We, the recipients of the Right Livelihood Award, popularly known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” strongly condemn the killing of hundreds of children and innocent civilians in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces, the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas against Israeli civilians, and we mourn the continued suffering of Gaza’s inhabitants.
Gaza faces shortages of water and electricity supply, of hospitals, physicians and medicine, while bombs and bullets kill and injure both civilian people and health workers in a spiral of violence and hopelessness. Around 24 % of all those who have lost their lives in Gaza, as a result of Israeli bombing and military invasion, are children.
Nevertheless, the responsibility for such deaths lies not only with the joint and manifold accountabilities of Israel’s soldiers, Hamas’ fighters and their governments. Other governments are responsible either directly or indirectly through the transfer of weapons, military advice and silence. Such countries and the United Nations seem not to have learned from the past. Meanwhile, even as the violence grows rapidly in Gaza, negotiations move at an incredibly slow pace and are hindered by the vested interests of countries that don’t face any bloodshed in this conflict. Dialogue and negotiations cannot be replaced by the use of military force. Revenge solely produces revenge and bloodshed solely produces more bloodshed.
Nobody will forget the recent scenes of broken school books in the streets of Gaza and the broken lives of the children who used them. Their dead bodies splattered near their books, which are never to be used again, paint a tragic picture of unparalleled cruelty. Nobody has the right to end their lives nor to threaten the lives of those children that still survive. They are also our children.
In this context we strongly support the outstanding and courageous work, determination and perseverance – amidst the thunder of bombs – of our fellow recipient Raji Sourani (RLA 2013, Palestine) and his colleagues at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza, who are denouncing the killings of innocent civilians and the continuity of a dirty non-declared war being waged against the principles of international humanitarian law. We also want to express our deepest admiration for the work of Israeli peace organisations such as Gush Shalom (RLA 2001), and the incredible work of all medical personnel operating in Gaza right now continuously highlighted by our friends at Physicians For Human Rights-Israel (RLA 2010), who continue to hold up the torch of humanity despite being exposed to the inhumane machines of war.
As recipients of the Right Livelihood Award we urge the United Nations, the European Union and regional bodies, such as the Arab League and the Organization of American States, and countries from all over the world to join their voices, to condemn these unacceptable violations of human rights, to request an immediate ceasefire, lifting of the blockade of Gaza and to ask for the beginning of new peace talks. And to also halt all actions that perpetuate this conflict, hinder a peace settlement and supply the warring parties with arms. If we don’t act urgently, more children and innocent people will be killed in the following days, in the following hours, in the following minutes, in the following seconds.
Signatories to this statement, as of Friday July 25 2014, 11 am CET, are 46 Right Livelihood Award Laureates from 32 countries: (We will continue to update the list on our website, www.rightlivelihood.org)
• Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, Founder, SEKEM, Egypt (RLA 2003)
• Swami Agnivesh, India (RLA 2004)
• Dr. Martin Almada, Paraguay (RLA 2002)
• Uri Avnery, Founder, Gush Shalom, Israel (RLA 2001)
• Dipal Barua, Former Managing Director, Grameen Shakti, now at Bright Green Energy Foundation, Bangladesh (RLA 2007)
• Nnimmo Bassey, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nigeria (RLA 2010)
• Andras Biro, Hungary (RLA 2005)
• Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, South Korea (RLA 2003)
• Dr. Tony Clarke, Executive Director, Polaris Institute, Canada (RLA 2005)
• Comissão Pastoral da Terra (CPT), Brazil (RLA 1991)
• Prof. Dr. Anwar Fazal, Director, Right Livelihood College, Malaysia (RLA 1982)
• Prof. Dr. Johan Galtung, Norway (RLA 1987)
• Dr. Juan E. Garcés, Spain (RLA 1999)
• Dr. Inge Genefke, Denmark (RLA 1988)
• Gush Shalom, Israel (RLA 2001)
• Dr. Monika Hauser, Founder, Medica Mondiale, Germany (RLA 2008)
• Dr. Hans Herren, Founder of Biovision Foundation, Switzerland (RLA 2013)
• Dr. SM Mohamed Idris, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (RLA 1988), Consumers Association of Penang and the Third World Network, Malaysia
• Bishop Erwin Kräutler, Brazil (RLA 2010)
