The Voice News magazine by The Voice magazine

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Volume 21. NO. 195. July 2020

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First complete African magazine published in The Netherlands since August 1999

EXIT OF AN ICON: AMBROSE MYLES NWADIKE LEFT US IN SHOCK

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The Voice magazine is editorially independent although we enjoys the support of our readers, subscribers, advertisers, non-governmental organizations and in dividuals of like minds; however the magazine publishers are in no way affiliated to any of these bodies or to any other publishing institution or political interest or group. The Voice magazine strives to foster awareness among the African audience and bridge the widening gap between Africans and the rest of the world in news gathering and dissemination. The Voice is published digitally online except on demand, we print hard copy.. If you want to receive a copy, send us your email address. On the Editorial board are Pastor Amb. Elvis Iruh, Jonathan Mgbejume, Sandra Iruh-Monsels, and Henry Oduenyi READ THE VOICE ON LINE AT www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com Our Affiliate partner: www.thenigerianvoice.com Registration NO: (Kvk. Nr. 34.110.928) TAX (BTW) NO: NL806215809B01 ISSN: 1571-3466 (For Print edition) ISSN: 2588-8807 (For Digital edition)

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The Voice magazine is published in the Netherlands by Stichting Paddi Europa and it is p ublished online since 2016 around the world. It is registered at the Chamber of Commerce Amsterdam. The Voice aim to serve as a vital link among African readers in the Diaspora and we provide objective information and organizes opinion exchange among African people both in the continent and abroad. Thus it strives to foster and enhance complete understanding of developing c ountries problems and bring information to help address those issues. You can support this project now with as much as one euro a month to help keep publishing our digital copy for you. DETAILS IN THIS EDITION PLEASE. TV MANAGEMENT

Volume 21 www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

NO 195

July 2020

Contents

The Voice Magazine Volume 21. No 195 July 2020 Edition

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Page 6- Editorial: Killing of George Floyd: One Black Death too much Page 9 - Meet Malawi’s new leader Lazarus Chakwera Pages 12-14 – Letters to the Editor. Pages16-25 – Tributes to Mr. Ambrose Nadine who passed away on 9th June 2020 Pages 26 – 29 - Bobi Wine and Dr. Kizza Besigye coalition: What future for Uganda? Page 30 - The Gambia denies approval of homosexuality in the country Page 31 – Column: THE JOB THAT WAS…with Eva Nakato Pages 36 & 37- Meet President Evariste Ndayishimiye: Burundi’s New President! Page 38 – DR Congo Covid-19 response under fire as Nobel laureate Dr. Mukwege quits Page 39 - Equatorial Guinean Embassy in Brussels distributes protection material against Covid to its citizens in Belgium Page 40 - Statement of the International Criminal Court on recent measures announced by the US Page 41 – Hundreds of Nigerian Asylum Seekers Missing in The Netherlands Pages 42 & 43 – Let us collectively speak and kick against rape in our country Pages 44-47 - News from The Netherlands Pages 48 & 49 - Ghana apologizes as Nigeria deplores attacks on its embassy Pages 51 & 52 - Former Burundi President becomes world’s First Head of State to die of Covid confirm medics Page 52 – Verening Afrika Sports (VAS) donates to UNP Pages 54 & 55- Nigerian Pastor mourns wife Ibidunni Ituah-Ighodalo who has died at 39 Pages 56 & 57 - Exclusive: Lesotho’s murdered former first lady agreed to divorce on day she died - sources Pages 58 & 61 – Nigerian Diaspora are essential for the nation development - Mazi Godson Azu Pages 62 & 63- Diary: Buhari’s phony gallantry- Tony Enahoro: A Noble Life of State Pardons Page 64 – President Buhari urges caution on ECOWAS common currency Page 65 – News around East Africa Pages 66 & 67 – Book Reviews: The other side of Fear by M.K. Slim & Shallow Graves by Richard Reid Page 69 - Kylian Mbappe is the world most valuable Player Pages 70 & 71 - ‘Giving up is worse than loosing’

We celebrate Ambrose Myles Nwadike exit ‘Larger than life figure’ Rest on Brother Forever in our minds.... www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

E D I TORIAL

Killing of George Floyd: One Black Death too much

“

Please, I can’t breathe My stomach hurts My neck hurts Everything hurts They’re going to kill me.” - George Floyd. (RIP) In the last two months, the terrible killing of a black man in United States of America, George Floyd seem one black death too much, unlike other reported killings this death has taken a global dimension and brought back the subject, “black lives matter”. The incident you will recall was captured on an amateur camera with a white police officer, pinning down a black man with his knees on his neck and the black male pleading with the officer that he could not breathe. Close to 9 minutes, he pinned his neck down with all his body weight on him and three of his colleagues just watch without making any effort to stop him. Even passer byes intervened questioning the excessive force by the police officer on the defenceless black man on the ground but none of them would listen. Later on that same day, the news came that the man has passed away. His name was George Floyd and it is the name on every American’s mouth now and the rest of the world. His last words - “I can’t breathe”. I t has become a rallying cry for nationwide protest in America but greeted with violent protests, vandalism and looting which we do condemn as those acts does not represent what this struggle for equal treatment in the hands of America police system and treatment of blacks in United States of America and elsewhere around the world is not accepted. It is too long that human slavery or oppression stopped so why should it continue in 2020. The fact that the US has been here before, countless times, does not lessen the horror of this crime and the brutality of the police actions. Even though we are told that the four police officers had been sacked, arrested but the report that investigations are ongoing is worrisome as two of the suspects are already on bill and even one was spotted shopping and confronted. We do not recommend that people take laws into their own hands, but the legal system should be act and be seen by the people as taking the appropriate actions. We all know that all lives matters but this should not be change the focus that one particular type of people are treated differently when it comes to justice in America and many other countries around the world. There is also the fear that the persecution may not be able to effectively persecute this glaring case of murder and that makes Pastor Elvis Iruh American blacks angry but also Editor-in-Chief moderate white folks have joined in their cry to be fairly and equally 6

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treated in the same United State of America. What we could not accept are politicians on both sides of the divide capitalizing on the killing of George Floyd to gather momentum for political gains as we begin to see the Democrats trying to romance the blacks as if they have not been part of the problem. Black lives matter should not be used as a political tool to vote out Trump. The issue is bigger than politics and if not properly addressed, it would hurt down any government put in place in USA. Despite the pandemic which America has lost so many lives and still no solution for at the moment, the people defiled the order to stay home or observe 1.5 meters, risking their lives to make their point- the concern from this killing is that there is a systematic cover up of the police when it comes to excessive use of force on coloured people – the white police force seem to be protected and defended where they have been caught to use excessive force to arrest or handle pubic incident. The campaigning group, Black Lives Matter are angry that their concerns are not been taken serious. They want a policy change on race matters and not just to discipline an officer and close the case. It is on record that data show that a black man stand the risk of been killed by the police on a ratio of 3 to 1, this point to a failure of the government at the federal level to deal with this problem. African Americans are losing faith in their police system and that is a problem that needs to be address from Washington DC. President Donald Trump tweets after the killing of George Floyd did not helped matters as many saw his reaction as his support for the ideological white supremacist thinking he personifies. His slogan of “America First” coined during the election campaign saw him binding towards supporting whites more than any other racial group in America although he denies it. Many other voter groups, including the Latinx and Asian communities, may also have been alienated. The demonstrators, most of who acted lawfully, came from a range of racial and ethnic backgrounds, including white people. This was a multiracial protest representing what is best in America against what was, in effect, a modern-day lynching. The angry explosion was also a reaction to the societal stresses caused by the Covid-19 pandemic – we are still waiting to see the effects of the protesters not obeying the social distancing order if it would spread the corona virus and if that is not the case, then it would bring us to doubt the whole lock down theory to prevent the spread of the virus. Just one more death of a black man in America suddenly has awaken the whole world to the realization that we have not defeated the ugly monster called racism and it threatens our very existence again, the protests will eventually cease but people are more vigilant now. We would see how far this injustice will be addressed globally.

ONE EURO A MONTH SUPPORT TO THE VOICE MAGAZINE ..... Since you’re here... Support the Voice magazine so we stay publishing for your reading pleasure….. Happy New month to you our readers and our followers. We have a small favour to ask. More people, like you, are reading and supporting the Voice magazine since we stopped the hard print copy in 2016. We have continued to serve you the magazine in the same format with all production cost covered like editing, page designs, photography and digital distribution via online channels where we have to pay. The Voice magazine has been an independent organisation, we do not receive any form of subsidy except the support of our readers and friends. We made the choice to keep our reporting open for all, regardless of where you live or what you can afford to pay. Our advertising drive continue to grow. You can support us through that medium as well, promote your businesses and services with us as your way of support. Our editorial independence means we set our own agenda and voice our own opinions. You are free and welcome to contribute both commercial and political independent articles for our reading audience without bias. We want to continue to give a voice to those less heard, explore where others turn away, and rigorously challenge those in power. We hope you will consider supporting us today. We need your support to keep delivering quality journalism that’s open and independent. Every reader contribution, however big or small, is so valuable. Support The Voice magazine as little as one EURO and it only takes a minute through your bank account.

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Living positive

William

Facts about HIV and social support • Having support from family and friends can be very helpful when dealing with your diagnoses. • Peer-support from other people living with HIV can give you the motivation to empower yourself. • Disclosure should be your own choice, but some countries have laws on disclosing your HIV status to others. • Stigma can be a barrier to not talk about your status, but try and ¬ find someone who you can trust. • Social support can be your friend, partner, close family but also your neighbour, or other person living with HIV.

The rising of me Nowadays people living with HIV can have a good and healthy life. Having support from friends and family is key to create a sustainable healthy life. When I was growing up I did not know that I was born with HIV. At a tender age, both my parents passed away because of AIDS related illnesses. At the age of six, my mom died. A few years passed and then my dad followed her. By that time I was 10 years of age. I used to fall sick every time. Doctors treated me several times for different illnesses but they never knew what the cause of these illnesses were. Until one day they decided to test me for HIV. I was diagnosed with HIV in 2008 at the age of 14. Before I was diagnosed, I used to stay with my stepmom. At that time she was my caretaker. One day a lady came to our home and told my stepmom that there is a new organization in Kasangati (my home town) and they were offering free health care services. She told her that if she had some time she should take me there so they can find what’s bothering me and why I keep getting sick. She refused to do so. But her little sister told me to go. So, that’s what I did. I took myself to the clinic (Kawempe Home Care). Upon arriving there, they asked me for my caretaker. I told them she refused to come along with me. The organization told me that without a caretaker they couldn’t help me. Luckily enough I found a caring and loving lady (Madam Joyce) who acted as my aunt. She went to the clinic with me and they drew blood samples from me. After some waiting my results came back, but unfortunately, the results turned to be positive for HIV. I was shocked, and wept. Madam Joyce held me and I was happy she was there to comfort me, as I cried.

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Although I was comforted by Madam Joyce, I was still worried about how I was going to face my stepmom when I got back home. At first I kept silent when I got back, because I was afraid to tell her. However, some time passed and I got the confidence to tell her, which I did. Sadly after telling her things got worse. I developed more self-stigma and I thought of committing suicide. To cut a long story short, I have dealt with a lot of challenges in my lifetime. But if I learned one thing, it is to turn my challenges into great opportunities. It took me some time but at one point I realized that having HIV is one of those challenges that I can use in my advantage. It gave me an opportunity to shine and support others who go through the same thing. That’s the reason I chose to come out publicly with my HIV and start fighting for the rights of all people living with HIV and those affected by the virus. And as for now, I’m proud of the person I’ve become today and I can’t forget to thank all those who have stood by my side during the most difficult time in my life. The list is endless, and I’m so grateful. I’ve risen above, proudly. Hiv Vereniging The Dutch Association of People Living with HIV (Hiv Vereniging) represents the interests of all people with HIV in the Netherlands, irrespective of background. We provide information about living with HIV and organise all kinds of meet-ups. Servicepunt Our team of expert volunteers can be contacted for any question about living with HIV, by telephone on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 14:00 – 22:00 hrs, or by email: servicepunt@hivvereniging.nl. See www.hivvereniging.nl

Meet Malawi’s new leader Lazarus Chakwera?

resident Lazarus Chakwera, the newly installed President of Malawi has spent much of his life as a theologian. He spent years as Malawi’s opposition leader but last month he won the country’s rerun presidential election to become the New President ousting the former President Peter Mutharika.. The Malawi Election Commission declared him with a dominant 58.57% of the vote ahead of then the incumbent President Peter Mutharika. Mutharika, who has been in power since 2014, won 38% of the vote in last year’s discredited elections in which Chakwera garnered 35%. Mutharika was even sworn into power, but evidence of electoral irregularities later led to the courts annulling the results. The scrapping of Mutharika’s 2019 victory by the courts was historic as it made Malawi just the second sub-Saharan African country to have presidential poll results set aside, after Kenya in 2017. Both the Constitutional and Supreme Courts were harshly critical of how the Malawi Electoral Commission handled the election, finding the Chairperson Jane Ansah and her commissioners incompetent. The 2019 election results also triggered months of nationwide protests, calling for new elections and demanding the Ansah’s removal. When Ansah finally caved in and tendered her resignation in May this year, Mutharika responded by appointing former high court judge Chifundo Kachale as new chairperson, who vowed that the rerun would be a free, fair and credible rerun. Despite Kachale being highly regarded by both the opposition and the ruling party, many feared the political clout of Mutharika, whose brother Bingu wa Mutharika served as Malawi’s President from 2004 until his death in 2012, would still enable him to maintain a hold on power. These fears have proven unfounded with Chakwera’s victory. Who is President Chakwera? The 65-year-old Chakwera was born to a poor rural family in a tiny village outside of the capital, Lilongwe. He is a philosopher, theologian and clergyman by training and studied in Malawi, South Africa and the United States of America.

President Chakwera has been a presence in Malawian politics since 2013 as a leader of the Malawi Congress Party (MCP) the party that led Malawi’s fight for emancipation from British rule in the early 1960s. On that party’s platform, he ran for president in 2014 and 2019, placing second both times. After each election, Chakwera, a Pastor, has preached peace and urged Malawians to accept election results. For this election, he teamed up with other alliances to form the Tonse Alliance, a group of nine opposition parties that he and his running mate Saulosi Chilima forged to defeat Mutharika. Alliances this year have been more important than ever after the Constitutional Court in February ruled that the victor must gain more than 50 percent of the vote, instead of the first-past-thepost system used previously. Speaking at a press conference after casting his vote, Chakwera said the electoral commission had so far “given us the confidence that the will of Malawians is going to be respected. Responding to statements from Mutharika that some opposition strongholds had seen violence on polling day, Chakwera said: “This is a peaceful country and we all need to vote peacefully and we all need to respect one another. And we do not need to fight. The vote is the fight.” President Chakwera has campaigned on a ticket to transform Malawi into a middle-income economy by building a capable democratic developmental state. Five core pillars underpin his approach to governance: he values servant leadership; uniting Malawians; prospering together; ending corruption; judicial independence and rule of law. President Chakwera has outlined several key initiatives, including a universal fertilizer subsidy to guarantee food security for every household, and has promised to create 1 million jobs by revamping industries that would add value to the crops of Malawian farmers. Much like his biblical name implies, Lazarus Chakwera has made a comeback in Malawian politics, and in a big way. Under his leadership, President Chakwera wants to propel his country forward and turn it into “a New Malawi”. We wish him all the successes he requires to move the country forward. TV www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

Victory Outreach Church Almere is a Pentecostal Church, a Bible based believing people in the trinity of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. What would you like to know? Our vision? Which activities we organize? Or would you like to hear testimonies about how we follow God? One thing is certain, we would like to get to know you and therefore you are more than welcome to visit one of our services in this new year 2020. You can visit us every day of the week as there is a Resident Pastor available to your demand. You may have been a believer for many years already. Or you might still be searching for the meaning of life and asking yourself whether or not there is God. Within Victory Outreach Almere we would like to help you find the answer. We will gladly teach you through the help of the Holy Spirit the exact meaning of â&#x20AC;&#x153;a living faithâ&#x20AC;?. With us you will truly see

and experience the supernatural power of the living God. You can always count on love and comfort when you need it. You will discover that we have a wonderful diversity of people with lots of different backgrounds, characters and personalities. But there is one thing we have in common. We all follow the same God, Jesus Christ. In that diversity and love for God, we are a family where you are more than welcome. We personally hope to meet you during one of our services. God bless you as you come in Jesus Christ name. Amen Signed: Pastor Roel & Ida van Rooij Senior Pastors Victory Outreach Almere. Barbeelstraat 12, 1317 PZ Almere The Netherlands. Telephone: 036-8417007; Telephone: 036-7505571 E-mail: info@voalmere.nl Website: www.voalmere.nl

Join our church service from 5th July 2020. Also online service via FACEBOOK & YOUTUBE

Victory Outreach Almere

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Feedback I AM IMPRESSED WITH YOUR INTERVIEW ON THE NIGERIAN AGRICULTURAL LADY IN ABUJA

Dear Editor, One of your cover story in the June edition on a young Nigerian lady into Agriculture makes a very good and interesting story to read. For a huge country like Nigeria and a government claiming to be investing in Agriculture, why should a young woman with so much potential not be supported with finance in the agribusiness sector to

develop the value chains needed to adapt to the ever dynamic global agricultural market and strive to satiate the consumer’s requirements. No other country in the world will come and help us feed the Nigerian nation so the Federal government should rather invest in this brilliant brains and investment in infrastructure to facilitate access to agriculture. It is obvious that we have the brains to make it work; access to finance, land, clean water, renewable energy, inputs such as fertilizers and highquality seeds especially and in arid areas is vital to boosting food productivity and self reliance. I hope there will be a follow up on her progress and I wish her successes in her adventure in business. By Victoria Adesina Abuja, Nigeria

EXCELLENT PUBLICATION YET AGAIN

Dear Editor, Thank you Pastor Iruh for sharing and for your excellent journalistic work. Your name has been caved into marble on account of your work. Much blessings and more strength. Hon. Collins Nweke Ostend, Belgium,

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FIVE YEARS OF BUHARI ADMINISTRATION IN NIGERIA.

Dear Editor, Two months ago (May 2020) marks the fifth year of Buhari’s reign as the President of Nigeria. Five years ago he promised to rescue the kidnapped Chibok Christian girls. He promised to bring the Naira exchange rate below N100 and put petrol price at N40. He promised to create 3m jobs a year, meaning that by now he would have created 15m jobs. He promised to give N5, 000 to unemployed Nigerians (not Northerners). He promised to lead the battle against Boko Haram from the front so as to eradicate the irritants. He promised constant electricity within five months. He promised to fight corruption squarely. He said he would fix public infrastructure. He promised to complete the second Niger Bridge. In his first inauguration on May 29, 2015 he said he belongs to no one, but belongs to all. On this note we expected him to fix our educational system, a broken Military and paramilitary forces, youth restiveness and ethnic agitations caused by brazen marginalization of some ethnic groups. Friends, kindly assess Buhari’s performance in five years and say whether he has kept his words. Please be objective and the Voice magazine will publish your views in subsequent editions of the magazine. I am curious to read your views. Nkem Jacob Lagos, Nigeria

WHO WILL WIN IN EDO STATE?

