Ahead of the COP27 climate meeting in Egypt, Breaking Green podcast spoke to Nigerian environmentalist Nnimmo Bassey.
This post was originally published on Green Left.
Ahead of the COP27 climate meeting in Egypt, Breaking Green podcast spoke to Nigerian environmentalist Nnimmo Bassey.
This post was originally published on Green Left.
Family of Nnamdi Kanu granted judicial review over failure of Britain to intervene after arrest last year
The family of a British citizen who was allegedly taken to Nigeria in an act of extraordinary rendition has been granted a court hearing to challenge the UK government for not intervening in his case.
Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (Ipob), a prominent separatist movement proscribed in Nigeria, was arrested in Kenya in June last year before being transported against his will to Nigeria, where he has been held ever since.
Kelvin Bilal Fawaz reveals how Farah’s TV interview was a reminder of how his own boxing career was lost to life in immigration limbo
A prodigious talent with the drive and ambition to make it all the way to the top, when Kelvin Bilal Fawaz got the chance to represent Team GB as a boxer at the 2012 Olympics in London it was a dream come true.
Trafficked as a child from Nigeria to the UK and forced into domestic servitude, Fawaz had the opportunity for Olympic glory in the place he now called home.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa. It has 206 million inhabitants and at least 200 million registered cellphones. Keep that fact in mind. It becomes relevant a little later in this post. For now, I want to demonstrate what I mean with all the writing and podcasting I’ve done about the Great Reset, digital IDs, cashless societies, World Economic Forum, etc.
The continent of Africa — particularly West Africa — has long been a laboratory of sorts for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and its pet project, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Microsoft, of course, plays a big role — as does Mastercard. (Read The Real Anthony Fauci for a well-documented description of the ongoing crimes of parasites like Gates and Fauci in Africa.)
Running parallel to the medical mafia madness is the link-up with the groups like the World Economic Forum. The push to use Nigeria as a testing ground for a cashless society dependent on digital IDs began in 2007. Today, Professor Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami — Nigeria’s Minister of Communication and Digital Economy — reports that his country’s “National Identity Management Commission” holds the biometric data of at least 83 million people.
As defined by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, biometrics are “unique physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, that can be used for automated recognition.” This can also include your contacts, a recording of your voice, a photograph of your face, medical records, DNA, personal documents, vaccine history, banking information, and much more.
Translation: Nigerians who comply are totally at the mercy of the powers that (shouldn’t) be.
Nigeria’s biometric data collection has been made possible by a national identification number (NIN). Thanks to this NIN, Nigeria expects to have a complete biometric database of its citizens by 2025.
Things have not gone well so far for the everyday Nigerian.
In April 2022, for example, more than one-third of all cell phones in Nigeria were effectively shut down. The government demanded that the 73 million impacted citizens link their SIM cards with the NIN. They refused and thus, were unable to make calls for “security reasons.” (A similar action was taken in Zambia to “prevent fraud.”)
Nigeria is at the forefront but elsewhere across Africa, this paradigm is being imposed upon an unwilling populace. They are being assured their data is safe in the “cloud” but it’s actually stored on massive server farms owned by companies like Google, Amazon, and Microsoft. What could possibly go wrong?
I could go on but it would be a lot cooler if you did some digging for yourself. If you found independent sources to learn about other steps being taken to enslave us. If you snapped to attention and committed to:
Reminder: It all stops when enough of us say “no.”
The post Nigeria is a Testing Ground for Digital IDs and Biometric Data Collection first appeared on Dissident Voice.This post was originally published on Dissident Voice.
This April, the Biden administration approved the sale of 12 AH-1Z Attack Helicopters and other related military equipment to the Nigerian government for $997 million.
U.S. officials claim the sale will support national security objectives by improving Nigeria’s ability to fight the extremist group Boko Haram. But sales of weapons like these come with major human rights risks for the Nigerian population — risks U.S. officials should be taking more seriously.
U.S. lawmakers in Congress had a 30-day window, through May 14, to stop the administration from issuing a Letter of Offer and Acceptance. But they can still adopt legislation to block or modify the sale at any time up to the point of delivery of the military equipment.
Last July, when details of the deal were first presented to lawmakers, they raised concerns about the Nigerian government’s human rights record, which delayed the deal. Now, before letting the sale go forward, Congress should be asking more questions about what assurances the Biden administration has that Nigerians’ rights will not be violated with this new influx of military equipment
The United States says it has partnered militarily with Nigerian forces because it sees Nigeria’s legitimate and serious security concerns, including the Boko Haram insurgency in northeast Nigeria and the burgeoning banditry crisis in the northwest, as a priority for the U.S. as well.
Several states in Nigeria’s northwest region are currently plagued by the activities of armed gangs. Many began as vigilante and militia groups formed to protect their communities during disputes between farmers and nomadic herdsmen over land and other resources, which often escalate quickly and violently, with authorities failing to respond.
Over time, the groups, particularly those affiliated with nomadic herders, morphed into powerful criminal gangs with sophisticated weaponry that kill, pillage, torture, and kidnap people, including school children, for ransom.
The gangs themselves abuse people’s rights. But in responding to them, Nigerian security forces have often violated human rights and killed civilians themselves.
Indeed several incidents, including airstrikes on civilian communities, in February and last September, make clear that Nigerian security forces are not doing enough to minimize civilian casualties when engaging in security operations.
The February airstrike near the country’s border with Niger, which the authorities claimed was an error, killed seven children and injured five more. The September incident killed nine and injured 23. Moreover, Human Rights Watch and other groups have documented Nigerian forces committing gross human rights violations such as arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial killings within and outside the context of the nation’s security crises.
The harm Nigeria security forces were causing to Nigerians led then-U.S. President Barrack Obama to block the sale of military equipment to Nigeria in 2015. But President Donald Trump allowed sales to resume.
U.S. authorities have said that the new sale will include training for the Nigerian military on the laws of armed conflict and human rights, and air-to-ground integration, to minimize civilian harm in air operations.
Yet these training sessions have also been provided in the past and we continue to see Nigerian forces causing harm to civilians and violating international law. We continue to see those same Nigerian forces experience no consequences for their actions, which fosters more grievances and helps perpetuate the cycle of conflict.
It’s hard to see the U.S. pledge to educate Nigerian forces on the dos and don’ts of military operations as anything more than a weak attempt to acknowledge human rights risks while going ahead with the arms sales. What’s needed instead is high-level policymaker engagement. Congress needs to be asking tough questions of the Biden administration.
To start, are Nigerian forces doing more harm than good in the fight against Boko Haram by also harming ordinary Nigerians? What plans are in place to track where and how U.S. military equipment is used by Nigerian forces? How will Nigerian authorities hold their forces accountable for harm to civilians?
U.S. policymakers are legally bound to ensure they are not equipping abusive militaries. At this moment, there are serious doubts that this military sale to Nigeria meets that basic standard. For the sake of Nigerians caught in the middle of conflict and insecurity, Congress should press the Biden administration to demonstrate it can do so.
This post was originally published on Latest – Truthout.
Mubarak Bala’s case seen as part of a clampdown on critics of religious orthodoxy in a deeply conservative region
A prominent Nigerian humanist has been sentenced to 24 years in prison after pleading guilty to blasphemy charges, in a landmark case that has put a new focus on the threats to freedom of expression in the west African country.
