congress disbanded by Moïse and the legislative building pocked by bullets. Now, although there is a prime minister, it is absent. Most of the population of Port-au-Prince has no access to basic public services, no drinking water, electricity or garbage collection. The deportees join thousands of fellow Haitians who have been displaced from their homes, pushed out by violence to take up residence in crowded schools, churches, sports centers and makeshift camps among ruins. Many of these people are out of reach even for humanitarian organizations.

Some Bolsonaro supporters have called for a military takeover of Brazil. Why do they wave the American flag? (Washington Post) On the day when Brazilians celebrated the nation’s independence, when thousands of protesters this month called on President Jair Bolsonaro to lead a military takeover of the country, a middle-aged man set out onto the streets of Brazil’s largest city, cloaked in the flag. The American flag. Wilson Gomes, 56, strutted down streets thronged by thousands of Bolsonaro supporters, the Stars and Stripes draped across his right shoulder, demanding radical change in Latin America’s largest nation. The time had come to do away with the Brazilian supreme court, which he said had been corrupted by a kleptocratic left and was unfairly targeting Bolsonaro and his supporters. The only way to save the constitution, he said, was to suspend it. At far-right rallies all over the country, where many have called for supreme court judges and opposition lawmakers to be removed, the American flag is now a staple. Supporters wear cowboy hats and belt buckles emblazoned with Texas longhorns. In a country that has more traditionally viewed the United States and its intentions with suspicion, the sudden appropriation of American symbols has exposed a political paradox at the heart of the Bolsonarista movement. A group that many here believe wants to subvert, if not overthrow, Brazilian democracy has chosen as one of its banners the flag of the world’s oldest democracy. “The Brazilian right and American have an agenda in common,” said Sèrgio Sant’Ana, president of the right-wing Conservative Liberal Institute.

Macron says Europeans need to stop being naive and assert independence from the United States (Washington Post) French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europeans to "come out of their naivete" on the world stage and assert their independence from the United States, sending one of the strongest signals to date that the diplomatic crisis prompted by a disrupted submarine deal could have long-lasting repercussions on transatlantic relations. Speaking alongside the Greek prime minister Tuesday at a news conference to unveil a major Franco-Greek defense deal, Macron said the Europeans should make themselves “respected.” “For a bit over 10 years now, the United States has been very focused on itself and has strategic interests that are being reoriented towards China and the Pacific,” he said. “It’s in their right to do so,” he continued, but “we would be naive, or rather we would make a terrible mistake, to not want to draw the consequences.” Macron’s latest remarks come as he appears to position himself as the next leader of Europe, an unofficial role so far largely attributed to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

China energy crunch triggers shutdowns, pleas for more coal (Reuters) China faces mounting pressure to ramp up coal imports and ensure supplies to keep lights on, factories open and water flowing as a severe power crunch roils the northeastern industrial heartland. With electricity shortages sparked by coal shortages crippling large sections of industry, the governor of Jilin province, one of the hardest hit in the world's no.2 economy, called for a surge in coal imports, while a power company association said supply was being expanded "at any cost". News organisations and social media carried reports and posts saying the lack of power in the northeast had shut down traffic lights, residential elevators and 3G mobile phone coverage as well as triggering factory shutdowns. A utility in Jilin even warned power shortages could disrupt water supplies at any time, before apologising for causing alarm. The power crunch has taken hold as a shortage of coal supplies, toughening greenhouse gas emissions standards and strong demand from industry have pushed coal prices to peaks. Goldman Sachs estimated that as much as 44% of China's industrial activity has been hit by power shortages.

American siblings trapped in China under three-year ‘exit ban’ finally return home (Washington Post) China allowed two U.S. citizens, siblings Victor and Cynthia Liu, who were prevented from leaving the country for more than three years, to return to the United States on Sunday. Cynthia and Victor Liu are the daughter and son of Liu Changming, a businessman wanted on fraud charges in China. The siblings went to China in June 2018 to visit relatives but were barred from leaving, while their mother, Sandra Han, who made the trip with them, was detained. Their lawyers and the U.S. authorities described the move as an attempt to pressure Liu Changming into returning to China to faces charges—despite the siblings saying they had not had contact with their father in years. Victor and Cynthia Liu’s lawyer Marc Ginsberg told the New York Times that he believed a Sept. 9 phone call between President Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping had “helped to break a logjam” and contributed to the siblings’ release. He added that the siblings would have no comment for the news media.

Japan to lift all coronavirus emergency steps nationwide (AP) Japan’s government says the coronavirus state of emergency will end Thursday so the economy can be reactivated as infections slow. Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced Tuesday that virus restrictions will be eased gradually. With the lifting, Japan will be entirely free of emergency requirements for the first time in more than six months.

Taliban issue no-shave order to barbers in Afghan province (AP) The Taliban on Monday banned barbershops in a southern Afghanistan province from shaving or trimming beards, claiming their edict is in line with Shariah, or Islamic, law. The order in Helmand province was issued by the provincial Taliban government’s vice and virtue department to barbers in Lashkar Gah, the provincial capital. During their previous rule of Afghanistan, the Taliban adhered to a harsh interpretation of Islam. Since overrunning Kabul on Aug. 15 and again taking control of the country, the world has been watching to see whether they will re-create their strict governance of the late 1990s. During the Taliban’s previous rule, the conservative Islamists demanded that men grow beards. Since being ousted from power following the U.S.-led invasion in 2001, shaved or cleanly trimmed beards have become popular in the country.

Violence in Nigeria (Foreign Policy) At least 34 people were killed in northern Nigeria following an attack on the village of Madamai in northern Kaduna state, state security commissioner Samuel Aruwan said on Monday, blaming unidentified assailants for the attack. The assault, which Aruwan said took place on Sunday, came the same day that 22 Nigerian security personnel were killed in an attack on an army base in Sokota state, also in the country’s north. In recent weeks, Nigerian states have introduced restrictions on residents in an attempt to stem the violence, attributed to so-called bandits as well as the Islamic State’s West African offshoot.

A Crypto-Trading Hamster Performs Better Than Warren Buffett And The S&P 500 (NPR) What if we told you there was a hamster who has been trading cryptocurrencies since June—and recently was doing better than Warren Buffett and the S&P 500? Meet Mr. Goxx, a hamster who works out of what is possibly the most high-tech hamster cage in existence. It’s designed so that when Mr. Goxx runs on the hamster wheel, he can select among dozens of cryptocurrencies. Then, deciding between two tunnels, he chooses whether to buy or sell. According to the Twitch account for the hamster, his decision is sent over to a real trading platform—and yes, real money is involved. Look, we’re not telling you to follow in this hamster’s financial decisions or that this process is scientific in any way. But what we can tell you is his portfolio is up nearly 20% since he started trading in June, according to his Twitter account. And as of Sept. 12, Mr. Goxx was performing better than Bitcoin, the Nasdaq 100, Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and the S&P 500.

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9jabreed · 3 years

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Media Chiefs Dare NBC, Say You Can’t Tell Us How To Report Attacks

Nigeria’s media leaders have berated the Federal Government over its latest directive asking media houses not to divulge details of the activities of bandits, terrorists and kidnappers in their reports. Naija News reports that the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) had directed radio and television stations not to “glamourise the activities of insurgents” during their daily Newspaper Reviews.…

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thisdaynews · 4 years

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FG’s Blackmail Against IPOB Backfired, Says Ohanaeze

New Post has been published on https://thebiafrastar.com/fgs-blackmail-against-ipob-backfired-says-ohanaeze/

FG’s Blackmail Against IPOB Backfired, Says Ohanaeze

Sequel to the declaration on Sunday, by the Federal Government that the Indigenous People of Biafra, IPOB, is waging war against Nigeria, the IPOB founder, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, yesterday, reacted to the government for ‘ confirming that his group is spending big on its diplomatic offensive and the whole world can now know where the group’s money is being channeled’.

