Looking Glass: How "Rumba King" Papa Wemba Died While Performing On Stage

Papa Wemba, one of Africa's greatest music stars, died Sunday after collapsing on stage during a festival in Ivory Coast.

The Congolese world music legend, renowned as the "king of Congolese rumba" for the fusion of Cuban and electronic rock that he pioneered in the 1970s, was 66.

He died after falling ill during a set at the Urban Musical Festival Anoumabo (FEMUA) in Abidjan, the first major cultural event in the country since a jihadist attack on a beach resort last month.

Video footage broadcast live on television showed the dramatic moment that Papa Wemba -- wearing a bold black and white patterned tunic and oversized bowler hat -- slumped to the floor behind a group of dancers, before performers rushed to his aid.

FEMUA organisers expressed "deep sorrow" at the death of a man who has been at the forefront of African music for more than four decades.

"Papa Wemba wanted to die on stage, that's what he told me two weeks ago when I spoke to him on the phone," festival promoter and singer Salif Traore, known as A'Salfo, told AFP.

A'Salfo, lead singer with the Ivorian group Magic System, said he understood Papa Wemba died on the way to hospital and that a journalist who interviewed him earlier in the day had noticed that he appeared unwell.

The journalist "told me that Papa Wemba was showing signs of fatigue. He was drinking water between every sentence", he said.

The festival was held just over a month after the Islamist attack on the beach resort of Grand-Bassam on March 13 that left 19 people dead.

- 'A great loss for music' -

Papa Wemba was born Jules Shungu Wembadio Pene Kikumba in June 1949 in what was then Belgian Congo, now the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He won international acclaim when the fashion for African and world music took hold in Europe and the United States in the 1980s, and recorded with British rock star Peter Gabriel.

"He was an icon, an artist of talent... it's a great loss for music," DR Congo Culture Minister Banza Mukalay told AFP.

He added that the singer's body would be brought back to his homeland.

"We are not going to let him rest their for eternity. He will be buried here in the DRC."

A father-of-six, Papa Wemba was also known as the driving spirit behind a cult movement known as "Sapeurs" whose members -- young men -- spend huge amounts of money on designer clothes.

He was also convicted in France in 2004 for smuggling illegal immigrants into the country.

Papa Wemba had begun his singing career in religious choirs in which he developed his trademark high range voice, making his debut in the capital Kinshasa at the end of the 1960s.

He inherited his love of song from his mother, who was a professional "wailing woman" at funerals.

- Cult status -

Like many of his generation, he was strongly influenced by American and British pop culture and initially took the stage name Jules Presley.

In 1969 he helped found Zaiko Langa Langa, a Zaire-based pop group that was to achieve cult status in the 1970s with its revival of Latin American rumba.

The group revitalised the style that had been popular in the 1940s, using a combination of Afro-Cuban rhythm and Congolese song while introducing rock rhythms and electronic sounds.

Papa Wemba settled in France in 1986 as his fame began to reach as far afield as Japan, dazzled by the African dandy who was dressed by the world's leading designers.

He went on to reach a much wider public thanks to a world music album produced by France's Martin Meissonnier in 1988, which blended African and Western sounds.

Papa Wemba parted ways in 1999 with the Real World record label founded by Gabriel, the former Genesis singer.

But he remained immensely popular in Africa, taking part in major music events including a concert in London for Nelson Mandela's 90th birthday.

He was convicted by a Paris court in 2004 of smuggling illegal immigrants into France by disguising them as members of his entourage, but walked free as he had already served four months behind bars.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

CRTV General Manager en Route to Kondengui?

Speculations as to whether Amadou Vamoulke, the General Manager of the state media house-Cameroon Radio Television, CRTV will join the former GM of the same institution at the Yaounde Kondengui Prison abound high. Allegedly, the boss of CRTV has been banned from travelling abroad and his bank account has been frozen. It is also alleged the man has been a constant visitor at the Special Criminal Tribunal where he is being quizzed on the management of funds allocated to that media outfit. Classified sources say he was barred from travelling to China recently. Allegations are rife at that he may likely join the former GM, Gervais Mendo Ze in prison over management errors. 

Amadou Vamoulke, it should be noted has been at the helm of Cameroon Radio Television for over ten years now. Yet could be amongst the latest catch of sparrow hawk. 

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Technical School of Agriculture Nkambe Going (1)

The reputation of Technical School of Agriculture-TSA, Nkambe has been taken into the mud and given heavy knock by its present management. The level of mishap at TSA Nkambe we gathered has reached the point that the school administration could only get solace thanks to the intervention of the Senior Divisional Officer for Donga Mantung Division. The population of Nkambe was taken aback when news spread that pedagogic staff of the school had issued letter, decrying the non payment of allowances a year ago and later last week took to the street to stage a peaceful protest march to the SDO's office to express their grievances. 

Reasons for the falling standards of training at TSA Nkambe have attracted much public discussions recently to the point that diverse opinions have been voiced out on the management skills of the Director of that school. Yet, a school of thought holds that education is a Human right that should be accorded to all humans as a threshold for moral, mental and moral development of human personality. And that TSA Nkambe is down into the doldrums as pedagogic staff and students are aghast. Though students have been silent over the absence of training instruments such as poultry farms, etc another school of thought holds that the sky rocket problem is indicative of administrative lapses and failure. The bad news follows other indications that teaching and learning standards at TSA Nkambe are slipping when measured against others. Other commentators suggested that the high rate of disorder and trickery moves is a severe blow to Government and bad news for the future of youths of Donga Mantung Division as well as many others who have passed through the school. "How can Donga Mantung hope to compete economically if our young people are not as well-trained as those in other places?, an authoritative voice questioned.

The question many have been asking on the growing anguish at TSA Nkambe is whether a parent be averse to what was prescribed as school fees? The result of the cacophony is the high level of mess which is actually becoming a cause for concern.The reputation of the one-time citadel of education in Donga Mantung Division is being dragged into the mud. 

After the protest by the pedagogic team of the technical school of Agriculture Nkambe to the SDO Donga Mantung for non-payment of allowances, activities in the school may go down to snail level. Questions as to whether CONAC has not investigated into the management of the huge sums of money given to this institution abound high. A source in the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development hinted us that the CONAC has been alerted and that a team will visit Nkambe soon to probe into the management of funds for the past 8 years. (Part II Soon)

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CBTS, JMBC Kickstart Climate Change Mitigation Strategies

The management of the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary-CBTS and Joseph Merrick Baptist College-JMBC, all in Ndu have resolved to jointly tackle water scarcity in Ndu town. The CBTS Provost Rev. Dr. Nseimbo Johnson as well as JMBC principal Fru Festus have both acknowledged the fact that in order for Ndu town to solve the problem of water scarcity, the fight must be collective. 

They are quoted to have have told Savannah Radio Ndu that the two christian institutions are putting in place to improve on access to water in their institutions as well as to the public. Besides, they have also revealed that strategies have been put in place to fell all the eucalyptus trees found around marshy areas. CBTS, it should be noted has also established a tree nursery with environmental friendly trees that will be used as replacements for the eucalyptus trees. Some of these tree species according to Rev. Dr. Nsiembo include amongst others prunnus africanus, grivillia robusta etc. 

This according to what we gathered is intended to mitigate the phenomenon of climate change. 

