Showing posts with label Piracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Piracy. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 31, 2011

UN Security Council Tackles Piracy and Maritime Robbery in Gulf of Guinea

30 Aug 2011 20:03 Africa/Lagos


Gulf of Guinea / Piracy / Statement read by the President of the UN Security Council on piracy and maritime armed robbery in Gulf of Guinea

NEW YORK, August 30, 2011/African Press Organization (APO)/ -- The members of the Security Council were briefed by Mr. B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, on the issue of piracy and maritime armed robbery in the Gulf of Guinea, off the coast of West Africa on 23 August 2011.

The members of the Security Council expressed concern over the increase in piracy, maritime armed robbery and reports of hostage-taking in the Gulf of Guinea and its damaging impact on security, trade and economic activities in the sub-region.

The members of the Security Council noted the efforts being made by countries in the Gulf of Guinea to tackle the problem including the launching of joint efforts to patrol these waters including efforts by Nigeria and the Republic of Benin, off the coast of Benin as well as plans to convene a summit of Gulf of Guinea Heads of State to discuss a regional response. In this context, members of the Council underlined the need for regional coordination and leadership in developing a comprehensive strategy to address this threat.

Recognizing the leadership role of the regional bodies and states on this issue, the members of the Security Council called on the international community to support the concerned countries, ECOWAS, ECCAS and other relevant organizations, as appropriate, in securing international navigation along the Gulf of Guinea including through information exchange, improved coordination and capacity building.

The members of the Security Council noted the intention of the Secretary General to deploy a United Nations assessment mission to examine the situation and explore possible options for UN support. The members of the Security Council also stressed the need for UNOWA and UNOCA to work, within their current mandates, with UNODC and IMO, as well as with all concerned countries and regional organizations.


Source: Presidency of the UN Security Council


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Saturday, February 27, 2010

Our Music Is Dying Slowly, And Still Smiling 2


P Square, very popular Nigerian Hip-hop Singers who are twin brothers.

LIFE-LINES

~ By Femi Akintunde-Johnson

Our Music Is Dying Slowly, And Still Smiling 2

My final line last week: “The Nigerian music industry is dying; and frankly, it will, or probably have to die patapata, before it can truly rise, and take its due position, in the light of things. Incidentally, the best hands to give it life, are the same starving it of the elixir for irreversible success – the young Nigerian artistes. How?”

Yes, piracy is bad for any intellectual work, especially if the product is mostly driven by profit (as it is with Nigerian popular music). All over the world, the fight against piracy is fought at frenetic pace, because the killer-disease is spreading faster than earlier thought. Nowadays, in the US, the sale of recorded CD’s is panting far behind the sales of blank CD’s. You can guess where CDs are going. Music executives are storming the courts to put legitimate e-music dispensers out of business so as to prolong near-certain extinction of the more than 150-year old American music industry. And that is America where piracy has gone absolutely and bizarrely digital, and which has a clear cut infrastructure. However, in Nigeria, the first big case involving a major pirate (an Alaba marketer) came up at the Federal High Court on the first day of this month! We routinely sweep hideouts of small-time Chinese and Hong-Kong CD multipliers masquerading as music and movie pirates. We treat copyright infringement and rights collection with childish naiveté in this climate. In such situation, only death will “do them part”.

Pirated CDs are sold on the street. Photo Credit: Medindia

But of even deadlier dimension is the mentality of young Nigerian artistes: his understanding of his role, and the appreciation of his artistic contribution to social realities. Many years ago, I wrote a series of articles that won the first entertainment reporting award at the Nigerian Media Merit Awards. It was entitled “Creative Rogues”. In the articles, I tried to juxtapose the musical arrangements of the leading lights of the 80’s and 90’s in Nigeria, alongside their foreign counterparts from whose works they literally lifted several lines and riffs without any attribution whatsoever. We basically called them what they were: creative ‘pirates’ of others’ creative nous. That was more than 15 years ago.

Today, the artistes are more brazen; more impatient and couldn’t care if an entire chorus line was lifted verbatim from “reigning” songs of their local or foreign counterparts. They just don’t care. And the fans, as it is now clear, appear not to be bothered. But therein lays the trap. You don’t need a seer to tell you that barefaced robbery, as it being churned out by starry-eyed characters that populate our studios and airwaves, will sooner or later collapse the music business into an economical cul-de-sac.

Apart from music beats sounding alike, and with fast disappearing wholesomeness in syncopation and timbre, the lyrical depth is thinning out rapidly. Now, we seem like a nation of unthinking jingoists and flippant abusers of our traditional mores on the flimsy excuse that our socio-economic realities have condemned us to this state. We fool ourselves that we reflect what is happening on the streets. We have become repeaters, and not creators. We sing complete nonsense, gibberish, and lazy repetitions that leave neutrals wondering how we got to this place.

It is such complete absence of care or self-restraint that gives light to a St. Janet. Why are we scandalized at her cheap, lust-filled “business model”, when we amusingly condoned and back-patted her forerunner, Abbas Akande Obesere (Omo Rapala) who strutted drunkenly and, I can assure you, profitably across the nation casting spells on devotees of his brand of minstrelsy? So, who can wager that St. Jezebel does not have a coterie of lewd-lappers savouring every rotten limerick trolling from her plucky bosom?

Yet, more dangerous is the professional attitude and work ethics of our latter day music magicians. More on that next week.

fajswhatnots@yahoo.com or faj-alive.blogspot.com

(First published in Guardian on Sunday, February 14, 2010)


Friday, April 10, 2009

Nigerian Ship Still Held By Somali pirates

9 Apr 2009 20:32 Africa/Lagos

Somali Justice Advocacy Center Expresses Deep Concern Over Al Qaeda Involvement in Piracy in Somalia and Cautions U.S. to Not Exercise Military Force

ST. PAUL, Minn., April 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Somali Justice Advocacy Center has been in contact with Somali pirates in the northeastern region of Somalia and is currently talking to them about the release of a Nigerian ship that has been held hostage for a couple of months. The Nigerian ship captain's brother is a resident here in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Somali Justice Advocacy Center, while on the phone yesterday with pirates in Somalia, asked about Captain Phillips' condition and will talk to them further today.


The Center further expresses a concern over huge amounts of ransom cash (in U.S. dollars) changing hands without any proper institutional supervision and is afraid it might end up in the hands of extremists.


The Center is deeply troubled by the lack of proper action from the international community against the piracy issue and the increasing influence of extremists in the region.


"This is not about piracy, but rather the absence of an effective governance in Somalia," said Omar Jamal, Executive Director of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center.


"We caution the U.S. not to exercise the military option against piracy, which would further complicate the issue," Jamal continued.


www.somalijustice.org


Source: Somali Justice Advocacy Center

CONTACT: Omar Jamal of the Somali Justice Advocacy Center,
+1-612-715-1221, Info@somalijustice.org


Web Site: http://www.somalijustice.org/