3 Nigerian Writers Shortlisted For Commonwealth Book Prize 2013!

3 Nigerian Writers Short listed For Commonwealth Book Prize 2013! 

Three Nigerian authors are among the 21 writers shortlisted for the 2013 highly coveted Commonwealth Book Prize and they are competing against five writers from Australia, five from India, three from the United Kingdom, two from Canada, one from Jamaica, one from South Africa and one from Sri Lanka
It is really a tough competition.

The three Nigerian writers are Ifeanyi Ajaegbo, Chibundu Onuzo and E.E. Sule.
The following are the titles of  their entries with the synopses.

Sarah House

 
  
Nita wakes up one night to discover herself in a dark world very different from the life of opportunities promised to her by Slim, the man she loved and trusted to take her away from the small island town of Opobo, Nigeria. Soon she realises she is a slave, bought and sold without her consent and forced into a life of prostitution and sleazy strip clubs.
Every day Nita walks a tightrope of survival surrounded by vicious pimps and thugs. She meets Tega, a fellow slave lured into prostitution by Slim; she is sold to Madam, who runs Sarah House and makes money from young girls and children; she finds favour with Chief, an influential politician who provides protection for Madam’s illicit business in human trafficking, and she must survive Lothar, a renegade porn film maker. Life in this nightmare world gets more complicated when Nita meets pretty, young Damka and is approached by a police detective working undercover.
When Damka disappears and Nita discovers the child’s bloodied clothes in a room in Sarah House, she knows she has to work with the police in spite of the dangers to her own life.



 IFEANYI AJAEGBO is a development consultant and communications practitioner who lives and works in Port Harcourt in Nigeria. His writing has won awards and fellowships, including the 2005 African regional prize for the Commonwealth Short Story Competition. Sarah House is his first novel.


The Spider King’s Daughter

 
  
The Spider King’s Daughter’ is a modern-day Romeo and Juliet set against the backdrop of a changing Lagos, a city torn between tradition and modernity, corruption and truth, love and family loyalty. Seventeen-year-old Abike Johnson is the favourite child of her wealthy father. She lives in a sprawling mansion in Lagos, protected by armed guards and ferried everywhere in a huge black jeep. But being her father’s favourite comes with uncomfortable duties, and she is often lonely behind the high walls of her house.
A world away from Abike’s mansion, in the city’s slums, lives a seventeen-year-old hawker struggling to make sense of the world. His family lost everything after his father’s death and now he runs after cars on the roadside selling ice cream to support his mother and sister.
When Abike buys ice cream from the hawker one day, they strike up an unlikely and tentative romance, defying the prejudices of Nigerian society. But as they grow closer, revelations from the past threaten their relationship and both Abike and the hawker must decide where their loyalties lie.

  
CHIBUNDU ONUZO was born in Nigeria in 1991 and is the youngest of four children. She is currently studying History at Kings College, London. When not writing, Chibundu can be found playing the piano or singing.

Sterile Sky

    

As the gifted young Murtala comes of age in Kano, violent riots and his family’s own woes threaten to erase all he holds dear. Stalked by monsters real and imagined, desperate to preserve a sense of self and the future, Murtala hunts for answers in the wreckage of the city – and gives us a unique insight into modern life in northern Nigeria.

 
E. E. SULE is the pen-name of Dr. Sule E. Egya who is an associate professor in Department of English, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, Nigeria. Besides published academic work and essays, Dr.Egya is the author of the short story collections Impotent Heavens and Dream and Shame, and the poetry volumes Naked Sun, Knifing Tongues and What the Sea Told Me. His poems, short stories, and critical work have appeared in numerous journals, anthologies and literary magazines. Sterile Sky is his first novel.


Tweet

   

 

How to access the £800Million entertainment fund in Nigeria

 

 

How to access the £800Million entertainment fund in Nigeria

Media reports have it that only six applicants have successfully accessed N700 million of the N200 billion entertainment fund disbursed by the Nigerian Export Import Bank (NEXIM) for the entertainment industry.  Yet the entertainment industry is in dire need for these funds as the industry especially the film sector is in comatose. For the purpose of clarity, the objective of the fund is to stimulate the entertainment industry by funding of production, distribution infrastructure, acquisition of hi-tech production equipment and project refinancing.
Many practitioners have decried the conditions attached to the fund hence this attempt to demystify the process:


Change your orientation - It’s a loan not a grant.

