Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh has asked the chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Ellen Johnson Sirleaf not to step into his country for any kind of political solution to the problem that may arise from his rejection of the result of the December 1st Presidential election which the opposition candidate, Adama Barrow won.
The announcement of this on state television yesterday, Saturday, threw Gambia’s future into doubt after the unexpected election result ended Jammeh’s 22-year rule and was widely seen as a moment of democratic hope. He had earlier last week, conceded defeat publicly.
But, on Friday, he called for another election in the tiny West African country.
ECOWAS had hoped to put back on track Gambia’s first democratic transition of power in over 50 years, but those plans appeared thwarted on Saturday when her plane was denied landing access at Banjul.
“Johnson Sirleaf was supposed to fly in today, but Jammeh said ‘not at the moment,’” Senegal foreign minister, Mankeur Ndiaye told Reuters. It was not clear if the plane had already taken off.
Sirleaf’s camp was not immediately available for comment. A spokesman for Jammeh’s government could not be reached.
As Gambians brace for a tense standoff, international criticism of Jammeh’s claim came in fast. Following the United States and Senegal, the African Union on Saturday weighed in, calling Jammeh’s statement “null and void.”
“The Chairperson of the Commission strongly urges President Yahya Jammeh to facilitate a peaceful and orderly transition and transfer of power,” said Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, who also called on Gambia’s security forces to remain neutral.
The UN Security Council on Saturday has also asked Jammeh to quit.
The Council told Jammeh to carry out a peaceful and orderly transition of power to the President-elect, Mr Adama Barrow.
In a press statement issued on Saturday, the 15-member Council “strongly condemned the outgoing Gambian President’s rejection of the official election results proclaimed by the country’s Independent Electoral Commission.”
The Council asked Jammeh “to respect the choice of the sovereign people of Gambia, as he did on Dec. 2, and to transfer, without condition and undue delay, power to the President-elect, Mr. Adama Barrow.” [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed gratitude to God that the governor of Akwa Ibom state, Udom Emmanuel did not die in the Church building which collapsed yesterday in Uyo, the capital of Akwa Ibom state, killing about 200 worshipers. The President, who spoke to governor Udom on his mobile phone last night, congratulated the Governor and his family on their lucky escape from the tragic collapse of the building of the Reigners Bible Church, Uyo. The President also conveyed to the Governor and the People of Akwa Ibom State, the deep sorrow of his family, the government and the entire people of Nigeria over the many deaths and injury recorded following the incident. He prayed for the repose of the souls of those who died and the quick recovery of the injured. President Buhari implored the people of the state, especially those in the catchment area of the incident to rally around the victims of the tragedy to help ease their sorrow and pains. He commended the Government of the state for the way it handled the situation, so far. Meanwhile, the state government has declared today, Sunday, December and tomorrow, Monday, as days of mourning in honour of the victims of the collapse of The Reigners Bible Church building in Uyo. A statement from the state government said that all flags will fly at half-mast within the state. “The 2-day mourning period will be rounded off with a Solemn Assembly at the Banquet Hall of the Government House, Uyo on Monday December 12, 2016 by 4.pm prompt. “The Government urges all citizens and friends of the state to continue to pray for the speedy recovery of those injured in this incident.” [myad]
The American University of Nigeria-led Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative (AUN-API) has emerged as one of the winners of the annual prize for Inter-religious peace building from the London-based international Peace Direct organization.
The winners were announced at a ceremony in London and Washington, DC on Friday, December 9. The AUN-API won with its local community program that prevents conflicts between Christians and Muslims, and uses sports to prevent young people from joining terrorist groups.
According to the AUN’s Executive Director of Communications and Public Relations, Daniel C. Okereke in a statement, three winners emerged out of 244 entrants from 61 countries.
“The Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders Award includes a $10,000 grant to be used to further the recipients’ peace work. The AUN-API award is recognition for success working against conditions that created Boko Haram
“We are deeply honored by this recognition,” said Dr. Margee Ensign, president of the American University of Nigeria, which created API and provides overall direction. “We’re grateful to all members of API, our interfaith clergy and other leaders of API, but especially Abdulahi Bello, who coordinates our Peace Through Sports program.”