Mubarak Bala, the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was sentenced on Tuesday afternoon, two years after his arrest at his home in the northern Kaduna state on 28 April 2020. He was then taken to neighbouring Kano, where calls for action against him had been made by members of the religious establishment in the majority Muslim and conservative state.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Abuja, March 16, 2022 — Nigerian authorities should investigate the recent attack and brief abduction of journalists Fredrick Nnaji and Chigozie Nwafor, hold those responsible to account, and ensure all journalists can cover the local elections safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Wednesday.
On February 23, four unidentified men attacked and briefly abducted Nnaji, a news producer and presenter with the Enugu State Broadcasting Service (ESBS), and Nwafor, an ESBS reporter, as they were driving to cover local elections in Enugu state in southeast Nigeria, according to media reports, as well as Nnaji and a source familiar with the case who requested anonymity for security reasons, who both spoke to CPJ by phone.
Nnaji, who is also the ESBS representative within the Nigeria Union of Journalists, a local press organization, told CPJ that the men beat him with their guns and struck he and Nwafor with the blunt side of their machetes, injuring Nwafor’s left wrist. Nnaji said the men ordered he and Nwafor into their vehicle where they were briefly held captive.
“Authorities in Nigeria must swiftly identify and prosecute all those responsible for the attacks on journalists Fredrick Nnaji and Chigozie Nwafor,” said Angela Quintal, CPJ’s Africa program coordinator, from New York. “This reprehensible attack speaks volumes about the grave danger that awaits journalists during Nigeria’s forthcoming general elections–a danger that Nigerian authorities have a duty to prevent.”
On February 23, Nnaji, Nwafor, and two other journalists were driving in an ESBS-branded car toward Amechi, a community in the southern area of Enugu state, to cover the local council elections, when they saw two jeeps and two Toyota Sienna vans driving toward them, according to Nnaji and the media report.
The journalists told the driver that they were suspicious of the vehicles when they were overtaken and the armed men in those vehicles began shooting into the air, Nnaji and the source familiar with the case told CPJ. The other two journalists ran out of the vehicle and managed to escape on foot.
The attackers searched Nnaji, Nwafor, and their driver, Ebuka Ogbozor, and seized their phones, Nnaji told CPJ, adding that the armed men singled him out as the leader of the group after noticing his official ESBS ID card, his Nigeria Union of Journalists ID card, and a press pass given to him by the Enugu state electoral commission to cover the elections.
Nnaji told CPJ that the attackers asked the journalists why they were covering an election in a region that had no business holding one; describing the region as “Biafra land,” a term used to describe territory that separatists have sought to declare independent from Nigeria. Then, the attackers asked them to leave their vehicle and get into one of their vans.
Inside the vehicle, the attackers hit Nnaji several times on his head and left leg with their gun, causing him to bleed, Nnaji told CPJ. The attackers then drove the journalists and their driver to a nearby polling station in the Obeagu Awkunanaw community in the Enugu South local council and asked them to exit the vehicle and lie on the ground. They shot at several people at the polling station, killing three, according to the media reports, Nnaji, and the source familiar with the case.
Nnaji said he was terrified, so he stood up and ran through a construction site and into the bushes. The attackers shot at Nnaji as he ran, but the bullets missed, the journalist told CPJ.
Nnaji told CPJ he took off his undershirt, boxers, and jeans, which were drenched in his blood, put his jeans back on to cover himself, and waited in the bush as flies hovered around him for several hours until 6 p.m., when he was sure the attackers had left the area. He then exited the bush and was helped by villagers who took him to the ESBS office in Independent Lay Out, a district in northern Enugu state.
The attackers drove Nwafor and Ogbozor to Amodu, a community within the same council, where they were freed without further injury, according to the source familiar with the case.
Later that day, Nnaji was briefly admitted to the hospital and has returned at least four times for medication and checkups, he told CPJ, adding that doctors advised he not work until at least March 17. Nwafor received stitches to her wrist after the incident, Nnaji told CPJ.
The Enugu State Police spokesperson Daniel Ndukwe told CPJ on March 10 that investigations were ongoing to identify those responsible for all attacks during the elections, including the ones involving the journalists.
Ifeanyi Ejiofor, a lawyer for the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) separatist group, told CPJ by phone that the people who attacked the journalists should be considered criminals and investigated by authorities.
Ejiofor said IPOB was a nonviolent movement for self-determination and not part of the people obstructing the election. “Anybody that wished to cover the election in Nigeria should of course go ahead and do what they want to do,” he said.
This content originally appeared on Committee to Protect Journalists and was authored by Committee to Protect Journalists.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
In Reconsidering Reparations, Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò makes the case for a political project with a global scope.
This post was originally published on Dissent MagazineDissent Magazine.
The fossil fuel industry says it wants to be part of the solution to the climate crisis. Despite this, it’s busy trying to ensure it can exploit new parts of the Earth for more fossil fuels, with the staunch backing of governments.
An image from a recent disaster in Nigeria shows what a dangerous path that would be to follow, especially for a world in the grips of two existential crises: climate and biodiversity.
As the Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) detailed in a report, an oil well blowout occurred on 1 November. It explained that:
A blowout occurs whenever there is the release of uncontrollable oil and gas from an oil well or gas well after all pressure control systems fail.
The November blowout happened at a well in an oilfield operated by Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Exploration Company in Bayelsa state. The spill wasn’t “top killed“, meaning plugged, until 8 December. HOMEF’s director Nnimmo Bassey posted an image on Twitter on 22 December that showed what those weeks of constantly spurting crude oil and fossil gas has done to the environment where the well is situated:
All eyes on the scene of the disastrous wellhead blowout at Aiteo’s OML29 Well 01 on Santa Barbara River, Nembe. The botched Joint Inspection Visit (JIV) now holds today with media represented. No cover ups! #StopEcocide #CleanTheNigerDeltaNow pic.twitter.com/vQITFyUaEA
— Nnimmo (@NnimmoB) December 22, 2021
As Bassey’s tweet highlighted, an investigation into the cause of the blowout is now underway.
The HOMEF report said that such spills can ‘largely destroy’ the socio-economic wellbeing of people, who mainly rely on fishing and small-scale farming, where they occur. It continued, noting that spills can have:
direct impacts on human health due to the heavy metals in the oil. Elements such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury pose special health impacts, causing cancers, kidney failures, reproductive problems, birth defects and many others.
The report also asserted that the Aiteo spill has destroyed “immense tracts” of the Santa Barbara river’s mangrove forests, with their “heavily crude oil-soiled” roots exposed at low tide. It suggested that the mangrove swamps would likely have a “heavy presence of the polluting crude oil”, which would mean “that aquatic lives like periwinkle, crayfish, crabs, oysters and even fish would be wiped out”.
HOMEF further noted that despite the company deploying booms that are meant to stem the spread of the oil, a “large volume of the crude oil was flowing out to the Santa Barbara River and spreading towards the Ocean”.
Nigeria is, of course, no stranger to such disasters after six decades of exploitation for hydrocarbons. Neither are other countries where fossil fuel companies have operated. Attorney Steven Donziger, who is well known for his legal battle with oil giant Chevron, tweeted:
Now that I'm out of prison, let's not forget @Chevron's 1,000 toxic waste pits abandoned in Ecuador's Amazon. Indigenous peoples are dying from this horrific environmental crime that has lasted 50 years.
The solution is simple: clean it up. pic.twitter.com/N0zl277bC9
— Steven Donziger (@SDonziger) December 16, 2021
But their ongoing experience should serve as an alarm bell for governments elsewhere that are currently being seduced by the fossil fuel industry’s charms.