Dear Editor, For the record the results of godfather- godson fight have not always favoured the former except in Lagos. With Orji Uzor Kalu’s deft manouvre TA Orji who was his CoS won Abia Gubernatorial election from EFCC detention. Just few months after, the new governor gained independence and neutralized his benefactor; in Enugu State another CoS Sullivan Chime became governor with the help of the incumbent Chimaroke Nnamani and soon after dumped him. It’s the same story in Rivers where Rotimi Amaechi’s former CoS, Nyesom Wike effectively neutralized his former boss to win two terms in spite of Amaechi’s deployment of federal might to stop the second term bid; in Akwa Ibom Emmanuel Udom was also successful against his benefactor Godswill Akpabio to win a second term. Who can guess what will happen in Edo State? TV

CONGRATULATIONS TO MALAWIANS Dear Editor, Malawi breaks the record to elect the first clergy as President in Africa and return a party that lost power over 26 years ago. How best to describe him now, President Rev (Dr) Lazarous Chakwera, the President of the Republic of Malawi. This is a peculiar moment in God’s special calendar for Africa. In one single election, God has conclusively answered the two most critical questions in governance. 1. God has nullified the myth that a political party that loses power cannot be re elected. Kamuzu Banda’s Malawi Congress Party lost power in 1994 and today the 24th June 2020, the party has won the election to regain power. The incumbent can be defeated. 2. God has also nullified the long standing myth that a Pentecostal Reverend cannot become President. Today, Rev Lazarous Chakwera has become the 6th President of Malawi. The Bible says, “to everything there is a season. ”This is a new season for Africa to bring morality and integrity in African politics. This has been our fight and crusade over the last two decades. To bring the Christian values, to bring equity and justice to the long oppressed African person. This day goes down in the annals of history as the beginning of the true emancipation for Africa. Congratulations to Malawi. You have done it. You have beaten us at our own game. Congratulations to President Dr. Rev Chakwera for this memorable victory. By Evangelist Vin-Prince Obonyo from Kenya. (I met the new President is a program in Mzuzu, Malawi in December 2018 and less than two years now President of his country).

Politics of Godfatherism in Edo state

Dear Editor, Both Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State and his benefactor who is also former governor of the state, and now former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress

(APC), Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has become obvious. Both were in denial that the romance of political father and son has long gone until the last blow dished out to Obaseki as he was disqualified from the APC primairies for the Governorship race for him to secure a second term in office. Politically Oshiomhole has shown that he made Obaseki who is today in Edo politics and still trying to show that he cuts the shots in Edo State. On the other hand , Governor Godwin Obaseki

has dare him to a political fight has Obaseki has decamped to PDP to contest for a reelection in the state. It is obvious to the eyes that something is fundamentally wrong with APC. Despite Governor Obaseki going to chat one on one with Mr. President, also of the APC, it seems his visit to Aso Rock was a wasteful exercise; the President could not persuade Mr. Adams Oshiomhole to peddar softly for the sake of the party. In fact the interest of the party was not into consideration – it was a personality clashof Godfather and Godson battle for supremacy in Edo state. My fear is that this election would be bitter and dangerous – the Nigeria Police should be prepared for whatever outcome of this battle for the heart and soul of Edo State. In spite of the denial by the governor, investigations revealed that there is actually a face-off between him and Oshiomhole. The way it stands, the battle line has been drawn. Loyalists of both war lords have positioned themselves for the mother of all battles for the 2020 governorship election in Edo State. My prayer is that both APC and PDP should realize that a state of over 4 million people is greater than these two men who are pulling the State apart. Whatever happens Edo people should show maturity knowing that both Obaseki and Oshiomhole does not own Edo State, they are only two persons given chance to govern the State and they should allow peace to reign and democracy to take its course, it is a game of numbers. The person with the highest number of votes cast wins the election. The well being of our State cannot and must not be compromised for this political gladiators. Abebi Ekoma Benin-City, Edo State, Nigeria.

FEEDBACK

‘Where we go wrong? Wake up Nigerian youth! ‘Where we go wrong? Wake up Nigerian youths! “Awolowo was 37 years, Akintola 36, Ahmadu Bello 36, Balewa 34, Okotie-Eboh 27 and Enahoro 27 And they led the struggle for Nigeria Independence after the death of Macaulay. Only Zik was 42 at the time! In 1966, the first military coup was led by K. Nzeogwu who was 29 years and countered by M. Mohammed 28, T. Danjuma 28, I. Babangida 25, J. Garba 23, Sani Abacha 23 and M. Yar’adua 23, And brought to power Y. Gowon 32, Ojukwu 33, Obasanjo 29 and Buhari 24! Most of the military governors who governed the states under the successive military regimes were under 30 years. Also, the brief democratic dispensation which interjected the military interregnums also saw some Senators and members of the House of Representatives, in particular, populated by persons under 30! Under 30’s were also not in short supply with appointments - we have examples of MT Mbu who became Nigeria’s Foreign Affairs Minister at

Support ‘Tencovidmasks’ project to support talented tailors in Africa Dear Editor, I do hope that you and family are fine. We are okay here and working on several ventures. Please do help us in our latest work in the community via our brad new vehicle “tencovidmasks”. https://tencovidmasks.com/ Tencovidmasks is a campaign by our Stitchting Motivat (Motivation Foundation), based in The Netherlands. This campaign was created to promote the work done by talented home-based tailors from all over that are working so hard to make sure we have enough non-medical reusable facemasks to keep the communities safe from corona. We encourage the tailors to

23 and Pat Utomi who became a Federal Adviser at 27. And so on and so forth! NOW: Why is it that almost all this age bracket is today still sleeping in 3-seater chairs in their parents’ homes? Why is it that this age bracket is today still collecting pocket money from their parents? Why is it that this age bracket is today still writing JAMB? Why is it that this age bracket today still ‘sagg’ their trousers? Why is it that this age bracket is today still searching for jobs and not yet married? Why is it that this age bracket is today no longer qualified to even be leaders of youth wings of political parties? Why is it that this age bracket is today so docile? Why is this age bracket today incapable of feeding itself? Why is it that this age bracket is today barred from even aspiring to certain political offices? Why is it that this age bracket is today incapacitated, unwilling, unable and incapable of asking questions? God bless Nigeria Credit: Prof Wole Soyinka

find creative ways to produce STYLISH facemasks that bring cheer and comfort. We appreciate the men and women making these homemade Facemasks that are inspired by creative artwork and prints. Our innovative ecommerce platform is free to join and brings to the consumer a large choice of stylish masks at very affordable prices. Each tailor’s shop is created in multiple languages to reach a wider community base and boasts an innovative referral system that increases each tailor’s revenue and maximizes community participation. We ensure that nearly all the proceeds go to support these tailors and their communities. YOUR HELP: Apart from encouraging folks to buy masks, if you know of talented tailors in your network that we can promote, lead them to us. We only survive and prosper when we consider our collective well being first. Let’s keep well and safe. By Dr. Jones Lukose https://tencovidmasks.com/

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An interview with Ambrose Nwadike when he moved to Nigeria in 2008

igerians risk their lives on boats to enter Europe, more and more compatriots are returning to their homeland. It is mainly the highly educated. In December 2008, Mr. Ambrose Nwadike was interviewed in his home in Lagos, Nigeria. At home Ambrose Nwadike then 41 years old, lives in a well-guarded residential area with almost identical villas, Mora bitter balls and Calvé mustard are on the table. The Nigerian telecom consultant, who lived in the Netherlands for 17 years, adopted several customs from The Netherlands. For example, he practically ignores his cousin, who is bored on the couch during the interview, after spontaneously blowing in with his family. “I hate that, and then make an appointment,” says Nwadike with a smile, when he let his nephew out a little later.

“I had adapted so well, I was called ‘the white person’ in The Netherlands,” Nwadike continues. “I learned to skate and swim and served guests standard cauliflower with a cheese sauce, my favorite.” Nevertheless, he returned to Nigeria in 2008, together with his Nigerian wife Ronke (34), who grew up in England and she is a lawyer, and their two young children. They are not the only ones. More and more highly educated immigrants with good jobs are exchanging Western countries for their native Nigeria. For Nwadike, the Dutch adventure started in 1990, legally and with a backpack. With the idea of returning someday, he 16

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left Lagos, where he grew up in a middle-class family and studied Chemistry at the Lagos State University. After half a year as a quality manager at a plastics manufacturer and tired of yet another military coup, he went abroad. “Because many Nigerians go to the US and England, where I had been on holiday before, I wanted to go to a new European

country,” said Nwadike. “That became The Netherlands, where coincidentally some friends had acquaintances. I already spoke several languages, I didn’t mind learning one extra. ”

By mopping up school floors, a job as a factory manager at a plastics company and an MBA course, he ended up in the Telecom industry. He worked for various companies, such as KPN and PriceWaterhouseCoopers, and lived in various places in the Randstad. Nwadike: “I finally found my place in Amsterdam - the canals, the Albert Cuypmarkt, fantastic.” In recent years, I lived just outside the city in Badhoevedorp. I looked out on the Amsterdamse Bos, with people jogging and walking, and on water with beautiful, passing boats. I felt like I was on vacation at home. ” But when he was temporarily posted to Nigeria two years ago by his employer Celtel, he was charmed by his native country. Nwadike says: “Telecom has a huge growth market and the economy is booming. I also saw that it is ideal for growing

children. My daughter’s school has everything, a swimming pool, sports fields and large playgrounds, and the education is of a high standard. ” In recent years in The Netherlands, he felt less and less welcome; according to him the living climate became more negative after September 11, 2001. Nwadike: “All discussions around Wilders,

newspapers full of nagging about immigrants and everyone who thinks they can say everything. More often arrested by the police because of my skin color, I was used to that, without approving it. But something was added, something scary too, that normal people are dragged into. Due to my appearance, I was increasingly addressed as an immigrant, even though I had completely adapted. ” His family moved to Nigeria a year later and today he is a partner of the Telecom Advisory Services Limited consultancy. He is still devoted to the Netherlands. Nwadike: “I often read the newspapers via the internet and regularly listen to Radio Netherlands Worldwide and Dutch songs on YouTube. Every few months I am still in The Netherlands, mostly on business. Then I stock up on shopping carts full of foodstuffs at Albert Heijn, which I fly back in large cooler bags. Imported products are much more expensive here and things like sprinkles are not available at all. That way the children don’t miss anything. ” This is one of his relaxed interviews not talking about business, telecommunications or politics or sports. Courtesy of Elwin Verheggen published in The Volkskrant in The Netherlands. www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

Ambrose Myles Nwadike was born in Nigeria in October 1969

e started schooling at Sunnyfields Nursery and Primary School in Surulere, Lagos, and attended Government College, Eric Moore also in Surulere, Lagos for his secondary education. In 1984, he was admitted as one of the pioneering students of the Lagos State University (LASU) where he graduated with a BSc in Chemistry in 1988. He also obtained a Masters degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the Kingston University in the United Kingdom, class of 1996 and also attended the Haarlem Business School in The Netherlands with MBA degree. A member of the LASU Pioneer Graduation Class of 1988, Ambrose was until his death a telecommunications industry expert. He was a people oriented personality known on his job and outside his job. Many have not remembered him for his writing

skills as well, he founded the Coloured Pictures Magazine, a photocentric publication aimed at sharing African cultures and traditions with host European countries. During his many travels, he comes up with beautiful African story telling pictures and he thought it was not good enough to keep them in his archives; he decided to produce this magazine. He could not cope with the burden of combining the publication of this magazine with his other work engagements. It was a great joy and pride to the African and international audience with the gift of Coloured Pictures Magazine, many still have their old cherished editions at home. Ambrose was a near 18

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perfect loving father to his two wonderful children, Demi, recently turned 18 and Alex, our future football star. Ambrose Nwadike is survived by his father, two children, five siblings and several family relavtives of the Nwadike clan. May his soul rest in perfect peace. Amen

October 6th 1969 â&#x20AC;&#x201C; June 9th 2020

AMBROSE MYLES NWADIKE: THE MAN WE REMEMBERS In the last two decades, Ambrose has had the opportunity of delivering business growth as a Strategy Management Consultant through PwC, Nokia Siemens Consulting and Telecom Advisory Services (TAS), as a software, equipment and services supplier through Nokia Siemens Networks and Nortel Networks, and as a telecom senior executive at KPN Mobile Holland, Celtel Group, Celtel (now Airtel) Nigeria and Vodafone in 4 different countries. His team at TAS Limited has been instrumental in saving operators over $500Million in the last decade alone as a result of pioneering work done to create opportunities while plugging gaps in the telecom value chain. Many have been startups in Africa. Ambrose co-authored a book for the Dutch Royal Police on telecom fraud. He has written numerous articles, run many international tutorials and frequently speaks at and chairs conferences. He was recognized in 2018 by his peers as one of the best Pioneering Telecom

Risk Experts in the African Hall of Fame and is now halfway through his career ambition of training and directly affecting 1000 new African telecom experts Ambrose is an experienced (mobile) telecommunications industry executive who has had the opportunity of gaining

experience as a consultant through PwC, a supplier through Nortel Networks and Cerebrus Solutions and in the operations environment with KPN Mobile and more recently, Celtel International and many more international companies. He has vast experience in managing large multinational projects. He has analysed the challenges facing telecommunications companies and designs solutions to help prevent revenue losses across board. He worked as consultant to clients including Vodafone, Brasil Telecom, Swisscom, Meditel, KPN BU E&S, etc. His specialties are in General Management, Revenue Assurance, Business Intelligence, Business Operations, Billing and Fraud Management And it all started as Manager, Customer Care & Billing PMU for KPN Mobile from 1996 to 1998 and rapidly moves to become senior management consultant at PrincewaterhouseCoopers from May 1998 to July 2000 working as a Management consultant and from there he never looked back. He has moved from one height to another and he was not prepared to slow down yet as you will read from his other accomplishments. From August 2000 to August 2003, Ambrose was director Management Consulting for Nortel Networks (Cerebrus Solutions). He was Head Management Consulting services, developed a Go To Market Strategy that ensured new products are delivered according to plan, budget and on time. Ambrose was Director Revenue Management & Group Revenue Assurance Director for Celtel international BV from 2004 to 2007. Earlier held similar position as Director Revenue Management for ZAIN GROUP from 2004 to 2007 Director Revenue Management (RA, FM & BI) for Celtel International (a member of Zain Group) from 2004 to 2007 He was Chief Billing and Administration officer and Director for Revenue management at Celtel from April 2006 to December 2007. He was responsible for Revenue Management, Billing, Provisioning and Administration, Business Intelligence an Executive Information Management, Company Reporting, Procurement and Management of Consumables - SIMs, Recharges, etc. He was a Partner at Telecom Advisory Services (TAS) from January 2007 to May 2009. TAS Limited offers customised solutions, leveraging on global footprint and local expertise. Ambrose was Principal Consultant Middle East & Africa for Nokia Siemens Networks from May 2009 to June 2016 www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

His resume includes being a Managing Partner with Telecom Advisory Services, Limited from January 2016 to November 2019. His work location took him to London, Lagos, Lusaka, Kinshasa, Brazzaville, Maputo, Accra, Kabul, Dubai, and Amsterdam. He was responsible for a team of Top Telecoms Management Consulting Professionals, (Telecom) Software Development & Management Professionals and Outsource Contractors in 10+ countries in the Middle East, Africa & Europe. His specialist Areas include but not limited to: RA, FM, BI, BSS/OSS, Finance, CRM, PM, Corporate Strategy, Business Planning, Marketing & Sales, etc.

Ambrose Nwadike , second from the left being announced as the Award winner in 2018 in Nairoibi, Kenya

Ambrose Nwadike receives lifetime Achievement Award

mbrose Nwadike was presented the Risk Reward Awards Lifetime Achievement Award for Africa by Luke Taylor. The award ceremony was held alongside the Risk & Assurance Group event at Safaricom PLC head office in Nairobi, Kenya in September 2018. Managing Partner Telecom Advisory Services, Author & 1st Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Telecom Risk Management (RAG 2018)- This text boldly inscribed on the award presented to Mr. Ambrose Nwadike and this award sum up his life and work, truly a lifetime Achievement Award acknowledged by his colleagues around the globe. Such was the intimidating profile of Mr. Ambrose Nwadike. Congratulations Mr. Ambrose Nwadike

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AMBROSE MYLES NWADIKE : The Smiling icon who has gone to light up the heavens

The Board of Stichting Paddi Europa, Publisher of The Voice News Magazine and our other affiliate organizations would like to send its love and prayers to the children & the family of Ambrose Nwadike, who passed away on 9th June 2020. He is a colleague, a friend and a brother to us all. We would miss him dearly. TV Management www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

A TRIBUTE TO JOURNALIST AMBROSE MYLES NWADIKE

ou never read Journalism, you never wanted to be one but then we crossed path as you helped me to nurture my magazine, The Voice magazine, I asked if you wanted to be part of it but you declined because you were too ambitions pursing your career in the Telecommunication industry. After three years, you returned from one of your trips to North Africa and you came back with so many historic pictures and you told me, you want to document African history through pictures for the European audience who seem not to know us as Africans. I tried talking you out of it, thinking of the cost of producing all coloured magazine of several pages. You left me without saying anything about it again. What I saw next was a full all coloured Picture magazine – a great achievement. You put together an excel team that worked with you to produce the magazine, still not satisfied, you started combining it with beautiful well written and researched stories. You did one of my biggest interviews so far where you touched every aspect of my life in your Issue of 03-15 edition in 2004. The magazine did accomplish its objective- bringing out the best of Africa for the rest of the world to see. You assembled one of the best none trained journalists, professionals in their various fields but you made them to write and make pictures for the viewing/ reading public. The magazine served its purpose but the usual Ambrose was still not satisfied, he eventually moved on to other projects. Writing a tribute to you Ambrose Nwadike knowing you will not read it is the last thing I love to do, I see my writing this as if I am writing a tribute for myself before my time comes. I have written 12 pages and nothing is satisfactory for me to consider as expressive enough to describe the person of Ambrose Myles Nwadike. He is a significant loss to his family and all those who knew him. In fact our journey of close to 30 years shouldn’t have ended the way it ended, no parting words just our usual chat knowing that we would continue the next day or time as we see it fit to talk. I cannot pick out when I saw you angry, bitter, disturbed by any situation or subject. Once I joked that you should have been a Pastor instead. He laughed it off and said I have enough of Pastors around me. He wanted to produce more telecom experts that he became. He loves to talk, chat and just express himself through humors. He was that one whose smiles stand the chance to live longer but why it didn’t happen is left to God alone to judge. My comfort is that you left the way you would have chose to leave – leaving us with a subject of discussion. Death. However for now this is too heavy a subject to discuss – there is still so much pain in the hearts of those whom you loved and they loved you back. The why, how, where, when 22

