Last week, the body of an elderly homeless man was discovered in a discarded cardboard box behind the back of a fast food joint in downtown Kingston, Jamaica. Coroners were unable to immediately identify the man who had no identification on him. The only items found in the elderly man’s possession were a faded photograph of the Houses of Parliament in London, a dented tin can containing a small quantity of marijuana and a battered old guitar.
With no leads to go on, the authorities turned to Jamaica’s National DNA Database. When the results came back from the lab, the coroners could not believe their eyes. “I thought it must be a joke,” Jacob Chambers, the chief coroner told Now 8 News. “My colleague came running into my office waving a piece of paper in the air. ‘You’re not going to believe this’, he shouted. I told him to calm down and explain what all the excitement was about. When he told me, I couldn’t believe it.”
The results of the DNA test revealed that the old man police had discovered behind the fast food restaurant was none other than reggae superstar Bob Marley. “I stared at the results wide-eyed,” Chamber admits
“My jaw dropped to the floor. This had to be a mistake.” It had always been presumed Bob Marley had died from cancer in 1981 as he made his way back to Jamaica by plane from Germany. But if that was the case, why was his elderly body lying on a slab in a downtown Jamaican morgue?
Chambers could come up with only one explanation: “Naturally I concluded somebody was playing a joke on us, and told my assistant to label the body as ‘persons unknown’. This would mean he could be cremated by authorities and the death filed as that of an unknown male in his late 60s to early 70s. But it was then that things got really weird.”
That afternoon, the coroners office was visited by men in sunglasses. They were wearing dark suits and called themselves ‘government officials’. They confirm that the body was indeed the late reggae legend, and that Marley’s death had been faked back in 1981 on the request of the star who had grown tired of all the attention he was getting and just wanted to live the quiet life of a street busker in Jamaica.
The Jamaican government admitted going along with Marley’s plan, on the understanding they would receive the royalties from his most successful album, Exodus.
Chambers claims the government officials remove the body of Marley, along with the DNA results and the coroners report of death. They then left, warning Chambers and his staff to keep quiet about the matters are they would face – in Chambers words – “serious consequences.”
“I decided I could not stay silent about this, despite having no evidence because the government took it all away to a secret location somewhere,” said a defiant Chambers. “Bob Marley did not die in 1981, and I’m damned if I’m going to keep that a secret just because some shady officials told me to. The truth must be heard, even if that means the government losing the royalty rights to Exodus, which is a fantastic album by the way.”
Through Jamaica’s National DNA Database, authorities were able to identify the mystery individual. Upon initial discovery, the man had no I.D. He possessed a small amount of marijuana, a battered guitar, and a faded photo of what appears to be the Houses of Parliament in London. When DNA results returned a positive ID for none other than Bob Marley, the staff at the coroner’s office were stunned. Chief coroner Jacob Chambers made the following statement: “I thought it must be a joke. My colleague came running into my office waving a piece of paper in the air. ‘You’re not going to believe this’, he shouted. I told him to calm down and explain what all the excitement was about. When he told me, I couldn’t believe it.” Bob Marley was presumed dead in 1981 after supposedly suffering from cancer. He was making his way back to Jamaica from Germany on a plane. With Marley’s death already established, naturally Chambers thought there must be some mischief at play here. “Naturally I concluded somebody was playing a joke on us, and told my assistant to label the body as ‘persons unknown’. This would mean he could be cremated by authorities and the death filed as that of an unknown male in his late 60s to early 70s. But it was then that things got really weird.” Chambers stated that his office was greeted with dark suited men in sunglasses later that afternoon. They identified themselves as government officials and went on to confirm that indeed, the reggae legend was laying right there before them. They went on to explain that apparently Marley faked his own death as he was tired of the attention and publicity. He instead sought to live a simple life as a street musician, busking for change. In exchange for arranging the fake death, the Jamaican government would receive royalties from Marley’s popular album, Exodus. According to Chambers, he was sternly warned by the government officials to stay absolutely quiet about the matter, or else there would be consequences to face. The men then removed Marleys body from Chambers office. So why would Chambers come forward and risk having “consequences” leveled against him? Chambers made the following statement regarding his decision to roll the dice and let the people know the truth: “I decided I could not stay silent about this, despite having no evidence because the government took it all away to a secret location somewhere. Bob Marley did not die in 1981, and I’m damned if I’m going to keep that a secret just because some shady officials told me to. The truth must be heard, even if that means the government losing the royalty rights to Exodus, which is a fantastic album by the way.” An incredibly fascinating story and one that is bound to raise more questions. On a side note, it’d be interesting to find out if anyone had any street recordings from the real life Bob Marley busker! Inform your friends!
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
The Speaker, Delta State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Monday Igbuya,Tuesday spoke on the problem of imposition in the Peoples DemocraticParty (PDP), urging members to join him to reform the party.
“It is a historic challenge which we must rise to confront squarely”he said at the maiden tripartite meeting of PDP members in the DeltaState House of Assembly, Commissioners and Advisers to GovernorIfeanyi Okowa.
Igbuya, evangelical in his support for transparency, said the partymust be clear as to the type of leadership required to meet theherculean challenges ahead.
“Whatever interest people want to advance, my position is, let therebe level playing field. PDP members in the House of Assembly must becarried along” he advised.
At the meeting aimed at positioning the party to be more efficient, toespouse its philosophy and to impact positively on the lives of thepeople, Igbuya canvassed for Right of First Refusal.
He advised leaders of the party to follow the laid down procedures of the party.
To increase the chances of PDP retaining power in the state and alsosetting it on the path of constructive regeneration, Igbuya not onlyemphasized party discipline, cohesion, loyalty and integrity butcalled for a system that would empower members of the party with theunfettered right to choose their leaders.
“We cannot sleep and say Delta State is PDP. The success of theparty depends on everyone. We should work in concert to ensure ademocratic exercise. The PDP must be a vessel for electing leaders whoare the choice of the people” he said.
He praised the governor for his efforts at charting a new course forthe state and the party.
“Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is lifting up the standard of life of thepeople. He has set Delta State on the path of progress through hispolicy of inclusiveness”
He enjoined Deltans to continue to contribute to make the state stronger.
