Things I Feel Strongly About

Homo what?

2011-12-12T07:53:00.001Z

The African/ Caribbean opposition to homosexuality, is somewhat disheartening.

I read this article that seems to include a lot of what is currently circulating as valid reasons for opposition of a basic human right.

Here is the article.

Link to the article called "Homo what?"

I won’t address all points, as the author covers other topics like female prostitution and child sex.

1) Changing the “natural order”.Sex has been around as long as marriage has. Homosexuality is not a recent invention. It was not imported into Africa, indigenous cultures were already familiar with it. There was no issue, then the Europeans came and brought their Victorian values, which outlawed homosexual behaviour. This is what the author is referring to by the “natural order”.

This means there was a time, when heterosexual couplings and homosexual couplings co-existed. The foundation of “heterosexual marriage”, did not dissolve. It continued, so why now when homosexuals are calling for their rights to be respected, heterosexuals view this as a threat?

2) What is this “moral” meltdown in the West the author is referring to? What makes African/or Caribbean people more “moral”, is it poverty? Many social vices which exist in the “West” exist in Africa/Caribbean also. You name it drug abuse, alcoholism, child abuse, spouse abuse, you name it, it exists. So this idea, that the “West” is somehow morally worse for recognising that sexual minorities have rights too doesn’t make them any more morally worse than people elsewhere. On the contrary by recognising the basic human right to freedom and equality, makes them a better society in my opinion

Link for article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

3) Defiance for the sake of defiance, is meaningless. African countries are using the stand-off with Britain and other “Western” nations by denying and in many cases actively persecuting homosexuals as something to be proud of. They should separate defiance from reason, then re-think whether defiance is wise and sensible. It is disposable worthless political capital. When famine or natural disaster strikes, where is their defiance then?

4) It is true, that same sex relationships without intervention don’t produce children. As we all know there are ways to have children; by coupling with the opposite sex specifically for that purpose or medical intervention like artificial insemination.

African countries are not lacking children, they are not facing a shrinking population. In the case of Nigeria, there are too many people.

But because a union/marriage doesn’t produce children, that is no reason for denying same sex couplings? According to this argument then, any childless heterosexual couple should have their marriage forcibly dissolved. Which would be totally wrong and unnecessary. So why is it accepted for same sex attracted persons?

5) “More than a purely private decision, intimate pair bonding is a public commitment to conform to the valid interest of society reflected by law and the Law is a sieved collection of society's principles, attitudes and values to build a secular cathedral that serves as a sanctum for all”

This statement totally dehumanises marriage. According to this statement, freedom of choice and emotions have nothing to do with it. What a dreary of unwanted existence!

They talk about building a secular cathedral that serves as a sanctum for all. I thought secular societies, differentiate between religion and the state. One of the main pillars of opposition to gay rights/homosexual rights is that it is opposed to the religion as practiced in those societies. Yet these societies claim to be democratic and inclusive, which they are not. So I’m not too sure of what the author means by that statement. It seems to be filled with inconsistencies. (They talk of a secular cathedral, when they make no distintction between religion and the state. They mention the use of "all", when they don't wish to include everyone).

6) They go on to talk about the need to identify who they are and what they stand for. It would be interesting to see what label they would use for themselves. As things stand now they certainly aren’t democractic, or inclusive or egalitarian.

7) According to the author, “the foundational flaw in the homosexuality argument is their inability to show, why the children of heterosexuals should be allowed to fill the void” – to use her words.

Obviously checks have to be put in place before any orphan or homeless child is sent to a foster home. True in the “poisoned” atmosphere in Africa this will be very challenging to find individuals who are just looking at the facts, and nothing else (but it is not impossible).

Just because a child is raised in a homosexual home doesn’t mean they will turn out homosexual. Similarly, not all heterosexual homes have children who turn out to be heterosexual. As long as no abuse is occurring, and that the interests of the child are better served by being with a foster family than being left to languish in state institutions, then this shouldn’t be a problem.

This whole issue has become blown out of all proportion, and people should take a step back and assess things with a clear and reasoned mind. Rather than throwing insults and going on the rampage to attack sexual minorities, be it physically or using the law.

Apologies..

2011-11-29T10:15:00.001Z

Just to let everyone know that I'm fine and expect to be back shortly. My apologies for the unplanned absence from the blog..

Anengiyefa

A sad note

2011-11-09T14:45:00.001Z

Today I got back from work and heard the news that Heavy D, (his real name being Dwight Arrington Meyers died today at 44,).

Here is a picture of what he looks like.

I'm not to sure of the cause of his death, apparently he was having difficulty in breathing, and died shortly after arriving at hospital.

The full account can be obtained from here:
Brief account on the death of Heavy D

I remember Heavy D, from when I was unemployed and MTV had started, my Mum had just got cable tv (television), we (my cousin and my nephew, niece and myself) used to rush around the tv to watch "Yo MTV Raps", and they had video channel called "The Box", which was a jukebox, and you can request a video. They were our favourite channels.

I loved this video, called "Dem no worry we" - by Supercat featuring Heavy D. I loved the video, it is truly multicultural in a Jamaican styley. Heavy D's performance was sharp and well delivered. Before that time when African-Americans did reggae, it never quite worked according to my mind. But Heavy D, did it superbly. Later, I did find out that he is indeed a Jamaican, no wonder!! Enough of the talk, here's a link to the clip. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, he brought happiness and joy with his music, thank you Heavy D. I hope he finds true peace where he is now.

Heavy D is better known for the hit "Now that we've found love", but to me "Dem no worry we" eclipses that any day, any time. I still like the song, 20 years later. I didn't like "Now that we've found love" much then and that still remains the case.

Here is the link for "Now that we found love".
"Now that we found love" - by Heavy D

A call to face Africa's challenges from the hills of Rwanda

2011-11-07T04:28:00.002Z

I came across this article, it was encouraging to read that there are people in Africa, who engage in true talk. I agree with the author (Shyaka Kanuma). A new way of thinking is introduced here.

A new way of thinking from Rwanda

I like this piece, it deals with the prevailing attitude that exists amongst Africans. The sooner people forsake the easy option of blaming outsiders and wake up to the challenges that the continent faces, Africa will get up from it's knees and begin to walk with the rest of humanity (as opposed to being held by the hand and led astray as is currently the case).

Our best days may be behind us...

2011-11-02T14:43:00.003Z

There has been a lot of talk about the world population hitting 7 billion people recently. This has been a source of concern for those who worried about the future of mankind.

In the case of Nigeria, this even more urgent, the last head count says there are 167,912,561 people in Nigeria. The population is increasing at a rate of 5.6 million people per annum. Now to any sensible person, that is a lot of people to add every year.

Nigeria's population trend

This wouldn't be so bad, but in the case of Nigeria, this can not be viewed as a outstanding success. Due to Nigeria's failure to hold up any tangible, positive achievement to show the rest of the world. Nigerians are left desperately clasping at straws like saying "Nigeria is the giant of Africa", and "oil". This is rather sad and pathetic to my mind. The oil within Nigeria, has nothing to do with Nigerians manufacturing it, it was there before anyone even knew what oil was, it was (good) fortune that it lay within what is now called Nigeria.

As for the population, children are a good thing. But like any other good thing, you can get too much of it. Nigerians tend to smirk that theirs is one of the largest populations in the world. Why the smirk? Are they the only ones who know how to reproduce? I think not. Is Nigeria the size of Russia, with millions of square miles of fertile and, the answer is again no. Do Nigerians love their children more than anyone else in the world, definitely not. Is there a need for such a large population, given that technology is reducing the need for man power? There is no need for such a large population.

In other parts of the world, controlled population growth goes hand in hand with an ordered society, one where it's citizens are happy to live. In Nigeria population growth is not controlled and this government like all previous governments doesn't regard this as an issue. With a country that is losing significant amounts of agricultural land due to desertification in the north, and soil erosion in the south, along with subsistence farming . The destruction of the environment by the poor to survive (ie collection of firewood etc), accompanied by governments who don't and can't meet their needs, doesn't make for a happy future. With dwindling agricultural land, unsustainable agricultural policies, it seems Nigeria may never again be in the position to feed itself. This accompanied by a lack of an industrial base, or technological base, means future generations will become poorer. Even if the country were to fall apart. The Sahelian region would be least likely to cope with rapid population growth, desertification and climate change, the best they can hope for is to spoil for a war with it's southern neighbour(s), as they have nothing to lose.

Political leadership at the centre (Abuja) is at best weak, and prone to gimmicks, and is myopic in nature. The population at large is hostage to a cocktail of increasing ethnic chauvinism, religious misinterpretation, cultural resistance, intolerance, rampant corruption and mismanagement, which do not make for a bright future. The country has escaped to date, due to the unimaginative solution of exploiting the mineral resources (namely oil and gas deposits), but these are finite and non-renewable, and once exhausted there is nothing in place to generate significant income.

By the year 2020, Nigeria would have surpassed 200 million people. This is more than the population of the whole of Southern Africa (the SADC region (Southern Africa development community) on a fraction of the surface area. The UN (United Nations) estimates that by the year 2050, Nigeria will be the fourth most populous country in the world. (that is a disaster).

To make things even more tricky, how can you urge people to have less children? Even the educated have large families, I've several aunts and uncles who have more than their fair share of degrees and have an average of eight children per family. So if the middle class won't listen, what hope do you have to persuade the poor? In other parts of the world, this is a natural benefit of increasing education, but Nigeria bucks the trend.

Another point to consider, is that Nigerians are satisfied with low standards. Those educated southerners in Nigeria are proud that they have the highest literacy rates in Nigeria, with the south-west with 73.6 per cent, the south-south with 71.9%, and the south-east with 74.1%, the north central has 54.9%, and the other northern regions ie north-west 33.9% and north-east 33.8%.

These figures are taken from

Literacy in Nigeria, no cure for unplanned population growth

Compare that to Kerala state in Southern India, they have 100% literacy amongst female children, (it goes without saying that for boys it's also 100%), and population growth not just in Kerala but throughout Southern India has reached replacement levels. You can see with this comparison, that there is still a lot of work to do in Nigeria on this front. At it's very best around 26% are uneducated, in the worst case 67% are illiterate.

With future generations facing increasing poverty, conflicts over land and resources will be more common. The best, the educated class can hope for is to escape Nigeria and take up residence, in some other land where the government had the foresight to plan for the future needs of the host population. Nigeria is not blessed like other African nations like DR Congo (Democratic republic of Congo), with large areas of unsettled fertile land with relatively small populations, the crunch time is fast approaching, so there is less room to manoeuvre. It is not by mistake that Nigeria is third world.

Nigeria will soon become synonymous with not just corruption, but how badly can one destroy a country so completely. Other countries will look and say, "well at least we are not as bad as you!" This is all rather tragic because it is avoidable, with some consistent effort.

Le cygne (The Swan): Camille Saint-Saens

2011-10-31T13:01:00.007Z

I couldn't think of a better way to end the month. I adore Saint-Saens' music, being as influenced as he was by two of my favourite composers, Sebastian Bach and Amadeus Mozart. Saint-Saens famously wrote,

"What gives Sebastian Bach and Mozart a place apart is that these two great expressive composers never sacrificed form to expression. As high as their expression may soar, their musical form remains supreme and all-sufficient".

Camille Saint-Saens (9 October 1835 – 16 December 1921), was a French late-Romantic composer and he is known especially for his 'Carnival of the Animals', a musical suite of fourteen movements, most of which relate to various members of the animal kingdom, from the Lion and the Tortoise, to birds, (Aviary) and fish, (Aquarium). Le cygne (or The Swan in English) is the 13th movement and is the most famous movement of the suite. Enjoy..

Today's LGBT Icon..

2011-10-18T17:38:00.006+01:00

LGBT History Month celebrates the achievements of 31 lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender Icons.

Each day in October, a new LGBT Icon is featured with a video, bio, bibliography, downloadable images and other resources

Ghana: Somewhere over the rainbow

2011-10-12T17:38:00.014+01:00

The following works were produced and written by Mark S. Luckie and published by UC Berkeley's School of Journalism. I have not obtained copyright permission to reproduce the works here, but have instead chosen to post the links to the various stories. The stories were developed on a reporting trip to Ghana by Mr Luckie during the 50th anniversary of the country's independence from Britain. While there, he discovered the legal and social persecution gays face, how some men, both gay and straight, are driven to gay prostitution for the money and the Ghanaian government's failure to address the problem of HIV/AIDS within the gay community.

(Please click on each of the various titles appearing below to visit the webpage on which the story appears).

Somewhere over the rainbow

Homosexuality is considered evil and disgraceful by many Ghanaians and any public display of affection or accusation of being homosexual could mean swift arrest and jail time under Ghanaian law.

Gay for pay

Ghanaians are known for their enterprising spirit and using their resources to sustain themselves financially. For some men, that means selling the only resource they have - their bodies.

Mixed messages

Homosexual acts are illegal in Ghana and many in the country blame gay people for the spread of HIV/AIDS, yet there is no government agency that directly targets the prevention of the disease within the gay community.

Ghana HIV advertisements

A look at the HIV/AIDS prevention advertisements in Ghana and how the advertisements lead many gay men and women to believe that HIV/AIDS is a heterosexual disease.

Author's Note: I think that the works make for some great reading and starkly enunciate the reality, without being judgemental.

Man's inhumanity 2: Burned alive by angry mob..

2011-10-11T14:55:00.016+01:00

I came across this story titled Gay African Man Beaten, Burned Alive by Angry Mob (Extremely Graphic Video) in which the assertion was repeatedly made that the victim of this gruesome incident captured on film was a gay man, beaten and burned alive because of his sexuality. At the same time, the story points out at length that nobody knows who the victim is, or even in which country the incident occurred. The only thing the author seemed to know for sure is that the victim was a gay man.

Well, I am way too squeamish to have watched more than the first few minutes of the video and so I am unaware if anything was said or done by those in the video to confirm what was said in the story about the victim's sexuality.

If there is anyone who has the stomach to watch it in full, I would be grateful if they could confirm to us whether in fact the video reveals that this was a gay man and that he was so brutally put to death because of his sexuality. Otherwise, I am inclined (with all due respect to the unfortunate victim in the video), to think of this story as another instance of gay people jumping on the 'victim' bandwagon.

