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NIGERIAN MEDIA CELEBRATE MANDELA AT 90

Lagos, Nigeria - As the world celebrated the 90th birthday of South Afric a's freedom fighter and first post-apertheid President Nelson Mandela, the Nigerian media went to town this week, devoting editorials and opinion lead articles to the Madiba.The Guardian newspaper captioned its editorial "Nelson Mandela at 90"; the Daily Independent: in its editorial opinion, used the headline "Celebrating Nelson Madiba Mandela at 90" and Thisday newspaper's opinion "Celebrating Mandela at 90".The Punch newspaper published an opinion article on Mandela, written by Mike Woo ldridge, under the headline "Mandela, the sensitive leader at 90" while the Vanguard newspaper in another opinion article by Owei Lakemfa, headlined it "The moral authority called Mandela".According to the Guardian, "Nelson Rolihlahla ('troublemaker') Mandela was the son of a Xhosa-speaking Thembu chief, Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa. He attended the University of Forte Hare in Alice, where he became involved in fervid political struggle against the racial discrimination practised in South Africa."The new South African Constitution, which Nelson Mandela signed into law in 1996, allows a maximum of two terms for a president. Mandela voluntarily elected to quit office in 1999, after a single term in office, very much unlike many other A frican leaders; nor does he belong to the category of African presidents who shift the goal-post (amending their constitutions to incorporate longer terms of office).The Guardian described "Nelson Mandela as a veritable man of the people, self-ab negating, humanistic and altruistic. Upon his release from prison in 1990, his people made to usher him into a palatial edifice. In his words, "There were many in the ANC who advised me to move to the home a few blocks away, in Diepkloof extension, that Winnie had built while I was in prison."It was a grand place by Soweto standards, but it was a house that held no meani ng or memories for me. Moreover, it was a house that, because of its size and expense, seemed somehow inappropriate for a leader of the people. I rejected that advice... I wanted to live not only among the people, but like them....""As Nelson Mandela, popularly called the "Madiba", celebrates his 90th birthday today, we join the rest of the world to proffer our bouquets to this pre-eminentAfrican son, this moral torchbearer of our world, and this quintessential great man. We congratulate him on his selfless achievements and longevity," the Guardian wrote.In the opinion of the Daily Independent, "It is worth mentioning that Mandela - just like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. - was greatly influenced by the non-violent protest methods of India's Mahatma Gandhi. Like Gandhi, he believed in facing adversity with dignity."Be that as it may, he was pushed to renouncing the non-violent means of overturning apartheid by the buoying popularity of more radical groups like the Pan African Congress (PAC) as well as the frustrating lack of progress from peaceful measures. He consequently conceded that there was no effective alternative to an arm e d struggle, culminating in the formation of the MK.According to the tabloid, "Two actions go a long way to further highlight the moral fibre and large-heartedness of Mandela: He refused to support the cry for an ame change of the Parliament because Hendrik Verwoerd (the assassinated apartheid-era Premier after whom the complex was named) was the man that sent him to jail . He also refused to approve the destruction of Pieter Botha's statue (1st Executive President of apartheid South Africa)."At a time that very little positive news is emanating from Africa, it is exhila rating that the world would be celebrating the life and times of this global icon - Nelson Mandela: a 24-carat 20th Century gem from Africa to the rest of the world. Daily Independent wishes the Madiba a memorable 90th birthday anniversary.Thisday newspaper, in its opinion wrote "Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is indeed a living legend. He is 90 years old today. Weeks before his 90th birthday, the world could literally not wait to celebrate him. On June 27, 2008 a very well attended and colourful musical concert was held for him at Hyde Park, London."Although he now walks slowly with the support of a stick and aids, he still has much life in him. While calling on African leaders to learn a lesson or two from this worthy son of Africa, we wish Madiba many," the paper wrote.Wooldridge wrote in his opinion in The Punch "He (Mandela) dedicated his life to a political crusade and became South Africa’s first black president, but Nelson Mandela never lost the personal touch – as those who know him explain. Nelson Mandela’s release from jail after 27 years, in 1990, brought hope of sweeping polit i cal change after the turbulent days of apartheid.Lakemfa, in the Vanguard newspaper opinion also wrote that Mandela "is not even clothed in any religious garb. He is simply human and his life, like his first wife Evelyn Mase and second wife Winnie Madikizela attested, is like that of any other mortal with all its fallibles."Mandela’s towering figure, his transformations through life and embodiment of the struggles of the weak and colonised and their eventual triumph, makes him a very difficult personality to capture in a single write-up."I have therefore limited myself to a tiny aspect of his life; the moral authority he wields. Never in history has anybody of African descent wielded so much moral authority in the world as Nelson Mandela.According to Lakemfa, "Mandela was not born a legend, he acquired it. He used to say that “Nurture, rather than nature, is the primary moulder of personality”. To be able to celebrate Nelson Mandela’s ninetieth birthday, no matter how tangentially, is an historic honour."Lagos - 19/07/2008

