Tribunal voids election of Nigeria's senate president David Mark; country awaits Feb 26 presidential litigation ruling.... A Nigerian electoral tribunal on Saturday Feb 23, 2008 voided the election of federal senate president David Mark, government spokesman Cletus Akwaya said. "For now he remains the senate president until all the legal channels are exhausted," Akwaya added after the tribunal in the central state of Benue found there was no clear winner of the election last year and that the national electoral commission was wrong to have declared Mark the winner, he said... On February 26 the tribunal hearing petitions challenging the validity of the 2007 presidential vote is due to rule on the validity of Umaru Yar'Adua's election.

"Under the constitution if the president's election is declared void, and president and vice-president both have to step down, the senate president would have to take over the power until a new president and vice-president are elected," an opposition member of parliament told AFP. For full and related Nigeria election issues report click here

Why Bush should focus on

The country is overrun with weapons, malnutrition is pervasive, half of children are not in school, and many buildings are uninhabitable. There is little running water or electricity and no sewage or landline phone system. "It's easier to tear a country down than it is to rebuild a country," Bush said. "And the people of this good country must understand the United States will stand with you as you rebuild your country."

Though Bush's entourage was a bit jittery about his seven-hour stopover, Liberia's president, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, declared at one point, "You're safe." Bush used his five-country (visit to Africa) to showcase how billions in aid and diplomatic engagement are improving the everyday lives of people across the continent. Jennifer Loven/AP

Earlier on Tuesday, Bush had paid somber homage Tuesday to the estimated 800,000 people killed in Rwanda's 1994 genocide and urged global action to end the bloodshed in Sudan's Darfur region "once and for all." "Evil must be confronted," he said after touring a Kigali memorial to the 100-day, systematic massacre of minority Tutsis and moderate Hutus by Hutu extremist militias and government troops. Bush, mid-way through a five-country Africa tour, announced he was freeing up 100 million dollars (68 million euros) for African peacekeeping efforts in the restive Sudanese province of Darfur but firmly defended his decision not to send US troops there. Full report

He will not visit Kenya, which is torn by the worst crisis in its history following a disputed December election, but is sending Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice there on Monday to back mediation by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan. Bush was greeted by Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, who has been lauded by U.S. officials for democratic and economic progress in the east African country, which will be the centrepiece of the U.S. leader's tour of the continent. (In pix, President Bush and Benin's president, Thomas Yayi Bon, held a joint news conference in Cotonou on Saturday Feb 16)

Thousands of people lined the road from the airport to welcome Bush and his wife Laura. Banners across the highway read "We cherish democracy" and "Thank you for helping fight malaria and HIV." During his brief stop in Benin, Bush stepped up the pressure on Kenyan government and opposition leaders to end a post-election crisis that has killed around 1,000 people and left 300,000 homeless. Rice's mission was "all aimed at having a clear message that there be no violence and that there ought to be a power-sharing agreement," Bush told reporters after holding talks with Benin President Thomas Boni Yayi. U.S. officials said the United States was ready to sanction any individuals who sought to obstruct Kenyan peace moves. "Kenya's an issue ... that's why I'm sending Secretary Rice there to help with the Kofi Annan initiative," Bush said. By Tabassum Zakaria and Wangui Kanina.

However, the fresh refugees from Darfur "have been through the worst already," she added. Her colleague Catherine Huck, who runs UNHCR's operations in the Chadian eastern town of Abeche, stressed the difficulties that recent unrest in Chad itself have created for aid workers. AFP

Clinton campaign operatives signalled they were now pinning their hopes on Ohio and Texas, big states which vote on March 4, to close an anticipated gap with the surging Obama. Despite Clinton emerging from last week's 22-state Super Tuesday Democratic showdown neck-and-neck with the Illinois senator, he picked up weekend wins in Louisiana, Nebraska, Maine, Washington state, and the US Virgin Islands.

In so doing, Obama nudged ahead in the race for delegates portioned out by each state, who will formally pick the party nominee at the Democratic convention in August...Virginia is the biggest prize of the Potomac Primary, with 83 Democratic delegates up for grabs, while Maryland has 70 on offer, and the US capital, which is not part of any state, 15.

Monday, Obama filled two arena-sized events with echoing cheers in Maryland, while Clinton campaigned in a quieter key, delivering a lecture at a university in southern Virginia and touring a General Motors plant in Maryland. Clinton was asked in the ABC interview whether there were any hidden business or personal scandals stalking her husband, former president Bill Clinton, that Republicans could exploit.