Most applications still consider the fund a grant. While a grant is non-repayable fund disbursed by the government or its agencies, corporation or foundation often for a specific project, a loan requires repayment, the meeting of certain conditions and here’s the best part – a security or collateral. A loan is generally provided at an interest. So, change the mind-set because if you view it as a loan it becomes easier to consider the terms.

Apply as a corporation – Don’t own one, affiliate with one.

The fund is available to only incorporated companies so if you only registered a business name or enterprise you may not be eligible.  You need a memorandum and article of association, article of association, forms CAC2 and CAC7). The company must operate in the entertainment and creative industry. So that registration certificate of Alawada and Sons Limited your father registered in the 60’s to carry out the business of importation of Tokunbo vehicles will not apply.
Funding under the NEXIM bank facility only covers segments of the entertainment industry in the following categories: Music, Film, Television, Radio (Production and distribution) and also fashion segments. So, if you are in the fashion industry and you have been searching for funds for that fashion show, well, you’re welcome.

Meeting the conditions is not rocket science – Hire a consultant

.Non-compliance of stipulated guidelines by the practitioners in the entertainment industry it has been observed is the greatest constraints to accessing the funds. However this does not have to be difficult if you are smart enough to hire a consultant. A firm of chartered accountants and tax practitioners will help you to prepare audited accounts, statement of cash flow, statement of affairs and project feasibility study/business plan. These documents give a picture of the financial state of the business so that NEXIM bank can determine whether it is a viable enterprise. But ensure you do not patronize quacks, it will haunt you when the tax people come calling. Also, the lenders know a statement of accounts prepared by professionals. Call me.

Collateral is not only the family house – Think outside the box

A major constraint to securing loan in this part of the world is our often skewed idea about what constitutes collateral. Usually a secured loan requires the borrower to pledge some assets, e.g. a car or a property. Unsecured loans are not secured against the borrower’s assets.
In the case of NEXIM bank, it is a secured loan hence you require an asset. But there are tangible assets such as a house or a car and intangible assets such as trademark or copyright. So, if you are looking to produce and distribute a film your collateral can include proprietary rights to your business or intellectual property right. Yep, the copyright to the screenplay, music score (sound track) can suffice if you pledge this to NEXIM bank. They will only need to secure it by a stipulated amount.  How nifty is that? And don’t forget the distribution rights – so you need a lawyer to protect you. Check rule 3.

Work with structures – Corporations protect you

Incorporated entities have legal lights and liabilities that are distinct from its shareholders hence there’s the presence of a corporate veil that serves to shield its owners in times of adversities. Also corporations prefer to do business with corporations.
However, in the entertainment industry rather than corporations there are groups and associations mostly informal and lacking legal framework. This structure is defective and makes it difficult for other industries to engage the entertainment industry. Register your company.

Set up a disbursement chain

So NEXIM bank has finally agreed to dole out the cash to you (of course, you followed Rule 3) but you need a collection account hence your company’s current account should not be dormant or to be on the safe side, open a dedicated account for it. Loan proceeds too could be disbursed directly to your service providers/contractors against job completion certification hence it is important that you hire only registered service providers.

The best part of the loan is the interest - take advantage of it.

The total interest to be charged on any loan facility under the NEXIM bank scheme is in single digit. This means for loans with maturity duration of 2 -1o years they shall not charge more than 9% interest rates. This is way too generous when you consider that currently banks lend at rates above 22% and in some instances up to 35% with conditions that for the lack of milder adjective we’ll leave at punitive.
There are charges associated with the loan, a processing fee of 1% flat on approved amount, annual management fee of 0.75% of outstanding loan amount payable at anniversary date of the facility drawdown on outstanding loan amount from time to time to cover project management and monitoring fees and legal fees charged to the account of the applicant for sundry legal filings and documentation.

Checklist – the tricky items

Most of appraisal requirements are relatively easy so let’s dwell on the tricky parts. Valuation report on collateral to be pledged – this could be land/building, equipment or intellectual property. When physical asset is not available, you must be ready to produce a valuation report that will show how your intellectual property secures the loan. You must also produce past audited accounts and the most recent management account/statement of affairs and tax clearance. Confused? See Rule 3.

Have a sound business plan – It’s your best defence

If you’ve watched the popular series Dragon’s Dena Sony entertainment franchise where entrepreneurs pitch business ideas in order to secure investment finance from a panel of venture capitalists, then you’ll understand the importance of a business plan.  To be effective, it should give a detailed history of the project, ownership structure of the company, details of activity, marketing arrangement, cash-flow and profitability analysis.

