Africa

Photo: Agba Jalingo, publisher of Cross River Watch, faces trial over a report written by the newspaper alleging that Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade diverted 500 million naira meant for the establishment of Cross River Microfinance Bank. Credit: Cross River Watch.

Nigeria Rounding Up Journalists for Exposing Corruption

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Nigeria is rounding up journalists who investigate corruption – jailing them for indefinite periods of time and accusing them of treason.

Agba Jalingo, publisher of Cross River Watch, was arrested and jailed in August 2019 until this month when a Cross River court granted bail. He faces trial over a report written by the newspaper alleging that Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade diverted 500 million naira meant for the establishment of Cross River Microfinance Bank.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 18 February 2020

Photo: Peter Mutharika whose presidential victory in May 2019 was attributed to massive fraud. Credit: Malawi 24.

Malawi Court Tosses Fraud-Riddled Presidential Elections

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Following an exhaustive review of petitions submitted by the opposition, judges of the Malawian Constitutional Court ruled against Peter Mutharika whose presidential victory in May 2019 was attributed to massive fraud.

Veteran diplomat Vernon Mwaanga of neighboring Zambia said the Court raised the bar for African countries where elections are plagued by irregularities.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 12 February 2020

Photo: African Union Summit participants. Credit: The African Union.

Incoming African Union Chief Announces End of Colonialism

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – A stirring call to action was delivered this week in the august hall of the African Union (AU) headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, spoken by the incoming AU president Cyril Ramaphosa to distinguished members of the continental a continental union consisting of 55 member states located on the continent of Africa.

In his presentation at the AU’s 33rd summit, the South African President wove history with commentary into a tapestry of hope for a continent which has had its share of strife and downfalls.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 11 February 2020

Nigerians Seeking Visas to Settle in the US Face New Hurdles

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – She’s your pediatrician. He’s your surgeon. She’s a civil engineer. He has a doctorate. She’s an Emmy Award winner. He was a Chicago Bear.

They’re Nigerian-Americans who have set down roots in Dallas, Chicago, Baltimore, Atlanta, Phoenix and Houston – the latter of which has the largest Nigerian population outside Brazil and Africa.

They are the largest group among African immigrants in the U.S. – about 327,000. They’re a tiny portion of the U.S. population, but they rank as the most successful ethnic group in the U.S.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 05 February 2020

A ‘Green’ Message Shakes Up the Industry at Mining Confab

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – After years of defending dirty extractive industries such as the mining of coal, large mining companies seemed to have switched sides and joined the Greens, or so it seemed at the African Mining Indaba held from February 3-6 in South Africa.

At the Indaba, the continent’s biggest gathering of one of its most vital industries, the companies appeared less combative than in years past. Among the highlights of the conference was a statement by Mark Cutifani, head of Anglo American, a multinational company based in Johannesburg, South Africa and London.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 04 February 2020

Photo: Mohamed Ibn Chambas, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel, briefs the Security Council meeting on peace consolidation in West Africa and the Sahel. New York on 8 Jan 2020. Credit: UN

Russia Shares UN Concern About Rising Terrorism in Africa

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW, (IDN) – UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Office for West Africa and the Sahel (UNOWAS), Mohamed Ibn Chambas, told the UN Security Council’s first formal meeting in 2020 that the West African region has experienced "a devastating surge in terrorist attacks against civilian and military targets". These have "shaken public confidence" and the humanitarian consequences are alarming, he said.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 03 February 2020

Photo: Weapons being burnt during the official launch of the Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) process in Muramvya, Burundi. Source: Africa Renewal.

African Union Campaigning to Achieve Peace and End Conflict

By Zipporah Musau, Africa Renewal

NEW YORK (IDN) – Realising a conflict-free Africa is the dream of every African. In this edition, we highlight the current hotspots; the root causes of conflicts; the various efforts in search of peaceful co-existence and development and the African Union’s quest for silencing the guns by 2020.

In 2013 African Union (AU) member state representatives gathered at its headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the Organisation of African Unity was established in 1963, to celebrate the body’s 50th anniversary.

: Africa Renewal; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 February 2020

Photo: Abidjan shaves a district to secure its airport. Courtesy of FR24News

Shantytowns Housing Thousands Demolished in Ivory Coast

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Bulldozers have begun demolishing homes built in the shantytowns of Abidjan, the commercial capital of the Ivory Coast, leaving thousands without shelter as authorities carry out plans to build a buffer zone around an international airport.

This comes as large numbers of Ivorians are leaving remote farms and villages for a better life.

The demolitions even destroyed the neighborhood mosque, charged Imam Issa Sankoudouma.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 01 February 2020

Photo: Tanzanian President John Magufuli. Courtesy of Region Week

Emergency World Bank Meeting on Tanzania Focuses on Women’s Rights

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) –The World Bank’s executive board cancelled expected action on a $500 million loan to Tanzania where teenage girls can be expelled from school because they are pregnant.

The Bank had been under pressure from rights activists and held a last-minute emergency meeting on January 27 with Tanzanian and international human rights organizations.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 30 January 2020

Image: Nigerian currency Naira. Credit: Umaizi

New Currency Stemmed as Six West African Countries Object

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – French-speaking countries will have to put the cork back in the champagne bottle after six member countries of the West African Monetary Zone (WAMZ) comprising Nigeria, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, have rejected the adoption of 'Eco' as the name of the proposed single currency for West Africa.

At a special meeting, five English speaking countries in West Africa in the Nigerian capital Abuja met on January 15 and put the kibosh on adopting the Eco as African common currency as desired by mostly , French-speaking states.