• Dr. Katarina Kruhonja, Center for Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights-Osijek, Croatia (RLA 1998)
• Birsel Lemke, Turkey (RLA 2000)
• Helen Mack Chang, Fundación Myrna Mack, Guatemala (RLA 1992)
• Dr. Ruchama Marton, Founder and President, Physicians for Human Rights, Israel (RLA 2010)
• Prof Dr. h.c. (mult.) Manfred Max-Neef, Director, Economics Institute, Universidad Austral de Chile, Chile (RLA 1983)
• Prof. Dr. Raúl A. Montenegro, President, Fundación para la defensa del ambiente, Argentina (RLA 2004)
• Frances Moore Lappé, Co-Founder, Small Planet Institute, USA (RLA 1987)
• Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad (RLA 2011)
• Helena Norberg-Hodge, Founder and Director, International Society for Ecology & Culture, United Kingdom (RLA 1986)
• Juan Pablo Orrego, President, Ecosistemas, Chile (RLA 1998)
• Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan, India (RLA 1991)
• P K Ravindran, Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, India (RLA 1996)
• Fernando Rendón, Co-Founder and Director, International Poetry Festival of Medellín, Colombia (RLA 2006)
• Dr. Sima Samar, Chairperson, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Afghanistan (RLA 2012)
• Dr. Vandana Shiva, Naydanya, India (RLA 1993)
• Prof. Michael Succow, Founder, Michael Succow Foundation for Nature Conservation, Germany, (RLA 1997)
• Suciwati, widow of Munir, KontraS, Indonesia (RLA 2000)
• Dr. Hanumappa Sudarshan, Karuna Trust & VGKK, India (RLA 1994)
• The Kvinna Till Kvinna Foundation, Sweden (RLA 2002)
• Shrikrishna Upadhyay, Executive Chairman, Support Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal, Nepal (RLA 2010)
• Prof. Dr. Theo van Boven, The Netherlands (RLA 1985)
• Martín von Hildebrand, Founder and Director, Fundación GAIA Amazonas, Colombia (RLA 1999)
• Dr. Paul F. Walker, Director, Environmental Security and Sustainability, Green Cross International, USA (RLA 2013)
• Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, New Zealand/Switzerland (RLA 2009)
Press Consultant for Africa Right Livelihood Award Foundation Box 15072 104 65 Stockholm Sweden Mobile: +254-724-568-164 Stockholm office: +46-8-702 03 40. [myad]
Ebola, a haemorhagic disease which causes the spontaneous bleeding of internal organs of affectation, has been trending in Nigeria since the news broke out, of the 40-year-old Liberian man who entered Nigeria with the virus on Friday and died yesterday in a undisclosed Lagos hospital. Ebola is considered to be perhaps more dreadful than AIDS and cancer. Ebola kills within seven days, usually from three to 30 days. It kills 90% of its victims.
Below, as taken from the Facebook wall of King O. James, are the signs/ symptoms of Ebola Viral Haemorhagic Disease (EVHD):
Fever
Sore throat
Headaches
Weakness
Joint and muscle pain
Chest pain
Bleeding from nose, ear, skin, eyes
Paleness (anaemia),
Easy fatigability
Apathy
Breathlessness
In pregnant women it leads to miscarriage and heavy vaginal bleeding.
Warning signs of Ebola may mimic malaria symptoms.
There are several ways of contracting it… through body secretions such as sweat, blood, saliva, mucous, breast secretion, tears, urine, and sexual transmission with an infected person. Hence, the commonest way is through physical contact e.g. a handshake.
Prevention is the key word!!!
1. Avoid bush meat or any meat you are not sure of its source.
2. Wash your hands frequently with detergent or soap using clean water.
3. Avoid trips to Ebola endemic countries (DRC, Uganda, Congo, Gabon, Sudan, etc)
4. Get a hand sanitizer for family
5. Avoid buying foodstuff, clothing or other personal materials from markets/shops that share the same vicinity with live or roasted bush meat, dealer’s or sellers
6. Be careful with hands when using railings on the stairs, door knobs and other utilities used by the public.
7. Gloves and other appropriate protective clothing should be worn when handling sick animals or their tissues
8. Watch out for people with flu-like symptoms and sudden fever
9. Avoid pig farms, pig farms in Africa play a role in the amplification of infection because of the presence of fruit bats on these farms.
10. Avoid bat meats and bat products
11. Report any suspicious case to the nearest health care centre.
Again, don’t forget to always wash your hands with soap regularly. [myad]
Israel and Hamas are believed to have signaled readiness to halt hostilities for 12 hours even as Secretary of State, John Kerry said the search for a lasting cease-fire in Gaza is ongoing.
Kerry said that Israeli premier, Benjamin Netanyahu “has indicated his willingness to do that as a good-faith down payment to move forward.”
Speaking to newsmen at a press conference in Cairo, Kerry said that mediators want the initial pause to build into a weeklong truce for the Islamic Eid festival, an idea he said hasn’t been made final.
