June 2017 edition

ISSN:1571-3466

ISSN:1571-3466

Motto: Actuated towards Africa’s advancement

Volume 18. NO. 162 June 2017

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First complete African magazine published in The Netherlands since August 1999

SOSJobs4Women to Host First National Virtual Workforce Job Fair Ghana

I quit my job to farm watermelons, now I’m making millions – Annie Nyaga Help people living with HIV/Aids in Batwa, Burundi -Elaine Becks Nininahazwe www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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Contents 12-13

The Voice Magazine Volume 18. No 162 June 2017 Edition

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ARTICLES 4 - Editorial: Freed Chibok girls: The story does not add up till now 6- SOSJobs4women- Pre- Virtual Jobfair Training Program 7 - SOSJobs4Women to Host First National Virtual Workforce Job Fair in Ghana 9 - Content/Masthead 14 - The young Senegalese woman beside the French President 17 - Help people living with HIV in Batwa, Burundi says Elaine Becks Nininahazwe 20- ‘The change we yearn for will remain illusory until we change the standing norms’ 21 - BOOK REVIEW: The Worship Minister: Pleasing God as you fulfill his call 26 - Tunisia seeks to add Djerba to World Heritage List - Tunisia economic growth picks up in first quarter 27 - A letter to German Chancellor, Angela Merkel 40-41 - Interference in 2016 US Presidential Elections – Did Russia Overreach Itself?

43- Pastor: I want $50m for my diamond 44-45- Hitting Syria over Khan Sheikhoun – A Most Unwise Move - Abubakar receives his Achievers Award.

46 – 48 - Invest in Real Estate in Nigeria 52 – 53 - The Gambia’s ousted dictator is living a good life in Equatorial Guinea 54-56 - Sports: A Runner in Exile

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“We are excited to partner with eZ-Xpo and JobExpo365 to deliver this game-changing solution to solve Ghana’s unemployment and recruiting challenges, especially in recruiting qualified women. Now, these women can connect to hiring managers worldwide virtually ondemand and live 24/7 in a virtual workforce network ecosystem. Job seekers can get a fast start to engage and collaborate with all potential employers globally via the Virtual Job Fair”.

- Her Excellency Rev. Dr. Ocansey, Founder of SOSJobs4Women

www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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EDITORIAL

Freed Chibok girls: The story does not add up till now

W

The girls are returning e are still not joining in the celebration of the release in bits and no questions and family reunion of 82 Chibok girls by the Boko Haram being raised; where are the sect last month. Our decision is simply based on the fact that remaining girls? Who has from the very beginning, we had queried how possible it been taking care of them in was for this Boko Haram group to have moved 276 females the past three years, despite students without any major incident of injuries or even death. all the casualties Boko There were so many questions asked then but no answers Haram suffered, nothing were given because it was under former President Goodluck seem to have affected the Jonathan whom was out of favour with the North and they girls. They seem kept, well Pastor Elvis Iruh wanted him out of office. Every effort of that government to fed and taking care of. No Editor-in-Chief find the said 276 girls were frustrated; all sort of reports of the serious medical report of ill girls being sighted in Cameroon, threats of having been sold health or disease suffered by off to Chad and beyond. All sorts of theories were presented any of these 82 girls, in fact they are no longer girls, they are to the public, even the Americans came to help search for young ladies. the girls and nothing was found in the said forest where the Our theory of conspiracy against the government of girls were allegedly kept. 276 girls kept in the forest or a Jonathan stand strong as ever with the latest developments; secret house offered for this purpose? Who cared and feed the government of President Buhari owes Nigerians a better these young girls, some became mothers, the children were explanation on the Boko Haram saga and the release of the nursed in the forest, many of the girls on display do not look girls. Their release is leaving us with more questions and answers. We hope with the release of these girls, they would like people kept in be allowed to talk the forest for close to the press to share to three years now. their experiences Independently, no and probably lead one has interviewed us to where the these girls to tell remaining girls are their story or recap kept. where they were We wonder why the kept and how they government did not were cared for. negotiate the release Recently, it was of all the girls reported that 82 of instead of a few and them were released allow this criminal in exchange of organization keep some Boko Haram the remaining girls. fighters detained If this is true, what by the government. would be going How many are through the mind of these Boko Haram one of the returnee kidnapped girl with her parents the remaining girls suspects? What is in captivity? Is this a their role in the organization? Why the exchange for some country (Nigeria) they can truly call their own? Who could of the girls and not the remaining girls? What is happening negotiate the release of few and leave the rest in the hands of to the remaining girls now? Where are the campaigners of ‘bring back our girls’ with all of these developments? Is their kidnappers? it not a surprise that this is not even on the agenda of the Where are the campaigners of “Bring Back Our Girls” to international community anymore? Could there be some demand the release of the remaining girls? Whatever the information not at our disposal over the missing and found truth, we at the Voice magazine belief that the truth will be known one day; they cannot conceal the truth forever. We girls?

Reporting the kidnapping of 276 school girls in Nigeria’s wish those girls released happy reunion to them and their Chibok in 2014 made major headlines around the world. families and we hope they can regain the three loss years of their lives.

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SPECIAL FEATURE

SOSJobs4women- Pre- Virtual Job fair Training Program

Princess Asie Ocansey

O

ver 200 women received FREE Job readiness training from the NekoTech Center for Peace and Development’s initiative, SOSJOBS4WOMEN, in Accra, under the auspices of the Ghana Ministry for Employment and Labour Relations on May 8th at the Accra International conference center.

Her Excellency Rev Dr Princess Ocansey, founder for the SOSJOBS4WOMEN initiative gave a lecture on: 7 Things that get you Hired and the 7 things that get you fired.”

The project was sponsored by SOS Labour, Ghana’s first licensed and multiple award winning international and national job placement agency as a social responsibility program.

The Deputy Minister for Employment and Labour Relations gave a lecture on “Can Do Spirit for success in the work place”. Also present was AU Ambassador Dr. Erieka Bennett, who provided training on “Living the Best Life Now and for the rest of your life as a responsible African Diasporan.”

Participants were provided links to sign up into the nations new Skills Bank in preparation for the upcoming Virtual Job Fair on June 10 - 17 and the Job Summit on July 24, 2014 at the Accra International Conference Center to be attended by top leading ladies from Ghana and around the world virtually and in person.

Sponsorship opportunities to train more women,

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especially in the rural areas, are still open.

SOSJOBS4WOMEN Ghana is targeting 10,000 jobs for women in Ghana and overseas and is seeking training in both entrepreneurial and employability development for the women, especially the undeserved and underprivileged.

Deputy Minister of Employment and Labour Relations and HE Ambassador Erieka Bennett were Guests of Honor. Glory and praise to God for a glorious day! Special thanks to Kaybee and the amazing 4 ladies and the SOS Team: Benjamin Apodei Benjamin Wentland Mrs Ocansey UK, Donna, Rhoda, Rev Caleb Adu Armah, Muhammed, Tyra Nkansah, Razak, Victor Mawulolo Mr Roro and team great job team!

Nekotech Center for Peace and Development initiative- SOSJOBS4women in partnership with the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations are sponsoring SOS Labour Ghana limited to provide FREE TRAINING for over 200 women from all over Ghana on Job Readiness Training for jobs in Ghana and overseas.

Spread this information to your loved ones in Ghana and environs. This is the opportunity to break away from poverty and disease.

For more information please call: +233 (0) 561111165 or to support please send an email to princess@soslabour.com.

SOSJobs4Women to Host First National Virtual Workforce Job Fair in Ghana eZ-Xpo, the global leader in All-in-1 Virtual Collaborative Network Solution announced JobExpo365 is powering the first national virtual workforce and job fair dedicated to women in Ghana. The Virtual Job Fair will start immediately in conjunction with the physical event on July 24th, 2017: SOSJobs4Women Summit and Job Fair in Ghana.

SOSJobs4women National Virtual Job fair is an initiative of the Nekotech Center Royal Academy for Peace and Development in partnership with eZ-Xpo USA and the Ghana Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations and in collaboration with the Diasporan Relations Office of the Office of the President of Ghana, the AU Diasporan African Forum, Ladies of the Cross, Transform Ghana Project, Skill2Scale of the University of Canada, Transfer2Transform Canada, and the SOS Level Changers of the University of Ghana — all joining hands for jobs for all Ghanaian women everywhere.

The JobExpo365’s Virtual Job Fair will empower employers and recruiting managers to connect job-seekers to: • Visit virtual booths with the virtual environment to obtain information on the various career opportunities • Chat directly and arrange interviews with hiring managers • Access employers’ job materials, Q&A, and application and benefits • Showcase their accomplishments in a virtual booth “We are pleased to partner with the multiple awards-winning Nekotech Center Royal Academy for Peace and Development’s initiative — sosjobs4women Ghana — and other stakeholders, to prioritize job placement for all Ghanaian women everywhere by employing this innovative virtual job fair,” said the Summit Host, Hon. Ignatius BaffourAwuah, MP, and the Minister of Employment and Labour Relations.

“Ghanaian diasporans contribute over $3 billion annually to the economy.

This virtual job fair will enable Ghanaian diasporan women overseas an invaluable opportunity to find decent jobs in Ghana while considering to come back to Ghana without taking expensive trips home to search. In addition, providing Ghanaians with decent job opportunities overseas will enable us to increase remittances beyond the current $3 billion. I see this as a breakthrough for diasporans and Ghana,” said Mr. Akwasi Awuah Ababio, Director for the Diasporan Relations Office, at the Office of the President of Ghana.

“The AU Diasporan African Forum (AU DAF) is uniquely interested in making sure we secure the best candidates for each position by

providing soft skills training, which will make the women — both national and diasporan — more employable and to encourage them to perform as ideal workers for their future employers,” said HE Ambassador Dr Erieka Bennett, Head of Mission and training partner for sosjobs4women Ghana.

“We are excited to partner with eZ-Xpo and JobExpo365 to deliver this game-changing solution to solve Ghana’s unemployment and recruiting challenges, especially in recruiting qualified women. Now, these women can connect to hiring managers worldwide virtually on-demand and live 24/7 in a virtual workforce network ecosystem.

Job seekers can get a fast start to engage and collaborate with all potential employers globally via the Virtual Job Fair,” said Her Excellency Rev. Dr. Ocansey, Founder of SOSJobs4Women.