That aside, what this video clearly shows us in graphic detail, is the degree of cruelty and inhumanity that we humans are capable of. And the presence of a large crowd of spectators too, obviously amused and entertained, speaks volumes. In which way now are these murderers better than the person that they killed? On whose behalf were they doing this? God's?

Click here for Man's inhumanity 1

Trouble sleep, yanga wake am..

2011-10-11T11:39:00.006+01:00

Fela from 1972. I grew up listening to music like this. Timeless..

Foreign Aid and Homophobic African Governments..

2011-10-10T15:59:00.030+01:00

Recently came the news that homophobic countries in Africa are to have financial aid from Britain cut.

"In itself, such a move should be applauded. Countries where gay people are persecuted, imprisoned or even killed merely on account of their sexuality should be treated as pariah states. Giving money ostensibly to relieve need in places where such true human rights to life and liberty are routinely snuffed out like this is quite obscene," observes the UK's Daily Mail newspaper's Melanie Phillips.

While I welcome this move and think of it as being long overdue, I believe that the timing of the UK government's announcement is significant, coming just after a Conservative Party conference at which the Tories attempted to boost a compassionate image of their party - a move that has been widely scorned as being a stunt. After all, it is not only gay people who are being persecuted in many of these countries. Several other social groups also suffer abuse, as for example in Islamic countries, where women continue to suffer systematic oppression. Yet we hear of no plans to cut aid to their countries on their account.

I think that this announcement might be a sweetener for those who have criticised the Cameron government for continuing to increase its foreign aid programme at a time when the same government is carrying out deep spending cuts at home. Prime Minister Cameron has famously stated that continuing to increase the aid programme at the time of austerity is a "sign of moral strength".

However, when one considers that the UK is having to borrow huge sums of cash from parts of the developing world, such as the Middle East and China just to stay afloat, but is at the same time doling out enormous sums in aid to poorer developing countries in Africa and Asia, one cannot but wonder whether the government's critics don't have a point. More so when the facts are that: although the budget for the UK's Department for International Development is set to increase from the current £8 billion per year to £11.5 billion by 2015, the Home Office budget, which pays for the Police and counter terrorism within the UK, has been cut over the same period, from £10.1 billion in the current financial year, to £8.3 billion in 2014/15. Yet, it is still the case that much of the aid given to poorer countries is not capable of being monitored as to how it is utilised.

Aid funds are manipulated by tyrants in order to oppress, enslave, suppress and even kill their own people and to prop up their brutal and corrupt regimes. (I will refrain from mentioning names, but to bear out this argument, there seems to be a correlation between those African countries most reliant on foreign aid, and those with the most brutally oppressive regimes). It has been argued (disingenuously in my view) that the problem of misapplication of aid funds is a thing of the past, and that aid budgets have now been made "rigorously accountable". But even the UK government-established Independent Commission on Aid Impact has stated that up to 27 per cent of the UK's aid budget goes directly to the recipient countries' governments to spend as they choose. A further one-third of official aid money goes to expert international bodies such as the World Bank and the United Nations. Only a relatively small amount is spent by the UK Government directly on humanitarian projects.

Therefore, governments that are recipients of foreign aid are free on the larger part, to do what they please with the money that they receive. This money is seen as easy pickings by those in power in those countries. And far from helping poor nations rise from destitution, foreign aid has encouraged dependency, fostered corruption and prevented the development of the free institutions of government and civil society, whose absence is the principal cause of the poverty in the first place. Also, to protect the rights of gay African people, it will not be nearly enough merely to force African countries to repeal or amend their anti-gay legislation. There must overall be changes in societal attitudes too, yet it is difficult for me to envisage how the withholding of foreign aid alone will bring those changes about.

In conclusion, I must express how strongly I feel about the fact that several decades after achieving independence from their former colonial masters, many African countries continue to rely so very heavily on financial aid from abroad, such that this aid has been allowed to become a whip with which African governments can be flogged into submission. This is another count in the long indictment against the leadership that the African people have had inflicted upon them..

Rays of hope theme continued

2011-10-10T07:51:00.002+01:00

I decided to create another post, even though it is a continuation of the previous post.

The view points articulated by such prominent Americans from the video clip above stands in direct contrast to the hate-filled stance being advocated across much of sub-Saharan Africa. This includes passing legislation specifically designed to imprison people for being gay as in this case

Anti-gay legislisation from Nigeria

or public ministers pushing for a public witch-hunt of gay people, here

Public intolerance in Ghana

These kind of examples are more akin to the atmoshpere in pre world war II Germany.

With these two camps ie the intolerant view coming from Africa or the tolerant view from America. For me I will take my stand with that of the Americans on this point. Colin Powell and Phylicia Rashad win, hands down. Phylicia has presence and authority, she could bring sanity to the most ignorant hot-head.

On another point they held a Pan-African film festival. I was surprised that to have the term LGBTI and African mentioned in the same breadth, would even be tolerated by the African contingent. Some great themes and issues were being explored here. It was interesting to note the consciousness that some actors displayed.

Rays of hope from the land of the free

2011-10-09T00:29:00.022+01:00

I was having a browse on a gay search engine (as I do), and came across this.

http://nomoredownlow.tv/

It seems very interesting and is long overdue. Here's a brief description

No More Down Low.TV is a groundbreaking, one-of-a-kind lifestyle and entertainment series dedicated to dispelling myths and stereotypes about same gender-loving people in the African American community.

I couldn't have put it better myself, so I didn't; I just borrowed that from the About page on the site. While there I also found out that the site was launched in 2010, so it's been around a while. It's free to check out the blog and look around, see what's new and happening in the areas the site covers, and you're going to find that this isn't just your ordinary blog. There are lots of posts and interviews and the episodes of themselves, of course, but there's also a community area and bonus videos. Perfect, a great place to check out LGBT issues concerning the African American community.

It is a relief to know that change can come from a land that is more enlightened, than Africa & the Caribbean (for the most part). It makes a refreshing change than to read of stories such as,

Ghana Rounding Up And Arresting Gays & Nigeria: Days of Gay Marriage will soon be Numbered

which are all too depressing to dwell on.

However as the esteemed Akin says on his blog:

"In other words, the concept of the acceptance of homosexuality in Africa will only be under duress from free societies in negotiations for other things than it becoming an accepted thing in society.."

Taken from Akin's blog post, Editorial: Legislating for the Unforeseeable of Same Sex Marriage

This is not to say the struggle for equality should be left solely to those overseas, the more intimidating and infinitely more dangerous campaign must continue from the home base also.

2011-10-08T15:36:00.003+01:00

You're on a 1980s music trip this weekend. Gloria Estefan's 'Don't Wanna Lose You' triggers memories of something that came into your life at that time, but lingers in your mind long after it was extinguished; bringing with it thoughts of bittersweet moments that can only be triggered by a piece of music such as this. Like wine aged as time has passed, your appreciation of that long-lost thing has deepened. And with melancholy, you push the replay button, again. And again..

Kudos to the Congolese

2011-10-02T16:41:00.008+01:00

I'm not too into soukous, mainly because many of the beats are over-used & recycled, but this track in my opinion is somewhat different and stands out from many others of it's genre.

The artist is called Samba Mapangala from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He now lives in the US.

What the song is about:

"Mama abota ngai alobaki na ngai boyee, "Samba nakokendee, batelango baleki noki basala mokulu naboya yee" (bakima kelasi)

My mother who gave birth to me admonished me when she was about to pass away "Samba I'm dying..take care of your younger siblings and ensure that they complete classes (school)

Nigeria: A Nation?? at 51

2011-10-02T13:02:00.003+01:00

By Zainab Usman

“ ‘Nigeria is a state, not yet a nation’. Discuss” was the very first continuous assessment essay question for GENS 101, Nationalism course in my first year and first semester at Ahmadu Bello University Zaria. Myself and many of my classmates probably wrote complete drivel in a bid to answer it partly because we were fresh out of secondary school and hardly understood or were able to distinguish the concepts of statehood and nationhood, and partly because the lecturer hardly came to class to actually “teach” that module. It was not until relatively recently that I got to fully appreciate the weight and import of these concepts, how they relate to me as a citizen and why I was asked that question at the university. This question of Nigeria’s statehood and its viability as a nation was an issue our immediate post independence leaders were confronted with at independence in 1960 and remarkably more recently, as Nigeria marks 51 since the attainment of political independence, Nigerians are increasingly asking the same question: whether we recognize ourselves as members of a single Nigerian nation, bound by common values of Nigerian-ness.

At independence, Nigeria’s political leaders were acutely aware of the socio-economic and political challenges confronting the newly independent entity and were aware of the profound socio-cultural divergence between the hitherto autonomous northern, eastern and western regions. As former US Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell rightly notes, the nationalist leaders, their differences notwithstanding recognized the need for unity under the common banner of a democratic Nigerian state due to shared ideals for the pursuit of economic development, governance according to the rule of law and to serve as a beacon for other African countries on the global stage. These ideals were embodied in the lofty motto “unity and faith, peace and progress” as inscribed in the Nigerian Coat of Arms.

Along the line, after years of intense elite bickering, military coups, a civil war, electoral manipulation and fraud, those common values, yearnings and aspirations have become lost on both leaders and followers in Nigeria. A typical manifestation of this phenomenon is that some Nigerians, from students and civil servants to public office holders cannot recite the national anthem or the national pledge. The basic philosophy of our Nigerian-ness after more than 5 decades has become lost amidst the rubble of crippling poverty, increasing inequality between the haves and the have-nots, the dearth and near collapse of infrastructure, alarming level of insecurity, intensification of ethnic, regional and religious cleavages and animosity amongst citizens, infamous bad leadership and scandalous corruption.

All these have culminated in a political leadership that is confused, mediocre and grossly inefficient populated by a corrupt, self-seeking, and fractured political elite devoid of patriotism, nationalistic pride and sovereignty as the recent batch of Wikileaks cables on Nigeria have revealed. This leadership and elite have not only resulted in weak and dysfunctional state institutions but also a followership which in the absence of effective and inspiring leadership is distrustful of such leadership, and is mutually antagonistic of one another; a followership bedevilled by poverty, inequality, marginalization and a sense of injustice that is increasingly becoming desperate, disillusioned and militant. The militant and violent Movement for the Emancipation of Niger-Delta (MEND) recently warned Nigerians to steer clear of Independence Day celebrations in Abuja because it claimed it was planning a bomb attack.

A leadership which lacks nationalism and patriotism similarly inspires a followership that has little nationalistic pride and devotion. For several years many Nigerians, save the ones in government who have to participate in official protocol, hardly genuinely participate in the Independence Day celebrations. What celebrations can you participate-in when there is hardly power (electricity), when several bombs have gone-off in various parts of a city, when you are grieving over the loss of a relative or friend who died in a ghastly road accident, when newspaper headlines are daily screaming with sordid salacious stories of government corruption and inefficiency, when parents have several graduates loitering aimlessly at home unemployed and where university students nurse a perpetual mortal fear of finding themselves stranded, unemployed in the labour market?

Interestingly, while acknowledging many of these enormous problems, one basic fact which most Nigerians fail to recognize or prefer to (willingly) overlook is our role in it all. It has almost become an automatic reflexive action for everyone to quickly attribute Nigeria’s problems to bad leadership (which is not under dispute). It is almost a comical irony to read the transcript of interviews with some legislators, ministers or other public office holders and hear them complain about bad leadership as the bane of Nigeria’s problems forgetting that they actually constitute such “leadership”. It is as though the concept of leadership in this context has assumed the notion of a nebulous, abstract bogey-monster which provides an escapist punching bag for us to blame for our woes. In our eagerness to blame “bad leadership”, we conveniently forget that those leaders are not foreigners or aliens, but are part and parcel of our society – they were once ordinary citizens like us and are an embodiment of the nature, the pulse and attitude of our society. We fail to remember that if we want our leaders to change, we need to change our ways, our mindset and re-assess our aspirations so that the leaders will reflect those values and when they falter or waver we make them (or pressure them) to toe those lines.

After 51 years of “independence” and over 12 years of democracy we are yet to accept that change has to come from within all of us. If we have forgotten or we no longer respect the philosophy and common values that bind us together, if we have relegated our yearnings and aspirations for a developed, progressing, stable and effectively governed and democratic Nigeria where everyone is equal and can realize their full potentials, then how do we expect our leaders to be any different from us and miraculously have the much desired “interest of the nation at heart”?

As Nigeria marks 51 years since independence, we need to embark on a sober reflection of what Nigeria means to each of us, and what role we have played and are playing in the state of Nigeria today. A nation is built when it’s constituent inhabitants recognize the common values and aspirations they share despite their differences and how crucial it is to safeguard and protect those ideals in every sphere of life. Until we recognize and embrace that, our march towards nation-hood will continue faltering.

Cross posted from Nigerians Talk

Coming back to the future..

2011-09-23T10:07:00.028+01:00

Its been quite a while since I've put something up on this blog. The reason for this is that I've been otherwise preoccupied, my time being taken up by professional disciplinary proceedings, which commenced just over three years ago, but came to a climax over the last few weeks. (I had mentioned it previously on this blog here and here).

It has not been easy having to wait for such a long time and having to live with the uncertainty about the future that is of necessity in such circumstances. For me it is a matter of great relief that finally the proceedings have concluded and the long wait is over. Of course you would expect me to divulge the outcome of the proceedings and I will, but only to a limited extent, given that those proceedings are not the real subject of this post. To assuage your curiosity though, suffice it to say that the outcome for me in particular was a reasonably good one, given all of the circumstances.

I have emerged in a considerably better position than I had imagined and am now able, after a period of prolonged professional paralysis, to think about and consider the future. And this relatively favourable outcome is essentially thanks to the assistance of a wonderfully brilliant senior barrister, whose services I would not normally be able to afford but for the great professional indemnity insurance policy that I had ensured was taken out by my former firm, which included cover for legal representation before the disciplinary tribunal.

So now that hurdle is in the past and the time has come for me to pick up the pieces of my career, which I must admit is in unmitigated tatters. I feel almost as if midway through my working life, I am now required to start my career afresh, when one is at that age when Human Resources departments are not exactly falling over themselves to take you on; together with the added disadvantage of the world being in the middle of a horrendous economic crisis. I now find myself wondering why I ever imagined that the end of the disciplinary proceedings would also bring to an end the uncertainty about the future, the apprehension and the worry.