With Report from Tando George-Savannah Radio Ndu

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Federal prosecutors want to talk to journalists in Panama Papers probe

Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, opened a formal criminal investigation into the Panama Papers, a document leak that allegedly implicates politicians, celebrities and business people in illegal financial dealings. Bharara, seen here in 2014, sent a letter to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalist asking for more information on the 11.5 million documents leaked from the Panama-based Mossack Fonseca law firm. The firm has denied any wrongdoing. Photo from U.S. Department of Justice.

WASHINGTON, April 21 (UPI) -- The U.S. Justice Department launched a criminal investigation into the possible illegal activities outlined in the Panama Papers, the massive data leak of secret offshore accounts and alleged illegal financial dealings.

Preet Bharara, the U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, said he wrote to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which led a worldwide effort to report on documents leaked from Panama-based law firm Mossack Fonseca, to ask for information to assist in the criminal investigation. Bharara's office has jurisdiction over some of the world's largest financial institutions.

"The office would greatly appreciate to opportunity to speak as soon as possible with any ICIJ employee or representative involved in the Panama Papers project in order to discuss this matter further," Bharara said.

Bharara's efforts are the first indication criminal prosecutors in the United States are officially investigating the information contained in the 11.5 million documents. So far, U.S. authorities have only media accounts to verify the information. Officials began a preliminary review earlier this month.

Stefan Cassella, a former deputy chief of the Justice Department's Asset Forfeiture and Money Laundering Section, told NBC News that New York is the natural place to begin such an international investigation because illicit funds are often laundered through New York banks.

"They all want to be paid in dollars so the transactions go through New York," Cassella said. "It's just the way the global financial world works. The money passes through New York."

The documents, leaked to the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung and analyzed by the journalist consortium, allegedly link politicians and celebrities to accounts that shield their money from taxes. Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson and Jose Manuel Soria, Spain's acting industry minister, resigned after they were linked to offshore accounts with questionable financial dealings. British Prime Minister David Cameron and Russian President Vladimir Putin have also been named in the papers, but both deny any illegal involvement.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Barcelona FC: 10 Reasons Why They Are Falling Apart

Barca with its heroic MSN combination has quietly being reduced to a toothless bulldog living on past glory with the team's current form.

 

Having lost their last three matches in La Liga and got knocked out of the Champions League, Barcelona’s season is in danger of completely falling apart. Goal runs down the 10 reasons why it has all come unstuck so quickly.

10. MIXED MESSAGES FROM LUIS ENRIQUE: It seems strange to announce that the trip to Anoeta is "the most difficult away match of the season" yet then pick Rafinha and Arda Turan in midfield for the game against Real Sociedad. The Barca boss has also been unable to rotate his MSN attack with any real success and has largely failed to change games with his substitutions when things have been going against his side. He must take a significant share of the blame.

9. BARTOMEU ISN'T A MAN FOR A CRISIS: The Barca president has done little since winning the elections last summer. The club chief has failed to secure a new shirt sponsorship deal for next season, which meant Barca were unable to sign Nolito in January, and consequently has still not tied down Neymar to a new contract. Bartomeu did not ensure that the squad was sufficiently strengthened after last term's treble triumph.

8. MSN TIRED AND OUT OF FORM: Earlier this season, Luis Enrique described his famed forward line as the best trident in the history of the game and such was their brilliance, it was hard to disagree. However, Neymar has looked out of sorts since the Ballon d'Or and Lionel Messi has been a shadow of his usual self over the past few games.

7. LA MASIA ISN'T HELPING EITHER: Barca B's erratic season has hindered the first team as well. Luis Enrique has handed debuts to seven youngsters - Juan Camara, Gerard Gumbau, Aitor, Wilfrid Kaptoum, Romera, Carles Alena and Sergi Samper. The latter is easily the most talented of those, but has been largely overlooked and is also now sidelined through injury. In the meantime, the talented Alen Halilovic was allowed to join Sporting Gijon on loan for the season.

6. LITTLE HELP FROM THE BENCH: With the notable exception of Sergi Roberto, Barcelona's substitutes have not been up to the task for the most part in 2015-16. Luis Enrique does not appear to trust Munir El Haddadi or Sandro when it matters, while Jeremy Mathieu has made mistakes (like against Villarreal recently) and both Thomas Vermaelen and Marc Bartra are out of the first-team picture now, along with Adriano. As already mentioned, Arda and Aleix have also failed to convince.


5. RAFINHA'S INJURY: Luis Enrique is a big admirer of Rafinha, a player he took to Celta on loan and who looked set to feature heavily this season. However, the youngest of the Alcantara brothers was seriously injured against Roma in September and sidelined for six months, meaning he was unable to provide cover for the midfield and attack as planned. Barca lost a very good player and also one who would have provided much-needed depth from the bench.

4. PROBLEMS IN DEFENCE: So secure en route to the treble in 2014-15, Barcelona's back-line has had plenty of issues in the current campaign. They conceded only 37 goals last season, but have already shipped 51 this term (including four each against Athletic Bilbao, Celta Vigo and Sevilla earlier in the season). And although there has since been improvement, the goals of MSN have papered over the cracks for much of the campaign.

3. NO NOLITO, NO COVER FOR MSN: With Pedro gone and nobody to replace him, Barca set their sights on Nolito in the winter window but were unable to find the funds to sign the Spain striker. That has seen a large burden placed on the shoulders of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar, with the sheer volume of games taking their toll on Barca's fantastic forward line.

2. ARDA & ALEIX STRUGGLE TO ADAPT: Barcelona did sign Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal last summer and the two finally made their debuts when the transfer ban came to an end in January. However, they missed a total of 30 games and have been unable to adapt to the team since finally making their bows at the beginning of the year.

1. XAVI & PEDRO LEAVE WITH TRANSFER BAN ONGOING : Xavi departed after winning the treble and Pedro chose to join Chelsea in August, leaving Barca short of quality options on the bench and unable to replace them straight away, still banned from fielding new players in 2015.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Open complaint to NEC: SDF Presidential Hopeful Barred from Party Activities!

His Excellency, kindly digest-cum-relay this concern to the National executive committee (NEC):

I, Felix Teche Nyamusa SDF 2018 Presidential hopeful (pending primaries) have recently been blocked from attending SDF meetings or permitted to attend but stopped from making contributions under flimsy excuses!

Its worth mentioning that Felix Teche Nyamusa is SDF militant from conception of the party in 1990 and has held positions in same at various times and levels which include Tugi ward chair, district executive member of Mbengwi and Bamenda electoral districts and member of the provincial communication desk of North West Region (then province) and currently SDF presidential hopeful for the 2018 Cameroon presidential – it was the case in a North West regional reorganization planning meeting of March 2018(at Fru Ndi’s Ntarikon residence) with the SDF national chair His Excellency John Fru Ndi in attendance where your presidential hopeful was prevented from partaking in the gathering and again in another conclave at Fru Ndi’s Ntarikon residence this time of the Bamenda II district Saturday 16, April 2016 where I was permitted to attend but again controversially censored from contributing at the deliberations! It is worth noting that I after all was officially invited to this meeting by the district chair like I have attended other meetings here at the invitation of the past chairs. Today to some militants “Nyamusa is of SDF Mbengwi Momo and he is standing presidential primaries with Chairman Fru Ndi - he should be stifled at party activities!” It is worth mentioning that the Musang ward of chairman Pa Sembi in Bamenda II is my current SDF ward. I currently reside in Musang quarter of Bamenda II. When I am in the village - Tugi in Mbengwi subdivision of Momo division, I militate in the Tugi SDF ward where I am former chair. Where ever I go be it in Douala, Yaounde, North or any other part of Cameroon as well as in the Diaspora I have always made it a duty to identify and partake in my party SDF activities .