Hamas, the Islamist organization that rules Gaza, has also agreed to a 12-hour humanitarian cease-fire starting at 7 a.m. today, according to the group’s news agency al-Ray and pro-Hamas TV station al-Aqsa.
Neither side has agreed to Kerry’s plan for a weeklong cease-fire during which talks on a durable settlement can get under way. While the “basic outline” is accepted on all sides, Kerry said, there are still problems of “terminology and context of the framework.” He said he’ll continue the pursuit today from Paris, where foreign ministers from European Union nations and Hamas allies Qatar and Turkey are due to join negotiations.
Susan Rice, President Barack Obama’s national security adviser, told reporters at the White House that a 12-hour pause “would be a very modest initial step” and that “in some ways, I’m more skeptical of these very short cease-fires.”
The conflict between Israel and Hamas has left more than 860 Palestinians and 35 Israeli soldiers dead since it escalated on July 8. There have been earlier humanitarian pauses during that period, for injured people to be moved or civilians to replenish supplies. Protests spread to the West Bank late on July 24, and several Palestinian demonstrators were killed in clashes with Israeli security forces.
Channel 2 and other Israeli media said that ministers at a security cabinet meeting late yesterday weren’t satisfied with the latest shape of Kerry’s broader plan. Kerry, at the press conference, said no formal proposals have been submitted, and declined to disclose the sticking points.
The Ynet news website reported, without saying where it got the information, that during a 12-hour halt Israel will continue to destroy tunnels used by Hamas militants to launch raids into the Jewish state but won’t initiate fire. It also cited Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon as telling the army to be ready to “significantly expand the ground offensive in Gaza very soon.”
Israel says its military offensive aims to end the barrage of rockets fired at its towns from Gaza, and destroy the tunnels. Hamas says the economic embargo on the territory must end as part of any accord. Egypt, which has mediated past conflicts, is working with Kerry to broker a deal.
Israel, like the U.S. and European Union, classifies Hamas as a terrorist organization.
Palestinian officials have said they’re planning to take charges of Israeli war crimes to the International Criminal Court. The UN Human Rights Council this week voted to probe possible Israeli war crimes, with only the U.S. voting no. Israel criticized the council’s move.
Some of the biggest protests in years have broken out in the West Bank, to express sympathy for the people of Gaza. The territory is controlled by the Palestinian Fatah group, which recently reconciled with Hamas after a seven-year rift.
Palestinian officials said at least six protesters have been killed in clashes with security forces in Hebron, Nablus and the Qalandia checkpoint with tires burned and rocks hurled at border guards, according to Israeli news service Ynet. Israeli police have confirmed one death.
The latest Gaza conflict, the third in six years, deepened last week when the Israeli military added to its air bombardment by sending troops into the territory. Israeli financial markets have been mostly unaffected, with the benchmark stock index little changed since fighting escalated on July 8, and the shekel approaching a three-year high.
The Israeli army yesterday increased its figures for military deaths to include Oron Shaul, a sergeant whom Hamas had earlier said it had captured. Three civilians have also been killed in Israel. Palestinian health officials say most of their dead are civilians, while more than 5,700 people have been injured.
Hamas’s armed wing said that it tried to strike the airport in Tel Aviv again yesterday, after international airlines this week temporarily suspended flights citing security concerns. Israel’s army said its Iron Dome anti-missile system intercepted two rockets fired at the Tel Aviv area, and had no reports of injuries or damage. [myad]
Nigeria’s Federal Government has pledged handsome financial rewards for any athlete who wins medals at the ongoing Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. Under the arrangement, athlete who wins a Gold medal will go home with $7,000 (about N1,120,000, for Silver medalist it will be $4,000 (about N640,000) while the Bronze medal winner will go home with $3,000 (about N480,000) Announcing the financial package during an interactive session with the Nigerian athletes and officials at the Games Village’s Chef-de- Mission conference room, Glasgow, on Friday night, Minister of Sports, Dr. Tanmmy Danagogo said that the financial gesture was designed to motivate the athlets to victory. “This financial reward is designed to motivate all of you to win more medals for Nigeria. We are proud of the medal we have won at the weigth lifting category and we are expecting more from all of you. “Let me assure you that the government is ready to do more for all of you if you win more medals for the country.” Dr. Danagogo said that in addition to the $7,000 for Miss Chika Ahamala, the first Gold medalist for Nigeria in the women’s weight lifting category, $1,000 has also been awarde for her breaking the Commonwealth record in the weight lifting category. While reassuring the athletes of the Federal Government’s commitment towards their welfare and successes at the event, the minister said the over 170 million Nigerians are looking up to the athletes to win medals for the country. “I can tell you that President Goodluck Jonathan has done everything possible for all of you to succeed in this tournament. The expectations of Mr. President and the rest of Nigerians is that you all win medals for us. We are proud of you and will give you all the necessary supports that you need to succeed.” Those present at the meeting were the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Gbenga Elegbeleye, Director of Sports Medicine, Dr. Adukadri Mohammed, Director of Finance and Accounts, Ministry of Sports and President of the Nigeria Olympics Committee, (NOC), Alhaji Mohammed Ndanusa, among others. [myad]