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and what took your life away from us. Even the autopsy has not brought a closure to your case- Died of Natural causes at 50 plus! Only God understands. Your children, families and even friends don’t understand this and they would never understand it. ONE THING FOR SURE IS THAT YOU WILL BE FOREVER LOVED AND MISSED, AMBROSE NWADIKE. Lastly, you cheated me, last year August I told you to come with us to Kenya so we could recognized you with The Voice Achievers Award 2019, you smartly turned it down that because of your tight schedule you could not make it to Kenya and you don’t want the award in absentee rather you will wait for the 2020 edition and hopefully it would be held in Holland so you prefer to be receive the award in 2020. Unfortunately I told you we cancel because of the Corona Virus crisis and you smiled like “Thank God I escape this award thing”. Yes you did escape it now but I still promise you, we would celebrate you and you will hear about it in heaven. Ambrose Nwadike, thank you for allowing me to be part of your journey here on earth. Hopefully we would see each other again in Jesus Christ name. Amen. By Pastor Ambassador Ndubuisi Elvis Iruh

MORE TRIBUTES FOR AMBROSE NWADIKE While we mortals do not last forever, most of our good impressions, positive actions and value adding legacies do last very long. Thus Ambrose’s imprints are here to stay. While we will always miss Ambrose but let us not forget to remember what a good person and friends he was. While its difficult to think or to rationalize that he is no more, let us thank Ambrose for being good, selfless and value adding to humanity. You were among the very few bests amongst us, we will always miss you; and May the Almighty God accept your Soul in Jesus Name! By Oliver Nwankwor Ambrose Nwadike you live in our thoughts forever Ambrose my brother and friend, I still cannot believe it that you are gone to be with the Lord. Your passing is a terrible tragedy for all of us who know you. You were an inspiration to me and I admired all those wonderful qualities that made you the special person you were. You had intelligent, charm and caring heart that made you a great friend. Your generous spirit, warmth and resilience lives in you. Being around during my son’s wedding that took place on the 19 December 2019 was a blessing. I will always be thankful and I will cherish your memory for years to come. In friendship & Sorrow. By Samson Okorocha I am still stupefied and almost breathless. This feels like an endless dream, and I would rather continue sleeping because it’s so unreal. You were ever a gentle man, full of charm and such a sweet soul. I never thought you’d go so soon. You will indeed be greatly missed, but I’ll always cherish our friendship. Rest dear friend, REST!! May God grant your family the fortitude to cope with your sudden departure. By Rev. Hillary Warre-Okposo

We chatted on the night of your passing not knowing that was the last. Over 30 years of friendship and we never had a dispute. That says a lot about you my dear brother. Though every soul must taste death but yours is still so soon. May you rest peacefully my brother. Forever loved. By Kay Lawal

With great shock and heavy Heart I have had to drop these few lines. Why Bro, why so soon. You came like a star and left like a legend, which you are. Your story and accomplishments in this short period will EVER be told till I take my last breath. I could remember our chats on varying topics in our forum, on the night of 6th July till very late in the night. Little did I know it would be the last. What a world!! You have conquered death. It’s a step we all have to brave. Once again, you have taken a big STEP ahead of us, as you consistently did in your life TIME. ~ The Brose, as I fondly call you. You will ever be missed. The lives of those of us whose lives you touched, will NEVER be same again till we join you bro. May the Lord God grant us, more especially your Father the Heart to bear this loss. We love you. Adieu By Donald Okeke

Brose we chatted on the day before you passed. I am in total shock. I cannot understand this we have been chatting all through. All the plans all gone now. Our friendship and brotherhood spanned 16 years. You were a great man you gave it all. You were an incredibly kind and an amazing friend. Rest in Peace Brother. By Edwin Momife

What a story! Just heard this! What happened? What can I say, May his soul rest in perfect peace. I pray for comfort for the family. Saw him last in The Netherlands! God gives and takes. We take solace that he is at peace with his maker. Rest In Peace Ambrose! By Hajara Yusuf

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aMBROSE NWADIKE At exactly 15.19pm today will be a week you dropped your last message on our whatsup group chat. What happened? Why you? These are the questions everyone is asking, you were hale and healthy, you never gave an inkling anything was amiss with you. Your death has sent shocking waves across the world from your immediate family to the extended ones, friends, acquaintances and associates. I am in pain, shocked, lost and really losing my mind since Tuesday after I got the news. Armstrong Okobia, Anthony Ezebuife, Donald Okeke, Lawi Dennis, Ali Bolaji Lawal, Kay Lawal, Kola Akanbi, Samson Okorocha, Tunji Owobawale and their wives are all devastated from this news like many others. You lived a fulfilled life, successful, focused and always a goal getter, you left an indelible impact on everyone you came across with. Your school Alma Maters also said you’re a rallying point on their platform just like you’re on ours too. My thoughts are with Ronke, Ademi, AW, your Dad and siblings. May God grant your soul eternal peace, may you dwell among the angels. May God give everyone the fortitude to bear your loss. Amen. Ambrose Nwadike this should not have been you I am writing a tribute about. Rest on my friend, Rest on my brother, Rest on my confidant. Life will never be the same again with your loss. May all your dreams on your kids come true. Amen. You have left a very big vacuum for AW that no one can fill, don’t turn your back on the boy that he will miss you so much, make it easy for Ronke to fill in your gap. For now I will take solace in my religion believing that God giveth and taketh. Adieu to one of the best dude I can call a gentleman. By Musty Ahmed

Dear Family And Friends, on behalf of the Nwadike family, l want to say a big thank you to all who have taken out time to send condolence messages and also made phone calls on hearing of Ambrose’s passing. To know him, is to love him and if you knew him, you would have asked the simple question l and others asked, what happened to Ambrose? We had to wait for the doctors’ autopsy result to formally make the painful announcement. AMBROSE NWADIKE died of “Natural Causes’, and NO, he didn’t die of any other sickness or the dreaded ‘Coronavirus’. He wasn’t sick, and was busy on the phone and the social media a day before he stopped responding to his calls. Please allow the family to mourn our loss at this time, while we await an approval by the council in UK for a burial date in July. May God be with us all and may the giver of life afford us the grace of a long and good life. We are grateful. By Ralph Nwadike

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It’s two weeks today since you left us; our hearts are broken beyond words. My big brother, you didn’t even sign off with the usual ‘laters’. We miss you terribly, your laughter, your incessant WhatsApp messages and your love for life. Our tears will dry but your legacy will remain. You lived. You loved. You danced. We will continue. We will dance on your behalf. We will love all you left behind. By Tessy Ojo (Younger sister to Ambrose Nwadike)

WE LOSS AMBROSE NWADIKE: He was A world class Telephony Specialist. He was the shinning star of the Nwadike’s family. He was our Son, our brother, our cousin, our uncle and a wonderful father that loves his children with passion. And Yes, its official, as l have been living in denial since that June 9th afternoon that that call came through from the UK, announcing your passing . The autopsy report puts a stop to any miracle happening. Died of natural causes? Who do we hold responsible,?What do we hold responsible? You came like a shooting star , shinning bright for all to see. You touched the lives of all who knew you . You were the one that remembers to call everyone, although you literally are a world citizen because of the nature of your job You were the one that thinks how to bring the Nwadike’s together. But can anyone query God your creator? It pleases him to call home his own. Yes, he loved you first before you came to bless us with your wonderful presence . We love you Ambrose , but God loves you more. Rest In Peace My Beloved Cousin . By Ralph Nwadike

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Bobi Wine and Dr. Kizza Besigye coalition: What future for Uganda?

gandans are anxiously waiting to see what the new romance between Bobi Wine and veteran politician, Dr. Kizza Besigye will produce against the old President Museveni as they look forward to yet another election where the former gladiators are preparing to slug it out again. On 6th of May 2020, the young and old politician came into agreement to work together although no clear indication how they plan to do that yet. President Yoweri Museveni seem not to be troubled by the new partnership, the concern now is how with this partnership affects Dr. Kizza Besigye, who claims to be the Peoples’ President and the young musician/politician parading himself as the new People power. Will his partnership strengthen Besigye or weaken his popularity. The nation and the rest of the world watch on. Besigye, representing the People’s Government, and Robert S. Kyagulanyi, the Kyadondo East MP also known as Bobi Wine, representing the People Power Movement and their teams met on May 6th 2020 for discussions on the political way forward to remove President Museveni from power. The meeting we were told took place at Bobi Wine’s home in Magere, Wakiso District, he was welcome back home having been in detention since 29th April till 2nd May 2020 when he was granted bail. It was an unexpected turn of event because before it, Besigye and Bobi Wine had been lobbing sharp criticism at each other and their supporters appeared divided. Some were excited to see them working together but others were not. In a joint statement after the meeting, Besigye and Bobi Wine had said: “we agreed that despite belonging to different formations/fronts, we must all work together as partners”. What does being ‘partners’ mean? This was the main issue when the joint statement signed by Besigye for the People’s Government and Robert S. Kyagulanyi, the Kyadondo East MP also known as Bobi was released to the press on 8th May 2020. But Mukono Municipality MP Betty Nambooze who spoke for Besigye and erstwhile NTV news anchor turned 26

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politician Joel Senyonyi who spoke for Bobi Wine either stuck to the vague statement or issued clarification after clarification. The statement said: “We acknowledge that the forces of change are stronger when we work together and speak with the same voice as we confront the common enemy”. Does that mean that Besigye and Bobi Wine camps will field one presidential candidate in 2021, journalists asked. “At this moment, it is difficult to talk about candidates,” Nambooze said. She added: “We are in discussion. What is best for Uganda is that they see us as one team at the polls”. Meanwhile Senyonyi said: “We hope we can pull all entities together and then we discuss”. Both said each group will continue carrying out its own, separate activities but added that there would be some joint activities. When it became clear that nothing was clear yet, some commentators said Bobi Wine, who appears to be surging ahead of all opposition leaders, had squandered his popularity by being associated with Besigye whose popularity is said to be sinking. But did the May 6 agreement weaken Bobi Wine? Or was Besigye sinking and did Bobi Wine rescue him? Was that a smart move? And can Besigye now cause trouble for Bobi Wine ahead of the 2021 presidential election? In any case, Besigye appears to have embraced the renewed links to Bobi Wine. At the most recent activity for his mother party; Forum for Democratic Change (FDC) leaders and supporters at the party headquarters in Najjanankumbi on May 12, Besigye scoffed that those who thought he had failed to overthrow President Museveni. He said that they had reached an understanding with Bobi Wine that in the war to overthrow Museveni, they faced the same challenges and that if they were to overcome them, they have to cooperate in that fight. Party leaders and supporters, he added, should not sit whenever Bobi Wine is mistreated.

The event comes after recent poll by Research World International (RWI) put Besigye behind Bobi Wine in popularity. The poll showed that if elections were held today, Bobi Wine would get 22% of the vote and Besigye 13%. It is the first time any opposition leader is ahead of Besigye in a poll. But Bobi Wine remains a far second to President Yoweri Museveni who got 32% in the popularity vote. That is why many think only a joint opposition candidate can challenge Museveni. Besigye’s biggest challenge is that after four attempts, many see his efforts as an exercise in futility. The excitement appears to rotate around Bobi Wine. But can Besigye, who has rejected such moves in all previous elections, allow to Bobi

Wine to lead the opposition?

These events are also happening when Besigye, who is a former FDC flag-bearer, has intensified activities in what appears an effort to shore up his support ahead of the 2021 elections. He has been holding events across the country in recent months. His name has been in the headlines as police has teargased his meeting, dragged him out of radio stations, and occasionally detained him. These events are aimed at maintaining his position as the de facto leader of opposition. Also, perhaps as a strategy, Besigye and FDC party loyalists have ignored or dismissed the poll showing Bobi Wine’s popularity. FDC stalwart Salamu Musumba says polls gauge the opinion at the time they are done and do not determine how people

contender, had led many senior opposition politicians to write off Besigye. They claimed Mbabazi had a better chance than Besigye of defeating Museveni. They insisted on Mbabazi as a joint opposition candidate. But Besigye rejected him and run as the FDC candidate. By the time the election ended, Besigye had posted one of his best performances ever. Back in 2001, Besigye got 2,055,795 votes representing 27.82% against Museveni’s 5,123,360 or 69.33%. In 2006, he got 2,592,954 or 37.39% against Museveni’s 4,109,449 or 59.26%. This meant that while Museveni lost over a million votes, Besigye gained over half a million. But in 2011, Besigye secured only 2,064,963 or 26.01% against Museveni’s 5,428,369or 68.38%. This was easily Besigye’s worst performance both in percentage terms and number of votes. In 2016 Besigye was, as is happening now, told that he has no chance having been given three chances and failed to dislodge Museveni and Maj. Gen. Mugisha Muntu appeared set to be the FDC presidential candidate. Besigye changed strategy. He repeatedly said he would not participate in elections if the electoral process were not reformed. He was even abroad during the party nomination period. However, at the last minute, in the last week of June 2015, he wrote an email to the FDC’s Electoral Commission indicating that he was picking nomination forms - by proxy through Godfrey Ekanya and Ingrid Turinawe. Besigye told his supporters that Museveni was at his weakest and would be defeated this time. A few critics reminded Besigye that he had pronounced Museveni to be at his weakest the previous times but failed to dislodge him. Still, he ran against Muntu and defeated him to become, once again, the FDC flag-bearer. But more hurdles lay ahead for Besigye. The opposition was planning on a joint presidential candidate under the Democratic Alliance (TDA).

will vote in future. In any case, FDC spokesperson and opposition Chief Whip Semujju Nganda says, polls conducted in the past have not been accurate about Besigye. They have showed Besigye to be unpopular yet he has gone on to score highly in elections. In the run-up to the last election in 2016, for example, the emergency of former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi as a

The FDC under Muntu, Democratic Party (DP), Uganda Federal Alliance (UFA), UPC, the Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), Justice Forum, Conservative Party (CP) and Pressure for National Unity leaders had all signed a protocol as members of TDA. Continued on Page 28

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Continued from Page 27

up agreeing to “partner” with.

And majority seemed to favour former Prime Minister Amama Mbabazi as the joint opposition candidate.

However, ever since Bobi Wine joined elective politics in 2016, the view of Besigye as the lead opposition contender since 2001 has changed. Bobi Wine is seen as the biggest political threat to Museveni ahead of the 2021 elections.

Besigye initially appeared to go along with the TDA process but later abandoned it when it became clear that he would not be picked as the flag bearer. He decided to run on his own. At the time, Busiro North MP and DP stalwart Merdard Segona likened Besigye to tiny and cheap silver fish (mukene) in terms of political clout, with Mbabazi as

Part of the reason is that Bobi Wine’s music is seen as his most lethal mobilisation tool. His November 2018 Kyarenga concert at the One Love Beach in Busabala, which he owns, is to-date the biggest concert by any Ugandan artist. Since then, the artist claims that the state has blocked 124 of his music concerts in what is seen as an effort to cripple him both financially and politically. But it is not clear how the state will deal with Bobi Wine’s music when the campaigns proper start. His rallies might be music concerts. Previously Bobi Wine was just a pop star and even his music was more social issues-oriented than political.

President Museveni is watching all the political moves to remove him from office the bigger, richer Nile Perch. Then, while addressing the press on September 29, 2015, party spokesperson Kenneth Kakande said that with Besigye, the opposition has been having a good player but never scored any goal and “we think Mbabazi knows the tricks as to how we can secure that victory”. Some FDC MPs like Beatrice Anywar openly criticised Besigye and the party responded with threats to crack the whip forcing other members like former Leader of Opposition Morris Ogenga Latigo to come out and state publicly that they do not support Mbabazi. Despite all this, Besigye ran one of the best campaigns in 2016 and posted one of his best performances so far. He got 3,508,687 or 35.61% of the election. Amama Mbabazi who many had marketed as the better shot against Museveni only managed 136,519 or 1.39%. But Museveni still won with 5,971,872 or 60.62%. Besigye felt strengthened. He declared that he had in fact won the election, was clandestinely sworn-in and formed the ‘People’s Government’ that Bobi has ended 28

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Then in the build up to the 2016 elections, he made the switch focusing mainly on political music, and targeting President Yoweri Museveni’s government directly. In just two years, he has been christened Uganda’s king of protest music in Uganda. Using protest music, Bobi Wine challenged the ruling party shortly before and after the elections. His music set the stage for him to win the Kyadondo East election in 2017 but his supremacy was seen as he defeated candidates fronted by Besigye and FDC and Museveni and the ruling NRM. Immediately he was sworn in at parliament, he led the campaign against the ruling party’s move to eliminate the presidential age limit. He became the centre of both local and international attention as a desperate Museveni deployed soldiers to invade parliament to force the vote. Then the Arua Municipality by-election happened. Maverick NRM stalwart Ibrahim Abiriga had held the seat and Museveni was determined for NRM to retain it. He campaigned there vigorously. Besigye and the FDC also fielded a candidate. But Wadri, a late entrant who Bobi Wine campaigned for won. Bobi Wine’s credentials as the opposition leader were cemented because he paid the highest price; his driver was killed in what was seen as an assassination attempt on him. He was later badly tortured and locked up on trumped up gun possession charges.

Bobi Wine was not the only opposition politician who was arrested and beaten. But both international and local media focused on him. This exerted pressure on the state to release him and allow him to get medical treatment in the U.S. for him to

The Catholic and Buganda leadership have in previous elections either spoken in favour of the opposition especially Besigye or used the opposition as a bargaining chip to win concessions from Museveni. In return, President Museveni has always tried to create the impression that he shares power with the powerful Baganda constituency. Al Hajji Moses Kigongo has been ruling party vice chairman since it came to power in 1986 and all vice presidents except one have been Baganda; Samson Kiseka (1991-94), Gilbert Bukenya (20032011), and Edward Ssekandi (2011 to present). Sekandi and Bukenya are also Catholics. None of these could Museveni in an election.

recover from the injuries he suffered. While in the U.S. Bobi with the help of U.S. based lawyer Robert Armsterdam held a press conference that won him unprecedented airplay on most major international cable networks. Back home, Bobi Wineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s touch was credited for other opposition victories. Many started seeing him as a kingmaker hardly a year after he joined elective politics. Apart from the music, Bobi belongs to three major voting blocs--he is catholic, which is the biggest religious group in Uganda, he is also a Muganda and therefore belongs to the biggest tribe, and at 38, he more than anyone else amongst the presidential hopefuls, appeals to the youth who ahead of the 2021 polls could make up over 70 percent of the voters. Observers say tribe, religion, and the youth card might play a bigger role in the 2021 elections. Already, videos have started emerging showing priests either singing along to Bobi Wineâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s song or using the pulpit to call on the state to stop blocking his concerts. In one video, a priest is seen urging followers to fight for the truth just like Bobi Wine is doing even in if it means being killed. The youthful priest says this is the turn for youth.

challenge

All presidential elections have featured a Muganda, although most have been also run without any chance of winning. Only Paul Kawanga Ssemogerere was a credible challenger, first to Milton Obote of UPC in 1980 and to Museveni in 1996. Bobi Wine is now seen as Bugandaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best shot at the presidency, he runs in 2021. As he plans for the 2021 elections, Besigye must bear all this in mind. It is the first time he is running against or alongside an opposition candidate who is seen to be more popular than him. Bobi Wine is also different from President Museveni and Besigye in many other ways. They are in almost the same age bracket (Besigye 63 years and Museveni 75 years), they fought together in the 1981-86 war together, are from the same religion--protestants, and come from the same region--western Uganda. In contests where these things have tended to play a role, Bobi Wine is a clearly differentiated product. Besigye has always benefited from the sympathy vote owing to the brutal treatment from security forces. With Bobi Wine facing the same treatment, the sympathy vote could at the very least be split between them. For now, whether Bobi Wine working with Besigye will appeal or put off voters is the question.