The Federal Government had raised the alarm that IPOB was using the alleged killing of Christians to wage war against Nigeria.

Spokesman of the Presidency, Mallam Garba Shehu had also accused IPOB of using perceived killing of Christians to drive a wedge between the United States, United Kingdom and Nigeria’s European allies.

But Mazi Kanu in a statement made available to newsmen by IPOB’s Media and Publicity Secretary, Emma Powerful, said that IPOB is relentlessly working to expose the Nigerian government’s atrocities perpetrated by terrorists masquerading as herdsmen.

This came as the Igbo umbrella body, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide also lampooned the Federal Government, saying that its attempt to blackmail IPOB has backfired “because the truth has emerged.”

Mazi Kanu’s statement entitled, “Now the whole world knows where IPOB money goes”, said the statement, issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, confirmed the elaborate planned scheme of IPOB which has already started gaining steam with some officials of the American government, including the Secretary of State, Mr Mike Pompeo to the fact that it is not mincing words with Biafra actualization. Mazi Kanu’s statement read: “Once again, Nigerian government has inadvertently confirmed that we spend big on our diplomatic offensive. We have destroyed Nigeria and by the time we are done with them, the name Nigeria will cease to exist. “Every dime the indomitable IPOB family worldwide contributes towards our liberation goes towards the dismantling of Nigeria and restoration of Biafra, I mean every dime.

“I, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu have no mansion, I have no car, I have no hotel, I have no university, I have no government contract, I don’t lie, I don’t cheat, I don’t steal, all I have is the grace of Chukwu Okike Abiama to do his will which is to restore Biafra in truth and honesty.

“The statement, issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, also claimed the elaborately planned scheme, which had already started gaining steam with some officials of the American government, including the Secretary of State, Mr Mike Pompeo, had been receiving monthly funding of $85,000 USD since October 2019.”

Also yesterday, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, standing in defence of IPOB, described federal government’s worry as a complete case of chasing shadows. Publicity Secretary of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Uche Achi-Okpaga in a swift reaction to Shehu Garba’s outburst told him that he was drawing attention to an allegation of persecution of Christians in Nigeria but failed to draw attention to the seemingly intractable insecurity in the country.

“Would they (FG) also say that there is no insecurity in the country? All over the country, people are posting on the spot audio and video records of senseless and targeted killings.

I think now that the ovation of the Presidency’s actions and body language have become loudest, attracting condemnations from highly pedestalled and well-meaning Nigerians, including the latest letter from Col. Abubakar Umar, the next available response, as is usual in their colour, is to heep some blame on a given quarter as the IPOB and deliberately divert attention from the issue,” Achi-Okpaga fumed.

The apex Igbo organisation regretted that whereas the President swore to protect the lives and property of Nigerians, Nigerians are killed in their homes, their farms, on the roads, by herdsmen, while travelling, by bandits or Boko Haram terrorists, as the case may be.

“Perhaps, it is also IPOB that is sponsoring all that. It is a pity that we are exerting more effort to tarnish IPOB than to do the needful by ensuring the protection citizens no matter whose ox is gored,” Achi-Okpaga said.

Adding flesh to Ohanaeze’s anger against Shehu Garba’s allegations, Media Adviser to the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Chief Emeka Attama said that “The reaction of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide is that finally the hen is coming home to roost.

The whole lies against IPOB that made the Federal Government to brand it a terrorist organisation are now wearing off and the world are getting close to exposing the perfidy and unconscionable maladministration of the President Buhari’s five-year tenure.

“It’s preferred silence over the nefarious activities of the killer herdsmen that has led to the loss of more than 2,500 innocent lives of Nigerians, mostly Christians, has been crying out for justice.

Maybe, the time has come for the unmasking of who are actually the terrorists between IPOB and the herdsmen; IPOB who don’t carry weapons and don’t kill and Ak-47 and other sophiscated arms-wielding herdsmen and who upon all their crimes non has ever been prosecuted in any known court of law in the country.

“It is good that it is even the Federal Government that has given fillip to the awareness by the international community through the publication by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu.

“It is an attempt to blackmail the IPOB that has backfired, because the truth has emerged.”

In a related development, Igbo elitist group, Alaigbo Development Foundation, ADF, has said the Presidency just raising false alarm.

ADF said it is President Muhammadu Buhari’s government that promoted tension in Nigeria through several punitive and divisive policies mounted against some sections of the country.

”The Presidency is raising a false alarm against the IPOB in that regard. The PMB regime is the one that has promoted tension in Nigeria through several punitive and divisive policies mounted against some sections of the country.

“Such divisive policies have worsened the crisis in the Nigerian federation.

There have been massive killings in the Middle Belt, Southern Kaduna and the Mambilla Plateau in what looks like ethnic cleansing and genocide, allegedly using FULANI terrorists, herdsmen and the security agencies are yet to prosecute the assailants.

“IPOB is the mainstream organization fighting for the self-determination of the Biafran people against the oppressive monolithic unitary system of government imposed by the pro-islamic Caliphate government of PMB.

“The IPOB, which is purely a peaceful and unarmed pressure group was banned by the government while the murderous FULANI herdsmen ( militia) group was allowed to continue it’s killing spree all over the Middle Belt and Southern Nigeria, in what apparently has become an official policy of ethnic and religious cleansing aimed at the alleged Fulanization of Nigeria and targeted at Christians, so as to subdue and intimidate them into submission cum annihilation”, ADF said in a statement issued by its spokesman, Chief Abi Onyike.

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itssquidwarsjournal · 4 years