As HOMEF said, some blowouts are near impossible to control, due to the level of force involved or where they happen. Imagine then, if such a disaster were to occur in Namibia and Botswana, where ReconAfrica is engaged in exploring for oil? As The Canary has previously reported, its project could impact a watershed called the Okavango Delta. Those waters support the lives of tens of thousands of people, unfathomable numbers of wild animals, and huge amounts of vegetation.
Bassey previously wrote that the ReconAfrica project is a “gamble” that risks turning the Okavango region “into an arena of death”. The image he posted on Twitter illustrates with sobering clarity exactly what that ‘death’ looks like.
As legal action currently underway in South Africa shows, fossil fuel projects aren’t solely risky to people and the environment once they’re operational. A number of environmental groups and communities in the country are currently fighting to halt the seismic testing Shell is conducting along the Wild Coast. They argue, backed by scientific expertise, that the testing poses risks to sea life and people.
Companies conduct seismic surveys to assess what oil and gas may lie under the ocean floor. In Shell’s case, it involves blasting the ocean with sound pulses on a regular basis over a period of months. The recorded feedback from those blasts will indicate the presence of fossil fuels or not.
Groups have mounted two legal challenges against the testing. Natural Justice and other environmental and human rights-focused groups filed an urgent interdict application at the end of November. A judge heard that case on 1 December. He ruled against the applicants on 3 December, on the grounds that they hadn’t proven that the survey would do “irreparable harm” to marine life. The groups have applied to appeal the judgment.
Wild Coast community members and groups filed a further urgent interdict in early December. A judge heard that case on 17 December. The judgment is currently pending.
The cases have variably accused Shell of moving forward with the surveys without the correct environmental authorisations and failing to meaningfully consult with affected communities. They have also asserted that the surveys threaten harm, including harm that could be irreparable and substantial, to communities and wildlife.
In the case of the latter issue, Shell has argued that it has mitigation measures in place to minimise harm to ocean life. However, expert opinion presented in the second case characterised these measures as inadequate on a number of levels. Current scientific evidence shows that seismic surveys widely and negatively impact ocean ecosystems, from tiny organisms like zooplankton to large mammals such as whales.
Moreover, Shell is ultimately carrying out these surveys in the hope it can drill the Wild Coast for fossil fuels. During a Daily Maverick webinar on the situation, conservation strategist at the South African Association for Marine Biological Research, Judy Mann-Lang, explained the risks of this. She highlighted that the Wild Coast hosts an extremely powerful current called the Agulhas Current. Mann-Lang warned:
Our concern is that if oil or gas is found there, how are they going to extract it safely, given the incredible powerful current washing down that coast? How are they going to mitigate the risks of this current? What happens if something goes wrong? They don’t know. Predicting this current is difficult. It is not called the Wild Coast for nothing.
In a world already grappling with immense environmental crises, it is beyond comprehension that authorities would wilfully put further vital ecosystems – and all the living beings who depend on them – at risk in pursuit of more planet-burning fossil fuels. Shell, however, doesn’t appear to see things that way. During the first court hearing, its counsel argued [1:56.15] that “in matters like this”, namely “where there are allegations about harm to the environment”, there’s a “subtext” that:
the commercial interests of private companies, and this is frankly especially companies with a big international footprint like Shell, must just yield to the supposed environmental interests or the interests of the public
As a dinosaur of the fossil fuel era, Shell may not be used to having to ‘yield’ to the interests of life on Earth. But in our current catastrophic reality, continued life on Earth is not guaranteed at all, in no small part because of the actions of the fossil fuel industry.
So if we’re to have a hope in hell of turning the tide, life simply must take priority over money and profit.
Featured image via Reuters / Youtube
This post was originally published on The Canary.
On October 18, 2020, during the #EndSARS protests against police violence and state corruption in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, a photo was shared on social media that quickly drew nationwide attention. The image showed passionate protesters with their fists pumped in the air, mouths wide open singing songs and chanting slogans. Some were holding placards that read “Our Lives Matter.”
What drew the attention of the public, however, was the woman right at the center of the image. With a small Nigerian flag in her left hand and missing her right leg, the woman who was later identified as Jane Obiene stood out because of the defiant spirit she embodied by joining the protest march on crutches.
The post Mutual Aid And Solidarity In Nigeria’s #EndSARS Protests appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
Health authorities in Fiji have confirmed two people who had arrived in the country from southern Africa last month have now tested positive to the omicron variant of covid-19.
The pair travelled to Fiji from Nigeria on November 25.
They both tested positive to covid-19 while in a border quarantine facility.
Health Secretary Dr James Fong said last night their samples were sent to a reference laboratory in Australia for urgent genomic sequencing.
Dr Fong said both travellers’ results were confirmed positive for the omicron variant.
“The two travellers are Fijian citizens who had travelled back into Fiji from Nigeria, arriving on Fiji Airways flight FJ1392 from Hong Kong on November 25 — the day the discovery of the omicron variant was announced internationally,” Dr Fong said.
“Both travellers tested negative for covid-19 before departure from Fiji and before they left Nigeria.
Fully vaccinated
“They entered a government-designated border quarantine facility immediately upon arrival into Fiji, tested positive while in quarantine, currently have no symptoms, and were fully vaccinated.”
With the exception of four passengers, Dr Fong said other passengers on the flight were from non-travel partner countries.
“They had entered a border quarantine facility upon arrival to undergo the full quarantine protocol of 10 days,” Dr Fong said.
“That has since been extended to 14 days.
“The four passengers on the flight who were from a travel partner country have tested negative.
“The Fiji Airways crew and accompanying passengers from FJ1392 have tested negative at least twice,” Dr Fong said.
No directives to crew
Fiji Airways confirmed none of its crew or staff have been given government directives to isolate.
The airline said it had strict protocols which forced all staff to undergo swabs before and after international flights.
“None of our crew are in quarantine or have tested positive to covid-19. We understand two cases of interest have tested positive but there is no confirmation on which variant it is,” Fiji Airways said in a statement.
“However, given this new threat our staff will undergo PCR testing as a precautionary measure.”
This article is republished under a community partnership agreement with RNZ.
This post was originally published on Asia Pacific Report.
A roundup of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Pakistan to Poland
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Millions of letters, emails and texts will be sent to support people who have been jailed, attacked or disappeared
Amnesty International has launched its flagship annual letter-writing campaign, Write for Rights to support 10 activists from around the world who have been attacked, jailed, harassed or disappeared for standing up for their rights.
This year, Write for Rights – which is funded by players of the People’s Postcode Lottery – will be supporting ten individuals, including:
Sacha Deshmukh, CEO of Amnesty UK, said:
“These individuals have been thrown behind bars, attacked, harassed or disappeared just for standing up for their rights. By coming together, people around the world have the power to raise their profile and increase their chances of protection or release.
“Sending a letter or email might seem like a small act, but when sent in their thousands they can have a huge impact. People in power are forced to listen.
Amnesty International’s Write for Rights campaign: Write for Rights goes back to the very roots of Amnesty International, which was founded in 1961, with Amnesty’s early campaigners writing letters of support to those affected by human rights abuses, as well as letters of concern to governments around the world.
During last year’s Write for Rights campaign [see: https://humanrightsdefenders.blog/2020/11/09/amnesty-internationals-write-for-rights-campaign-2020-launched/] :
View latest press releases 01 Nov 2021
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
A Cambridge college is to return a looted bronze cockerel statue to representatives from Nigeria in a ceremony this month.
Jesus College set up its Legacy of Slavery Working Party in 2019 to explore the “historical, legal and moral status of the college’s ownership of the Bronze”. It followed a campaign by students for the item’s return.