2011-09-01T18:45:00.000+01:00

On Boko Haram..

2011-08-29T21:50:00.008+01:00

John Campbell of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) sounding the alarm on Boko Haram in November 2010. Mr Campbell was pointing out that "deteriorating economic and social conditions in Northern Nigeria are behind the recurring upsurge in Boko Haram's activity".

Mr Campbell also wrote this blog after the bombing of the UN office building in Abuja, Nigeria last Friday, in which he suggests that although Boko Haram has not been part of an international terrorist movement, the group has doubtlessly had contact with Al-Qaeda in the Maghreb and with Al-Shabaab. (For more of Campbell on Nigeria, click here).

Witchcraft and superstition in Africa (a view from Australia)

2011-08-24T14:24:00.006+01:00

Yesterday, (23/08/2011)

I heard a broadcast.

Click here for the broadcast

It featured Leo Igwe, I had never heard of the man before. He was introduced as a humanist, and a founder of the Nigerian humanist movement, Nigerian skeptic society. He is also a Director – International Humanist and Ethical Union for West and Central Africa.

Since I didn’t know what a “humanist” was, I looked it up.

“Humanism is the belief that we can live good lives without religious or superstitious beliefs. Humanists make sense of the world using reason, experience and shared human values. We seek to make the best of the one life we have by creating meaning and purpose for ourselves. We take responsibility for our actions and work with others for the common good..”

Click here

So now I know what humanist is. Ok, back to Leo Igwe.

He kicked off his introduction with this line

…"My country is deeply religious and we have very little to show for that in terms of progress, development, tolerance and civilised values. Deep religiosity in my country has brought us so much hatred, conflict, division and discrimination…”

This is a point of view, I would never have expected someone in a prominent position from Nigeria to ever say, speaking the truth so clearly, unambiguously and addressing issues head-on, without a huge dose of denial of basic facts. Unlike the former foreign minister Ojo Maduekwe, who said “there are no gays in Nigeria”. People of the ilk of Mr Maduekwe , all too often occupy prominent positions in Nigeria. So to hear someone like Mr Igwe speaking was literally a breath of “fresh air”, he didn’t gloss over the gory facts . Anyway, he talked about how religion has been twisted and used to persecute individuals within society based on the idea that they are perceived to be witches or wizards.

Society has been effectively hijacked by religious zealots (from many faiths), that many of politicans whom you would expect to defend the defenseless are rendered impotent, due to them either believing the doctrine pedaled by many Pentecostal churches (in this particular case), or they rely on the followers of Pentecostal churches.

Step in reason, logic, self-responsibility to dispel this mania of superstition that pervades Nigeria and much of sub-Saharan Africa. The skeptics society and humanist society, are slowly changing minds, encouraging people to think for themselves, so hopefully this practice of targeting individuals on account of sorcery will come to an end.

This behaviour is not confined to Nigeria alone.

"Cases of children being accused of witchcraft occur particularly in at least eight countries in west and central Africa: Benin, Gabon, Nigeria, Liberia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)."

Click here

To hear of people like Mr Igwe, shows that the candle of hope still flickers against the odds in Nigeria.

Some other relevant links can be found below.

Belief in Witchcraft in Africa

The religious climate in Nigeria

Human Trafficking: The Nigerian Connection

2011-08-19T07:27:00.007+01:00

Some really interesting stuff. A direct consequence of the dereliction of duty by government and the potent combination of poverty and ignorance. I have previously discussed this issue in my post Sex, Lies and Black Magic.

Source

Climate Change Adaptation and Conflict in Nigeria

2011-08-16T23:52:00.000+01:00

"Climate change, a growing number of voices in media and policy circles warn, is raising the risks of violent conflict in the twenty-first century. Dire futures are predicted for some of the world's poorest, least prepared countries and their most vulnerable citizens. This report, (authored by Aaron Sayne, who in July 2011 published policy recommendations with background on Nigeria's Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB)), is sponsored by the Centers of Innovation at the U.S. Institute of Peace and evaluates these claims for conflict-prone Nigeria.

Based on a comprehensive literature survey, interviews with senior government officials, academics and private sector figures and the author's work as a conflict analyst in Nigeria, the report calls for a more nuanced approach to mapping the links between climate change and conflict. It reviews evidence of such links in Nigeria and outlines a process for achieving conflict-sensitive adaptation to the effects of climate change."

Click on this link for the 16-page Special Report

And he died.. (Part 3)

2011-08-15T19:59:00.022+01:00

Years passed and with the passage of time, our "friendship" suffered change. The change was slow, gradual and subtle, but it was enforced upon us by the increasingly limited opportunity available to us to enjoy the closeness that we once enjoyed and still felt. Perhaps it might have been brought on by a combination of factors: the fact that we both were engaged in full-time careers; the fact that as a family man TJ just could not be there, as he had been before. And I was quite understanding of this too, taking every opportunity when it presented itself, to visit him at his office at Bonny Camp on Victoria Island in Lagos, spending untold hours with him, just being together.

TJ was shortly going off to America on a course and I recall accompanying him from one military office to the other government office, as he did the legwork necessary to put together all of the paperwork for his trip; me dressed in my smart, dark, business suit, him in his even smarter, sharp, Major's uniform, a uniform that caused doors to open with an alacrity that astonished me, whichever door it was that we knocked on.

On the night of his departure, we both said goodbye to his family and it was I who drove him to the airport, where when he had concluded the formalities and was just about to go through the gate taking him air-side, his eyes boring into mine, my eyes penetrating deeply into his, we embraced tightly and passionately, in public! Quite a feat, seeing how stiff and awkward TJ always was prior to that, a proclivity that had endeared him to me over the years. And it is that evening of his departure, which comprises the indelible memory of my "friendship" with TJ.

I use the word "memory" because from the title of this story, it ought to have been clear from the onset that this is not a story with a happy ending. TJ was away for a few weeks and shortly after his return, received a further promotion to Lieutenant Colonel, (he'd been only a Lieutenant when we first met about twelve years previously). I am not sure about this, but I will assume that the promotion also meant that he was qualified for different, presumably more expensive, accommodation, because he moved house. The promotion also led to him being reassigned to Defence HQ, doing more security sensitive work and working long hours, making him quite inaccessible while at work. Thus, not knowing where he now lived, there was a period of about a month after his return that I had no contact with him. Eventually, contact was re established and it was arranged that he would take me to his new place on a date to be specified..

A few days later, while at my work, a colleague of mine walked into my room with a strange look on his face. He started by stating that he had just been to see General Somebody at Defence HQ. Apparently, the General was his client and had invited him to discuss some personal legal matter. While my colleague was seated in the General's office, some underling entered the office and confirmed to the General that the reports were true. Obviously very shocked, the General proceeded to narrate to my colleague the details of the report that he had received a short while ago. One of his senior officers had apparently died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, mentioning the name of the said officer. My colleague did not know TJ in person, but he knew of him and knew his name..

According to my colleague, the General recounted that over the previous few weeks he'd noticed a change in this officer's demeanour; he had become withdrawn and listless, something the General thought was rather unusual for this particular officer. After the report of the shooting, it was narrated to the General that the officer (TJ) had discovered that his wife had been having an affair with one of their neighbours. The officer in a blind rage had broken into the home of this neighbour and with his service revolver, shot at the neighbour. He then walked back to his own residence and placing the gun against his temple, shot himself dead, spattering bits of his brain across the wall and the stairwell. And the bitter irony of the whole incident was that the wife's lover survived the gunshot and was taken to hospital.

It is impossible through writing to accurately describe, or convey how distraught I became on hearing this news. Even after so many years, I don't believe that I have successfully in my mind articulated my feelings surrounding this affair. As I said at the beginning, I shoved it aside, choosing instead not to think about it, in the vain hope that the pain would go away. But it hasn't gone away and continues to haunt me. I feel guilt. I feel as if I let down my dear friend. I should have been there for him in his time of distress. I believe that had I been there for him, he would not have taken such drastic action. I would have been in a position to intervene, he must have felt so alone in his time of crisis. He was not one to make many friends and certainly not friends in whom he would confide and entrust such a sensitive matter. He was very proud, but he would have trusted me and allowed me to hold his hand through those difficult times that we must have gone through.

It is about eighteen years since TJ died and I now find myself for the first time breaking out in tears as I type this. Perhaps writing this story was the catharsis that I needed, but if I am to be honest, I did not do this for me alone. I did it for TJ too and to celebrate that wonderful closeness that we enjoyed, that which two human beings can feel for each other. He really did mean so much to me and I still get the feeling that even after all that I have written, I have not done justice to the beautiful thing that we shared. May his soul rest in peace.

(The end)

And he died.. (Part 2)

2011-08-15T14:14:00.015+01:00

After the exams at the end of second year, TJ confided to me that he didn't feel confident about his performance and he worried about the likely results. Nevertheless, that summer holiday was perhaps the most memorable, for despite the fact we were not on campus and I was living at home miles away, (and even on occasion travelled out of town), TJ and I still managed to see each other practically on a daily basis. We had clearly become a significant part of each other's life, but as this was in the '80s, well before the age of the mobile phone and emails, our incessant rendezvous were arranged by strictly kept appointments. Sometimes, I found myself as a guest at some officers' mess or other, feeling distinctly out of place in the midst of all that boisterous military banter. And I recall with some fascination how a shirtless TJ suddenly stiffened and stood to attention when someone, whom he later confirmed was a Brigadier, strode past us one evening as he was walking me to the gate of his compound.

And when the results of the exams were finally released, it came as no surprise that TJ had not made it. He would have to resit some papers during the holidays. And despite all of the support that I offered, he still didn't make it at the resit. So when third year began, TJ was not seated beside me as he had been for all of the preceding two years. He would have to repeat second year in its entirety; he was now in a different class and was absent in the seat next to mine. It was a strange feeling not having him as a reference point and I suppose that this was when we started slowly to drift apart, being on different schedules and doing different things. By the end of third year, sometimes a whole week had passed before we would meet. And we would meet only either because he came knocking on the door of my room at the hostel, or because I went looking for him at his flat, in the vague hope that I would find him at home and alone.

Third year ended and I graduated from the university, but by this time things were no longer the same. I moved on to one year of Law School that was located across town, but this was a hectic, intensive course that did not allow for much free time. We weren't seeing each other half as frequently as before, since he remained at the university. And the fact that the nurse, not wanting to leave anything to chance, had now moved into his flat didn't help matters either. However, that we did not meet as frequently as previously, did nothing to dampen the intensity of feeling, an intensity upon which our "friendship" was formed and built, hence my reference to the phrase "more than friends" earlier. On the occasions when we found ourselves together, it was as if we'd never parted. Sometimes, he would send word through another officer who lived close to him, but who was also at Law School with me, to say that he missed me, even though such messages were coined in such a way as not to give away the true depth of feeling. And so it went on..

But alas, my time at Law School came to an end. And while TJ was headed for his own one year at the school, I was winging it more than a thousand kilometres away to a place called Bauchi in the north of Nigeria, for my one year of compulsory national youth service. It was during this one year that the distance between us, which had by now developed, was reaffirmed. After my one year of service I stayed on in the north and it must have been nearly three years before I made it back to Lagos for a visit. And of course I went looking for TJ, finally tracking him down, although he had been relocated from his bachelor-officer flat to a more ample family flat, still within the military cantonment. TJ had been promoted and he had married and his wife was heavily pregnant, a surge of realisation that sent me reeling momentarily! And before you start wondering, no, she wasn't that nurse that I knew.

All in all, it was a great joy to see him again and from what I could tell, he seemed overjoyed to see me too. And the Mrs, well she was extremely pleasant and welcoming and she and I got on famously, a fact which effect on TJ was not lost on me. Obviously, she meant a lot to him and the joy that he exuded was palpable, almost tangible. I too was greatly happy to see such joy in his eyes. And when he dropped me off that evening, sitting together in the car, he let me know that my presence on that day brought it all together for him. I'd never seen him so happy.

Moving forward in time, I eventually moved back to Lagos. By this time TJ and his Mrs had given birth to two strapping boys, of both of whom I was very fond and I would visit them regularly at their new home. TJ had been promoted again and they now lived in a big house. The boys loved me too and since I'm quite good with kids, we were a happy bunch indeed. My "friendship" with TJ remained pretty much as it had always been; quiet, intimate conversations sitting together in the car on a dark street, (I discussed things with him that I could discuss with no one else - and vice-versa, I'd like to think); going for very long walks usually setting out around sunset so as to be together for as long as was possible; walks on the beach sometimes holding hands; me sitting on the side watching him play tennis. I enjoyed being with him. And so it went on, for a while, until the day when the news came to me..

(To be continued)

And he died.. (Part 1)

2011-08-15T11:53:00.018+01:00

I have tried over many years to shove this aside in my mind, perhaps in the hope that if I didn't think about it, the pain would somehow be kept at bay. And so it has been for much of the time, although the thoughts have always lingered, hovering around vaguely somewhere inside, intermittently causing me to fail to find sleep, or causing me to awaken abruptly in the middle of the night.

I was 17 years old and it was the first day of lectures at university in the freshman year. The memory is vivid. I was seated at the rear of the huge lecture theatre, taking in the new experience of being in a lecture with a hundred other students; eagerly absorbing every word of the Constitutional Law professor as he guided his new students through what we, the students, were to expect from the course and what he expected from us. My attention was fixed throughout on the professor, me assiduously taking notes from time to time, as any good student should. And it was not until towards the end of the three-hour lecture that I noticed a presence seated next to me, to the left. I cannot tell if it was deliberate on his part, but the main reason why I'd noticed him was that he had positioned himself in such a way that not to notice him would be impossible. Glancing sideways briefly, I registered in my mind a not unattractive older guy, facial hair, well groomed, strong hands taking notes.. Hmm..

And so the lecture came to an end. The exit from the lecture theatre was located towards the front and we were seated at the rear, so we had a few minutes to pack up our stuff and join the queue of students filing out of the theatre. And that was when we met for the first time. I will call him TJ. TJ was a serving officer in the military. He was 10 years older than me and had just concluded training at the military academy at Sandhurst in the UK. He was undertaking a law degree to bolster his career in the military. So, while I lived at one of the student hostels within the campus, TJ was resident in a flat in a bachelor officers' building at an Army installation off campus, but not far from the campus.