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ABUJA, Nigeria—She was so young and daring, and a thorn in the side of ISIS-backed terrorists and bandits in north-central Nigeria. Her profile was rising fast and in her already extraordinary career she’d broken through the military glass ceiling. But the life of Tolulope Arotile, Nigeria's first-ever female combat helicopter pilot, was cut short on July 14 when she died in a strange and sudden accident. According to the Nigeria Air Force (NAF), Arotile was “inadvertently hit by the reversing vehicle of an excited former Air Force secondary school classmate while trying to greet her” inside the NAF base in the northwestern city of Kaduna. But not many in Nigeria are convinced the death of the 24-year-old was indeed accidental, especially because her nationwide fame as a talented combat helicopter pilot, and her regular bombardment of terrorist hideouts, had made her a target of armed militants. The manner in which Arotile was said to have died—from the impact of a reversing car—raised suspicion across Nigeria that she was murdered. The country's leading activists and politicians, including the outspoken former senator Shehu Sani, joined her family in immediately demanding an inquiry into the pilot's death. The NAF quickly responded by announcing a preliminary investigation into the tragedy. Arotile had just come back from an operation in north-central Nigeria, where she was deployed in the fight to rid the region of ISIS-backed militants and other criminal elements by flying combat missions. The NAF said she served as a squadron pilot in what the military named Operation Gama Aiki and flew "anti-banditry combat missions to ensure a safer, more secured Nigeria.”Russians Are Using African Troll Factories—and Encrypted Messaging—to Attack the U.S.Since last year, armed bandits and militants, including those with links to the so-called Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have terrorized a number of villages in north-central Nigeria, killing hundreds of villagers and displacing thousands from their homes. The military's response has been through airstrikes, many of which had been carried out by attack helicopters like those flown by Arotile and her fellow fighter pilots.Arotile's last combat mission was devastating for the terrorists she targeted, a senior NAF official told The Daily Beast privately. She was said to have carried out airstrikes targeting bandits at Kasuwan Ango Community in Nigeria's north-central Niger State in late June. The Nigeria military had stated last month that strikes by the air component of Operation Gama Aiki at Kasuwan Ango on June 28 and 29 led to the "neutralization of some of the bandits" and the arrest of two foreigners, while the country's press release distribution agency, PR Nigeria, reported that corpses of bandits littered the area of the operation, an indication that the airstrikes killed numerous terrorists. Arotile herself was targeted by the bandits who shot repeatedly at her helicopter before she managed to overcome them. "Much of our success in the north-central can be attributed to Tolulope [Arotile]," said the NAF official who didn't want his name mentioned as he wasn't authorized to speak. "She was extremely daring and fearless."The manner in which Arotile was said to have died—from the impact of a reversing car—raised suspicion across Nigeria that she might have been murdered. The country's leading politicians and activists have joined her family in demanding an inquiry into the pilot's death. The NAF stated on Sunday that its preliminary investigation found that three of Arotile's secondary school classmates—all civilians who live outside the Kaduna NAF base, and who were on their way to visit another friend living in the same vicinity—were in the Kia Sorento SUV that hit her. The driver, Nehemiah Adejo, recognized Arotile after passing her, and "reversed the vehicle, ostensibly in an attempt to quickly meet up with the deceased, who was walking in the opposite direction.""In the process," said Ibikunle Daramola, NAF director of public relations and information, "the vehicle struck Flying Officer Arotile from the rear, knocking her down with significant force and causing her to hit her head on the pavement.""The vehicle then ran over parts of her body as it veered off the road beyond the kerb and onto the pavement, causing her further injuries,” Daramola said while reporting on the NAF's initial findings on the pilot's death on July 19.The three schoolmates were subjected to toxicology tests but no traces of alcohol or psychotropic substances were found in their systems, according to the NAF findings, which also revealed that the driver of the vehicle, Adejo, did not have a valid driver’s license. The trio are expected to be handed over to police, who are set to begin an investigation into Arotile's death. The late pilot, who was commissioned into the air force as a Pilot Officer in 2017, made history last October when she was winged as the first-ever female combat helicopter pilot in the NAF after completing her flying training in South Africa. Arotile held a commercial pilot license and had undergone tactical flying training on the Agusta 109 Power attack helicopter in Italy. When Nigeria acquired an Agusta 109 Power early in the year, Arotile was asked to introduce the aircraft to President Muhammadu Buhari, during the induction ceremony in Abuja in February.Arotile once said she joined the NAF simply out of "passion" for the military. In an interview with a local publication after Arotile's death, her father, Akintunde Arotile, recalled when she first developed a passion for flying: “One day—when she was very small—she pointed to one small aircraft parked on a field and said, ‘Dad, one day I am going to fly that aircraft,’ and I said, ‘Amen,’” Arotile told The Punch newspaper. Nigeria's leading politicians and institutions have paid tribute to her outstanding contribution to the country's long fight against terrorism. President Buhari recalled her "bravery" and "deft skills in manoeuvring combat helicopters" in a statement his office released shortly after her death, while the House of Representatives said she was “a heroine whose contribution in the war against terrorism and other criminal elements in the country cannot be wished away easily."Arotile's death comes at a period when Nigeria is facing increased attacks from armed bandits and ISWAP militants in the north-central and northeast regions. A series of ISWAP attacks last month in the northeastern state of Borno killed close to 150 people, including 20 soldiers. The Islamic State-affiliated group suddenly became active in parts of the north-central region, where Arotile embarked on most of her missions, this year.At a time when Nigeria needs its best hands to contain brutal terror groups like ISWAP, Arotile's death will definitely be a blow to its effort to defeat terrorists."I was heartbroken when I received the sad news," Nigeria's chief of the Air Staff, Sadique Abubakar, tweeted. "[Arotile] was one of our shining young stars."Read more at The Daily Beast.Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now!Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more.

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ejesgistnews · 18 days

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Kaduna State has once again been gripped by fear after a group of heavily armed bandits stormed a Primary Health Care Center (PHC) in the Layin Dan Auta village, Kuyello Ward of Birnin Gwari Area, abducting an unknown number of nurses. The attack, which took place recently, has left the community in shock, as insecurity continues to plague the region. Ejes Gist News Nigeria reports that the bandits initially targeted a nearby school, likely expecting to find students. However, after discovering the school empty, the assailants redirected their attack to the PHC, where nurses were present on duty. The local leader, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, confirmed the incident, describing the situation as alarming. Read Also: Ajaero: ‘Necessary Step’ – Odua Peoples Assembly Backs Arrest Of NLC President “They arrived in the area and went straight to a nearby school, thinking they would find students. However, the school was empty, so they proceeded to the PHC in Kuyello and abducted the nurses on duty,” the source said. Local youth leader Baba Isah, who also verified the event, stated that two nurses were on duty during the attack. However, it remains unclear whether any patients were taken hostage, as the majority had already left the facility before the bandits arrived. Read Also: Full-Blown Dictatorship Activated as SSS Lays Siege at SERAP’s Office The abduction has heightened concerns about the safety of health workers and residents in Kaduna, a state that has faced recurring attacks by criminal groups. The Birnin Gwari Area, in particular, has become a hotspot for banditry, with communities and institutions being regular targets. As of the time of this report, there has been no official response from either the Kaduna State Government or the Nigeria Police Force. Residents of the area have called for urgent security interventions to prevent further incidents and ensure the safe return of the abducted nurses. The attack is the latest in a string of kidnappings that continue to challenge authorities in northern Nigeria, where insecurity has disrupted daily life, healthcare delivery, and education.

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39dreams · 2 years

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Breaking: President Buhari's Convoy Attacked, Two Injured

Breaking: President Buhari’s Convoy Attacked, Two Injured

Bandits opened fire on the advance convoy of Nigeria’s President The Presidency Monday night confirmed an attack on the convoy of President Muhammadu Buhari’s advance team to Katsina. The Presidency also said that two persons, who sustained injuries as a result of the attack, were receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital. News also reaching us at the time of filing this report, has it…

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#Daura #Gunmen attack Buhari&039;s convoy #Is Nigeria safe #Katsina #Kuje prison attack #latest news from Nigeria #Latest news on activities of bandits in Nigeria #Nigeria&039;s president convoy attack #President Buhari #President Buhari&039;s advance convoy attack #Rising rate of insecurity in Nigeria #Sallah festival #The state of the nation #Who attacked Buhari&039;s convoy

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newstfionline · 3 years

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Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Louisiana students (AP) After nearly 18 months of pandemic-caused schooling delays, Louisiana was just getting ready to welcome students back with open arms when Hurricane Ida struck the state. Over 150,000 students are now out of school again thanks to the storm, and with test scores steadily declining, parents are concerned for more than a few reasons. Given the devastation left behind by the hurricane, many parents were hoping for their children to have somewhere to go to escape the heat or ruined homes they were left with. Nearly half of the students are expected to return to classes later this week, but the rest are still in limbo, unsure how long the recovery will take. In some areas, temporary or makeshift classrooms will need to be set up, but even if that can be accomplished, the students may not be able to get to them. With many left unable to go back to their homes, students without power or running water are going to struggle to make it to their classrooms.

Biden Declassifies Secret FBI Report Detailing Saudi Nationals’ Connections To 9/11 (NPR) The Biden administration has declassified a 16-page FBI report tying 9/11 hijackers to Saudi nationals living in the United States. The document, written in 2016, summarized an FBI investigation into those ties called Operation ENCORE. The partially redacted report shows a closer relationship than had been previously known between two Saudis in particular—including one with diplomatic status—and some of the hijackers. Families of the 9/11 victims have long sought after the report, which painted a starkly different portrait than the one described by the 9/11 Commission Report in 2004. While the report does not draw any direct links between hijackers and the Saudi Arabian government as a whole, Jim Kreindler, who represents many of the families suing Saudi Arabia, said the report validates the arguments they have made in the case. “This document, together with the public evidence gathered to date, provides a blueprint for how al-Qaida operated inside the U.S.,” he said, “with the active, knowing support of the Saudi government.” The Saudi government has long maintained that any connections between Saudi nationals and the hijackers were coincidental.