The group concluded that the statue, which was looted by British colonial forces in 1897 and given to the college in 1905 by the father of a student, “belongs with the current Oba at the Court of Benin”. The Oba of Benin is head of the historic Eweka dynasty of the Benin Empire, centred on Benin City in modern-day Nigeria.
Jesus College said in a statement that it “became the first institution in the world to announce its decision to return a Benin Bronze” in 2019. The statue had been removed from display at the college in 2016.
It will be returned to Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments in a ceremony at Jesus College, attended by delegates from the commission and Benin, on 27 October. The Oba of Benin, Omo N’Oba N’Edo Uku Akpolokpolo, Ewuare II said:
We are indeed very pleased and commend Jesus College for taking this lead in making restitution for the plunder that occurred in Benin in 1897. We truly hope that others will expedite the return of our artworks which in many cases are of religious importance to us.
Master of Jesus College Sonita Alleyne described it as a “historic moment”, adding:
This is the right thing to do out of respect for the unique heritage and history of this artefact.
She went on:
Since we took the decision to return the Bronze following the college’s Legacy of Slavery Working Party’s (LSWP) extensive research, many organisations have followed in our footsteps. I would like to thank the LSWP for its diligent and careful investigation into the provenance of the Bronze, to the Fellows for their keen support for its restitution, and to our students who pioneered early calls for this.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s minister of information and culture, said:
We thank Jesus College for being a trailblazer and we look forward to a similar return of our artefacts by other institutions that are in possession of them.
Professor Abba Isa Tijani, director-general of the National Commission for Museums and Monuments of Nigeria, said:
This return offers new hope for amicable resolution in cultural property ownership disputes. We hope that it will set a precedent for others around the world who are still doubtful of this new evolving approach whereby nations and institutions agree with source nations on return without rancour.
On our part, the National Commission for Museums and Monuments is receiving this antiquity for the benefit of the Benin people and the people of Nigeria.
By The Canary
This post was originally published on The Canary.
Last month, Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari wrote an op-ed in the Financial Times. It might as well have been written by the Pentagon. Buhari promoted Brand Nigeria, auctioning the country’s military services to Western powers, telling readers that Nigeria would lead Africa’s “war on terror” in exchange for foreign infrastructure investment. “Though some believe the war on terror [WOT] winds down with the US departure from Afghanistan,” he says, “the threat it was supposed to address burns fiercely on my continent.”
The post The US Is Turning Oil-Rich Nigeria Into A Proxy For Its Africa Wars appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
With millions of participants flooding the streets of Nigerian cities and towns, it was the largest Occupy movement in the world. Yet ten years later, little has been written about Occupy Nigeria.
This post was originally published on Dissent MagazineDissent Magazine.
A roundup of the coverage of the struggle for human rights and freedoms, from Haiti to Pakistan
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Defendants left in prison for months awaiting trial as staff strike over judicial system’s financial autonomy
A nationwide strike of court workers in Nigeria is paralysing the justice system, resulting in extended prison remands for those awaiting trial or sentencing and lengthy delays for everyone else.
In March last year, Taiwo Ebun*, 27, was arrested for alleged armed robbery in Lagos. Since then he has been in detention.
Related: Set them free! The judge who liberates Nigerians forgotten in jail
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Prominent figure has been detained since April 2020 without charge and is accused of blasphemy
The United Nations has condemned Nigerian authorities for failing to release a prominent humanist accused of blasphemy, who has been detained for a year without charge.
Mubarak Bala, the president of the Humanist Association of Nigeria, was arrested at his home in Kaduna state on 28 April 2020 and taken to neighbouring Kano, where calls for action against him had been made by religious figures.
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Wole Ojewale (former Assistant Program Manager at the CLEEN Foundation) wrote on 5 April 2021 in saharareporters a very warm obituary for Innocent Chukwuma who fought for a liberated and egalitarian Nigeria.
“Like many friends, comrades and associates of Innocent Chukwuma; I received the cold message from my former colleague by 12:33am on Sunday morning about the shocking exit of a man considered by many as an iroko tree and a big masquerade in the organized civil society and democracy struggle in Nigeria. My initial contact with Innocent was sometimes in June 2015…[and led to] an extremely impactful relationship I have had with Innocent in the last six years. Innocent represents many things to the diverse individuals and groups he has worked with from his days as a courageous student union activist in the pro-democracy struggle at the University of Nigeria; to his adventure in the human rights movement and the Civil Liberty Organization where he possibly developed strong interest in police reform- a cause that led him to establish CLEEN Foundation in 1998 and a field where he would later emerge as a global thought leader, who is widely respected and sought after. See also: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/laureates/1bc54e6a-4a3a-40f4-b8a3-b0c83af62631
Innocent typified an exceptional breed of change agents imbued with the character, audacity, selflessness, humility and intellectual inspiration to transform a system and lead the society in an upward trajectory. Few stories would suffice to narrate these traits which Innocent was known for. Raised from a very humble beginning in Imo state. Innocent would pass as a typical child that would have been advised and warned by parents to face his study alone and “stay away from trouble”. However, he chose an alternative path to fight for the rights of the common man right from his secondary school days as a house prefect. He once narrated a story about how he led a protest against the school authority at the Holy Ghost College, Umuahia over poor meals served to the students. The heroic act led to his suspension with other students who participated in that protest. This and other daring experiences would later forge him as a gallant human rights activist with many confrontations with military dictators and their brutal state agents. Innocent risked his life many times and suffered wanton harassment alongside other critical voices as they fought steely against dictatorship in the grotesque days of military rule in Nigeria. Highly urbane, cosmopolitan and nationalistic in his intellectual devotion to state building in Nigeria; Innocent’s enduring impacts would be felt in his broader contributions to police reform in Nigeria and his unalloyed commitment to youth development in the country.
I often consider him as the dean of police studies due to his sheer contributions to knowledge production in police research and practice in Nigeria. One only needs to engage him for a few minutes to perceive his depth of knowledge on the subject. I recall two vivid examples that gave credence to this assertion. One of my learned friends who is also an emerging scholar in the field of criminal justice once confided in me that he found out from his literature review that “Innocent and Professor Alemika have permanently defined the research agenda on police research in Nigeria”. Another more profound instance came when I was approached by a senior police officer to seek my advice on his research topic for a strategic course at the National Defense College in Abuja. Having discussed the topic with me; I advised him to seek an audience with Innocent and interview him.
I graciously obliged him his contact and he travelled to Lagos to meet Innocent. The senior officer returned to Abuja and came to recount his experience to me at the CLEEN Office in Abuja. In summary, he noted Innocent was recommending books and research papers on police and policing to him at the maximum of five minutes intervals in the course of the interview. He said, ‘Wole, I concluded Innocent knows policing more than me- even as a police officer”. The senior officer would later retire as a Deputy Inspector General of Police. This account attests to Innocent’s profound intellectual exertion on diverse subjects ranging from policing to security, human rights and democracy.
Innocent also made a significant impact in youth development in Nigeria. Virtually all of us who have had opportunities to be trained by him in many ways had contact with him mostly in our twenties and early thirties. Innocent knew what everyone would need to succeed in the global development profession and encouraged us individually. My Ph.D. research benefitted immensely from such a generous scheme he put in place in CLEEN Foundation. On his twitter handle, Innocent prides himself as a lifelong learner and specialist in identifying gaps and opportunities to solving wicked problems! He piloted this idea and demonstrated how to innovate for radically greater social goods in the society. He challenged bad governance as a human rights activist, and also established Oluaka Academy- a social enterprise and world class centre for innovation, business incubation, skills and enterprise development with a mission to support development of technologies for solving social problems, growth of small businesses and vocational skills in partnership with private, public and social sectors.