Protect your investment

Now that you have understood the value of a corporation, secure yours. Take out insurance indemnity, pay relevant taxes usually with a tax consultant supporting you as they may best advice you on allowances due you. Most importantly, keep a record of every transaction and regularly have your accounts audited. And don’t use the loan proceeds to pay for your wedding. Trust me, your bride will not be happy if she learns she was married on a loan.


~ By  Isaac Anyaogu,  a financial consultant offering tax and business advisory services located in Nigeria. A graduate of Mass Communication at the University of Nigeria Nsukka, Isaac also writes for television and films.

Tweet

 

World Map of the Most and Least Racially Tolerant Countries

 
 

• Anglo and Latin countries most tolerant. People in the survey were most likely to embrace a racially diverse neighbor in the United Kingdom and its Anglo former colonies (the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand) and in Latin America. The only real exceptions were oil-rich Venezuela, where income inequality sometimes breaks along racial lines, and the Dominican Republic, perhaps because of its adjacency to troubled Haiti. Scandinavian countries also scored high.  

 • India, Jordan, Bangladesh and Hong Kong by far the least tolerant. In only three of 81 surveyed countries, more than 40 percent of respondents said they would not want a neighbor of a different race. This included 43.5 percent of Indians, 51.4 percent of Jordanians and an astonishingly high 71.8 percent of Hong Kongers and 71.7 percent of Bangladeshis.

Click here to read the report

Tweet
 
   

 

Chinelo Okparanta and three other Nigerians Dominate 2013 Caine Prize Shortlist

Chinelo Okparanta, the author of the highly rated Happiness Like Water and three other Nigerian writers have made four of the five writers shortlisted for the 2013 Caine Prize for African fiction.
Chinelo's entry "America" from Granta, Issue 118 (London, 2012) is highly favoured to win the coveted Caine Prize.

The other Nigerians on the shortlist are Elnathan John for "Bayan Layi" from Per Contra, Issue 25 (USA, 2012), Tope Folarin for "Miracle" from Transition, Issue 109 (Bloomington, 2012) and Abubakar Adam Ibrahim for "The Whispering Trees" from "The Whispering Trees", published by Parrésia Publishers (Lagos, 2012).

The fifth writer is Pede Hollist from Sierra Leone for "Foreign Aid" from Journal of Progressive Human Services, Vol. 23.3 (Philadelphia, 2012).

The Chair of judges, art historian and broadcaster, Gus Casely-Hayford said:
“The shortlist was selected from 96 entries from 16 African countries. They are all outstanding African stories that were drawn from an extraordinary body of high quality submissions.”
Gus described the shortlist saying, “The five contrasting titles interrogate aspects of things that we might feel we know of Africa – violence, religion, corruption, family, community – but these are subjects that are deconstructed and beautifully remade. These are challenging, arresting, provocative stories of a continent and its descendants captured at a time of burgeoning change.”

Alongside Gus on the panel of judges this year are award-winning Nigerian-born artist, Sokari Douglas Camp; author, columnist and Lord Northcliffe Emeritus Professor at UCL, John Sutherland; Assistant Professor at Georgetown University, Nathan Hensley and the winner of the Caine Prize in its inaugural year, Leila Aboulela.

Once again, the winner of the £10,000 Caine Prize will be given the opportunity of taking up a month’s residence at Georgetown University, as a Writer-in-Residence at the Lannan Center for Poetics and Social Practice. The award will cover all travel and living expenses. The winner will also be invited to take part in the Open Book Festival in Cape Town in September 2013. Last year the Caine Prize was won by Nigerian writer Rotimi Babatunde. He has subsequently co- authored a play "Feast" for the Young Vic and the Royal Court Theatres in London.

The winner of the £10,000 prize is to be announced at a celebratory dinner at the Bodleian Library, Oxford, on Monday the 8th of July.