The U.S. Senate returns (1440) The U.S. Senate reconvenes today following its August recess, with President Joe Biden’s signature agenda item, a $3.5 trillion spending plan that would expand the social safety net and invest billions in climate programs, still facing roadblocks. Democratic Senator Joe Manchin, a key vote in a divided Senate, spoke out on Sunday against the level of spending and suggested lawmakers adopt a slower approach than the Sept. 27 deadline advocated by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Two women campaign to become France’s 1st female president (AP) Two French politicians kicked off their presidential campaigns Sunday, seeking to become France’s first female leader in next year’s spring election. The far-right National Rally party’s Marine Le Pen and Paris’ Socialist mayor, Anne Hidalgo, both launched their presidential platforms in widely expected moves. They join a burgeoning list of challengers to centrist President Emmanuel Macron. This includes battles among multiple potential candidates on the right—including another female politician Valerie Pecresse—and among the Greens. Macron, 43, has not yet announced his reelection bid but is expected to do so.

Pope, in Slovakia, warns European countries against being self-centred (Reuters) Pope Francis warned against too much focus on individual rights and culture wars at the expense of the common good on Monday during a visit to Slovakia amid increased nationalism and anti-immigrant sentiment across eastern Europe. The 84-year-old Francis, looking fit, is making his first trip since undergoing intestinal surgery in July. Asked by a reporter on Monday how he felt, he joked: “Still alive.” On the first papal visit to Slovakia since 2003, Francis returned to a theme he had touched on during a stopover on Sunday in Hungary on how nations should avoid a selfish, defensive mentality, as he recalled the region’s communist past. “In these lands, until just a few decades ago, a single thought system (communism) stifled freedom. Today another single thought system is emptying freedom of meaning, reducing progress to profit and rights only to individual needs,” Francis said. “Our Christian way of looking at others refuses to see them as a burden or a problem, but rather as brothers and sisters to be helped and protected,” he said on Monday.

Hi-tech Zapad-2021 (Reuters) The “Zapad-2021” war games is a joint military drill between Russia and Belarus, which has alarmed Ukraine and some NATO countries due to the inclusion of sites near the European Union’s borders. Reports from the defense ministry have stated that Russia unveiled new combat robots and tactical vehicles on the second day of the active main phase of the war games. According to Russian news agencies, troops used Platform-M combat robots, which are controlled remotely and armed with grenade launchers and a machine gun. New Sarmat-2 tactical vehicles were also seen. President Vladimir Putin denies the drills are directed against any foreign power and says they are sensible given increased NATO activity near Russia’s borders and those of its allies.

Chinese city with coronavirus outbreak stops buses, trains (AP) A city in southern China that is trying to contain a coronavirus outbreak told the public Sunday not to leave town, suspended bus and train service and closed cinemas, bars and other facilities. Anyone who needs to leave Putian, a city of 2.9 million people in Fujian province south of Shanghai, for an essential trip must have proof of a negative coronavirus test within the past 48 hours, the city government announced. China declared the coronavirus under control in early 2020 but has suffered outbreaks of the more contagious delta variant. Authorities say most cases are traced to travelers arriving from Russia, Myanmar and other countries. In Putian, 19 new infections that were believed to have been acquired locally were reported in the 24 hours through midnight Saturday, according to the National Health Commission.

North Korea Reports Long Range Cruise Missile Test as Arms Race Intensifies (NYT) North Korea said on Monday it had successfully launched newly developed long-range cruise missiles, its first missile test in six months and a new indication that an arms race between North and South Korea was heating up on the Korean Peninsula. In the tests that took place on Saturday and Sunday, the North Korean missiles hit targets 1,500 kilometers (932 miles) away after flying more than two hours, said the North’s official Korean Central News Agency. The missiles changed their trajectories and made circles before hitting their targets, it said. A series of resolutions from the United Nations Security Council banned North Korea from developing or testing ballistic missiles, but not cruise missiles. The latest tests showed that North Korea continued to improve its arsenal of missiles while nuclear disarmament talks with the United States remained stalled.

Taliban: Women can study in gender-segregated universities (AP) Women in Afghanistan can continue to study in universities, including at post-graduate levels, but classrooms will be gender-segregated and Islamic dress is compulsory, the Taliban government’s new higher education minister said Sunday. The world has been watching closely to see to what extent the Taliban might act differently from their first time in power, in the late 1990s. During that era, girls and women were denied an education, and were excluded from public life. The Taliban have suggested they have changed, including in their attitudes toward women. However, women have been banned from sports and the Taliban have used violence in recent days against women protesters demanding equal rights.

Israel hits Hamas targets in Gaza in response to rocket fire (AP) Israeli aircraft struck a series of targets in the Gaza Strip early Monday in response to rocket launches out of the Hamas-ruled territory. It was the third consecutive night of fighting between the two sides, even as Israel’s foreign minister sought to dangle incentives for calm. Tensions have risen after last week’s escape from an Israeli prison by six Palestinian inmates, as well as struggling efforts by Egypt to broker a long-term cease-fire in the wake of an 11-day war last May. The Israeli military reported three separate rocket launches late Sunday and early Monday, saying at least two of them were intercepted by its rocket defenses. In response, it said it attacked a number of Hamas targets. There were no reports of casualties on either side.

Nigeria says 75 abducted children released amid army crackdown (Reuters) Seventy-five children who were kidnapped from their school in Nigeria’s northwestern Zamfara State have been released after their abductors came under pressure from a military crackdown, a state official said on Monday. More than 1,100 children have been seized since December last year. Authorities say they were abducted by heavily armed gangs of bandits seeking ransoms.

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morningusa · 4 years

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ladystylestores · 4 years

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The motorcycle bandits terrorising northern Nigeria

Illustration

Motorcycle-riding armed bandits operating out of abandoned forest reserves are ransacking communities in Nigeria’s north-west.

The groups are the latest to join Nigeria’s lucrative kidnap for ransom industry, and are quite brazen in their operations.

In the last decade more than 8,000 people have been killed in the states of Kebbi, Sokoto, Niger and Zamfara, according to the International Crisis Group.

But recent attacks in the president’s home state of Katsina, where more than 100 people were killed in attacks between April and June, have led to protests and calls for his resignation.

Vigilante groups have emerged in the north-west because of growing lawlessness

On two separate occasions the bandits targeted villagers who had received food handouts from the government during the coronavirus lockdown.

“They were about 200 on motorbikes, each bike rider carried a passenger and they all carried AK47 guns,” Bashir Kadisau, an eyewitness, told the BBC.

He said he climbed to the top of a tree when he saw the large number of motorcycle riders coming into Kadisau village, and saw the attackers loot shops, steal cattle and grain, and shoot people who were fleeing.

Climate change fuels conflict

The attacks are rooted in decades-long competition over resources between ethnic Fulani herders and farming communities.

Water scarcity has made it more difficult for Fulani pastoralists to graze their cattle

The herders are mostly nomadic and can be found on major highways and streets across the country herding their cattle, but they have become involved in deadly clashes with farmers in Nigeria’s north-western and central states.

This is because these areas have suffered massive deforestation, due to the impact of the Sahara Desert spreading south, causing arable farming land to disappear and water to become scarce.

Nigeria’s security challenges. [ Militant Islamists in the north-east ],[ Armed bandits in the north-west and centre ],[ Farmers and herders in the north-west and centre ],[ Street gangs in the south-west ],[ Biafra separatists in the south-east ],[ Oil militants in the Niger Delta ], Source: Source: BBC, Image: An oil militant in Nigeria’s Niger Delta holding a machine gun

“The persistent clashes led to the formation of armed self-help groups, called vigilantes, by both sides for protection,” security analyst Kabiru Adamu told the BBC.

‘Kidnapping more lucrative than herding cows’

Armed groups within Fulani communities are being accused of resorting to criminality.