In the scholarship of sociology, polygamy comprises of both polygyny and polyandry. Polygamy, the more common, is marriage of one man to two or more wives while polyandry is one woman to two or more husbands. Polyandry has not really advanced to the level reached by polygamy due, may be, to a not-too-easy-to-identify a child to the biological father in such a family set up if the child does not bear resemblance to any of the men. The few communities known for polyandry are the Eskimos who live in the northern pole, Artic region and north of Europe. Another is the Koma people, who were discovered in Gongola state of north eastern Nigeria in 1987, who were subsequently visited by the then dynamic military governor, Col. Yohanna Madaiki. They live atop a mountain and were completely caught off from the rest of the surrounding communities. A visitor to a man in both communities would be amazed when his host friend offers his most lovely and dear wife to the visiting friend at night to sleep with. It is their culture as the best manner to welcome and honour a dear friend. God help that friend if he refuses the offer. The host would feel slighted and deflated and may not forgive for the lack of understanding of the host’s culture of respect for visitors. This is the only form of polyandry known yet. I have not heard or read about one woman to two or more husbands under the same roof. Back to the early times when man was beginning to settle down for rest at a regular spot call home, nucleus family was also taking its roots. Women necessarily had to ally with men for their economic survival, mainly food. To provide food, strength was needed. This, man had in abundance in masculinity, an advantage they had over the women’s femininity. It was therefore imperative that men took the advantage to have as many wives they could cater for. In no time, it became a norm as women hardly opposed it. If the first wife is jealous enough to protest an incoming second wife the second wife had no qualms joining the fray. She would not complain anyway as she is the intruder, although there have been cases when the second protests the coming of a third wife after her. And all cultures have had customary taboos or religious injunctions in place to checkmate women’s objection. We do know that a practice of thousands of years is interned in the marrow of our bones if not in our genes. It becomes normal and a reality as the texture of matrimony within that culture. As we ascended modern times, most men began to have a rethink. In the pre-colonial times, financial demands for the up-keep of the family, particularly the up bringing of children was not costly. By the age of 10, the child would be introduced to the trade of the parents: farming, trading, blacksmithing, carvings, palm wine tapping, cloth weaving, earthen pot moulding etc. It became imperative for men to think twice as a response to the new economic dispensation that came with colonialism. Children must be clothed at all times, purchase of toys and a long period of training and education required huge amount of money, if the children must be prepared for a better quality of life in a later life. Most men heed their inner call “the fewer the merrier” Culture alone cannot guarantee, let alone determine, multiple marriage. Let’s look at a scenario. A group of women who detest the dominance of men in a community decide to hold a meeting on how to handle men. To avoid the prying eyes of men, they went to a secluded bush where upon they stumbled into a gold deposit of land. They swore among themselves to possess the gold for sale and advised themselves to settle and make that land their home. They also swore to bring in men but would not ever bequeath inheritance to any male including their own male children. The women would also have the liberty to marry two or more men as each wished. Men would be brought in from other communities than theirs. Shower them with the monetary proceeds. Buy them expensive cloths and porch cars. The men who would accept this culture at that beginning would have laid a foundation for a different culture as, in 200 years afterwards, children born into that culture would see it as a reality in matrimony. All norms have their roots in human reasoning and actions and when it becomes prevalent sticks as acceptable culture which are eventually accentuated by taboos or injunctions still by humans and not invisible entities up the sky call God. Acceptability of norms within all cultures are not all or none. Individual differences in human dictates the degree of acceptability. It is a case of “different strokes for different folks.” Since the inception of Nigeria, there has not been any successful prosecution of law of bigamy for which a man can be punished for breaking his marriage vow by marrying another woman in addition to his first wife. Two court cases of 1948 and 1952 were not successfully prosecuted as the Judges in the different cases could not, on moral grounds, continue with the proceedings. They were both not only from a polygamous (polygamy) background, they were neck deep in it with multiple wives. Education has not changed the belief in some men. You would conclude after all men are the beneficiaries in polygamy. However, we should not forget that three types of marriages exist in most sub Sahara African nations: native laws & customs, Muslim and Christian or Registry. Humans hardly wish to loose what they gain from. It is a natural law as an adaptation of the brain heavily secured by perception. What about the women folks. Have they fare better by rejecting the system? Dr. Doyin Abiola married late Chief MKO Abiola as the fourth wife under Islamic laws. Could any one fault her? She was aged 40 plus or minus even if we are to hold the socio-status of MKO as a factor. I know a Ugandan Muslim, who