The first Nigerian to win the Caine Prize is the popular multiple awards winning novelist Helon Habila in 2001. Previous shortlisted Nigerian writers include the famous Nigerian authors Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in 2002; Chika Unigwe in 2004, was also shortlisted in 2006 for the Dutch equivalent of the Orange Prize for her novel translated into Dutch, "de fenicks". She won the 2003 BBC Short Story Competition for her story "Borrowed Smile", a Commonwealth Short Story Award for "Weathered Smiles" and a Flemish literary prize for "De Smaak van Sneeuw". Her second novel, On Black Sisters’ Street, first published in Dutch, was published in Chika’s own English version by Jonathan Cape in 2009 and Random House in 2011 won the 2012 Nigeria Prize for Literature endowed by the Nigeria LNG Limited.. Her new novel is Night Dancer published in June 2012 by Jonathan Cape; Ike Okonta in 2005; Sefi Atta in 2006, is famous for her Everything Good Will Come and Swallow and the short story collection News From Home. Winner of the PEN International 2004/5 David T.K. Wong Prize, she also won the first Wole Soyinka Prize for Literature in Africa in 2006 for Everything Good Will Come, and the final NOMA Award for Publishing in Africa in 2009 for Lawless and other stories, now published as "News From Home". Her publishers include Interlink Books in the USA, AAA Press in Nigeria and Jacana Media in South Africa; Uwem Akpan in 2007 and his book Say You're One of Them (Oprah's Book Club) published by Little Brown won the Best First Book award in the Africa region of the Commonwealth Literature Prize and was critically acclaimed by Oprah Winfrey on Oprah’s Book Club in 2009 prompting it to reach the top of the New York Times bestseller list; Ada Udechukwu in 2007 and Uzor Maxim Uzoatu in 2008.

The previous winners include the following.

• 2011: Noviolet Bulawayo
• 2010: Olufemi Terry
• 2009: E C Osondu
• 2008: Henrietta Rose-Innes
• 2007: Monica Arac de Nyeko
• 2006: Mary Watson
• 2005: SA Afolabi
• 2004: Brian Chikwava
• 2003: Yvonne Adhiambo Owuor
• 2002: Binyavanga Wainaina
• 2001: Helon Habila
• 2000: Leila Aboulela

Chinelo Okparanta was born in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. She received her BS from Pennsylvania State University, her MA from Rutgers University and her MFA from Iowa Writers' Workshop. She teaches at the University of Iowa.


 

 Her novel "Happiness Like Water" made the exclusive list of Best Books Of 2013?: Our Picks For The Year's Biggest Reads by the highly esteemed Huffington Post. See the report on http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/20/best-books-2013-our-picks_n_2344874.html?ref=topbar#slide=1910286 and also the latest New Voice in a series on GRANTA. Read her interview on http://www.granta.com/New-Writing/Interview-Chinelo-Okparanta


"Chinelo Okparanta’s debut collection is astonishing. Her narrators render their stories with such strength and intimacy, such lucidity and composure, that in each and every case the truths of their lives detonate deep inside the reader’s heart, with the power and force of revelation."
 —Paul Harding, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Tinkers.

 "Okparanta's prose is tender, beautiful and evocative. These powerful stories of contemporary Nigeria are told with compassion and a certain sense of humour. What a remarkable new talent."
—Chika Unigwe, author of On Black Sisters Street, winner of the 2012 Nigeria Prize for Literature sponsored by the Nigeria LNG Limited.

"Intricate, graceful prose propels Okparanta’s profoundly moving and illuminating book. I devoured these stories and immediately wanted more. This is an arrival."
 —NoViolet Bulawayo, author of We Need New Names.

"A haunting and startlingly original collection of short stories about the lives of Nigerians both at home and in America. Okparanta’s characters are forced to make difficult, often impossible choices—a university student decides to go to work as an escort to pay for her mother’s medical bills, a high school teacher is asked to come home to care for her dying, abusive father—and yet they manage to prevail through quiet and sometimes surprising acts of defiance. Okparanta’s prose is elegant and precise, fueled by a strong undercurrent of rage that surfaces at unexpected moments. Happiness, Like Water is a deeply affecting literary debut, the work of a sure and gifted new writer." —Julie Otsuka, author of The Buddha in the Attic

 "Without bluster, Chinelo Okparanta writes stories that are brave and devastating."

 —Mohsin Hamid, author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist.

 
See more by Nigerian Writers  and click on any of the book covers to order for the bestselling Nigerian novels and short stories collections.

 

Tweet

   

 

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® (Nollywood Reloaded): The Kindle Edition

Book Description

Publication Date: May 13, 2013

 

NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® is here to capture the big picture of the current affairs in Nollywood and share them with the rest of the world in print and digital formats.
The target audience are the over 59 million viewers of Nollywood movies on free TV, paid cable TV and on the internet in Africa, the UK, U.S., Canada and the Caribbean.
The maiden edition of NOLLYWOOD MIRROR® will be the first Nigerian magazine to be published in paperback, hard-cover and e-copy versions for both print and digital distribution in Nigeria, the U.S., UK and the rest of the world.

---

Product Details

• File Size: 4408 KB
• Publisher: International Digital Post Network Limited; 1 edition (May 13, 2013)
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B00CSGYTQK
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled

 Tweet

   

 

A Catalog Of Pastors Killed By Boko Haram In Nigeria

 
Boko Haram terrorists taking orders from their Islamic leader before attacking and killing Christian pastors in Nigeria.