In another development, Rt Hon Igbuya Tuesday described Hon OmawumiUdoh as a wonderful woman.
Udoh, PDP member representing Warri South Constituency at the DeltaState House of Assembly, defeated Hon Godwin Toristseju Abigor at theCourt of Appeal.
“Hon Omawumi Udoh is destined to be a member of the Sixth House ofAssembly” Igbuya said.
In Issele-Uku, the speaker congratulated People’s Democratic Party(PDP) member, Engineer Emeka Nwaobi for his victory at the AppealCourt sitting in Benin.
The court nullified the election and tribunal victory of Osi Okocha,member representing Aniocha North constituency.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
This essay is part of a special edition being published in partnership with Foreign Affairs, titled “African Farmers in the Digital Age.” This anthology explores the future of African food systems and the role that digital solutions can play in overcoming the isolation of smallholder farmers and speeding up rural development. Look for it at https://www.foreignaffairs.com/anthologies on February 15.
Financial Inclusion Matters for Africa’s Smallholder Farmers
Agriculture forms the backbone of African economies, accounting for 32 percent of gross domestic product (GDP). A majority of the continent’s farmers earn their living on small plots of less than two hectares, which represent 80 percent of all farms across sub-Saharan Africa. But these smallholder farmers are largely excluded from financial services and are therefore constrained from improving their wellbeing and transforming their farms into economically viable businesses. Although smallholder farmers face a number of challenges to raising productivity, bridging the financial access gap must be a priority.
There is much literature on expanding financial inclusion among the world’s poor. The issue has been a development priority since Group of Twenty (G20) leaders launched the Financial Inclusion Action Plan in 2010. But Africa’s smallholder farmers have received little attention, and women farmers—who make up half of the continent’s agricultural labor force—have received even less.
Being excluded from financial services has negative consequences for smallholder farmers. Access to credit can help raise farm productivity by expanding access to inputs as well as better storage, marketing, and processing. Access to savings instruments at harvest enables families to put money aside and helps smooth consumption at other times of the year. Access to payment platforms can offer a secure and efficient way to make transactions. And access to insurance products can protect against illness and weather-related shocks. In the absence of these formal mechanisms, smallholder households often rely on informal instruments. Although they are accessible and flexible, informal financial services can also be inefficient and costly in the short term, and they do not always offer the services needed to help transform subsistence farming into a profitable business.
Understanding farmers’ needs, and the range of financial services they rely on to meet those needs, must be the first step. But translating this knowledge into tailored products will be even more critical. While evidence is still emerging, digital solutions are at the forefront of these efforts.
Smallholder Farmers Are Excluded From Financial Services
Large gaps remain in meeting the financial needs of smallholder farmers across sub-Saharan Africa. The Global Financial Index, or Global Findex, underscores the extent of their exclusion from the formal financial sector. Across forty-two African countries in 2014, only 29 percent of adults in rural areas had a mobile money account or an account at a bank or microfinance institution (MFI), compared to 34 percent at the national level. Although access to bank accounts in rural areas remains low, this represents an increase from 24 percent in 2011. Poor households and women are even more excluded than the rural population generally. Poorer households are much less likely than richer households to have a formal account (25 percent compared to 41 percent), and there is also a significant gap between women and men (30 percent compared to 39 percent).
While more than half of all rural households saved and borrowed money over the past year, only a small percentage used the formal sector. Among those who reported saving, 13 percent saved at a bank or an MFI, and 25 percent saved with a community savings group. The majority saved money under the mattress or in tangible assets such as livestock. Rural households are also excluded from formal sources of credit; only 6 percent borrowed from a formal institution. Forty-two percent of those who reported borrowing turned to family and friends, and 5 percent borrowed from an informal lender, such as a trader or processor. Because they are borrowing informally, the interest rates are usually between two and ten times higher than commercial rates. Furthermore, only slightly over 6 percent of farmers reported purchasing crop or livestock insurance. Finally, a majority of farming households received payments from agricultural sales in cash; only 8 percent received payments via mobile phone, and 7 percent received money directly to a bank or MFI account.
Demand and Supply Barriers Limit Access to Formal Financial Services
A number of demand- and supply-side constraints explain why smallholder farmers are excluded from formal financial services. On the demand side, smallholder households cannot always afford fees or minimum balance requirements to keep accounts active. In Uganda, for example, annual account maintenance fees are almost 25 percent of GDP per capita. Rural clients must travel long distances to reach bank branches; to do so, they have to pay for transportation and forego daily wages. In addition, farmers do not always have the formal documentation, such as identification cards and land titles, required to open an account. There is also evidence of a lack of trust in financial institutions and low financial knowledge among the poor. For smallholder farmers in particular, the repayment cycles for standard bank and MFI loans often do not align with seasonal cash flows. Finally, gender dynamics further constrain women’s access: Given multiple household responsibilities, women are often time constrained, which limits their ability to engage with formal financial services. Women also lack formal land titles, even more so than men.
On the supply side, smallholder households are expensive to serve because a majority live in rural areas. And because agriculture is highly susceptible to weather shocks, financial providers perceive farmers as too risky to lend to. In addition, formal financial institutions often lack information about the credit histories of poor rural farmers, as well as the knowledge and capacity to serve agricultural households. Lenders sometimes fail to see farmers as a substantial source of savings and have therefore not traditionally marketed specific products to them.
Digital Innovations Are Helping to Bridge the Gap
Digital technology has the potential to address multiple demand and supply barriers by offering a new delivery platform to reach underserved clients. Mobile connectivity is rapidly expanding across sub-Saharan Africa; a 2014 Pew Research Center survey in seven African countries found that roughly 80 percent of people own mobile phones. Mobile platforms can allow clients to access bank accounts more easily, and also reduce delivery costs for service providers.
To effectively close the gap in the availability of financial services, it is essential that digital products meet the unique financial needs of smallholder farmers. Digital by itself is not enough. Therefore, a complete understanding of these households’ financial needs must be a priority. The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), housed at the World Bank, has focused much-needed attention on smallholder farmers. Through its Financial Diaries of Smallholder Households project, CGAP aims to better understand how farmers in Mozambique, Tanzania, and Pakistan use financial services. Initial findings show that while smallholder households rely on multiple sources of income, including wage labor and off-farm businesses, agriculture accounts for 40 percent of earnings.