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The Gambia denies approval of homosexuality in the country

he Gambia Government through the Office of The Spokesperson to the President has made a public statement to the press on the position of The Gambian government on the controversy surrounding allegations that the government has homosexuality in The Gambia.

independence of the judiciary as evident in the most recent high-profile cases.

Below is the statement.

In the wake of the simmering controversy surrounding gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgender (LGBT) in The Gambia, The Government of President Adama Barrow wants to make it absolutely clear that neither President Barrow himself nor any member of his government, its envoy, agent or representative has ever signed, consented to, participated in or even pretended to support any deal, package, programme or agenda for the promotion of LGBT rights as is being falsely reported on news and various social media platforms. In fact, at no time had The Gambia Government ever been faced with the option to accept donor funds as bargaining chips or conditionality for the relaxation of LGBT rights.

Therefore, it is not only baffling but worrisome to hear some opposition and religious leaders engage in crude speculations or indulge in insinuations and wild innuendoes that cannot be substantiated. Since assuming office in 2017, President Adama Barrow has been working tirelessly to strengthening our democracy, upholding the rule of law and promoting the values of, press freedom, constitutional due process and the 30

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Regrettably, some elements within society have seized this democratic space to sometimes indulge in malicious fabrications against the Government and then peddle these falsehoods on social media to potentially create confusion and distrust among citizens. We therefore urge the Gambian people to remain steadfast against the spread of misleading information and always with respect to Government actions, to verify their accuracy with the relevant authorities. Significantly, while the Barrow Government respects and protects the fundamental human rights of all citizens as circumscribed by law and enshrined in our Constitution, it is patently false to suggest that it has been corrupted, compromised or preconditioned to accept European funds to accommodate LGBT rights in our laws. This is false political propaganda orchestrated to score cheap political points. Accordingly, The Gambia Government continues to be guided by the values and norms of its people, existing laws and has no plans to either decriminalize or even entertain a review of laws on homosexuality. Signed: Ebrima G Sankareh The Gambia Government Spokesperson

COLUMN

THE JOB THAT WAS

t was dawning and my family of two was already awake. My 1 year old baby was crying endlessly while my husband lay helplessly on our small family bed as he whimpered in pain. He had recently been involved in a nasty road accident that left him hospitalized for days as he went about with By Eva Nakato his Boda Boda business, a job that involves ferrying of passengers on a motorcycle in exchange for a fee. We could no longer pay the hospital bills so he had to return and recover from home. It was a very difficult time for us. I was an 18 year old girl who had got married to solve my financial problems. I could no longer watch my husband groan in pain and my baby wail due to hunger. This time round, I had to think and act very fast for the survival of my family. As I got out of the house, my eyes landed on my husband’s fairly old ‘boda-boda’ motorcycle parked in the corner. I suddenly remembered how he had taught me how to ride it while we were still dating. In fact, he had on many occasions allowed me to ride it to the market to buy groceries for home use. My eyes lit with excitement as an idea popped into my head. How about I continued my husband’s job to save myself and my family by raising some money to push us through while he recovered? ‘Don’t even think about it! You are only a woman!’ I said to myself. It was unheard of, very unimaginable and a taboo for a girl child to ride a motorcycle aka Boda Boda as a job. Probably worse for a married woman or a wife for that matter! After deliberating for several minutes, I finally made up my mind. I was hitting the road at sunrise, come rain or sunshine! However, I was not yet sure how to disclose this to my husband and what would be his reaction. I decided to fake a clever lie that he eventually allowed me to use his motorcycle. I felt a great relief that I couldn’t express my real intention to him. I thanked him, went straight to the kitchen and prepared sugarless porridge from the last bit of maize flour at home before hiting the road. Minutes later, I was officially on the road as a female boda-boda rider! While I searched for passengers, some taxi drivers and passengers wondered what I was thinking or

doing - this is a man’s job. The boda-boda men on the other hand advised me to stop and head back to my wife duties and take care of my sick husband. Others scared me that I would die at the hands of iron bar hitmen since I was just a poor defenseless woman. I was heartbroken. Suddenly, I was all excited when my first passenger stopped me. After negotiating the fares, I rode him and a few minutes later we arrived at his destination. He got off the motorcycle and walked away. I ran to remind him about my fee thinking he had just forgotten. Instead, he grabbed me by the collar and threatened to beat me up if I didn’t leave his sight. When I insisted that he should pay me, he even became more aggressive and violent towards me. As his punch was about to land on my face, I opened my eyes. It was just a dream! Okay, mine might have been a dream but do you think the circumstances are different for the women who are brave enough to do jobs that are deemed to be men’s job? I guess no! In a traditional African society like Uganda, women are expected to be doing different jobs from their male counterparts. Majority of the jobs recommended for women are mostly in the domestic sphere. So it is considered rather ridiculous if a woman dares to cross the gender demarcations with regards to jobs and employment. However, there are women who have been courageous enough to break the gender stereotypes. Amidst all the challenges, their lives and that of the people around them have been positively impacted. They have been able to earn a decent living, built houses for their families, empowered themselves and even financially liberated themselves. These women’s efforts are worth recognizing and celebrating! I would like to read your reaction to my column. How is women treated differently in your country? Are women able to do any type of job as their men counterparts are able to do without society raising an eyebrow on the question, ‘what does she think is doing?’ Eva Nakato is from Kampala, Uganda. She is an actress, Singer, HIV Advocate, Voice over and Commercial Model, Artist, Mentor and a Writer. This is her third write up for The Voice magazine through Vice Versa magazine, a Dutch international magazine published both in Dutch and English. She would also like to read from you if your enjoy her column.... Send her an email through info@thevoicenewsmagazine.com Also congratulations to your twin sister and yourself on your birthdays....... www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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Meet President Evariste Ndayishimiye: Burundi’s New President!

resident Ndayishimiye inherits an isolated country under sanctions with a national psyche damaged by years of political violence but he is determined to change all of that soonest as he resumes power in a very solemn ceremony after the sudden death of the former President and his mentor, late President Nkurunziza. In his first speech as President, he paid a long homage to Nkurunziza and promised to follow in his path, showing little departure from the tone of his predecessor as he lambasted the international community for interfering in the country’s politics. The general was handpicked by the governing CNDDFDD party to replace Nkurunziza and won a disputed election in May 2020. Nkurunziza, who reigned for a tumultuous 15 years, had been expected to continue to wield power after stepping down and some observers say his death could give Ndayishimiye more independence. Described by those who know him as more open-minded than many in the CNDD-FDD party, President Ndayishimiye is not associated with the worst abuses of recent years. But neither did he stand out as trying to rein in the violence that erupted after the 2015 election, when Nkurunziza won a third term that was seen by many as unconstitutional. The violence that followed left 1,200 dead and sparked a refugee exodus. A

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United Nation commission later accused the government of gross abuses including summary executions, rape and torture. President Ndayishimiye is to inherit a deeply isolated country, under sanctions and cut off by foreign donors, its economy and national psyche damaged by years of political violence and human rights violations. The Burundi Human Rights Initiative said President Ndayishimiye’s appointment was a compromise between Nkurunziza and a small but powerful cabal of generals who control the levers of government. The generals - who wanted a military man and a former comrade from their days as ethnic Hutu rebels fighting against the government during the civil war chose Ndayishimiye. The new president rose through the ranks during the war that ended in 2006 but is seen as being outside the governing party’s inner circle. “He will have to walk a dangerous tightrope in the high spheres of the ruling party,” the Burundi Human Rights Initiative said in an April report. “Ndayishimiye will have to balance competing powerful interests, while ensuring that his own position remains safe as President.” Richard Moncrieff, an expert with the International Crisis Group (ICG), said in principle, Nkurunziza’s death was “an opportunity for him to free himself”. However, Carina Tertsakian of the Burundi Human Rights Initiative, said Ndayishimiye may still not have the “force or the power to

stand up to” the generals, some of whom “have a lot of blood on their hands”. If he wants to “introduce reforms, improve the human rights situation, end political violence ... he risks hurtling into obstacles and reticence on the part of these generals,” she said. A governing party official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Ndayishimiye was chosen because he was “faithful, ready to die for his party”. “He will walk on eggshells in the first few years and will have to wait a long time before he gains some room for manoeuvre,” the official said. President Ndayishimiye had only just begun his studies at the University of Burundi when civil war broke out in 1993 - a conflict that would rage 13 years and cost at least 300,000 lives. He was in his second year of law school when extremists from the Tutsi ethnic group massacred dozens of Hutu students on campus. The young Ndayishimiye only just escaped, putting down his pen to take up a gun. During the war, he rose through the ranks of the CNDD-FDD. In 2003, he was the party’s main negotiator

in ceasefire negotiations that ended the bloodshed. In the post-war years, Ndayishimiye held several high-tier positions in government, including minister of the interior and public security, and as the president’s military and civilian chief of staff. Those who know Ndayishimiye personally describe two sides to the man - one seemingly honest and open to consensus, but fiery and quick to temper. “He’s a rather open-minded man, easy at first, who likes to joke and laugh with his friends,” said one friend, who spoke to the press on condition of anonymity. “But unlike Nkurunziza ... Evariste Ndayishimiye can be quite angry and gets carried away very easily, and risks becoming infuriated.” One diplomat said Ndayishimiye displayed an “openness and honesty unlike other generals”. “He was the best choice, but he will have a lot to do to encourage change and openness to the opposition, in a party dominated by an extremist, sectarian branch.”

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DR Congo Covid-19 response under fire as Nobel laureate Dr. Mukwege quits

obel Peace laureate Dr. Denis Mukwege has resigned as head of a local task force fighting Covid-19 in eastern DRC in frustration at the government’s response to the crisis. He said a lack of coordinated action had crippled his work and he could no longer stay on the job while he has patients that need his services and attention. Two months into his job as vice-president of a special health commission set up to fight Covid-19 in South Kivu province, Dr. Denis Mukwege called it a day last month citing organisational problems as one of the reasons he can no longer continue on the job. For instance, he says it took “more than two weeks” to get coronavirus test results from the national reference laboratory in Kinshasa -- “a major handicap for their strategy based on ‘testing, identifying, isolating and treating’.” Dr. Mukwege also criticised developments that he said had “reduced the effectiveness” of the anti-virus campaign. They included a relaxation in vigilance by the public, hurdles in enforcing distancing and the return of thousands of people from neighbouring countries without quarantine. Mukwege had pleaded in mid-April for partial confinement of people over the age of 60 and compulsory mask-wearing for

everyone to help break the chain of virus transmission. In a statement, he cited “weaknesses in organisation and clarity between the various teams in charge of the response to the pandemic in South Kivu” in the government’s response. Sources from the national response team have acknowledged the resource shortage but have vowed that, as of this month, test results will be available in Bukavu, the capital of South Kivu, within 24 hours. For Dr. Mukwege, it’s too little too late. He wants the government to shift its focus away from prevention to treatment. “We are at the start of an exponential curve in terms of infections, and we can no longer apply a strategy that would be purely preventive,”

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he said. His sound of alarm so far appears to have fallen on deaf ears. Dr. Mukwege said many prevention measures were being ignored and that thousands of citizens were returning from neighbouring countries without being quarantined. Hospitals in Bukavu have seen an influx of patients in recent weeks, making it difficult to ignore the presence of coronavirus in the city, he added. “I have decided to resign...in order to devote myself entirely to my medical duties and to treat the influx of patients at Panzi hospital,” Dr. Mukwege said, referring to the now famous care facility where he treats abused women from the Congolese civil war. In 2018, he was awarded the Nobel Peace prize alongside Iraqi Yazidi activist Nadia Murad, for campaigns against sexual violence. His resignation from the special health commission could strike a blow to the entire national response team led by Dr. Jean-Jacques Muyembe, another renowned medical researcher in DRC. Dr. Muyembe told local media that “when the virus spreads to several provinces, it will be a serious problem.” The country has more than 4,515 cases of Covid-19, and new infections have risen sharply in 10 of the 26 provinces. At least 98 people have died. While prioritising his role as caregiver to the influx of patients to Panzi hospital, Dr. Mukwege said he would continue to bring his “intellectual contribution in the fight against the pandemic in the province of South Kivu”. Dr. Mukwege is a gynaecologist who treats abused women at Panzi Hospital in South Kivu.” “I have decided to resign in order to devote myself entirely to my medical duties and to treat the influx of patients at Panzi hospital.”

Equatorial Guinean Embassy in Brussels distributes protection material against Covid to its citizens in Belgium

hanks to the donation of half of his salary for the month of April 2020 from the Equatorial Guinea Ambassador to Brussels, Ambassador Carmelo Nvono-Ncá, the Equatorial Guinean Embassy in Brussels has been able to proceed with deliveries of protective medical supplies, such as gloves, masks, gel, Hydro alcoholic disinfectant, to

Equatorial Guinea citizens residing in different parts of the country starting from Brussels and to other cities like the Belgian town of Liège. According to the report reaching us, there was a shortage after the first badge of materials approved by the government was distributed to the citizens. That in effect was due to general material shortage throughout Europe, due to the high demand for the scourge of the Coronavirus pandemic. Ambassador Nvono-Ncá wanted to personally ensure that Equatorial Guinean citizens in Belgium did not have problems in having the necessary protection. And thanks to the donation of the Ambassador and the management of the Diplomatic Mission of Equatorial Guinea in Brussels, the Equatoguinean citizens in Liège already has the necessary protection to prevent their health from being endangered and other parts of the country. His Excellency continues to ensure that all citizens of his country are protected during this pandemic in Belgium and elsewhere with his coverage in Europe.

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Statement of the International Criminal Court on recent measures announced by the US

he International Criminal Court (“ICC” or “the Court”) expresses profound regret at the announcement of further threats and coercive actions, including financial measures, against the Court and its officials, made earlier today by the Government of the United States. The ICC stands firmly by its staff and officials and remains unwavering in its commitment to discharging, independently and impartially, the mandate bestowed upon it by the Rome Statute and the States that are party to it. These are the latest in a series of unprecedented attacks on the ICC, an independent international judicial institution, as well as on the Rome Statute system of international criminal justice, which reflects the commitment and cooperation of the ICC’s 123 States Parties, representing all regions of the world. These attacks constitute an escalation and an unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the Court’s judicial proceedings. They are announced with the declared aim of influencing the actions of ICC officials in the context of the Court’s independent and objective investigations and impartial judicial proceedings. An attack on the ICC also represents an attack against the interests of victims of atrocity crimes, for many of whom the

Dutch ‘very disturbed’ by US sanctions against ICC workers

utch foreign minister Stef Blok has slammed the US for launching economic and other sanctions against people working at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, saying he is ‘very disturbed’ by the US measures. ‘The ICC is crucial in the fight against impunity and in upholding international rule of law,’ Blok said on Twitter and called on the US not to sanction ICC staff, while reiterating the Netherlands’ support for the ICC. The Trump administration’s offensive is in response to the court’s decision to start an investigation into war crimes in Afghanistan, carried out by all sides, including the US. The US said it will also impose visa restrictions on the families of ICC officials and is launching a counter investigation into the organization for alleged corruption. The ICC’s actions are an ‘attack on the rights of the American people and threaten to infringe

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Court represents the last hope for justice. As it continues to meet its mandated responsibilities, the Court relies on the staunch support and cooperation of its States Parties. The Court wishes to recall, in this context, yesterday’s joint statement from the ten ICC States Parties members of the UN Security Council, reconfirming their “unwavering support for the Court as an independent and impartial judicial institution,” as well as the press statement issued earlier today by the President of the Assembly of States Parties.

upon our national sovereignty,’ White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said in a statement.’ The United States will continue to use any means necessary to protect our citizens and our allies from unjust prosecution by the International Criminal Court.’ Unwavering The ICC issued a statement saying it ‘stands firmly by its staff and officials and remains unwavering in its commitment’ to carry out its job. These attacks ‘constitute an escalation and an unacceptable attempt to interfere with the rule of law and the court’s judicial proceedings’, the court said. ‘An attack on the ICC also represents an attack against the interests of victims of atrocity crimes, for many of whom the court represents the last hope for justice.’ The ICC is the world’s first permanent tribunal to try those suspected of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. Its establishment is based on a treaty signed in Rome in 1998. The court is recognized by over 100 countries, but not the United States or Russia.

Hundreds of Nigerian Asylum Seekers Missing in The Netherlands

group of investigative reporters says almost half of Nigerian asylum seekers arriving in The Netherlands last year disappeared. It is believed that many fell victim to human traffickers who forced them into prostitution or drug trafficking across the European Union. A European journalism collective says of the 2,461 Nigerians seeking asylum in The Netherlands in 2019, 961 cannot be located. Another 128 Nigerians who arrived in January of this year (2020) also disappeared, according to an investigation by the journalist group Lost in Europe. Reacting to the investigative group’s findings, Shamir Ceuleers of the Dutch Centre Against Human and Child Trafficking says the results are not surprising because they follow a pattern that has been going on for years. The non-governmental organization says more has to be done to protect the Nigerian men and women who fall victim to human traffickers in The Netherlands and

the neighbouring countries of France, Italy and Germany. “The Dutch police should create a specific West African human trafficking unit, which invests in knowledge and expertise and is well connected to the West African community that we have here in The Netherlands. And by using this and creating this expertise, the Dutch police would be well equipped to prosecute these trafficking rings,” it said. Young people from Nigeria are lured with promises of a better life in Europe. After arriving in the European Union, often by crossing the Mediterranean Sea by boat, or other means of transportation to

Europe, they are forced to work in prostitution or other forms of forced labor. It is a profitable business for the traffickers, as each person has to pay off a debt up to 50,000 euros or more depending on the agreement they are forced to sign. It is believed that such trafficking is not just a Dutch problem, but that the criminal organizations behind such illegal practices are active across Western Europe. The Dutch national prosecutor for human trafficking and people smuggling, Warner ten Kate, says more international cooperation is needed to prevent human trafficking. “Within Europe, it’s essential to work together and to exchange experiences but also exchange data of the missing children and women and men. So if they disappear and pop up somewhere in conditions considered human trafficking, they can easily be identified. I think that’s really essential, and to give them the protection they need,” he said. A Europe-wide police investigation on missing Nigerian women in 2006 led to arrests across Europe and Nigeria. Despite that, the trafficking has not stopped or discouraged Nigerians from migrating. The International Organization for Migration says the increase has been significant, from 1,500 arrivals of Nigerian women in 2014 to 11,000 in 2016. The IOM worries that up to 80 percent are potential victims of trafficking. Flavio Di Giacomo of the IOM warns that data shows it’s not only Nigerians who are being trafficked into Europe from West Africa. “We have also seen, even last year, an increase of women victims of trafficking, coming from Ivory Coast, which is quite new, and many coming from Tunisia. This is a different kind of exploitation because it’s not only sexual exploitation but also work exploitation and domestic exploitation. Ivorian girls were exploited to Tunisia, and then re-trafficked in Italy,” he said. Members of the Dutch parliament questioned the government’s approach to missing people month. Earlier this year it was reported by Lost in Europe that at least 25 pregnant West African women had disappeared from asylum centers in The Netherlands. Their disappearance raised serious concerns about potential baby trafficking and illegal adoption as well.