at age 34, disserted her husband who took a second wife. She secured an exit to the UK, with her only one child, where she phoned the husband and told him to forget her as she had gone for good. She said she was not the type who can stand her husband being shared by another woman. She did not go beyond Primary/elementary school at 13 years of age. My point here is that both religion and low level of education could not checkmate her impulses and revulsion to polygamy. “Different strokes for different folks.” Hameed and his wife with four children between them live in Dublin, Ireland. They are both from Zanzibar part of Tanzania. Hameed may not have had a secondary education but his wife had. Hameed goes to Zanziba about twice a year with goods. One day, the wife got a call from Zabziba and was told her husband had just married another wife in a Muslim marriage registry. When Hameed arrived in Dublin, the wife handed him his belongings at the entrance door and told him to leave or else she would call the Garda (Police) to throw him out. Hameed quarried her for violating Islamic laws against a wife throwing a husband out of his house. His wife replied that in Islam, you do not deny your wife before any man let alone the government of any nation. I am a single mother to the authority and social welfare here. You stay here free. The social welfare pays my rent, not you. Your stay in this house is therefore illegal. Hameed got the import of the warning. He left and thereafter began to appeal to the wife in the next three weeks. On asking the wife how she wanted it resolved, the wife told him to buy a ticket for both of them to go to Zanziba so she can witness the dissolution of the second marriage and she will hold on to the certificate. Hameed agreed,they went to Zanziba and only after which he was allowed to reunite with his wife. They both did not go beyond high school. Legislation against bigamy or the prohibition of polygamy in the Ivory Coast in West Africa has not been successful too. Houphet Bougny, the country’s first president after independence wanted to be more French than the French. He passed a law against polygamy in the early 60s. By the late 70s, he found that many of his nation’s women had accepted to be second wives. As a second wife, a woman would take up the first name of her husband. Like if the husband is Didier Drogba, the second wife would become Mrs Didier while the wife answers Mrs Drogba. To the women, there are fewer men to women. What happens to the balance women? We need men too to father our children even if we are to ignore the need for sexual urge itself. And if one is to also consider the incidence of natural and Biological selection in the difference between the population of men and women arising from XX in the chromosomes of women and XY also in the chromosomes of men, the donation of one by each male and female from their pair of these chromosomes means that it could be a ratio two or three women to one man in all given communities given that there are three X to one Y. I hope my statistical calculation is correct. Men too are prone to premature death by accidents due to their more involvement in hazardous economic activities. Men also die more in wars. Many women therefore will be left without men of their own. Can we therefore fault the Ivorian women who defiled the law of bigamy? Legislation has failed too. We are therefore left with individual differences in the acceptance of polygamy. We all cannot lie down facing one side unless something is wrong with us. “Different strokes for different folks” is the palm oil with which we eat our roasted yam (life). More so, “it is the tree that fell in our time that becomes our firewood. Hence those who still think multiple wives is a status symbol should have a rethink vis-à-vis their financial capabilities across a life time or else heartache may be the end result. Bob Marley advised “who the hat fits let him wear it.”
And I say, according to my ancestors, “We do not tell a child not to grow protruded teeth provided he has enough thick lips to cover them.”
Emokpae Odigie Is Personal Assistant To The Oracle Of Ogbe. [myad]
A criminal dimension has been introduced into the politics playing out at the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) where a board member, has come out to say that his signature was forged in the impeachment process of the body’s President, Aminu Maigari.
Ahmad Kawu, today disassociated himself from the impeachment of Maigari.
The Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has instituted a high-powered investigation team made up of seasoned investigators to unearth the perpetrators of Tuesday bomb attacks in Kaduna in which 82 Nigerians lost their lives. The attack which targeted a former Head of State, Gen. Mohammadu Buhari and an Islamic cleric, Sheikh Dahiru Bauchi, also injured more than 37 others. A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, in Abuja on Friday, explained that the team of investigators, which is expected to work in close collaboration with other security agencies, is headed by the Commissioner of Police in charge of Legal Department, DCP Nwodibo Ekechukwu. Other members of the team include, DCPs Chris Ezike of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Dan Mallam of the Monitoring Unit and Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi of the Interpol Unit and others. Meanwhile, on the orders of the IG, security has been tightened in all states of the federation, particularly in the states perceived to be more vulnerable to terror attacks. “While appealing to all Nigerians, particularly Kaduna residents to remain calm, the IG called on the citizens to cooperate with the security agencies by providing them with relevant information to solve the crime,” the statement added. [myad]
With the obvious return of poverty and hunger to Ghana, thousands of workers across the country have taken to the streets to protest. They are protesting over what they called rise in cost of living.