My field experience over the years has exposed this unlawful, anti constitutional posture by some party zealots which hampers democracy thereby increasing apathy by discouraging aspirants and their following not only as it concern me but also with respect to other militants at various levels of the party perpetuated by (some of) the chieftains in their respective constituencies especially those afraid of competition or for sycophancy sake!

The SDF party constitution is unequivocal on:

- Part of the Preamble: - “We hereby reiterate our belief in individual freedom in the framework of a just society, political freedom in the framework of a meaningful participation by all citizens in the political process and mindful of the constitution of the Republic of law No 90/056 of 19th December, 1990.

Pledge ourselves to an open and honest endeavour in the conduct of public affairs and in a manner worthy of a free people; convinced that the enduring strength of the Nation’s political institutions depends on the restoration of multiparty democratic practices. Affirm our conviction that a political party wishing to be trusted must prove its trust in the people.

Section 7.4 , of the party constitution

(a) Every member shall have the right to vote and be voted for any office or post of the party during any election, provided that such member has been active and is a current financial member of the party; (Yaounde conv.; 16-20.04.99)

Internal rules and regulations

Part II: Nominations for election

Section 5: Nomination for the presidential election

a) The Republic shall form one single constituency for the purpose of nominating a presidential candidate of the party. Aspirants seeking nomination shall submit themselves to the National convention specially convened for that purpose. The applicant shall be supported by no less than ten accredited members to the convention from each of at least five (5) Regions of the Republic; (Bfsm. Conv. 29-31-7-93)

b) The candidate that wins more than 50% of the votes of the total delegates of the special convention shall be considered duly nominated; provided that he/she has no less than one third of the votes cast at the nomination in each of six of the regions in the Republic”

Thus per our SDF constitution, the presidential candidate irrespective of whether he/she holds a party executive position or just a bare militant has the entire Cameroon as his/her constituency and obviously has as a duty to sell his/her image, ideology and manifesto to fellow citizens through party meetings, rallies--- .

It is only through this that militants, Cameroonians will know such candidate(s) in order to ascertain whether he, she or they deserve their votes at polls or not!

Hence blocking them from fully and actively participating in meetings, rallies or other party activities I think is a disservice to SDF militants in particular and Cameroonians in general; unconstitutional; undemocratic thus weakening the party to say the least!

Comrades, this is the ordeal the party, some party members including Nyamusa your humble presidential candidate (pending primaries) have been going through and we urge the national executive council (NEC) being one of the highest governing organ of the SDF party to get involved and educate militants and sympathizers against such party absurd, debasing actions!

May God guide, SDF, Cameroon.

Felix Teche Nyamusa, SDF 2018 presidential hopeful (pending primaries)


When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

#PanamaPapers: How Tinubu Operated 12 Shell Companies in Tax Havens

The Panama leak that rocked the world has exposed Wale Tinubu, the relative of the All Progressives Congress national party leader.

Wale Tinubu

 

Last October, Nigeria’s biggest indigenous oil and gas company, Oando Plc, made history for the wrong reason when it announced a loss of N184 billion in the 2014 financial year. The loss was the biggest ever recorded by any Nigerian company.

While its shareholders bore the brunt of the bleak financial year, the company’s group chief executive, Wale Tinubu and his deputy, Omamofe Boyo, might be doing just fine as they had for years incorporated and operated a cluster of shell companies in notorious offshore jurisdictions.

Mr. Tinubu seems to be making so good a return from his shell companies that in 2008 he agreed to pay a front as much as $20,000 monthly to manage all of his offshore transactions.

Details of the offshore assets of the two top bosses at Oando Plc were among the revelations contained in the leaked massive internal data belonging to Panamanian law firm, Mossack Fonseca.

The revelations are products of an investigation, spanning over a year by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung and more than 100 other global news organizations across the world.
 

PREMIUM TIMES is the only Nigerian media organisation involved in the investigation. Documents obtained by the online news platform from the huge database linked Mr. Tinubu to at least 12 shell companies.

Mr. Tinubu, documents show, secured the services of Mossack Fonseca to help him incorporate the companies in Seychelles, one of the fastest growing offshore jurisdictions in the world and notorious tax haven, the British Virgin Islands (BVI).

The documents also reveal that Mossack Fonseca coordinated the operation through its offices in Geneva, the British Virgin Islands and Panama.

The documents show that Mr. Tinubu is director in the following companies incorporated in Seychelles and the BVI.

(1) Sigma Technology Inc.
 

(2) Techventure Inc.
 

(3) Anglesey Management SA
 

(4) Caine Trading Corp
 

(5) Keligh Engineering Corp
 

(6) Hud Trading Corps
 

(7) Meridian Procurement International Services Ltd
 

(8) Lynx Shipping Ltd
 

(9) Equinox Shipping Ltd
 

(10) Everglade Oil Inc.
 

(11) Framlingham Ltd
 

(12) Triton Trading Ltd

Investigation reveal that Mr. Tinubu is either sole director of most of the companies or has unlimited powers to make decisions.

For Instance, files from the data revealed that on November 26, 2009, after a meeting of the “board of directors” of one of his shell companies, Keligh Engineering Corp, Mr. Tinubu was granted a general power of attorney as the sole signatory of the company.

The “board meeting” where this decision was made was attended by three nominee directors, – Yvette Rogers (Chairman), Jaqueline Alexander(secretary), Verna de Nelson, who are actually employees of Mossack Fonseca.

Nominee directors are appointees used in offshore tax havens to hide true owners of shell companies.

Mrs. Rogers had also served as nominee director in Stanhope Investment Ltd, Seychelles, one of the shell companies used by the imprisoned former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, to steal the resources of his oil-rich state.

As part of its #PanamaPapers series, PREMIUM TIMES had revealed how Mossack Fonseca helped Mr Ibori, who is serving a 13-year jail term in the United Kingdom for money laundering, hide funds stolen from Delta State treasury through a web of offshore companies.

In May 2007, Just like Mr. Ibori, the Oando boss also secured the services of Swiss asset management firm, Clamorgan SA, to help him incorporate Techventure Inc., Anglesey Management SA, Caine Trading Corp and Keligh Engineering in Seychelles while appointing Mossack Fonseca Geneva as registered agent and administrator for the shell companies.

On May 2, 2007, Sebastien Thierry of Clamorgan S.A, who had acted as signatory for one of Mr. Ibori’s shell companies, wrote a letter to Sonia Scampa of Mossack Fonseca, thanking her for verifying and assisting in registering the companies, as well as granting Mr. Tinubu the power of attorney.

“Following my mail yesterday and our conversation today, I reiterated the confirmation sent yesterday morning taken the following companies – Anglesey Management SA, Caine Trading Corp., KLeigh Engineering Corp. Thank you for making a power of attorney for Mr. Wale Tinubu for three companies,” he wrote in French.

It remains unclear why Mr. Tinubu hired the same offshore consultants used by Mr. Ibori to run his offshore companies. But in September 2013, British prosecutors told a court that Mr. Ibori confessed to owning “significant” shares in Oando Plc.

According to crown prosecutor, Sasha Wass, a Queen’s Counsel, while opening an account at Swiss bank, PKB, through a shell company called Stanhope Investment, Mr. Ibori told the bank he owned 30 per cent of Oando.

Oando had denied that Mr. Ibori’s wealth was hidden in the company. The company at the time circulated a statement claiming that Mr. Ibori only had 443 shares of the company’s 6.8 billion ordinary shares.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

#PanamaPapers: Spainish Minister Quits Over Allegations

The worldwide Panama Papers scandal claimed a fresh political victim Friday as Spain�s industry minister resigned over allegations he had links to offshore companies.

