Saturday, September 16, 2017
Buhari is healthy to lead UNGA delegation – Onyeama
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama, who declared this at a news conference at the UN headquarters in New York, said Buhari was “now firing up”.
The Presidency had said that Buhari would depart Abuja on Sunday for New York to participate at the high-level events.
Onyeama said speculations in some quarters about the president’s health and his ability to withstand the rigours of the high-level event scheduled from Sept. 19 to 25, was unnecessary.
“President Muhammadu Buhari is in very good health to lead the UN General Assembly delegation.
“The president is in excellent form in every way possible. We had the Federal Executive Council Meeting on Wednesday that lasted very long beyond the usual.
“He presided over the Federal Executive Council meeting throughout. He’s now firing up and very fantastic,” Onyeama said.
According to him, there is no doubting the fact that the president would make the trip to the U.S. and participate in all the events scheduled for the country.
The minister stressed: “He (Buhari) will make the trip; you know the buzz word in the world today is ‘fake news’.
“So I think it’s a reality of modern journalism, may be because the internet, the cyber face makes journalist of everybody.
So all kinds of news filters through but the reality is that Mr President will be here. He’s in excellent health and he’s going to be leading a very strong high-level Nigerian delegation.
Onyeama said that aside other high-level engagement, Buhari would meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to further strengthen the bilateral tie between the two countries.
The Nigerian leader would hold a lunch meeting with Trump along with other world leaders.
“The relations are good, so we just hope they would continue to be good and by all accounts, we are going in the right direction.
“What would be discussed are some of the global issues – trade issues with Africa, conflict in Africa, global conflict will also certainly be discussed,” the minister said.
The high point of Buhari’s activities would be his participation in the General Debate during which he would deliver Nigeria’s National Statement on Tuesday, the first day of the general debate. (NAN)
Ben Affleck’s less-than-thrilling US Open date
BEN Affleck took his new girlfriend to the US Open, but it seems not even watching Rafael Nadal win his third Open title could help them crack a smile.
BEN Affleck and new girlfriend Lindsay Shookus were spotted at the US Open Tennis men’s final on Sunday — and both looked rather underwhelmed to be there.
Sitting in box seats, neither Affleck or Shookus looked all that excited to watch Rafael Nadal win his third Open title, reports the New York Post.
Affleck, 45 — who kept a straight face — wore a light jacket over his blue T-shirt. Shookus, 37, wore sunglasses and a star-printed jacket over her shoulders.
Over the last few weeks, the new pair has taken their romance public, with a source telling the New York Post the news hasn’t “thrilled” Affleck’s ex-wife Jennifer Garner.
But date nights around the Big Apple may soon slow down as Shookus, a producer and talent-booker for Saturday Night Live returns to work on the 43rd season of the legendary sketch comedy show in late September.
This article was originally published on the New York Post and was republished here with permission.
CNN segment goes into meltdown over ‘inappropriate’ comments
BOOBS. That one little word caused a meltdown on CNN, forcing host Brooke Baldwin to cut off her guests’ mics and pull the plug.
Kim Kardashian wishes old friend Happy Birthday with sexy snap
KIM Kardashian has wished her old assistant Happy Birthday by sharing a
steamy snap of the pair on Instagram leaving little to the imagination
Marriage equality is a health issue: AMA
The Australian Medical Association has rallyied in Sydney to show support for the LGBTIQ community and marriage equality.
Friday, September 15, 2017
Nigeria’s use of brute force to stem Biafra agitation is stoking fears of conflict again
A supporter of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader Nnamdi Kanu holds a Biafra flag during a rally in support of Kanu(Reuters/Afolabi Sotunde)
This story has been updated.
In its bid to solve a growing regional crisis, Nigeria’s government may have made it worse, again.
For months, the revival of fifty year-old secessionist rhetoric for the creation of a “Biafra” nation for the Igbo ethnic group has grown in popularity across Nigeria’s southeast. The secessionist calls have been mainly led by Nnamdi Kanu, the self-declared leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). Kanu, a British citizen who started his protests from London, was previously known only by his dedicated followers in the region. But he became well-known nationwide after he was arrested and detained for 19 months by the government on charges of treason. He was released on bail back in April.