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LET US COLLECTIVELY SPEAK AND KICK AGAINST RAPE IN OUR COUNTRY

he world is certainly changing. The word Rape is suddenly wearing a new garment in Nigeria with its increase in recent times. The sudden rise in rape cases has involved both minors and adults across the country. So what is rape and why the brouhaha now? In law, rape is defined as non-consensual penetration with a penis. The oxford English dictionary defines Rape as a crime of forcing somebody to have sex with you especially using violence. In Nigeria, sexual assault has been described as endemic. Rape stories over the years have often times been horrid to say the list with some resulting in deaths of the women involved. Notwithstanding today it is a pandemic with reports of minors, girls and women being raped almost daily. As such, the subject is reminding many that there is still so much work to be done, particularly with raising boys and ensuring protection not only for the girl child but for women as well. It’s no longer a sit down issue rather it has become a profound call to action. It is no longer a subject to be swept under the carpet because if truth be told there is work to be done As mothers, grandmothers aunties, sisters there is need to ask what has gone culturally wrong in our society. Has our culture and tradition made young boys and men develop a huge ego and a feeling of entitlement The act of understanding why a man will want to rape a woman translates to the sometimes messiness of the human mind. Maybe, one can begin to comprehend when there is an acceptance that the world is neither white nor black rather it is mysterious and in totality difficult to fathom or understand. Truth be told, the human mind can sometimes be unstable. Imagine “the terror takes you. The cage is locked and the curtain drawn. Fingers dance along as blades, carving memories into your flesh that will leave scars long past being healed.” It is always almost like a horror movie script. That said, this write up is not about offering a one-time capsule to an ailment but revisiting the root problems in the society. Our society must look at the phenomenon holistically, meaning the family, carers, schools; churches play a role and must be involved in the fight to bring an end to sexual violence. They must create the needed platform to educate and mentor children in ensuring that there is an end in sight. Nevertheless how do we begin to apprehend why rape is on the rise and put it on a form on how best to address this menace. Undoubtedly, one cannot excuse rape, so we must begin to tell the truth to our children particularly boys that power, control and ego with a woman does not 42

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send the right message. No boy should feel that whatever he wants he must get”. “He talked about rape for a while and explained how rape is much worse than murder. With murder, the victim is gone and not By KENDI AIG-IMORU forced to deal with what happened to her. The family must deal with it but not the victim. But rape is much worse. The victim has a lifetime of coping of trying to understand of asking questions and the worst part of knowing the rapist is still alive and may someday escape or being released. Every hour of every day the victim thinks of the rape and asks herself a thousand questions. She relives it, step by step, minute by minute and it hurts just as bad”. Popular Nigerian actress, Mrs Taiwo Ajayo Lycet has been very outspoken about her experience. She was robbed and raped at 65 at her home. Though she is over the attacks. Her story will resonate with survivors because it’s not the age but the act itself, which violates the human being. According to her she kept asking them “are you doing this to your mother”. She recently spoke at a program organised to proffer solutions and the way forward. There, she gave an in-depth analysis as to why the discussions must not stop. “Youths must be fearless and use the power of the mind to learn to overcome whatever negative experience they may have encountered”. This is the time to demystify rape and make a case that sexual violence is not the fault of the girl or woman. These myths unconsciously play a role in what is regarded as the truth. It is not about dressing patterns, revealing clothes nor women in compromising situations neither it about men not able to control themselves. It is about understanding what it means when a woman says No to sex. She actually means it, NO means No.

Recently, in Nigeria a girl was raped inside a church and left dead. She had gone to read in the night. Initially the police refused to take up the case. Then rumours started making the rounds. The bottom line, she was at fault. My only thought at the various rumours questioning the decency of the young lady was, my goodness, a girl just died. She was raped inside a church. The circumstances surrounding her death should be taken into consideration and her perpetrators found and made to face justice. It cannot be overemphasized that when we fail to do something for change to occur we constitute a part of the problem. It is important to understand that rape is an act that affects the individual in all ramifications. The very act of rape is a distraction from the root cause, which has kept society from doing something about it. If truth were told it could never be cleaned up because once it’s done the perpetrator goes free but the victim never gets it all cleaned. After the violent act, it remains Taiwo Ajayi Lycet: A victim of rape but willing to talk about it. tucked somewhere”. Here in Nigeria, the issue importance of protecting and the prevention of violence has gained momentum because the time has come to put a full stop to its occurrence. As individuals, we must against girls and women. cease to create space for it to happen. Silence means we are It is obvious that rape can’t be swept under carpet because allowing it to continue and this is without doubt a form of nobody deserves to be sexually violated. Nobody deserves sexual enslavement. Women and girls should no longer be to hide their head in shame after been sexually violated. It considered properties. Though history records women, as adds insult to the injury. Therefore there should be urgency in being the properties of men but again, it is the 21st century as tackling the issue. No one should say, she is not my daughter; such the value of women must be recognized. Rape is a crime I haven’t been in that situation so it has nothing to do with me. It should not be personal before we all decide to address against women and must be recognized as such. On the flip side these questions need to be answered. What the scourge of sexual violence. We need to take care of one is the root cause? Why are young boys and men perpetrating another and reach out to survivors. This is life and in life we this crime? How do we raise our sons effectively and what need people to overcome trials, despondency and depression. role has the society to play? Again, what can we teach young Working to eradicate this issue will shed light on the impact of boys and how do we advise men. The Nigerian situation with sexual violence. That regardless of age, the trauma of rape is particular emphasis on responsibilities of parents, families shattering. It is therefore important to avoid blaming victims and schools must be addressed. It’s about going back to basics and strengthen survivors to walk towards recovery by rising because either way our culture is being eroded. If young boys above the circumstance and staying positive irrespective of are not given proper home training, there will be no dignity the circumstance. and values will be absent. Therefore everyone must play a Taiwo Ajayi Lycet sums it all up when she said, “the real role in eradicating myths and removing the blindfolds to an deterrent to rape is conviction and harsh sentencing. The girl abnormality. The silent majority must begin to express their child must be informed; Parents must communicate with views publicly. While there is work to be done, change is their children. It is finding time to raise your children. If we possible. The questions if answered will begin to inform lose our values why should we be surprised at the recent and proffer solutions to the problem. Besides, it is the key pandemic, rape? To the women who are victims, we are not to opening the door to an absolute understanding of the victims but survivors. The sun will always shine tomorrow”.

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Local councils want government to answer difficult 5G questions

ozens of local councils in The Netherlands want the government to coordinate the information around the national rollout of 5G telecom, a survey conducted by public broadcaster NOS in the run-up to the first auction of the frequencies on June 29 has shown. Local councils play an important part in the rollout because they have to provide information and are also a party in the negotiations with telecom providers about the locations of new masts. Some people are concerned about the possible harmful effects of 5G radiation on health, and last few months hundreds took to the streets of The Hague in protest. Several people have been arrested for arson attacks on telecom masts, while a court case to stop the rollout proved unsuccessful. Telecoms supervisory body Agenschap Telecom and health watchdog RIVM have said radiation from 5G mobile networks testing sites in the Netherlands is within European limits.

Random testing at five of the 15 trial sites has not produced worrying levels of radiation, a report published by both organisations said. It is important, however, to ‘keep a finger on the pulse’, the organisations said. The majority of the NOS survey respondents said they have been approached 44

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by people worried about the arrival of the fast network. ‘We are trying to provide answers to the best of our ability,’ a spokesman for Rotterdam local council said, ‘but it would help if the government would be more active in providing

information about the rules and the health effects of 5G.’ ‘It is very strange that we must come up with the arguments when this is a national discussion,’ said alderman Theo Meskens, from Hollands Kroon in Noord-Holland province. Local council umbrella organisation VNG has confirmed the need for information and has called on economic affairs minister Erik Wiebes to take action. A ministry spokesman told the broadcaster it had organised regional meetings for citizens last year in an effort to help local councils and that it had ‘intensified’ its activities via the social media. ‘We answer dozens of questions via mails, letters and on the phone and via social media,’ he said. The ministry did not say if a nation-wide information campaign will be launched. Telecom providers KPN, Vodafone and T-Mobile are expected to be among the contenders at the first auction of 5G frequencies on June 29 but the complete list has not been made public. The national health council is expected to report on the health impact of 5G at the end of July.

More Covid restrictions relaxed in The Netherlands allowing larger gatherings A large number of restrictions, such as the current maximum number of 30 people to gather together, the closure of gyms, saunas, casinos, religious organizations and contact sports are set to be lifted from July 1, Prime Minister Mark Rutte announced at a press conference. Local governments will have more control over the restarting of carnivals and events, because of the permit application process that those organizers will be required to complete. However nightclubs will still remain closed likely into September, he said. Rutte’s announcement, the last such weekly Covid-19 press conference to be scheduled, comes as the Netherlands witnessed its first day with no recorded deaths since the pandemic took hold. “We have had our first day without coronavirus deaths. We did this together,” said Premier Rutte. It led to the hastening of the phased reopening plan that was announced last month. He stressed that people continue to maintain social distancing measures, and remain vigilant with personal hygiene, saying that the fate of future restrictions rests firmly in the hands of the country’s residents. “We have known months of suffering, loss, and isolation. Let’s not forget that.” Rutte said the Netherlands would have had to endure 135 thousand hospital admissions had the coronavirus measures not been introduced. He then proceeded to further relax those limits. The GGD’s widespread testing program saw a large expansion in the number of people being tested since June 1, and the number of hospitalizations, deaths and ICU patients continued to slump across the country. “Although we are relaxing the rules, we must avoid a second wave of contamination at all costs. At the same time, we must also be prepared for a new wave of contamination,” said Health Minister Hugo de Jonge. Keeping physical distance will still remain the norm, at least until a vaccine is available, Rutte stated. “If abandoned, you run a great risk as a population. Then the country can be locked down again, and the economy will be locked down again, and you may get large numbers of infections again.” The Prime Minister’s measures comes as the most recent easing of restrictions as Netherlands continues to emerge from months under a so-called ‘intelligent lockdown’. They appear to mark a hastening of certain aspects of the phased reopening

plan. Limited capacity for gatherings largely lifted The current limits on the maximum number of people allowed to gather together will be increased to a maximum of 100 persons in indoor locations from July 1, provided that people continue to remain at least 1.5 meters apart from one another, Rutte announced. The new rule mainly affects cafes, restaurants, cultural institutions, religious worship centers, libraries and shops. Customers inside cafes and restaurants will be required to be seated. Locations with fixed seating, where reservations and health check-ups are carried out in advance, can fill up to capacity with no maximum number of persons, provided people maintain a safe distance from each other. This includes live theater venues and cinemas, but could also include open floor music venues provided they set up seating for visitors. The maximum capacity for museums and monuments where visitors move from room to room will have a maximum capacity based on their building’s surface area. Outdoor locations can take a maximum of 250 people, but without reservations or the health questionnaire. Terraces no longer need to force a distance of 1.5 meters between tables as long as cough shields are installed to protect patrons. The exception to this includes zoos, theme parks, and other outdoor locations, which have no maximum number of visitors as long as social distancing is enforced. Events and festivals will also be allowed provided organizers go through a permitting process that could take a month and a half for them to receive approval. “There is no longer a maximum number of people for performances and festivals outside,” the government confirmed. “For performances where reservations and the health check are not made in advance, a maximum of 100 visitors applies indoors and a maximum of 250 visitors outdoors.” Football, chanting and singing Paid professional football will be played again in front of an audience beginning in September, the government officials announced. However, attendees will not be allowed to take part in the usual way. “Chants, loud singing or screaming in a group is not allowed,” the government said. The prime minister pointed to this as being one manner in which the virus may spread more easily. An air horn was recommended as an alternative to screaming when something exciting happens during a match. www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

Actors, comedians and dancers only have to maintain social distancing on stage as much as is possible, giving them more ability to put on a wider variety of shows. Singers, choirs, and musical ensembles will be allowed to rehearse and perform, but under an as-yet unpublished set of rules from public health agency RIVM. More passengers allowed on public and private transit The new easing of restrictions will affect public transport in the Netherlands, according to Rutte, which will be allowed to return to full capacity from July 1, up from its current 40 percent capacity. The eased restriction applies to all buses, trains, metro systems and trams in the country on the condition that passengers continue to wear a face mask at all times while on board. Public transit passengers will also no longer be advised to only travel when necessary, as the system will be opened up for normal use. Since the beginning of June, many transit operators have returned to a normal schedule.

The Netherlands can continue 5G rollout, court rules The Dutch State can continue to auction off the frequencies for the rollout of 5G, the court in The Hague ruled in a lawsuit filed by action group Stop 5GNL. According to the court, there is no reason to believe that the government is ignoring public health in allowing this network, which will enable more capacity and faster connections for mobile digital communication. Stop 5GNL argued that the use of 5G could have negative health effects, citing a number of studies. The group also said that the government’s experts were careless and ignored criticism on the 5G rollout. The State countered that the studies cited by the

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Taxi drivers and bus drivers will also be allowed to allow their vehicles to fill up to capacity, on the condition that passengers make reservations in advance, and wear a face mask. The same rules apply for normal passenger cars, with drivers who want to give a ride to a friend or colleague. Secondary schools and higher education Secondary schools in the Netherlands will fully reopen after the summer holiday, Rutte announced, with students no longer being required to keep their distance from each other. However, teachers will still need to maintain a safe distance from their students and coworkers. The relevant reopening dates vary by location, with secondary schools in the northern region starting up on August 17, in the central region on August 23, and in the south one week later. “As of the new academic year, more educational activities may again take place at vocational institutions, colleges and universities. Here students will keep 1.5 meters away from others,” the government said in a statement. With reporting by Byron Mühlberg.

group do not meet the current scientific criteria. The State’s policy is determined based on expert advice and the guidelines of ICNIRP, an institute that specializes in health and environmental effects of so-called ‘nonionizing radiation’. The ICNIRP concluded that, based on the current scientific knowledge, there are no health risks if the exposure to electro magnetic fields remain below the prescribed limits. And measurements by the Telecom Agency show that the 5G exposure is well below these limits. The court ruled that there are no indications that the government’s experts were careless or ignored criticism. “The State indicated that it would continue to check that the ICNIRP limits are not exceed and will intervene if this is the case. The State also declared that it will intervene if new insights show that the applied limits themselves must be adjusted,” the court said. Based on this, the court ruled that the government could continue to make it possible for 5G to be introduced in the Netherlands.

It is getting harder to keep 1.5 meters apart, and stay home if you have a runny nose People are finding it increasingly difficult to keep 1.5 metres distance from each other, new research by the public health institute RIVM has shown. The figures come from a survey of 64,000 people carried out in the last week of May, before many of the lockdown measures were eased last week. At the same time, people are felling less threatened by coronavirus and are less liable to feel depressed or frightened than they were when the virus first hit the Netherlands in February, the research showed.

have Covid-19. The new track and trace guidelines introduced alongside mass testing require all contacts to go into a period of self-isolation. The overnight coronavirus death toll rose by nine to 6,053, the RIVM said in its latest daily update. Five more people have been hospitalized and 210 have tested positive for the virus.

Yet while 84% of people are willing to spend two weeks in quarantine if a member of their household tests positive for Covid-19, 77% of people who had cold symptoms said they had been out of their house and 51% had had visitors, despite the government call to self-isolate. And just 43% said they would stay home someone they had met later turned out to

LUSAKA MAYOR MILES SAMPA APOLOGIZES TO CHINESE COMMUNITY AND OTHER LEADERS

tatement by Miles B. Sampa, the Mayor of Lusaka, Miles B. Sampa has been forced to make a public apology to the Chinese community in Zambia after his outburst last month and personally going to close down a Chinese restaurant accused of abusing Zambian nationals and not having the right documents to operate in the country. In a twist of event, he was made to apology and releases this statement from his office to the general public and the Chinese community. “I wish to review events last month as regards my monitoring and conduct towards some business houses”. He further added, “I accept my error in judgment of physically going to the business premises instead of engaging relevant offices and institutions. I can give guidance but actual execution of revoking trading licenses for any trader or business house that maybe found wanting or in breach of any law of the land need to be done by relevant offices and institutions”.