Innocent left indelible footprints on the sand of time and many would continue to benefit from the shades of trees he planted. He maintained national impact and global relevance. From Southern America to the Middle East, Western countries, Africa and Asia, he maintained strong alliances with other human rights activists and scholars. In many instances, when I have interacted with him, I found out that the intelligentsia I have probably read about are close allies whom he called friends and regularly compared notes with. The enigma around this aura is that most people who admire him have not even met him! But they all have great stories to share about him. Sometimes mentioning his name in international fora automatically confers respect and honour on me. I recall such experience I had in a meeting organized by the World Organisation Against Torture in Geneva in 2019 where I represented Nigeria in a working group meeting of human rights defenders. The Secretary General of the OMCT walked to me at the coffee stand and started a conversation about police brutality and human rights abuse in Nigeria. We discussed extensively and he alluded to the profound respect he has for Innocent albeit they have not met before! Such is the latitude of his impact and the scope of his sphere of influence. Innocent personified humility and dignity. He was highly strategic and inspirational in his approach to life. He was many things to some of us: a mentor, a senior friend and a comrade in the struggle for a better Nigeria. I will treasure the text message he sent to me on the 20th of December, 2020 as the last advice from a general. The text also came as an encouragement- an ideal he represented so well.
Innocent Chukwuma fought for a liberated and egalitarian Nigeria. The responsibility lies with us to pick the baton from him and complete the race he and his comrades started in their prime.
Rest in peace and power, Innocent Chukwuma- our departed hero!
http://saharareporters.com/2021/04/05/tribute-innocent-chukwuma-when-great-souls-die-wole-ojewale
This post was originally published on Hans Thoolen on Human Rights Defenders and their awards.
Charles Oti should be in his NHS job fighting the virus. Instead, the Home Office wants to send him to Nigeria
An infection control specialist who has been offered a job as a senior NHS biomedical scientist to help tackle the pandemic is facing deportation by the Home Office, prompting fresh calls for a more “humane” approach to skilled migrants.
The government has refused Charles Oti, 46, from Nigeria the right to remain in the UK even though the job he was offered is among the government’s most sought-after skilled positions.
Related: Skilled Commonwealth migrants still facing ‘unlawful’ deportation
Continue reading…This post was originally published on Human rights | The Guardian.
Hundreds of Nigerian girls abducted last week from a boarding school have been returned to their families amid chaos. Security forces opened fire on a gathering outside the school where the reunions were held.
One person died and two people were injured in the mayhem, according to local media reports.
The forces opened fire after the crowd threw stones at government officials. This was apparently in frustration at the drawn-out procedure, reports said.
Anxious and angry parents were reunited with the girls after six days of waiting. They grabbed their daughters and left after shots rang out. Many were worried about travelling on the area’s dangerous roads at night.
The girls, aged 10 and up, had been abducted from the Government Girls Secondary School in Jangebe in Nigeria’s northwest Zamfara state. They were released on Tuesday 2 March after negotiations.
Officials said “bandits” were behind the abduction, referring to groups of armed men who operate in Zamfara state. The men reportedly kidnap for money or to press for the release of their members from jail.
Zamfara governor Bello Matawalle said that 279 girls had been freed.
Upon their release, the girls were brought to the government’s provincial offices, Government House, in Gusau. They were medically examined before being reunited with their families.
Following the kidnappings, the Zamfara state government announced a curfew, which remains in force.
At the time of the attack, one resident told the Associated Press that the gunmen had also attacked a nearby military camp and checkpoint. This had prevented soldiers from responding to the abductions from the school.
Nigeria has seen several such attacks and kidnappings in recent years. The most notorious was in 2014, when extremist rebels of Boko Haram abducted 276 girls from the secondary school in Chibok in Borno state. More than 100 of those girls are still missing.
Last week’s attack comes less than two weeks after gunmen abducted dozens of people. These included 24 students from the Government Science College Kagara in Niger State. The students, teachers and family members kidnapped from Kagara were released last week.
In December 2020, 344 students were abducted from the Government Science Secondary School Kankara in Katsina State. They were eventually released.
By The Canary
This post was originally published on The Canary.
Armed security forces have suppressed a planned peaceful protest in Lagos, Nigeria. End SARS protesters planned to occupy Lekki toll gate, where state-sponsored armed security forces shot and killed 12 peaceful protesters in October 2020. Organisers intended to protest against the government’s plan to reopen the toll gate while covering up its involvement with the tragedy. Authorities have arrested a number of individuals for exercising their right to peaceful protest. And the police are allegedly denying them access to lawyers. They’ve also shut down the planned protest and opened the toll gate.
Young Nigerians have been protesting against police brutality, impunity, and bad governance since October. That was when they took to the streets and social media to campaign against the government’s notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). It came following years of mounting evidence of systematic brutality and corruption in the police unit. Although the government disbanded the squad, it’s carried out sustained attempts to quash the youth-led End SARS movement. Indeed, armed security forces shot and killed peaceful protesters; the Nigerian president blamed “hooliganism” for violence during protests, and the government banned cryptocurrency, a key source of income for the movement.
On 13 February, End SARS protesters took to social media to share their plans to occupy Lekki toll gate in Lagos. The toll gate was where Nigerian security forces shot and killed 12 peaceful protesters on 20 October 2020.
The protest was sparked by government plans to reopen the gate without taking accountability for the tragedy or seeking justice for those who were killed. On 8 February, one Twitter user posted:
#OccupyLekkiTollGate The Nigerian Government thinks they are smart. They want to reopen Lekki Tollgate but cant fish out those responsible for the killings of the protesters at Lekki Tollgate. If one of their loved ones was massacred, it wont take them secs to track the culprits. pic.twitter.com/BQccO97AaN
— Jolly (@ladele446) February 8, 2021
Movement leaders such as Omoyele Sowore urged protesters to ignore calls from Nigeria’s minister for culture asking protesters to abandon their plans:
I said it that you guys in the @mbuhari junta are scared of #peoplepower rest assured that #OccupyLekkiTollGate will go as planned except you shut down the tollgate and let justice prevail regarding victims of #LekkiMassaccre #EndSARS #RevolutionNow #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria pic.twitter.com/ku8wbkymDh
— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) February 11, 2021
As one Twitter user highlighted, Nigerians are protesting because the government continues to cover up the Lekki toll gate massacre:
They’ve not yet answered who ordered the shooting at Lekki toll gate but now they’re doing even more damage. This government was sent from the pit of hell!!! #EndSARS
— Chemical Brother
(@chemicalbrodar) February 13, 2021
Many see the government’s plan to reopen the toll gate while continuing to cover up its involvement in the national tragedy as callous:
Govt use army shoot us for #Lekkitollgate
Govt talk say dem no shoot us say we Dey lie
Army talk say dem shoot us with blank bullets
Govt Setup Panel to Investigate why dem shoot us
Govt wan open toll gate without victims getting JusticeNigeria my country
#EndSARS
— Dehkunle of Africa
(@Dehkunle) February 13, 2021
As Toke Makinwa highlights, young Nigerians are also challenging bad governance, police brutality, and an economy that fails young people:
A government constantly looking for how to make it’s citizens bleed, bad governance, police brutality, poverty, extortion, lack of Jobs, failed educational system, and the list is endless, what is our offense? #EndSARS #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria #Lekkitollgate
— Toke Makinwa (@tokstarr) February 13, 2021
Amnesty International Nigeria took to Twitter to remind the government that the right to protest is enshrined in the Nigerian constitution:
—Today Amnesty International received reports of the arrest of some protesters #EndSARS at the #Lekkitollgate #Lagos.