However, findings also suggest that income from agriculture is seasonal, creating unique cash-flow challenges. Farmers receive a bulk of their income at harvest, making it difficult to cover expenses for school fees, health care, and religious celebrations throughout the year. Farmers require capital at the start of the planting season to purchase seed and fertilizer. During the growing season, households must stretch available resources until the next harvest. Income from agriculture can also be risky; crops are susceptible to weather fluctuations, pests, and disease. Considering these diverse needs, financial services for smallholder farmers must move beyond credit for agriculture and include insurance, savings, and transfers to smooth consumption. This approach can help ensure financial instruments have a transformative role on the lives of smallholder farmers.
A suite of digital financial innovations for smallholder farmers has cropped up across the continent. These examples are neither exhaustive nor fully proven in their impact. But they nevertheless highlight the tremendous potential to connect Africa’s smallholder farmers to financial services by addressing both demand- and supply- side barriers.
In one model that addresses demand-side constraints, financial institutions are rolling out branchless banking to serve rural clients. For example, Opportunity International hires agents who drive to rural areas and use mobile phones to register new clients, deposit savings, and collect loan payments. In addition, mobile bank accounts are expanding across the continent, most rapidly in East Africa. M -Shwari in Kenya and M-Pawa in Tanzania allow M-Pesa clients to take out loans and make interest-earning savings deposits. Using a secure and familiar platform, rural clients do not have to travel to access accounts, pay fees, or meet minimum balance requirements. These are all important factors that can underpin widespread adoption.
But there are still challenges in reaching the rural poor, including limited network coverage and low financial literacy. Furthermore, recent evidence shows that although account ownership has increased, regular use has lagged. Therefore, products should be designed to meet smallholder farmers’ needs to help ensure that that they adopt and use them. To address low financial literacy, for example, the nongovernmental organization TechnoServe trains smallholder farmers in Tanzania on how M-Pawa accounts work in order to encourage the farmers to use them.
Other programs are using mobile platforms to deliver credit and savings products specifically designed for smallholder farmers. For example, One Acre Fund has developed an asset-finance model with a flexible repayment schedule that helps over two hundred thousand farmers in Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanzania purchase high-quality inputs at the start of the planting season. Farmers make a prepayment (10 percent of the loan) prior to receiving inputs and have the flexibility to repay the remaining loan amount in any increment on any schedule, as long as they repay fully by harvest time. In countries like Kenya, where the mobile money infrastructure is well developed, farmers make repayments via M-Pesa. This loan product has helped farmers increase their earnings per acre by 50 percent.
In addition, access to savings can play an important role. MyAgro, a mobile platform, offers a commitment savings device to farmers in Mali and Senegal. Rather than paying a lump sum to purchase seeds and fertilizer at the start of the planting season, farmers save small amounts throughout the year. Clients buy MyAgro scratch cards from local stores and make deposits into their savings accounts, just like buying credit for a mobile phone. Clients of MyAgro have increased their harvests, and raised their incomes by more than 70 percent compared to non-client farmers. Both these uniquely tailored products could serve as effective models for financial service providers.
Digital technology can also be leveraged for payment transfers. Nigeria’s mobile wallet program, established in 2012 by the Central Bank and Ministry of Agriculture, has digitized voucher distribution for subsidized fertilizer. The platform’s fourteen million subscribers can use electronic vouchers to buy subsidized fertilizer from local agro-dealers. This platform is playing a critical role in connecting farmers to the formal banking system, and it has helped reduce corruption in fertilizer distribution by wiping out middlemen. Between 2013 and 2014, Nigeria’s Ministry of Finance also provided additional budgetary incentives that enabled the Ministry of Agriculture to scale up the mobile wallet program’s reach to an additional 2.5 million women farmers.
According to CGAP, the mobile wallet platform reaches twice as many farmers as the previous distribution system at one-sixth of the cost. The Nigerian government has also established a mechanism to encourage financial institutions to lend to the agriculture sector. The Nigerian Incentive-Based Risk Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL) addresses an important supply-side constraint by providing a credit risk guarantee that covers between 30 and 75 percent of incurred losses on loans. NIRSAL enables the financial sector to expand its client base, and smallholder farmers and small and medium-sized agribusinesses gain access to financial services.
Keeping Up the Momentum
Promising innovations across the continent are leveraging the broad reach of digital technology to connect farmers to the formal financial sector. Ongoing research is providing rigorous evidence to better understand how these services are affecting smallholder households. There is no silver bullet and the gaps are still large, but there is tremendous international momentum around the issue of financial inclusion. Bringing Africa’s smallholder farmers into the spotlight and expanding their access to financial services will be critical to achieving universal financial inclusion and accelerating smallholder farmers’ contribution to the continent’s economic growth.
Author’s Personal Story
As a child, I spent Saturdays accompanying my widowed grandmother on the very long trek to her farming plots. We would set out before sunrise, me carrying water and her carrying food and implements, like small hoes and machetes. The main job was weeding between the mounds of yam. If they were in good shape, we would turn to the adjoining maize and vegetable plots. Lunch was roasted yam or plantain with palm oil and red pepper, which is still one of my favorite meals. I’d overhear my grandmother talking with other farmers about something called fertilizer or about new varieties of cassava and maize that could double output. But they had neither the money nor the know-how to make use of these tools.
From the time I left Nigeria to study economics, I was always trying to figure out what could be done to make farmers’ lives better.
For my doctoral thesis I chose the topic of “Rural Financial Markets in Nigeria” and spent months living with rural households all over the country to understand their savings, borrowing, and consumption patterns. That was from 1979 to 1981. While numerous experiments in recent years have yielded promising solutions, the work won’t be done until we’ve revolutionized the lives of African smallholders.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Again, the Rivers State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has received confirmation by officials of two companies, Intels Services and Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Ltd insisting that the Nyesom Wike-led Rivers State Government blackmailed them into fully paying for the reconstruction of a section of the East/West Road.