Jose Manuel Soria

  

Jose Manuel Soria said he had tendered his resignation “in light of the succession of mistakes committed along the past few days, relating to my explanations over my business activities… and considering the obvious harm that this situation is doing to the Spanish government.”

Soria’s troubles began on Monday when Spanish online daily El Confidencial, which has had access to the Panama Papers - millions of files leaked from law firm, Mossack Fonseca - said he was an administrator of an offshore firm in 1992.

Soria called a news conference to deny any link to the company, but as the week went by, more allegations emerged from other media outlets, revealing further alleged connections to offshore havens.

It is unclear as yet whether any of his alleged actions were illegal. Soria is the latest political victim of the Panama Papers leak, which revealed how the world’s wealthy stashed assets in offshore companies and which the law firm blamed on a computer hack.

Iceland’s Prime Minister Sigmundur David Gunnlaugsson was also forced to resign over the leaks.

In his statement, Soria said politics “is an activity that must always be exemplary, also where… explanations are concerned.”

“When that doesn’t happen, one must assume one’s responsibilities,” he added, in an indication that he was resigning due to how he had handled the revelations, rather than over any irregularities.

The initial revelations showed that Soria’s name appeared alongside his brother’s as administrator of a company based in the Bahamas created through Panama-based Mossack Fonseca.

He denied any links to that firm, and said he had told Spanish prosecutors to clear his name with the Panamanian authorities.

But then other media revealed that Soria had links with another company based in the offshore haven of Jersey until 2002, when he was mayor of Las Palmas in Spain’s Canary Islands.

In his statement, Soria blamed his contradictory explanations over the week on “the lack of accurate information on facts that happened more than 20 years ago.”

AFP

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Issa Tchiroma and The Opposition in Cameroon

By Tazoacha Asonganyi

When we look at what Time has done to the youthful ambitions of rigour and moralisation, one can only get amused at the casualties that the fading ambitions left on their tracks. One of such casualties is most obviously Issa Tchiroma. 

I call him a casualty because I knew him closely in what history will remember as the Coalition for National Reconciliation and Reconstruction (CNRR), composed of a score of them – opposition leaders – who were determined to dislodge Paul Biya in 2004 from Unity Palace. I was the Permanent Secretary of CNRR.

I took him for a serious opposition leader because of the solemnity with which he mumbled the pledge each of them made at each of the regional rallies we held in all ten regional capitals, with the tricolor raised above the assembled leaders, and with each invoking the people and swearing that they would be the last to betray them. In fact, Issa Tchiroma actually wept on the podium in Garoua at the rally he hosted, when the parting speech of Ahidjo was played to the assembled rally attendants from a tape recorder; and he made a rousing, passionate welcome speech. He would later preside over the single-candidate selection meeting of the Coalition that resulted in the rubbishing of those pledges. 

To that extent that I knew him, I took him seriously. Based on that, I consider him a casualty. But some may say that if we add the chemical transformation that has converted him from a foe of the regime to a fanatic of the man of November 1982, he may be disqualified as a casualty. No matter!

During the recent cacophony of “calls” and marches in the CPDM, he was seen marching in the East region, either in solidarity or as a surrogate member of the party, urging their hero to hang on. More recently, he has been indulging in the CPDM folly of using numbers, proportions and percentages to define freedoms and rights. And so he has been casting aspersions at opposition leaders that have been sending warning signals to his hero, because they are “minority” leaders!

The story goes that Publius Clodius Pulcher who eventually brought down the corrupt and repressive system of the Roman Republic millennia ago, was a smart, charming and determined person with a keen sense of politics because he was very much in touch with the frustrations of the common people. Even if the ruling elite called him an eccentric and despised him because he was considered not to be a “real man” who could take care of the republic, the same elite eventually stood dazed and helpless as the populist forces he unleashed took control of the Roman Republic the regime had ruled for centuries! This is to remind us that all really important innovations and changes usually start from individuals or tiny minorities of people who use their creative freedom to chart new paths. So Issa Tchiroma, percentages don’t count here!

Talking about percentages and majorities that are so dear to him and his cohorts of the regime, we just need to read Baffour’s Beef (New African Magazine, March 2016) where Baffour Ankomah recalls an article in New American Magazine (November 6, 2000) which states that in 1787, America’s Founding Fathers, “knowing that democracy is a government of men in which the tyranny of the majority rules, wisely created a republic – a government ruled by law, not the people…”

“The ‘tyranny of the majority’ was so anathemic to the Founding Fathers that they managed to write the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution without mentioning the word ‘democracy’ even once in both documents…”!

So, in this folly of percentages, proportions, and majorities of the CPDM and Issa Tchiroma, what is the difference between the dictatorship of a tyrant, a monarch, or a “majority”?

We have heard it said before: It is better to let ten criminals go free than let one innocent person be convicted; when one person suffers injustice, there is no justice. Free public discussion of the stewardship of government through newspapers, publications, rallies, conferences is not supposed to be judged on the basis of numbers, percentages, minorities and majorities.As some people imbued with the democratic spirit would say, anywhere citizens may decide to gather to talk about their government and its policies, or anywhere that a lone eccentric or group of non-conformists gather to voice their opinion, they should be heard, not harassed by a regime, however offensive their opinion may be!

If we go by their efforts to place party cards for free, CPDM militants do not reach even hundreds of thousands of the 20-some million arms we have in Cameroon. And they with Issa Tchiroma have been trying to bully the whole country to adopt their point of view! Even if Issa Tchiroma’s Arithmetic is muddled in this case, he surely has heard about minority rights in a democracy.

Cameroonians are in a fix in a society sharply divided between us and them - torn by mutual suspicion, with the abhorrence of authority from below and a frightening contempt of the people from above. We are trapped in a Kafkaesque society in which everybody takes orders from a superior who takes orders from a superior who takes orders from… In the confusion, the National Communication Council is on its own side bullying and brutalizing the press to toe an imaginary line, while DOs and SDOs are on their own side arresting and brutalizing the rest of us to stay quiet and watch the macabre actions of the regime!

In this society of La Loi/The Law populated by “authorities” whose answer to every complaint is “I did not make the rules; I am simply applying them…,” Cameroon is the loser, while the selfishness of individuals goes about triumphant. We may regret it for a long, long time!

Tazoacha Asonganyi

Yaounde.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Looking Glass: Meet Blaise Nkfunkoh Ndamnsah, Cameroonian Genius in the Diasporas

The Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon once declared that “sustainable development is

Blaise Nkfunkoh NDAMNSAH

the pathway to the future we want for all. It offers a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance”. Though society is such that some people create policies through speeches, other uses such speeches to effect positive changes in communities around the world. Development is a complex issue. Getting involved in security and peace initiatives that could generated a more stable world, peaceful environment and mutual co-existence is the most effective way of fighting poverty and achieving the MDGs.  Very often, we think sometimes that poverty is only being hungry, naked and homeless. But the worse part of poverty is when people have nobody who provides ideas or who could support innovative ideas that could lead to sustainable actions around the world. For sometime now, Cameroonians have been eager to knowing what the Cameroonian Diasporas could contribute towards the much talked-about Vision 2035. 