“We are excited to partner with HE Rev Dr Ocansey at SOSJobs4Women to host the first national Virtual Workforce and Job Fair at Ghana where we connect all qualified candidates and recruiting managers virtually 24/7 worldwide. JobExpo365’s Virtual Job Fair Network offers both Job-seeker and employers a virtual booth to showcase their accomplishments and opportunities respectively. It also breaks down all barriers and opens unlimited opportunities to all qualified talents and companies with virtual training and virtual showcase in a virtual booth,” said Matt Fok, CEO of eZ-XPO. To register for the SOSJobs4Women Summit and Virtual Job Fair, please go to: Employer: http://jobexpo365. com/sosjobs4women/employer_ register JobSeeker: http://jobexpo365. com/sosjobs4women/jobseeker_ register For more detailed information regarding the Virtual Job Fair, please contact Matt Fok at mfok@eZ-Xpo.com or Kevin at kelvinjnr@gmail.com © 2017 SOSJobs4Women Summit Developed By SOSJobs4Women IT Team Contact Us SOSJobs4Women Secretariat, 7 Essar Plaza Osu, Accra Ghana Email: info@sosjobs4women.com Mobile: 233-056 111 1165 https://sosjobs4women.wixsite.com www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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ABOUT US The Voice magazine

The Team

The Voice magazine is editorially independent although we enjoys the support of our readers, subscribers, advertisers, non-­ governmental organizations and in­dividuals of like minds; however the magazine publishers are in no way af­ filiated 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 wan to receive a copy, send us your email address.

On the team are Elvis Iruh, E ­ dward Ogbee, Sandra Iruh-Monsels & Henry Oduenyi supported by an editorial board.

READ THE VOICE ON LINE AT www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com www.thenigerianvoice.com Registration NO: (Kvk. Nr. 34.110.928) ISSN: 1571-3466 Stichting Paddi Europa Account No: NL29SNSB0908374372(SNS Bank) IBAN NO: NL29SNSB0908374372 Swift Code: SNSBNL2A Graphic Designers George Adegite David Banjoko Wil Smile Special Senior Adviser Engr. Barry Igbeare Advert Executive Faith Ehanire-Popken Fehanire4607@gmail.com

Publisher: Stichting Paddi E ­ uropa Editor-in-Chief Pastor Elvis Ndubuisi Iruh elvisiruh@thevoicenewsmagazine.com Managing Editor Henry D. Oduenyi (Nigeria O ­ ffice) henry@thevoicenewsmagazine.com Contributing Editor Edward Idahosa Ogbee apexbest2000@yahoo.co.uk Associate Editor Lucky Osahon (London, UK) hlosahon@hotmail.com Associate Editor Etim Thompson London, United Kingdom royalthompson@yahoo.com Project Coordinator Ifeyinwa Ezeagabu i.ezeagabu@thevoicenewsmagazine.com Project Editor (Nigeria) Chiedu Harris Ify harrisbok4real@gmail.com BUREAU CHIEFS Gbenga T. Okunlola (London) teejayok@gmail.com Joel Savage (Belgium) juskosave@yahoo.com Femi Ikutiyinu (London) afpaprint2000@yahoo.com Collaboration with National Infinity magazine, Lagos

CORRESPONDENTS ABROAD Nicholas Noghayin Ehioghiren (Spain) nicholasmicnita@yahoo.com Barrister Eze Eluchie (Nigeria) paddingr@yahoo.com Kehinde Aig-Imoru (Nigeria) aigimoru@yahoo.com Tammy Abusi (Port-Harcourt) t.abusi@thevoicenewsmagazine.com Eubaldus Enahoro enabadus2000@yahoo.com Principal Photo Editor: Azeez Badris fatim_26@hotmail.com PA to Publisher Lilian Akintokun (Mrs) raven_lilian@yahoo.com MEDIA CONSULTANTS Jonathan Mgbejume Bernd Wandkowski Mildred Kleinbussink Adeleke Ogunkoya You can as well contact our Office Address: Stichting Paddi Europa Inz The Voice Jeroen Boschplantsoen 82 1318 HH Almere The Netherlands Land Line: +3136-8801341 Tel.: +31 (0)6-48519292 Mobile: +31 (0)6-84999548 E-mail: info@thevoicenewsmagazine.com

SUBMISSIONS: Articles and photographs for publication are welcome but the publisher while exercising all reasonable c­ aution cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage. Please ensure that all materials are sent by e-mail to our official email. For other inquiries, e-mail us as well at: info@thevoicenewsmagazine.com

OUR MISSION STATEMENT

The Voice magazine is published in the Netherlands by Stichting Paddi Europa and it is p ­ ublished online from 2017 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 ­countries problems and bring information to help address those issues. TV

Volume 18

NO 162

June 2017 www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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FEEDBACK

AMBODE: LISTENING, PERFORMING, AND TIMELY – He Understands the Importance of Tackling Issues on Time.

“I recently advised the Nigerian government on how to reduce armed robbery in the country. I recommended some tasks for the various levels of government (federal, state, and local) to embark on immediately, in order to tame armed robbers in Africa’s most populous nation. COMMUNITY POLICING was one of the tasks I suggested. It is comforting to note that Governor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has initiated community policing in his state - Lagos Neighbourhood Safety Corps, LNSC. Time means little in our culture, but the timely response by Governor Ambode to a grave issue, is a challenge for the other governors to match. The remaining states now have something to copy from Lagos State.” –

BY DELE AJAJA , USA.

Victory has many friends It

is no surprise that the whole world stood still for Anthony Joshua when he won his much publicized fight with once-king Vladimir Klitschko of Ukraine. To my surprise, even though he fights for Britain but every effort was being made to forget his historical background. Anthony Joshua is a full blooded Nigerian, with a royal blood in his veins. You as an African press should please help to correct that because if Joshua was a criminal, Britain will never identify and call him a Briton but now that he is successful, they want to rob us of everything Nigerian about him. How I wish your magazine can as well recognize him. Let us celebrate him like a King, he is the king of boxing now. He will beat any other pretender in the world boxing heavy weight now. Champion Anthony Joshua has secured his place in boxing history like Mike Tyson and the rest of the famous heavy weight champions, if he choose to retired today, he is undefeated heavy weight champion of the world. Adieu to Anthony Joshua a.k.a AJ. He is a brilliant fighter and a good ambassador of the sports in and out of the ring. Thank you for considering my letter for publication. Your cover story on him is probably the best of your magazine in recent time.

Thank you all.

Abioya Abayomi, London, UK

On behalf of AYP I am proud to invite you to our annual conference Africa on the Move. This year we will hear inspirational talks of African entrepreneurs doing business in Europe or in Africa. We have a beautiful line up with national and international speakers! Hope to see you Saturday June 25, 2016 from 13:00 to 20:30 At: Nieuwe Energie - 3e Binnenvestgracht 23, 2312 NR Leiden Updates? Visit our LinkedIn & Facebook Page.

Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.nl/e/tickets-africa-on-the-moveentrepreneurship-25612641099

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UPCOMING EVENT The 2nd Nigeria-Netherlands business link takes place from 18th to 22nd September 2017 in Utrecht. Theme: AGRICULTURE: “Exploring new Entrepreneurship partners with Nigeria” If you are interested or know farmers from Nigeria interested to participate, kindly direct them to their website at www.ntc. africa.com or email at info@ntc.africa.com for more details.

Space is limited so register now to enable you participate.

NTC Management.

Feedback (Page for your letters)

Dutch government is discriminatory towards Africans.

I want to draw your attention to your article on the ordeal of Nigerians with the French Embassy on visa refusal for Nigerians intending to travel to The Netherlands. I blame the Dutch government for the maltreatment and confusion at the French Embassy. How can you delegate your responsibility to another country while you have your embassy in such a country? I can’t understand why the Dutch will ask Belgium and France to handle short stay visas to the Netherlands.

When France denies, the people coming to Holland visa, they are request to write petition to Nantes in France in French language. It does not make any sense at all and yet this are supposed to be advanced and civilized countries! The Dutch are simply displaying their discriminatory tendencies that id disguised. Please we want you to use your media to address this problem; they are collecting our nonrefundable visa fees and reapplication fees and yet the visas are refused.

Dear Editor,

stay in contact please.

Letter to German Chancellor.

Thank you

Pleasant greeting to an African Heroine. My beloved brother and compatriot recommended I should get in touch with you after reading my letter to the German chancellor which I sent to him for his comments. I am a Sierra Leonean journalist, poet and writer. I do hope that my knowing you will be a great blessing to both of us.

Please read the letter below and assist to have it published in your worldwide read magazine. I do hope you will

By Amara Femoh Sesay wrote in from Guinea **** Dear Sesay, Your article is being considered by the editorial team and we would keep you posted if approved for publication. Thank you for writing and sending your article to us for consideration.

Editor

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What President Emmanuel M Emmanuel Macron’s decisive win in the French presidential election has not only spurred enthusiasm in Europe. Across Africa, where France retains huge influence in its former colonies, his election has been celebrated in the hope that it will usher in a radical change in France’s African policy. Lamine Konkobo of BBC looks at what that change might look like for Africa Africa’s ‘Ode to Joy’ moment

It was a very powerful, if subtle, symbol as supporters of Emmanuel Macron gathered at the Louvre’s Esplanade in central Paris waiting for their champion to arrive and address them, the podium was turned for about 15 minutes into a gigantic dance floor by one of Ivory Coast’s most famous bands. Magic System took to the stage, flooding the Parisian night with rhythms and dance moves not often heard and seen in this part of town.

Mr Macron had originally taken to the stage to the European anthem Ode to Joy for his victory speech but for African audiences watching on television, this was their Ode to Joy moment.

It was a nod to Africa; a nod that reflected the positive message of openness and universalism which has underlined Macron’s winning campaign.

It could also be seen as one in the eye for defeated far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who must have felt repulsed by such a cultural invasion.

If the sight of Magic System at the Louvre was refreshing for Africans that is not why the French presidential contest was closely watched across Africa. Mr Macron is expected to deliver on issues of far greater importance in respect of the continent.

Fighting Islamist militancy Mr Macron has said little on his African policy on the campaign trail, because Africa was not a decisive topic that could give him the votes he needed to win. However, from the little he said about the continent, it appears that fighting Islamist militancy will be prominent on his African agenda. He was elected while France was under a state of emergency following a series of Islamist attacks in recent years, some of which were carried out by people with African links.