—We calling on all Nigerian authorities to demonstrate commitment to protect the right to peaceful protest. @MBuhari @ProfOsinbajo @jidesanwoolu @PoliceNG
— Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) February 13, 2021
Despite this, journalist Yemisi Adegoke reported a heavy police presence and acts of police brutality. Even though there were very few protesters in attendance:
A truck with speakers, a megaphone and #OccupyLekkiTollGate posters was taken by the police.
I also saw an officer handling a man that had been arrested quite roughly.
The officer repeatedly hit his legs with a wooden stick as he took him to a van. #OccupyLekkiTollGate
— Yemisi Adegoke (@briticoyemo) February 13, 2021
According to BBC News Africa, some of the people arrested by police were on their way to work:
On Thursday, the Information Minister told people not to attend the protest, citing concerns a peaceful protest could be taken over by 'hoodlums.' The toll gate has been closed since October 20 when armed forces opened fire at unarmed protesters, after weeks of #EndSARS protests.
— BBC News Africa (@BBCAfrica) February 13, 2021
Sowore highlighted another blatant injustice. The private security company allegedly complicit in the Lekki toll gate massacre was policing the attempted occupation:
#OccupyLekkiProtest #occupylekkitollgate they’ve now privatised/outsourced policing to LCC thugs, this is a new level of impunity. How could LCC officials be making arrests & detaining Nigerians? LCC was complicit in #LekkiMassacre & now they are even more brazen #revolutionnnow pic.twitter.com/QWihGkX7gD
— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) February 13, 2021
Another Twitter user shared that would-be protesters were met with “brutality and arrest”:
We protest against Police brutality and bad governance but they respond with more brutality and arrest #Lekkitollgate #EndSARS
Let it be known pic.twitter.com/LiIkPteOlf
— Alhaji Tunde Wall’s
(@TundeWalls) February 13, 2021
Meanwhile, lawyers and organisers have reported that police are transporting would-be protesters out of Lagos and denying them access to legal counsel:
They are not letting lawyers see the arrested protesters.
The Police said they have direct orders from the Lagos State Governor to arrest protesters & known frontliners of the #EndSARS protests & will soon move them to Ikeja.
Jide SanwoOlu, are these forces beyond your control?
— Rinu #EndSARS
(@SavvyRinu) February 13, 2021
UPDATE: The Police got 3 Danfos (commercial transport buses) and moved the arrested protesters. We are told they will be moved to Ikeja Area command.
Our 3 lawyers were not allowed any access into the premises or to the arrested persons. We have deployed lawyers to Ikeja now. https://t.co/5rUxH1ZPWd
— Tola (@adetolaov) February 13, 2021
CNN Africa‘s Stephanie Busari shared that although armed security had dispersed protesters, more appeared:
More police have turned up in riot gear. There are zero protesters at the #Lekkitollgate. pic.twitter.com/8LuYPRm648
— Stephanie Busari (@StephanieBusari) February 13, 2021
It appears that police have successfully stamped out the planned peaceful protest, and reopened the toll gate:
Traffic is flowing freely at the tollgate now.
At the moment it's just the press & the police. pic.twitter.com/BJ9YUbGxif
— Yemisi Adegoke (@briticoyemo) February 13, 2021
Reacting to state suppression of the planned protest, Tope Akinyode labelled Nigeria’s political situation a “dictatorship”. And he called on Nigerians to challenge it:
Full blown dictatorship is upon us, Nigerians must resist this #EndSARS
— Tope Akinyode (@TopeAkinyode) February 13, 2021
By denying Nigerians their right to assembly and peaceful protest, the government has sent a clear message: it intends to keep suppressing the youth-led movement against police brutality and bad governance. It must answer for its corruption and incompetence, and it must listen to young Nigerians. If the government continues down this path of destruction, the consequences will be devastating.
Featured image via Stephanie Busari/Twitter
This post was originally published on The Canary.
On 5 February, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sent a letter to the nation’s financial institutions reminding them that the government has banned dealing in cryptocurrencies or facilitating payments for cryptocurrency exchanges. According to the letter, failure to comply will result in “severe regulatory sanctions”.
The ban comes after widespread youth-led protests against police brutality and bad governance. These protests were largely funded through cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, after the government allegedly stopped local payment platforms collecting donations in a move to suppress protests. Young Nigerians took to Twitter to call out the government for further suppression.
The movement against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) rose to prominence in October 2020. This was after young Nigerians mobilised against police brutality, intimidation and extortion, and bad governance. The government disbanded the notorious police unit in response. The unit had been accused of harassment, extrajudicial killings, and other human rights abuses. However, police brutality continued even after the unit’s end.
The Nigerian government continues to cover up the tragic Lekki Toll Gate massacre, in which security forces shot and killed at least 12 peaceful protesters on 20 October 2020. Following the deaths of at least 51 civilians during protests in October, president Muhammadu Buhari claimed the violence was a result of “hooliganism“. The government has banned protests. According to Amnesty International, many movement leaders have been “arrested, tortured and had their bank accounts frozen”, while others have been compelled to flee into exile. The government’s recent move to ban cryptocurrency looks like another thinly veiled attempt to suppress the youth-led mass movement.
Young Nigerians took to Twitter, highlighting that the government used a similar tactic to block anti-SARS leaders receiving funds from across the diaspora in an attempt to suppress the movement. One Twitter user said:
Remember during #EndSARS protest, the nigerian government blocked us from receiving international transfers.
Jack came to our aid with crypto, CBN felt like a cool and so #Buhari. Now, they think they can get back at us
We can't be held back. Not again— ghost
(@gho__sted) February 5, 2021
According to another Twitter user, the government was supposed to allow anti-SARS movement leaders whose bank accounts had been frozen access to their accounts on 4 February:
By the way, the #EndSARS 20 bank accounts frozen by CBN 3 months ago were supposed to be unfreeze yesterday Feb 4th. Til this moment, our accounts are still frozen.
— Duke of Ibadan
(@_AsiwajuLerry) February 5, 2021
Victor Babatunde presented documents which seemed to show that these accounts remain frozen:
90 days gone, Accounts remain frozen, The oppression continues and I guess Nigerians have moved on!!! #EndSARS pic.twitter.com/02ckqXnCRL
— Victor Babatunde (@vhic_tore) February 5, 2021
Mark Amaza highlighted the link between the Central Bank of Nigeria’s cryptocurrency ban and government attempts to suppress the anti-SARS movement:
It just occurred to me that there might be a connection between the new CBN policy on crypto and the #EndSARS protests.
— Mark Amaza (@amasonic) February 5, 2021
As did JJ. Omojuwa:
It is impossible for one not to see a correlation between #ENDSARS and this desperate move by the CBN. pic.twitter.com/6uXMg5GeuW
— JJ. Omojuwa (@Omojuwa) February 5, 2021
Many young Nigerians feel as though the government is looking to antagonise its politically active youth. And it’s trying to punish them for rising up against police brutality and bad governance. Even if this comes at the expense of the nation’s economy:
CBN Banned CRYPTO In Nigeria..