At The Eye newspaper, we are committed in bringing to you the worth of some Cameroonians in the Diasporas who could make significant contribution in nation building. One of such persons who has been and is providing remedy to this kind of poverty is Blaise Nkfunkoh Ndamnsah. He hails from Donga Mantung Division and currently living in Italy. He works as a train Cultural Mediator at the CARA Refugee Center Gorizia-Italy. He is the Vice Director to the Security and Defence Research Center in Gorizia. In conjunction with the trade union Cisl (Anolf-Gorizia) he is President and Legal Representative for the County Immigration Office.
Besides that Blaise Nkfunkoh is a public speaker and has offered lectures as Guest speaker and visiting lecturer at some European Universities( University of Padova (Italy), Ljubljana(Slovenia) on conflict analysis, Peacekeeping and Human Rights issues. He teaches English language and Geopolitics at the University of the third age in Gorizia- Italy (Università della terza età di Gorizia), As an external Collaborator with the Slovenian Defence Cluster Industry, Blaise is representing Slovenian industries to some African Defence Ministries. Currently he is a Doctoral candidate in Defence studies – at the University of Ljubljana. His research interest is “Cultural awareness training tools for Multinational Military Operations. A critical Analysis of the Multinational Land force(MLF)”.
Blaise Nkfunkoh is not a man to pigeon-hole with, whenever we make a closer look at his trappings in providing remedies to the world's most pressing issue as well as his innovative ideas at community levels. It is this art of reaching of reaching out to the world and providing remedy that is making him dissimilar from others.  

Many Cameroonians are still to crush such a feat. Not only is he the only one, who severally has been promoting the idea of peace and security in Africa, he has gone beyond that to making significant contribution in some European countries. Talk to him on this very pertinent issue and you will know you are with someone who is out to set example for others to follow. 

He is of the school of thought that holds that if there is peace and security in Africa, development will be sustainable. He has not only demonstrated this as Guest Speaker but has put all these ideas into books/publications.  The most interesting thing about this young and dynamic luminary is that he believes like Martin Luther King that “working is praying” and by so doing, his human and divine acts overrides, the human one bringing him closer to God and the communities.  

One famous philosopher once wrote that “if a man could mount to Heaven and survey the mighty universe, his admiration of its beauty would be much diminished unless he had some to share in his pleasure”. This clearly indicates that life harbors a vacuum and great people can only be identified when they interact in society. In other words, many people in society are just stage decorations while those who work hard in life stage the property to excellence. In fact what keeps the world intact is trust and society is so multifaceted that we are becoming short of role models like Blaise. Yet it is not a given to have such a role model. Blaise is one of those persons with a prolific slate. He is a man of a specific class and stands out clear in the madding crowd.

The Peace and Security Luminary

The most comfortable act on earth they say is to leave a legacy that would be remembered. From every indication Blaise has the knack to contribute enormously in improving lives around the globe and Cameroon. In one of his publications on the way such as: Cameroonian officers and commanders participating in a joint Cross National research on asymmetric warfare operations: old wars vs. new wars – the war against Boko Haram, he outlines all the necessary views and concepts.  

In fact judging from what the great and influential 18th  century writer and social critic, John Gardner said of great leaders, Blaise has “a significant role in creating the state of mind that is the society".  To Gardener, “great leaders can express the values that hold the society together. Most importantly, they can conceive and articulate goals that lift people out of their petty preoccupations carry them above the conflicts that tear a society apart, and unite them in the pursuit of objectives worthy of their best efforts”. John Gardner might have been writing about his 18th century Europe, but the issues he raised then are as urgent today as they were then. Issues of leadership, values and principles, and above all, peace, security and sustainable development are as poignant in today’s society as they were in the 18th century.

Our societies, talk less of such people in Cameroon. Yet we had to move into the wilderness to look for one of such role model. In fact a Role Model as prescribed by Aristotle in his concept. Blaise Nkfunkoh has a wide knowledge in the Protection of Asylum seekers and the role of cultural mediation in Italy. In one of his on the “CARA” refugee centre of Gradisca D’isonzo(Go)-Italy he portrays what it takes.  

As Lewis H. Lapham puts it “Leadership consist not in degrees of technique but in traits of character; it requires moral rather than athletic or intellectual effort, and it imposes on both leader and follower alike the burdens of self-restraint”. But Blaise is a man with a very rich education background. 

The Genuine Leader

It has also been about his beliefs that a better way to bring meaningful development to an area can as well be through politics. He then decided to fine-tune politics with his technological aplomb. As frontline militant of the CPDM who believes that for now, it is only the CPDM that can change the lot of his people, he decided to offer his time and experience to the building of a good image for the CPDM in Italy. His new generation militancy and his non-confrontational nature won for the CPDM many sympathizers. Interestingly, many of his lovers in the peace and security domain continued to remind him that they love him as a person but that he was riding the wrong horse. As convincing as a church priest, he could hammer a point that will guide them to understand that they should follow real power that signs for development projects. And that meaningful development only comes from government. Back home at Bih village, he is celebrated for bringing development to the doorsteps of his people. Of late, he was in the news to have lobbied the Italian couples who visited Donga Mantung Division to donate to schools, medical centres and palaces. 

 To describe Blaise as genius is give honour where it is outstanding. After a careful assessment of the potentials of those who passed round as leaders of the people in challenging times, Gardner was forced to come up with what he considered qualities of a good leader. In doing this, he had no bias or no particular individual in mind. His postulations on a good leader corresponded with what yet another greater leader of all times, Martin Luther King said. According to Martin Luther, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus”. Martin Luther King was simply overwhelmed by the quality of leaders around him as they fought the battle of equality between black and whites in the United States of America. Martin Luther was appalled not only by the number of quack but also kangaroo leaders that were doted in the black and white communities in the United States soon after independence. He saw in most leaders the individuals who rather than mold consensus in times of conflict went searching for consensus. He was also bothered about a leadership that was not committed and purposeful. His worries soon found expression in Dan Marino’s reflections that “Leadership, I think you must have that, particularly when a team’s on the field, they look to you. In critical situations, they look into your eyes to see if you’re there. If you’re not there, they start quitting”. Most of our leaders have fallen into this category. They quit even before the game is over, not knowing that the game does not end with the referee’s last whistle or when the crowds go home. It ends hours and years after the real match was played.

When others are singing a hymn, the level-headed Blaise Nkfunkoh Ndamnsah is singing a lullaby for the world to live in peace. When others think they have reached the end of the road, he thinks the journey is only beginning by protecting the interest of Asylum seekers and or giving out lectures to students. When others are taking only their needs into consideration, Blaise  is taking his abilities to the world. Like a true servant leader, he does not wait to be told what to do, he goes ahead and does what he thinks is for the interest of a greater majority. And there he is available to play the real match for the importance of compassion that Cameroon expects from the Diasporas  in order to guarantee peace, security and sustainable development at this point in time that the country is at war with the Islamic Sect, Boko Haram.

Profile of the Man/ Activities

Scientific Publications on the way: 

1. Author: Cameroonian officers and commanders participating in a joint Cross National research on asymmetric warfare operations: old wars vs. new wars – the war against Boko Haram. 

2. Co-author: Diversity and Cultural Issues in Multinational Military Operations. Case of the Italian-Slovenian-Hungarian Trilateral Brigade.

 3. Author: Protection of Asylum seekers and the role of cultural mediation in Italy: An analysis of the “CARA” refugee centre of Gradisca D’isonzo(Go)-Italy. SLOGA Journal-Slovenia. 