It transpired that for every subsequent lecture for the remainder the first (and the second) year, TJ and I sat next to each other. And even when we attended lectures at other venues, we would arrange to sit side by side. Needless to say, as time went by, we had become fast friends and ever closer. And it would be fair to say that we became even more than just friends, since most evenings we would spend together hanging out at his flat, watching movies or listening to music or just talking. He liked talking to me it seemed and maybe I too enjoyed listening to him talk. He played tennis and I enjoyed hanging around the courts on campus watching him play and sometimes we would study together, at the library or at various reading rooms.

And he had a girlfriend too, some nurse at the Army hospital, who from time to time would show up at his flat. But this would throw a spanner in the works as far as I was concerned, since in her presence our conversation would take on a different tone and become quite less intimate than it usually was. Then, perhaps in compensation, TJ would whisk me off on a long drive in his car, twice taking me across the border to Cotonou in the Republic of Benin on a day trip. I was particularly impressed by the way he flashed his military ID at those clowns in Customs uniforms at the border post, and the way they jumped to attention and waved us through, lol.

(To be continued)

2011-08-14T10:25:00.002+01:00

Hot Cities: Dakar, Senegal

2011-08-12T11:13:00.011+01:00

From the Rockefeller Foundation's landmark documentary series, 'Hot Cities', which premièred on BBC World News in 2009 and explores the impact of climate change on urban areas. The series was released just as world leaders were conducting negotiations leading up to the United Nations Climate Conference in Copenhagen.

Click here to watch in full all of the episodes in the 8 - part series.

The underlying message in the case of Senegal, as with several other African nations in a similar situation and facing similar circumstances, is, in my estimation, that in a world with a rapidly changing climate, governments should understand more acutely the need for investment in food security. The problems of 'climate change migration' and 'climate change refugees' that were predicted, are now becoming a reality.

Increased urbanisation will make the dangers of global poverty and climate crises especially acute in cities. The concentration of low-income people in high risk areas and on an ecologically fragile land will increasingly expose millions to the consequences of imminent and worsening climate disruption.

The problems associated with climate change are among the most serious that many African countries face. Yet I fear that too few on the continent are aware of this, understand the seriousness of the situation and recognise the potentially dire consequences of failing in a timely manner to tackle the looming crises head on.

On climate, hotspots and poverty..

2011-08-08T17:04:00.006+01:00

It is, of course, poor people – and especially those in marginalised social groups like women, children, the elderly and disabled – who will suffer most from [climate] changes. This is because the impact of humanitarian disasters is as much a result of people’s vulnerability as their exposure to hazards. – CARE International (2008), Humanitarian Implications of Climate Change: Mapping Emerging Trends and Risk Hotspots.

What is a climate hotspot?

A climate hotspot is an area that is facing particularly high impact from global warming and climate change and is most vulnerable to its deleterious (or injurious) effects. With regard specifically to environmental factors and global warming, a hotspot can be assessed using the indicators below (from http://www.climatehotmap.org/). It’s important to keep in mind that the impacts from climate change reach well beyond the natural world, affecting social, political, and economic arenas as well.

Fingerprints

Indicators of a widespread and long-term trend toward warmer global temperatures, including:

Heat waves and periods of unusually warm weather, which can lead to increases in heat-related illness and death, particularly in urban areas and among the elderly, young, ill, or poor.

Ocean warming, sea-level rise, and coastal flooding. “A continuing rise in average global sea level would inundate parts of many heavily populated river deltas and the cities on them, making them uninhabitable, and would destroy many beaches around the world,” according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a group of 2,000 scientists which advises the United Nations (Tacio, 2009).

Glaciers melting. As glaciers continue to shrink, summer water flows will drop sharply, disrupting an important source of water for irrigation and power in many areas that rely on mountain watersheds.

Arctic and Antarctic warming. Melting permafrost is forcing the reconstruction of roads, airports, and buildings and is increasing erosion and the frequency of landslides. Reduced sea ice and ice shelves, changes in snowfall, and pest infestations affect native plants and animals that provide food and resources to many people.

Harbingers

Events that foreshadow the types of impacts likely to become more frequent and widespread with continued warming.

Spreading disease. Warmer temperatures allow mosquitoes that transmit diseases such as malaria and dengue fever to extend their ranges and increase both their biting rate and their ability to infect humans.

Earlier spring arrival. An earlier spring may disrupt animal migrations, alter competitive balances among species, and cause other unforeseen problems.

Plant and animal range shifts and population changes, in some cases leading to extinction where warming occurs faster than they can respond or if human development presents barriers to their migration.

Coral reef bleaching, which results from the loss of microscopic algae that both color and nourish living corals. Other factors that contribute to coral reef bleaching include nutrient and sediment runoff, pollution, coastal development, dynamiting of reefs, and natural storm damage.

Downpours, heavy snowfalls, and flooding

Droughts and fires. Along with the human toll, sustained drought makes wildfires more likely, and crops and trees more vulnerable to pest infestations and disease.

The case of Burkina Faso

What makes Burkina Faso a hotspot? Along with heat waves and prolonged periods of unusually warm weather, Burkina Faso has been increasingly facing a number of the harbingers listed above, including extended droughts, downpours, and flooding, along with unpredictable planting seasons.

Jan Egeland, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on conflict, has called the Sahel region of West Africa, which includes northern Burkina Faso, “ground zero” for vulnerabilities to climate change (IRIN, 2008, “Sahel: Region is “ground zero” for climate change – Egeland”). He further observed, “Climate change in Burkina Faso does not mean there is less rain, it means that rainfall has got less predictable. And weather overall has become much more extreme. . . . [in 2007] in Burkina Faso, there were eight rainfalls over 150mm – that means eight major floods in one four month period. The alternative to floods is basically no rainfall – it’s all or nothing, and either way is a crisis for some of the poorest people on earth” (IRIN, 2008, “Sahel: Climate Change Diary Day 1”).

A report on the The Humanitarian Implications of Climate Change (2008) commissioned by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and CARE International identifies the Sahel region of Africa as facing “high overall human vulnerability” to climate change in the coming decades. Burkina Faso is identified as one of the hotspots at risk from climate change in another recent study as well, which focuses on countries in sub-Saharan Africa most vulnerable to climate change (Thornton et al., 2008). Both studies looked at a combination of environmental, social, and economic factors in assessing vulnerability.

Burkina Faso has one of the highest poverty rates in the world, and the majority of the population relies on subsistence agriculture, making the Burkinabe particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. These factors combined with a high rate of illiteracy, a poor communications and technology infrastructure, and a struggling education system combine to make Burkina Faso an important country of focus for a study not only of climate hotspots.

See here Earth Education

My fifteen minutes of fame..

2011-08-05T06:54:00.012+01:00

For a while, I was undecided whether to title this post 'Fifteen Minutes to Save the World', a play on Madonna's song '4 Minutes'. I settled for the one above though, because this more accurately describes what happened last evening, when I was invited by a Dublin radio station, Dublin City FM 103.2, to participate in a 'lively discussion' on the crisis in the Horn of Africa, broadcast live. My role, I think, was to bring to the discussion arguments from the perspective of the angry and frustrated African, since I have previously strongly made the assertion that African governments and their peoples have repeatedly demonstrated an almost shameful lack of interest in, and concern for, the very serious human tragedy that is the drought and famine in Somalia and other countries in the Horn of Africa.

I received the invitation only a few hours before the scheduled live broadcast and hence had insufficient time to notify everyone, although I did put out the word on Twitter and Facebook. The last time I was on a radio show was on the BBC World Service and as far as I am aware, nobody who knows me tuned in then. When BBC Radio 5 invited me subsequently to join in a discussion on the then impending Nigerian National Assembly Election, I dis-invited myself, for reasons I had no control over. So yesterday, it was important to me that somebody listened and that they should give me some reaction afterwards.

And fortunately, just five minutes before the show began my niece who lives in Lagos, Nigeria said "Hi Uncle" on Facebook. After hurriedly explaining to her that I was on the cusp of joining in a live radio show, I sent her the web link to the radio station's website, since the show was to be broadcast online as well. And so, apart from the several thousand Dubliners who were tuned in and would have heard my "passionate" and "heartfelt" remarks, a member of my family too listened in.

And the reaction she gave when we chatted afterwards was good too. I mean my niece is no pushover, (she holds a Masters Degree in International Business from a top UK university and holds down a senior position in the banking world), so her reaction really did matter to me. I was concerned, because I know of my tendency to be ardent and impassioned, (which even years of advocacy before the courts has done little to improve), especially when the subject-matter is one about which I feel strongly, as yesterday's was. I feared that I would stall and stammer, as occurred while on the BBC World Service, when uncharacteristically I stuttered and became tongue-tied and ran out of words altogether, lol.

But no, It was great to have the opportunity to express my views concerning this very important issue, the importance of which going by the evidence, few Africans seem to be aware of, or to be interested in. Many are nonchalant - the African Union has coughed up a measly $300,000 in relief aid, whereas, the British public alone has so far put together donations amounting to in excess of £44 million. My niece later commented that there was little talk, appreciation or awareness in Nigeria of the seriousness of the crisis; in a situation where even the governments of Africa believe that in times of crisis such as this, relief ought always to come from elsewhere other than Africa..

2011-07-31T13:37:00.001+01:00

Deep Blue Something's "Breakfast at Tiffany's", one song that won't go away..

The Maroon Cultures, what do you know about them?

2011-07-29T10:22:00.012+01:00

Its interesting how much of Black history we have not been taught and have to find out for ourselves. I've recently been reading about the Maroon cultures in the Americas and I'm surprised to learn of the extent of the sustained and meaningful black resistance to the indignity and cruelty of African slavery.

These histories are by far more culturally relevant to me than the history of the Habsburgs of Europe, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the German Kaisers and other such European lore that I was made to write exams about, or the Chaucer, Milton, Shakespeare and Keats that I was force-fed as a schoolboy in West-Africa all those years ago. It is shocking how much of our true history is unknown to many of us.

The resistance put up by these heroic peoples is much too important to our sense of self-worth and to our pride and dignity as a people and I think it is almost criminal that it has been allowed to remain suppressed for so long.

I expect to be doing a more detailed piece on this soon, detailing the achievements of these brave African peoples, who resisted oppression and fought back, successfully in many cases. Please seek out information concerning this important part of the history of our people, if you can. Peace..

Lagos, a crisis of overpopulation, poverty and slums..

2011-07-26T10:02:00.017+01:00

The startling issues reported in this video do not seem to feature on the agenda of the authorities in Nigeria. The Nigerian government, like most of its other African counterparts, continues to demonstrate obliviousness of its responsibility towards the nation's citizens. As things stand, the future of the ordinary Nigerian citizen living in his own country is bleak, given that the country's population is expected to double within 30 years. The situation in Lagos is replicated albeit on a smaller scale, in towns and cities all over the country.

No, you never hear anyone talk about overpopulation in Nigeria. What you hear of instead is how everyone is expected to have children of their own, with little consideration given to the living conditions into which these children are to be born, or the quality of life that they will be expected to have after they are brought into the world. It is unsurprising that Nigeria, a comparatively wealthy African country, continues to hold firmly to her position in the Low Human Development countries (145 out of 172 in 2011, but 142 out of 172 in 2010, so Nigeria is actually sliding down the table) in the Human Development Index (HDI).

Rather than tackling the really difficult issues that confront the nation, what I hear from Nigeria (and many Nigerians), is a whole lot of high-sounding nonsense, narrative and rhetoric which to my mind smacks of collective self-deception; a seeming pretence that ours is a "normal" country, as if these difficult issues will simply go away when we ignore them, when we do not discuss them, or when we pretend that they don't exist.

Seeking to improve the quality of life for the ordinary Nigerian is not a matter that has been taken sufficiently seriously, unfortunately, despite the increasing urgency for this in a world with a fast expanding population, one in which competition for resources (and markets) will intensify significantly in the coming decades. It is trite that a more developed society is better placed to compete successfully than a less developed one is and unless we begin to do something about this now, going by the current predictions, our society's place in a future post-oil world will be very different from that which any of us, as Nigerians, would wish for it to be.

Published also on the website Nigerians Talk

You Know I'm No Good..

2011-07-24T14:21:00.004+01:00

I cheated myself,

Like I knew I would

I told you, I was trouble

You know that I'm no good..

Here also..

Rest In Peace, Amy..

How sad is this..

2011-07-23T18:54:00.007+01:00

Someone for whom I always had a soft spot died today. It came on the news this evening that Amy Winehouse was found dead in her north London flat earlier this afternoon. This is how the BBC reports it and the Manchester Evening News.

Aged 27, Amy was too young to die, depriving the world of a huge musical talent. She was much vilified and was even booed recently at a concert in Serbia, where she is said to have been so drunk while on stage, that she could only mumble the lyrics of her songs. Yes, she was troubled and had a problem with drugs and drink, but there is one school of thought that refers to addiction as an illness.

And doped as she apparently always seemed to be, she still belted out her songs on stage to much acclaim until recently. I am particularly affected by her loss because she endeared herself to me with her rebellious, unconventional character, since I am one who will admire anyone who is bold enough to fly in the face of convention. This is a very sad evening for me..

Amy Winehouse performing 'Valerie' at Hyde Park in London at a concert organised as part of the Nelson Mandela 90th Birthday celebrations. The 'enfant terrible' of her generation, she will be sadly missed. R. I. P.

Click here for a video from her last ever concert in Belgrade, Serbia

Take a look at this one too.. How sad..

West Africa - The case for more regional integration

2011-07-21T01:33:00.013+01:00

The Oakland Institute in collaboration with Action Against Hunger (ACF) have published a new Report, titled ACHIEVING REGIONAL INTEGRATION: The key to success for the fight against hunger in West Africa

You may download the Report Here (pdf).

In the report, the argument is made that if West African nations do not move decisively towards regional integration, no amount of money, development, or agricultural technology, will be sufficient or effective at ending hunger.

Frederic Mousseau, Policy Director at the Oakland Institute and author of the report asserts that

"many issues, such as price volatility, are regional by essence and cannot be tackled effectively by individual countries. Without integration most West African states will remain subject to the agenda and goodwill of international donors, institutions and richer countries.

Resource-poor African governments need to implement regional policies for sustainable food production, smoother regional trade and regulated agricultural markets.."