“The herders now see kidnapping and pillaging as more lucrative than the herding.

Story continues

“The biggest cow would go for 200,000 naira but one kidnapping would fetch millions,” Dr Adamu said.

Herders sell their cattle in markets across Nigeria

Nigeria’s Fulani herders deny the accusation.

The main Fulani cattle-breeders association, Miyetti Allah (Hausa for Thank You God), said they are the ones mostly affected by the activities of the bandits and that hundreds of their members have been kidnapped.

“Our cows have been rustled. The bandits are a bunch of criminals comprising all sorts of groups. We have lost 30% of cattle in Nigeria to different types of crises,” Miyetti Allah’s national secretary Baba Othman Ngelzarma told the BBC.

He said the attackers in Nigeria’s north-west were “foreign herders from neighbouring countries”.

Map: Nigeria

Nigeria’s north-west, an area almost the size of the UK, borders Niger and criminal gangs criss-cross between the two countries, evading security.

‘Herders seek revenge’

The borders are porous and the vast forest reserves in the border regions have been turned into operational bases for the bandits.

Police say the attacks in the north-west are being carried out by criminal gangs, as well as Fulani herdsmen.

“The Fulani herders suddenly realised that they now have arms to protect themselves. But they are not just protecting themselves, they are also going after those who wronged them in the past,” Isah Gambo, police spokesman in Katsina state, told the BBC.

Kidnapping for ransom is widespread in Nigeria, with victims forced to pay between $20 and $200,000 for their freedom.

At its height in 2017 and 2018, the major road connecting the capital Abuja in central Nigeria to Kaduna in the north-west had 10 kidnappings per day with 20 different groups operating on the route, the police head of a special unit fighting kidnappers, Abba Kyari, told the BBC.

Peace deal with bandits

The governor of Katsina state, Aminu Bello Masari, went into the forest hideout of the bandits last year, negotiating a deal that would see them escape prosecution in exchange for stopping the attacks.

The conflict has caused much destruction in northern Nigeria

But he caused shock among many Nigerians when he appeared in a photo standing next to a bandit wielding an AK-47 rifle.

Businessman Nasif Ahmad, who had been kidnapped in Katsina only days before, condemned the governor for making the deal.

“How can a state government go into a deal with bandits who have no education, have no sympathy or faith and behave like animals,” he said.

Mr Ahmad said he fought off the bandits after they abducted him, and spent the night in the forest.

“I felt very, very bad when I heard about the governor going into a deal with them,” he told the BBC.

Buhari targeted

The governor said at the time that the talks were aimed at ending the “incessant wanton destruction of lives and property”, and were yielding positive results.

But last month, Mr Masari told journalists that the peace deal was off because of continuing attacks.

“These bandits come to town, spray bullets, kill indiscriminately for no purpose and no reason whatsoever. How can a human being behave the way an animal cannot behave?” he asked.

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Last month’s street protests in Katsina saw angry protesters burn down an old campaign billboard of President Muhammadu Buhari, the clearest indication yet that people in his home state had run out of patience.

Mr Buhari, a retired army general, was elected in 2015 on promises of solving Nigeria’s various security challenges.

But in his time, a deadly Islamic insurgency has continued to rage in the north-east, while criminal activities, along with the farmer-herder clashes, appear to have escalated in the north-west and central states.

President Buhari wants to reserve grazing areas for the herdsmen

Nigeria’s military is currently carrying out an operation on the orders of the president to “sweep bandits and kidnappers” out of his home state.

Mr Buhari has also attempted to solve the underlying reasons for the conflict by proposing grazing reserves for the herders.

But in a country divided along ethnic lines, many powerful state governors refused to buy into the project, accusing the president, a Fulani, of hatching a plan to seize land for his ethnic group.

It is increasingly clear that the lines between the farmer-herder clashes and banditry are becoming more blurred in the north-west, and as the Katsina state governor learned, bandits do not keep their word.

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olaluwe · 5 years

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It is no longer news that in addition to being randomly killed by one of cattle rustling bandits, ethnic clashes, politically related violence, arms bearing herdsmen, armed robbers, and lastly the dreaded Boko Haram, Nigerians in their numbers and across different age brackets are also committing suicide.

The rates could be higher because not all cases will get to the media. And as it were, if they are not jumping into the Lagoon or other bodies of water and taking a cocktail of a sniper, they are hanging themselves by the ceiling fan and the likes.

So far, the scourge has been blamed on a number of factors like a failure in examination, emotional disappointments, unemployment blah, blah, blah!

Meanwhile, all these advanced causes can be punctured in one way or the other because there are people who actually suffered the same conditions if not more and didn't take their lives.

So, it is clear to me that people commit suicide not necessarily because of these aforementioned causes. But because the coping mechanisms available to them are either weak or non-existent when life throws at them it curved bows.

For this reason, however, in their usual reactionary manners the government at the center has decided to place a blanket ban on a number of things that have been linked with the recent suicide cases.

The latest is the mooted ban on the production of a sniper in small sizes. You would recall that the government sometimes ago placed a ban on pharmaceutical drugs like tramadol and codeine purportedly because Nigerians were reportedly abusing them. Yet, these items somehow still find their way to their abusers.

What, therefore, remains to be ban some Nigerians have joked is the Lagoon and other bodies of water, ropes, and the likes which suicidal people also use to fast track their cowardly but damning intentions?

Good as the measure like banning may look; it will forever remain a far cry from what should be done to tackle some these spiking social malaises especially suicide.

Because at the end of the day, there are other instrumentalities to this unfortunate trend, like I mentioned earlier, that the government, even if they wanted to ban them, really can't do much about.

Therefore, we are stuck somewhere not very close to our desire destination in terms of solution.

Now I hope and pray I don't sound pessimistic if I say that the incidents of suicide have always been with us and will always be with us.

Just as we have in more developed countries like China which has one of the worst suicide records in the world, there are shreds of evidence of legal and illegal suicides everywhere you turn. In some western countries, euthanasia is legal.

Likewise in ancient Yoruba societies, kings and their subjects have been forced to commit suicide purportedly for breaching certain section of societal or royal codes the same way people commit suicide for reasons ranging from serious to ridiculous.

The culpable king is forced to open the ‘death calabash’ and he is home and dry. Isn’t that a form of euthanasia?

For example, I also have a friend back in the day, who committed suicide because he was sexually impotent.

While it might be instructive that even the most developed countries of the world in terms of social, political, and economic systems are also grappling with the same challenge, nevertheless, we cannot still excuse our situation from been seeing for what it is. It is drastic! And a drastic situation they say requires drastic action or response if you prefer.

It, therefore, means that a holistic national action plan with inputs from the relevant stakeholders is urgently required to stem the tide of the scourge.

And as if the conspicuous ways people commit suicides are not enough, there are other ways in which Nigerians, just like suicidal people from around the world commit suicide with little or no attention being called to them.

Maybe because some of them are regular actions and inactions that’s why people don’t think there should be a conversation around them.

In this post, I’ve listed a few of them, nine to be precise. And they are as follow.

1. Over speeding. Over speeding is universally acknowledge the cause of untimely deaths of people.

Nigerians also indulge in this act despite repeated warning from the relevant agency like the federal road safety Corp which has over the years been involved in sensitization campaigns across the country.

So, the point I’m making is the moment you are as a driver is tempted to over speed, you are simply making suicidal moves.

And if people around fail to intervene by cautioning you, it might actually happen and we will all be sorry at the end of the day.

2. Dating a married woman. Lustful people, I know, dates for the game of pleasure. And it is fine if done with single ladies.

However, there are people who go out of their way to make passes at married women. And I’ve seen people paid with their lives right from when I was a teenager.

If they are not a victim of diabolical Magun which the husbands of the coquettish wives may have laced them with, they are been attacked physically sometimes with deathly consequence.