GUEST SPEAKER AT THE FOLLOWING INTERNATIONAL SEMINARS: 

 Peace & Security in Africa: A critical Analysis of the African Peace and Security Architecture. Lectures to Masters students on Human Right and Multilevel governance. University of Padova-Italy 14/12/2015; 

 Human Rights Challenges in Peacekeeping Operations: From Cooperation to confrontation. African Union, African states and the ICC. Lectures to Masters students on Human Right and Multilevel governance. University of Padova-Italy 15/12/2015; 

 Cameroonian Forces combating terrorism, case of Boku Haram, cultural and military lessons learned at the 13th Biennial conference of ERGOMAS Open University of Israel, Ra’anana, Israel (8 – 12 June 2015);

 Diversity and Cultural Issues in Multinational Operations: Case of the Italian-SlovenianHungarian Multinational Land Force (MLF) “Battle group” with Headquarters in Udine-Italy. Organised by the European Research Group on Military and Society. “Armed Forces and Operations in Asymmetric Warfare Environment” Torino (Italy) February 5th-8th, 2015; 

 Summer School on the United Nations: Youth Competencies for the Challenges of the Globalized World. “ Cultural Mediation and International Protection Systems: the Case of CARA Refugee Centre in Gradisca D'isonzo – Italy” organised by the United Nation Association of Slovenia. Ljubljana, 10 – 12 September 2014; 

 Transitions in European Security Structures and Doctrine. Towards the Adoption of Cultural Awareness Training for European Battle Group Soldiers. Critical analysis of the Italian lead battle group- SGRI 2014 conference Trento Italy. 26-28/06/2014;

  Cultural awareness in the EU’s common security and defence Policy. Third Joint PhD Symposium on South East Europe ,University college London UK 13/06/2014; 

 Cultural awareness training in the EU’s CSDP. UACES student Forum 2014 at Aston University Birmingham-UK 23-24/04/2014; 

 Cultures, ISAF and Geopolitics in Afghanistan, to undergraduate students in defense studies –University of Ljubljana-Slovenia. 06/01/2014. (Part of his PhD research curricular). 

Extra Training Received 

1. CSDP(Common Security and Defense Policy) Strategy: Problems and priorities, a workshop on 31/01/2014 organized by Maastricht university in Maastricht- Netherlands; 

2. SECURITY SECTOR REFORM course , by the European Security and Defence College(ESDC) in Brussels, 10-12/2013; 

3. UNITED NATIONS HUMANITARIAN CIVIL-MILITARY COORDINATION (UNCMcoord) Course, By the UN OCHA(Office of the Coordination of Humanitarian affairs)Geneva. It took place at Sharm El Sheik, Egypt 04/12-09/12/2011; 

4. NATO CIMIC Higher command course .By the CCOC Enschede Netherlands 03/10- 14/10/2011; 

5. COORDINATING CLUSTER ON EDUCATION AND CHILDS PROTECTION TRAINING. By Unicef N’djamena Tchad 22- 26/08/2011; 

6. NATO CIMIC LIAISON MUDULE COURSE (CLM) .By the Nato Base Motta di Livenza, at TV Italy. 20-23/06/2011; 

7. MANAGEMENT IN HUMANITARIAN EMERGENCIES. By Intersos (Humanitarian Aid Organization) at Castel Gandolfo Rome Italy . 15-17/04/2011; 

8. NATO CIMIC BASIC COURSE (NCBC), by the NATO Base Motta di livenza, at TV Italy. 6 - 17/09/2010;

9. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TRAINING. H.E.L.P. I (health emergencies in large - population), H.E.L.P. II (health, ethics, policies and rights). By ICRC at ECOGIA-GENEVA Switzerland, 31 May - 11 June 2010; 

10. International Humanitarian Law(IHL). By Italian Red Cross Friuli-Venezia Giulia, 10th Course DIU- at Tarcento, Italy; 

11. Training course for interpreters and cultural mediators in the Asylum field, Intervention programme at the Identification Centers. Rome 23-25 November and 7-9 December 2007 United Nations High Commission for Refugees (unhcr); 

12. Elements of legislation regarding immigration and the rights of asylum “Post-graduate course”- 54 hours. By Civiform of Cividale at Udine Italy 2006; 

13. Group project management – Post-graduate course 68 hours. By IRES FVG at IRES Udine-Italy 2006; 14. Techniques of inter-cultural entertainment - 400 hours. By Civiform of Cividale, Udine -Italy 2006; 

15. IT support for project management-Post graduate course 56 hours. By IRES FVG at IRES Udine Italy. 2006; 

16. XII International Summer School "The Empire of the New Rules and the Ethics of Social Networks”. By ISIG of Gorizia- Italy .28 August - 8 September 2006; 

17. XI International Summer School "Governance in the New Europe. Civil and Political Societies at Work. By ISIG of Gorizia Italy. 29 August - 9 September 2005; 

18. Software engineer (programming) Internship in the IT sector at SIEMENS of Karlsruhe (Germany) - 1 August – 29 November. 2002; 

Memberships

  African Standby Capacity(ASC)
 ERGOMAS (European Research Group on Military and Society)
 Co-founder and Vice-President of SDRC (Security and Defence Research Center) in Gorizia Italy website, www.sdrc-go.org 

 YPFP (Young Professionals in Foreign Policy)-Brussels. 

 ICD (Institute of Cultural Diplomacy)- Berlin, 

 UACES (University Association for Contemporary European Studies)-London. 

 CRN (Collaborative Research Network) on CSDP(Common Security and Defence Policies) Strategy.  Regional registry for cultural Mediator, FVG region in Italy.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Deadlock at Ndu as Disgruntled Students Write to Secondary Education Education Minister

An atmosphere of uncertainty looms at Government Secondary School Njilah, in Ndu Sub Division of the North West Region where students are stranded over the tussle between the school principal and PTA teachers. Ahead of the end of year exams, the frustrated students of GSS Njilah have expressed their anger and obnoxious act by school administration and the Parent Teacher Association as they have been abandoned to themselves.

In the lamentation "open" letter to the administration dropped at Sky One Radio Ndu, supposedly addressed to the (Minister of Secondary Education) the students decried that since March 16, 2016, the atmosphere in their school has been hopeless and frustrating as they have only two teachers (physics and biology). All the PTA teachers according what we gathered vamoosed after they were not paid. The Eye is aware that since school reopened students of GSS Njilah have been idling given the deadlock. A classified source hinted us that before the student went on vacation, PTA teachers were already aghast with the Principal who allegedly concocted report cards for the students (photocopies). One of the students (names withheld) told us that for more than a week now, the principal has not been spotted in school. He said the intention was to send their lamentations to the minister and they agreed that if the letter is deposited at anyone radio station, the information will get to the right quarters including the minister. 

Parents are pointing accusing fingers at Njingti Francis, the principal for allegedly playing the game of the mastiff with PTA teachers who made up the bulk of the teachers. Some three weeks ago when we talked to the Principal on the looming strike by PTA teacher, he said some teachers have been paid part of the three months while others refused receiving partial payment. He even said that the move was masterminded by some people who want him sacked or replace by a son of Njilah. Yet the Divisional Delegate for Secondary Education for Donga Mantung has been mute over the issue. A close source in the Ministry of Secondary Education hinted that heads will roll on the issue.  

However, all attempts to get to the principal of the school ended up in vain. Notwithstanding, we are digging in the matter. 