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original article:http://www.afriquenligne.fr/nigerian-media-celebrate-mandela-at-90-200807199174.html

THE BAKASSI ISSUE &OBASANJOS' GAME

Nigeria: Bakassi Green Tree Deal - Obasanjo Didn't Consult Military

17 July 2008
Abdul-Rahman AbubakarAbuja
The military brass was not consulted before President Olusegun Obasanjo signed the Green Tree Agreement which ceded the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, Chief of Defence Staff General Andrew Owoye Azazi said in Abuja yesterday.
Speaking at the Senate Investigative Hearing on the Green Tree Pact signed by Obasanjo and Cameroonian President Paul Biya in 2006, General Azazi said, "I am not sure that the military made any contribution to the Green Tree Agreement, but I know that the then Chief of Defence Staff, General Martin Luther Agwai traveled with the former president to New York when the agreement was signed."

Azazi also told the Senate Committee that in the event of hostilities between Nigeria and Cameroon, France is likely to get involved in the conflict due to an existing defence pact between France and its former colonies.
The CDS said although no document shows the involvement of the military in the drafting and signing of the agreement, his office will continue to search and if anything turns up, he would send it to the Senate.
A senior Naval Officer on the CDS' team, Commodore Dele Ezeoba told the Senate panel that ceding Bakassi to Cameroon was not in the interest of Nigeria's security as the area will take away the adjoining deep marine routes, leaving Nigeria only with shallow waters which cannot be navigated. He said the area is more strategic to Nigeria than it is to Cameroon.
"I want to believe that if anything happens between Nigeria and Cameroon, the defence treaty between France and Cameroon will be called into force. They have such treaty with their former colonies. We don't have defence treaty with any country, we only have training agreements," General Azazi added.
Testifying before the Senate panel, Secretary General of the Bakassi Peoples General Assembly, Chief Ndabo Umo Nakanda said former President Olusegun Obasanjo intimidated the people of Bakassi, forcing them to dump their protest against the judgment of the International Court of Justice in the matter. He said, "We were invited by former President Obasanjo to the Aso Rock Villa. When we were seated the president said the press should excuse him and he warned us not to mention the case again. He said we should not make any further publications because according to him, we were provoking Paul Biya by our complaints. We were intimidated not to talk."
Asked why the Bakassi people failed to make their voices heard on the matter, former Cross River State House of Assembly member representing Bakassi, Mr. Joe Etame said the former president intimidated the people of the area not to contest the matter. "He told us that he was at the verge of having a meeting with Biya, but that because of our publications and he brought out some newspapers out that Biya was no longer ready to meet with him. He warned us to desist from further media campaign, that he was going to negotiate in our best interest and that not even an inch of our land will be ceded. After that we were scared."
Chief Nakanda also alleged that the former president threatened to leave the Bakassi people's fate in the hands of Biya, saying, "He told us not to make any pronouncements again on Bakassi. That was enough intimidation. He even said, if you ever make any publication again, I will leave you to Biya, can you fight Biya?
At yesterday's hearing, the Bakassi Peoples Assembly rejected the Green Tree Agreement and called on the Senate to device means which will enable Nigeria to appeal the ICJ ruling on Bakkasi. It said, "This Senate should put machinery in place to appeal the ICJ ruling to the United Nations Security Council. From the inception we have ten years option to appeal and three years is still left."
Chief Nakanda said the people of Bakassi have been hurt by both Nigeria and Cameroon saying, "We have seen that the overriding interest was solely economic rather than human interest. We appeal to Nigeria and Cameroon to sort their economic interests in the area and leave us alone."
He said the Bakassi people reject any plan to resettle them in an area already occupied by other ethnic groups, adding that such move will neutralize their culture and tradition and make them lose their identity. "We are saying the government of Cross River is trying to make a makeshift relocation camp. We reject it in its entirety. If we are forced to go there, there is going to be problem because we will lose our identity in three years. Where are we going to practice our traditions and religion? We have our shrines and deities; we cannot go and worship other people's deities. This cannot be overlooked because we still have our traditional religion," Chief Nakanda said.
He said the people are not happy that presently, their identity is already in jeopardy because they no longer have political presence either in Cross River State or at the National level. Chief Nakanda also said Bakassi Local Government formerly had ten wards but that has now been reduced to only five, while village names have been replaced with numerical figures. "Those names mean nothing to us," he said. According to him, the Green Tree Agreement is not in the interest of the Bakassi people as it infringes on their fundamental human rights.
Original articles:

• http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=21693&lan=ita

• http://allafrica.com/stories/200807170003.html

Generator fumes kill 17 at Nigeria prayer meeting

Wed Jul 16, 2008 5:12pm EDT

By Anamesere Igboeroteonwu

UMUAHIA, Nigeria (Reuters) - At least 17 people died at a prayer meeting in rural Nigeria after apparently breathing noxious fumes from their power generator while asleep, police and witnesses said on Wednesday.

The deaths highlight the worsening power crisis in Africa's top oil producer, where the near collapse of the national grid is forcing homes and businesses to turn to portable generators.

Much of Nigeria has no mains power for weeks at a time. The capacity of the world's eighth biggest oil exporter has plunged to less than 1,000 megawatts from 3,000 a year ago.

The victims fell asleep on Saturday in a locked room with the generator still running, police said. Their bodies were discovered and the incident reported on Tuesday.

"We are still investigating the cause of the deaths. But a power generating set was found in the hall where they slept, so we are not ruling out suffocation through carbon monoxide inhalation," police spokesman Ali Okechukwu said.

The family had gathered in a village in the Isiala-Ngwa district of Abia to pray for one of their own whom they said was being haunted by evil spirits.

Though Nigerians are very religious, many are highly superstitious and hold strong beliefs in voodoo, ghosts and witchcraft. One survivor, Linus Abba, said the victims were attacked by the evil spirits they were trying to exorcise.

"I heard strange noises and noticed that the room where we slept was filled with smoke, that is all I can remember because I fainted," Abba told Reuters. "It was a terrible attack by the forces of darkness that we came to fight."

By Anamesere Igboeroteonwu

UMUAHIA, Nigeria (Reuters) - At least 17 people died at a prayer meeting in rural Nigeria after apparently breathing noxious fumes from their power generator while asleep, police and witnesses said on Wednesday.

The deaths highlight the worsening power crisis in Africa's top oil producer, where the near collapse of the national grid is forcing homes and businesses to turn to portable generators.

Much of Nigeria has no mains power for weeks at a time. The capacity of the world's eighth biggest oil exporter has plunged to less than 1,000 megawatts from 3,000 a year ago.

The victims fell asleep on Saturday in a locked room with the generator still running, police said. Their bodies were discovered and the incident reported on Tuesday.