The report elaborates on the potential for ECOWAP (the Regional Agricultural Policy for West Africa), which is a "comprehensive and ground-breaking food and agriculture common policy in West Africa," to bring durable solutions to hunger and poverty.

My own take on this is that African governments cannot begin soon enough to take extremely seriously the question of lifting out of poverty more people from among their populations. The need for this is urgent, in a world in which populations worldwide are growing and competition for resources is intensifying. A nation, a large percentage of whose population is kept poor, is a nation that will remain underdeveloped in perpetuity. Nigeria is a case in point, this baffling paradox that is a wealthy, leading petroleum and natural-gas producing and exporting nation, which has an overwhelmingly large proportion of her people living in poverty.

China has the world's largest population, but has succeeded in lifting out of poverty 400 million of her citizens over the last 30 years, a number that is perhaps as large as the population of the entire West African region.

What are we doing about the crisis in the Horn of Africa?

2011-07-20T20:22:00.021+01:00

Talking up Africa is positive, it is a good thing. However, in doing so we must prevent ourselves from forgetting that as at this minute, millions of our fellow Africans are faced with the threat of starvation in a situation of drought and now famine. And the sad situation in the Horn of Africa is only the latest example of several similar instances on the continent about which we have not shown sufficient concern.

It seems to me that we have become accustomed to the idea that in times of crisis, relief should always come from outside of Africa, whereas we Africans just sit back and wring our hands helplessly.

To my mind, it is the actuality that responsibility for the well-being and welfare of our fellow Africans falls on us primarily, and starting with our governments, our response to this current crisis has been lacklustre to say the least. Its almost as if we are not even aware of the duty that we owe to our own continent. Just saying..

Note: For completeness, you may want to take a look at this African Union (AU) press release informing of the approval by the AU Special Emergency Assistance Fund for Drought and Famine in Africa, of emergency relief assistance to Somalia. The press release goes on to state that relief funds are depleted due to failure by member states to make their voluntary contributions.

Hereunder is the link to a post on this blog concerning this issue from 12 October 2009. The warning was not heeded.

Africa crisis warning

Postscript: In updating myself on this matter I found this blog. Clearly, the sensible actions of the Ethiopian government in preparation for the crisis, has meant that the effects of the drought on Ethiopia have been substantially less severe than they have been in Kenya, whose government can fairly be accused of gross negligence. Somalia is a different story, since there is no government to speak of in that country, capable of organising anything as complex as would be necessary in these circumstances..

East African drought, the 'worst in 60 years'

2011-07-05T00:08:00.001+01:00

A drought developing across the Horn of Africa is now the worst in 60 years - affecting 10 million people, according to the United Nations.

I don't know if the governments of the people in the affected countries are as interested in this serious issue, as are the foreign aid agencies. There is the suggestion in some quarters, that the drought is a direct consequence of the world's changing climate, a situation for which the Africans who now are suffering the most, bear the least responsibility.

See here for more

Africa's imaginary gay crisis..

2011-07-04T17:51:00.001+01:00

Ebenezer Obadare

A spectre is haunting Africa – the spectre of homosexuality. Over the past decade, a curious and totally unlikely coalition of religious leaders, the ruling class and sections of the mainstream media has launched a vigorous campaign against homosexuality and perceived homosexuals. Trading in the most spiteful rhetoric and symbols imaginable, members of this alliance have sung from the same hymnal, affirming, implausibly, that homosexuality is a recent import into Africa and that homosexuals are responsible for the continent’s postcolonial throes. Not unpredictably, the alliance’s investment in hate has yielded bountiful dividends of violence and murder. In January, the Ugandan teacher and gay rights activist David Kato was murdered by yet unidentified assailants after a national news magazine in the country “outed” (Kato never attempted to hide sexual orientation) him as gay and openly urged his execution. Ugandan police were suspiciously quick to blame his death on a botched robbery operation.

African countries, to be sure, are not unique in this assault on perceived sexual deviance. Western countries may have instituted a raft of legal measures to protect sexual minorities, but such legal protection often has to contend with deeply rooted cultural antipathy. The truth is that even in the West, the struggle for sexual parity is unfinished, a fact the ongoing battle over same-sex marriage in the United States amply illustrates.

Even so, the situation in the West hardly compares with the atmosphere of competitive denigration found across most of Africa today. I advance two preliminary explanations. The first is economic. It is hardly a coincidence that the two countries where anti-gay rhetoric has been most strident in Africa – Zimbabwe and Nigeria – are also two of the most economically destitute. In both countries, the percentage of the population “living” on less than a dollar a day has risen steadily over the past two decades. Average life expectancy, according to the 2011 Failed States Index (where both are ranked 6th and 14th respectively) is 33.5 for Zimbabwe and 48.3 for Nigeria. In both countries, a frustrated quest for a rational explanation for economic crisis has produced an implausible demonology in which gays, lesbians and sexual “deviants” of all sorts apparently team up with sundry “demonic forces” to ambush not just those countries’, but Africa’s economic progress (incidentally, South Africa, with the most liberal sexual laws in Africa, is also the continent’s most economically advanced country).

The situation in both Zimbabwe and Nigeria seems to validate the link between material privation and political suggestibility. Where people are poor and poorly educated (or not at all), they are more susceptible to political manipulation by demagogues who parrot easy explanations for complex and fundamentally rational economic problems. In most of Africa today, the insidious fiction that the “gay next door” bars the way to economic progress has been the cue for a massive pink-hunt. The parliament in Uganda is currently mulling over legislation to impose the death penalty on homosexuals. In Nigeria, the Same Sex Marriage Prohibition Act of 2006 expressly criminalises homosexuality and same sex marriage. In Zimbabwe, Dr Martin Ssempa, surely Africa’s most virulently homophobic preacher, bludgeons the poor with graphic images of the “sickening” things that gays get up to, ironically enough, in the privacy of their bedrooms.

None of this politico-economic explanation can be meaningful without a connection to the expanding influence of religion in Africa. This is my second explanation. Over the past three decades, much of the continent has fallen under the scourge of Pentecostal Christianity. As a social phenomenon, one with key transnational connections, Pentecostal Christianity in Africa has carried a moralist and doggedly anti-intellectual banner. On the one hand, Pentecostalism manifests as a moralising force that narrates Africa’s economic and political crises as an inevitable outcome of public immorality (and what can be more immoral than two men or two women going at it in their bedroom?), a situation, it would seem, that can only be rectified by a collective return to the straight and narrow. As an anti-intellectual force, Pentecostalism in Africa is profoundly ahistorical in that it eschews human, especially political, agency in favour of pseudo-spiritual “explanations”.

This is the overall anti-intellectual, anti-rationalist climate in which gays have become, quite literally, African societies’ whipping boys. I emphasise this climate in order to drive home an important point: given the atmosphere of pervasive irrationality, gays are only one among many other “enemies”. In Nigeria for instance, an ever growing list of “demonic forces” has recently expanded to include so-called child “witches” who are blamed for even economic problems that pre-date their conception. In the most tragic examples, brainwashed parents have colluded in the killing of their own children.

With many evangelical upstarts naively promising salvation in exchange for gays’ renunciation of “sodomy”, the continent is once again chasing shadows at the expense of real solutions to its serious problems. Such problems may vary in manifestation and degree, but they are unified by their being traceable to a common set of factors, foremost among which are elite myopia and failure to invest in human capital and physical infrastructure. These problems require urgent and, suffice to add, rational attention, and as it is, African governments’ capacity to deal with them is hobbled by their failure to keep their highly-skilled young men and women at home. These are the things we should be obsessing about, not what the dude next door is up to when the lights are out.

Blog Author's Note: I came across this marvellous write up here and thought to reproduce it in full on this blog..

That Facebook bug..

2011-07-03T11:39:00.007+01:00

I can hardly believe that I haven't posted on this blog for nearly a month. Well, there is reason for this and the reason is this - I discovered Facebook!

Okay, I know that a while ago on this blog I dismissed Facebook as being a complete waste of time. Talk about naivete. Back then, in frustration and in trying to justify my own failure to grasp what Facebook was about, I whined and moaned about how nonsensical I thought it was to have more than a hundred virtual 'friends' who one had never met, or was ever likely to meet; about how I thought all those on Facebook were twits who had nothing better to do than to look at others' photos on their computer screens. I didn't get it then, but folks, I have got it now. I've been smitten and well and truly bitten by the Facebook bug.

People, I am truly hooked and I find the whole experience actually quite fascinating. I've formed friendships (in differing degrees of closeness and intimacy) with individuals in locations as disparate as Senegal and Malawi; I've been able to lend my support to causes that I care about; I've made meaningful contact with some of my sports heroes; I've received help in the preparation of my plans for my upcoming tour of the African continent; the list of pluses is long..

So please do accept my apologies if in my excitement I have somewhat neglected this blog, but I'm still here and haven't gone anywhere.

Here, is a peace tribute from me by Steel Pulse one of my all time favourite reggae bands..

AIDS at 30: Who's at Greatest Risk of Infection Now?

2011-06-08T15:44:00.000+01:00

Watch the full episode. See more PBS NewsHour.

Giovanni Allevi..

2011-06-07T21:54:00.006+01:00

Giovanni Allevi, my new found love..

Alright, you got me, its that car advert. I changed my mind about titling this post 'Music from the New Fiat Punto. :)

From his album, 'Alien'. 'Secret Love', the first track. Lovely piano work..

Gay? Straight? Sexual Orientation Not A Choice, But Set At Birth | The New Civil Rights Movement

2011-06-05T11:16:00.003+01:00

Gay? Straight? Sexual Orientation Not A Choice, But Set At Birth | The New Civil Rights Movement

See fellow blogger Akin's take on this Here.

Beginners..

2011-06-03T22:23:00.002+01:00

Filmmaker Mike Mills' parents met in junior high school. For 45 years, they lived together, raising Mills and his older sisters, until Mills' mother died in 1999. Six months later, Mills' father — a 75-year-old retired museum director — announced that he's gay.

Mills' second movie, Beginners, is loosely based on his own relationship with his father, Paul. The movie stars Ewan McGregor as a graphic designer whose 75-year-old father, played by Christopher Plummer, has just come out and wants to experience the gay life he denied himself when he was married.

Mills says he remembers the day that his own father took him aside and told him that he didn't just want to be "theoretically gay" — that he wanted to do something about the feelings he had repressed for decades.

Confusion Break Bones

2011-06-01T17:00:00.000+01:00

In South Africa's black townships, being gay can be fatal

2011-05-28T15:00:00.001+01:00

In South Africa's black townships, being gay can be fatal

Nigeria, archival historical footage..

2011-05-28T11:21:00.034+01:00

From an era of idealism and optimism, a time when the future promised much. Looking back from the future as we are now able to do, even though much progress has been achieved and the country has held together as one political entity despite the diverse nature of her population, it is clear that realising her full potential, the dream of our forefathers, has been much harder to accomplish.

Côte d'Ivoire - The battle, from inside

2011-05-27T20:37:00.007+01:00

Another masterpiece from Channel 4's Unreported World, a programme that has been described as a "vitally important programme in revealing a desperately needed glance into areas where people are left to fend for themselves."

On its website, Channel 4 describes the programme as a "Critically acclaimed foreign affairs series offering an insight into the lives of people in some of the most neglected parts of the planet" On my part, I think of it as an important programme that tells stories that would otherwise not be told.

This particular episode is about the recent conflict in Côte d'Ivoire, a conflict that was widely reported upon, but about which not much was reported on the actual situation on the ground for those caught up in the fighting who were were directly affected by it. Now this is what Unreported World does very well and its little wonder that this is most definitely one of my favourite programmes on television today. That the programme can be viewed internationally from the Channel 4 website is a plus.

Reporter Seyi Rhodes does a marvellous job in bravely reporting from a war-torn Abidjan.

Please click on this link to watch Inside the Battle for Ivory Coast.

Note: The film contains scenes that some viewers may find upsetting.

SA film wins Cannes prize..

2011-05-23T22:19:00.002+01:00

Skoonheid, the first Afrikaans film selected to compete at the Cannes Film Festival, has won the Queer Palm. The unofficial award, not connected to the festival itself, is given to a film that addresses gay, lesbian, bi, or transgender issues, reports The Hollywood Reporter.

The second film by South African director Oliver Hermanus deals with a 40-something Bloemfontein family man who battles to suppress his sexual desires and develops an obsession with his friend's 23-year-old son.

"We were struck and marked by this film about self-hate, homophobia and racism. Skoonheid is a disturbing, radical film, real cinema," said jury president Elisabeth Quin.

The film was part of Cannes Official Selection and was screened in the Un Certain Regard section. See trailer..

I have read that the film's main character Francois lives a skillfully controlled, well managed life, in Bloemfontein, South Africa. Father of two daughters and a devoted husband, he is wholly unprepared when a chance encounter unravels his clean and ordered existence.

23-year-old Christian is the son of a long lost friend. By all accounts he is the personification of a handsome young man in the prime of his life. Francois is so disarmed by the young man that it instantly ignites within him an all consuming infatuation and misplaced lust. Despite his careful concealed disgust for himself, Francois pours out the lost emotions he has despised all his life in what becomes a desperate attempt at taking from the world that which he has always secretly wanted: Happiness.

Dean Lotz, who plays the lead role, was "ecstatic" about the win.

"It gives us wonderful recognition as a film and for South Africa's growing film industry," he is reported to have said.

"The critics that were there obviously saw something that they liked," he added.

Note: I have not seen the film save for the trailer above, but I shall be looking to see it when I can..

I am slave..

2011-05-21T23:59:00.013+01:00

I'm miffed that I missed this drama when TV's Channel 4 aired it in August last year, as part of their series on modern-day slavery and human trafficking. But I got another chance to see it on the Community Channel this evening and slapped myself when I discovered that it had been available on Channel 4 OD all along. Programmes on Channel 4 OD are geo-blocked, so you probably won't be able to see it on that site unless you're within the UK. This film is well worth searching for though, if you can find it elsewhere..

And although I'm somewhat late, I've been tripping on this totally amazing, albeit quietly disturbing drama that is based on a true story, starring the extremely talented British-Nigerian actor Wunmi Mosaku who plays Malia, a Sudanese princess from the Nuba Mountains. As a child she is abducted from her family and kept as a slave for six years in northern Africa, before she is sent to London where her misery continues.