The officials, who pleaded anonymity, disclosed to the APC that the hurried meeting the Rivers State Commissioner for Works, Engr. Kevin K. Wachukwu held with them after the APC raised the accusation against the governor earlier, was to cover up their dubious action having been caught pants down.
The APC is sad that the Commissioner for Works, at the behest of Governor Nyesom Wike, was unable to address the facts of the matter which are:
1. That Governor Wike, at the time of flagging off the project, stated that the contractor [RCC] will be paid N1.5b immediately before commencement of work while the balance will be paid when work got up to 80 percent and that the project will be completed in 2 months.
2. That the partnering companies such as Indorama Petrochemicals Ltd, Intel Services, NNPC and others had fully paid over N2b by July, 2015.
3. What accounts for the fact that there have not been activities by RCC at the work site for months now?
4. That whereas the partnering companies had contributed over N2b, only N1.85b has been paid to RCC.
5. How come the Commissioner for Works cited only companies like NPA and Oil & Gas Free Zone Authority that allegedly had not made full payment but went quiet about those companies that have fully paid such as Intels Services, Indorama, NNPC [Refinery] and others and the amount paid?
The APC would like to challenge Governor Nyesom Wike to publicly refute that the following contributions have been fully paid: Intels Services N1billion, Indorama Eleme Petrochemicals Ltd N500million, Port Harcourt Refinery [NNPC] N300million, and Nigerian Ports Authority [NPA] N250million, among others totalling over N2b.
Besides, the APC finds it curious but not surprised that the governor has only paid N150m being 50 percent of the N300m contribution the Rivers State Government is expected to make towards the project as revealed by Engr. Akinfewa Oyebode, the RCC representative, whereas the Commissioner for Works, Engr Kevin K. Wachukwu, at same meeting, claimed that the Rivers State Government has paid its own counterpart contribution. We are not surprised because many a Rivers person knows that on May 29, 2015 we all were railroaded on a trip to nowhere aboard a one-chance-bus with the governor as the driver, conductor, mechanic and everything. Luckily for the good people of Rivers State, redemption is beckoning.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
On the 23rd of January 2016 the Princess Stella Oduah Foundation; a foundation founded over 12 years ago by the Senator representing Anambara North Senatorial District, Senator Stella Oduah organized a Talent Hunt Competition at various locations in Anambra North Senatorial District. The talent hunt had hundreds of youths and sports enthusiasts who converged at the venues to participate or watch the competitions.
It was observed by journalists and all present at the opening event that the participants were equipped with various sports wears comprising of attractive Jerseys, Boots and Track suits by the organizers; the Princess Stella Oduah Foundation.
Washington Grammar School was the venue for the Onitsha North Talent Hunt, while CKC Onitsha was the venue for the Onitsha South talent hunt competition with four Under 13 football teams which included male and female footballers.
Sports officials all watched keenly to fish out the best players as all the teams fought for positions in tough football matches that yielded the desired expectations of the organizers.
At the CKC Onitsha venue of the Onitsha South Talent Hunt, the entire arena was colorful with the players fighting for superiority and eventual selection for the final onslaught.
Speaking shortly before the kickoff at the Washington Grammar School venue, chairman of the organizing committee, Prince Ugboma said sponsor of the Talent Hunt, Senator Stella Oduah was determined to contribute her quota for youth development and employment in her Senatorial Zone and the country in general.
The Chief of Staff of Princess Stella Oduah Foundation, Princess Nwaka Ononuju while giving her speech also disclosed that the Talent Hunt cuts across various sporting activities adding that the best of the lot would be sponsored for international competitions.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
A RESPONSE TO FEMI FALANA, AN INTEGRITY-CHALLENGED CHARLATAN (ICC)
The malicious attempt by Lagos Lawyer, Femi Falana to mix Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala up in issues that have nothing to do with her in his letter to the International Criminal Court (ICC) is a desperate joke by an integrity challenged charlatan (ICC).
This misadventure shows that the so-called learned lawyer does not have any idea of what the mandate of the ICC is about.
He has resorted to this action because his previous efforts to tarnish her name – through his discredited NGO, SERAP and petitions to the EFCC – failed because they were lacking in credibility.
This latest effort to try to attach her name falsely confirms that Femi Falana is nothing but a tool of corrupt elements whose interests were hurt by the work Dr. Okonjo-Iweala did in fighting corruption while she was in office.
These elements have now made a habit of making false allegations against Dr Okonjo-Iweala whenever she receives any national or international recognition for her work. The pattern is clear and Nigerians should be alert to it. But Dr Okonjo-Iweala will not be intimidated from going on with her life and performing her duties. She will not give in to cowardly and unmanly bullying.
Falana’s latest attempt to implicate Dr Okonjo-Iweala falsely suggests that he is suffering from an ailment that may be described as Chronic Cerebral Amnesia (CCA) because he simply has no grasp of the facts.
Here are the facts:
FACT NO 1: OKONJO-IWEALA HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE $2.1 BILLION ARMS CONTROVERSY
Contrary to Falana’s lies, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala has absolutely nothing to do with the alleged misuse of $2.1billion by the office of the former National Security Adviser. Falana and his sponsors are simply trying to invent a connection where there is none.
The January 20, 2015 memo in which Dr Okonjo-Iweala sought and received the approval of former President Jonathan for the release of part of the newly returned Abacha funds to the NSA for purchase of arms is totally separate from the $2.1 billion issue.
The memo which is now in the public domain speaks for itself. The release of the resources was in response to an approval by the former President following a meeting chaired by him after a committee had considered the request.
The memo clearly documented Dr Okonjo-Iweala’s insistence that the proper procedure be followed, subject to appropriation and according to financial regulations. Dr. Okonjo-Iweala went further to state that the former NSA should account for the funds to the former President since she is not a member of the Security Council. The attempt to link Okonjo-Iweala to the $2.1billion issue is therefore dead on arrival.
FACT NO 2: OKONJO-IWEALA WAS NOT IN GOVERNMENT WHEN MOST OF THE ABACHA FUNDS WERE RECOVERED
Falana and his sponsors have claimed that billions of dollars of Abacha funds were recovered and that Dr Okonjo-Iweala should account for the recovered funds.