But while on the campaign trail, he made it clear that he realized that France was not the only country affected: “Africa is struggling more and more with terrorism,” he told Jeune Afrique.

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“We saw it in Bamako [Mali], in Ouagadougou [Burkina Faso] and in Grand Bassam [Ivory Cost].” Islamist militants targeted hotels in all these places last year, killing many people, including foreign tourists. “Everyone should get involved in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

France has deployed about 4,000 troops in the Sahel region of Africa as part of the anti-terrorism Barkhane operation. The president has no plan of withdrawing these troops in the foreseeable future. On the military front, France’s policy in Africa under President Macron will be more of the same.

On aid, trade and development There is a famous saying that nations have no permanent friends but only permanent interests.

Mr Macron has been elected to serve France’s interests and he will do so in his relationship with Africa, political analyst Serge Theophile Balima said. “Macron is a neo-liberal who believes in businesses and trade,” Mr Balima says. “He will do his utmost to open Africa to a maximum of French businesses. That is obvious.”

However, the new president believes that partnership with the continent will be more beneficial if Africa is strong.

As a candidate, he vowed to lobby the G20 at its July summit in Germany to support economic development in African countries. In clearer terms he has pledged to channel to Africa most of France’s foreign aid, which he intends to increase to 0.7% of his country’s GDP. However, Mr Macron comes to power at a time when a growing movement of economists and political leaders have been pushing for a major reform they view as more empowering than aid.

One sign of France’s continued influence over its former colonies is the CFA franc, which is pegged to the euro with the financial backing of the French treasury. While some see it as a guarantee of financial stability, others attack it as a colonial relic. Critics say true economic development for the 14 African countries can only be achieved if they shake off the CFA currency. Some argue that in exchange for the “luxury” of the guarantee provided by the French treasury, the African countries channel more money to France than they receive in aid.

Breaking from antiquated politics France’s African policy has come under attack from pro-democracy activists since the 1990 Baule conference, at which former President Francois Mitterand issued a call for African countries to embrace democracy, following the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Macron’s win means for Africa Critics have consistently railed against what they perceive as a form of hypocrisy. They say France has repeatedly used anti-democratic means on the continent to further dictatorships or overthrow unfriendly governments if they serve French interests, while openly extolling democratic values.

The system of personal networks which backed these controversial practices is pejoratively referred to as “Francafrique”.

The times are long gone when a French commando unit would fly parachutes in broad daylight into an African capital to restore a deposed head of state. But Francafrique is not totally dead. Mr Macron says he will finally kill it off.

He says he will defend and respect fundamental democratic principles everywhere in Africa, working with the African Union and regional organizations. But how will he deliver where his predecessors failed to meet similar promises?

In 2005, under President Jacques Chirac, a provision enshrining that patriotic view in law was passed. However, it was repealed a year later as a result of an outcry in France as well as in some of its former colonies and overseas territories. Nicholas Sarkozy, as a candidate and later on as president, often complained about being tired of endlessly apologizing for his country’s past transgressions.

Unlike those politicians on the right, Mr Macron considers that recognizing the wrongs France did in its past interaction with African people is crucial in redefining the type of dialogue necessary for the new relationship with the continent.

As a candidate on a visit to Algeria, he stirred a controversy by branding as a crime against humanity France’s colonial war in Algeria.

Immigration What was strikingly different between Mr Macron and Ms Le Pen was how the two approached immigration.

“I think he is in a position to bring that end,” analyst Mr Balima disclosed. “First of all, he is young. He does not belong to the old generation. He has few friends in the Mafiosi circles in Francophone Africa.” “When meeting African heads of state, some will be embarrassed to speak to this man who could be their son.”

African leaders will no longer benefit from the former era’s complicity, Mr Balima says. “A head of state in a situation of bad governance... could not count on Macron to mobilize the French army to quash a rebellion in a military barracks.” If Mr Macron delivers on that promise, he would indeed turn a page that has been a source of much acrimony in French-African relations.

Addressing wounds from the past And how France should remember its colonial legacy is closely related to the issue of whether it still pursues a neo-colonial policy in Africa. Right-leaning French political leaders have long maintained that colonization was not only about forced labour, exploitation and mass graves but that colonized countries also benefited.

Ms Le Pen’s closed-border proposition was that she “has love for the Africans but only if they are at home in Africa”, while Mr Macron has defended a policy of immigration that should be defined by France’s needs. In other words, under President Macron, there would be no reason to stop an African from coming to France if they have skills that are useful to the country’s economy. Since the 1970s, waves of migrants from North Africa and then former colonies south of the Sahara have found their way into France, playing a role in various sectors of the country’s economy.

Mr Macron does not say he will make immigration from Africa easier. But nor will he obsess about tightening immigration control to stem a real or supposed flow of migrants from Africa. “That is part of the dynamics of [his] liberalism,” Mr Balima says. The president has said he would encourage foreign students and those with useful skills to move to France.

With Mr Macron’s liberal attitude to immigration, isn’t there a fear that Africa might end up losing its best talents? Not really, says Mr Balima. “There will always be enough manpower within Africa for the development of Africa.”

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The young Senegalese woman beside the French President

S

ibeth Ndiaye, the 37-year-old Senegalese-French campaign guru of Emmanuel Macron, who is now the president’s press secretary is becoming more popular each passing day but she did not ran into luck, she worked hard for it.

Ms Ndiaye is seen as one of the key figures who orchestrated the meteoric rise of President Macron’s En Marche movement.

It is observed that she has always been ever-present during the Macron campaign and that along with his wife Brigitte Macron, was one of the most prominent women in his camp leading to the victory.

She’s was hailed as the star of a new documentary that’s just aired on French TV, which takes a behind-the-scenes look at President Macron’s victory. In the film, she jokes with

President Macron, is seen advising and encouraging him, as well as organizing his schedule.

With her “dreadlocks and blue Adidas trainers” Ms Ndiaye does not fulfill the stereotypical image of those working in French politics. But she describes herself on her Twitter bio as an “apprentice geek and committed socialist”, Ms Ndiaye grew up in the Senegalese capital Dakar, the youngest of four sisters in a highly political family. Both her parents were high-profile figures in Senegal, serving in senior positions under former President Abdoulaye Wade. She is a woman to look out for the future of French politics, she is not afraid to speak out her mind and take her stand. We would be seeing more of her in President Maron’s presidency in France.

A new kid on the block of French politics. Welcome Ndiaye.

VERDICT : ONI OF IFE IS SUPREME Of recent, so much controversy over the position of traditional rulers in the Yoruba kingdom has been brought to the front, who is most supreme: Hear what renowned scholar, Professor Wole Soyinka has to say and probably put an end to all of this discussion.

“The reality is that Kabiyesi, the Ooni of Ife is above all, Ile Ife is the cradle of humanity. We know what we know; we know what we accept and believe and that remains the fact…I don’t want you (Ooni) to spend any time or energy at all responding to counter or alternative theories.

It is not necessary. The influence of the Ooni and Ile Ife as the cradle of mankind transcended this region. Ife monarch was recognized and referred above other Obas outside the shores of Nigeria. If you walk on the streets of Cuba or Brazil, somebody will tap you on your shoulder because they know you are black, they say ‘who are you?’ And you say ‘I am Osun, Ogun, Sango’. At the end, they will ask you how is the Ooni? It means the Yoruba race, culture is beyond this environment.” PROF. WOLE SOYINKA: 14

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PASSIONATE APPEAL FOR HELP Help people living with HIV in Batwa, Burundi says Elaine Becks Nininahazwe

Eliane Becks-Nininahazwe In the Netherlands, much has been done and achieved in the area of testing and treatment of HIV Aids. Most people with HIV are familiar with their status and they receive the right medications needed to live. With a good treatment, it is easier to live with HIV. How different is it in Burundi. Still, 3,000 people die every year of an HIV/Aids infections. Often people do not even know how to prevent the transmission of the virus, or do not know they live with the virus. In addition, they often do not know that good treatment is possible, which will allow you to live longer and healthier.

Although the situation in some parts of Burundi has slowly improved through good information and access to medication but there are still groups in Burundi that have an increased risk of HIV infections because of lack of information at this period and not access to treatment. Such group is the Batwa people of Burundi, even in some places they are called the forgotten people.

The Batwa, a group of pygmies, they have lived long in isolation in Burundi’s rainforests. Therefore many of them are illiterates and do not have the knowledge to protect themselves from HIV/Aids and do not know that it is vital to seek timely help now.

I have happily experienced how important it is to be treated in a timely manner. Because of proper information and medication, I am healthy and I can lead a normal life. That’s what you all do?

And we can extend that to these people.

In the Netherlands, I already give active information about my

living with HIV and now I asked for your support to help me reach this group of people (40,000 Batwa in Burundi).

In October 2017, I will go to Burundi to run along with the Batwa campaign and bring HIV/Aids to the attention of the Batwa people in Burundi, thus launching an information campaign to change their lives and attitude.

In order to kick start this campaign; I’m looking for people or organizations who want to help me to enable me to make this trip to Burundi. My goal is to collect a total of at least 2,000 euros to cater for my flight, accommodation and upkeep during my stay over there for this campaign. You can offer me a flight ticket and the payment of my accommodation costs.

Help me in any way possible, nothing is too little to support a campaign today. Help me to give a voice and hope to the Batwa people. Help sponsor to my trip.

Any amount can be transferred to: E Becks Nininahazwe NL05 SNSB 8828 3648 58 Please indicate your name and if possible send me an email so I could have you on my contact list and keep you posted on my progress when I am in Burundi.

During my trip, I will report on my findings via various social media. If you are interested in following my trip, please send me a message at indonongo@hotmail.com.

If you have any questions about my campaign for the Batwa or ideas to enrich this venture, I would like to hear from you. Thank you for your love and compassion.

And if you want to know me better, for example, the work I have in the Netherlands around HIV/Aids. Please click on the link below: https://www.hivuitdekast.nl/portfolio/eliane/ Thank you very much for your contribution.

By Eliane Becks-Nininahazwe

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For all your products and latest, fresh products , shop with us at KAYSTAR BV, Amsterdam. www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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‘The change we yearn for will remain illusory until we change the standing norms’

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ouths are without any fear of contradiction too vital to the economic development/growth of any country. The nexus between youths and development remains unsevereable not even by the sharpest sword, this is chiefly because youths have the energy, strength, the vigor and can better be referred as the ENGINE of any nation.

Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo and others who were instrumental in the emancipation of Nigeria succeeded because they did same in their youthful age. They had the energy, the strength and sound mind to fight “intellectually” for our independence. Above all, they were healthy. Youths must take their rightful positions for this nation to progress beyond analog.

I wish to present to you Comrade Sunny Ofehe, one of such vibrant and result oriented young people that Nigeria should consider for leadership positions.

Ofehe is a renowned international environmental rights activist, a sound and intelligent fellow that has achieved so much for the Niger Delta region yet very humble and selfless. I call him a silent achiever.

Years back, Ofehe presented the issue of the degradation in Ogoni land before the United Nations. He spoke so passionately about the pains inflicted on the people of the Niger Delta region by the activities of Shell and other oil exploration firms.

Not minding that he is from Delta, Ofehe worked with Ledum Mite on the initial miles during the push for the cleanup of Ogoni Land, Rivers State.

The Delta born activist has also used his organization, “Hope for Niger Delta Campaign” to bring international support to rural Delta communities.

Just few weeks ago, Ofehe informed me that he just partnered with the Dutch Football Academy and they have decided to host a tournament in Delta state in a bid to select

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5 football talents that will be admitted expressly to The Dutch Football Academy.

My admiration for Ofehe grew stronger when he spoke on 5th May, 2017 in a conference in Vienna, Austria where he spoke on the topic “Empowering Youths for Good Governance in Nigeria.” Being the key speaker he received accolades from international observes.

Ofehe’s love for his people and quest for the development of Nigeria is nonpareil. It is so because he does his selflessly without making noise and without hope for personal returns.

Today, I join many of your admirers to call on you sir to come back and help build this country.

You can start form your home state of Delta. Nigeria needs people like you, Nigeria needs men with innovative ideas.

BOOK REVIEW The Worship Minister: Pleasing God As You Fulfil His Call

By Niyi Adeoshun and Martin Adu, Rev Chris Tunde Joda (Foreword)

The worship ministry is a priestly one but too often the ministers take their eyes off the object of their worship and turn the church platform into a pride-promoting pedestal.

Are you a Worship Leader or Church Musician?

Are you involved in any part of the worship ministry?

If yes, please pay attention: The worship ministry is a priestly one but too often the ministers take their eyes off the object of their worship and turn the church platform into a pride-promoting pedestal.

Worship Leader, Martin Adu, teams up with Niyi Adeoshun, a Music Director, to produce this book of practical advice and instructions for the worship minister who wants to be challenged to consciously aim to please God as he lead others to worship Him. This book, though meant to be read by pastors, worship leaders and worship teams, will be of huge benefit to all church leaders and anyone else interested in deepening their understanding and experience of worship.

Chapter 1: Singing vs Ministering Chapter 2: The Worship Ministry Chapter 3: Qualifications and Qualities of a Worship Minister Chapter 4: Roles and Responsibility of Worship Leaders

Chapter 5: Challenges Faced by Worship Ministers Chapter 6: The Worship Musicians Chapter 7: The Worship Team Chapter 8: Pleasing God In Ministry “ ... A Holy Spirit-inspired ‘manual’ for worship ministers!”

- Victor Kenny Macarthy “ It will lift you up to a new level of awareness in the worship ministry ...” - Rev. (Dr.) Chris Tunde Joda Martin Adu: He is an international singer, songwriter, worship leader and conference speaker. He is currently a worship leader at Power City, Leiderdorp in The Netherlands Niyi Adeoshun: He is a band leader, seasoned musician, speaker and author. He is currently the music Director at New Life Bible Church, Bethnal Green, London United Kingdom.

ISBN – 13:978-1541337206 ISBN-10: 1541337204 Publisher: Nukan Publications First printed by: CreateSpace (2017) PS: Book available on Amazon.com as Paperback and Kindle downloadable version https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=searchalias%3Daps&field-keywords=worship+minister Amazon.co.uk: worship minister www.amazon.co.uk Amazon.co.uk: worship minister

Minister Martin Adu

Niyi Adeoshun www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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Victory Outreach is a Pentecostal Church, 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. You can visit us every day of the week.

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 the exact meaning of “a living faith�. 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

Pastor Roel & Ida van Rooij Senior Pastor of the church Victory Outreach Almere. Barbeelstraat 12, 1317 PZ Almere Telephone: 036-8417007; Telephone: 036-7505571 info@voalmere.nl ...................http://www.voalmere.nl

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INVITING NEW MEMBERS!!

Join Ika speaking people of Delta State every last Saturday of the month for our regular meeting where we discuss issues affecting our State of origin, homeland, future of Nigeria and our wellbeing in The Netherlands It is open to every sons and daughters of Ika Kingdom

For details, Call: 06-87510616, 06-87508082, 0655516057 Address : EGOLI 9A 1103AC, Amsterdam 24

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Time: 6.30pm - 9.00pm YOU ARE ALL WELCOME.

NETFREIGHT SCHIFFAHRTS- & SPEDITIONS GMBH COMPANY NAME: NETFREIGHT SCHIFFAHRTS- & SPEDITIONS GMBH YEAR OF INCORPORATION: 1986 STATUS: PRIVATE LIMITED COMPANY SHAREHOLDER AND FOUNDER: BERND WANDKOWSKI HEAD OFFICE: HAMBURG GERMANY KEY GLOBAL BUSINESSES ACTIVITIES IMPORT & EXPORT TURN KEY LOGISTICS, CONTAINER SHIPPING, RORO SHIPPING, PROJECT SHIPPING, LOCAL TRANSPORT BY ROAD, RAIL AND BARGE CUSTOMS CLEARANCE, WAREHOUSING KEY TRADING AREAS MIDDLE EAST, MEDITERRANEAN, THE CONTINENT OF AFRICA WITH SPECIAL EMPHASIS ON WEST AND EAST AFRICA. KEY RELATIONSHIPS CLOSE RELATIONSHIPS WITH ALL MAJOR LINER SERVICES SERVING OUR KEY TRADE LANES NETWORK PARTNERSHIPS WITH RENOWN COMPANIES IN ALL EUROPEAN AND ALL AFRICAN PORTS SERVED. MISSION STATEMENT THE COMPANY WILL PROVIDE WORLDWIDE FREIGHT SOLUTIONS BY LAND, SEA OR AIR TO CUSTOMERS BASED IN GERMANY AND OVERSEAS. PROVIDING OUR CUSTOMERS WITH A PERSONALIZED, EFFICIENT AND CONFIDENTIAL SERVICE BASED ON THE HIGHEST STANDARDS AIMED AT BUILDING LONG TERM RELATIONSHIPS, STABILITY AND MUTUAL GROWTH. PHILOSOPHY QUALIFIED AND COMMITTED PERSONNEL SERVICE ANALYSIS TAILOR MADE SOLUTIONS HIGH LEVEL SERVICE COMMITMENT COMPETITIVE PRICING EXPORT DOCUMENTATION TO HIGHEST INDUSTRY STANDARDS COMPLETE PROJECT MANAGEMENT WITH FULL CONTROL PROCESSES ALL CUSTOMERS ARE IMPORTANT SERVICES GLOBAL SERVICE PROVISION TRANSPORTATION FEASIBILITY STUDIES RO RO SERVICES CONTAINER SERVICE FCL/LCL BULK AND BREAKBULK SHIPMENTS HEAVY LIFT AND OVERSIZE CARGO TRANSPORTATION TRUCKING, RAIL AND BARGE MOVEMENTS WAREHOUSING, PACKING AND STORAGE CUSTOMS CLEARANCE FORMALITIES

BERND WANDKOWSKI

FULL EXPORT DOCUMENTATION CARGO TRACKING-INFORMATION SYSTEM WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES BY CHOOSING NETFREIGHT AS YOUR PARTNER? FIRST CLASS REPUTATION EXCELLENT TRACK RECORD AND REFERENCES A ONE STOP SHOP FOR ALL OF YOUR SHIPPING AND LOGISTIC SERVICES A COMPREHENSIVE GLOBAL SUPPORT NETWORK COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE EXCEEDING 100 YEARS IN THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FOLLOWING SERVICES INTERNATIONAL FREIGHT FORWARDING TURN KEY PROJECTS LOGISTICS WAREHOUSING AND PACKING CUSTOMS CLEARANCE DISTRIBUTION

VISION FOR THE FUTURE MAINTAIN OUR POSITION AS ONE OF THE LEADING PROVIDERS OF SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS SERVICES BASED IN GERMANY. CONTINUE TO EXPAND OUR NETWORK AND ASSOCIATION WITH THE LEADERS IN THE SHIPPING AND LOGISTICS INDUSTRY STRENGTHEN OUR BASE IN THE REGION CONTINUE TO OFFER OUR CUSTOMERS THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF CUSTOMER SERVICE BY CONTINUING TO ADAPT TO CHANGES IN GLOBAL PERFORMANCE CRITERIA NETFREIGHT SCHIFFAHRTS- & SPEDITIONS GMBH KURZE MUEHREN 20 20095 HAMBURG TEL. +49 40 307047-11 FAX. +49 40 307047-47 E-MAIL: WANDKOWSKI@NETFREIGHT.DE WWW.NETFREIGHT.DE

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Tunisia seeks to add Djerba to World Heritage List

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unisia plans to seek UNESCO World Heritage status for the island of Djerba, site of Africa’s oldest synagogue and an annual Jewish pilgrimage, its culture minister said recently.

Speaking on the last day of the pilgrimage to the Ghriba synagogue, Mohamed Zine El-Abidine said the island was important for its “cultural and religious uniqueness”.

He said the application to add Djerba to the World Heritage List would highlight the rich religious heritage of the island, which is home to centuries-old mosques, churches and synagogues. He did not give a specific time frame for the application.

The cultural agency of the United Nations already lists eight sites in the North African country, including the old cities of Tunis and Sousse and the city of Carthage, once the capital of the Mediterranean-wide Phoenician empire.

Some 3,000 pilgrims attended this year’s Jewish pilgrimage to the island, which ended under tight security following a string of jihadist attacks in Tunisia.

“There has been a real increase compared to the past two years,” Tourism Minister Selma Elloumi said. “It is an important sign for the start of the tourist season,” she added.