Above said, I wish to apologies unreservedly to the following: 1. The Chinese Community in the City of Lusaka and beyond for the tone and language used towards one of their nationals in particular on the use of the word ‘Chinaman’. I did not know hitherto that it was derogatory term but they have since lodged in a formal complaint against my use of the word. They demanded that I render an apology. I therefore sincerely apologies to all the Chinese people. My calling is to respect all human beings be it in deed or speech regardless of their race or nationality. 2. I render my apology to all other Leaders in whose jurisdiction my actions may have interfered with and put their offices into disrepute. I give them my assurance hereon to always keep to my lane and mandate. Finally I wish to assure all foreign investors in the City of Lusaka that my office is there to support their businesses 100% and where we will feel they is misconduct or breach of laws, we shall engage them in a more civil manner through relevant offices and institutions. I thank you and God bless us all. Romans 12:18 “Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone” By Miles Bwalya Sampa Mayor of Lusaka

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Ghana apologizes as Nigeria deplores attacks on its embassy FG seeks immediate arrest of perpetrators

he President of Ghana; Nana Akufo-Addo administration has apologized for the unprovoked overnight attacks on Nigeria’s diplomatic building in Accra, Ghana. In a statement issued by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ghanaian government admitted that the demolition of the structure was a breach of diplomatic relations. This came as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Geoffrey Onyeama, condemned the violence, demanding the immediate arrest of the perpetrators. He said the assault by unknown persons was outrageous. The minister therefore charged the Ghanaian authorities to take urgent action in unmasking those behind the aggression. Before going to the press, President Nana AkufoAddo of Ghana spoke with President Muhammadu Buhari, expressing his sincere apology for demolition of a building on the premises of Nigerian High Commission in Accra, Ghana. In a telephone call, the Ghanaian leader told President Buhari that he has directed full investigation into the incident. The Voice magazine also learnt that some suspects had been arrested, and will be arraigned in court for unlawful

destruction of the property on the premises of the Nigerian mission in Ghana. Meanwhile, Ghana has “regretted” the recent attack on a residential building belonging to Nigeria’s diplomatic mission in Accra. According to reports, armed men raided the building in the Ghanaian capital last month, demolishing some under-construction apartments recently acquired by 48

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Nigerian High Commission in Ghana. A businessman is said to have accused the High commission of encroaching on his land. Reacting to the attack, Ghana’s Foreign Ministry in a statement reassured the diplomatic community in Ghana, and the Nigerian High Commission in particular, that it “remains a law abiding country that upholds the principle of the rule of law.” It said that investigations are ongoing “to unravel

the facts,” and that security has been beefed up at the said facility. “The government will, therefore, not relent on its primary obligation to guarantee the safety of Members of the Diplomatic Corps in Ghana.” Nigeria’s foreign minister had condemned the attack in a statement, calling for perpetrators to be brought to book. “We strongly condemn two outrageous criminal attacks in Accra, Ghana, on a residential building in our diplomatic premises by unknown persons in which a bulldozer was used to demolish the building, “ Geoffrey Onyeama tweeted. “We are engaging the Ghanaian Government and demand urgent action to find the perpetrators and provide adequate protection for Nigerians and their properties in Ghana.” Nigeria and Ghana are top economies in West Africa. Relations between the two former British colonies, however, remain contentious due to multiple issues including business competition. Additional information by Joseph Onyekwere

Ghanaian authorities speak on demolished Nigerian High Commission building

hana’s Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration ministry said it “has beefed up security at the said facility and the situation is under control.” Accordingly, investigations are ongoing to unravel the facts of the matter and bring the perpetrators to book.” The Ghanaian government’s response comes after claims of an underlying diplomatic row between Nigeria and Ghana resurfaced when the Nigeria High Commission in Accra, Ghana’s capital was attacked last month. Ghanaian-based JoyNews reported that armed men stormed the Nigerian High Commissioner’ residence in Accra with bulldozers to demolish a block of new apartments under construction at the dark of the night in the diplomatic compound in the capital city of Ghana, Accra. The building which was still undergoing construction was being built to house staff and visiting diplomats to the Nigeria High Commission in Ghana. JoyNews Editor, Fred Smith said the armed men threatened to shoot staff of the Nigerian embassy that were present at the scene if they interfere in their operations. According to the head of security at the High Commission, Emmanuel Kabutey, the leader of the team that came to demolish the building told them that they had the backing of National Security and that “if any of us try, he will clear us off.” Insistent that the demolition being backed by authorities in the Ghanaian Government, Kabutey complained about the lackluster attitude of the police in handling the situation. “When the police came, they did not come to us or any other person but rather went straight to the man [leader of the armed men] they had a friendly chat, exchanged numbers with him and allowed him to go,” Kabutey told JoyNews. “When they came back in, they took pictures but did not ask me or my boys anything.” Nigerian Government confirmed the incident and demanded immediate actions be taken by Ghana authorities on the incident. “We are engaging the Ghanaian Government and demand urgent action to find the perpetrators and provide adequate

protection for Nigerians and their properties in Ghana,” Nigeria’s foreign affairs minister Geoffrey Onyema said. Ambassador Onyeama did not disclose details of his conversation with the Ghanaian government on the attack which was also reported on the Nigerian High Commission in

Ghana website. The latest attack is, however, not the first time that the residency of the Nigerian embassy in Ghana has been threatened by alleged intimidation from the host country.

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Former Burundi President becomes world’s First Head of State to die of Covid 19 confirm medics

he former Burundian President died from the coronavirus, according to medics at the hospital where he was flown to following his worsen condition and confirmed dead. The country’s government had announced former President Pierre Nkurunziza’s cause of death as from a heart attack. A medical source at the Karusi hospital where Nkurunziza died, has confirmed the president was in ‘respiratory distress’ before his death.

Medics at the Kamenge university hospital in Bujumbura told the press that the head of the institute of public health requested their hospital’s only ventilator and the head of our reanimation service ‘in the name of the presidency’ on that fateful Monday morning. The then president was flown to the hospital in Karusi, but it was ‘too late,’ he was ‘already dead,’ on arrival a medical source in Karusi said. Suspicions had been high that the President had Covid-19 after his wife was hospitalized at the end of May with the virus and flew to Kenya for treatment. A medical document seen by the press indicated that she had tested positive for the Corona virus and suffered ‘respiratory distress.’ The African country announced Nkurunziza’s ‘unexpected’ death on June 9 declaring a national week of mourning. The new sworn in government gave the former president a state burial after the seven days of national mourning, the people where given the chance to view his body as many 50

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still did not belief that the former president has passed away so suddenly last month. Nkurunziza had reportedly felt unwell on June 6 and ‘to very great surprise’ his health worsened, leading to a cardiac arrest from which he died in hospital, officials had said. His wife, Denise was airlifted for coronavirus treatment in Kenya on May 30, prompting some suspicion about the president’s true cause of death. She is recovering well from treatment in Kenya but she is allowed time to mourn her husband. Nkurunziza was due to leave office in August after a 15-year term marked by claims of repression and human rights abuses. The Burundi’s constitutional court agreed that president-elect Evariste Ndayishimiye should be sworn in immediately after the death of Nkurunziza to avoid power vacuum. Nkurunziza took office in 2005 under a powersharing deal following a 12-year civil war which left 300,000 people dead. His decision to run for a disputed third term in 2015 plunged the country into violence, leading to hundreds more deaths. Facing allegations of widespread abuses, his government became the first country to leave the International Criminal Court in 2017. Human Rights Watch says the police and ruling party are known to carry out ‘widespread human rights abuses’ including killings and arbitrary arrests. Nkurunziza’s party was confirmed as the winner of May’s election last month, paving the way for the first peaceful transfer of power since independence in 1962. The outgoing president had backed retired army general Ndayishimiye as his successor and saw him win nearly 70 per cent of the vote. The opposition National Freedom Council (CNL), headed by Agathon Rwasa, had alleged the May 20 election was riddled with fraud and irregularities. In the event of a president’s death, the constitution provides for the speaker of parliament to take over in such a situation. Legally, the Speaker of parliament, Pascal Nyabenda, should

have become the interim leader. The court ruled, however, that ‘the interim period is not necessary and that...Ndayishimiye must be sworn in as soon as possible’, the government said in a statement posted on Twitter. There had been uncertainty as to who was in charge in Bujumbura since the government announced Nkurunziza’s death. Watchers of the country had worried about possible discord over the succession among the ranks of Burundi’s powerful group of generals that might have sparked a fresh round of unrest. The swearing-in of Ndayishimiye went according to plan and he is now the President of the Republic of Burundi. It was the country’s first competitive presidential election since a civil war erupted in 1993. Burundi, which shares the same ethnic mix with its neighbour Rwanda, has been convulsed by recurring cycles of power grabs, violence and massacres since it won independence in 1962. Nkurunziza was a former rebel leader whose rule was marked by widespread brutality and repression of his opponents. Burundi’s economy is also in tatters after donors, whose aid was a key source of government revenue, dropped the country amid continuing human rights violations Burundi has largely ignored the virus outbreak, taking few measures to combat its spread compared to many of its neighbours which implemented strict lock downs and curfews, and holding an election campaign. We have another report for you on the profile of the New President and what Burundians can expect from the new president. Former President Nkurunziza has been buried with full military and national honours in the country’s capital.

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VERENING AFRIKA SPORTS (VAS) DONATES TO UNP.

erening Afrika Sports (VAS) last month made a donation with AH vouchers worth 500 euros to United Nigerian Platform (UNP). The vouchers were presented at a ceremony by the Chairman of VAS, Pastor Dominic Emeh accompanied by Pastor Samson Okorocha. They were received by the UNP Chairman, Mr. Donald Okeke and the Association PRO, Madam Fester Imoh. Pastor Emeh told the delegation the reason behind the donation. “We at Verening Afrika Sports as part of our objective in engaging other Africans through sports activities also give support to the less privileged in Holland as well as back at home in Nigeria”. To help prevent obesity among our people and teach our children the essence of taking good care of your body, he further explained. “Under the umbrella of this organization, we also engage in supporting Africans here and back in their various countries, promoting good governance but because we are not highly equipped with the necessary resources to do these things, we find it thoughtful to use Verening Afrika Sports to reach out to other Africans”, he added. Also part of their activities is to help the needy, as a matter of fact, they saw the United Nigerian Platform (UNP) as the first organization to engage in this type of activity. “In my nearly 30 years of residence in The Netherlands and within a short time I see an organization giving trainings and most importantly given palliatives to undocumented brothers and sisters during this period has touched VAS and its members decided out of their own resources to support the efforts of UNP”. “We can help spiritually but we thought it wise to give financial impact to your work. Through the sweat of all the members, they contributed this token sum of 500 euros to present this gift to your Association especially during

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this COVID-19 pandemic”. We expect that these vouchers will be given to those undocumented fellow citizens, Pastor Emeh concluded. In response, the Chairman of UNP, Mr. Donald Okeke accepted the gifts and noted that this is the first time of its kind that a Nigerian based organization is supporting Nigeria community in The Netherlands. He promised that the vouchers will reach the needy and benefactors in the community.

U.S. Embassy says sorry over misleading entry ban update

utch, and other European travelers, may be allowed to enter the United States before next year after all. The United States embassy in the Netherlands confirmed that the coronavirus related entry ban on European travelers has not been extended, unlike previously reported. Earlier this month, news outlet BNR reported that the embassy said the American entry ban on travelers from the European Union would be extended until the end of 2020. According to the broadcaster, the US embassy was now saying that a representative’s remarks were inaccurate and called it a misunderstanding. “We apologize for not being precise enough in our response,” BNR quoted an embassy spokesperson. The broadcaster asked the embassy whether the extension of measures announced by the US also applied to the travel

ban on Europeans. The embassy initially responded: “This is an extension of the original order that banned Europeans (and all other tourists/travelers to the US),” BNR said. Now a spokesperson told the broadcaster: “That’s my fault for being not clear. The Presidential Proclamation is an extension of something that was already in place for immigrant visas, but it is different than the Covid-related travel ban.” A spokesperson from the embassy confirmed that the new quotes were accurate, and told the press that the error was that the broadcaster “confused two different things. There are two different sets of travel advice. One is related to COVID and covers Schengen, the second one covers labour issues with specific visa classes.” BNR has taken the original story off its website, as has other online publications. The spokesperson also referred NL Times to statements given by the White House last month in which the U.S. leader said that there would be a moratorium on new immigrant visas. “President Trump is building on this measure with an additional pause on several job-related nonimmigrant visas—H-1Bs, H-2Bs without a nexus to the food-supply chain, certain H-4s, as well as Ls and certain Js preserving jobs for American citizens,” the White House said. President Trump, in Arizona at a press event along a portion of the new wall along the Mexican border was asked about the visa and green card issue. He said, “So we want to give jobs to Americans right now. Right now we want jobs going to Americans.” The coronavirus travel ban remains unchanged, with no end date attached to it, the spokesperson told the press. President Trump may also be hoping that extending this entry ban will garner more support from his followers - tight borders and banning large groups of foreigners from the country have been key parts of his campaign from the start. It also plays into his promise to keep jobs in the country for Americans - a theme that is likely to land on friendly ears with the economic blows caused by the pandemic. In testimony last month, Dr. Anthony Fauci told U.S. politicians about the “disturbing surge” of SARS-CoV-2 infections in states where the virus was poorly contained, and those states, which were doing well. “The next couple of weeks are going to be critical in our ability to address those surges we are seeing in Florida, Texas, Arizona, and other states,” Fauci, the country’s infectious diseases expert, said.

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Nigerian Pastor mourns wife Ibidunni ItuahIghodalo who has died at 39

igerians are in shock with the news of the passing of former beauty queen and wife of a famous Nigerian Pastor, Mrs. Ibidunni Ituah-Ighodalo (Nee Ajayi). She died last month in Port-Harcourt, River State where she has gone to perform some official duties with setting up of Corona virus isolation centers in the State. Her death came so sudden while her husband was attending

a funeral engagement where he was the officiating minister. He still went ahead to conduct the funeral service despite the news of his wife passing that early Sunday morning around 2.00am. There is speculations on what could have cause her death; she was already busy making plans for her 40th birthday in July 2020, although she has insisted she did not want any party but to expand her charity work to women 54

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who are faced with pregnancy challenges. So far, the report in the press is that she suffered a cardiac arrest, according to the family. But it is expected that an autopsy will give clearer indication to what happened to the beloved Ibidunni. According to our correspondent in Lagos, Nigeria, Mrs. Ighodalo has been traveling across the country to build isolation centers for coronavirus patients, her family said. As well as being the co-Pastor of Trinity House Church in Lagos, Nigeria, along with her husband Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, she also ran upscale, luxury events services Elizabeth R, a leading event management company in the country. In a video released after her sudden death, she was seen visiting her father’s grave with an Aunt before making this trip to PortHarcourt where she suddenly died. Her husband described receiving the news of her death as “the call that shattered his life.” “A lot of you know that I really shouldn’t be here,” he said during a funeral service he officiated on that same Sunday morning. “At 2 o’ clock this morning, I received a call that shattered my life... Life is a deep mystery, there’s no human being, no matter how wise they are who can say they understand life... Let us accept the mystery of life. We don’t have any control of most things in life...” he said. He was referring to the news of the passing of his wife that morning. Many described how through the Ibidunni Ighodalo Foundation, Mrs. Ighodalo provided grants for women to pay for IVF treatments and helped reduce the stigma around IVF in Nigeria. She was open to talk about her own personal struggles to conceive and shared in an interview that she had undergone 11 IVF procedures before adopting two children with her husband after 13 years of marriage where she could not conceive. But in the past few years she has put smiles on facing of other women by paying for their treatment and eventually have their babies. She also talked about finally conceiving twins and suffering a miscarriage at three months later. “It’s such a rollercoaster... It’s emotionally draining. It’s very expensive... I stopped living and I just existed...,” she said in the interview with Arise Television.

“The last one I did worked. I had a set of twins but I had a miscarriage at three months. That was very traumatic, it’s one thing to not get pregnant and it’s another thing to eventually get pregnant ... and you lose it.” Her close friend, the famed Nigerian photographer, TY Bello said she received a message from her friend on the night before she died where she talked about her birthday plans. “Sweetie, it’s my 40th next month,” she wrote in the WhatsApp message. “And I want to help 40 couples to have their babies... That’s all I want. No party. No surprise. Nothing. I just want to make 40 homes happy,” she continued in one of the last messages she wrote. “I have known her since university, but very casually. We both went through infertility, that’s really what brought us together,” Bello said. Bello further disclosed that she was very giving. This message that she sent me before she died, that’s who she was, there’s nothing more to say beyond that.” There has been an outpouring of grief on social media as people spoke out about their shock and sadness at her death. Nigeria’s President Buhari was among those who sent messages of condolence to the family.

“The President shares the pain and sorrow of the family at the sudden death, and prays God’s comfort for the entire family, friends and members of Trinity House,” his aide said in a statement. The Governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Sanwo-Olu in

his tweet wrote, “I was shocked when I received the news that my friend, Pastor Ituah Ighodalo had lost his wife and partner, Mrs Ibidun Ighodalo. Mrs Ibidun Ighodalo was an inspiration to many. I pray for strength for Pastor Ituah,

their children, loved ones and the many she has touched’. The Governor later led a delegation of his government to pay the Pastor a condolence visit at his home. Niyi Adeyemi also wrote these words: “Shocked and sad to hear of dear Ibidun Ighodalo’s passing. Spoke with her a few days ago. May Pastor Ituah and their children be comforted and filled with peace in the days ahead” Famous woman activist and politician, Oby Ezekwesili wrote this as well: Life! Ibidun Ighodalo? Just gone ....... like a candle in the wind. Too much of a heartbreaking news. May God comfort our very dear Pastor Ituah and the rest of the family in the way that only He can in Jesus name. Amen. Another friend Adebola Williams wrote a touching tribute to her on his Instagram page, saying “I’d miss your kindness, if generosity had a name it would be Ibidunni.” Late Pastor Mrs. Ibidunni Ighodalo has been buried at a private ceremony at Vaults & gardens Cemetery in Lagos, Nigeria. Condolence messages continue to pour in from around the world from people her short and memorable life has touched. She would have been 40 this month of July 2020. May Her Soul rest in perfect peace of Jesus Christ. Amen.

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Exclusive: Lesotho’s murdered former first lady agreed to divorce on the day she died - sources

ours before she was shot dead on the outskirts of the capital, Lesotho’s former first lady, Lipolelo Thabane, made a surprising decision. According to both a close friend and a well-connected businessman, she agreed to divorce her husband, former Prime Minister Thomas Thabane, after years of refusing to make way for her rival. With the blessing of that rival - Thabane’s current wife - the entrepreneur, Teboho Mojapela, met with Lipolelo on the day of her death to mediate. “She said: ‘...I am ready to free him’,” Mojapela told the press. “I just want to be looked after”. The exchange was confirmed by her friend and confidante Thato Sibolla, who was present at the meeting. Lipolelo’s change of heart, which has not previously been reported, adds a new twist to a scandal that has attracted rare international attention to Lesotho, the tiny kingdom of 2 million people tucked inside South Africa. Gunmen ambushed Lipolelo, 58, in her car as she made her way home on the outskirts of the capital Maseru on June 14, 2017. Sibolla was with her in the vehicle. Two days after the killing, Thabane, now 80, was sworn in for a second term as Prime Minister. Two months later, he married Lipolelo’s successor and one-time rival, Maesaiah Liabiloe Ramoholi, now Mrs. Maesaiah Thabane. Police charged Maesaiah with Lipolelo’s murder in February and named Thabane as a suspect, although he has yet to be formally charged in court. They both deny any involvement. In Thabane’s case, the high court must first decide whether

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he can be prosecuted along side his wife if implicated in the murder. Although his government has collapsed and a new Prime Minister sworn in to move the country forward after many months of uncertianty. The case was earlier postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but last month, the former first lady was arrested and detained again as papers are been prepared to charge her for the murder of the former first wife of her husband and rival. Thabane’s own government forced him out of office before the end of May 2020 as he was showing signs that he does not want to step down as he had earlier promised. It is unclear if he bowed to their demands or he was removed; the play game ended when he tendered his resignation to the King and it was accepted. Thabane and his wife declined to be interviewed or respond to written questions while the case is pending, and their lawyers said they had been instructed not to speak to the press. “He’s waiting for the police to lodge a complaint to court so that he can clear his name,” Thabane’s former private secretary, Thabo Thakalekoala, said by telephone. Lady Maesaiah also “wants to present her side of the story,” her adviser, Manama Letsie, told the press. “But she has already been found guilty in the public (opinion) court.” The high-profile murder case has destabilized a country already in turmoil. Lesotho has seen four military coups since independence from Britain in 1966. South Africa, for whom this nation of jagged green mountains is an important source of tap water, is sometimes drawn in to help resolve upheavals, and it has stepped in as mediator in the latest crisis. Thabane was an up-and-coming politician in the All Basotho Convention (ABC) party when he divorced his first wife, Yayi, and married Lipolelo in 1987. By the time he became prime minister in 2012, he had filed for another divorce so he could marry Maesaiah. Maesaiah had gone to court in 2015 to claim the right to be first lady on the basis of a 2012 so-called customary marriage – a practice common in a number of African countries that entitles a man to more than one wife. She lost the case in 2015, on the grounds that Lipolelo was still married to Thabane. “There was this perpetual animosity between them,” Lesotho’s Deputy Police Commissioner Paseka Mokete, in charge of the murder investigation, told the press.