3. Disobeying the traffic light. Disobeying traffic rules is a known cause of untimely deaths in major cities around the world and Nigeria is not excluded.

I’ve seen accidents with casualties which ought not to have happened around these strategic points in our cities simply because of road users deliberately ignore the instructions of these machines.

They are either in a haste to get somewhere or because there is no traffic on the other lanes and so just decided to a chance. The resultant outcomes have always not been palatable.

4. Drinking and driving. ‘If you drink, don’t drive; and if you drive don’t drink is a popular campaign slogan on our radio and television stations’.

Unfortunately, it has often gone unheeded to by road users who are addicted to alcohol. For this willful act, a lot of road users have not only killed themselves, they have also killed others.

5. Making and receiving a call while driving. Making and receiving calls while driving I’m aware has been outlawed in Nigeria.

Nevertheless, people can still be seen willfully engaging in it everywhere you turn. It is suicidal and a lot of people have actually lost their lives directly or indirectly from the act.

6. Drug addiction. Drug addiction can be likened to suicidal attempt because while under the influence of one psychotropic substance or the other people get to do some desperately self-endangering stunt without knowing.

In fact, many drug addicts have died from over-indulging in drugs that are proven to be addictive.

7. Allowing pressure of worldly standard gets to them. Allowing the pressure of worldly standards to get to you also could be suicidal.

This is a trap many people, especially the youths, fall into because they are unable to put on their ability to selectively expose themselves to the display of questionable wealthy whether on social media or in real life situation.

This has the capacity to push them into desperately craving for things through the wrong approaches.

Every now and then, we hear of youths who get involved in diabolical activities to get rich.

This, of course, is responsible for the rising incidents of deaths amongst the youths in Nigeria.

8. Not getting enough sleep before embarking on activities that may put your life on the line. This is very common among commercial drivers who travel the length and breadth of the country.

Most times they don’t get enough sleep while they are under pressure to meet an occupational deadline.

This act of negligence has more often than not resulted in avoidable deaths of culpable drivers and innocent travelers who have no clue what the drivers are been subjected to by their employers.

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coin-river-blog · 6 years

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A poor and densely populated country stuck at number 137 worldwide in the economic prosperity rankings, with a per capita GDP of just about $2,000 – this would be the perfect proving ground to show once and for all that left wing economics can successfully turn the fortunes of a struggling people around, and give the world an alternative to its failing capitalist system.

When Godwin Emefiele became governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in 2014, Africa’s largest economy stood at the brink of a historic change of power between the widely-derided pro-market incumbent president and his wannabe Robin Hood-type challenger.

After five years of paper economic growth, Nigerians were ready to dispose of president Goodluck Jonathan who was perceived as a bumbling centrist and replace him with Africa’s answer to a 20th century Latin American left-wing firebrand. In Muhammadu Buhari, voters saw the saviour – a man with a number of views to the left of Hugo Chavez and an odd habit of appearing in public throwing up Nelson Mandela’s fist salute.

Buhari has made a habit of copying Nelson Mandela’s black power salute even though Nigeria has never had anything close to an anti-apartheid struggle | Source: Reuters/Getty

He was the guy to upset the established order, fight corruption and spread some of that 7 percent GDP growth around for the benefit of the impoverished Nigerian masses. Desperate to keep his job following the election, Emefiele allowed himself to become Buhari’s rubber stamp for the next four years. What happened next should be studied and used as case study material for decades to come in high school Economics textbooks.

First Tragedy, Then Farce, Then Stereotype

One of the most unfortunate stereotypes in existence is that of the maniacal African president gallivanting around his astonishingly poor country in a solid gold limousine powered by the cries of little children dying of malaria, while eating the sautéed tongues of his political opponents and keeping a white dude called Seamus as a pet in his 75-bedroom royal palace.

While Buhari is hopefully guilty of none of those things, he certainly did nothing to challenge his reputation as an arrogant statist and an unrepentant tribalist. He set the tone for how he would govern over the next four years during a 2015 interview in Washington DC, where he openly stated that those who gave him 97 percent of their votes and those who gave him 5 percent of their votes “cannot in all honesty be treated equally on some issues.”

In time-honoured African dictator fashion, Buhari was letting the world know that he had no idea how to actually deliver on his “Unicorns For All” left wing populist campaign, and so he would do what all left wing populists do – deflect attention from his performance by inflaming ethnic, religious and class tensions so as to rule by division.

As oil prices tanked from 2015 through 2017, taking a disastrous toll on the Nigerian Naira, Buhari’s solution was to fix an unrealistic official exchange rate and attempt to shore it up by banning the imports of just about anything he could get his hands on. Emefiele complied, and the CBN in 2016 released a list of 41 items that it would no longer release forex for. The list, which was the socialist government’s Big Idea for arresting the Naira’s slump, included everything from foreign currency bonds to tinned fish, and – for some reason – Indian incense.

Unsurprisingly, the policy failed and the Naira fell even further, at one point recording a near-100 percent divergence between official and parallel exchange rates.

Over the course of Emefiele’s tenure, the Naira has been one of the world’s worst-performing fiat currencies | Source: Bloomberg

As the forex scarcity began to bite, with parents unable to send money to their kids in school abroad, Buhari took another step from the left wing populist playbook.

In a 2016 interview with CNN’s Christine Amanpour, he implied that such parents were “living above their means,” – a nod to their possible involvement in illegal activity.

After watching this you won't be surprised when they tell you to "live within your means". Watch and retweet. pic.twitter.com/oS1PLYrUE0

— Opeyemi Ogunleye (@Adewoleomoluabi) March 7, 2019

Expectedly, this had the desired effect at home, with one economic half of the country left aghast at the comments and the other half gleefully taking the rare opportunity to stick the boot into arrogant rich people. Nigeria’s economic and monetary policy descended into farce on Emefiele’s watch, but at least he got to keep his job. Like all champagne socialists, his self interest trumped anything else.

‘Dancing Headless Chicken’ Economics

Perhaps the most striking feature of Emefiele’s tenure was the sheer divergence between publicly stated policy and their end results. While the CBN was busy banning people from importing Indian incense and cold-rolled steel sheets, it authorised expensive forex subsidies for religious pilgrims heading to Mecca and Jerusalem, ostensibly because their prayers would revalue the Naira.

Of course said prayers did precisely nothing, as the Naira only slipped some more, leaving frustrated Nigerians questioning the rationale behind such decisions. It felt at one point like a re-enactment of a parody with the CBN insisting on maintaining multiple exchange rates instead of floating the currency for the market to decide, while at the same time approving or refusing forex applications on a seemingly arbitrary basis.

Emefiele’s tenure at the helm of Nigeria’s central bank has at times felt like a live action reenactment of a South Park parody | Source: South Park Studios

Again as with every other left wing authoritarian government in the history of humanity, what really happened is that some well-connected people got rich amidst the chaos, taking advantage of multiple exchange rates to carry out arbitrage trading. In public, some people were throwing up the black power fist and railing against “looters.” In private, their friends and family made out like bandits, all the while being cheered by the adoring poor who were apparently socking it to the “rich looters” whom Buhari referenced about 50,000 times a day.

Unsurprisingly, amidst this level of brigandage, official monetary policy failed to have the impact that it should normally have.

Despite being a developing economy with a severe lack of investment in its real sector, Nigeria is one of the most expensive places to borrow money in the world | Source: Trading Economics

Nigeria is now in a weird situation where it has both an absurdly high central bank exchange rate and double-digit inflation that shows no signs of slowing significantly.

In defiance of all known economic principles, Nigeria’s inflation rate has spiked despite absurdly high interest rates | Source: Statista

What Begins in Farce Ends in Farce

With the expiration of his tenure due in June 2019, Emefiele reportedly wrote to the President informing him of the impending date. After four years of belying every bit of economic knowledge and common sense available to him on the altar of his job, he probably expected Buhari to reward his loyalty and extend his tenure.