Here below is the open Letter

A COMPLAINT
From the 18th March 2016 there have been a problem in the school between the principal and the teachers and we the students are suffering as classes are not going on.Worst of all the principal is not coming to school again.All the PTA teachers have gone and only two government teachers are left in the school teaching only physics and biology and the rest of the subjects are left. We also thank God for the discipline master who keeps coming to school everyday and he has done his best concerning teaching. 
So we beg the administration in charge and the population to look into our problem. Even the the regional mock that the students wrote has not been marked. Some teachers have marked theirs and others have negleted.
Yours faithfully
The students of GSS Njilah.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

New Chibok Girls Video ‘Concocted’ Propaganda Tool?

The Nigerian military has branded the latest video by Boko Haram terrorists allegedly showing healthy-looking Chibok girls as propaganda by the terrorists to divert attention from the ongoing rescue operations.

The Director of Defence Information (DDI), Brig-Gen. Rabe Abubakar (rtd), while responding to injuries on Thursday, said that the military cannot authenticate the new video.

Abubakar said that it is the terrorists antics, which he vowed, will not derail the ongoing military operations and efforts to clear all parts of the North East of Boko Haram remnants.

He said: “In as much as we saw the menus, we cannot authentic the video. Listen, all these things are campaign. In as much as we saw the so called video, it has nothing to do with our own activities, even though we are sympathetic to the plight of our sisters and brothers with the ungodly group. “In as much as we have seen the video, it has not nothing to do with our operations. In this era of social media, anytime can happen. It can be concocted because in this era of social mega, anytime can happen, so people should not carried away.”

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Looking Glass: Church Members Buy Private Jet for their Prophet as Birthday Gift (Photos)

Church members in a ministry in far away Canada have surprised their Ghanaian prophet on his birthday by buying him a private jet.

 

 

The church based in Canada presented a private jet to its Ghanaian pastor on his birthday.

 Known as the Miracle Arena For All Nations, the church which  is a multi-cultural charismatic and a fast growing church based in the heart of Toronto, Canada was founded in 2011 by Dr. Kofi and Rev. JoAnne Danso.

 

 

In February this year, the church presented the jet to Dr. Kofi Danso and his wife Rev. JoAnne Danso as a birthday present for their passion and charisma towards the work of God.

 In an interview with YEN.com.gh, Prophet Dr. Kofi Danso noted that he had prophesied into being that God was going to bless him with a jet this year on his birthday and so was not too surprised when the church bought him one as a  gift on his birthday.

 

 

Prophet Danso in his interview advised other churches to emulate the example of blessing their  pastors with  private jets if they have the means.

He noted that the jet is a necessity for the ministry and not a luxury. He added that the jet generated revenue for the church when not in use and leased out.

 

 

Prophet Kofi Danso is a Ghanaian who has lived in Amsterdam for 9 years and migrated to Canada for five years. He is happily married to JoAnne Danso and has four kids, including a set of twins.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Five Chibok Parents Received Threatening Calls From Missing Girls' Mobile Phones

Parents of the Chibok girls who were kidnapped by Boko Haram members have revealed their heartbreak and pain after receiving calls from the missing girls' mobile phones. 

It has been revealed that five telephone lines belonging to some of the abducted Chibok schoolgirls were used to call some of the parents.

It has been gathered that the parents received threats from the unknown callers. The unknown callers also gave conflicting information on their location with some claiming to be speaking from Ondo or from Cameroon.

According to The Nation, Mr. Hosea Tsambido, Chairman Kibaku Area Development association (KADA), an Association that represents the Chibok community in Abuja, told reporters yesterday that the chairman of the Chibok girls’ parents, Yakubu Nkeki, gave him the information.

Tsambido who spoke ahead of tomorrow’s second anniversary of the girls’ abduction, added that Nkeki was threatened by the respondents and warned never to call back if he loves his life.

He said: “The speculation that a Chibok girl phoned her father is not exactly like that. It is actually the telephone numbers of about five girls that are being used to call people but when the parents call back, different people answer, some will say they are in Ondo or in Cameroon.

”All the parents that were called missed the calls,” he said.

Borno State Governor Kashim Shettima has also expressed optimism that the 276 Chibok girls will soon be united with their families.

Shettima, spoke during a visit to the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) Director general Sani Sidi in Abuja.

He said: “I am an optimist, and based on information at our disposal, the Chibok girls are still alive and will be united with their families soon. We are hopeful that the girls will be recovered.

“Though security falls within the area of responsibility of the federal government, the government is doing all it can not only to rescue the girls but to care for the well-being of the generality of the people. We have started rebuilding most of the communities, we are determined to rebuild all.

“The military has been doing so much in the past week which led to the influx of IDPs to our camps. Because of the successes by the military, we have over 75,000 IDPs in Zifar, 28,000 in Bama, 38,000 in Banki, 27,000 in Polka. Right now, there is an inflow of 2,300 people to Gusa today, which necessitated the visit to NEMA to solicit for the usual assistance

“As a state government, we are doing our best but NEMA has been our partner in taking care of the IDPs for the past one to two years. Within the Maiduguri metropolis alone apart from the IDPs in the camps we have 1.7million people within the host communities. Even in the best of times our people were the poorest of the poor and Boko Haram has further compounded the problem."

Borno is free now, though there are hiccups here and there but not like before again. I am not saying they are completely liberated. Peace is gradually returning to the state. By the end of the year, the people will return to their homes.

The NEMA DG assured the governor of NEMA’s assistance at all times and promised to assist in the influx of IDPs in the state. British High Commissioner to Nigeria Paul Arkwright, said yesterday that his country will never abandon the Chibok girls.

Arkwright said his government will ensure that the Chibok girls and thousands of Nigerians held hostage by Boko Haramý in the North East are rescued.

The High Commissioner spoke when he received members of the #BringBackOurGirls (#BBOG) advocacyý. The visit was part of their global week of action.

He said: ”The United Kingdom, the British government has not abandoned the Chibok girls, we have never abandoned the Chibok girls. We are doing everything we possibly can, including in the area of intelligence to support the Nigerian government in their efforts to find the girls, what we are doing and will continue to do is to work with the Nigerian government to help locate the girls and do what we can to help release them. What I can say is that we have not forgotten the girls, I will go back to London with the very strong message that you have given to me that you are looking to London for assistance, this suffering has gone on for too long, I am concious of the fact that there are other hostages taken by Boko Haram, not just the Chibok girls, we will see what we can do for all of them and to help across all of the Northeast to see what we can do."

Former Minister of Education and leader of #BBOG, Oby Ezekwesilli urged the UK governmentý to assist in identifying the exact location of the girls.

“We want to understand the responsibility on the part of the global community as well as our own government, the United Kingdom was one of the countries that showed up when we first began to call global attention to the abduction of our girls,” she said.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Chad in Need of Cameroon Experience Ahead Election, Special Envoy at Unity Palace

The Head of State, Thursday afternoon, 7 April 2016, granted audience to a Special Envoy of President Idriss DEBY ITNO, in the person of Mr. Mahamat Allamine BOURMA-TREYE, Chadian Minister of Finance and Budget.

Speaking to the press at the end of the audience, the N'Djamena Envoy said he was carrying a message related to the strengthening of good relations between the two Heads of State and the two countries.

Mr. BOURMA-TREYE noted that Cameroon and Chad, that are the two powerhouses of integration in Central Africa and that have been facing with Boko Haram terrorism for some time now, are committed to completely eradicating the sect within the sub-region.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

What Brought French Minister of Finance to Cameroon

The Head of State His Excellency Paul BIYA granted audience on Friday 8 April 2016 to Michel SAPIN, the French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts who is in Cameroon to attend the meeting of Finance Ministers of the Franc zone. The audience that lasted over one hour was an occasion for President Paul BIYA and his guest to review cooperation ties between Paris and Yaoundé.