"We are still investigating the cause of the deaths. But a power generating set was found in the hall where they slept, so we are not ruling out suffocation through carbon monoxide inhalation," police spokesman Ali Okechukwu said.

The family had gathered in a village in the Isiala-Ngwa district of Abia to pray for one of their own whom they said was being haunted by evil spirits.

Though Nigerians are very religious, many are highly superstitious and hold strong beliefs in voodoo, ghosts and witchcraft. One survivor, Linus Abba, said the victims were attacked by the evil spirits they were trying to exorcise.

"I heard strange noises and noticed that the room where we slept was filled with smoke, that is all I can remember because I fainted," Abba told Reuters. "It was a terrible attack by the forces of darkness that we came to fight."

By Anamesere Igboeroteonwu

UMUAHIA, Nigeria (Reuters) - At least 17 people died at a prayer meeting in rural Nigeria after apparently breathing noxious fumes from their power generator while asleep, police and witnesses said on Wednesday.

The deaths highlight the worsening power crisis in Africa's top oil producer, where the near collapse of the national grid is forcing homes and businesses to turn to portable generators.

Much of Nigeria has no mains power for weeks at a time. The capacity of the world's eighth biggest oil exporter has plunged to less than 1,000 megawatts from 3,000 a year ago.

The victims fell asleep on Saturday in a locked room with the generator still running, police said. Their bodies were discovered and the incident reported on Tuesday.

"We are still investigating the cause of the deaths. But a power generating set was found in the hall where they slept, so we are not ruling out suffocation through carbon monoxide inhalation," police spokesman Ali Okechukwu said.

The family had gathered in a village in the Isiala-Ngwa district of Abia to pray for one of their own whom they said was being haunted by evil spirits.

Though Nigerians are very religious, many are highly superstitious and hold strong beliefs in voodoo, ghosts and witchcraft. One survivor, Linus Abba, said the victims were attacked by the evil spirits they were trying to exorcise.

"I heard strange noises and noticed that the room where we slept was filled with smoke, that is all I can remember because I fainted," Abba told Reuters. "It was a terrible attack by the forces of darkness that we came to fight."Generator fumes kill scores of people in Africa's most populous country of 140 million every year.

link to Original news:http://www.stranieriinitalia.it/ansa-immigrazione_viminale_rimpatriati_40_nigeriani_da_fiumicino_5022.html

(ANSA) IMMIGRATION. MIN OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS :40 NIGERIANS REPATRIATED FROM FIUMICINO AIRPORT
Rome (16th July). Fourty illegal immigrants from Nigeria were this morning repatriated to Lagos with a chater flight at 13.20 (1.20pm) from the Fiumicino airport in Rome .
The ministry of internal affairs underlined that the operation carried out by the Dept of Public Security (Police etc) was in line with its efforts in the war against illlegal immigration and is a follow-up to earlier operations carried out on the 28th June and 3rd July at Gorizia and Catinai respectively on Egyptian illegal immigrants.

(TRANSLATED BY: Chukwubike Okey. Charles)
http://chukbyke.blogspot.com/2008/07/rimpatriati-40-nigeriani-oggi.html

NIGERIAN JOBS SCRAMBNLE KILLS 12

Jobs in any part of the civil service are prized

At least a dozen people have died during a recruitment drive for the Nigerian Immigration Service. Four people were killed in a stampede at the recruitment centre in Enugu in Nigeria's south-east. Recruiters closed a gate to the government building where candidates were to sit an aptitude test. More than 130,000 candidates applied for 1,260 jobs, local media report. Government jobs are prized for their regular salaries and good benefits. There are few good employment prospects for the many thousands of people who graduate from colleges and universities each year. Four people also died in Asaba, in the Niger Delta region, during a fitness test where candidates had to run miles in the hottest part of the day. Four people were also reported to have been crushed in an stampede in Ilorin in the central region of the country. Other people died during fitness tests in Kaduna in northern Nigeria and in Abia and Anambra in the east, but the exact number was unclear. Economic reforms over the last eight years have seen the civil service cut in size. The government is still the largest single employer in Nigeria, but a large number of Nigeria's 140m population rely on the informal economy for their living.