The number of pilgrims visiting the synagogue has fallen sharply since a suicide bombing claimed by Al-Qaeda struck Ghriba just before the 2002 pilgrimage, killing 21 people.

Before then the event attracted as many as 8,000 pilgrims a year.

Believed to have been founded in 586 BC by Jews fleeing the destruction of the Temple of Solomon in Jerusalem, the Ghriba synagogue has long been a destination for pilgrims, especially for Jews of Tunisian descent.

Around 1,500 Jews live in Tunisia today, down from an estimated 100,000 before the country won independence from France in 1956. Many of today’s pilgrims came from Europe, the United States and Israel. Prime Minister Youssef Chahed was in Ghriba to deliver what he called “a double message”.

“Firstly... Tunisia is a country several thousand years old, with a deep-rooted history of openness to all religions,” he said.

Secondly, he said, “security has come back to Tunisia”. Rocked by instability since the fall in 2011 of longtime dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, Tunisia was hit by a series of jihadist attacks in 2015 and 2016 that left dozens dead, including 59

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tourists. The country’s key tourism sector, devastated by the attacks, has since registered a rise in visitor numbers.

According to Elloumi, there has been a 34 percent rise in tourist arrivals from Europe over the past year. .

Tunisia economic growth picks up in first quarter

Tunisia’s embattled economy picked up in the first quarter of 2017, and there was a slight fall in unemployment, according to data published by the National Statistics Institute (INS).

Economic growth in the first quarter stood at 2.1 percent, slightly above the one percent mark registered in 2016, as GDP grew by 0.9 percent, the INS report said. An up-tick in tourism revenues, agriculture and mining activity, namely phosphates, were among the sectors that contributed to growth.

At the same time unemployment dropped slightly to 15.3 percent, compared with 15.5 percent in the previous quarter.

While Tunisia is hailed as a success story of the Arab Spring uprisings, authorities have failed to redress the economy since the 2011 revolution.

A series of attacks targeting tourism, one of the pillars of the economy, killed 59 foreign tourists in 2015 and saw revenues plummeting.

The Islamic State jihadist group claimed an attack on the Bardo Museum in Tunis in March 2015 and on a coastal resort near Sousse in June the same year. President Beji Caid Essebsi said the army will protect Tunisia’s main economic assets from being disrupted by protests over social and labour issues.

A LETTER TO THE GERMAN CHANCELLOR, ANGELA MERKEL Dear Chancellor Merkel,

culture and media over the ages. It is also true that many of This message is from a young Sierra Leonean former refugee these refugees, especially from Syria, may not have the right in Guinea, West Coast of Africa. At four, my country started skills to live in your civilized societies and may find it very a decade long civil war best characterized by the depth and difficult to reintegrate. Long years of living under dictators breadth of the destruction it wrecked on innocent lives and the and tyrants have killed in many of them the humanity and country’s weak infrastructure. The facts of the war are already tolerance required to develop the human race. I also know that popular, but one thing which many, including millions of many aspects of their religion are different to popular German Germans may not know is that I needed to be a refugee to bring culture. But make no mistakes! Like any other human beings, out the diamond in me. I spent a substantial part of my young they too appreciate success and the tranquility and sense of life in asylum with access to books at a time when hundreds of security that follow it. Given the opportunity, they too can my fellow young compatriots only had access to AK 47’s and touch the sky and force clouds to shower mankind with rains marijuana. I studied while they killed; I woke up every day of prosperity! They possess the potentials that can only be looking forward to brighter days while they woke up every awakened by compassion, guidance and a genuine concern morning waiting for that one relief- bullet that will put an to enhance their positive development. Please endure the risk and explore your fullest ability to end to their miserable show solidarity and compassion to lives. Because of that fellow human beings regardless of great privilege I had their race or religion. It will take in the early years of patience and a lot of resilience, but my life, I am eternally Germany may be preparing itself committed to the in these difficult times for global cause of refugees and leadership. My dear Chancellor, my heart goes out in please don’t let up. In as much love and respect for as you should respect the views anybody who cares of the people who voted you for the future of the into power and empathize with refugees of this world; them in their fears of living with especially the children strangers who remind them of among them. I share horror and death, you should also a passion with you know that you restored the dignity to see a world where of humanity in your own unique no child is left to way. And the whole world should starve and die in the be proud of you if only they know hands of barbarians; what was at stake! It may be long while we have the years after you are no more, or opportunity to at least it may be the next morrow, but plant a smile on their Germany shall certainly see the anguished faces. I do fruits of this painful labour. Who understand the anger knows! Maybe this is Germany’s of many Germans detested path to global glory and after your radical leadership at a time when minds decision to do what are constricting where they once many “powerful men” GERMAN CHANCELLOR expanded!

Germany will get the of this world never ANGELA MERKEL best of what she has done for a had the conscience people who were on the brink of to give a second thought. And many more preferred to callously turn off their decimation. Those that drove them away will get the best of conscience modes when many vulnerable kids were left to what they asked for. Go for the best or go for nothing! rot in the rubbles of tyranny. I know what it means to feed, clothe, educate and provide security for a people whose very By Amara Femoh Sesay from Guinea presence inspires fear. These are a people who are enemies by default as a result of the conditioning of popular western

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Rev Dr. Marfo clocks 60 Rev. Dr. Tom Marfo, founder of House Fellowship Church Amsterdam recently turned 60 years old. Surprisingly his church members celebrated him during one of the church services with gifts from various departments in the church . He was also prayed for by Pastor Elvis Iruh who was visiting the church on that Sunday service.

In response, Rev Tom Marfo thanked the whole church for their love and the gifts particularly to the men, women and children ministries.

Photos

by Flex Jay

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Jeffangs Beauty

This is a one-stop shopping center for all your hair and body products.

We have sections for all beauty and body care products for men and women at Jeffangs Beauty Supply & Salon in Rotterdam We offer you the latest hair and skin products with fantastic prices.......

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We specialize in Afro & European hair styles Weaving, Braiding, Lace wig fixing, Trimming of hair, Washing of hair, Relaxing of hair, Colouring of hair, Barbering of all men styles etc.

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PureCare Sal

Looking for a classic place for your Hair do (For a Woman or a Man)?

Look no further than PURECARE Salon in Almere Buiten We offer the latest hair and skin products and our services are world class.

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Interference in 2016 US Presidential Elections – Did Russia Overreach Itself?

Russian leader, Vladimir Putin

I

n the period leading to the 2016 US Presidential elections, the preference of the Russian federation as to who should occupy the Oval Office was no secret. Even the two major candidates in the US presidential elections were quite aware of this and acted accordingly with the Democratic Party’s candidate, Hilary Clinton, promising to get ‘tougher’ in her dealings with Russia and apply more sanctions against Russia; whilst her Republican opponent, and now President, Donald Trump, at times to the chagrin of other Republican Party members, expressed open respect for and desire for increased friendship with the Russian leader and increased collaboration and cooperation with between the US and Russia to address such issues as Islamist extremism and cyber warfare.

Considering the stature and influence wielded by whosoever occupies the Oval Office, interest in who amongst the two main contenders would clinch the plum job was universal.

With many European leaders who were sceptical of what an unknown and erratic Donald Trump with his public support for nationalistic sentiments across Europe, a dismantling of the European Union and open declarations of the worthlessness of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), would portend, openly rooting for a Clinton victory; Euroskeptics and nationalist elements across Europe were clearly, alongside several analysts and stakeholders across subSahara Africa worried about the emergence of a President in the United States who, like then incumbent President Obama, was shy of confronting extremist Islamists, prorefugees and had too close a relationship with Sunni Arab states with their extremist brand of Islam.

Unlike previous US presidential elections when much of the world looked on as spectators awaiting whatsoever the decision of the American electorate would be, several external forces simply felt there was just too much at stake to leave the onerous task of selecting the 45th POTUS to

only the electorate in the United States. Most Americans will cringe in consternation at the immediate past sentence, but that’s the trite reality that engulfed the world as the 2016 US presidential elections approached.

European leaders in Paris, Berlin, London and virtually all major EU governments, did all they could to shore up their preferred US Presidential candidate’s chances at the polls: public statements of support from diverse quarters; subtle dire warnings targeted to the US electorate as likely outcomes in the event that Donald Trump emerged victorious; and at times outright expression of support for Hilary Clinton. On his part, the Russian leader, Vladimir Putin, with his trademark sly smirk adorning his face, maintained and severally restated Russia’s indifference to whosoever emerged as President in the US presidential elections.

The difference in the stance and reactions of European Governments and the Russian leadership was that whilst the European governments were headed by career politicians who had inhibitions of the likely consequences to themselves and their country’s of interfering in the US presidential elections, the Russian leader was not a career politician, but rather a former Spy master, former senior operative of the KGB and thus a master of the science and art of sleuth, who had absolutely nothing to lose (considering that virtually every sanction possible had already been imposed on Russia by Western powers on account of the Crimea crisis) in the event that Russian interference in US elections was discovered and everything to gain, in having a ‘grateful’ ally in the White House. The reality now is that by very suave, strategic and deft deployment of cyber-warfare, espionage, information (and disinformation) dissemination, and good old personal contacts

Continued on Page 41

President Donald Trump of United States of America

Continued from Page 40 and outreach, the Russians impacted and influenced the 2016 US presidential elections, successfully ensuring that Russia’s preferred candidate, Donald Trump, emerged as the 45th President of the United States. As the old saying goes, the rest is history.

Buoyed on by it’s success in the US elections, Russia is becoming more frontal and brazen with her support for candidates in elections in major European democracies. The recent visit to the Kremlin and a meeting with the Russian leader by the leading candidate in the forthcoming April 2017 French Presidential elections, Maria le Pen, was not only unprecedented but clearly care-free as to whatsoever interpretations such endorsement of a foreign presidential aspirant may generate in the mind of French voters.

As the US authorities wake up to the realization that they have been had, that there is likely to be a repeat of a ‘Mikhail Gorbachev’ episode in the US, that the democratic structures and system instituted by their founding fathers and upon which they have been perfecting for over two hundred years now, has been compromised, infiltrated and probably ridiculed, there will be consequences. Consequences that will make the Russians, who are currently basking in the privacy of the inner sanctuaries of the Kremlin on the euphoria of having installed ‘their man’ in the White House wonder if they had gone too far, if they should simply have stopped at discrediting a perceived foe and still left the final choice to the American electorate rather than go all the way to ensuring who occupies the Oval Office.