Instead according to Bloomberg, the President replied thanking him for his service, and indications are that he will be asked to proceed on a three month terminal leave. President Buhari apparently wants to hire his own man to pick up where Emefiele left off. The reason? According to sources close to the Presidency, the President is under pressure from his allies to appoint a northerner as the new governor of the apex bank.

The economic future of Africa’s largest country and one of the world’s most strategically important countries is now being decided on the basis of petty tribal politics, because that is all that populist socialism has to offer. Buhari himself is accomplished in his understanding of ethnic horse trading, having strategically packed the vast majority of key appointments in his administration with northerners like himself.

If this is questioned, the official response is always that the person in question is the “most competent” available. This plays well with the northern audience who eager to score one over their more prosperous southern counterparts whom they perceive as arrogant.

While it may play well unfortunately, it does little to address the reality that Northern Nigeria still has some of the worst human development index figures in the world, which will not be remedied through appointments.

The bias is so glaring that some social media users in Nigeria now refer to President Buhari using a tongue-in-cheek Game of Thrones reference as ‘King of the North’

All Hail Muhammadu Buhari of Daura, first of his name, King Of the North, King Beyond the North, Lord of Aso Rock, the Retired soldier, the Undead, Lord of the 36 states, protector of the realm, Lord commander of the Nigeria Army, Knower of Nothing, the appointer of the Dead… pic.twitter.com/NKwhPUqbyw

— CERTIFIED TROUBLE MAKER™ (@Iam_KingBuchi) February 26, 2019

Emefiele’s example shows that under the governance of Africa’s latest iteration of tired, discredited socialist ideas, it is possible to ignore your professional instincts as a central banker and fall in line with the government’s goal of equal poverty distribution and demonization of ideological opponents, but at the end of it all, lose your job because you come from the ‘wrong’ ethnicity. The rule of left wing populism after all, is self-preservation using lowest common denominator politics.

Regardless of who the president picks to succeed Emefiele, one thing is clear, it is definitely not about coming up with economic policies that create wealth or improve the economy for Nigerians. Nigeria’s newly re-elected left wing populist administration is more interested in throwing red meat to the country’s lower classes by pushing a “live within your means” narrative containing an implicit accusation of the middle and upper classes.

The economy? Who cares about that when you can throw out a few meaningless slogans and clench your fists in public?

Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are solely those of the author and do not represent those of, nor should they be attributed to, CCN.

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pipstheatre · 6 years

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Dwindling Farmland Sparks a Deadly Conflict in Nigeria

AYA MBALOM, Nigeria— Bridget Ambua was gathering for Mass with residents of this farming community in April when gunmen surrounded their grass-roofed church and opened fire, leaving two priests and 17 worshipers dead within minutes.

“They killed as many men as they could,” the 65-year old grandmother said, including three of her relatives. “A young boy pointed his weapon at me. I still can’t comprehend why he didn’t pull the trigger.”

The massacre at Aya Mbalom village—the latest clash in what has become the deadliest conflict to roil Africa’s most-populous nation—comes after a year of attacks and reprisals that have left more than 1,500 people dead and pushed more than half a million from their homes across Nigeria’s most-fertile farming regions.

Bridget Ambua sits in her room at her house in Aya Mbalom.

The clashes are the result of a battle over dwindling supplies of farmland between mainly Christian farming communities and mainly Muslim herdsmen who have for centuries lived in relative harmony.

Fighting has intensified in recent months after the government passed new laws to halt grazing in a bid to stop the deadly clashes and raise agricultural output.

Officials fear the conflict could intensify ahead of elections next year that are considered a referendum on how President Muhammadu Buhari has addressed violence in the country, including the war against the government being waged by Islamist insurgency Boko Haram. President Donald Trump raised the issue of Christian killings in this month’s White House meeting with Mr. Buhari.

Nigeria’s media and Christian politicians say the murders are the work of “killer herdsmen”: nomadic cattle farmers from the Fulani ethnic group, armed with machine guns and Kalashnikovs. Fulani leaders say they are defending themselves from farming communities that have formed militias to hunt and kill them.

Nigeria’s government has said criminal elements have penetrated both sides. Senior security officials say some Fulani groups have hired defectors from Boko Haram to carry out killings, a claim the herdsmen deny.

A Growing Conflict The combination of increasingly dried out pasture land, banditry in the northwest and the threat of Boko Haram in the northeast has pushed many of Nigeria’s cattle herders south, where conflicts with farming communities have risen.

Source: International Crisis Group

Nigeria’s government this month declared a national-security emergency and pledged to deploy specialized agricultural-protection divisions across thousands of miles. Farmers have been angered by what they see as the tepid response from Mr. Buhari—himself of Fulani stock—who has called the killings “regrettable” and blamed bandits trained by Libya’s former dictator, Moammar Gadhafi.

Some analysts say the clashes could foreshadow broader resource wars across West Africa’s Sahel—the semiarid region bedeviled by a confluence of rising jihadist activity and surging migration—and around the continent.

“Confrontation between the Fulani and other Nigerian groups could have regional repercussions, drawing in fighters from neighboring countries,” the International Crisis Group said in a report: “These clashes are becoming as dangerous as the Boko Haram insurgency.”

The herdsman communities—concentrated in the Sahel but moving their herds across thousands of miles to Central African Republic from Senegal—have traditionally taken cattle south during dry season to graze—and in return fertilize farmers’ land.

But longer dry seasons, the expansion of the desert and one of the world’s fastest-growing populations, has destroyed that equilibrium. In northern states such Sokoto, Katsina, Bauchi and Kano, as much as 75% of land is becoming desert, according to the International Crisis Group, forcing herders further south, often heavily armed. There they have met settled farmers who are harvesting more land as the pressure to feed a population estimated to swell to 400 million by 2050, from an estimated 186 million, larger than the U.S.

A farmer works on his field in Mbalom, Benue state.

Diplomats in the capital Abuja said the land conflict could be politically toxic for the government.

“This is extremely serious—it could make or break the elections. Buhari himself is at risk,” a senior Western official said. “He has been so late to address these issues.”

For now, the crisis is reverberating across Nigeria’s fertile states, known as the middle belt.

In Benue’s capital Makurdi, checkpoints have been erected on roads to affected villages. The production of food—including cassava, maize and soy—has collapsed, local officials said. Villagers are organizing into local defense forces.

Local officials say Fulani herdsmen are occupying farms in more than 70 villages, sending thousands fleeing and rendering more than half of the state inaccessible. On Makurdi’s outskirts, two camps now house 30,000 displaced people, with more arriving daily. At one camp, housed in a dilapidated primary school, two toilets serve 10,000 people.

The Daudu IDP camp, which was formerly a school, started housing people from displaced communities in January 2018 after suspected Fulani herdsmen launched an attack.

Benue Gov. Samuel Ortom warns that the sectarian dynamic of attacks on churches risked moving the conflict into dangerous new territory.

“Islamic State, Boko Haram or Fulani mercenaries, they are all working toward achieving one agenda—which is invading and taking over our land,” he said.

Fulani groups said the killings are the work of marginal criminal elements and warn that Mr. Ortom’s rhetoric is evidence of prejudice against them.

“The conflict has become uncontrolled, religious and sectarian. Politicians are using it for their own purposes and the language recalls Rwanda before the genocide,” said Usman Ngelzerma, head of Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeder’s Association, Nigeria’s largest Fulani advocacy group, as he looked through a book showing bludgeoned corpses of slain Fulanis. “Above all, the media is biased against us. They are uniting each and every community is hatred of our people.”

Mr. Ngelzerma said the 20 million cattle farmers, who own 50 million livestock, demand a repeal of the new laws restricting grazing.

Civil-society groups have proposed establishing grazing reserves that could provide pasture for some 20 million cattle.

Some members of the Catholic Men organization put the deceased in their final resting place, Makurdi.

Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka has called for international intervention, warning the killings could spiral into the kind of ethnic cleansing seen in Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

On Tuesday, Benue’s farming community buried the two dead pastors in an emotionally charged ceremony attended by 20 bishops and thousands including Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. The site chosen for the burial is heavy with symbolism—a 40-foot cross atop a hill overlooking the farmland.

Mr. Osinbajo urged the community to forgive, promising that the government would apprehend the culprits and rebuild damaged communities.

Iornongu Geoffrey, the 63-year-old pastor administering the slain priests’ dioceses, echoed the community’s anger.

“These priests were killed in their complete dressing. These people knew what they were doing,” he said. “The government has to give us arms so we can have courage.”

Mercy, 16, from Aya Mbalom weeps profusely shortly after she witnessed the burial of some members of her community in Makurdi.

Write to Joe Parkinson at [email protected]

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newssplashy · 6 years

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CAN Commiserates With Catholics, Church

The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has commiserated with the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) as it conducts mass burial for the two priests and parishioners killed by alleged Fulani herdsmen in Benue State recently. CAN in a statement yesterday signed by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the special assistant media and communications, to the CAN President, Rev Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, described the present moment in Nigeria as a trying time for the church, adding, “We also urge all Christians to identify with the Catholic Church in its nationwide peaceful protest against senseless killings in Nigeria.” CAN asked the Nigerian security agencies to rise up to the security challenges in the country. It contends that security operatives have no excuse for the failure to stop the unending senseless killings in Nigeria. It expressed dismay that killings of the innocent is assuming global embarrassment with mass burial being conducted at all times even when the country is not at war. The organisation called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to forget his 2015 campaign promises including fighting insecurity and keeping Nigeria united which was why Nigerians overwhelmingly voted for him. It said that Buhari’s government should not fold arms and watch misguided Nigerians, mostly Boko Haram and herdsmen promote killing while solution appears very elusive. CAN said, “It is disheartening to note that criminal Fulani herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers and other hoodlums have reduced Nigeria to a Banana Republic. “This development is unacceptable and we call on all well-meaning people anywhere in the world to join hands in praying for the deliverance, freedom and liberty from this self-inflicted bondage.” While CAN is not opposed to the President’s exercise of his civic right by seeking re-election to the office of president for second term, the body urged him to halt his campaign for now and attend to the security problems occasioned by the criminal activities of the terrorists, herdsmen and bandits. CAN asks President Buhari to suspend his re-election bid until he restores sanity to the country while ensuring the release of Leah Sharibu, the remaining Chibok girls and other abductees from the captivity of the Boko Haram terrorists. Read More at: https://ift.tt/2knaXw1 The Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has commiserated with the Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria (CSN) as it conducts mass burial for the two priests and parishioners killed by alleged Fulani herdsmen in Benue State recently. CAN in a statement yesterday signed by Pastor Adebayo Oladeji, the special assistant media and communications, to the CAN President, Rev Samson Olasupo Ayokunle, described the present moment in Nigeria as a trying time for the church, adding, “We also urge all Christians to identify with the Catholic Church in its nationwide peaceful protest against senseless killings in Nigeria.” CAN asked the Nigerian security agencies to rise up to the security challenges in the country. It contends that security operatives have no excuse for the failure to stop the unending senseless killings in Nigeria. It expressed dismay that killings of the innocent is assuming global embarrassment with mass burial being conducted at all times even when the country is not at war. The organisation called on President Muhammadu Buhari not to forget his 2015 campaign promises including fighting insecurity and keeping Nigeria united which was why Nigerians overwhelmingly voted for him. It said that Buhari’s government should not fold arms and watch misguided Nigerians, mostly Boko Haram and herdsmen promote killing while solution appears very elusive. CAN said, “It is disheartening to note that criminal Fulani herdsmen, bandits, kidnappers and other hoodlums have reduced Nigeria to a Banana Republic. “This development is unacceptable and we call on all well-meaning people anywhere in the world to join hands in praying for the deliverance, freedom and liberty from this self-inflicted bondage.” While CAN is not opposed to the President’s exercise of his civic right by seeking re-election to the office of president for second term, the body urged him to halt his campaign for now and attend to the security problems occasioned by the criminal activities of the terrorists, herdsmen and bandits. CAN asks President Buhari to suspend his re-election bid until he restores sanity to the country while ensuring the release of Leah Sharibu, the remaining Chibok girls and other abductees from the captivity of the Boko Haram terrorists.

source https://www.newssplashy.com/2018/05/can-commiserates-with-catholics-church_23.html

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Top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines online Today, What are the top Nigerian Newspaper Headlines for Today? Staying updated on the latest developments in Nigeria is essential, especially in today's fast-paced world. Here are the top 13 Nigerian newspaper headlines for August 25, 2024, that capture the most significant news across the country. From breaking stories to in-depth analyses, these headlines reflect the top news in Nigeria this morning. Whether you're interested in politics, business, or social issues, these latest Nigerian newspaper headlines will keep you informed. Dive into the top stories in Nigeria today and stay ahead with the latest updates. The latest Nigerian headlines for August 25, 2024: Here are the detailed headlines from Nigerian newspapers for today, Sunday, August 25, 2024: 1. Ribadu Comes Under Fire As Bandits Overwhelm Security Agencies: Stakeholders have criticized the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration for its ineffective security framework under National Security Adviser Nuhu Ribadu. The rising wave of terror and banditry, especially kidnappings, has led to calls for better coordination and action¹. 2. NIA DG, Rufai Abubakar, Resigns: Ahmed Rufai Abubakar, the Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency, has resigned citing personal and family reasons. His resignation followed a routine briefing with President Bola Tinubu. Full Details at NIA Director General Ahmed Rufai Abubakar Tenders Resignation To Tinubu. 3. Security Is Everybody’s Business, Says CDS Musa: Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, emphasized that ensuring national security is a shared responsibility. He urged Nigerians to provide crucial information to aid security agencies in their operations. 4. Atiku Responds To Bode George’s Comments On Him: Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has responded to Bode George's remarks, asserting that his presidency would have brought prosperity and stability to Nigeria. He criticized George's comments as imprudent and tribalistic. 5. Flood Disaster: Thousands Of Victims Displaced, Helpless In Katsina: Thousands of flood victims in Katsina State have called for federal assistance after weeks of neglect by the state government. The floods have displaced over 25,000 people and destroyed thousands of homes and farmlands. 6. Police Rescue Man Who Attempted Suicide In Anambra: The Anambra State Police Command rescued a 27-year-old man, Alozie John, who attempted suicide over a debt of ₦1.2 million. He was provided medical assistance and is currently under police monitoring³⁸. 7. Edo 2024: Betsy Obaseki Launches PDP Women’s Campaign Council In Edo: Betsy Obaseki, wife of the Edo State Governor, launched the PDP Women’s Campaign Council for the upcoming governorship election. The campaign aims to empower women and ensure their active participation in politics. 8. Declare State Of Emergency On Food, Clark Tells Tinubu: Chief Edwin Clark has urged President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency on food security, citing widespread hunger and discontent among Nigerians. 9. Nasarawa: Police Arrest Woman With 124 Rounds Of Anti-Aircraft Ammunition: The Nasarawa State Police Command arrested Hauwa Sani for possessing 124 rounds of anti-aircraft ammunition concealed in a gallon of palm oil. She was intercepted while traveling with a two-year-old child. Full Details Here Police Arrest Woman with Anti-Aircraft Ammunition in Nasarawa 10. Over 100 Transmission Towers Vandalised In Kaduna – TCN: The Transmission Company of Nigeria reported that over 100 transmission towers were vandalized in Kaduna State in 2024 alone. This vandalism has significantly hindered efforts to achieve uninterrupted power supply. That is all for today on Nigerian Newspaper Headlines. Click here more Naija News.

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