And all this while, over a period of many years her devoted father (played by Ivorian actor Isaach de Bankole) from whose hands she was snatched by her abductors, searches tirelessly for her. The saga finally ends when after all her tribulations Malia manages to escape from her oppressors. Father and daughter eventually make contact, even if only tenuous contact by telephone. Some of the others in the cast are Nonso Anozie and Lubna Azabal.

This look at modern-day slavery is directed by Gabriel Range. It is strikingly photographed and very well acted. I do however think that the story being told is sketchy and that since the subject is of such a serious nature, it would have worked better had there been more detail to the story. A clip can be seen on the BBC website here and Mosaku and the film's writer Jeremy Brock are interviewed.

The Telegraph offers a great review here. You could also see The Guardian newspaper here in an in-depth commentary on how domestic workers become slaves in the UK. It is believed that there are up to 5,000 people in the UK who are being kept as slaves.

Man's inhumanity..

2011-05-17T00:13:00.011+01:00

Just one of numerous such grisly incidents that occurred during the Nigerian civil war between July 1967 and January 1970. The victim is a suspected soldier of Biafra, the secessionist state against which the Nigerian government fought the war. The perpetrators are members of the Nigerian armed forces.

Viewer discretion is strongly advised..

2011-05-15T00:05:00.001+01:00

This is for you, if your heart's ever been broken..

"Sometimes it lasts in love
But sometimes it hurts instead.."

Burundi, children behind bars..

2011-05-13T19:35:00.015+01:00

Channel 4's programme Unreported World exposes the plight of hundreds of children in Burundi locked up for years without trial in adult prisons, among some of the most dangerous criminals in the country. (Click here to see it on the Channel 4 website). And they meet one man who has dedicated his life to freeing them; Pierre-Claver Mbonimpa is the only hope many of these children have.

Burundi has no juvenile justice system and children above the age of 15 are tried as adults. By law any child under that age should not be imprisoned, but in a country recovering from civil war and where record keeping is scant, many under-age children are slipping through the net and are being locked up.

There is no legal aid, and there are only 106 lawyers for a population of over eight million people. This is one of the reasons why three quarters of children are being held for long periods without trial.

While wrongly imprisoned for two years, 62-year-old Pierre found the body of a child prisoner who had been murdered. The incident affected him deeply and he decided to spend the rest of his life defending victims of injustice.

Reporter Ramita Navai and director Wael Dabbous travel with Pierre to a prison in Ruyigi province, one of the poorest parts of the country. They find more than 20 children in the jail, several of whom look younger than 15.

Many of them say they have been locked up having been accused of minor offences, such as stealing a bag of rice. Nestor tells Navai he is 12 and has been there for two months. 'My family never liked me. That's why they sent me here. They've left me here to die,' he says.

Navai and Dabbous travel with Pierre to Mpimba prison, the country's most notorious jail, which houses some of the most dangerous criminals. It was built for 800 prisoners but there are now more than 3300. The team finds nearly 100 boys sleeping in one cell, nearly all of whom are being held without trial. There's no room to lie down or sit, so the boys are all forced to stand.

One of them, Claude, says he is 13 years old. He has been accused of rape but appears to be the victim of a dispute between families. Like other children, he may have been falsely accused of a crime in order to settle a score. He's been held for five months without trial and says older prisoners abuse the children. Pierre decides to investigate his case.

Claude Tangishaka, who stated that he was 13

The team travels with Pierre to Claude's home province of Bubanza, where he meets the magistrate in charge of the case. He reveals that hospital records showed Claude's alleged victims had in fact not been raped and that there was a feud between Claude's family and another family.

Claude doesn't have a birth certificate as he was born during the civil war, and Pierre needs to prove he is under 15 to get him out of jail. He travels to his home village, where Claude's mother tells him she thinks he is 14 and that he had actually been accused of inappropriately touching his neighbours' children.

Back in Mpimba prison, the team meets some of the 100 female prisoners locked in with the 3000 men. There are also 24 babies and toddlers living in the jail, nearly all of whom were born inside. One prisoner tells Navai that that some women are forced to have sex for money in order to survive, and become pregnant.

Burundi's Director of Prisons tells Unreported World that a lack of resources makes it impossible to hold women and children separately. He also admits that under-15s are being illegally imprisoned and blames corrupt magistrates and policemen and a lack of proper records.

Pierre is still negotiating with Claude's neighbours, who are demanding compensation to allow Claude to return to the village. The magistrate says that Claude cannot be released if his mother does not pay the compensation, as his life will be in danger and the villagers may kill him. His mother has nothing to give. While there is no way of knowing how long Claude will be behind bars, Pierre is still fighting to get him released.

Mad World..

2011-05-08T07:06:00.001+01:00

The original of this song by the group Tears for Fears is from 1982. This version, which I prefer, is by Gary Jules. He recorded it with his friend Michael Andrews for the film Donnie Darko, a film I recommend that you see if you haven't already..

And now Brazil too..

2011-05-07T16:04:00.001+01:00

"The freedom to pursue one's own sexuality is part of an individual's freedom of expression"

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's Federal Supreme Court on Thursday legally recognized homosexual partnerships in a landmark case for gay rights in a country with the world's largest population of Roman Catholics.

Justices at the STF, as the country's top court is known, voted 10 to zero in favour of gay partnerships, setting a legal precedent in Latin America's largest country. One justice, Jose Antonio Dias Toffoli, refrained from voting, saying he had dealt previously with related cases.

The decision grants gay couples most of the rights enjoyed by heterosexual partners, including pension benefits, inheritance and, some lawyers say, possibly the right to adopt children. Lower courts had ruled both in favour of and against partnerships, which are not governed by a specific law.

"The freedom to pursue one's own sexuality is part of an individual's freedom of expression," said Justice Carlos Ayres Britto, the author of the ruling.

The ruling makes Brazil the second South American nation after Argentina to allow gay partnerships. The majority of judges argued that the Constitution did not explicitly rule out gay partnerships and that these were an expression of the right to privacy and equality before the law.

Gay activists celebrated the decision, saying the ruling shows the state is willing to defend the rights of citizens regardless of their sexual and race condition.

"The degree of civilization of a country can be measured by the way people in a nation treat their homosexual community," newspaper O Globo's website cited Claudio Nascimento, head of Rio de Janeiro state's Gay, Lesbian and Transsexuals Committee, as saying. "It's a historic day for Brazil."

Rights, Protections of Ugandans precarious - IGLHRC

2011-05-06T22:29:00.005+01:00

The International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission has expressed shock at the possible passage of Uganda's Anti Homosexuality Bill:

IGLHRC Shocked at Possible Passage of Ugandan Anti-Homosexuality Bill

Rights Protections for All Ugandans Precarious

For Immediate Release

Contacts:

Cary Alan Johnson, Executive Director, IGLHRC (New York)

Tel: (347) 515 0330; Email: cjohnson@iglhrc.org

(New York, 6 May 2011) The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission is deeply concerned at reports that the now infamous Anti-Homosexuality Bill in Uganda may be passed by that country's Parliament. The Bill, first introduced in October 2009, was ostensibly "shelved" by Uganda's president Yoweri Museveni following an international outcry. However, public hearings on the Bill took place today in the Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Committee. The remaining stages of the legislative process – namely second and third readings of the bill and presidential adoption – could be completed within the remaining week of the current parliamentary session.

"We are shocked that after more than 2 years of engagement with the government of Uganda about the Anti-Homosexuality Bill, this heinous piece of legislation may still become law," said Cary Alan Johnson, IGLHRC Executive Director. "Governments, world religious and political leaders, and HIV prevention experts have all appealed to Ugandan parliamentarians to put their distaste and fear of LGBT people aside and use their better judgment for the good of the country."

The Bill reaffirms existing penalties for consensual same-sex relationships, and criminalizes the "promotion of homosexuality" and failure to report homosexual activity. The Parliamentary Committee itself has said that the provisions of the Bill are redundant and unnecessary. Most controversially, the Bill would punish "aggravated homosexuality" – including activity by "serial offenders" or those who are HIV positive – with the death penalty. To IGLHRC's knowledge, the provisions related to the death penalty remain part of the Bill, despite statements by the Bill's author that these would be removed. The Bill not only violates multiple protections guaranteed by the Constitution of Uganda, but also contravenes the African Charter on Human and People's Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCPR), and other international human rights treaties to which Uganda is a party.

"There can be no reason to pass this Bill other than to take the attention of Ugandans – and the rest of the world – away from the fact that Uganda is slipping into political chaos," stated Johnson. "Clearly the issue of homosexuality is being used to deflect attention from the crackdown on democracy and freedom of speech that has led to at least 5 deaths, more than 100 injuries, and hundreds of arrests in the last month. IGLHRC stands firm with all the people of Uganda as they struggle to maintain their freedom and dignity."

Why I am voting YES

2011-05-05T08:41:00.015+01:00

There is a referendum today in the UK on whether to change the voting system by which Members of Parliament are elected from the first-past-the-post system currently in use, to the Alternative Vote (AV) system.

My understanding of the situation is this:

With the current system, theoretically a candidate with even only 30% of the vote in a constituency would be declared winner if none of the other candidates have individually been able to amass up to 30% of the constituency's vote. What this in effect means is that although 70% of voters have voted against him, the candidate with 30% of the vote is declared the winner and the voices of 70% of his constituency, although spread out among the various other candidates, are unheard.

With the AV system however, voters are given the opportunity to vote for all of the candidates in the election by order of preference. At the first count the candidate with the most first preference votes, if he carried up to 50% of the vote is declared winner. If however he doesn't carry up to 50%, the candidate with the least number of first preference votes is eliminated and his votes distributed among the other candidates by order of preference. The elimination of the candidate with the least number of votes continues, until the object of achieving 50% of the vote by the leading candidate is arrived at, such that there is a guarantee that every Member of Parliament under AV would have the support and be the favoured candidate of at least 50% of the voters in his constituency.

This seems to me like a much fairer system than the current first-past-the-post system. Also, scare tactics aside, the arguments that have been advanced by the 'NO' campaign have been weak and unconvincing, especially since I know that in all of the elections at which I have voted under the current system, my vote has never counted.

Moreover, under AV, politicians will be made to work harder for votes, rather than relying mostly on their core supporters' votes as they currently do. They would need voters who would not ordinarily vote for them, to consider voting them as second preference etc. And it can only be a good thing if canvassers from all parties had to come knocking on my door one after the other to canvass for my vote and and try to persuade me by giving me the reasons why I should vote for their party's candidate. AV empowers the electorate in a way that first-past-the-post never could do.

So YES it is for me..

Africa's LGBT Rights Movement

2011-05-04T16:20:00.000+01:00

By Chi Mgbako

In 2004, leading African gay rights activist Fannyann Eddy was brutally murdered while she worked alone in the office of the gay rights organization she founded in Sierra Leone. She was a courageous crusader for the rights of Africa's lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. Years after Fannyann's death, the state of LGBT rights in Africa may at first blush seem woefully bleak, but in fact now is a time for cautious hope.

African NGOs and community groups championing the rights of Africa's sexual minorities are publicly condemning institutionalized homophobia, filing lawsuits arguing for the recognition of LGBT rights, and taking their grievances directly to government officials -- collective action that was exceedingly rare at the time of Fannyann Eddy's death.

In spite of ongoing discrimination against Africa's sexual minorities, fearless advocates fighting for LGBT rights continue to win small but significant victories. As the law school human rights program I lead grew, I remembered Fannyann and looked for opportunities to collaborate with some of those brave protest voices.

My program began working with a Malawian human rights NGO on a project crafting constitutional and international legal arguments against Malawi's anti-sodomy law, which criminalizes sex between men. While working on the project, we were shocked when in January the Malawi government passed a new discriminatory law also criminalizing sex between women.

One could certainly argue that Malawi's recent criminalization of lesbian sex is yet another example of rampant institutionalized homophobia on the continent. But, refreshingly, over 40 African NGOs quickly condemned the new law as an affront to human rights in a strongly worded public letter of protest. Africa's mushrooming indigenous LGBT rights movement created the political space for this swift and strong civil society condemnation. Public rebukes of homophobia in what is essentially a "closeted" continent are deeply important -- when marginalized groups refuse to silently swallow the bitterness of their suffering, true social movements can blossom.

There was a similar strong public denunciation of the recent homophobic and shameful action of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, the continent's leading quasi-judicial human rights body. In 2010, the Commission, tasked with promoting and protecting human rights on the continent, refused to grant observer status to an African lesbian rights NGO, despite the fact that the group had fulfilled all of the Commission's administrative requirements. African civil society organizations publicly condemned the Commission's disgraceful and discriminatory decision, flooding the Commission with letters of protest, bringing media attention to the injustice, and demanding that the Commission live up to its human rights mandate and reverse its decision.

In addition to public condemnation of institutionalized acts of homophobia, African gay rights activists have begun to take their righteous grievances to court. In a landmark case for gay rights in Africa, in January the Ugandan High Court held that it is unconstitutional for Ugandan media companies to out alleged homosexuals in their publications. Most importantly, the court affirmed the rights of LGBT people to privacy and dignity.

One of the main plaintiffs in the lawsuit was David Kato, a leading Ugandan gay rights activist who sued a Ugandan newspaper after it ran a cover story with his picture above the title "Hang Them." Weeks after winning the lawsuit, Kato was murdered. The successful lawsuit was one of his last acts of courage before his death, and it will serve as persuasive and powerful legal precedent for future lawsuits on the continent challenging attacks on LGBT rights.

In April, human rights defenders in Botswana filed a landmark case in the country's High Court, suing the government in an attempt to decriminalize homosexuality. And gay rights activists in South Africa are soon expected to file a lawsuit in South Africa's Constitutional Court challenging the government's failure to sign on to a United Nations statement condemning human rights violations against LGBT people, despite the fact that gay rights are recognized in the South African constitution.

Activists have also been taking their grievances straight to the halls of government. A small group of South African lesbian activists rallying against 'corrective rape,' a hate crime in which men rape lesbian women in order to 'turn' them straight, recently led a bold international petition drive, obtained tens of thousands of signatures from 163 countries condemning the practice, and presented it directly to the South African Parliament. Due to their activism, South African government officials have vowed to develop a national action plan to confront 'corrective rape.'