This shows that the government Is not fighting against corruption and poverty , it’s against youth being successful & liberated from poverty and
Nigeria government is really looking for every ways to frustrate the youth since #EndSARS protest— ijoba money
(@baddestcash_) February 5, 2021
One user expressed their frustration at a government which refuses to acknowledge the killing of peaceful protesters and has failed to improve prospects for young people in the country:
First of all no one is yet to be prosecuted by the gov for the death of innocent #EndSARS protesters
No reasonable job opportunity for graduated students (all man for himself)
Now they want to take away crypto currency from us??
Please who did we offend in this country?
— Ennie•Mufc•
•
(@Enitan_sam) February 5, 2021
Performing artist DJ Switch highlighted that this is yet another symptom of bad governance in Nigeria. She called leaders “poverty promoting dinosaurs”:
If the ban on crypto by CBN is true ehn, it points yet again to the ill informed, backward, poverty promoting dinosaurs
leading us. Use your time
to investigate and close accounts sponsoring terrorists in the country if you don't know what to do!!! GAWD
#endsars
— Dj Switch (@dj_switchaholic) February 5, 2021
Others suggested that the cryptocurrency ban will provide another excuse for the country’s heavy-handed security forces to harass and persecute young Nigerians:
The Nigerian government has just legitimized a reason for security forces harassment/profiling.
• Finding any Crypto app or trading app on your phone.#EndSARS
— Rinu #EndSARS
(@SavvyRinu) February 5, 2021
Omojuwa highlighted the significant impact this policy is likely to have on Nigeria’s already struggling economy:
The biggest opportunity by far, for wealth creation for Nigeria and especially its young population, is embedded in the thinking, technology and innovation behind cryptocurrencies and its appurtenances. Someone is desperate to ensure this poverty lasts through this century! pic.twitter.com/7QpqCWtSTm
— JJ. Omojuwa (@Omojuwa) February 5, 2021
Meanwhile, activist Reno Omokri highlighted that though this will be blow to the economy, it won’t dampen the youth-led anti-SARS movement:
How can you shut down a money market like cryptocurrency, that brings in tens of millions of dollars into your economy at the time when you are in a recession, and need every penny you can get? @MBuhari cant stop another #EndSARS by making Nigerians even poorer#BuhariTormentor
— Reno Omokri (@renoomokri) February 5, 2021
Though the Nigerian government is unlikely to confirm the connection between the banning of cryptocurrency and the suppression of anti-SARS protests, this does look like an attack on Nigeria’s youth. And this move is highly unlikely to assuage young Nigerians’ dissatisfaction with, and resentment of, a corrupt, incompetent government.
Featured image via Wikimedia Commons – Oludeleadewalephotography
This post was originally published on The Canary.
A Dutch court has ordered the Nigerian subsidiary of Shell to pay compensation over oil spills in Nigeria’s Niger Delta, a ruling which could pave the way for more cases against multinational oil firms.
The Court of Appeal in The Hague on Friday ruled that the Nigerian arm of the British-Dutch company must issue payouts over a long-running civil case involving four Nigerian farmers who were seeking compensation, and a clean-up, from the company over pollution caused by leaking oil pipelines.
It held Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary liable for two leaks that spewed oil over an area of a total of about 60 football pitches in two villages, saying that it could not be established “beyond a reasonable doubt” that saboteurs were to blame.
The post Court Orders Shell To Pay Nigerian Farmers Over Oil Spills appeared first on PopularResistance.Org.
This post was originally published on PopularResistance.Org.
Arab normalization with Israel is expected to have serious consequences that go well beyond the limited and self-serving agendas of a few Arab countries. Thanks to the Arab normalizers, the doors are now flung wide open for new political actors to extend or cement ties with Israel at the expense of Palestine, without fearing any consequences to their actions.
African countries, especially those who worked diligently to integrate Israel into the continent’s mainstream body politic, are now seizing on the perfect opportunity to bring all African countries on board, including those who have historically and genuinely stood on the side of Palestinians.
‘Empower Africa’, an Israeli firm that is constantly seeking financial opportunities throughout the African continent, was one out of many who jumped on the opportunity to exploit Arab normalization with Israel. The goal is about maximizing their profits while promoting Arab normalization as if an economic opportunity for struggling African economies. In December, ‘Empower Africa ’hosted its first event in Dubai under the title “UAE and Israel Uniting with Africa”. In its press release, celebrating what is meant to be a momentous occasion, the Israeli company said that its guests included representatives from UAE, Israel, Bahrain, Nigeria, Rwanda, Egypt, among others.
Such events are meant to translate normalization with Israel into economic opportunities that will entangle, aside from Arab countries, African, Asian and other traditional supporters of Palestine, worldwide. The central message that the advocates of normalization with Israel are now sending to the rest of the world is that closer ties with Tel Aviv will guarantee many benefits, not only direct American support, but innumerable economic benefits as well.
Those who promote solidarity with Palestine worldwide, based on moral maxims, are correct to argue that solidarity and intersectionality are crucial in the fight against injustice everywhere. However, realpolitik is rarely shaped by moral visions. This is the truth that Palestinians now have to contend with, as they watch their own Arab and Muslim brothers move, one after the other, to the Israeli camp.
Unfortunately, it was the Palestinian leadership itself that strengthened the normalization argument many years ago, especially in the early 1990s, when it first agreed to negotiate unconditionally with Israel, under the auspices of the US and not exclusively the United Nations. The Palestinian/Arab engagement with Israel in the Madrid Talks in 1991 provided the impetus for Washington to reverse a 1975 UN Resolution that equated Zionism with racism.
Ironically, it was the African Union that, in fact, first championed UN Resolution 3379, soon after it passed its own Resolution 77 (XII), earlier that year in the Kampala Assembly of Heads of State and Governments, where it condemned Zionism as a racist, colonial ideology.
Those days are long gone and, sadly, it was the Middle East and Africa that altered their views of Israel, without compelling the latter to abandon its racist political doctrine. On the contrary, racism and apartheid in Israel are now even more integrated within the country’s official institutions than ever before. Moreover, Israel’s military occupation and siege of the West Bank and Gaza seem to accelerate at the same momentum as that of Arab and African normalization with Israel.
The now defunct Oslo Accords of 1993 served as a major pretense for many countries around the world, especially in the global South, to draw nearer to Israel. “If the Palestinians themselves have normalized with Israel, why shouldn’t we?” was the knee-jerk retort by politicians in various countries, in response to the advocates of the Palestinian boycott movement. This immoral and politically selective logic has been reinforced since the UAE, Bahrain, Sudan, and Morocco joined the camp of Arab normalizers in recent months.
While arguments that are predicated on moral values and shared history are, still, very much valid, making a case against normalization cannot rest entirely on ethical reasoning or sentimentalities. True, the shared anti-colonial past of Africa and the Arab world, especially that of Palestine, is uncontested. Still, some African countries did not side with the Arabs in their conflict with colonial Israel based on entirely moral and ideological arguments. Indeed, the Israel-Africa story has also been shaped by outright economic and business interests.
Africa’s significance for Israel has acquired various meanings throughout the years. Soon after Israel was established upon the ruins of historic Palestine, diplomatic ties between the newly-founded Israel and African countries became essential for Tel Aviv to break away from its geopolitical isolation in the region. That, in addition to the strategic importance of the Bab Al-Mandab Strait – separating Africa from the Arabian Peninsula and offering Israel breathing space through the Red Sea – gave Africa additional geostrategic significance.
In fact, on the eve of the Arab-Israeli war of 1967, 33 African countries had full diplomatic ties with Israel. Immediately following the war and in the run-up to the war of 1973, African countries abandoned Israel in large numbers, signaling the rise of an unprecedented Arab-African unity, which continued unhindered until the 1990s. It was then that Israel began, once more, promoting itself as a unique ally to Africa.
