TWO NIGERIAN CHILDREN DIE ON BOAT TRYING TO REACH ITALY

(ANSA)Two Nigerian children die on boat trying to reach Italy:

26/07/2008 18:09 ROME, July 26 (AFP)

Two Nigerian children aged two and four died trying to reach Italy on a boat carrying 75 illegal immigrants, Italy's Ansa news agency said Saturday.

The bodies of the two children were thrown into the sea, their father told the crew of an Italian coast guard launch that rescued the group.According to the father, his two-year-old son began vomiting during the night soon after their boat left. He died soon after. His four-year-old sister later died of dehydration, Ansa reported.

The father said he was travelling alone with his children.The boat, a large rubber dinghy carrying 75 passengers, was picked up Saturday by the Italian coast guard south of the island of Lampedusa in the Strait of Sicily.

Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins flies home after mother's death in oil tanker crash

LONDON: Obafemi Martins has left Newcastle's preseason preparations after his mother died when an oil tanker caught fire near her apartment in the Nigerian capital Lagos.Martins' mother Alhaja, 62, was among at least eight people killed Thursday when the tanker collided with a barrier on the side of a road in Lagos and burst into flames, the club said.
"Oba has flown back to Nigeria on compassionate grounds to be with his family at what is a very sad time for them," Newcastle said. "Everyone at the club extends their greatest sympathies to Oba and his relatives."
Martins' agent Chris Nathaniel said the 23-year-old forward was devastated.
"As you would expect, Oba is extremely upset at the moment," he said. "This has come as a massive shock to him and his family. His mother was a guiding light to him and had a strong influence on his life."Martins was dropped from the squad for tomorrow's friendly against Doncaster and may miss next week's friendlies with Hertha Berlin and Real Mallorca.His absence leaves Magpies manager Kevin Keegan increasingly short of attacking options. Mark Viduka and Andy Carroll are both injured and captain Michael Owen missed England's summer friendlies with a virus.
Newcastle faces Manchester United away in its Premier League opener on Aug. 17
English-http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/07/25/sports/EU-SOC-Newcastle-Martins.php

Italiano-http://iltempo.ilsole24ore.com/adnkronos/?q=YToxOntzOjEyOiJ4bWxfZmlsZW5hbWUiO3M6MjE6IkFETjIwMDgwNzI1MTE0MjI1LnhtbCI7fQ==

Nigeria militants seek to free German hostages

Mon 21 Jul 2008, 6:22 GMT

[-] Text [+]

By Randy Fabi

ABUJA (Reuters) - Nigeria's main militant group in the oil-rich Niger Delta said on Sunday it would seek the release of two German construction workers kidnapped by armed gunmen more than a week ago.

The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND), which has led a campaign of violence against oil facilities since early 2006, said it would intervene because the pair were not part of the energy sector but were working to help build the delta's infrastructure.

"MEND has located and identified the culprits and will begin negotiating with the kidnappers in the hope for a safe and unconditional release of the captives," the group's spokesman, who uses the pseudonym Jomo Gbomo, said in an e-mailed statement.
Unidentified gunmen on July 11 kidnapped the two employees of Nigeria's biggest construction firm Julius Berger, a unit of Germany's Bilfinger Berger, near the Nigerian oil city of Port Harcourt.

Around 15 gunmen ambushed the convoy of armoured jeeps by blowing one of the vehicles off the road with dynamite and killing a soldier.The kidnapping prompted the company to suspend its operations in the Niger Delta, the heart of oil production in the world's eighth largest exporter.

Among other projects, Julius Berger is rebuilding the main east-west road across the Niger Delta and is one of Nigeria's biggest private sector employers, with more than 16,000 staff. Companies operating in Africa's top producer have been struggling to cope with a wave of violence in the vast wetlands, fuelled by widespread poverty, corruption and lawlessness. MEND has focused its attacks mainly on Nigeria's oil workers and facilities, cutting output by a fifth in the last two years and helping push world oil prices to record highs.

The group, which is split between a number of different factions, say they are fighting for greater local control of the Niger Delta's resources.But the breakdown of law and order in the region has also allowed criminal gangs to thrive by kidnapping for ransom and stealing crude.

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

http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN126520.html

Nigeria-Italy : cooperation on desert control (Google / The Tide News) « Desertification

Nigeria-Italy : cooperation on desert control (Google / The Tide News) « Desertification

Italy ready to co-operate with Nigeria on desert control’
Monday, Mar 17, 2008Italy has stated its preparedness to co-operate with Nigeria to combat desert encroachment and climate change. Mr Claudio Moreno, an Italian diplomat, said this when he paid a courtesy visit to Dr Abba Ruma, the Minister of Agriculture and Water Resources in Abuja. Moreno was accompanied by the Italian Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr Massino Biastrochi. He said the purpose of the visit was to extend, on behalf of the Italian government, an invitation to Nigeria, to participate in an international exposition to be held in Italy in 2015. The Milan Universal Exposition on “Feeding the Planet for live”, is aimed at fostering co-operation between nations to combat desertification and climate change in order to develop agriculture and reduce hunger.............

Baby dies after home circumcision

Baby dies after home circumcision
(ANSA) Second case in two months
July 22 - 2008-07-22 17:00 - Bari,
A two-month old boy died Tuesday after a circumcision carried out at the home of his Nigerian-born parents.The baby was rushed to a Bari hospital after the rudimentary operation went wrong but died of a haemorrhage, police said.Judicial sources said judges were weighing whether to place the boy's 24-year-old mother under investigation for manslaughter - along with the unidentified 'surgeon' when he is caught.It was the second such case in the last two months.Commenting on the case, Fabio Ferri of Rome's Bambin Gesu' Hospital said circumcisions were even ''risky'' in hospital because of the high amount of blood in the penis.''(The operation) should always be performed by experienced doctors in a hospital,'' he said.Souad Sbai of the Association of Moroccan Women in Italy said all Islamic boys in Italy were circumcised, with ''many'' having the operation at home and only a few going to the doctor.Sbai added that many girls were still being taken back to their countries of origin to be infibulated despite the practice being banned in Italy since 2006.''The situation has decidedly changed for the better but we need more money for awareness programmes and to support infibulated women,'' she said.photo: Bari's Policlinico Hospital
original article:http://espresso.repubblica.it/dettaglio-local/Il-dolore-della-madre:-costretta-ad-operarlo/2034416

The Beauty of Nigeria

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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