According to one of the judges: “The jury was extremely impressed by AUN-API’s application and the way the group’s programs respond to the needs of the community and show both long-term sustainability and innovation in approach.”
Okereke’s statement said that one innovative aspect of the program is the Peace Through Sports, where young men and women join teams to play soccer, basketball and volleyball.
The statement quoted Dr. Ensign as saying: “the teams are unity teams-with Christian and Muslim young people playing together. They learn to respect and to cooperate with one another, to appreciate and value beliefs different than their own.”
It said that one measure of program success is the number of young men who’ve been radicalized and joined the insurgency. So far that number is zero.
According to Dr. Ensign: “Numerous participants told me that ‘It was either Boko Haram or you.’” AUN also coordinates education programs and job training for young people in the sports program, as illiteracy and chronic unemployment are key contributors to the region’s instability.”
In addition to the Peace Through Sports program, AUN-API conducts mediation sessions in communities, teaches conflict resolution techniques, provides literacy instruction for out of school children, and feeds thousands of people displaced by violence.
Dr. Ensign, who also chairs API, said that the AUN-API’s approach is scalable and replicable, and the key elements, which rely heavily on local knowledge and expertise, have already been replicated elsewhere, especially in places that are hard for government authorities and humanitarian organizations to reach. Another advantage is that the community expertise at the heart of AUN-API is sustainable and can evolve in response to challenges inside and outside the community.
The longer-term vision, according to Dr. Ensign, is to spread the model throughout the wider region and country, wherever there is conflict, at-risk youth and the need for local empowerment.
AUN created the American University of Nigeria-Adamawa Peacemakers Initiative (AUN-API) in 2010, a peace initiative consisting of local leaders, traditional rulers and religious leaders, working to improve the quality of life of local and displaced Nigerians. Members of API identify vulnerable youth from their communities who are then educated and trained by AUN. The members of API are local leaders who are deeply involved with and embedded in their communities.
They have the best knowledge of which youth are the most vulnerable to violence and to groups like Boko Haram. Through locally led literacy and technology training, economic development, peace through sports programs and more, AUN and AUN-API are facilitating an environment for peace, promoting women’s empowerment and socioeconomic equality, engaging and preventing the radicalization of local youth and combatting violent extremism in Yola.
AUN and AUN-API’s integrated approach marries peacebuilding, literacy, vocational training, and women’s empowerment to ensure a sustainable transformation of the community. At the height of the Boko Haram crisis AUN-API fed 276,000 internally displaced people. [myad]
The United Nations Children Educaton Fund (UNICEF) has rolled out drums to celebrate its 70th anniversary, having been founded on December 11 1946 even as it expressed determination to urgent call to reach millions of children whose lives and futures are endangered by conflict, crisis, poverty, inequality and discrimination.
The UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake recalled, in a statement today, Sunday that UNICEF was founded after World War II to bring help and hope to all children at risk or in need “no matter which country they lived in or what role that country played in the war. Our mission is no less urgent and universal today.
“With so many children around the world in so much need, we are recommitting ourselves to delivering results for every child.”
According to the statement, the organization was established by the United Nations General Assembly to help children in post-war Europe, China and the Middle East. Funded entirely through voluntary contributions from governments, civil society, the private sector and concerned citizens, it rapidly expanded its reach and by 1955 was working for children in more than 90 countries.
“Today, UNICEF is the world’s largest children’s organization, working with partners in 190 countries and territories and through the efforts of 13,000 national and international staff to reach every child.
“UNICEF’s relentless engagement in the world’s toughest places has helped create remarkable progress for children in recent decades. The number of children dying before their fifth birthdays has been more than halved in the past 25 years. Hundreds of millions of children have been lifted out of poverty. Out-of-school rates among primary-school-aged children have been reduced by more than 40 per cent since 1990.