The nationwide strike was organized by the country’s largest trade union congress which accused the government of mismanaging the economy as inflation is running at close to 15%.
In Accra, the protesters, mainly clad in red, chanted, sang, danced and blew vuvuzelas amidst brass band music, for about four hours creating traffic jams in the city centre.
One of the many hand-written placards they held read: “Somalia’s shilling is doing better than Ghana’s cedi.”
Leaders of the demonstration presented a four-page petition to Haruna Iddrisu, the minister of employment and labour relations.
The minister, surrounded by dozens of armed officers, tried to address the crowd which kept shouting and hooting through his address.
He eventually found a megaphone to tell them that the government would work “fastidiously to invigorate the economy to make life easier not harder for the working people and citizens of Ghana”.
“You have made eloquent pronouncement of concerns through this act of demonstration… the placards you carry reflect a mirror some of your concerns,” he said.
But Iddrisu said all Ghanaians would have to make “some sacrifices for the economy to recover.”
The protesters called for President John Dramani Mahama to restore the 23% subsidy that has been removed from petroleum products.
The national currency, the cedi, has depreciated against the US dollar by more than 27% this year.
Taxes and utilities have also gone up by more than 50%. [myad]
Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state has reversed the appointment of two Permanent Secretaries on the grounds that they came late to the swearing-in ceremony.
The appointees were expected to have been seated at 12 noon for the ceremony, which was billed for 1pm.
However, the event kicked off at 12:30pm after Governor Oshiomhole’s arrival at 12:23pm; but only 18 of the 20 would-be Permanent Secretaries were seated at the time.
The other two arrived during the course of the ceremony and they did not escape the notice of the governor.
Governor Oshiomhole went ahead to swear-in the 18, 2 of whom were labour leaders. The Governor explained that the Labour Leaders were included deliberately to show the absence of animosity with labour activists.
The angry governor refused to listen to appeals from close aides that he should forgive the two Permanent Secretaries and swear them in.
The recent attack on the convoy of General Muhammadu Buhari, former Head of State and a national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), by a suicide bomber in Kaduna is a wakeup call to all politicians that the time has come to close ranks and stop playing politics with the issue of terrorism. The incident, which was part of a coordinated attack involving two explosions about two hours apart, bore the trademarks of the dreaded terror group, Boko Haram. Although Buhari and popular Islamic cleric, Sheik Dahiru Bauchi, who was also purportedly targeted, survived the two separate explosions, scores of persons lost their lives. Coming soon after Buhari, rather unfairly, accused President Goodluck Jonathan of declaring war on Nigeria, the attempt to eliminate the former Head of State has already generated ridiculous and unsubstantiated accusations from some uncharitable and clearly mischievous political elements. It is precisely this sort of political gimmickry which has not served the nation well in these times of crisis that must be avoided. Even without a statement from Boko Haram claiming responsibility for the acts of terror in Kaduna, what is fairly obvious is that such heinous crimes are typical of the handiwork of the group. It should also be fairly obvious to any discerning observer that creating distrust and disunity among Nigerians is a strategy that Boko Haram has been pursuing since it began its campaign of terror. Thankfully, the strategy continues to fail. For this reason, the tendency of some unpatriotic politicians to knowingly or unknowingly play into the script of the terror group all in the name of opposition politics must be condemned without reservation. The point that must be made to all Nigerians, whether they belong to the active political class or not, is that politics of any sort (opposition or otherwise) can only be possible when there is still a united and peaceful nation called Nigeria. If politicians are in doubt that they cannot indulge in their political shenanigans when there is chaos and confusion in the land, they should look to Central African Republic, Somalia and South Sudan for guidance. It is telling that, after a recent Boko Haram bomb attack in Abuja, Buhari himself said: “My heart breaks every time I take to this platform to offer condolences in this tormenting season of seemingly endless violence. I understand that it is difficult for the government to prevent every terrorist attack, but we can always do more to protect our defenceless citizens by boosting our intelligence and counter terrorism capabilities.” According to the former Head of State: “Our security and stability cannot be conditioned on any ideology or partisan agenda. Every Nigerian reserves the right to his own security, to his own freedom and dignity, and no amount of terrorist blackmail can make us surrender these. May God unite our hearts as we confront this evil.” These words of sympathy from Buhari underscore the need for Nigerians of all political ideology or partisan agenda to stand united in the fight against terror. Similarly, not so long ago, President Jonathan commended General Buhari for his statesman-like views on terrorism when the former