The following is a catalog of pastors attacked and killed by the Boko Haram Islamist terrorist group in Nigeria compiled in 2011 and since then more pastors and Christians have been attacked and murdered by Boko Haram without government inquiries or emergency relief for their bereaved families.

A Catalog of Pastors Deaths by Boko Haram Militants


As anxiety is mounting over the activities of Boko Haram group, some Muslims are defusing the fear as misplaced. They see the group as only a new breed of young Muslim activists who have aggressively embraced a stricter version of Islam, rejecting anything Western and Christian. Boko Haram began life as a peaceful group focused on the study of the Koran, according to Abdulmumin Sa’ad, a Muslim scholar and professor of Sociology at the University of Maiduguri.

“The idea was that there is a lot of sin in the larger society and their parents had amassed a lot of ill-gotten wealth,” says Sa’ad, who taught some of the militants. “There is widespread immorality, and so the best thing to do is to remove themselves and camp elsewhere, where they can concentrate on their religion, mediate, reach out and begin to form a fellowship.” Sa’ad claims that group turned violent when authorities harassed it.

In retaliation, the group had killed about 16,000 policemen and was responsible for the death of pastors in Christian circle. Worried about the safety of Christians and pastors in Nigeria, the president of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor, asked the federal government to curb the growing trend of terrorism in parts of the country. “We can no longer allow this group of disgruntled elements to get away with these acts of terrorism in Nigeria,” he said.

The catalogue of death of pastors by Boko Haram militants is raising alarm immediate change. Pastor David Usman, 45, and church secretary Hamman Andrew of the 'Church of Christ in Nigeria' in the troubled city of Maiduguri on the 7 June and Pastor Solomon Uzor of Trinity Chapel in Bauchi on the 10 May were among the latest casualties in what local Christians called "an upsurge of Islamic militancy" in these states.

Evangelical Christians said the two men were shot and killed by members of the Boko Haram sect near an area of Maiduguri, known as Railway Quarters, where their church is based. Hours earlier the gunmen also participated in blasts and attacks that left at least ten people dead, police said. A Catholic church, which was also targeted in the attacks, has been badly shattered, according to witnesses.

The same incident was reported in Lagos where Boko Haram members allegedly killed Pastor Daniel Okolu with two other people in November 2010. Pastor Michael Madugu, had just returned to his medicine store when his assailants pounced on him. Eyewitnesses said: “Two motorcyclists just stopped in front of the shop around 7.00pm and started shooting into the air to scare away people before they opened fire on Madugu. His assailants then moved immediately to the next medicine store where one Obinna and his brother were also shot to death. Unlucky James, another victim, who was about to enter Obinna’s store to buy medicine was also shot dead .

It was gathered that Michael Madugu, a district pastor in charge of Hausa church, was killed by a gang of four fundamentalists in his pharmaceutical shop while dispensing drugs to customers at about 7.05 p.m., leaving his wife and seven children to mourn him.

On December 24, armed men suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect stormed some churches including the Victory Baptist Church at Dala-Alamderi and shot to death the resident pastor, Rev. Bulus Marwa (37), Christopher Balami, a lecturer in the state-owned polytechnic, Paul Mathew, Philip Luka and a tea hawker, Yohana Adamu. The rampaging gunmen also set the Church of Christ in Nigeria (COCIN) in Ruwan Safi ablaze. A Deeper Life pastor, 3 others were killed in Maiduguri by suspected members of Boko Haram Jan 20, 2011.

Danjuma Akawu, who survived the attack on the Baptist church, said “they hacked the two choir members using knives and petrol bomb before heading to the pastor’s residence, where he was killed.”

On 26 July, 2009 the girl identified by CSW only as Mary was in church with her pastor, his brother and an older Christian woman when a group of fifty militants broke in. She and her pastor hid as the group killed the pastor’s brother and dragged the older woman out of the room. On discovering their hiding place, the militants cut off her pastor’s hand to stop him holding on to her, then hacked him to death with machetes before setting him on fire.

The girl and the woman were dragged to Boko Haram's compound in Maiduguri's Railway district, and were placed in a room with around 100 other Christian women and girls. They were all asked to renounce their faith or face continued imprisonment, while Christian men were given the choice of renouncing their faith or dying.

Mary vividly describes how she was forced to wash the blood stained clothing of Boko Haram fighters. She was in the camp for four days, but managed to escape with a few others when military forces intensified their attack on the compound.