The fact is that some of the funds recovery was done under the regime of General Abdulsalami Abubakar and the first term of President Olusegun Obasanjo when Dr Okonjo-Iweala was not even in government.
During the time Dr Okonjo-Iweala was Finance Minister in the second Obasanjo administration, $500m was recovered. As documented by the Field Study conducted by the World Bank with the assistance of national and international NGOs, this amount was properly applied.
Falana’s insistence on the contrary shows how despicable he is and how he is ready to ignore facts and concoct a fiction in the service of his sponsors.
FACT 3: OKONJO-IWEALA LEFT STRONG LEGACIES AS A CHAMPION OF TRANSPARENCY AND THE FIGHT AGAINST CORRUPTION WHILE IN GOVERNMENT
It is on record that Dr. Okonjo-Iweala championed transparency and vigorously fought corruption during her two terms as Minister. Among other actions, starting from the second Obasanjo administration, she, for the first time in Nigeria’s history, published monthly revenue allocations to all tiers of government for Nigerians to see.
While serving in the Obasanjo administration, she requested the assistance of the World Bank and DFID, the UK’s development agency to build institutions and systems that could block leakages from the treasury. This work stalled after she left office in 2006. In August 2011 when she returned under the Jonathan government, with the assistance of the Ministry of Finance Team, she re-invigorated the establishment and use of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Management Systems (IPPIS), the Government Integrated Financial Management System (GIFMIS) and the Treasury Single Account (TSA), all of which saved the country billions of naira by drastically reducing avenues for corruption in the public service. These facts are well documented in successive World Bank, DFID and IMF Article 4 Reports.
It is gratifying that the present government has adopted and is further building on these systems for the benefit of the country.
FACT NO 4: DR. OKONJO-IWEALA’S MOTHER WAS KIDNAPPED AND ALMOST KILLED BECAUSE OF THE FORMER MINISTER’S STANCE AGAINST CORRUPTION
Falana is callous beyond belief for ignoring a fact of recent Nigerian history: the kidnap of Professor Kamene Okonjo, the then 83 year old mother of Dr Okonjo-Iweala by agents of fuel subsidy fraudsters who were angry that the former Minister had blocked them from defrauding the country further.
The kidnappers had told the traumatised old woman that they were sent to punish Okonjo-Iweala for refusing to pay some oil marketers. It is on record with the State Security Services that the kidnappers initially demanded the resignation of Dr Okonjo-Iweala in return for the release of her mother. Thank God Professor Okonjo is still alive to tell her story today and she will not be silenced.
It is extremely insensitive and, in fact, inhumane for Falana and his sponsors to level false accusations against someone like Dr Okonjo-Iweala who went through this kind of searing personal ordeal for her principled fight against corruption.
CONCLUSION
Falana’s attempt to implicate Dr Okonjo-Iweala falsely is a disservice to law, justice and the image of the country. It is sad that a person who had earned some prominence as a human rights lawyer now tramples on the human rights of others as a political jobber.
He and his sponsors are engaged in nothing but media harassment, cyber bullying and intimidation against innocent persons like Dr Okonjo-Iweala for political and pecuniary gain. That is why Nigerians should not give in to Falana’s self-imposed Chronic Cerebral Amnesia (CCA).
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
For more than 40 years in the political arena of Spain two parties had been dominating, the People’s Party and the PSOE Party (Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party), which alternated in power. The last catalytic elections of December 20, 2015 resulted in a significant weakening of these traditional political forces and the emergence of new antiregime parties. Thus, the People’s Party of Mariano Rajoy got the lowest percentages since 1993 (28.72% of votes and 123 seats out of the 350 of the Parliament, compared to 44.6% of the votes and 186 seats in 2011), while the PSOE Party of Pedro Sanchez recorded the worst result in its history (22% of the votes and 90 seats, compared to 28.73% of the votes and 110 seats in the previous elections of 2011).
The emergence of the left party Podemos of Pablo Iglesias – product of the so-called movement of the “Indignant” – and of the center-right party Ciudadanos of Albert Rivera (which was supported by some mass media), in the third and fourth place respectively with high percentages (20.6% of the votes and 69 seats and 14% of the votes and 40 seats), shows the end of the forty-year-old two-party system and marks a new period for Spain.
This result, of course, is due largely to the economic crisis in Europe. The anti-popular austerity policy which was faithfully implemented by the government of Mariano Rajoy in the past four years, combined with a corruption scandal regarding his party, transformed the party map of Spain and led to the emergence of a new four-party political scene.
The new parliamentary reality, where no party has an absolute majority, leads inevitably either to a coalition government that the majority of Spaniards seems to prefer or to new elections. After four years of governance with strong majority, Spain is now facing the prospect of some kind of political instability that torments the other European countries as well, since the fragile government coalitions and the traditional parties that dominated the political scene for decades, feel strongly the pressing effects of the years of economic hardship and the growing wave of immigration.
The new Spanish government, whenever it may occur, with or without new elections, shall immediately be confronted with very serious problems and challenges. Although this European economy came out of the recession and entered the road to recovery, it will take several years, without regressions, to recover the lost ground. Otherwise, if the Spanish economy gets into reverse mode again, this precarious recovery will resemble the suspended step of the stork. The country is beset by the second highest unemployment rate (21.18%) in the Euro-zone following Greece, and the unemployed Spaniards are more than five million. Poverty increases on a daily basis and threatens to disintegrate the social web of the country. “Poverty is the worst form of violence” once Mahatma Gandhi declared. With the applied vast neoliberal policies the gap between the rich and the poor is constantly growing. In 2013, 22.2% of the households, based on the most recent data of the National Statistics Institute (INE) of Spain, lived below the poverty line, i.e. their income was less than 60% of the mean national disposable income. Many people are living today without heating and without electric power, countless families face eviction and have no other residence (34.680 first houses, that is 95 a day, were confiscated in 2014 by the banks to be sold, according to the INE), many pensioners cannot pay for their medicines. Also, more than one in three children – or 2.6 million – are now faced with the risk of poverty and social exclusion, according to the most recent data of the European Commission. The high percentages of the long-term unemployed combined with the drastic cuts in expenditures on health and education have led more families and children to poverty in spite of the financial recovery. The public debt is continuously showing an upward trend and based on the latest official figures, is at 98.8% of the GDP, approaching the high level of 100% of the GDP that reached or exceeded in the years 1900 and 1909. The “informal economy” is estimated at 25% of the GDP, i.e. 235 billion Euros that have not been declared, thereby depriving the Spanish State from some very substantial financial resources.
