Likely impact of Libya on Nigeria and the Sahel
Anyone know what's up with the Libyans? Who is in charge? To what extent does Islamism pervade society? What exactly will the effect of the new regime be on Nigeria and the Sahel?
Another take on Africa's economy
A very interesting article in today's The Atlantic concerning development, the economy and distribution of wealth in Africa. A very hopeful article and a good read after all of our talk about poverty and hopelessness. This article cleared my lenses.
Quote:
The poverty mafia once controlled the development debate in Africa. No longer.
The old approach was about how to prevent Africa from getting poorer. All development goals were essentially negative, as experts wallowed in risk-aversion and promoted various doomsday scenarios of an Africa with a rapidly growing population.
The new thinking on development is to share Africa's wealth more equitably. That's right: Africa's wealth.
http://www.theatlantic.com/internati...-world/253587/
In Nigeria, a Deadly Group’s Rage Has Local Roots
Interesting article for NY Times. Seems to point to large local (read Hausa) support for Boko Haram. In an ethnically divided nation, this could be interpreted to mean Boko Haram = Hausa by other ethnic groups. This is ultimately bad for Boko Haram, but even worse for Hausas.
Quote:
KANO, Nigeria — In an imam’s quiet office, two young men in long hooded robes, their faces hidden by checked scarves, calmly described their deadly war against the Nigerian state
he office door was open. Children from the Koranic school adjoining the mosque streamed past, laughing and jostling. Worshipers from the evening prayer service, which the young men had just left, poured into the parking lot. If the police had been alerted in any way, the two young men would have been instantly arrested, or worse. But neither appeared nervous about possible betrayal.
“It is not the people of Nigeria, it is only the army and the police who are against us,” said one of the men, explaining their membership in Boko Haram, the militant group that has claimed responsibility for killing hundreds in its battle against the Nigerian government. “Millions of people in Kano State are supporting us.”
His bravado notwithstanding, the violent Islamist army operating out of these dusty alleyways, ready to lash out and quickly fade back, is deeply enmeshed in the fabric of life in this sprawling metropolis, succored by an uneasy mix of fear and sympathy among the millions of impoverished people here.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/26/wo...athy.html?_r=1
Boko Haram Kills Policeman in Kaduna
This is an insurrection.
Quote:
Gunmen suspected to be members of the Islamic sect Boko Haram Saturday killed a policeman and made away with his gun.
A vulcaniser who was said to be repairing a tyre for the bike belonging to the policeman was also shot when he raised the alarm.
The incident took place along Samaru Road close to Excel Universal College in Kakuri area of Kaduna at about 5pm.
Eye witness account said the two gunmen came on a bike and shot the policeman twice before snatching his gun.
They also shot the vulcaniser who started shouting before speeding off on the bike. The policeman was said to have died on the spot while the vulcaniser was rushed to the Kakuti General Hospital where he was said to be receiving treatment.
The incident was said to have caused panic among residents of the area as many people ran for their dear lives while shops around the area were immediately closed.
Officers and men of the Kaduna State security outfit, Operation Yaki, who were deployed to the area however refused to comment on the issue.
Spokesman of the Kaduna State Police, Aminu Lawan , nonetheless confirmed the incident, saying investigations were on to get the culprits.
http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/...kaduna/110103/
Suicide car bomber kills 3 outside Nigeria church
Boko Haram again, this time in Jos, a city with a history of violent religious crisis.
Quote:
JOS, Nigeria — A suicide car bomber detonated his explosives outside a major church Sunday, killing three people and wounding 38 others in a restive central Nigerian city that has seen hundreds die in religious and ethnic violence.
The explosion struck the main headquarters of the Church of Christ in Nigeria during its early morning service, Plateau state spokesman Pam Ayuba said. The attack killed a woman, and a father and his child near the explosion, Ayuba said.
The bomber apparently ran down the woman while racing his car toward the church compound, said Mark Lipdo, a coordinator for a Christian group called the Stefanos Foundation. The blast left shattered glass all over the church compound, as an angry crowd of youths began smashing the windows of cars passing by the scene, witnesses said.
Emergency officials took 38 people to hospitals for treatment, said Yushau Shuaib, a spokesman with Nigeria's National Emergency Management Agency.
Police officials in the city could not be immediately reached for comment. A military spokesman for the area said officials would brief journalists late Sunday.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, though a radical Islamist sect known as Boko Haram has launched increasingly bloody attacks across Nigeria, including attacks on churches. A Christmas Day bombing of a Catholic church that left at least 44 dead was claimed by the sect in Madalla, a town just outside the country's capital of Abuja.
The group also claimed responsibility for bomb attacks on Christmas Eve that struck Jos, killing as many as 80 people.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-w...eria-violence/
A little more about dams in Africa
The Wikipedia entry on the Bui dam is quite instructive. (Remember that Ghana is one of the better run nations in Africa).
Quote:
An international call for tender was issued, but only a single company submitted a bid and the tender was cancelled. In 2005 the Chinese company Sinohydro submitted an unsolicited bid for the dam together with funding from the Chinese Exim Bank. The government accepted the bid and the Ministry of Energy signed contracts for an environmental impact assessment in December 2005, as well as for an updated feasibility study in October 2007. In August 2007 the government created the Bui Power Authority to oversee the construction of the dam and the associated resettlement, as well as to operate the dam and power plant. The responsibility for the dam was thus taken away from the Volta River Authority, which until then had been responsible for the development and operation of all power projects in Ghana.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bui_Dam
Worshippers Kill Suspected Fleeing Church Bomber
Rough justice immediately delivered. The Jos people are just as violent as anyone else. Let's pray Jos doesn't descend into another orgy of killings and reprisal killings.
Heard there was a debate to hand him over to the police, but it seems no one there trusted the police enough to think that (a) he would be charged or (b) any useful intelligence would come out of it.
That's one of the problems of dealing with an insurgency in a very weak state. Recall that Pakistan has at least half a million men in uniform - Nigeria has barely sixty thousand in the army.
Quote:
Angry worshippers at the headquarters of Church Of Christ In Nations (COCIN) in Jos on Sunday killed one of the two suspected bearers of the explosives that hit the Church in the morning.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the bomber and one other, who both wore army camouflage, drove into the Church and beat the security before hitting the building.
NAN correspondent, who was at the scene, reports that the suspect appeared to be in his early 30s.
The suspect, who wore a neatly carved moustache, looked well-fed.
But probably afraid of dying, the bomb carrier jumped out of the vehicle just before the blast went off and attempted to run but could not move as he was affected by the blast.
The angry worshipers, however, descended on him and clubbed him to death.
An eyewitness and a worshipper in the Church, Joyce Dalyop, told NAN that there were arguments among the worshipers over what to do with the bomber before he was finally killed.
``Immediately they (bombers) entered the Church, one of them jumped out of the black jeep but luck ran out of him as the explosion affected him and so he could not run very fast before he was caught.’’
``Some people even pleaded that he should not be killed; they suggested that he should be handed over to Police for further investigation, but others argued that the police could not be trusted and opined that the suspect may be released,” she said.
http://www.leadership.ng/nga/article...ch_bomber.html