Chinese firm to build $1 billion road in Nigeria oil hub

ORIGINAL ARTICLE:http://www.reuters.com/article/GCA-Oil/idUSL1328196020080713?pageNumber=3&virtualBrandChannel=0

By Nick Tattersall

LAGOS (Reuters) - One of China's top engineering firms has signed a $1 billion deal to build a road around the volatile Nigerian city of Port Harcourt, the hub of Africa's biggest oil industry, the AFC development bank said on Sunday.

The deal makes Beijing a key development partner in the Niger Delta, home to Nigeria's 2.1 million barrels per day (bpd) oil industry, where poor infrastructure and a lack of investment have fuelled a campaign of violence by militant groups.

China Harbour Engineering Co. (CHEC) signed a memorandum of understanding with the African Finance Corporation (AFC) for the six-lane ring road during a visit to China by Nigerian local government and AFC officials last week.

"The 125-km highway will be the largest municipal highway project in Africa and is expected to be a catalyst to the city's economic development," the AFC, a private sector-led investment and development bank based in Nigeria, said in a statement.

It said a unit of the State Grid Corporation of China, the country's largest state-owned enterprise, would also help upgrade the region's shambolic electricity generation, transmission and distribution system.

The Niger Delta is plagued by attacks by militant groups on oil pipelines and the kidnapping of foreign workers, violence which has cut Nigerian oil output by a fifth in recent years and helped push world oil prices to record highs.

China depends on Africa for some 30 percent of oil imports and has invested heavily in top producers Nigeria and Angola.

The Nigerian government has made developing infrastructure in the delta one of the planks of its campaign to bring peace to the region, where impoverished local communities complain they are seeing none of the benefits of oil wealth.

"Infrastructure, creation of employment through capacity building of our people and growth of the economy are the essentials to solving the crisis," Rotimi Amaechi, governor of Rivers state where Port Harcourt is located, said in Beijing.

Jichang Zhuo -- chairman of CHEC parent company China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) (1800.HK: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) -- said he hoped his company could contribute to the economic development of Rivers and said the project would begin immediately.

SECURITY FEARS

The announcement comes two days after Nigeria's biggest construction firm, Julius Berger JUBR.LG, started pulling out of the delta because of the deteriorating security situation.

The decision by the Nigerian unit of German builder Bilfinger Berger (GBFG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) came after gunmen kidnapped two of its senior Germans employees by blowing their armored vehicle off the road with dynamite close to Port Harcourt.

More than 200 foreigners have been seized in the Niger Delta since early 2006. Almost all have been released unharmed.

Amaechi said the Nigerian authorities would do all they could to protect Chinese workers.

"It is the responsibility of the Rivers state government to provide security to protect lives and property. We are determined to provide security for every staff member of CCCC that comes to work in Rivers state," he said.

The World Bank said in a report last week that China was leading new financiers in Africa, estimating its funding for roads, railways and power projects at $7 billion in 2006, up from just $1 billion a year between 2001-2003.

The bulk of the commitments were to four countries endowed with natural resources -- Nigeria, Angola, Sudan and Ethiopia

Frode in italiano (Nigeria Fraud in Italian)