These are but a few examples of the overlooked victories and defiant determination that mark the burgeoning African LGBT rights movement. Throughout the continent, organizations and activists bravely championing LGBT rights, echoing the spirit of Fannyann Eddy, refuse to be silent in the face of discrimination. It is with this spirit of optimism and fierce determination that those of us dedicated to the rights of LGBT people everywhere must, in solidarity, approach the struggle for LGBT rights in Africa.

Cross posted from here.

A must see..

2011-05-02T14:59:00.001+01:00

2011-05-01T20:11:00.001+01:00

"True Faith"..George Michael's new single, which when he released he made the decision to donate all proceeds to Comic Relief. The single was arranged and produced by George himself, but 'True Faith' was a hit for the group 'New Order' in 1987 and was written by Bernard Sumner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris, Gillian Gilbert and Stephen Hague. The writers are following George's lead and are donating their proceeds too to Comic Relief along with the publishers' mechanical royalties.

The Guest List..

2011-04-28T15:44:00.022+01:00

Who made the Royal Wedding Guest List?

You are invited to read this interesting take on the royal wedding..

They're the focus of everyone's attention, because they're both so rich and white and happy and in love and living off the state.... But it is a welcome distraction, taking our minds off other events. Don't think about what we're doing in Libya, or why we're not doing the exact same thing in Syria. No, think about the happy couple, they're all getting married and stuff. Wave your flags high. Those same flags adorn the... drones currently bombing the shit out of reporters and children in Libya... No. Don't think about any of that. Think about the Wedding. Wave your flag, cheer and when the Royals ask, "Who wants to fund us the undeserving rich in this age of austerity?" Be sure to answer "I do".. Read more

PS. The Syrian Ambassador to London and his Libyan counterpart are no longer welcome at the wedding and have been thrown off the Guest List, even though the North Korean and Zimbabwean Ambassadors remain on the list and are expected to attend.

Also worthy of note is the fact the former Labour Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Gordon Brown did not receive invitations. The explanation that has been given is that they are not Knights of the Garter, even though when Prince William's father Prince Charles married in 1981, all former Prime Ministers still living were invited to that wedding, whereas not all of them were Knights of the Garter. The other reason given is that this wedding instead of being a state occasion, is a private event and the couple, Prince William and Katherine Middleton, do not know the two gentlemen in person.

However, I find it hard to understand why David Beckham and his wife have made the guest list for the wedding of the future British monarch, whereas Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have not; two former British Prime Ministers who will forever be more relevant to the history of Britain than Mr & Mrs David Beckham ever could be.

Former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is invited, but will be unable to attend due to ill health.

Also, the Crown Prince of Bahrain has dis-invited himself, but the country's Ambassador in London is still expected to attend.

The Guest List

Members of the British Royal Family

The Queen

The Duke of Edinburgh

The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall

Prince Henry of Wales

The Duke of York

Princess Beatrice of York

Princess Eugenie of York

The Earl and Countess of Wessex

The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Timothy Laurence

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Phillips

Miss Zara Phillips with Mr. Mike Tindall

Viscount Linley and Viscountess Linley

And The Hon. Charles Armstrong-Jones

The Lady Sarah Chatto and Mr. Daniel Chatto

And Master Samuel Chatto

And Master Arthur Chatto

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester

The Earl and Countess of Ulster

The Lady Davina and Mr. Gary Lewis

Lady Rose and Mr. George Gilman

The Duke and Duchess of Kent

Earl and Countess of St. Andrews

Lord Downpatrick

The Lady Marina-Charlotte Windsor

The Lady Amelia Windsor

The Lord and Lady Nicholas Windsor

The Lady Helen Taylor and Mr. Timothy Taylor

Prince and Princess Michael of Kent

The Lord and Lady Frederick Windsor

The Lady Gabriella Windsor

Princess Alexandra, the Hon. Lady Ogilvy

Mr. and Mrs. James Ogilvy

Miss Marina Ogilvy

The Lady Saltoun

Members of Foreign Royal Families

The Prince and Princess of the Asturias

The Crown Prince of Bahrain

Prince Philippe and Princess Mathilde of Belgium

The Sultan of Brunei and Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Hajah Saleha

King Simeon II and Queen Margarita of the Bulgrarian

The Queen of Denmark

King Constantine and Queen Anne-Marie of the Hellenes

Crown Prince Pavlos and Crown Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece and Prince Constantine of Greece

Sheikh Ahmad Hmoud Al-Sabah of Kuwait

Prince Seeiso Bereng Seeiso and Princess Mabereng Seeiso of Lesotho

The Grand Duke and Duchess of Luxembourg

The Yang di-Pertuan Agong and Raja Permaisuri Agong of Malaysia

Prince Albert II of Monaco and Miss Charlene Wittstock

Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco

The Crown Prince and Princess of The Netherlands

The King and Queen of Norway

Sayyid Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman

The Emir of The State of Qatar and Sheika Mozah bint Nasser Al Missned

King Michael I of Romania and Crown Princess Margarita

Prince Mohamed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia and Princess Fadwa bint Khalid bin Abdullah bin Abdulrahman

The Queen of Spain

The King of Swaziland

The Crown Princess of Sweden and The Duke of Västergötland

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand

The King of Tonga

The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi

Crown Prince Alexander and Crown Princess Katherine of Yugoslavia

The Princess Elizabeth of Yugoslavia

Dignitaries

The Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda

The Governor-General of Australia and His Excellency Mr. Michael Bryce

The Governor-General of The Bahamas and Lady Foulkes

The Governor-General of Barbados

The Governor-General of Belize and Lady Young

The Governor-General of Canada and Mrs. David Johnston

The Governor-General of Jamaica

The Governor-General of New Zealand and Lady Satyanand

The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea and Mrs Michael Ogio

The Governor-General of the Solomon Islands and Lady Kabui

The Governor-General of St Christopher and Nevis

The Governor-General of St Lucia

The Governor-General of St Vincent and the Grenadines and Lady Ballantyne

The Prime Minister of Australia and Mr. Tim Matheison

The Prime Minister of The Bahamas and Ms Delores Miller

The Prime Minister of Barbados

The Prime Minister of New Zealand and Mrs. John Key

The Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea and Lady Somare

The Prime Minister of Saint Lucia and Mrs. Rosalia Nestor King

The Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and The Grenadines and Mrs. Ralph Gonsalves

The Premier of Bermuda and Mr. Germain Nkeuleu

The Premier of The British Virgin Islands and Mrs. Ralph O'Neal

The Premier of the Cayman Islands and Mrs. Kerry Bush

The Hon. Sharon and Mr. Rodney Halford (Falkland Islands)

The Chief Minister of Gibraltar and Mrs. Peter Caruana

The Chief Minister of Montserrat and the Reverend Doctor Joan Delsol Meade

The Hon. John and Mrs. Vilma Cranfield (St. Helena)

Members of Government, Parliament and Devolved Administrations

The Prime Minister and Mrs. David Cameron

The Deputy Prime Minister and Ms. Miriam Gonzalez Duantez

First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Mrs. William Hague

The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Hon. Mrs. Osborne

The Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor and Mrs. Kenneth Clarke

The Secretary of State for the Home Department and Minister for Women and Equalities, and Mr. Philip May

The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport and Mrs. Jeremy Hunt

The Rt. Hon Ed Miliband, M.P and Ms. Justine Thornton

The Speaker of the House of Commons and Mrs. John Bercow

The Presiding Officer of the National Assembly for Wales and the Lady Elis-Thomas

The Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament and Mrs. Alex Fergusson

The Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly and Mrs. William Hay

The Lord Speaker and Mr. Martin Hayman

First Minister of Wales and Mrs. Carwyn Jones

First Minister of Northern Ireland and Mrs. Peter Robinson

First Minister of Scotland and Mrs. Alex Salmond

The Mayor of London and Mrs. Boris Johnson

The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor and The Lady Mayoress Sir Gus and Lady O'Donnell

The Rt. Hon. The Lord Mayor of Westminster and Count Paolo Filo della Torre

Mr. and Mrs. Simon Fraser

Representatives from the Church and other Faiths

The Most Reverend Gregorious, Archbishop of the Greek Archdiocese of Thysteira and Great Britain

The Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs. Rowan Williams

Rabbi Anthony Bayfield

Mr. Anil Bhanot

The Archbishop of Armagh, Cardinal Archbishop Sean Brady

Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, The Most Reverend David Chillingworth

The Right Reverend John Christie, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

Mr. Malcolm Deboo President, Zoroastrian Trust Funds of Europe

The Rt. Reverend Doctor Norman Hamilton

The Archbishop of Armagh, The Most Reverend Alan Edwin Harper

Monsignor Philip Kerr, The Convener, Action of Churches Together in Scotland

Commissioner Elizabeth Matear, Salvation Army

The Archbishop of Wales, The Most Reverend Doctor Barry Morgan

The Reverend Gareth Morgan Jones, President of the Free Church Council of Wales

Cardinal Cormac Murphy-Connor

The Archbishop of Westminster, The Most Reverend Vincent Nichols

Cardinal Keith Patrick O'Brien, Archbishop of St. Andrews and Edinburgh

Rabbi Alan Plancey

Imam Mohammad Raza

The Chief Rabbi (Lord Sacks)

The Venerable Bogoda Seelawimala, Acting Head Monk, The London Buddhist Vihara

Maulana Syed Raza Shabbarm, Muhammadi Trust

Mr. Natubhai Shah, President, the Jain Academy

Dr Indarjit Singh, Director, Network Sikh Organisations (UK)

Canon Chirstopher Tuckwell

The Reverend Martin Turner

The Archbishop of York and Mrs. John Sentamu

Senior Members of the Defence Services

Major General and Mrs. William Cubitt, Major General Commanding Household Division and GOC London District

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen and Lady Dalton, Chief of the Air Staff

General Sir Nicholas and Lady Houghton

Air Vice-Marshal the Hon. David and Mrs. Murray, Defence Services Secretary General

Sir David and Lady Richards, Chief of the Defence Staff

Admiral Sir Mark and Lady Stanhope, First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff

General Sir Peter and Lady Wall, Chief of the General Staff

Amongst the guests at the wedding service are all Heads of Mission in London representing countries with which the United Kingdom has normal diplomatic relations and Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenants for the United Kingdom.

These individuals will not be accompanied by their spouses or partners.

Other guests, who may be recognisable or whom have an official link to Prince William or Miss Middleton include:

Mr. David Allan David Allan is the Chairman of Mountain Rescue, England and Wales. Prince William has been Patron of the organisation since 2007.

Major Tom Archer-Burton Major Archer Burton was Prince William and Prince Harry's Commanding Officer in the Household Cavalry. He also led the Burnaby Blue expedition to southern Africa - an African community project supported by Sentebale, in which Prince Harry was involved.

Mr. Charlie Mayhew Charlie Mayhew is Chief Executive of the Conservation Charity, Tusk Trust. Prince William and Prince Harry visited Tusk-funded projects in Botswana last year. The visit to Africa was the first oversees Royal tour that Princes William and Harry undertook together.

Mrs. Alison Moore-Gwyn Alison Moore Gwyn is Chief Executive of Fields in Trust. In 2010, Prince William became Patron of The Queen Elizabeth II Fields, an initiative to protect and create hundreds of playing fields throughout the UK in honour of The Queen's Diamond Jubilee. The project is run by Fields in Trust.

Mr. Seyi (pronounced Shay) Obakin Seyi Obakin is Chief Executive of Centrepoint. Centrepoint became Prince William's first Patronage in 2005. His mother, Diana, Princess of Wales was also Patron of the Charity. Seyi slept rough with Prince William in London to highlight the issue of homelessness.

Mr. Peter Cross Peter Cross is Chief Executive of the charity SkillForce, of which Prince William has been Patron since 2009. Earlier this month, Prince William officially launched the SkillForce Prince's Award, in recognition of the contribution that young people make to their communities.

Miss Amanda Berry Amanda Berry is Chief Executive of BAFTA. Prince William has been President of BAFTA since 2010.

Mrs. Ann Chalmers Ann Chalmers is Chief Executive of the Child Bereavement Charity. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009. The Child Bereavement Charity educates professionals and supports families both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved.

Mrs. Julia Samuel Julia Samuel is Chair of the Child Bereavement Charity and also a family friend of Prince William. Prince William has been Patron of the Charity since 2009. The Child Bereavement Charity educates professionals and supports families both when a child dies and when a child is bereaved.

Mrs. Tessa Green Tessa Green is former Chairman of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust. Prince William became President of The Royal Marsden in May 2007 having undertaken two days of work experience there in 2005. The Prince helped out in a variety of departments, including medical research, catering and fundraising.

Mr. Simon Johnson Simon Johnson worked closely with Prince William as Chief Operating Officer of the FA's 2018 World Cup bid.

Sir Trevor Brooking Sir Trevor is the Football Association's Director of Football Development and is responsible for youth-coaching standards in England. Prince William has been President of the FA since 2006 and has met Sir Trevor on several occasions at FA events.

Sir Clive Woodward Sir Clive Woodward is a former Coach of the England Rugby Team and the British and Irish Lions. Prince William was invited by Sir Clive to join the British and Irish Lions rugby team on their tour to New Zealand in 2005.

Mr. Gareth Thomas Prince William met Welsh Rugby player Gareth Thomas several times in his role as Vice Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union.

Mr. Ian Thorpe Australian Prince William met the Olympic swimmer, Ian Thorpe, on a visit to Australia in 2010. The Prince has since supported Mr. Thorpe's charitable organisation Ian Thorpe's Fountain for Youth, which focuses on improving health and education for children.

Mr. Barty Pleydell-Bouverie Barty Pleydell-Bouverie led the Cycle of Life charity bike ride across Africa in 2008, which raised money for the Tusk Trust.

Rear Admiral Ian Corder Rear Admiral Ian Corder is Rear Admiral of Submarines. Prince William was appointed Commodore-in-Chief of Submarines by The Queen in 2006.

Brigadier Ed Smyth-Osbourne Brigadier Smyth-Osbourne was Prince William and Prince Harry's Commanding Officer in the Household Regiment and acted as their military mentor. He was also Prince Harry's Commanding Officer when The Prince undertook active service in Afghanistan.

Major William Bartle-Jones Major Bartle-Jones was Prince William's Squadron Leader in the Household Cavalry Regiment based at Windsor.