Three days before the killing, Lipolelo asked Sibolla to call Mojapela, a politically connected businessman who had funded the ruling party’s election campaign. Lipolelo seemed jumpy, was sleeping at friends’ houses and said she feared her life was in danger, Sibolla and a neighbour recalled. Mojapela, a wealthy money-lender known to friends as J.P., was a friend of Thabane and Maesaiah, Sibolla said, and Lipolelo hoped he could mediate a truce between them. Before meeting with Lipolelo, Mojapela says he sought the blessing of Thabane and Maesaiah. Maesaiah told him “by all means” mediate, he said, but do not expect the two women to meet face-to-face. That fateful Wednesday, Sibolla and Lipolelo set off in Lipolelo’s grey Chevrolet minivan to meet Mojapela at his lavish house, decked with Italian-style curtains and gilded furniture, in the South African border town of Ladybrand. He told them Maesaiah wanted more than anything to be first lady. Lipolelo gave her assent. After Lipolelo and Sibolla left, Mojapela headed back to Maseru, where he says he met Thabane and Maesaiah at the Fu Li Chinese restaurant at around 6 p.m. and relayed Lipolelo’s message. “Maesaiah asked me to be more specific about what she wants,” Mojapela said. A visit to the restaurant to confirm if such a meeting ever took place at the restaurant, it was understood that the restaurant is now under new management.

Thabane’s former private secretary, Thakalekoala, said he was not aware of a mediation attempt. Neither was Maesaiah’s close friend, Motlatsi Kompi. The former first lady’s aide, Letsie, declined to comment. Shortly afterwards, Lipolelo was dead. “I saw the blood running down,” said Sibolla, who was shot twice in the side in the attack. “She was quite light in complexion, so you could really see it.” Police found 9mm pistol shells at the scene, Mokete, the deputy commissioner, said. He added that the assassination was carried out by one of several gangs of traditional musicians, who are engaged in a deadly turf war. Three men linked to the gang received calls from the phones of Thabane and Maesaiah in the days leading up to the killing, he said. Police issued arrest warrants for them, but they remain at large. Finishing up at the Chinese restaurant, Mojapela says he headed to a friend’s house where, at around 8 p.m., his bodyguard delivered the news of Lipolelo’s death. “I was disgusted. I cried,” he said. “There was absolutely no need for this woman to be assassinated.” By Tim Cocks Additional reporting by Marafaele Mohloboli in Maseru; Editing by Alexandra Zavis and Mike Collett-White

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NIGERIAN DIASPORA ARE ESSENTIAL FOR THE NATION DEVELOPMENT

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mazi Godson Azu

His name is Mazi Godson Odoamalam Azu, he is an Ibo man by tribe, from Abia State, (Godâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s own State), he grew up in Lagos State, where he had his early years of education. He is a political analyst, PR /Media Consultant, Author & Publisher, he studied International Relations and Politics at both University of London and London Metropolitan University London where he completed his postgraduate (MA), in 2017. His company, Cater and Merger Consult is incorporated in the United Kingdom under the company registration act with the Company House London. The company is registered and established by Mr. Godson Azu MA. FOSHA as a limited liability company in the year 2018 with company registration number 11462325. While he is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, funding for the business is from his income contributions, which covers the start-up expenses and providing a financial cushion for the business operation. The company plans to build on strong market position within the community and our intended wider market, as a result of our industry experience and experts with mild competitive advantage within the defined market environment. According to him, whenever you request for services such as image protection, brand protection, cooperate and personality profiling, event publicity and campaign strategies, conference and summit management, your targeted audience would always be those miles away from your local reach, which means that your audience would be unlimited so at C&M, through our wide network, on-line platform, television programs, print media and extended media coverages, they would guarantee that your interest or expectations will be promoted with utmost care and value to a wider audience and market reach, at a fraction of what it would cost to project image and product branding on any other media platform. We would create Face and Voice that would reach your expected audience with a greater marginal responsive result. And on this note, we welcome our guest on this Voice forum on Face to Face chat in this edition of The Voice News magazine

V: What do you do for a living? Mazi Godson Azu: I started my media and political work experience as a political analyst and public commentator with the first ethnic black African television station in the UK, Ben Television London, in 2012, and then progressed to become head of politics/current affairs desk in 2014. In 2014, I stood as a Councillorship candidate of All Peoples Party (APP), at the UK Local Council Elections of 2014, for Brentford Ward in Her Majesty Borough of Hounslow, and in 2016 stood as a CLP Candidate for the Greater London Assembly/Mayoral Election May 2016, representing Haringey/Enfield Constituency CLP in North 58

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London. In 2014, while about to release my first book, I decided to set up CaterandMerger company, as a political and media consultancy outfit, to promote my ideas and concepts of political communication and media profiling, as I hoped to provide professional services to people in the field of political management, leadership and civil governance. TV: What motivated you to go into creating media platforms? Mazi Godson Azu: I was motivated into creative media writing and book publication, as a result of my interest in sharing my deep and rational thinking about political issues and social challenges, as I read or observe critical national events happening around my immediate environment, and or the global arena, I have so far authored two complete books, the first is titled; Campaign Strategies Political Success. In 2014, this was launched in London by the Nigerian High Commissioner, Sen. Dr Dalhatu Sarki Tafida OFR. CFR, and then in Abuja by the Minister of Information, Hon Labaran Maku; the second is titled; Nigerian Democracy and Political Personalities 2017, this was launched by then, Deputy Secretary General (Political) Commonwealth Nations, Ambassador Dr Josephine Ojiambo; the Vice Chancellor of London Metropolitan University, Prof. John Raftary, and the Nigerian High Commissioner, Ambassador George A. Oguntade CFR CON. l am about to complete the publication of my third

book, focussing on Brexit and Post-Brexit, this would be ready and out soon. My books could be ordered on Amazon Stores online. TV: What line of business & company are you running now? Mazi Godson Azu: My company CaterandMerger is a consulting firm, involved in political research, management, campaign methodology and media publicist in the UK, and across Africa. We strive to pursue informed knowledge and shape creative leadership in governance, through strategic consultation and engagements, of which we have been able to manage few high profile activities in London, and Nigeria. TV: Your Company is involved in different aspects of human endeavors, talk us through major activities that you do? M a z i Godson Azu: CaterandMerger consultancy provides services to both corporate individuals, organizations, and government institutions. TV: You live in the United Kingdom. But where are you originally from and what is your relationship with your country of birth? Mazi Godson Azu: As I earlier mentioned here, am an Igbo man by tribe, from Abia State, born and grew-up in Lagos, am married to a Yoruba woman from Egba, Abeokuta in Ogun State Nigeria. My relationship with Nigeria is great, as I have my extended family and childhood friends over there, across the country. I have been visiting the country twice a year, for the past 10 years, both for family issues, then for social and economic intervention projects. TV: Our path crossed at an event organized by the Nigeria Diaspora organization. Are you involved with the organization and what do you do exactly there? Mazi Godson Azu: I joined NIDO UK chapter in 2007, and have remained a full financial and active member of the organization to date, I have been part of the diaspora delegation for homeland development and in commemoration of the annual Diaspora Day activities in Nigeria, since 2009. In 2014, I was in Nigeria to launch my first book Campaign Strategies for Political Success, at the Radio House Abuja. In 2015, I led a team of social investors, from the UK, Europe,

and US to support the launch and flag-off a social intervention project called, Youth of the Street, in Benin City; I have been part of a team of Abia State indigenes in diaspora UK, that have been working with the state government, on establishing the Diaspora Village project in the state, since 2013, which would soon flag-off with the allocation of over 100 hectare of land; in 2019, l led a team of Diasporas for a week-in-Nigeria community project. TV: Follow up to this question, how is the Nigerian Diaspora organization contributing to the advancement of the country? Mazi Godson Azu: My involvement with the Nigerian In Diaspora Organization, (NIDO), and my full membership of the UK South Region Chapter, was key to my homeland motivation and passion. From 2012-2016, I was elected to serve as the General Secretary of NIDO-UK-SOUTH, in 2018. I was elected as the Welfare, Social and Event Officer for Nigerian in Diaspora Organization Europe, Board of Trustee, l am also the Vice Chairman of Abia State Indigenes In Diaspora Association UK/Ireland. I have worked with other leaders of NIDO, and relevant stakeholders in the diaspora community to project the core values of the organization, in terms of gavernasing and harmonizing diaspora organizations and communities, as an all inclusive body representation, I was involved in the long agitation and pursuance of the Diaspora Bill, which eventually created the Nigerian Diaspora Commission. TV: How will you access the progress made at NIDO over the years? Mazi Godson Azu: I am of the opinion that Nigeria Diasporas, have come of age and potentials, in terms of the capacity development of its fourth generational transition, presently with an estimated worldwide diaspora population of over 17 million, and human capital resources cutting across all spectrum of knowledge, experts, economy, politics, and technology. Based on this huge acquired resources by many Nigerian Diasporas, over the years during the annual Diaspora Day, key technical expert knowledge and skills transfer and exchange programs have been carried-out and achieved. Nigeria Diasporas network over the past 20 years, has consistently maintained a measurable economic force, with its powers of remittance, according to the world bank records, Nigeria Diasporas have been remitting between, 2024 Billion Dollars per-year since 2014, which amounts to around 6% of Nigeria GDP, what an immense contribution to the socio-economic growth of the country. At the moment NIDOE is working with the Nigeria Central Bank to monitor and evaluate the actual impact of key remittance inflow to the country economy, through the major remittance agencies. We are also working with partnering government agencies, for instance on the capturing of Nigerians in diaspora data, and ID card registration as we continue to pursue the Diaspora Voting Right. NIDOE is also in a positive engagement on

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the government Housing sector, with serious diaspora investors, with the vision of developing social and affordable housing schemes, with huge job creation in Nigeria. As mentioned earlier here, we already have one particular housing project about to take-off in Abia state, for over 2000 housing and essential facilities scheme, Abia Diaspora Village, by Abia Diasporas. TV: In your opinion, is Nigeria ready for Diaspora engagement in doing business or exchanging ideas that could bring development to the country? Mazi Godson Azu: Is Nigeria ready and open for diaspora engagement, I will probably say yes, with a hindsight although the country is gradually catching up with the reality in terms of understanding the greater values of diaspora contribution to homeland development. Over the years, since the gazzating of Diaspora Day celebration by the administration of former president Obasanjo to celebrate our diaspora heroism and achievements, the event has attracted on average 500 diaspora delegates from around the world to mark the 25th of July annual weeklong activities in Nigeria. This annual event has resulted in various consultative engagements, projects and policy implementations, that has led to the strengthening of NIDO formations in many countries and the continental structures as an umbrella body of Nigeria diaspora platforms; the collective pursuance of the Diaspora Bill, which brought about the establishment of Nigerian Diaspora Commission, (NIDCOM). As part of ongoing diaspora engagement, at state levels, and to prove the seriousness of government engagement, there was a strong push for the creation of a Diaspora Desk officer at state levels, which led to the appointment of Special Adviser or Assistance on Diaspora Affairs to the Governorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, and today we are proud that few state governments have adopted this concept to bring diaspora issues to the state levels, few diaspora individuals are now benefiting from this open opportunity, without the knowledge of how it started or came to existence. So, I believe that with over $24b diaspora remittance power and huge technical experts, in our knowledge transfer, in relation to with the establishment of NIDCOM the Nigerian government at all levels is gearing up for a potential and positive diaspora engagement and its massive added values to nation building. TV: We see that you are also engaged in media activities, are you into publications like newsprint or broadcast journalism? Mazi Godson Azu: Well as a political analyst and public commentator, in the UK, I spent most of my time following 60

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up on what is happening around the political world, most especially in the UK, Africa and the US. And, as required by any local or international media channels, I make commentary contributions and at the same time write a few articles for my website. TV: On your website, you organize London Political Summit! What is this event all about and how regular do you organize it?

Mazi Godson Azu: For over four years, we have been organising the London Political Summit and Awards in collaboration with the London Metropolitan University, who are our academic partners and other media partners. The main purpose of the annual summit is to bring together political leaders of thought, academicians, students, media and the public to a discourse on critical socio-political and economic challenges of the time. We had the Rt Hon Raila Odinga, the former Prime Minister of Kenya, as our first Keynote Speaker, in 2016, since then there have been various top personalities honouring our invitation to speaker at our summits, this includes the Hon. Speaker of Uganda Parliament, Rt Hon Dr Rebecca Kadaga in 2018 TV: You also organize awards under the same name. Who are these awards meant for and what is the motivation behind the awards? Mazi Godson Azu: With regards to the Awards aspect, this was carefully added, just after the historic event in Nairobi, with the peace Accord Handshake action between, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Rt Hon Raila Odinga, leading to the relative political peace in Kenya. The summit decided to honour their efforts with awards in recognition of leadership and peaceful resolutions in politics. On this ground we recognize and award political leaders, and public personalities that are contributing to a

peaceful democratic growth in their countries. TV: A lot of things are happening right now with the global pandemic, has this affected your operations and what is the impact so far. Mazi Godson Azu: It is rather very unfortunate that the world is confronted with this highly conspiracy health-missile, coronavirus, called covid-19 by WHO, I am fully convinced that this is a misguided laboratory experiment of chemical infusion that was contracted by human in Wuhan, China that went out of control, and then used a socio-economic spike, by China to drive their mistrust on the geopolitical power game with the US, which the whole world is painfully paying the death price. The impact of coronavirus pandemic is greatly devastating, both socially and economically around the world, with the challenges of various government lockdowns, social or physical distancing, and breakdown on economic activities. We are at the moment facing a tough time deciding on holding the summit/awards this year in view of the travel restrictions TV: Is your interest only on Nigeria or the rest of Africa

and how do you work in those countries? Mazi Godson Azu: CaterandMerger consultancy interest on ‘Politics-to-Business, which in real time is about bridging the engagement gap between those in politics and the business community on potential opportunities for economic growth and social development, for an assured, secured and peaceful society. We work through countries in Africa, across Europe and other developing countries. Helping on this are our summit Ambassadors, in the persons of Ambassador Dr. Josephine Ojiambo, the former Deputy Secretary General of the Commonwealth of Nations, who is our Global Ambassador; and then Ambassador Dr.

Baroness Neena Richie, the Minister for League of Arab Africa Affairs UK/EU, who is our Arab Ambassador. TV: What future plans for your business interests/ organizations? Mazi Godson Azu: The future plans of caterandmerger, is to expand our ability and capacity to help manage and sustain a positive political-media campaign platforms for political groups, or individual; we are also working on an all inclusive political leadership and governance training programme; and final offering a comprehensive service on biography and political book publications for up-coming writers or authors. TV: What else would you share with our readers? Mazi Godson Azu: As is literally understood in the politically developed world, according to the two great Greek political philosophers, Aristotle, who stated that, ‘Man is a Political Animal’, being a social creature, with the power of speech and moral reasoning, (thinking-mind); and Plato, who stated that, ‘A political life, is life in the polity’. Which simply means that our day-to-day life, in any organized society is ruled by a political order, as such there is a concerted need to be politically enlightened and aware of the state and process of political governance at all times. Covid-19 is one clear example of the forces of political power. TV: How does business or person interested in what you do contact you? Mazi Godson Azu: Mazi Godson Azu. MA. BA. (Hons). FOSHA Director Catreandmerger Consult Ltd. www.caterandmegerconsult.com info@caterandmergerconsult.com www.londonpoliticalsummitawards.org info@londonpoliticalsummitawards.org +44-7488389428

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Diary: BUHARI’S PHONEY GALLANTRY Tony Enahoro: A Noble Life of State Pardons

ontinued from June 2002 edition

Tony fled Nigeria having evaded arrest that would have led to a charge of treasonable felony. The idea was to become the public face of the Opposition Action Group abroad. He moved from Ghana to Ireland which no extradition treaty with Nigeria. England would have been the more suitable base, for reasons of closer ties. Friends and British political sympathizers were assured by authorities that he could live ad conduct his representation freely in England. Tony arrived quietly in London. The third night Scotland Yard detectives came and took him away to Brixton Prison awaiting tradition to Nigeria to face a charge of treasonable felony. The Igeri government had discovered an old law under which the British government was obliged to repatriate a fugitive Dominion or Empire citizen sought by his country to face s trial. British public opinion was outraged by the manner of Tony’s arrest. Newspapers cried foul at what they judged a dirty trick that lured Tony to Britain. Tony’s lawyers argue that the charge was political, that their client would not receive Adair trial. The govt’s lawyers countered strongly that Nigerian courts could be British. The judges and magistrates graduated in Law in Britain. They wore black capes and were adorned in wigs. Tony was repatriated. When he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment the uproar in the British Parliament led to a review of the Fugitive Offender’s Act. No longer is a Commonwealth fugitive sought by his country automatically repatriated. There must be a court trial and if there is a hint of political motive the truest will be refused. Tony’s ordeal did that. Dr Okoi Arikpo was Commissioner for External Affairs but it was Tony who led the Federal delegation to Addis Ababa to face Ojukwu. It was Tony that led the team for peace talks with a Biafra representation in Kampala. The Civil War reached a stage at which it became strategically vital to knock out Uli airstrip, Biafra’s only remaining outlet to the world. Britain was reluctant to supply long range guns necessary for the operation. British Prime Minister Harold Wilson, who had an uncomfortably small majority in parliament, had problems within his Labour Party and across the aisle in parliament over the Federal Government’s handling of the war. Two issues were especially found unpalatable: 3rd Marine Commando’s commander “Black Scorpion” Adekunle’s unscrupulous order to his troops to “shoot anything that moves and anything that doesn’t move.” The other was a crazed massacre in Asaba by Federal troops under the command of Muritala Muhammed whose two disastrous attempts to land troops in Onitsha had been costly in lives lost. British Intelligence was unimpressed about the whisky and marijuana as well. The British wanted the two men relieved of their command

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to ease things for Wilson, so the government could seriously consider supplying the requested guns. This was the message Tony brought back from London. If you don’t like the message shoot the messenger. Word must have reached Muhammed that redeployment was a distinct option. It was a measure of his power and indiscipline that he took off to hometown Kano, to go and sulk in the middle of a war. Meanwhile, kudos for Tony was his delegation’s success in persuading Moscow, where George Kurubo, former Chief of Air Staff was a helpful ambassador, to provide the guns that shot down Ulli. Tony became a marked man with the Muhammed camp. More was to follow. It came soon enough in the person of Aremu Olusegun Obasanjo. Uncouth where a little fineness would have better served his purpose, Obj is a bully who doesn’t forget, doesn’t forgive. He then was Federal Commissioner of Works and Housing. What set him on a collision course with Tony was that the Minister of Information had full responsibility for the Second World Black and African Festival of African Arts and Culture, a

mouthful known simply as Festac. Crucially, realisation of Festac Village was in Tony’s purview. He was in London having difficulty trying to negotiate a loan of priceless Emotan bust, symbol of the festival. The British Museum feared that Nigeria would not return the stolen Benin art treasure. It was in the midst of this attention that Obasanjo rang from Rome to say he had arranged for Tony to hold talks with a building company that specialised in prefabricated housing. Prefab would reduce the cost of building Festac Village. And faster too, so was the proposition. How old was Obasanjo when African American Company (Afamaco) gave prefab bungalows a name not to remember in Nigeria? A hit record made “Afamaco” a synonym for sham. There was no real enthusiasm for Obj’s concrete slabs. Although Tony thought it rude that Obasanjo did not consult him before committing him to meet the Italians, he dispatched his Permanent Secretary — future Governor of Bauchi State, Tartari Ali - to Rome. By and by, Commissioners were coming out of a Cabinet meeting, Obasanjo said in a raised voice from behind Tony, “Chief-I-arrangedf o r- y o u - t o - m e e t - s o m e people. You sent somebody else!” It was a rebuke and Tony replied in kind, “You arranged a meeting for Rome; without asking my plans. I sent my principal adviser.” You talk like that to Obj? Haven’t you read his memoir, “My Command”. He singlehandedly won the civil war. Well, almost. Muritala took his revenge on the man his “revenge coup” of 1966 helped make Head of State and Commander-in-Chief. He overthrew Gowon. Truth be told, it was a populist coup. Gowon had been long in office, in a country where people love change for the sake of change. Gowon was in Kampala attending an OAU Summit. His team was gathered around him when Muhammed was mentioned as the new leader. Tony blurted, “What?! That mad man?” The suspicion was that champion of the “talakawa”, Aminu Kano, gave his fellow Kano son, Muritala, an account of who said what. Muritala was charging about like a raging bull, with outpouring of policy announcements that pleased his urban constituents baying for retribution short of bloodshed on Gowonites. That was the atmosphere in which a Federal Assets Investigation Panel was appointed. With Muhammed and Obasanjo heading the regime was there any surprise that Festac was a major target of interest?