Frode in italiano (Nigeria Fraud in Italian)
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La maggior parte dei email di frode nigeriano sono in inglese, ma ci sono inoltre versioni in italiano. Qui sono alcuni esempi:.
From: Simon [mailto:smuzender@netscape.net]
Sent: 12 June 2005 19:02
To:
Subject: Proposta Finanziaia
Potresti sorprenderti nel ricevere questa lettera per il fatto che tu non mi
conosci e perci� vorrei presentarmi.
Mi chiamo Simone Mazenda, figlio primogenito di Paul Mazenda un
ex-agricoltore dello Zimbawe. Egli � stato ucciso poco tempo fa nell'attuale
guerra civile che incombe nel mio paese.
Ho ricevuto il tuo contatto attraverso il network e per questo ho deciso di
scriverti.
Mio padre, prima della sua morte, mi port� a Johannesburg (Sud-Africa) per
depositare una somma di 8,5 milioni di dollari, in una delle assicurazioni
private, proprio perch� conosceva il pericolo presente nello Zimbawe.
In seguito questa somma venne depositata e convertita in pietre preziose per
evitare la svalutazione dalla compagnia di assicurazione.
Questo capitale era destinato per l'acquisto di nuovi macchinari e prodotti
chimici per gli agricoltori e la creazione di nuove fattorie nello
Swaziland.
Il problema in questa terra nacque quando il presidente dello Zimbawe, Mr.
Robert Mugabe introdusse una riforma agricola nel mio paese che andava a
favore interamente del ricco popolo bianco e di pochissimi agricoltori
benestanti di colore.
Tutto questo port� allo sterminio di intere famiglie da parte di fanatici
guerriglieri che continuano a portare la societ� Zimbawese alla decimazione.
Quindi la nuova riforma � la causa principale della morte di migliaia di
persone e tra cui mio padre che ne rimase vittima.
Per questo motivo decidemmo io e la mia famiglia di chiedere asilo politico
e di trasferirci in Olanda, dove tutt'ora abitiamo per� allo stesso tempo
cercare di trasferire la nostra somma di denaro in un posto pi� sicuro
poich� il governo olandese proibisce ai rifugiati politici all'interno del
proprio territorio di possedere un conto bancario o essere coinvolti in
transazioni finanziarie.
Come primogenito ho la piena responsabilit� di venire a conoscenza di un
conto estero senza che il mio governo venga a saper di tutto ci�, in quanto
ha il potere di defraudare ogni bene che noi cittadini possediamo.
Il governo sud-africano sembra sia d'accordo con il governo dello Zimbawe.
Mi trovo di fronte al dilemma di trasferire questo capitale dal Sud-Africa
in modo da non incorrer pi� in simili esperienze nel futuro in quanto
entrambi i paesi hanno una simile storia politica.
Come uomo d'affari sono alla ricerca di un partner finanziario, al quale
posso affidare nelle sue mai il mio futuro e quello della mia famiglia e
vorrei assicurarti che questa transazione non presenta rischi.
Tutto ci� che adesso avrei bisogno e che tu possa assistere me e la mia
famiglia e cio� fare un contratto con la compagnia di assicurazione per
effettuare il versamento dall'ufficio della filiale in Olanda, avendo gi�
dato le mie direttive per il trasferimento, che deve essere fatto dal
Sudafrica in Olanda. Ma prima di tutte queste modalit� si deve stabilire
come il cambio di propriet� del conto e cosa molto pi� importante � che
questo denaro deve essere usato per il mio investimento.
Avrei due opzioni per te. La prima � che tu puoi scegliere di avere una
certa percentuale di denaro per sottoscrivere il conto di questa
transazione; come seconda possibilit� potresti diventare il mio partner per
tutto l'investimento di denaro nella da effettuarsi tua citt�. Qualunque
opzione tu scelga, sentiti libero di contattarmi.
Ti dico che ho gi� sottratto il 5% per tutte le spese relative al processo
di transazione bancaria. Se non preferisci il partenariato ti potr� versare
il 10% del denaro mentre il restante 85% verr� riservato per l'investimento
da farsi nella tua citt�.
Se non reco alcun disturbo contattami cortesemente a questo indirizzo e-mail
e ti chiedo gentilmente di mantenere l'assoluta privacy come la legge
prevede.
Grazie per il tuo sostegno e che dio ti benedica.
Cordiali saluti
Simone Mazenda