Mary's pastor was one of three Christian ministers targeted and killed by Boko Haram during that week's violence. "Local Christians have also expressed disappointment that some western media have disregarded the targeted nature of attacks on their community, and the brutal murders of Christian pastors. "Unless this aspect of the violence is recognised by all and dealt with effectively, people in Northern Nigeria will continue to suffer because of their religious beliefs.”

One of the victims of that week’s attack by the Yusufiya sect in Borno State has given a shocking account of how the Islamic extremists killed three pastors who were captured along with other victims on the second day of the insurgence 28 July 2009. The victim was among those held hostage in Yusuf’s enclave.

Speaking exclusively to Daily Sun in Maiduguri, the eye witness who preferred anonymity disclosed that the three pastors were beheaded on the instruction of the sect leader, Mohammed Yusuf shortly after bringing them out of his inner chamber.

“The pastors alongside one Ibo man were asked to change their faith to Islam like they did to other people taken as hostages. And there was an argument by one of the pastors which gave the others some level of confidence to also resist accepting Islam.

“The Yusufiya men who were armed on that Tuesday afternoon were not comfortable with the pastors and they took one of them to the sect leader in his inner chamber. They came out later to the courtyard within the compound and cut their heads one after the other and thereafter, shouted Allah akbar in wild celebration accompanied with several gun shots,” the eye witness disclosed.

Corroborating the account of the killing, a Senior pastor with Good News Church, Wulari Maiduguri Rev. Baba Gata Ibrahim told Daily Sun in an interview that a pastor in his church, Pastor George Orjih was beheaded on the instruction of the Boko Haram leader because the clergy man refused to accept Islam.

The late Pastor George Orjih was said to have arrived Maiduguri last week from Jos where he was doing his Masters programme in Theology. Described as a fearless, hardworking, and intellectually sound, his care for the welfare and well being of his family allegedly contributed to his capture and eventual death. “He was mindful of his family and their welfare. He was really out of the house but thought to go back again. That was how he was captured by the Boko Haram before he was killed,’’ the senior pastor added.


PLEASE, SEE THE COMPLETE REPORT ON http://nigeriantimes.blogspot.com/2011/06/catalog-of-pastors-deaths-by-boko-haram.html

Source: Chidi Ahmed, Blueprint Correspondent. First published on Nigerian Times at 3:41 AM on Wednesday, June 29, 2011.

Tweet

   

 

Ban Ki-moon Urges ‘Holistic Approach To Fight Boko Haram, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb and other Terrorists

 
President Goodluck Jonathan and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

NEW YORK, 13 May 2013 / PRNewswire Africa / - From the Horn of Africa in the east and across the Sahel to the west, terrorism continues to pose a threat to the continent's peace, security and development, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said today as he warned that Africa was facing a rise in the presence of extremist groups and terrorist entities.

In remarks delivered to the United Nations Security Council's open debate on combating terrorism in Africa, the Secretary-General said that success in the combat against groups such as the Nigeria-based Boko Haram, Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb, and the Somalia-based Al Shabaab would require greater and more holistic efforts.

“Military advances, important as they are, will not by themselves bring an end to terrorism in Africa. This struggle must go forward on many fronts, including by addressing the conditions that are conducive to the spread of terrorism,” Mr. Ban stressed, while adding that the lack of development and the absence of the rule of law allow terrorist groups to recruit across communities and build their ranks.
“Opportunistic links between terrorist and transnational organized criminal groups ensure the constant flow of people, money, weapons and illicit goods across borders, allowing such groups to survive and proliferate,” he continued.

Turning to the continent's terrorist hotspots, Mr. Ban told the 15-Member Council that in Somalia, for example, there had already been “important progress towards stability” with the Islamist militant group, Al Shabaab uprooted from numerous strategic locations.
“But to secure these gains and prevent the group's resurgence, a lot more needs to be accomplished with respect to the rule of law, development and the country's political transformation,” he noted.
In particular, the UN chief underscored the role of the newly established UN Mission in Somalia in providing strategic policy guidance on security sector reform while also supporting the country's nascent Federal Government in strengthening their police, justice and corrections.

As for Mali and the wider Sahel region, the Secretary-General similarly pointed out the international community's successes in tackling a deteriorating situation with what he described as “welcome resolve.”
In December 2012, at the request of the Malian Government, the Security Council authorized the deployment of the African-led International Support Mission in Mali, known by its French acronym, AFISMA, in order to support national efforts to recover the country's north, which had been occupied by radical Islamists.