In recent years, Israel has accelerated its plans to exploit Africa’s many political and economic opportunities, especially as the continent is now an open ground for renewed global attention. The United States, the European Union, China, Russia and others are jockeying to win a piece of Africa’s massive wealth of material and human resources. Israel, too, as a regional power, is now part of this renewed ‘scramble for Africa’.
A statement by Israel’s right-wing Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in 2016 that “Israel is coming back to Africa, and Africa is returning to Israel,” should not be dismissed as another political hyperbole by the Israeli leader. One could even argue that Israel’s burgeoning political and economic ties with Africa are Netanyahu’s greatest achievements in recent years. More, diplomatic rapprochements with Muslim-majority African countries, such as Mali and Chad, have served as the backdoor entrance to African Arab Muslim countries, such as Sudan and Morocco.
There is more to Israel’s keen interest in Africa than mere business, of course. Since the US’ superpower status in the Middle East is being challenged by other global actors, namely Russia and China, Israel is actively trying to diversify its options, so it is not exclusively reliant on a single benefactor.
Now that Arab and Muslim countries are normalizing, whether openly or discreetly, with Israel, some African governments feel liberated from their previous commitment to Palestine, as they are no longer forced to choose between their Arab allies and Israel.
Solidarity with Palestine, in all traditional platforms, certainly stands to lose as a result of these seismic changes. Even the UN General Assembly is no longer a safe space for Palestinian solidarity. For example, in the UN General Assembly Resolution titled “Peaceful settlement of the question of Palestine”, which was adopted on December 3, 2019, by 147 countries, 13 countries abstained from the vote. Unprecedentedly, several African countries including Cameroon, Rwanda, South Sudan and Malawi also abstained from the vote. The trend worsened a year later, on December 2, 2020, when more African countries abstained from voting on a similar resolution, with Cameroon, Madagascar, Malawi, Rwanda, and even South Africa refusing to acknowledge what should have been a straightforward recognition of Palestinian rights.
Based on this disturbing trajectory, more such African countries are expected to either adopt a ‘neutral’ position on Palestine and Israel or, depending on the nature of their interests or the combined US-Israeli pressures, could potentially take Israel’s side in the future.
The Palestinian dichotomy rests on the fact that African solidarity with Palestine has historically been placed within the larger political framework of mutual African-Arab solidarity. Yet, with official Arab solidarity with Palestine now weakening, Palestinians are forced to think outside this traditional framework, so that they may build direct solidarity with African nations as Palestinians, without necessarily merging their national aspirations with the larger Arab body politic.
While such a task is daunting, it is also promising, as Palestinians now have the opportunity to build bridges of support and mutual solidarity in Africa through direct contacts, where they serve as their own ambassadors. Obviously, Palestine has much to gain, but also much to offer Africa. Palestinian doctors, engineers, civil defense and frontline workers, educationists, intellectuals and artists are some of the most recognized and accomplished in the Middle East; in fact, in the world. Palestine must utilize its people’s tremendous energies and expertise in winning Africa back, not as a bargaining chip, but as a true and genuine attempt at reinvigorating existing solidarity between the Palestinians and the peoples of Africa.
Israel is trying to lure in Africa’s elites through business deals which, judging by previous experiences, could become a burden on African economies. Palestine, on the other hand, can offer Africa genuine friendship and camaraderie through many areas of meaningful cooperation which, in the long run, can turn existing historical and cultural affinities into deeper, more practical solidarity.
The post Beyond Slogans: Palestinians Need an Urgent, Centralized Strategy to Counter Israel in Africa first appeared on Dissident Voice.
This post was originally published on Radio Free.
The UN released the largest ever opinion poll on the climate crisis on 26 January. Involving 1.2 million respondents spanning 50 countries around the world, the People’s Climate Vote is both comprehensive and crystal clear. It found that two-thirds of people believe we are in a “global emergency” and want decisive action to tackle it.
But news that emerged a couple of days earlier from Nigeria is a timely reminder of how far the world is from adequately tackling this global emergency. According to the NGO Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF), an oil rig fire has been raging in the country for eight months.
News reports say the fire initially broke out at an oil well in the Ondo state in May 2020. As Africa Oil+Gas Report magazine reported shortly after the blaze began, the rig – Grace-1 HWU – was “working for the Nigerian independent [company] Guarantee Petroleum” at the time. However, as the magazine also noted, the Nigerian government had revoked Guarantee Petroleum’s licence during its operations in 2020. As a result, the government assumed responsibility for tackling the fire.
Oil giant Chevron, meanwhile, is the operator of the oil mining lease in the relevant area – OML 95. After the fire broke out, its public affairs general manager told Africa Oil+Gas Report that the fire had occurred at “a third-party facility”, not operated by Chevron or its affiliates. The company said, however, that it was “prepared to provide necessary emergency response assistance in accordance with petroleum industry emergency response protocol”.
Nigeria’s Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) told Africa Oil+Gas Report in May 2020 that it would do “all it could” to put out the fire. According to HOMEF, that same month the country’s National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA) also said it would take at least six weeks to extinguish the blaze.
But, as HOMEF said in a recent press release the fire is ‘raging on’ still. It also claims that the blaze has had:
huge impacts on the environment generally, the aquatic ecosystem particularly and the livelihoods of community members, especially fishers
The group referred to the ongoing incident as an “act of ecocide”. But it says the government has offered no “clear communication on how the environment will be remediated”. The group’s director, Nnimmo Bassey, commented:
It is sad to note that national, international and government-owned oil companies operating in the Niger Delta are rapidly setting a pattern of totally ignoring oil spills for weeks and months in the same way they have ignored gas flares for decades.
This impunity must stop. Our people deserve better. The Niger Delta must not continue to be a sacrifice zone
HOMEF is calling on the DPR to put out the fire and “remediate the environment”. It’s also urging the government to compensate those impacted by the fire, such as fishers and communities. Furthermore, it’s demanding sanctions against whichever company is ultimately responsible for causing the “gross ecological damage”.
The Canary contacted the DPR and Nigeria’s Environment Assessment Department for comment. Neither responded by the time of publication.
As Bassey laid out in his 2012 book, To Cook a Continent: Destructive Extraction and the Climate Crisis in Africa, the extractive industries, including the oil and gas industry, have a long history of reeking environmental devastation on the African continent. Such extraction shows no sign of slowing either.
Citizens in Africa have long been fighting against the environmental and human rights abuses they’ve faced thanks to the extractive industries. Now, in the biggest poll of its kind, two-thirds of the world’s citizens have recognised that the climate crisis represents a “global emergency”. The UNDP’s strategic adviser on climate change, Cassie Flynn, said:
The voice of the people is clear – they want action on climate change.
In his book, Bassey was also clear about what that action should be:
The world knows that the climate challenge is caused primarily by the release of carbon into the atmosphere through the burning of fossil fuels.
The simple answer to our climate crisis, one begging to be accepted, is that we must simply leave the oil in the soil, the coal in the hole and the tar sands in the land. We do not require expensive carbon capture and storage technologies to make this happen. It’s just common sense. Simple.
We must leave fossil fuels in the soils, holes and lands. If there’s an environmental catastrophe involving extraction that’s already taken place, we must also work quickly and diligently to clean it up.
We cannot afford to continue the environmental destruction and recklessness that’s been characteristic of ‘human progress’ to date. The world’s people are waking up en masse to that. It’s high time those who wield power do the same.
Featured image via HOMEF
This post was originally published on The Canary.