·In the 1940s, UNICEF provided emergency nutrition aid, mainly in the form of milk, to children in post-war Europe. In 2015, the organization and its partners treated 2.9 million children for severe acute malnutrition worldwide.
·In the 1950s, UNICEF led its first immunization campaigns against diseases such as tuberculosis and yaws. In 2015, the organization procured 2.8 billion doses of vaccines, and with its partners helping to protect 45 per cent of children under 5 years old worldwide from a range of deadly diseases.
·In 1953, UNICEF launched its first water, sanitation and hygiene programmes. Between 1990 and 2015, 2.6 billion people gained access to improved drinking water sources and 2.1 billion gained access to improved sanitation facilities.
·In 1961, UNICEF expanded its programmatic focus to include children’s education. In 2015, UNICEF and its partners provided 7.5 million children aged 3 to 18 with access to formal or non-formal basic education.
·In 1989, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which specifies that all children should be registered at birth to establish their identity under the law and thus to safeguard their rights. In 2015, UNICEF supported the registration of more than 9.7 million children’s births in 54 countries.
·In 1998, UNICEF became a founding member of the Roll Back Malaria Partnership to support malaria treatment and research, and expand prevention measures such as long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets. In 2015, UNICEF procured 22.3 million bed nets to protect children and families in 30 countries.
·Since its founding, UNICEF has responded to thousands of humanitarian emergencies affecting children. In 2015, UNICEF and partners vaccinated 11.3 million children against measles in countries affected by crisis; provided 4 million children in emergency situations with access to formal or non-formal basic education; and provided psychosocial support for 2 million children caught in conflicts and natural disasters.”
The statement said that despite this impressive progress, millions of children are still being left behind because they live in poverty or in hard-to-reach communities, because of their gender, race, religion, ethnic group, or because they have a disability. Nearly 250 million children are growing up in countries affected by conflict and nearly 50 million children have been uprooted from their homes.
“UNICEF’s vision for the next 70 years is a world in which our work is no longer necessary — a world in which every child is healthy, safe, educated, cared for and protected … and all children can make the most of their potential,” said Lake. “It’s the right thing to do, and the surest path to a better future for us all.” [myad]
The Muslim world has reacted with shock as the predominantly Christian country of Slovakia passed a law on November 30 that effectively bans Islam as an officially recognized religion, which also blocks Islam from receiving any state subsidies for its schools.
The law was passed with a two-thirds majority in the Slovakia Parliament.
The prime minister, Robert Fico, said in May that “Islam has no place” in Slovakia. Prior to the law being passed, Slovak National Party Chairman, Andrej Danko said: “Islamization starts with a kebab and it’s already under way in Bratislava — let’s realize what we can face in 5 to 10 years.
“We must do everything we can so that no mosque is built in the future,” said Danko.
The new law says that a religion must have at least 50,000 members to qualify for state recognition; the previous threshold was 20,000 members. According to Slovakia’s latest census, as reported by Reuters, there are 2,000 Muslims there and “no recognized mosques,” Reuters reports.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, Slovakia and the United States established diplomatic relations, in 1993. Slovakia is a member of the European Union and NATO. The country sits in the center of Eastern Europe, bordered by the Czech Republic, Austria, Poland, Ukraine and Hungary.
Slovakia’s population is approximately 5.4 million. As for religion, 62.2% of Slovaks are Catholic, 9% Protestant, 3.8% Greek Catholic, 1% Orthodox, and 13.4% atheist, according to the Slovak Statistical Office.
(10.6% did not answer the question about their religious belief.). [myad]
Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has clarified that the amount of late Sani Abacha’s loot payable to Nigeria from Switzerland is $321 million, and that it is being returned to Nigeria for projects which are subject to verification by the World Bank.
Reacting to what she called “a misleading report” published in the Saturday edition of the Punch, December 10, which erroneously claimed that the Federal Government has agreed to pay a $79 million commission to the Swiss government as part of conditions for repatriation of the Abacha loot, the minister said that the recovery process is ongoing with the Swiss authorities and that the World Bank has agreed to undertake the required verification.