Meanwhile, the new Spanish government shall have to tackle the urgent issue of Catalonia. The election of the separatist Carles Puigdemont, who shall be responsible for starting the process of independence, to the presidency of Catalonia, is a resounding wake-up. “We need to commence the process to create an independent State in Catalonia, so that the decisions of the Catalan Parliament are sovereign”, he declared on Sunday 10th January 2016, under the cheering of the Members, only hours before the Catalan Parliament elected him head of the local government and successor Artur Mas. The direct consequences of the unilateral declaration of independence of Catalonia, which is the richest region of Spain with a product of about 200 billion Euros, shall undoubtedly be extremely painful: without Catalonia, Spain shall lose 16% of its population, 25% of its exports, and 19% of its GDP according to the OECD. More than 586,000 companies are based in Catalonia – out of those 2,150 large companies employing more than 200 workers each, such as Gas Natura and the giant of garments Mango. In Catalonia there is the factory of the Volkswagen group as well producing cars of the brand Seat. Besides, Barcelona is by far the first tourist destination across the country and one of the leading worldwide, with net proceeds from the arrival and stay of tourists reaching tremendous heights. Meanwhile, both in the commercial and the industrial sector, Barcelona is perhaps the most fundamental pillar of the Spanish economy. The tendency of Catalonia for independence, this should be emphasized at this point, was born and acquired gigantic dimensions due to the austerity policies imposed by Brussels and mainly Berlin on Spain and of course throughout the Euro-zone. This is the main reason why the Catalans want to become at least autonomous. They want to have their own laws and their taxes not to go to Madrid to pay the austerity programmes. The reasons for the apparent break-up are therefore primarily financial. In conclusion, the extreme austerity policies have hurt obviously and heavily Spain, like other countries in the Euro-zone. Therefore it is needed by the new Spanish government, which will be faced with a historic crossroad, to formulate a very clear progressive policy that will be built upon the re-examination of the Constitution, the direction of specific popular social reforms, the inhibition of uncontrolled privatization suffering, among other things, from issues of transparency, and the protection of the first housing to low income groups. The effective combat against tax evasion and financial crime is also needed, as well as the appropriate restructuring of the production model and the significant easing of major structural imbalances, such as unemployment, budget deficits, and the public debt.
About the author Isidoros Karderinis was born in Athens, Greece in 1967. He is a novelist, poet and economist with postgraduate studies in tourist economy. His articles have been republished in newspapers, magazines and sites worldwide. His poems have been translated in French and have been published in literary magazines. He has published seven books of poetry and two novels. Five of which have been published in the USA and in Great Britain.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
Did you know many African countries continue to pay colonial tax to France since their independence till today!
When Sékou Touré of Guinea decided in 1958 to get out of French colonial empire, and opted for the country independence, the French colonial elite in Paris got so furious, and in a historic act of fury the French administration in Guinea destroyed everything in the country which represented what they called the benefits from French colonization.
Three thousand French left the country, taking all their property and destroying anything that which could not be moved: schools, nurseries, public administration buildings were crumbled; cars, books, medicine, research institute instruments, tractors were crushed and sabotaged; horses, cows in the farms were killed, and food in warehouses were burned or poisoned.
The purpose of this outrageous act was to send a clear message to all other colonies that the consequences for rejecting France would be very high.
Slowly fear spread through the African elite, and none after the Guinea events ever found the courage to follow the example of Sékou Touré, whose slogan was “We prefer freedom in poverty to opulence in slavery.” Sylvanus Olympio, the first president of the Republic of Togo, a tiny country in West Africa, found a middle ground solution with the French.
He didn’t want his country to continue to be a French dominion, therefore he refused to sign the colonisation continuation pact De Gaulle proposed, but agree to pay an annual debt to France for the so called benefits Togo got from French colonization.
It was the only conditions for the French not to destroy the country before leaving. However, the amount estimated by France was so big that the reimbursement of the so called “colonial debt” was close to 40% of the country budget in 1963.
The financial situation of the newly independent Togo was very unstable, so in order to get out the situation, Olympio decided to get out the French colonial money FCFA (the franc for French African colonies), and issue the country own currency.
On January 13, 1963, three days after he started printing his country own currency, a squad of illiterate soldiers backed by France killed the first elected president of newly independent Africa. Olympio was killed by an ex French Foreign Legionnaire army sergeant called Etienne Gnassingbe who supposedly received a bounty of $612 from the local French embassy for the hit man job.
Olympio’s dream was to build an independent and self-sufficient and self-reliant country. But the French didn’t like the idea.
On June 30, 1962, Modiba Keita , the first president of the Republic of Mali, decided to withdraw from the French colonial currency FCFA which was imposed on 12 newly independent African countries. For the Malian president, who was leaning more to a socialist economy, it was clear that colonisation continuation pact with France was a trap, a burden for the country development.
On November 19, 1968, like, Olympio, Keita will be the victim of a coup carried out by another ex-French Foreign legionnaire, the Lieutenant Moussa Traoré.
In fact during that turbulent period of African fighting to liberate themselves from European colonization, France would repeatedly use many ex foreign legionnaires to carry out coups against elected presidents:
– On January 1st, 1966, Jean-Bédel Bokassa, an ex-French foreign legionnaire, carried a coup against David Dacko, the first President of the Central African Republic.
– On January 3, 1966, Maurice Yaméogo, the first President of the Republic of Upper Volta, now called Burkina Faso, was victim of a coup carried by Aboubacar Sangoulé Lamizana, an ex-French legionnaire who fought with French troops in Indonesia and Algeria against these countries independence.
– on 26 October 1972, Mathieu Kérékou who was a security guard to President Hubert Maga, the first President of the Republic of Benin, carried a coup against the president, after he attended French military schools from 1968 to 1970.