Kanu was again at the center of growing tensions in the southeast this week as, in a show of force, the Nigerian government deployed army troops to Abia, Kanu’s home state. The army claimed the deployment, tagged Operation Python Dance, was in response to security concerns but many locals interpreted it to be an attempt to re-arrest Kanu for flouting one of his bail conditions (since his release, Kanu has addressed public crowds pushing IPOB’s Biafra agenda despite being released on the condition that he wouldn’t do so). Those sentiments were reinforced after Kanu claimed soldiers laid siege on his home to put him under house arrest. IPOB claims it as an assassination attempt on Kanu. Four IPOB members were killed in the skirmish according to reports.
Images and videos on social media have shown soldiers’ inhumane treatment of local youth in the southeast and chasing after unarmed civilians in trucks. Inadvertently, the army’s actions have stoked increased tensions between southeast Igbos and the northerners. Historically, Igbos in Nigeria’s southeast have felt marginalized in Nigeria and president Buhari, a northerner, did little to ease those sentiments soon after taking office when he suggested he’d prioritize development in other regionswhere he won more votes.
The animosity between the regions was worsened in June after a coalition of northern youth groups issued Igbos living in the north with a quit notice. At the time, the Nigeria government urged Igbos to disregard the threat and promised to apprehend the youth group’s leaders but no one was arrested in connection with the quit notice.
In the aftermath of the clashes this week, the army has withdrawn its troops but it also declared IPOB a terrorist organization. It cited the group’s formation of Biafran law enforcement bodies and “possession and use of weapons.”
The fallout of the events of the past days is still unclear but already, footage of Igbo youths menacingly searching for northerners resident in the southeast is stoking fears of a breakout of violence. If that happens, a reprisal will likely follow against Igbos in the north.
For older Igbos, that sounds all too familiar. Back in 1966, Igbos fled northern Nigeria after brutal massacres by angry mobs in the region. Over the three years that followed, Igbo leaders’ attempt to secede from Nigeria and create an independent Biafra state led to a civil war in which over a million people died. Half a century later, the war remains a taboo subject in Niger.
Nigerian governments have a long history of worsening potential crises through a highhanded approach. In Dec. 2015, the Buhari-led government was accused of killing hundreds of members of Islamic Movement of Nigeria, a Shiite group in Nigeria’s north, leading to fears of another insurgency in the north. The Nigerian army claimed the group prompted a confrontation after blocking the motorcade of Nigeria’s army chief. Despite a court order for his release by courts, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, the leader of the Shiite group, remains in government detention.
Back in 2009, another botched government operation arguably led to Nigeria’s most devastating insurgency. After initially ignoring warnings about Boko Haram’s radical views and potency, police officers apprehended Mohammed Yusuf, former leader of the group. But with Yusuf dying in police custody, the crisis soon escalated as, under the leadership of Abubakar Shekau, Yusuf’s erstwhile leader, Boko Haram has led an eight-year insurgency which has seen over 20,000 killed and millions more displaced in northern Nigeria.
Biafra: Uwazurike reveals why military invaded Abia
Goddy Uwazurike, the former President of Igbo Think-Tank group, Aka Ikenga, has said that the reason behind the recent military invasion of Abia state in the guise of Operation Python Dance is to destabilize the state and cause the declaration of a state of emergency.
He made this known on Thursday when he appeared as a guest on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily programme.
He said: “Despite a meeting between the two parties over the issue, the army had already made up its mind to stay, the governor’s announcement cannot alter the army’s decision.
“There is no miscommunication (between the military authorities and the state governor). Operation Python Dance or Egwu Eke as they want to put it is a very clever ploy by some people to destabilise Abia state, for just one purpose – to declare a State of Emergency.
“Remove the governor for a time, put a military man there and before they know it, the military man as governor will simply go and crush the young people. So there is no miscommunication.
“The governor maybe misfiling what is going on, they had an agreement but those people who brought those soldiers know what they are doing.”
“I am only speculating; how can I have a proof? Am I part of the military? I’m not heating up the issues. The governor made the broadcast because he believed they had an agreement. They had something they discussed and they would stick to it.”
Uwazurike’s comment comes barely 24 hours after Governor Okezie Ikpeazu of Abia state announced the gradual withdrawal of soldiers on the streets of Abia, following calls by eminent Nigerians that the troops be recalled back to the barracks.
The military, on the contrary, denied such claim, stressing that the initial Operation Python Dance would commence while charging all commanders involved to ensure it is carried out to its logical conclusion.