In a statement today, Adeosun said that there is no deduction of $79 million as suggested in the report which is both “misleading and inaccurate.”
She assured that recovery will be made in full and that there is no commitment nor requirement to pay any commission.
“The Federal Government is committed to securing the return of all looted funds in their entirety and has never entered into any sharing arrangement as suggested in the report.”
The minister said that intense efforts are continuing to secure all monies due to Nigeria, including an additional $400 million of Abacha loot held up in US Courts on which the Attorney General of the Federation and the Ministry of Finance are engaging with their US counterparts to secure expeditiously. [myad]
President John Mahama of Ghana, who had just lost a second-term opportunity, having been defeated at the December 7 Presidential poll by opposition candidate, Nana Akufo-Addo, has turned philosopher, saying that he had learnt a lot lessons from the defeat he suffered.
In his concessional speech to the Ghanaians today, Saturday, Mahama said: “I cannot immediately tell my next move in life, politics and my role in our great party. But if I should ever make a comeback to politics, the lessons I have learnt from our defeat should serve as the moral code which will guide how I guide myself. “I have learnt that the Ghanaian voter, though mainly uneducated and simple, is more sophisticated than we thought. I have learnt that it is unacceptable for the people to loot, hoard and splash during elections. “I have learnt that the calls of the noisy minority cannot be ignored because they largely shape the opinions of the silent majority, who we politicians exploit for our selfish gain. I have learnt that not all those who criticized us hated us. Sometimes the best way to express your love for someone is to be critical of their actions. If I should ever return, I will not display a “dead-goat syndrome” towards disaffection of the masses. “When those who opposed us cried foul, we retorted, “Hate can’t win.” Tonight, however, I am the first to admit that some hate can win. This election has taught me that the hate of corruption can win. It has taught me that hate of incompetence can win. Our defeat has taught me that hate of impunity can win. I have learnt that the hate of the obscene display of ill-gotten opulence wins.
“I have learnt that hate of mediocrity and deception definitely wins. And I have learnt that hating evil will forever triumph over the love of evil. That was what happened on Wednesday. “Another important lesson I have learnt from this defeat is that the success or failure of a leader depends on the kind of people he or she surrounds themselves with. While Rawlings appointed the likes of Dr. Mohammed Ibn Chambas as deputy ministers, I made the mistake of giving that respectable position to the likes of John Oti Bless. I have now realized, rather too late, that if I had kept the likes of Ben Dotsei Malor and Dr. Raymond Atuguba around me, they would have injected some semblance of sanity into the Presidency and given that high office an aura of respectability and decency. The praise-singing sycophants who act on the dictates of their stomachs are only specialized at telling you what you want to hear. Unfortunately, I did not listen to voices of reason. Our elders say a disease that will kill a man first breaks sticks into his ears.”
President Mahama called on his supporters to stop the “blamestorming” and embark on brainstorming on how to get the party out of the mess the leaders had led it into. “I think we lost because our time was simply up, and no amount of deceptive campaign promises could keep us in power. No amount of monopolization of the media space could save us. No amount of money could stop our defeat. No amount of local and international celebrity endorsements could help us. And no amount of vote buying could stand the irresistible hurricane of change that shook our nation on Wednesday.” President Mahama feared that the future of his party looks gloomy “and we have to start work on how to get ourselves out of what appears like an eternal stay in opposition. In life, when you are hit by the subduing blow of misfortune, you have two options. You can allow that blow to crush you. You can also move on with the enormous lessons such misfortunes often present.” [myad]
The President of Gambian, Yahya Jammeh has shocked the world by rejecting the result of presidential election held earlier this month, a week after conceded defeat to the opposition party.
Mr. Jammeh pronounced that he now rejected the results of the election “in totality.”
“After a thorough investigation, I have decided to reject the outcome of the recent election. I lament serious and unacceptable abnormalities which have reportedly transpired during the electoral process.