Wing Commander Steven Bentley Wg Cdr Steve Bentley is Prince William's Search and Rescue Force Squadron Leader at RAF Valley, Anglesey.

Sergeant Keith Best Sgt Keith Best is a colleague of Prince William's at RAF Valley, in Anglesey, North Wales. The Winchman was awarded the Queen's Commendation for Bravery in the Air after playing a major role in the rescue efforts in the Cumbrian floods in 2009.

Squadron Leader Paul Bolton Sqn Ldr Paul Bolton is a colleague of Prince William's at RAF Valley in Anglesey, North Wales.

Wing Commander Kevin Marsh Wing Commander Kevin Marsh met Prince William through his service in the RAF. He will be one of the Path Liners outside Westminster Abbey on the wedding day.

Lance-Corporal Martyn Compton Martyn is a Lance-Corporal in the Household Cavalry. He was injured in an ambush in Afghanistan in 2006, which put him in a coma for three months and left him with 75 per cent burns.

Miss Holly Dyer Holly is sister to 2nd Lieutenant Joanna Dyer, who was killed by a bomb in Iraq in 2007. Joanna was a close friend of Prince William's at Sandhurst. In a statement released by Clarence House at the time, Prince William said he was "deeply saddened to hear the tragic news and he is very much thinking of her family and friends right now and they will remain in his thoughts and prayers."

Mrs. Susie Roberts Susie Roberts is the widow of Major Alexis Roberts, who was killed in Afghanistan in 2007. Major Alexis Roberts was Prince William's Platoon Commander at Sandhurst. In a statement released at the time, Prince William said he was deeply saddened to learn of Major Robert's Death. The Prince remembers him with 'great fondness and respect'.

Mr. and Mrs. Bryn Parry Former soldier Bryn Parry and his wife Emma founded the charity Help for Heroes to assist wounded service men and women. Both Princes William and Harry are supporters of the charity and Prince William previously opened a new swimming pool at Headley Court in 2010, which had been funded by Help for Heroes.

Mr. Edward Gould Mr. Edward Gould was Master of Marlborough College whilst Miss Middleton was a student.

Dr. Andrew Gailey Dr Andrew Gailey is the Vice-Provost of Eton College and was Prince William's Housemaster.

The Hon. Edward Dawson-Damer Australian Ed Dawson-Damer is an ex-Irish Guards officer, who was Equerry to Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother in the 1980's. He hosted Prince William for a section of his visit to Australia in January 2010.

Mr. Sam Stevenson New Zealander Sam Stevenson was Prince William's New Zealand equerry during his visit to the country in July 2005. At the time, Sam was a Captain within the New Zealand Defence Forces. During the visit, Prince William undertook official engagements representing The Queen in Wellington and Auckland at events to commemorate the end of the Second World War.

Sir John Major Following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, Sir John Major was appointed a Guardian to Prince William and Prince Harry with responsibility for legal and administrative matters.

Mr. Rowan Atkinson Actor Rowan Atkinson is a close friend of The Prince of Wales.

Mr. Tom Bradby The journalist and news reporter Tom Bradby has known both Prince William and Miss Middleton for some time. He conducted their first joint interview together on the day their engagement was announced.

Mr. Ben Fogle Ben Fogle is best known as a travel writer, television presenter and adventurer and has met Prince William on a number of occasions.

Sir Elton John Sir Elton John is a singer-songwriter, composer and pianist. He performed at the funeral of the late Diana, Princess of Wales.

Mr. and Mrs. David Beckham Prince William, as President of the Football Association, has met footballer David Beckham on a number of occasions. They recently worked together as Ambassadors of England's 2018 World Cup Bid.

Mr. Guy Ritchie Guy Ritchie is a friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton. He is a well-established filmmaker, who directed Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch and Revolver.

Miss Joss Stone Joss Stone is best known as an English Soul singer and songwriter. She performed at the Concert for Diana at Wembley in 2007 and at City Salute in 2008.

Mr. Mario Testino Photographer Mario Testino took Prince William and Miss Middleton's official portrait photographs to mark their engagement.

Miss Tara Palmer-Tomkinson Tara Palmer Tomkinson is a friend of The Prince of Wales and his family.

Mr. Sam Waley-Cohen Amateur jockey Sam Waley Cohen is a friend of Prince William and Miss Middleton.

Mr. Galen Weston Canadians Galen and Hilary Weston are friends of The Prince of Wales and his family.

2011-04-25T17:45:00.000+01:00

On being eligible..

2011-04-24T20:28:00.001+01:00

Something rather peculiar happened today. It was a particularly successful Easter Sunday church service, at which my choir seemed to have performed very well indeed, going by the applause and the comments I and other members of the choir received at the end of the service. Well, we'd worked hard for it, so it didn't come as that much of a surprise to me, even though it was good to hear the commendation and to know that all our hard work had paid off in the end.

So feeling something like a celebrity would, these thoughts swirling around in my head, I sat down alone at my usual seat, my back turned to most of the others who went towards the back of the church where refreshments were laid on after the service. I'd been sitting there not quite 10 minutes, when I felt a gentle tap on my shoulder and heard a familiar female voice speak softly into the back of my neck, "Brother, there's something I wanted to discuss with you..."

A familiar voice, yes, Sister Lorraine (not her real name). Smiling, I turned around slowly and there she was sitting in the empty pew directly behind mine. Lorraine had on occasion discussed personal matters with me, seeking professional advice. And so it didn't surprise me that she sought to speak to me privately. What did come as a surprise though, were her next words.

"I have been asking people and they assured me that you are a single man."

"Well, er, well, yes I'm single.." I stammered, taken aback, startled by the fact that this woman had just confirmed to me that my marital status was a subject of rumination by herself and other church members. Before I had a chance to say anything more, she leapt in.

"Ah, well, you know my sister now, don't you?"

And without missing a beat, she continued

"At least I know you both like each other..."

Lorraine's sister would once in a while accompany Lorraine and her husband to church and the sister was indeed in church on this day. Also, admittedly it must be said, this sister is quite a looker too, but I do not recall at any time ever giving even a twinge of a hint that I might be interested in her. Perhaps this was Lorraine's own way of telling me that her sister fancied me. Well, if only I was single and straight, but the reality is that I am neither of the above. But then, I could not possibly say this to Lorraine, so as we spoke in hushed tones, I replied..

"Okay, thanks for telling me. Now that I know, I'll look into it. However, I'm in a relationship..."

"Oh, I didn't know that.." Lorraine burst in, "I really wouldn't want to interfere with your relationship, but maybe you want to exchange numbers with her..?"

It was a feeling of relief for me when this uncomfortable exchange came to an end and still smiling, I stood up and excused myself. Now this is something that I knew would happen sooner or later. There are few men in my age bracket (and women in Lorraine's sisters too), who are seemingly unattached. Inevitably, there was always going to be somebody who would suggest to me a potential wife, the assumption being that since I'm single, I must be looking for a wife. I say "seemingly" because the relationship I am in is not of the kind that can be publicly acknowledged.

For the fact that John and I are both of African origin prescribes that we are subject to the norms of our African society, regardless that we live in a country outside of Africa. There are limited settings at which we can comfortably introduce each other as lovers or partners. And this church is certainly not one of them, even though, thankfully, John attends a different church.

The issue now is this, how do I conduct myself going forward, knowing that Lorraine, her sister and only God knows how many others, will be keeping a very close eye on me..?

Tasmin Archer's Sleeping Satellite..

2011-04-21T22:16:00.006+01:00

And yet another one from the past. I know its been all about music recently, but maybe its the playful mood I'm in, the unseasonably hot and sunny days we've been having, the palpable and infectious excitement here at the impending Royal wedding, me not being at work and all.. :)

Where is Tasmin Archer these days? How exciting it would be if she were suddenly to surprise us with something new..

Born on 3 August 1963 in Bradford in the UK, she first worked as a sewing machine operator and joined a group called 'Dignity' as a backing vocalist. Later, after secretarial studies, she became a clerk at Leeds Magistrates' Court. She helped out at a recording studio, Flexible Response, in Bradford and subsequently began working with musicians John Hughes and John Beck and then forming the group 'The Archers'. Archer was signed by EMI in 1990 and released her first single Sleeping Satellite in August 1992, which went to Number 1 in the UK.

The album Great Expectations followed in October, reaching Number 8 in the album charts and achieved Gold status by December for sales of more than 100,000 copies. Further singles from the album followed, and although they were Top 40 hits in the UK, they did not achieve the same level of success as her début. in 1993 Archer won a BRIT Award for the Best British Breakthrough Act. However, later she joked that she kept her award at the back of her kitchen cupboard and used it for cracking nuts and tenderising steak..

Source

Slave to love..

2011-04-19T15:54:00.001+01:00

Another blast from the past. The 1980s were the best times..

Don't be a stranger..

2011-04-18T17:32:00.003+01:00

Dina Carroll - Don't Be A Stranger Here on YouTube

Dina Carroll, from back in the day when performers actually sang great songs, and were nothing like the attention-seeking, factory produced crowd that has befallen us in recent times, for whom celebrity status seems of greater importance than the quality of their songs.

Listen to her singing 'Only Human' too..

Dina Carroll - Only Human

The Kathy Lagoli emails explained..

2011-04-10T18:40:00.000+01:00

Although this is only a guess, I think it most likely explains the spam emails that many of us received recently from Kathy Lagoli. It is actually a comment left on this blog by an Anonymous visitor, on my original post about the Lagoli spam emails..

Anonymous

I have different email addresses for different purposes. Folks: There is no "Kathy" or "she." It's a BOT (automated computer program) that scrapes email addresses from a variety of sites (blogs, ebay ads, facebook business pages, etc.) and then sends a short message (and question) that it hopes sounds relevant enough for you to reply. If you reply, then it knows a human is reading emails sent to that address and you will start getting spam (Viagra ads etc.) sent to that email. Luckily those who google the name FIRST and discover this blog will know to "mark as spam" in your email program and never reply. It's that simple.

Makes sense to me guys..

Sex, Lies and Black Magic..

2011-04-09T01:06:00.048+01:00

Channel 4's Unreported World last evening broadcast this about how human traffickers are using black magic to coerce and trap Nigerian women into a life of prostitution in Europe. I am informed via Twitter by Krishnan Guru Murthy, @krishgm, a news anchor at the channel, that the Unreported World programme is the only show on 4oD (4 on Demand) that is not geo-blocked.

krishgm @anengiyefa yes it's the only show on 4OD not geoblocked

about 2 hours ago via web in reply to anengiyefa

Follow the link and watch the film, it is available for 29 days yet. Click here to see it.

Basically, the film shows Nigerian women who are made to swear an oath of loyalty to their traffickers in an elaborate ritual that compels them to pay back extortionate sums of money. They feel bound by this oath and fear that should they break it, they will be cursed. It is suggested that as many as 20,000 Nigerian women work as prostitutes on the streets of Italy.

I think that the film provides valuable insight into a really important subject, but the attempt by the film's makers to blame this heinous activity on indigenous African spiritual tradition, misses the point completely and perhaps also plays into culturally oppressive stereotypes. Prostitution in Europe by African women is nothing to do with indigenous African cultural tradition. The real reasons for it are poverty, coupled with the demand in Europe for prostitutes.

There are prostitutes working in Western Europe who come from Russia, Moldova, Belarus and the Ukraine and as far afield as the Philippines and Vietnam. But to suggest that all of those women too have been subjected to an oath of loyalty by a babalawo (witch doctor) would clearly be nonsensical. The motive for all of these women, yes, including those from Nigeria, is money, the search for a better life and for many, the ability to support the families they leave behind in their home countries.

And while this may be their original intention, I did not see from the film that the lives of the families the women left behind in Nigeria were improved in anyway at all, since the families seemed still to be living in abject poverty, despite the fact that they had relatives working abroad.

The truth is that all over the world, poor people are being taken advantage of by the wealthy, through a globalised system of capitalism, which forces people to sell their souls in order to put food on the table. In Bangladesh, Afghanistan and others, it is normal for poor families to put to work children as young as 7 years of age, to contribute to the family income. In parts of Africa, out of poverty, some mothers are forced to sell their own children into slavery. This is the harsh reality for the poor in today's world.

I think that the makers of the film, rather than trying to blame African spirituality for prostitution in Europe, should have taken the time to explore the true causes of the problem. It is not surprising, nor is it unreasonable that the particular manifestation of this misfortune in Edo State in Nigeria, would be articulated in a characteristic and localised form, i.e., through a distortion of juju, which in fact is a part of the local traditions of the people.

Gay Rights in Africa: World Debate

2011-04-08T16:18:00.001+01:00

Controversial debate organised by the BBC and recorded in Johannesburg, South Africa on 5 March 2011. Parts 1 - 5. I am able only to provide the links to the various parts as they appear on the BBC website.

I had listened to the debate some weeks ago when it was broadcast on radio by the BBC World Service. Enjoy.

Kathy Lagoli and my blog stats..

2011-04-08T00:03:00.005+01:00

A few days ago I posted on this blog a warning about spam emails that some person named Kathy Lagoli had sent out, apparently to anyone whose email address she/he could get hold of. Unbeknown to me at time of posting, the Lagoli person was sending the same emails that I'd received to many others and as is to be expected, many of these people went searching on Google for the name 'Kathy Lagoli', just as I had done. However, by this time my post was already on Google and many of those who went searching for Kathy Lagoli wound up on my blog. This blog's sitemeter statistics for today tell the story:

Things I feel strongly about Site Summary

VISITS

	Total	29,866
	Average Per Day	66
	Average Visit Length	4:29
	Last Hour	68
	Today	1,476
	This Week	460

PAGE VIEWS

	Total	84,283
	Average Per Day	153
	Average Per Visit	2.3
	Last Hour	80
	Today	1,906
	This Week	1,073

As is clear from the above, the average number of visitors that I would receive on this blog per day is 66. Yet as I typed this blog post, there had already been a record breaking 1,476 visitors to the blog today, a number that normally would amount to something like my monthly total. There was even one hour during the afternoon when 110 visitors visited the blog within the hour. And not surprisingly, 99.8 percent of all these visitors came looking for more information about Kathy Lagoli. The 55 comments that they left behind are testimony to the extent to which Kathy Lagoli's spam emails were circulated..