military leader published an article on the subject in the print media a little while ago. According to a statement issued at the time by Reuben Abati, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Jonathan welcomed “Buhari’s call on all Nigerians to remain steadfast and work in unity to overcome terrorists and other merchants of death who currently threaten national security.” Abati further said that President Jonathan shared General Buhari’s view that a minority must never be allowed to “bring the nation to its knees through terror.” In supporting the call for the political class to unite against terror rather than indulge in unhelpful political grandstanding, Chief (Dr) Tony Anenih, Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Board of Trustees (BoT), reminded Nigerians that, “When militant gunmen attacked a shopping mall in Kenya, killing many people and holding many others hostage, the opposition leader, Raila Odinga, stood right beside the President, Uhuru Kenyatta, while the latter was addressing Kenyans on the dastardly attack.” Anenih also said: “Boko Haram is a threat to Nigeria and to our democracy. The insurgency is not against Jonathan as an individual; rather it is against the Nigerian state. That is why our collective efforts are needed to tackle the challenges. All Nigerians, irrespective of their regional, religious or political affiliations, should be united in supporting the Federal Government and all the security agencies in the fight to end terror in our country.” As Nigerians of all faiths and regions join General Buhari in thanking the Almighty God for sparing his life against the machinations of terrorists, the point must be reiterated that the attack on him (the former Head of State) is a pointer that no Nigerian is safe from terrorism. As such, the last thing the country’s political class should do is continue to politick with the issue of terrorism. It is a pastime that will not bring any good to the polity.
• Ojeifo, journalist and publisher, sent this piece from Abuja. [myad]
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We Condemn Israeli Defence Forces For Killing Innocent Civilians In Gaza, By Right Livelihood Award
We, the recipients of the Right Livelihood Award, popularly known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize,” strongly condemn the killing of hundreds of children and innocent civilians in Gaza by the Israeli Defence Forces, the indiscriminate firing of rockets by Hamas against Israeli civilians, and we mourn the continued suffering of Gaza’s inhabitants.
Gaza faces shortages of water and electricity supply, of hospitals, physicians and medicine, while bombs and bullets kill and injure both civilian people and health workers in a spiral of violence and hopelessness. Around 24 % of all those who have lost their lives in Gaza, as a result of Israeli bombing and military invasion, are children.
Nevertheless, the responsibility for such deaths lies not only with the joint and manifold accountabilities of Israel’s soldiers, Hamas’ fighters and their governments. Other governments are responsible either directly or indirectly through the transfer of weapons, military advice and silence. Such countries and the United Nations seem not to have learned from the past. Meanwhile, even as the violence grows rapidly in Gaza, negotiations move at an incredibly slow pace and are hindered by the vested interests of countries that don’t face any bloodshed in this conflict. Dialogue and negotiations cannot be replaced by the use of military force. Revenge solely produces revenge and bloodshed solely produces more bloodshed.
Nobody will forget the recent scenes of broken school books in the streets of Gaza and the broken lives of the children who used them. Their dead bodies splattered near their books, which are never to be used again, paint a tragic picture of unparalleled cruelty. Nobody has the right to end their lives nor to threaten the lives of those children that still survive. They are also our children.
In this context we strongly support the outstanding and courageous work, determination and perseverance – amidst the thunder of bombs – of our fellow recipient Raji Sourani (RLA 2013, Palestine) and his colleagues at the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights in Gaza, who are denouncing the killings of innocent civilians and the continuity of a dirty non-declared war being waged against the principles of international humanitarian law. We also want to express our deepest admiration for the work of Israeli peace organisations such as Gush Shalom (RLA 2001), and the incredible work of all medical personnel operating in Gaza right now continuously highlighted by our friends at Physicians For Human Rights-Israel (RLA 2010), who continue to hold up the torch of humanity despite being exposed to the inhumane machines of war.
As recipients of the Right Livelihood Award we urge the United Nations, the European Union and regional bodies, such as the Arab League and the Organization of American States, and countries from all over the world to join their voices, to condemn these unacceptable violations of human rights, to request an immediate ceasefire, lifting of the blockade of Gaza and to ask for the beginning of new peace talks. And to also halt all actions that perpetuate this conflict, hinder a peace settlement and supply the warring parties with arms. If we don’t act urgently, more children and innocent people will be killed in the following days, in the following hours, in the following minutes, in the following seconds.
