Top Boko Haram commander arrested in Nigeria
Rather oddly a report from Xinhua, the Chinese official news agency:
Quote:
Police in Nigeria have arrested Mohammed Zakari, a senior commander of the Boko Haram sect....The suspect was arrested on Saturday following a massive onslaught by security forces against the activities of insurgents in the Balmo forest in Bauchi State in the northeast.....arrested while fleeing from intensive counter insurgency operations around the forest.
Link:http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/af..._126757364.htm
Checked on Google and there are many other reports on the arrest, all citing the official police spokesman; such as this Nigerian report:http://leadership.ng/news/377902/pol...-chief-butcher
How Russia sees Boko Haram
Very interesting.
Quote:
How is it possible for US military and intelligence sources on the ground, both in Iraq and Syria, to have missed the Islamic State group amassing its forces and invading Iraq? It is anyone's guess. But it's a disastrous oversight by any standard. The same applies to Nigeria, with the US and other western nations having woken up to the reality of the Boko Haram threat only when the situation started to spin out of control. All things considered, Jonathan's regime is still a better option than the coalition of the Muslim extremists that is shaping up now with an aim to win next year's elections.
Russian military analysts predict a rise in violence in Nigeria leading up to the presidential election next year. Some even claim that increased international aid, perhaps even an intervention, may be on the cards as the lessons of Iraq are starting to sink in, both in western and African capitals. As one Russian official told me, "Losing Nigeria to Muslim fundamentalists is simply a no go, whichever way you look at it. What is happening now in Iraq has been a rude wake-up call for Washington."
Some experts fear that Jonathan may have to widen the state of emergency in the north and even postpone the elections next year, if the situation does not improve. It is worth remembering that the leading APC candidate, Mahammadu Buhari, has been accused of inciting a violent uprising after losing the 2011 presidential election, resulting in nearly 1,000 deaths. Next year, some fear, this could be even worse.
Wake up call or not, if the West and African countries don't take drastic steps to reign in Boko Haram and its backers, both in Nigeria and beyond, we might see the recently crowned "biggest economy in Africa" thrown into total disarray.
http://m.aljazeera.com/story/201471564859549939
Nigerian politicians score an own goal
Yes there is endemic corruption, but this is - well - incredible:
Quote:
On Tuesday, Nigeria's President Goodluck Jonathan asked the National Assembly for an extra $1bn to help the military fight Boko Haram.
But the parliamentarians have now gone on a two-month recess without debating the request. Nigeria's soldiers have frequently complained that the insurgents have superior firepower.
Link:http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-28374679
Investing in Powerful Networks in Nigeria?
Investing in Powerful Networks in Nigeria?
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Africa's "borders" and Ebola
This is unrelated to the general thrust of this thread, but I'd like to point out that the arbitrary nature of Africa's "borders" make it impossible to contain threats like Ebola. Let's consider Nigeria.
1. https://t.co/EDpqZaUSYw This town in SW Nigeria with direct links to Cote D'Ivoire
2. It is possible to go by speed boat direct from Uyo in Akwa Ibom state to Malabo in equatorial Guinea
3. Nigeria and Sudan have long historical links, impossible to polise movement between both nations.
Implications for national security and also spread of infectious diseases.
Hausa, fulani and kanuri of the sudan
Discusses the links between Northern Sudan & Northern Nigeria.
Quote:
Historically,socio-cultural and trade ties have been strong between Northern Nigeria and Northern Sudan,particularly around Kano and Bornu. For centuries, the Shuwa Arabs(who number perhaps half a million people in Adamawa,Yobe and Borno states) who are thought to have emigrated from Darfur have inhabited the area around the Biu Plateau,Mandara mountains and plains and the Lake Chad basin. There also exists a well-established Sudanese diaspora in Kano. As recently as 1900,Rabeh the son of a Darfuri Arab was temporal Lord of the Lake Chad region!
These migratory trends appear to have been influenced by the fact of Kano having been the central terminus and Bornu the eastern terminus of the Trans-Saharan trade routes. Indeed,there is a long established practice(which continues to this day) of sending children/wards of the nobility for training in Islamic law,philosophy and theology to the Sudan.This is particularly noticeable in emirates such as Kano,Katsina,Zaria,Sokoto,Adamawa and Bornu.
So,how did Nigerians end up becoming Sudanese nationals?
http://beegeagle.wordpress.com/2010/...-of-the-sudan/