In fact, during the last 50 years, a total of 67 coups happened in 26 countries in Africa, 16 of those countries are French ex-colonies, which means 61% of the coups happened in Francophone Africa.
As these numbers demonstrate, France is quite desperate but active to keep a strong hold on his colonies whatever the cost, no matter what.
In March 2008, former French President Jacques Chirac said:
“Without Africa, France will slide down into the rank of a third [world] power”
Chirac’s predecessor François Mitterand already prophesied in 1957 that:
“Without Africa, France will have no history in the 21st century”
At this very moment I’m writing this article, 14 African countries are obliged by France, through a colonial pact, to put 85% of their foreign reserve into France central bank under French minister of Finance control. Until now, 2014, Togo and about 13 other African countries still have to pay colonial debt to France. African leaders who refuse are killed or victim of coup. Those who obey are supported and rewarded by France with lavish lifestyle while their people endure extreme poverty, and desperation.
It’s such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billion dollars from Africa to its treasury year in year out.
We often accuse African leaders of corruption and serving western nations interests instead, but there is a clear explanation for that behaviour. They behave so because they are afraid to be killed or to become victim of a coup. They want a powerful nation to back them in case of aggression or trouble. But, contrary to a friendly nation protection, the western protection is often offered in exchange of these leaders renouncing to serve their own people or nations’ interests.
African leaders would work in the interest of their people if they were not constantly stalked and bullied by colonial countries.
In 1958, scared about the consequence of choosing independence from France, Leopold Sédar Senghor declared: “The choice of the Senegalese people is independence; they want it to take place only in friendship with France, not in dispute.”
From then on France accepted only an “independence on paper” for his colonies, but signed binding “Cooperation Accords”, detailing the nature of their relations with France, in particular ties to France colonial currency (the Franc), France educational system, military and commercial preferences.
Below are the 11 main components of the Colonisation continuation pact since 1950s:
#1. Colonial Debt for the benefits of France colonization
The newly “independent” countries should pay for the infrastructure built by France in the country during colonization.
I still have to find out the complete details about the amounts, the evaluation of the colonial benefits and the terms of payment imposed on the African countries, but we are working on that (help us with info).
#2. Automatic confiscation of national reserves
The African countries should deposit their national monetary reserves into France Central bank.
France has been holding the national reserves of fourteen African countries since 1961: Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo-Brazzaville, Equatorial Guinea and Gabon.
“The monetary policy governing such a diverse aggregation of countries is uncomplicated because it is, in fact, operated by the French Treasury, without reference to the central fiscal authorities of any of the WAEMU or the CEMAC. Under the terms of the agreement which set up these banks and the CFA the Central Bank of each African country is obliged to keep at least 65% of its foreign exchange reserves in an “operations account” held at the French Treasury, as well as another 20% to cover financial liabilities.
The CFA central banks also impose a cap on credit extended to each member country equivalent to 20% of that country’s public revenue in the preceding year. Even though the BEAC and the BCEAO have an overdraft facility with the French Treasury, the drawdowns on those overdraft facilities are subject to the consent of the French Treasury. The final say is that of the French Treasury which has invested the foreign reserves of the African countries in its own name on the Paris Bourse.
In short, more than 80% of the foreign reserves of these African countries are deposited in the “operations accounts” controlled by the French Treasury. The two CFA banks are African in name, but have no monetary policies of their own. The countries themselves do not know, nor are they told, how much of the pool of foreign reserves held by the French Treasury belongs to them as a group or individually.
The earnings of the investment of these funds in the French Treasury pool are supposed to be added to the pool but no accounting is given to either the banks or the countries of the details of any such changes. The limited group of high officials in the French Treasury who have knowledge of the amounts in the “operations accounts”, where these funds are invested; whether there is a profit on these investments; are prohibited from disclosing any of this information to the CFA banks or the central banks of the African states .” Wrote Dr. Gary K. Busch
It’s now estimated that France is holding close to 500 billion African countries money in its treasury, and would do anything to fight anyone who want to shed a light on this dark side of the old empire.
The African countries don’t have access to that money.
France allows them to access only 15% of the money in any given year. If they need more than that, they have to borrow the extra money from their own 65% from the French Treasury at commercial rates.
To make things more tragic, France impose a cap on the amount of money the countries could borrow from the reserve. The cap is fixed at 20% of their public revenue in the preceding year. If the countries need to borrow more than 20% of their own money, France has a veto.
Former French President Jacques Chirac recently spoke about the African nation’s money in France banks. You could check out the video of him speaking about the French exploitation scheme. He is speaking in French, but here is a short excerpt transcript: “We have to be honest, and acknowledge that a big part of the money in our banks come precisely from the exploitation of the African continent.”
#3. Right of first refusal on any raw or natural resource discovered in the country
France has the first right to buy any natural resources found in the land of its ex-colonies. It’s only after France would say, “I’m not interested”, that the African countries are allowed to seek other partners.
#4. Priority to French interests and companies in public procurement and public biding
In the award of government contracts, French companies must be considered first, and only after that these countries could look elsewhere. It doesn’t matter if the African countries can obtain better value for money elsewhere.
As consequence, in many of the French ex-colonies, all the majors’ economical assets of the countries are in the hand of French expatriates. In Côte d’Ivoire, for example, French companies own and control all the major utilities – water, electricity, telephone, transport, ports and major banks. The same in commerce, construction, and agriculture.
#5. Exclusive right to supply military equipment and Train the country military officers
Through a sophisticated scheme of scholarships, grants, and “Defence Agreements” attached to the Colonial Pact, the Africans should send their senior military officers for training in France or French ran-training facilities.
The situation on the continent now is that France has trained hundreds, even thousands of traitors and nourish them. They are dormant when they are not needed, and activated when needed for a coup or any other purpose!
#6. Right for France to pre-deploy troops and intervene military in the country to defend its interests
Under something called “Defence Agreements” attached to the Colonial Pact, France had the legal right to intervene militarily in the African countries, and also to station troops permanently in bases and military facilities in those countries, run entirely by the French.