The conflict uprooted hundreds of thousands of people and prompted the Malian Government to request assistance from France to stop the military advance of extremist groups.
As with Somalia, Mr. Ban suggested that the newly launched UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) would provide key support for the Malian authorities in extending state control and building “legitimate instruments of governance.”

In addition, he stated that in the Sahel, the UN was developing “an integrated strategy that aims to enhance governance; strengthen the capacity of national and regional security mechanisms; and integrate development and humanitarian activities in order to build resilience.”
“Without such a holistic approach, we risk simply pushing the threat from one area to another,” the Secretary-General concluded.

In a Presidential statement approved at the start of the meeting, members of the Security Council echoed Mr. Ban's remarks by voicing deep concern at the increasing violence perpetrated by armed groups across Africa's regions and sub-regions. They similarly called for an integrated response which would target development as much as it would security and include a wide variety of actors ranging from the international community to civil society groups.

“The Security Council recognizes that terrorism will not be defeated by military force or security forces, law enforcement measures, and intelligence operations alone,” the statement declared while underlining the need to address the conditions conducive to “strengthening efforts for the successful prevention and peaceful resolution of prolonged conflicts, and also promoting the rule of law, the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, good governance, tolerance and inclusiveness.”

As a result, the Council called on the Secretary-General to provide “a comprehensive survey and assessment” of the UN's work in assisting Member States and sub-regional and regional entities across Africa in fighting the continent's terrorist threats.


“The United Nations is strongly committed to doing its part to combat terrorism in Africa,” Mr. Ban reminded the Council during his remarks. “Success is crucial for enabling Africans to meet their aspirations to live in dignity and peace.”


SOURCE : UN News Centre

Tweet

   

 

President Jonathan: Survival Benefit and Support System for Police Families

 
President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria.

 President Jonathan, Execute a Survival Benefit and Support System for Police Families

Mr. President, as you and your administration face a Nigeria submerged in the  Boko Haram uproar in the North, kidnapping upheaval in the South, militancy  hullabaloo in the Niger Delta, and rampant violence,  vicious schemes, and institutional exploitation all over the country, the receiving hands from all of these disasters is that lone security agent or law enforcement officer.

Mr. President, as you deliberate what type of policy or order to give in regard to the security crisis, think about the mounting corpses of slain officers being recovered after falling victim to  the primitively arranged police operations in Nasarawa State and think about the murdered and burnt bodies of officers in Borno State and elsewhere.  These are husbands, fathers, and sons, as well as breadwinners to wives, children and to parents.  Notwithstanding the reality that they are part of a highly troubled, messy, and higgledy-piggledy police establishment, they made the ultimate sacrifice in their efforts to keep us safe.  Now they are gone!  As a consequence, their families, especially their wives and children, are left to grieve and to fend for themselves with no well-defined, legislative, survival benefit system.

                 Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar,

While there is nothing wrong with a state governor making it known that each of the families of the dead security agents involved in the Nasarawa operation would get N1 million, it is essential to note that these victims are federal officers as there is yet to be an established State police system.  Mr. President, the nation lacks a federal based system of life insurance policies for close family members and survivors.  There is no Police Health Plan with a package for trauma therapy for families of deceased officers.  The traumatically injured officer lacks a system-based insurance or long-term financial plan to cover their hospital bills and other basic needs in their respective place of abode.  While from time to time we hear of how a set of monies is presented to survivors, it is usually a one-time deal that is paid out, and at best such collected benefit generally comes late and only brings brief aid to the grieving family.

Mr. President, it will interest you to know that the nation currently has a Police Force with no specialized training in professional psychological services nor does it have a system for trauma therapy and grief counseling/psychological assistance for grieving families.  In many cases these families might be encountering emotional reactions such as flashbacks or nightmares and undergoing experiences of painful emotions marked with physical sensations of fear and body pain which could be long term.  The police force also lacks a system of death and grief studies and a “Family Orientation to Police Life” that could help make the experience of premature death less shocking to families.  Given the fact that premature police deaths are statistically higher overall compared to many professions, the federal ministry of police affairs should institute a therapeutic system for grieving families seeking comfort and closure.

          A meeting of needy families.

Certainly, there will be police officers killed in the line of duty and as such the use of psychological resources to attain stability and a support system to help the family cope becomes vital.  A line-of-duty psychological treatment for grieving families, peers, and colleagues is more meaningful when the kind of benefits collected by a spouse or family is highly sustaining as these post-duty death benefits affect the length and intensity of the whole grieving period.