Tony had returned from Kampala confident he had nothing to fear. However, certain Press comments indicated that some person or persons were briefing negatively against Festac, suggesting a campaign. The hostility was evident when Tony appeared before the Panel. He was asked, “Chief, how many bank accounts do you have abroad?” Tony said the question surprised him. He went on that he’d read statements in the Press said to be by authoritative sources close to the Panel claiming he had several foreign bank accounts. These had not been denied. He’d expected to be confronted with these ‘foreign bank accounts’. The very question how many accounts he had presumed he had any. He felt the Panel had already reached

its conclusion on him. The hearing was a show. Government did not release the Panel’s report. Instead it published a White Paper in which it claimed the Panel indicted Tony. Tony had however seen the original report. He knew what it said. What the Panel stated was, “Chief Enahoro refused to cooperate with the Panel”. On that basis, he challenged the govt to publish the original.

By his Brother: Peter Enahoro (Peter Pan) N.B. The write up would be continued in our next edition for August 2020. Stay tune with us to finish the story.........

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PRESIDENT BUHARI URGES CAUTION ON ECOWAS COMMON CURRENCY

igeria’s President expressed concern last month over the decision of some West African nations to replace their currencies with the Eco ahead of the rest of the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). President Muhammadu Buhari made the comments at an extraordinary virtual summit of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (UEMOA) hosted by the West African Monetary Institute, Accra, Ghana. ‘’It gives me an uneasy feeling that the UEMOA Zone wishes to take up the Eco in replacement for its CFA Franc ahead of other ECOWAS Member States. “It‘s a matter of concern that a people with whom we wish to go into a union are taking major steps without trusting us for discussion,’’ President Buhari said in a series of tweets. The members of the UEMOA are Benin, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo. They have a single currency, the CFA Franc, which is pegged to the euro. President Buhari said Nigeria fully supports and is committed to the monetary union, “but we must do things properly and ensure absolute compliance with the set standards.’’ Last month, France’s Council of Ministers officially passed a bill that ratified a reform of the monetary agreement that bound the French government to the eight UEMOA member states. The Eco will remain pegged to the euro and will be backed by the French Treasury. The euro will guarantee the Eco’s convertibility and stability, with the Treasury remaining as

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guarantor for all eight UEMOA states. “We must proceed with caution and comply with the agreed process of reaching our collective goal while treating each other with utmost respect. Without these, our ambitions for a strategic Monetary Union as an ECOWAS bloc could very well be in serious jeopardy,’’ said the Nigerian head of state. “We cannot ridicule ourselves by entering a union to disintegrate, potentially no sooner than we enter into it. We need to be clear and unequivocal about our position regarding this process,’’ he added. According to the initial agreement, the UEMOA countries were to withdraw their currency reserves from the French central bank before adopting the new currency, the Eco. In the first phase, countries with their own currencies (Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria and Sierra Leone) were to launch the Eco. In a second phase, the eight UEMOA member countries that have in common the CFA Franc will be covered by the Eco.

Ugandan Pop Star Aligns With Opposition to challenge Museveni’s 34-Year Rule

Close to 4,000 school girls impregnated in Kenya during Covid-19 lockdown

Two of Uganda’s main opposition politicians, Bobi Wine and Kizza Besigye, agreed an alliance that could pose the biggest challenge yet to President Yoweri Museveni’s 34year rule. Bobi Wine, a musician and lawmaker whose real name is Robert Kyagulanyi, already declared his intention to challenge Museveni at the Presidential election. His People Power movement that groups politicians opposed to Museveni’s policies regardless of party affiliation will combine with Besigye’s People’s Government pressure group. Along with other smaller parties, the two men will pursue “coordinated activities that show our displeasure,” Joel Ssenyonyi, the spokesman of People Power, said last month after the two opposition leaders agreed to partner.

Kenya has reported a sudden surge in teen pregnancies in one single county over a period of five months thus threatening to cut short the pursuit for education among school-going girls. Machakos county, located in the north eastern province in Kenya is leading several other counties in terms of teenage pregnancies in Kenya according to Kenya Health

“The brutality and injustices of trumping over people’s rights have increased.” Besigye has unsuccessfully run against Museveni in the last four presidential elections. Museveni, a 75-year former guerrilla leader who captured power in January 1986, is eligible to seek re-election after lawmakers in 2017 abolished an age limit for a presidential candidate.

Information System survey. The data shows that a total of 3,964 girls aged 19 years and below were reported pregnant within that period. Machakos County Children Officer Salome Muthama said the reported pregnancy cases among school girls are a much less than the actual numbers. “During this coronavirus pandemic we do have 4000 impregnated girls. These are so many innocent girls,” she said. She further reiterated that most of the cases were as a result of defilement by close family members. She adds that about 200 of these girls are aged 14 years and below. “How can a 12 year old girl become a mother?” she posed. “All the people who have impregnated these children needs to be arraigned but it is becoming a challenge. We need special court sittings to address and deal with these cases,” Salome appealed. She further blamed both the parents and the ineffective justice system for the prevailing crisis. “Most of these cases you will find involve children who were taken from urban centres in the wake of Covid-19 and left in the hands of their grandmothers in the countryside as the parents returned to the towns,” Ms Muthama told reporters in Machakos Town. Leaving venerable girl child in the hands of aged grandparents is not a wise decision as it has turned out in Kenya. Close to 4,000 school girls impregnated in Kenya during Covid-19 lockdown is a serious matter to be addressed urgently.

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BOOK REVIEW

The Other Side of Fear Uncertainty, anxiety and fear: only fictitious superheroes are exempted from this all-too human sequence. The trouble is that fear is paralyzing because it feeds our minds with negative thoughts. In a second, fear can turn the idea of courage into one of recklessness, and then it’s all downhill to a point where determination is put aside in favour of ‘playing it safe.’ Sadly, fear can stop you from doing anything slightly risky. It’ll keep you locked up in the prison of the comfortable and predictable where you’re more likely to die of boredom than might from any of the dangers you fear. So, what’s to be done? The simple answer is that risk-taking and adaptability are as much part of our human heritage as uncertainty-inspired fear. It’s finding a balance that matters most. Fear is a useful tool for making better life-directing decisions, but fear must never be allowed to control the direction of your life. That way you lose the opportunity of reaching your true potential. I hope this book will inspire you to transcend your fears and achieve all of your dreams. The greatest prison you can live in is the prison of your own fears. Nothing of value can be achieved when we allow fear to control our life. Grab a copy of “The other side of fear” be inspired to live above your fears. You can purchase E-book & paperback on amazon. First and foremost, I want to thank God for guiding my every step towards completing this project and to every other

person who contributed to this. I’ve learned that if we can find the courage to begin something, God will empower & enable us to complete the task. There’s nothing we cannot accomplish if we are determined enough. I was inspired to write this book because fear has kept a lot of people locked up in the prison of comfort. Too many people are living in a self-made prison of their own fears, they are stuck, unable to move forward and achieve their meaningful dreams. Fear has the power to limit your greatness, and blind you from seeing the opportunities that lies ahead of you. Everything you desire is on the other side of your fear, don’t stay trapped behind the walls of your fear for the rest of your life. It’s time to move towards your fears instead for trying to avoid them. I can confidently tell you that this book will inspire and challenge you to transcend your fears. And also provide principles to help you on the journey. Grab a copy of this book to bless yourself, a friend or a loved one. You can read online, download, & order hard copies of this book online click on the link. www.amazon.com/Other-Side-Fear-M-K-Slim-ebook/dp/ B088RKSDW7/ref=sr_1_8? Thank you By M.K. Slim

About M.K. Slim For much of my life, I’ve been fully committed to my music career, but I’m also an entrepreneur and a budding writer. I’m very motivated and mentally resilient: a genuinely optimistic person who believes that anything can be achieved if I’m determined enough. I strive to create a positive impact in the lives of those around me and I believe the highest of human acts is to inspire others to reach their potential. I strive to inspire as many people as I can. I’d like others to say of me, “Because you didn’t give up, I can do the same.” That’s the legacy I hope to leave behind when I die.

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BOOK REVIEW SHALLOW GRAVES

close observer’s reflection on the nature and impact of a fratricidal war in the Horn of Africa. This is a personal account of the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia, fought between May 1998 and June 2000. Shallow Graves traces shifting local perceptions of time, the nation and the region, beginning in the mid-1990s and concluding with the peace agreement signed between the two governments in 2018. Richard Reid is a historian who was based in Eritrea during the war, and who continued to visit both that country and Ethiopia for several years afterwards. This personal perspective offers a more vivid, intimate portrait of the experience of the war than can normally be offered by putatively ‘objective’ academic accounts. As well as providing first-hand reportage and analysis, Reid problematizes the role of the historian—and specifically the foreign historian—as the supposedly impartial observer of events. His eloquent narrative, constructed around conversations and interactions with a range of local witnesses, friends and colleagues, explores the impact of prolonged war and its aftermath—both on private and public memory, and on the nature of history itself. Richard Reid is Professor of African History at the University of Oxford, currently focusing on histories of war on the continent in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. He is the author of A History of Modern Uganda. For more details you can contact: Alison Alexanian Head of Campaigns & Media Relations

THE NETHERLANDS, 3 EU COUNTRIES SIGN COVID-19 VACCINE DEAL WITH ASTRAZENECA; ICU CASES RISE By Zack Newmark A four-country alliance, which teamed up to pre-purchase large quantities of prospective vaccines against SARS-CoV-2, announced its first major deal last month. The Netherlands, France, Germany and Italy pooled their purchasing power to acquire between 300 and 400 million units of a vaccine being developed by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca. The first vaccines could become available in the Netherlands before the end of the year, if the vaccine trials are successful. It is currently being tested on ten thousand people, with the trial size expanding to 30 thousand people by the end of the month. “The risk of failure is present until the end in each of the development phases,” the government stated. “It is very important that we can take this step today. A vaccine is crucial in the fight against the virus,” said Hugo de Jonge, the minister in charge of the Dutch government’s coronavirus response. “Until the vaccine is available, the virus will be among us and it will emerge. A vaccine is therefore being worked on with great effort. We want to work together and bet on several horses at the same time, because you don’t know in advance who will win

Hurst Publishers 41 Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3PL +44 (0)20 7255 2201; Mob: 07365485542 @alisonalexanian Hurst | 21 May 2020 | Paperback | 296pp|£25|ISBN: 9781787383289

the race.” Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the government said the vaccines would be purchased at cost. All other European Union member states are allowed to participate in the deal, the Dutch government reiterated in a statement. If the vaccine is approved, it will be distributed to each country participating in the deal in proportion with their population size. The European Commission was critical of the four-country alliance, and instead said last month that it wanted to be in charge of negotiating deals on behalf of all member states. There were 77 people being treated for Covid-19 in intensive care as of last Saturday of the month of June, an increase of four. It was still the lowest number of patients in ICU for the coronavirus disease since March 13. There was also an increase of Covid-19 patients outside of the ICU, with hospitals treating 10 more, for 289 in total. “We have noticed a slight increase in COVID patients in the ICU and in the clinic. In view of the steady decline in the number of COVID patients in the ICU, and the sharp decline in the clinic in the past month, the development in the past 24 hours is no cause for concern,” said Ernst Kuipers, the head of the acute care providers network in the Netherlands. To date, 2,907 people have been treated in intensive care for Covid-19, of which 842 have died. Another 1,577 recovered and were discharged. www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

You make 50 look AMAZING

Lady Faith Imuwahen Ehanire On the occasion of your 50th birthday celebration On

3rd June 2020

GOLDEN FAITH, CONTINUE TO SHINE UNDER THE MERCY & GRACE OF GOD Best wishes from your family, the Ehanire Family from home & abroad and your daughter, Marjolien Popken 68

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Kylian Mbappe is the world most valuable Player in current rating

ylian Mbappe is the world most valuable player in a recent survey released of world class players and their financial rankings. Paris Saint-Germain and France striker, Kylian Mbappe has

in today’s market despite the Coronavirus pandemic. He is followed closely by four English stars – Raheem Sterling £173m, Jadon Sancho – £159m, Trent AlexanderArnold £152m, and Marcus Rashford – £136m.

been rated as the most valuable player in the world. His worth is estimated at £231 million According to CIES Football Observatory, the 21-year-old has the highest estimated transfer value of players across Europe’s big five leagues, and is worth an eye-watering £231million

Lionel Messi and his arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo failed to make the top 20. The Barcelona superstar valued at £89 million, he took 22nd place, while the Juventus playmaker was rated at £55m to take the 70th spot.

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‘GIVING UP IS WORSE THAN LOOSING’

iving up is worse than loosing. That is the motto of Carolyne Ndalilah (25), director of the high-profile youth organization TYSA, located in north west Kenya. She particularly enjoys the mentorship in her work: guiding young people and helping them to see themselves grow. It is a wonderful story from beneficiary of TYSA projects to director of the same organization. It is the path that Carolyne Ndalilah (25) has travelled in ten years. She was fifteen when the Transforming Young Stars of Africa (TYSA) came into her life. An organization in and around the city of Kitale, in northwest Kenya. Founded by the charismatic sports educator Francis Gichuki whose philosophy is talent development in children and young people, mainly through football and artistic education. TYSA’s philosophy is clear. If you create safe places for young people where they can come together and if the young people have the opportunity to be involved in decision-making processes, you can really change a society in a positive way. We meet just outside Kitale, on the TYSA training field. A group of high school students gathered to participate in sports 70

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and play activities led by Ndalilah and some of her colleagues. After the game, in a circle the sport exercise and how you can link that to situations in real life are discussed. In third grade of high school, Ndalilah herself became involved. “TYSA was focused on finding vulnerable groups in society, such as teenage mothers and young people without parents.” Ndalilah herself had become a mother of a daughter from an involuntary pregnancy and did not see a good future ahead. TYSA’s activities turned this around for her. “I came into contact with other youth from the area. During the weekends we did empowerment sessions and during the holidays we went camping together. We shared our life stories with each other. I noticed that I was better off than others who had gone through something much heavier and, for example, have given up their hopes for education. “What I mainly learned,” she continues, “was to never give up hope in whatever you do. TYSA’s activities were very focused on taking positive action and trusting yourself. It was also very important to me personally that the TYSA staff made it clear to me that it is not a crime at all to have a child while you are still in school. “ Ndalilah claims to be a completely different person now than eight years ago. The new confidence also radiated directly to her father. “I really never thought I would ever have the opportunity to study after high school. When my father saw how much I had developed through TYSA, he said, “I believe in you and we will see how we can fund your studies.” He then sold a piece of land to pay for my studies and rented a room for me in the city. “ She went to study social work at the Eldoret College of Professional Studies but quickly learned that her father had been a little too optimistic. Laughing: “He thought he paid for the entire study, but it was only for one module. I did not dare to tell him that because my daughter was there at home with seven other people, which is already very difficult financially.”

So creativity was required to get the rest of the tuition fees together. Ndalilah addressed a woman in the financial administration of her study program who was responsible for collecting tuition fees. “We agreed that I would look for a solution and pay the school fees later.” She found work in a saloon where she started braiding women’s hair. “I did that from eight in the morning until three in the afternoon. Then I quickly went to my classes until eight o’clock in the evening. I got paid by day at work. That way I could pay a little bit of school fees every day. “ When the salon had to close due to problems, Ndalilah for a moment felt lost but again she was creative. “I learned from a friend how to make liquid soap myself. I poured it into half liter bottles that I sold for 50 shillings each. Until three o’clock in the afternoon I went from door to door and then quickly go back to my studies. “It was much better work than in the saloon. With a big smile on her face she says: “I really made a big profit. That way I was not only able to pay for the rest of my studies, but I was also able to send money to my parents.” After completing her three-year education, she did an internship with a government organization that provided scholarships to select children in secondary schools. For this Ndalilah had to visit many schools. And immediately there was again her sense of doing business. “I saw that schools use a lot of soap so I told them about my company. I soon got orders to provide schools with soap.” In addition, she remained very active with TYSA and moved up the hierarchy of the organization. This work in particular gave her great satisfaction. “I have a passion for children and young people and find it very important that they get to know their rights. And I love mentorship: guiding others and helping them see themselves grow. Mentorship is all about helping others realize who they are, what the challenges in their community are and how to address them”. And there are still plenty of challenges. Although Ndalilah

By Marc Broere and Martha Nalukenge notices that it is becoming more common for boys and girls to exercise together and to see more sex peers who are empowered, there are still many prejudices and stigmas. “Certainly in remote areas, people still believe that women are there to do housework, while men are in charge of the family and are allowed to give orders. We still have regular conversations with parents, in which only the father does the talking and says that a girl after primary school should not attend further education and is supposed to get married as soon as possible. The woman really has no voice in that. Then I thank God that there are organizations like TYSA that stand up to this and start talking about it.” She has been the head of the organization since the beginning of this year. Ndalilah was personally put forward by the organization as the new director. “TYSA believes in the power of young people as leaders and role models in the community,” she says. “I myself am a proud product of a young person who has gone through all stages of TYSA’s leadership programmes.” Her main ambitions are to make the TYSA’s working methods even better known, so that other social organizations are inspired by it, even more participation of girls in leadership and more female role models. “What our society needs are young people with an open mind,” she continues, “who think beyond tomorrow; young people who see it as a challenge to try out the impossible. My life motto is that you should never give up on anything. In life you should not be afraid to lose, but be afraid to give up. Giving up is worse than losing. “ Her contract with TYSA runs until December 2022. Then she will make her way as a director for yet another young person who has produced the organization herself. Ndalilah already knows what her next challenge is. “My dream is to get a PHD and graduate in social work.”