By Eze Eluchie

Her Excellency Rev. Dr. Ocansey, Founder of SOSJobs4Women speaks to The Voice magazine on her various projects.

Don’t miss this interview in July 2017 edition.

TV Management

Exclusive: MAYA NASSAR SPEAKS TO THE VOICE MAGAZINE ON HER LIFE, WORK AND INTERESTS. NEXT EDITION OF THE VOICE MAGAZINE IN JULY 2017. DON’T MISS HER INTERVIEW. IT IS EXCLUSIVE. Maya Nassar is a well-established and lifestyle. A certified sports been endorsed as an athlete by the and is the first Arab female to be in body building and bikini fitness and loyal following with her Start her platform to share her experiences has helped and encouraged others to has a Dutch/Nigeria connection. of The Voice magazine when she

Lebanese leader in fitness, wellbeing nutritionist and personal trainer, she’s Lebanese Ministry of Youth and Sports endorsed by the government to compete modeling. Maya has developed a large Living Right mission, where she has used of fitness and nutrition and through this reach the best shape of their lives. She That would be revealed in the next issue speaks to us.

I quit my job to farm watermelons, now I’m making millions – Annie Nyaga

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fter graduating from Egerton University in 2007 with a degree in biomedical science, Annie Nyaga expected to land a job soon after and scale the ladder in her career.

She got a job as a purchasing assistant at a firm in Nairobi, Kenya but quit after six months because it was boring.

She turned to farming, which was what her parents had been doing for years at their home in Mbeere, Embu County.

It has been six years since Annie, 28, went into watermelon farming, a business that has brought her great joy. “I settled for watermelons because they do very well in Mbeere. They are highyielding, mature faster and do well in the market,” says Annie who farms under the trade name Farm2Home.

She started growing the fruit on her parents’ three-acre farm with a capital outlay of Sh20, 000.

She used the money to buy seeds, but soon realized that she needed more to invest in a proper drip irrigation system. “I did trial runs with seeds from different companies before I discovered that hybrid seeds produce the highest yield.”

She plants the seeds in a nursery before transferring the seedlings to the farm after three weeks.

“The whole process, from nursery to harvest, takes about three months depending on the climate and the variety of watermelons as some mature early,” she says.

According to her, watermelons require a lot of water especially at fruit-formation stage.

The farmer has invested in a drip irrigation system that includes water pumps, hand spraying guns and pipes. She bought the equipment from the profit she made on her first harvest.

“Lack of adequate water leads to low-quality fruit. If one has water problems, then drip irrigation is the best alternative,” she says.

However, installing a proper drip system is costly, particularly for small-scale-farmers.

“A drip system costs Sh200, 000 per acre. This may not be affordable to many farmers,” she says. The option for small-scale farmers is to partially irrigate the crop and plan for the fruit-formation stage to coincide with the rainy season.

“This means you plant seeds two to three weeks before the start of rains,” Annie says with a smile.

Watermelons, she says, yield high returns. She invests between Sh80, 000 and Sh100, 000 per acre.

This covers cost of seeds, labour, chemicals, irrigation, salaries and fertilizer.

With good management, one can harvest 30 to 40 tonnes

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per acre.

Prices vary according to market forces. This poses a huge challenge to farmers as well, who find themselves at the mercy of middlemen. Depending on the season, a kilo of watermelon goes for between Sh15 and Sh35.

“Middlemen usually take advantage of desperate farmers, especially those who get high yields but find no market. Lack of ideal market linkages for farmers means brokers dictate farm prices,” she says. But this does not stop her from dealing with brokers, who buy most of her harvest. The trick, she says, lies in knowing the market price.

Her last harvest was two weeks ago. She harvested 30 tonnes and sold to brokers at Sh28 per kilo, making gross sales of Sh840, 000 in three months. If you take away expenses, Annie raked in a profit of at least Sh600, 000. Her next harvest is in July. “I do not know how I would be fairing now if I had stuck to my purchasing job. Going into farming was a good decision,” she notes.

Annie wants Kenyans to change their attitude towards farming.

Too many, she says, a farmer is an old and uneducated person.

“This mental picture has to change. Agriculture is diverse and interesting and young people ought to view it differently if we are to develop.”

She challenges the government and counties to invest heavily in agriculture to make it a viable option for income generation.

Students should be encouraged to see agriculture as a career from a tender age.

“I am a living proof that farming pays and can be done by anyone.

Farming is a profession of hope. To those interested in farming never ever give up,” she concludes.

Pastor: I want $50m for my diamond

The pastor who found one of the world’s largest uncut diamonds says he expects to get “not less than $50 million” for the 709-carat precious stone, after it failed to reach its minimum reserve price at auction in Sierra Leone last month. “I want my diamond to be sold abroad so I can get the best price to enable many people to benefit from the proceeds,” Pastor Emmanuel Momoh told the press.

Today’s highest bid, for $7.8m, came from a UK citizen based in Antwerp, the European diamond capital in Belgium, where the next

auction is expected to take place in the next few weeks. The reserve price, which is the minimum amount that the diamond can be sold for and was set by the Sierra Leonean government, is a secret.

Last May, diamond-mining firm Lucara sold a 813-carat stone for $63m (£51m) at a closed auction in London.

Pastor Emmanuel Momoh & wife who found the diamond

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Hitting Syria over Khan Sheikhoun – A Most Unwise Move

By Eze Eluchie With critical campaign promises in the area of Health Care Reforms and banning Muslims from coming to the United States being declared dead-on-arrival, key appointees and allies having to be demoted or step down from sensitive positions, increasing civilian fatalities from operations in Mosul, and growing apprehension regarding the continuing investigations into Russian interference in the US 2016 Presidential elections, the Donald Trump led government in the US would give a leg-and-an-arm for whatsoever that will divert attention from its domestic woes.

Desperate for a distraction, a chemical weapon attack on Khan Sheikhoun, Syria, the perpetrators of which had not yet been ascertained by any one, looked and proved too good to forgo as a ruse to distract Americans from a Trump presidency that was becoming a fiasco. Clearly without thinking the implications through, the US administration jumped at the opportunity provided by the images of several victims of the chemical weapon attack in Khan Sheikhoun splashed across television screens globally, and ordered the bombardment of a Syrian Airbase as ‘punishment’ for the chemical weapon attack earlier in the week - ostensibly as a ploy to divert public attention from falling ratings of the President in the US.

United States involved in the war against Syria, unleash chemical weapon attacks anywhere in Syria.

As a direct consequence of the US reaction, it is now expected that more horrific chemical weapon attacks will be conducted by the rebels/ moderate extremists/terror elements against whom the Syrian government has been engaged in combat over the past more than 6 years. Chemical weapons will be deployed with greater frequency in the hope of attracting more US airstrikes against the Syrian government.

And what happens if a US airstrike in Syria hits one of the several Russian Air and military installations in Syria?

Considering the policy reversal (within a spate of less than one week from when President Trump had announced that regime change would not be the foundation of US interests in Syria) which the bombardment of the Syrian Airbase symbolizes, and the likelihood of similar rash reactions to other flashpoints across the world where the countries concerned have the potential to strike back, particularly the North Korea situation, possible skirmishes in the South China Seas, and possible confrontation with Iran over diverse issues, one can conclude that with a President Donald Trump in power, the world has never been closer, since the end of WWII to a conflict where the possibilities of deploying weapons of mass destruction (including nuclear and chemical weapons).

When one realizes that independent investigations by United Nations experts had been inconclusive as to who between the Government and rebel forces had deployed and unleashed previous chemical weapon attacks in the Syrian war, and that some of the rebel forces had been established to have the capacity to produce and stock chemical weapons (ISIS had routinely released chemical weapons against Iraqi forces in the ongoing efforts to liberate Mosul and other terror-held territories), it becomes plausible that by its over-hasty reaction, the US has rendered its enormous might as a tool that can easily be instigated by rebel forces and terror elements by the mere release of a chemical weapon attack. To rebel forces and terror elements who have routinely used civilians as human shields and to whom suicide bombing is an acceptable war strategy, there would be no qualms whatsoever in unleashing a chemical weapon attack in rebel held areas, kill a couple of civilians and gain additional US air strikes and increased involvement in the Syrian war against the Syrian government.

The immediate message the US bombardment sends to the ‘moderate extremists’ and terror elements engaged in battle against the Assad Picture: One government in Syria is that; if you want to get 44

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of the 59 Tomahawk missiles launched against the Syrian airbase

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thnically speaking, the attacks against Syria are in addition to being in violation of International laws, also a violation of domestic United States statutes. There has been no pretence of or allegations that the Syrian government had in any way attacked or posed a threat to US interests, thus the mere unsubstantiated allegations that the Syrian government was responsible for the chemical weapon attacks in Khan Sheikhoun cannot serve as justification for the US to unleash an unprovoked war of aggression against a sovereign state.

At the domestic level, the ‘War Powers Resolution’ expressly any US President to secure congressional approval prior to launching any military attack on any country that has not attacked the US. No such congressional approval was sought or given in this instance, making the attacks on Syria earlier today unlawful under US laws.

More and better thinking caps are needed in the White House with regards to dealing with foreign policy issues before the world is thrown into needless apocalyptic conflagrations.

President Bashar al-Assad accused of killing his own people with chemical weapons but he denies it all.

Abubakar receives his Achievers Award Due to his very busy schedules and traveling, Mr. Abubakar Bangura could not make it to the award ceremony to receive his award.

Finally, last month he made it to The Voice magazine office in Almere to collect his 2015 Diaspora award for his contributions at advancing the course of the Sierra Leonean community in The Netherlands as well as in the Diaspora. He used the occasion to thank The Voice Achievers award for the recognition and apologized for his inability to attend the event personally. “I refused to send any one

to collect the award for me because of the significance I place on the recognition and I am glad I could personally come to receive it from your hands”. He informed the Voice magazine of his intention to engage in his country’s politics in the coming season and elections coming up later in the year. He promised to keep us posted on his progress.

We wish him good luck and success as he puts his experiences from the Diaspora to use for his beloved country of Sierra Leone.

On the pic from left is Pastor Elvis Iruh presenting the award to Mr. Abubakar Bangura. www.thevoicenewsmagazine.com

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to other properties with current or prospective values and good transportation. It is also important to look at the locations in regard to the future, rather than that of the past for higher, long term returns. It is also financially wise for prospective investors to consider investing dormant capital that’s sitting in low yielding Bank accounts into real estate. It may be a tough slog the first few years, but somewhat later, you’ll probably wish you had bought more.