“I recommend fresh and transparent elections which will be officiated by a God-fearing and independent electoral commission.”
Jammeh, who came to power after a coup in 1994, cited “abnormalities” in the vote and called for fresh elections in which he was defeated by Adama Barrow.
Mr. Barrow, who won more than 43 percent of the vote, on the other hand, accused the incumbent of damaging democracy by refusing to accept result.
According to the electoral commission, the revised results of the vote on 1 December showed that Mr. Barrow scored won 222,708 votes (43.34%) while President Jammeh scored 208,487 (39.6%). A third-party candidate, Mama Kandeh scored 89,768 (17.1%).
His transition team said the president-elect was safe even as International criticism of Mr. Jammeh came swiftly.
The results were revised by the country’s electoral commission on 5 December, when it emerged that the ballots for one area were added incorrectly, swelling Mr Barrow’s vote.
The error, which also added votes to the other candidates, “has not changed the status quo” of the result, the commission said.
However, it narrowed Mr. Barrow’s margin of victory from 9% to 4%.
Mr. Barrow’s spokesperson said the head of the army, General Ousman Badjie, supported the president-elect, having pledged his allegiance after the initial result.
Meanwhile, the US and the Gambia’s neighbour, Senegal, have condemned his announcement, even as the African Union called for a “peaceful and orderly transition of power.”
The US State Department Spokesman, Mark Toner, in a statement, said that his country “strongly condemned” Mr Jammeh’s rejection of the result.
“This action is a reprehensible and unacceptable breach of faith with the people of The Gambia and an egregious attempt to undermine a credible election process and remain in power illegitimately.”
The BBC’s West Africa correspondent, Thomas Fessy, says the main question now is whether the Gambian leader has managed to split the army, retaining a faction ready to back his announcement.
The government in Senegal called for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council. Foreign Minister Mankeur Ndiaye, speaking on national television, asked President Jammeh to respect the election result.
A Human Rights Watch spokesman also said it was “deeply concerned”.
“The international community, notably (regional bloc) ECOWAS and the African Union (AU), should loudly protest any unlawful attempt to subvert the will of the Gambian people,” said the deputy programme director, Babatunde Olugboji.
The streets of the capital, Banjul, were reported to be calm yesterday night although soldiers were seen placing sandbags in strategic locations across the city, AFP news agency reports.
Only last week, Mr. Jammeh was shown on state TV calling Mr. Barrow to wish him well.
“You are the elected president of The Gambia, and I wish you all the best. I have no ill will,” he said at the time.
Mr. Barrow, a property developer, is due to take office in late January.
The Gambia is the smallest country on mainland Africa, with a population of fewer than two million. In his 22 years in power, Mr. Jammeh acquired a reputation as a ruthless leader.
Ahead of the election, Human Rights Watch accused him of using violence to silence critics. The group said two activists had died in custody and dozens of people had been jailed and denied medical or legal help.
This was even as the speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara called on ECOWAS leaders to stop President Jammeh from creating a scene of anarchy in the West African nation.
Dogara, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Turaki Hassan, called on leaders of the regional bloc of Economic Community of West African States to take all necessary measures to stop defeated President of Gambia from plunging the country into anarchy with his volte-face on the recently concluded elections.
“It is in this respect that Nigeria must lead efforts and where necessary intervene to stop the outgoing Gambian President, Yahya Jammeh, from reneging on his remarkable action in earlier accepting defeat.”
“There is no longer any place or space for tyranny and dictatorship on the African continent. The era of obtaining victory at elections by corrupting the process is gone and gone for good.
“The challenge before leaders in Africa is to take the people out of poverty which is a major threat to democracy and enthrone a just and prosperous society.” [myad]
The Reigners Bible Church building in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State collapsed today, Saturday, just as service was in session, killing no fewer than 50 people even as the state governor, Udom Emmanuel who was in the church escaped unhurt. Reports reaching us from Uyo said that rescue workers have been battling to evacuate victims, whose number is yet to be ascertained.