Signatories to this statement, as of Friday July 25 2014, 11 am CET, are 46 Right Livelihood Award Laureates from 32 countries: (We will continue to update the list on our website, www.rightlivelihood.org)
• Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish, Founder, SEKEM, Egypt (RLA 2003)
• Swami Agnivesh, India (RLA 2004)
• Dr. Martin Almada, Paraguay (RLA 2002)
• Uri Avnery, Founder, Gush Shalom, Israel (RLA 2001)
• Dipal Barua, Former Managing Director, Grameen Shakti, now at Bright Green Energy Foundation, Bangladesh (RLA 2007)
• Nnimmo Bassey, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Nigeria (RLA 2010)
• Andras Biro, Hungary (RLA 2005)
• Citizens’ Coalition for Economic Justice, South Korea (RLA 2003)
• Dr. Tony Clarke, Executive Director, Polaris Institute, Canada (RLA 2005)
• Comissão Pastoral da Terra (CPT), Brazil (RLA 1991)
• Prof. Dr. Anwar Fazal, Director, Right Livelihood College, Malaysia (RLA 1982)
• Prof. Dr. Johan Galtung, Norway (RLA 1987)
• Dr. Juan E. Garcés, Spain (RLA 1999)
• Dr. Inge Genefke, Denmark (RLA 1988)
• Gush Shalom, Israel (RLA 2001)
• Dr. Monika Hauser, Founder, Medica Mondiale, Germany (RLA 2008)
• Dr. Hans Herren, Founder of Biovision Foundation, Switzerland (RLA 2013)
• Dr. SM Mohamed Idris, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (RLA 1988), Consumers Association of Penang and the Third World Network, Malaysia
• Bishop Erwin Kräutler, Brazil (RLA 2010)
• Dr. Katarina Kruhonja, Center for Peace, Nonviolence and Human Rights-Osijek, Croatia (RLA 1998)
• Birsel Lemke, Turkey (RLA 2000)
• Helen Mack Chang, Fundación Myrna Mack, Guatemala (RLA 1992)
• Dr. Ruchama Marton, Founder and President, Physicians for Human Rights, Israel (RLA 2010)
• Prof Dr. h.c. (mult.) Manfred Max-Neef, Director, Economics Institute, Universidad Austral de Chile, Chile (RLA 1983)
• Prof. Dr. Raúl A. Montenegro, President, Fundación para la defensa del ambiente, Argentina (RLA 2004)
• Frances Moore Lappé, Co-Founder, Small Planet Institute, USA (RLA 1987)
• Jacqueline Moudeina, Chad (RLA 2011)
• Helena Norberg-Hodge, Founder and Director, International Society for Ecology & Culture, United Kingdom (RLA 1986)
• Juan Pablo Orrego, President, Ecosistemas, Chile (RLA 1998)
• Medha Patkar, Narmada Bachao Andolan, India (RLA 1991)
• P K Ravindran, Kerala Sastra Sahitya Parishad, India (RLA 1996)
• Fernando Rendón, Co-Founder and Director, International Poetry Festival of Medellín, Colombia (RLA 2006)
• Dr. Sima Samar, Chairperson, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, Afghanistan (RLA 2012)
• Dr. Vandana Shiva, Naydanya, India (RLA 1993)
• Prof. Michael Succow, Founder, Michael Succow Foundation for Nature Conservation, Germany, (RLA 1997)
• Suciwati, widow of Munir, KontraS, Indonesia (RLA 2000)
• Dr. Hanumappa Sudarshan, Karuna Trust & VGKK, India (RLA 1994)
• The Kvinna Till Kvinna Foundation, Sweden (RLA 2002)
• Shrikrishna Upadhyay, Executive Chairman, Support Activities for Poor Producers of Nepal, Nepal (RLA 2010)
• Prof. Dr. Theo van Boven, The Netherlands (RLA 1985)
• Martín von Hildebrand, Founder and Director, Fundación GAIA Amazonas, Colombia (RLA 1999)
• Dr. Paul F. Walker, Director, Environmental Security and Sustainability, Green Cross International, USA (RLA 2013)
• Alyn Ware, Global Coordinator, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament, New Zealand/Switzerland (RLA 2009)
• Chico Whitaker Ferreira, Brazil (RLA 2006)
• Alla Yaroshinskaya, Russia (RLA 1992)
• Angie Zelter, Trident Ploughshares, United Kingdom (RLA 2001)
Zahra Moloo
Press Consultant for Africa
Right Livelihood Award Foundation
Box 15072
104 65 Stockholm
Sweden
Mobile: +254-724-568-164
Stockholm office: +46-8-702 03 40. [myad]