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• Rise on growing economy. When times are good, assets tend to inflate quicker due to higher employment, rising wages, and rising corporate profits leading to more demands on properties. Real estate tends to be a major beneficiary during a bull market. Forget about protecting yourself against inflation, owning real estate is a gainful opportunity to make money with inflation. If there happens to be hyperinflation, your cash is devaluing rapidly whereas your real assets start surging in nominal value. When economic tightness returns sooner or later, it causes another surge in property prices.

• Generational asset. You can pass on property from generation to generation, conceivably making your family and loved ones lives a little bit better. Think about our university graduates nowadays who are complaining they might never be able to afford owning a home like their parents due to exorbitant prices. Now think how much worse it will be for their children.

Everybody has heard a story of some grandparent buying a home for just N20, 000 that is now worth millions of Naira.

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• Little effort to build wealth. The whole idea is to invest in assets that work for you, and not the other way around. Real estate is a relatively easy business to understand compared to investing in stocks. For instance, on a rental property, good location, good tenants, manageable maintenance, and rental growth are all it basically takes to make for a solid real estate investment, whereas stocks have so many more variables to deal with, including: management credibility, industry growth, competition, politics, regulation, tax policies, inventory turns, margin analysis, operating profit growth, and more. Meanwhile, to turn N100, 000 into N500, 000 through equity investing is no easy feat, neither is making an interest

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• Collateral asset. Unlike cash, which serves no utility function, property addresses not only a fundamental human need, shelter but can also serve as collateral material against loans. If our financial system goes to hell, at least you will have an asset you can actually utilize. Remember, cash is just an ordinary paper and worthless unless it’s turned into a tangible asset!

Continued on Page 48

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Own property is in the best location in NIGERIA Continued from Page 47 • Tangible asset. Real estate is a tangible asset that will continue to add measurable value and enduring impact to everyday life and a valuable financial portfolio. It is an investment you can see, feel and touch, giving you a sense of accomplishment and success.

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The Gambia’s ousted dictator is living a good life in Equatorial Guinea.

Disgraced out of office former leader of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh has kept a low profile since he was run out of Banjul in January 2017 but investigations has revealed that he is living a life of a king in Equatorial Guinea where he found refuge; courtesy of the President of that country, he has been allowed to settle down properly to a new life style of farming.

According to the report, he now lives in a town of 7,000 miles in the middle of Africa’s densest jungle, Mongomo which boasts of an impressive list of attractions. Carved out of Equatorial Guinea’s virgin rainforest is a private airport, a football stadium that hosted football matches during the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, a three-lane highway under construction leading to a “six-star” hotel in the nearby city of Oyala, and a new international-standard golf course, its pristine fairways cutting through the plant life that encroaches everywhere else.

The Presidential Golf Course is named in honor of Teodoro Obiang Nguema, the country’s President and selfstyled “Guarantor of Peace and Propeller of Development”.

Backed by his country’s vast oil wealth, Obiang, who grew up in Mongomo when it was a rural backwater, has spent the past few years turning the area into a paradise on earth project building it into a new image of the beauty of Africa.

In this area the former president of The Gambia, Yahya Jammeh took up residence in Equatorial Guinea after being deposed earlier this year. His choice of Equatorial Guinea is obvious, to run away from the long hands of justice in his home country. Jammeh was welcomed by Obiang, whose country is not a signatory to the statutes of the International Criminal Court. Jammeh had lost an election in December, conceded defeat, but then refused to step down. He finally fled Gambia on his presidential jet on January 21 as troops from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) massed on the border, threatening to oust him by force.

Since then, little has been heard of the ex-Gambian dictator beyond claims from the country’s new government that he took $11 million from state coffers and a fleet of luxury cars as his parting shot. His arrival in Equatorial Guinea was greeted by near-silence in his new homeland, save for a single protest 52

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banner reportedly unfurled in Malabo, the country’s island capital. Hung outside the offices of Convergence for Social Democracy, Equatorial Guinea’s tiny and much-harassed opposition party, it declared, “We do not want another dictator in our country.” Police later tore it down.

But while Jammeh may be keeping a low profile, it is a difficult adjustment, perhaps, for someone who used to having his portrait plastered everywhere. We reliably gathered that he is living in one of the Obiang’s presidential palaces in Mongomo. “Obiang has three palaces in Mongomo — all big, gaudy-looking places like Saddam Hussein had,” said Tutu Alicante, a human rights lawyer from Equatorial Guinea, who now runs EG Justice, a Washington-based human rights group. “We’ve heard from contacts that Jammeh is in one of them.”

A diplomat in Malabo independently confirmed that Jammeh is in an “Obiang-owned villa” in the region of Oyala and Mongomo while several nongovernmental organizations and human rights groups indicated that they viewed Alicante’s intelligence as credible.

Earlier this month, the French publication Jeune Afrique reported that Jammeh had requested for land to farm in Equatorial Guinea, something he had planned to do in retirement in Gambia, where he owned a large farm in his hometown of Kanilai. According to Alicante, land has been set aside for him in the Moka Valley, a picturesque tract of mountains and waterfalls which, like Mongomo, is away from Equatorial Guinea’s oppressive coastal humidity.

“The ruling family already [has] land here themselves, and they’ve given a chunk to him,” he said. It’s unclear whether Obiang intends to farm eventually or if he will continue to live in Mongomo.

To date, Jammeh and Obiang have not been seen playing rounds of golf, but an unauthenticated photo that emerged this month shows the two admiring what appears to be Jammeh’s new farm. They previously had a cordial relationship, with Obiang making a state visit to Gambia in 2013. They have also been neighbors before, owning adjacent mansions in the wealthy suburb of Potomac, Maryland. (We reported this in our previous edition of the magazine)

In February, the country’s entire administration officially relocated to Oyala from Malabo, despite the new city remaining unfinished but work is ongoing. As President Obiang put it in a rare BBC interview in 2012, “We need a secure place for my government and for future governments.”

Boateng, pictured alongside United Nations High Commissioner Navi Pillay and Patrick Vieira

Well, with the look of things, the Gambia may not be able to build any case against Jammeh because there is an obstacle, he is being protected by the powerful strong man of Equatorial Guinea. Even if President Barrow were to call for

his extradition back to Gambia, Obiang is under no obligation to comply. The only thing that is likely to sway him, regional analysts say, is pressure from the regional bloc that ousted Jammeh.

“Our job is to persuade both ECOWAS and CEEAC [the central African equivalent] to get President Obiang to relinquish Jammeh,” Alicante said. “If we Africans don’t force our leaders to push for accountability, I doubt anything is going to happen.”

“There is no will in ECOWAS to prosecute Jammeh right now,” said Alex Vines, head of the Africa program at Chatham House, a think tank in London. “The sense is right now that Gambia needs stability.”

Things might change, of course, if Obiang, now 74, were to die or step down. And given that Jammeh is only 51 that is likely to happen during his lifetime. The presumed heir to power is Obiang’s son, also Teodoro, who may not be interested in persecuting Jammeh.

Of course, even a non-Obiang in charge in Equatorial might still look kindly on Jammeh as a long-term tenant farmer. But equally, a new leader might decide that handing him over would be a good way to repair the country’s image in the wider world. For that reason, some analysts suggest, Jammeh should not get too comfortable in Obiang’s palace.

“A prosecution may only come in the long term, after the truth and reconciliation committee plays out, but I think the new government in Banjul will pay attention to those campaigning for it to happen,” says Jeffrey Smith, executive director of Vanguard Africa, an American pro-democracy NGO. “I wouldn’t be surprised if ultimately one day we see Jammeh in handcuffs and back in the Gambia or in an international court for trials.”

Credit: Getty Images/Enjoy Equatorial Guinea/Green Tyger Design/Foreign Policy illustration

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Sports: A Runner in Exile against the government,” After his dramatic protest at the Rio Olympics, Ethiopian says the author of the marathoner Feyisa Lilesa didn’t feel safe returning home. report, Felix Horne. “Anyone who speaks out against what But even in his new life in America, he can’t be sure what is going on is threatened with arrest -- or worse.” waits for him around the corner writes Kurt Streeter As Lilesa runs, he pictures Oromia, the green, sweeping He runs on a slender dirt road the color of rust. His legs region populated by his forebears, where he grew up in a churn with an easy rhythm as he passes clumps of snow, dirt-floored hut. He thinks of his wife, Iftu; their daughter, then thorn trees and sage swaying in the winter wind. Out Soko, 5; and their son, Sora, 3. They remain in Addis here on the Arizona desert, he is easy prey.

Ababa. He has not seen them in months. He worries about It’s January, and there’s a stillness about Feyisa Lilesa, them and about his own safety. After Lilesa’s protest at the even in the 12th mile of Olympics, a spokesman for a workout. He is with the Ethiopian government another runner because said he had nothing to it’s riskier to train alone. fear, that he could return With every compact home and be a hero. Lilesa stride, Lilesa lands on doesn’t believe it. He fears the balls of his feet and the government might track then flicks his size 9 him down and injure him Nikes, creating a soft to keep him from running shushing sound. The or even kill him. stillness surrounding When he trains on the him belies the feelings lonely roads outside of in his heart.

Flagstaff, he will hear Until last summer, a pickup truck rumble the 27-year-old called around a bend -- probably a Ethiopia, not Arizona, rancher, or maybe a hunter home. But since the Rio heading for practice at one Olympics, when he won of the nearby shooting a silver medal in the ranges. But Lilesa says marathon and engaged he can never be sure. He in a dramatic finishkeeps running, he says, line protest against the cycling his feet against the Ethiopian government, dirt -- but he watches the Lilesa has been in exile truck. and does not dare go “There is nothing I could home again. do to stop it if someone His Olympic protest was wanted to do something a plea for the Oromo, to me out there,” he says his ethnic nation, which through an interpreter. “I despite being the largest am alone, just like I am such group in Ethiopia’s alone in this country. All I population of roughly can do is stay strong and Ethiopian marathoner Feyisa Lilesa protest after his silver 100 million, has for keep going.” victory at Rio Olympics in Brazil decades been denied The next afternoon, Lilesa power and dealt with sits in a sparse apartment harshly by a succession of rulers. According to a report by near Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, holding Human Rights Watch, since November of 2015, Ethiopian a black cellphone. He checks Facebook, always alert for troops have used “excessive and lethal force” against news from Ethiopia. He cringes, reading an update on a mostly peaceful opponents angered by being marginalized tragedy: Dozens were killed weeks before in a stampede and a government plan to annex traditional Oromo land. after government police fired tear gas and rubber bullets Hundreds have been killed, many of them children, and to disperse anti-government demonstrations at a religious thousands have been injured, arrested or gone missing. festival southeast of Addis Ababa.