Authorities did not provide any reasons for the collapse of the church building but said efforts were underway to rescue victims trapped beneath the rubble.
Official of the government said that the church “caved around them” at a ceremony to consecrate the leader of the church, Pastor Akan Week, as a Bishop. In a statement immediately after the incidence, government Udom expressed sympathy for the families of victims, saying that a high- Powered panel of enquiry is being constituted to ascertain the immediate and remote factors leading to the collapse of the church building with a view to forestall the re-occurrence of such incident and bring to book persons found to have compromised professional standards in the construction of the building. Governor Udom, who confirmed that he was present at the church during the incident, said that he personally supervised rescue operations and evacuation of the injured to the hospital.
He assured the victims that the State Government will undertake their medical treatment even as he appealed to the citizens of the state to remain calm, pray for the injured and avoid undue speculation as the situation is being given the best possible attention. [myad]
The Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, has come up with a 10-point fiscal roadmap to reset the Nigerian economy to a path of growth.
The Minister, who represented Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, at the annual dinner of the Lagos Business School, itemised fiscal policies and actions being rolled out to tackle the key barriers to growth.
Speaking at the session which was attended by industry leaders across key sectors of the economy, including oil, banking and telecoms, Adeosun said: “the Federal Government’s Fiscal Roadmap is addressing barriers to growth that will drive productivity, generate jobs and broaden wealth creating opportunities to achieve inclusive growth.”
She said that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration is determined to convert Nigeria to a productive economy rather than one that is consumption driven.
“To do so, Government would tackle the infrastructure deficit to unlock productivity, improve business competitiveness and create employment. She stated that Government would actively partner with the private sector to achieve this by use of a number of new funding platforms. These include the Road Trust Fund, which will develop potentially tollable roads, and the Family Homes Fund which is an ongoing PPP initiative for funding of affordable housing.”
The minister detailed a revision to the Tax provision that allows companies to receive tax relief for investment in roads on a collective basis even as she explained that the existing provision that enabled companies to claim relief for road projects had only been taken advantage of by two companies, Lafarge and Dangote Cement.
“This was because few companies were large enough to fund roads alone. The revision would now allow collective tax relief such that companies will be able to jointly fund roads, subject to approval by FIRS and the Ministry of Works, and share the tax credit. This would be particularly attractive to firms in clusters such as industrial estates, many of which are plagued by poor road conditions.”
Adeosun emphasised the role of infrastructure in creating inclusive growth, explaining the current barriers to growth in agriculture, solid minerals and manufacturing.
According to her, the drivers of inflation were structural and were being addressed through the focus on power, rail and road infrastructure.
The Minister also outlined measures planned to deal with the problem of hidden liabilities, which were affecting the banking sector and efforts to revive the economy, adding that the conversion from cash accounting to IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards) had unveiled unrecorded debts owed to contractors, oil marketers, exporters, electricity distribution companies and others.
“These liabilities were estimated at N2.2 Trillion and would be addressed with a 10 year Promissory Note Issuance programme in conjunction with the Central Bank of Nigeria. This measure would be subject to a rigorous audit process of all claims to ensure validity and mitigate against fraud and the impact of past corrupt practices.
“Henceforth, measures would be put in place to prevent recurrence of such a problem by ensuring that contracts are managed in a manner that firms have assurance over when they would be paid.”
She said that many contractors were being owed and that this was the reason that many of those recently paid by Government were slow in remobilising to site.
“Some contractors had not been paid in the past 4 years and in some cases the banks they were owing refused them access to the funds released, causing delays.”
She said that those receiving the Promissory Notes would be expected to provide a material discount to government. The issuance was a solution to a long term problem that was ‘a drag on economic activity.’
Adeosun assured that despite the current economic challenges facing the Nigerian economy, the outlook is positive due to the strong fundamentals of Nigeria and the ongoing reform programme.
She reiterated that Government is determined to create an enabling environment and put in place supportive policies to return to growth in 2017, including greater alignment of monetary and fiscal policies. [myad]
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