It is time that the Nigeria Police have individual and group counseling and other related services, which should be provided at various commands or locations by trained grief response teams across homes and schools.  There is a need to begin a telephone program where families and peers of the dead leave information in regard to counseling assistance or other needs.

Mr. President, hopefully, as you set out to issue an executive order to help families of police officers as well as other security agents killed in the line of duty, you will exert pressure on the National Assembly to enact legislation that will provide lifetime worker compensation benefits to survivor families that should also include counseling and other technical supports for the families to help them rebuild their lives.


~ By John Egbeazien Oshodi, Ph.D.
President,
Dr. John Egbeazien Oshodi Foundation Center for the Study and Advancement of Nigerian Psychological Health.

 Tweet

   

 

ITU appoints First Lady of Nigeria as its Child Online Protection Champion

 
Dame Patience Jonathan.  

GENEVA, 10 May 2013 / PRNewswire Africa / - The Secretary-General of International

Telecommunication Union (ITU) Dr Hamadoun I. Touré today appointed the First Lady of Nigeria and President of the African First Ladies Peace Mission, Her Excellency Dame (Dr) Patience Goodluck Jonathan, as ITU's Child Online Protection (COP) Champion.


The First Lady received her letter of appointment from the Director of ITU's Telecommunication Development Bureau, Brahima Sanou, who met with her today to discuss issues related to cyberthreats and cybersecurity in the Africa region.
 
Mr Sanou was accompanied by Datuk Mohd Noor Amin, Chairman of the International Multilateral Partnership Against Cyber Threats (IMPACT), ITU's executing arm for cybersecurity, and Andrew Rugege, ITU Regional Director for Africa.

“It is a great honour for ITU to have the support of Nigeria's First Lady,” said Dr Touré. “Her commitment is further confirmation of the key role that ITU is playing as a global catalyst and facilitator in international dialogue and cooperation in the area of cybersecurity.”

Mr Sanou added that the “COP framework has become a crucial means of creating a safe environment for our children while they are on the net. Both ITU and IMPACT have faith in Her Excellency's ability to spread this message and push for reforms not only in the Africa region but across the globe.”
 Datuk Mohd Noor Amin said Dame Jonathan, who has won numerous accolades for her charitable work involving women and children, will be the perfect advocate for ITU's Child Online Protection initiative.
“Her Excellency is both a progressive leader and renowned humanitarian, and is the ideal candidate to help ITU-IMPACT in its mission to push for COP awareness and the need for national online protection frameworks to protect and support the younger generations online.”

In addition to the COP initiative, ITU and IMPACT are looking at the possibility of setting up a Cybersecurity Regional Centre in Nigeria which would play an essential role in supporting the expansion of ITU-IMPACT's network globally, by localizing cybersecurity services to meet the unique needs of the region. Nigeria has indicated its interest in hosting a new Regional Centre under the ITU-IMPACT framework.

The proposed Regional Centre would become a vital hub of expertise and constitute an important component of the multi-stakeholder network that must be built to support government, industry and citizens, so that the full benefits of information and communications technology can be assured for all citizens.
“While acting as a catalyst for greater regional collaboration to address escalating cyber threats, this centre would also help promote Nigeria as an advanced cybersecurity hub for the region,” said Mr Sanou.
SOURCE : International Telecommunication Union (ITU)

Top Reports 

02:27	AUC to Live Stream 21st Summit and 50th Anniversary of the OAU / AU
02:22	AfDB Gender Forum Stresses Women's Empowerment in Tunis
02:20	ITU appoints First Lady of Nigeria as its Child Online Protection Champion
02:15	CAR: UN AGENCY ‘CONDEMNS IN STRONGEST POSSIBLE TERMS' KILLING OF TEEN LINKED TO REBELS
02:14	AUC/FAO/COMESA REGIONAL TRAINING WORKSHOP ON CAADP ENGAGEMENT IN POST- HARVEST LOSS REDUCTION

Tweet

   

 

Nigerian Soldiers Killed By Boko Haram Because They Did Not Have Enough Bullets

 

“Our comrades died because they did not have any bullets. We took bullets to them!”

 ~ Nigerian Army. 

Earlier sources had described to NewsRescue that soldiers had to “bribe” the armory to get working guns and adequate bullets. The troops who died had a ration of only 30 rounds, as against the minimum 120 rounds for such duty.

Read more: http://newsrescue.com/nigeria-top-level-sabotage-behind-military-and-civilian-casualties-in-boko-haram-war-military-sources/#ixzz2T9zd6PrO

Tweet