Speaking to the press shortly afterwards, Michel SAPIN praised Cameroon, on behalf of President François HOLLANDE, for the major role played in the fight against terrorism. He also declared that he was bearer of a message of “greater cooperation” between France and Cameroon. This cooperation was evident in the signing of a new debt cancellation contract of 600 million Euros.

Responding to questions on the future of the Franc zone, the French Minister of Finance and Public Accounts said the zone was in Africa, for Africans and that it future depended on the wishes of the African Nations. He said France was a partner to guarantee its convertibility and the decision was purely that of Africans.

Michel SAPIN was raised by the Head of State to the dignity of Officer of the Order of Valour. There was also an exchange of gifts between the two personalities.

The French Minister was accompanied to Unity Palace by the French Ambassador to Cameroon Christine ROBICHON and the Director General of the French Treasury.

Source: PRC
When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

How Boko Haram is Turning Girls into Weapons - CNN Reveals in Emotional Special Report

'They came to us to pick us. They would ask, Who wants to be a suicide bomber? The girls would shout, me, me, me!...a victim has revealed the agony and rape encountered at Boko Haram camp on CNN. 

Speaking with CNN in a special report in Cameroun, a 16-year-old girl identified as Fati, who regained freedom after spending two years in Boko Haram’s captivity, has detailed how teenage girls volunteer to go on suicide missions in order to escape molestation and other forms of hardship under the sect.

The teenage victim whose name was changed to protect her identity, said young girls fight to strap on a bomb, not because they were brainwashed by their captors but because the relentless hunger and sexual abuse became too much to bear.

"They came to us to pick us. They would ask, 'Who wants to be a suicide bomber?' The girls would shout, ‘me, me, me.’ They were fighting to do the suicide bombings.

"It was just because they want to run away from Boko Haram. If they give them a suicide bomb, then maybe they would meet soldiers, tell them, ‘I have a bomb on me’ and they could remove the bomb. They can run away," Fati told CNN.

There was no escape for Fati when fighters from Boko Haram descended on her village, which was not named in the report, in 2014. Her future husband was carrying a gun, and Fati’s parents had already spent a precious N8,000 to smuggle her two older brothers to safety.

Fati shared her experience when she entered the camp newly. "We said, ‘No, we are too small; we don’t want to get married, so they married us by force," she said, explaining that after he raped her for the first time, her abuser gave her a wedding present – a purple and brown dress with a matching headscarf that she would wear for the next two years.

While under his control, she was whisked from hideout to hideout in order to evade security forces. She recalled that she met girls even younger than her in Sambisa Forest, some of whom were the abducted Chibok schoolgirls.

"There were so many kidnapped girls there, I couldn’t count. There were always bombs and bullets coming from the sky. All of the girls were so frightened. All of them, they always cried and the men raped us. There is no food, nothing. The children, you can count their ribs because of the hunger," Fati said

She said the bombing runs over the Sambisa killed many of the captives, including some of the Chibok girls. But the raids over the past year have also freed hundreds of women and girls, including Fati, who was picked up by the Cameroonian army after her captors defected and tried to flee across the border.

Fati is now in Minawao refugee camp in Cameroon and on the last day of March, she managed to get in touch with her mother by phone after she found a refugee from her same village in camp. It took two days for her mother to get to Minawao.

"I had to collect money from people in the village so she could afford to make it here. Now that I have escaped, I thank God, and I am always praying to God that I was able to escape. It is terrible what Boko Haram is doing,"she concluded.

Fati said many girls are still in Sambisa, some volunteering to die so that they can perhaps live.

 

Click here to read the full article on CNN Africa.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

UNICEF Report Reveals Number of Children Used as Suicide Bombers by Boko Haram in 2015

UNICEF report released on April 12, 2016 has shown that over 75% of children used by Boko Haram as suicide bombers in Cameroon were girls. The number of children involved in "suicide attacks" in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger has increased sharply during the past year, from 4 in 2014 to 44 in 2015, indicates the report of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

Published two years after the kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls Chibok, the report, entitled Beyond Chibok (Beyond Chibok), highlights the alarming trends in the four countries where Boko Haram has been active over the last two years. The report further indicates that from January 2014 and February 2015, Cameroon has recorded the largest number of suicide attacks involving children (21), followed by Nigeria (17) and Chad (2). " Last year, children were used in attacks and in Cameroon 2 of 1 Cameroon, 1 of 8 in Chad, and 1 of 7 in Nigeria ".

 The frequency of all suicide attacks increased from 32 in 2014 to 151 last year. In 2015, 89 of these attacks occurred in Nigeria, 39 in Cameroon, 16 in Chad 16  and 7 in Niger, according to the UNICEF report.

Beyond Chibok analyzes the effects of conflict on children in the four countries where Boko Haram is active. The report notes that: Nearly 1.3 million children have been displaced; 1800 schools are closed - either damaged or looted or burned or used by displaced people for shelter; More than 5,000 children are reported as unaccompanied or separated from their parents. UNICEF works in Nigeria, Cameroon, Chad and Niger with the communities and the families to fight stigmatization of victims who survived sexual violence and to build a protective environment for children who have been abducted.

When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)

Huge Rise in Child Boko Haram bombers

Boko Haram’s use of child bombers has increased over the last year with one in five suicide attacks now done by children, the UN’s child agency says. Girls, who are often drugged, were behind three-quarters of such attacks committed by the militant Islamist group in Cameroon, Nigeria and Chad. It is an 11-fold increase with four attacks in 2014 compared to 44 the next year, including January 2016. The change in tactics reflects the loss of territory in Nigeria by the group. The seven-year insurgency, which has mainly affected north-eastern Nigeria as well as its neighbours around Lake Chad, has left some 17,000 people dead. Unicef says up to 1.3 million children have been forced from their homes across four countries: Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria and Niger. The UN report has been released as Nigeria approaches the second anniversary of the kidnapping by Boko Haram of more than 200 girls from their boarding school in the Nigerian town of Chibok. Their abduction sparked the global campaign Bring Back Our Girls, but none of the girls have yet been found. The report, Beyond Chibok, says that boys abducted and recruited into Boko Haram’s ranks are forced to attack their own families to demonstrate their loyalty. Girls are exposed to severe abuse including sexual violence and forced marriage to fighters. A 17-year-old girl who was abducted and is living with her baby in a camp in the Nigerian city of Maiduguri told Unicef that she refused to marry despite death threats. “Then they came for me at night. They kept me locked in a house for over a month and told me: ‘Whether you like it or not, we have already married you.'” She says she has often been ostracised since her escape by other women who accuse her of being a “Boko Haram wife”. The girls who are used by Boko Haram for bombings are often drugged and then explosives are strapped to their bodies. According to the report, Cameroon has the highest number of child suicide attacks, involving children who are as young as eight. “As ‘suicide’ attacks involving children become commonplace, some communities are starting to see children as threats to their safety,” Unicef’s Manuel Fontaine said in a statement. “This suspicion towards children can have destructive consequences; how can a community rebuild itself when it is casting out its own sisters, daughters and mothers?” Boko Haram, which means “Western education is forbidden”, has often targeted schools during its insurgency.

 Source: BBC - See more at: http://citifmonline.com/2016/04/13/huge-rise-child-boko-haram-bombers/#sthash.e4Lrf37c.IusxEjSu.dpuf


When News Breaks Out, We Break In. (The 2014 Bloggies Finalist)