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Sometimes he escapes into replays of his Olympic race.

“Come watch,” he says. The marathon begins in the Sambadrome on a rainy day in Rio de Janeiro, and as the camera zooms closer, Lilesa toes the starting line. He uses his left hand to brush a 2-inch tattoo on his right shoulder. It depicts an Odaa tree, an Ethiopian sycamore, in red, black and green ink. A symbol of Oromo pride. In halting English, he explains from the couch that he had been planning his Olympic protest for three months, from the moment he made the Ethiopian team. “The time to stand up had come,” he says.

Lilesa is the firstborn son of a family that farmed vegetables and herded cattle in a rural region about 70 miles west of the nation’s capital. In keeping with Oromo culture, he was raised to think of sacrificing for a larger cause, even if it meant putting himself in danger. He also was raised to be politically aware, part of an idealistic and vocal generation of Oromo that came of age after the collapse of Ethiopia’s communist regime in the early 1990s. He’d pictured himself speaking out about injustice since he was a teenager. Not long after a 2015 election in which the ruling government, dominated by a minority ethnic group called the Tigray and its allies, won 100 percent of the nation’s parliamentary seats, the Oromo faced increased crackdowns. Protesters were beaten and fired upon.

Preparing for Rio, Lilesa felt desperate to call attention to a crisis largely ignored by the international community.

He needed a medal. Only gold, silver and bronze finishers would get significant media coverage. He had won big races in Europe, the United States and Asia, including the Tokyo Marathon at the start of 2016. But he wasn’t a heavy favorite in Rio. His time in Tokyo had been 2:06:56, only the 31stfastest marathon of the year. Rio would be the race of his life -- a race for his people. He kept his plan a secret, even from his wife and children. If he’d told them, he would have been swallowed by emotion. If he had felt Iftu’s sorrow, he might have lost his nerve.

Clutching his cellphone, Feyisa leans forward and watches the tape of his stride toward the finish line at Rio. He remembers the hair on his neck standing straight those last 100 yards, as if he had touched a live wire before winning the silver medal. “It was like I got everything off my chest.

Like when you feel something so powerful, and then you just let it out, and here you go -- I did the unthinkable. Someone

in the stands offers him an Ethiopian flag to hold high or to drape around his shoulders. Lilesa refuses it. “I could not do it for a country where I have no rights,” he says, “where my people have no rights.”

As Iftu and others in Feyisa’s family watched the race on television at their two-story home in Addis Ababa, they were on their feet cheering until they saw him lift his arms above his head. “It went completely quiet,” Iftu says. “It was like a dream. There was shock and sadness. Nobody made a sound.

Suddenly, the question we had was this: How the hell is he going to come home after doing this?”

After the protest, Lilesa walked to the media tent unsure about how he would communicate his message to a world that pays little attention to his homeland. The Ethiopian interpreter assigned to help him with reporters refused to translate for him. Left to speak in his uncertain English, Lilesa turned to the TV cameras and said: “Ethiopian government killing Oromo people. I support Oromo protest. At this time, many people in prison. If you talk your rights ... they kill you. If I go to Ethiopia, maybe they kill me. If not kill me, maybe they will charge me. If not charge me, they will send [me] to another country.”

He had no plan, but a network of Oromo expatriates moved quickly. Offers of help came on Facebook and by text message. An Oromo just outside San Jose, California, started an online campaign that would end up raising over $100,000 to help Lilesa begin a new life. An Oromo in Minneapolis booked a Rio hotel for him and urged him to get away from the Olympic Village as fast as he could.

Bayissa Gemechu, a sports agent in Washington, D.C., and an Oromo, flew to Brazil to stay with Lilesa and help him obtain the immigration papers he would need to resettle in a new country.

The Ethiopian government says publicly that Lilesa is in no danger. “He is always welcome,” Getachew Reda, the Ethiopian communications minister, has told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, calling Lilesa an “Ethiopian hero.”

Lilesa distrusts what he hears from the government. He says four of his friends have been killed after standing against the government since 2005. His brother-in-law, he says, has been jailed -- and beaten -- for participating in a college demonstration.

Continued on Page 56

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Continued from Page 55 The Ethiopian government says publicly that Lilesa is in no danger. “He is always welcome,” Getachew Reda, the Ethiopian communications minister, has told the Thomson Reuters Foundation, calling Lilesa an “Ethiopian hero.”

Lilesa distrusts what he hears from the government. He says four of his friends have been killed after standing against the government since 2005. His brother-in-law, he says, has been jailed -- and beaten -- for participating in a college demonstration.

Lilesa had never been to Brazil before the Olympics. He spoke no Portuguese. He holed up in a cramped hotel room with Gemechu, wondering where to go, where to make a new life.

When Brazilian police showed up at the hotel lobby, asking for him, he thought, “I won’t go back. I will fight to the end.”

Bonnie Holcomb, an American anthropologist and advocate for Oromo issues who had seen the protest, had reached out to friends in Rio, and they had arranged a police escort to the airport so he could get the immigration forms he needed to stay in Brazil until he decided what to do.

Nearly two years before, Lilesa had begun an application process for a visa allowing him to train occasionally in the United States. Now he discovered that he was on file in the U.S. immigration system, and this gave him a foothold. At the same time, a Denver educator named Mary Gershwin, who runs a nonprofit exchange program for students in the United States and Brazil, found out about Lilesa’s plight and sent advice on whom to see and what to say at the U.S. Embassy

as he completed his application. He stayed at the La Costa Hotel in Rio for 17 days. During that time, he learned through Facebook that a close friend in Ethiopia had been arrested for protesting the government and had died with 22 others when the Addis Ababa prison burned to the ground. He felt sick. He fell to the hotel room floor, his chest heaving.

After visas are later approved for Iftu and the children, they fly to Miami with Feyisa’s brother, Aduna. On Feb. 14 -- six months after Feyisa said goodbye to them in Africa -- his children leap into his arms in the Miami International Airport.

Soko, a girl sharp and willful, seems beyond her years. Sora stands close. Near the baggage claim in the bright airport, they laugh and tease, and Feyisa picks them up and cuddles them. Moments later, he holds Iftu in a tight embrace. Tears stream from her brown eyes. With both hands, he wipes them away. Tears well in his own eyes, but he does his best to stand 56

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straight and keep them from falling. He sees news cameras, and he knows that everything about Feyisa Lilesa, even a simple photograph, is big news in Ethiopia. He doesn’t want the government or its supporters to sense anything they can take to be weakness. “I cannot let emotions get to me,” he says. “Not with what I have chosen to do.”

Lilesa knows meaningful change for his people may well be far off. Short-term goals have become an emotional salve.

Gearing up for the London Marathon, Lilesa wins the United Airlines NYC Half-Marathon, and afterward he and his family are feted by Oromo expatriates at the Sea Shore restaurant in the Bronx. On the way back to their hotel in midtown Manhattan, the lights of Seventh Avenue and Times Square shine through the windows of their cab. Red and blue neon flow like a river. In the back seat, Iftu strokes their young son’s head as he falls asleep. Feyisa holds his daughter tightly.

There is a calm about him, a stoic pride, but also an everpresent anguish.

And while the London Marathon did not turn out quite as Lilesa had envisioned -- he faltered in the last few miles and finished 12th in a time of 2:14:12, 10 spots behind rival Kenenisa Bekele -- he repeated his clenched-fist protest at the finish line, nevertheless. Recently, the government in Addis Ababa has made nods toward some reforms. In the days after the marathon, a man at the Ethiopian embassy in London who would identify himself only as a government spokesperson, repeated recent assertions that it was safe for Lilesa to return.

“He is simply an athlete, not a leader, not an organizer, just an athlete,” he said in a phone conversation.

Lilesa wants to raise his children as Oromo, but he remains steadfast in his feeling that a return home now is not possible.

He’s gotten a small, spartan apartment for the family in Flagstaff for now. “I’ve never been so cold,” Iftu says one winter night. They’ve added a living room couch and a small square dinner table near the kitchen. The walls in the living room are bare except for a flag -- the flag of Oromia this time.

Below it, Iftu has affixed a wood cutting she brought from Ethiopia, a depiction of an Odaa tree.

“It is much better now, with my wife and children,” Lilesa says. “But if you put this on a scale of 1 to 100, I am only at 15 percent happiness. I am in exile, not for myself first and foremost but for my people. And my people are suffering.

Going through hell. The situation has gotten worse. I have told you that right now I do not want to cry. The day I will cry is when my people win justice and freedom. That day, I cry nonstop, out of joy.”

+ The legacy continues........Welcome to 2017 !!

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The Voice Achievers Award 2017 nomination details reveal

After a success event for 2016, already there is a huge interest for this year’s event as we plan to celebrate it big as usual. With a new management organizing the award for 2017, it promises to be fun, classic and rewarding.

African and Diaspora awards.

The nomination is open and for the first time we are allowing the public to participate with our nominations, however the award committee will still have the final say on suitable candidates for recognition.

Now this is the procedure: 1.

You are allowed to nominate one person from any African country for any of the award list which you can find on our website at www.thevoiceachieversaward.com 2.

Nomination of a non-African but has who has contributed towards the advancement of Africa in the past year or years is welcome.

3.

Send us a 350 word document profile on the candidate you are nominating and why the candidate deserve to be recognized by the Voice Achievers award committee for 2017.

4.

We would request you also to include your email address in your nomination letter sent to our email address at info@thevoicenewsmagazine.com 5.

If your candidate is not on the list for 2017, he or she would remain on the shortlist for the following year.

Important dates to remember • July/August 2017: Candidates nominated and have accepted their nomination names will be announced • 17th & 18th November 2017: Diaspora Award ceremony to held in The Netherlands

Be Part of The Voice Achievers Award 2017 This is where achievers are recognized and honour. It can be you .......

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