French military bases in Africa:
When President Laurent Gbagbo of Côte d’Ivoire tried to end the French exploitation of the country, France organized a coup. During the long process to oust Gbagbo, France tanks, helicopter gunships and Special Forces intervened directly in the conflict, fired on civilians and killed many.
To add insult to injury, France estimated that the French business community had lost several millions of dollars when in the rush to leave Abidjan in 2006 the French Army massacred 65 unarmed civilians and wounded 1,200 others.
After France succeeded the coup, and transferred power to Alassane Outtara, France requested Ouattara government to pay compensation to french business community for the losses during the civil war. Indeed the Ouattara government paid them twice what they said they had lost in leaving.
#7. Obligation to make French the official language of the country and the language for education
Oui, Monsieur. Vous devez parlez français, la langue de Molière!
A French language and culture dissemination organization has been created called “Francophonie” with several satellites and affiliates organizations supervised by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs.
As demonstrated in this article, if French is the only language you speak, you’d have access to less than 4% of humanity knowledge and ideas. That’s very limiting.
#8. Obligation to use France colonial money FCFA
That’s the real milk cow for France, but it’s such an evil system even denounced by the European Union, but France is not ready to move from that colonial system which puts about 500 billion dollars from Africa to its treasury.
During the introduction of Euro currency in Europe, other European countries discovered the French exploitation scheme. Many, especially the Nordic countries, were appalled and suggested France get rid of the system, but unsuccessfully.
#9. Obligation to send France annual balance and reserve report.
Without the report, no money. Anyway the secretary of the Central banks of the ex-colonies, and the secretary of the bi-annual meeting of the Ministers of Finance of the ex-colonies is carried out by France Central bank / Treasury.
#10. Renunciation to enter into military alliance with any other country unless authorized by France
African countries in general are the ones with will less regional military alliances. Most of the countries have only military alliances with their ex-colonisers! (Funny, but you can’t do better!).
In the case France ex-colonies, France forbid them to seek other military alliance except the one it offered them.
#11. Obligation to ally with France in situation of war or global crisis
Over one million Africans soldiers fought for the defeat of Nazism and fascism during the Second World War.
Their contribution is often ignored or minimized, but when you think that it took only 6 weeks for Germany to defeat France in 1940, France knows that Africans could be useful for fighting for la “Grandeur de la France” in the future.
There is something almost psychopathic in the relation of France with Africa.
First, France is severely addicted to looting and exploitation of Africa since the time of slavery. Then there is this complete lack of creativity and imagination of French elite to think beyond the past and tradition.
Finally, France has 2 institutions which are completely frozen into the past, inhabited by paranoid and psychopath “haut fonctionnaires” who spread fear of apocalypse if France would change, and whose ideological reference still comes from the 19th century romanticism: they are the Minister of Finance and Budget of France and the Minister of Foreign affairs of France.
These 2 institutions are not only a threat to Africa, but to the French themselves.
It’s up to us as African to free ourselves, without asking for permission, because I still can’t understand for example how 450 French soldiers in Côte d’Ivoire could control a population of 20 million people!?
People first reaction when they learn about the French colonial tax is often a question: “Until when?”
For historical comparison, France made Haiti to pay the modern equivalent of $21 billion from 1804 till 1947 (almost one century and half) for the losses caused to French slave traders by the abolition of slavery and the liberation of the Haitian slaves.
African countries are paying the colonial tax only for the last 50 years, so I think one century of payment might be left
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
In the face of an obvious international injustice that decorates the global society today, even in the 21st century, so many questions flood the mind of the normal and average African mind. Irrespective of efforts not to be left “enslaved” for the second time by the tragic memories of the colonial past, one is curious to know if colonialism has really ended. YES will be a very audacious answer. The indices are clear.
It is unbelievable yet true to go through the streets of European countries, like Paris and see the concentration of the young African energy wasting on the road sides. Many stand under the heat of the harsh weather, whether hot or freezing cold temperatures sell nuts and the like, in order to feed. Don’t be surprised that most of them are graduates from universities in Africa. If this high concentration managed to find their ways in the central cities of Europe, some can only manage to reach the jungles of areas like the north of France in Lille.
But the most fundamental question remains, why is the African energetic youth perishing in the midst of the natural abundance that Africa is blessed with, even at this modern age? We are not talking of Africa of the pre-independence era; we are talking about the African youth of today, when technology has facilitated the seconds-by-seconds sharing of information. Yet, Africa, not just as a continent, but as a people is nowhere to be found in the frontline of the human society liberated from the prehistoric era. It is only in Africa today you can find towns and villages that have no electricity to lighten the nights, yet the deposits of the primary resources that generate light are located in Africa. Uranium, for example, which constitutes the majority of the primary element that is used in most French nuclear production companies, which generate electricity 24/7 in France comes from African countries like Niger and Chad. Very ironically and shockingly, the countries from where this natural resource is extracted, not just have no RIGHT, or rather were robbed of their RIGHT to benefit from it, but also have no electricity that brightens their night. And so, recalling what a former minister of energy, Jean-Louis Borloo said recently on this subject about electrifying Africa: “…as night falls and Europe and other western countries are brightened by electricity, Africa plunges into darkness…”!
Why should Africa still be plunged into darkness when night falls in this century? Why will Africa, richly and fabulously blessed with natural resources will still be groping in poverty today? Why will Africa, with all her efforts to develop her continent will still at this modern time, be deserted, and her young energy and youth enslaved in Europe and America, brain-washed to accept the throneness that “nothing good can come from Africa”? There may be so many destabilizing reasons and elements responsible for this situation. Largely from the Africans themselves, namely, the refusal to wake-up from her sleep and take the bull by the horn. But then and largely, most of the fundamental elements are skilfully systematised by the colonial powers even before over 90% of Africans living today was born, in what is called “colonial agreement”.
I find some of these elements in the following article by Mawuna Remarque KOUTONIN and I wish to share it with anyone who has the love of Africa at heart. Happy reading. Chimaobi Clement EMEFU, CSSp.
Anthony-Claret is a software Engineer, entrepreneur and the founder of Codewit INC. Mr. Claret publishes and manages the content on Codewit Word News website and associated websites. He's a writer, IT Expert, great administrator, technology enthusiast, social media lover and all around digital guy.
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