"That is not going to happen. You know, none of us can predict the future, no matter who we are and what we're running for, but I'm very confident that that will not happen," she said. The question was one of the few occasions when the turmoil that wracked the Clinton White House has been directly raised in the 2008 campaign. Clinton's replacement (on) Sunday of campaign manager Patti Solis Doyle with long-time aide Maggie Williams sparked a fresh spate of headlines about the former first lady's supposed vulnerability. By Stephen Collinson/AFP

read book in modern African literature, Things Fall Apart, has described the departed highlife music legend Chief Osita Osadebe as "an artiste who played music with a message and mission." 

Osadebe (in picture, right) lived as one of Africa's longest and durable great talents. He played, sang and released melodious songs since 1956 until 2005.

Osadebe who hailed from Umuekeke in Atani, Ogbaru Local Government Area of Anambra State was born in 1936. His family announced that he passed on Friday May 11, 2007 and burial is set for this week.

Achebe, author of several landmark works told Houston-based USAfrica and CLASSmagazine Publisher Chido Nwangwu in an exclusive interview on Wednesday February 6, 2008 that "Osadebe was a priest who used words and sounds.  He lived like any of the greatest musicians who are prominent in any culture; he lived as  a great musician who used music to reach people in order to improve their lives and make them happy. He had message for people to reflect upon. He had deep message in his music as much as he provided music for celebration and [to] be merry."

USAfricaonline.com reports that Barack Obama has taken the momentum, won more states., more delegates and trumps Hillary Clinton on money raised for campaign. Amidst operational pressures, Hillary loans $5m to her own campaign...

He has consistently set a record in imaginative and technologically compelling was of fundraising with his team. Obama's campaign manager David Plouffe noted in a letter to supporters that $3 million was raised the evening after Tuesday's primaries and caucuses. "The Clinton campaign just announced that Hillary and Bill Clinton injected $5 million of their personal fortune into her campaign a few days ago,'' Plouffe stated. "Thanks to you, we have raised more than $3 million since the polls closed on February 5th. But we have no choice -- we must match their $5 million right now.'' A live ticker embedded to his e-mail showed donations, recorded $5.8 million as of 11:30 p.m. eastern on Wednesday, February 6, 2008. (In the AP photo, Sen. Barack Obama and wife Michelle greet supporters in Chicago)

into the first week of February 2008 after Kenya's president Mwai Kibaki is declared winner in hotly disputed elections of December 27, 2007... Charges of ethnic cleansing against Kibaki, Kenya soldiers and police have continued with blood-letting by members of the major ethnic groups especially between members of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribe and Luos and Kalenjins who back opposition leader Raila Odinga since a disputed election on December 27, 2007.

The shooting of David Kimutai Too on Thursday interrupted the start of talks to help resolve the monthlong postelection crisis that has killed more than 800 people and forced 300,000 from their homes.

Talks, being mediated by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, resumed Friday with an address by Annan's successor, Ban Ki-Moon, who appealed to negotiators to "Look beyond the individual interest. Look beyond the party lines. ... Now the future is on you." AP

The bitter rivals shook hands before spending less than an hour in discussions headed by Kofi Annan in Nairobi on January 23, 2008. The former UN secretary general is in the country to try to forge a breakthrough in the political standoff between the two men, during which almost 800 people have died. No details emerged of the meeting, but it was seen as a major breakthrough.

Mr Odinga, 63, had rejected Mr Kibaki's election victory after votes were counted in the Dec 27 poll. The opposition, international observers and some sections of Kenya's electoral commission have alleged that widespread fraud was committed in the elections.

The Palmetto State's primary had long appeared to be Obama's to lose, as the African-American senator was expected to garner the support of large numbers of black voters. In an exit poll reported by NBC News, Obama took home 81% of support from African-Americans. With 86% of precincts reporting, Obama won 54% of the vote in South Carolina. Clinton won 27% and former North Carolina senator John Edwards won 19%.

In a victory speech, Obama said "we have the most votes, the most delegates and the most diverse coalition of Americans we've seen in a long, long time." Obama also said the election "is not about black versus white." Emphasizing his platform for bringing change to Washington, he said "this election is about the past versus the future." By Robert Schroeder (MarketWatch)

Said the chairman: "We are of the humble view that the election of April 14, 2007 in Enugu State was not conducted in compliance with the Electoral Act...We hereby set aside the declaration of the first respondent (Chime) by INEC as the winner of that election." For the Enugu and Igbo communities reactions and political insights, log on to two of the USAfrica-powered e-groups, IgboEvents@yahoogroups.com and Nigeria360@yahoogroups.com. News report, click here

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Clinton defied campaign-closing polls and the expectations of her own advisers to pull out a narrow victory over Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, the self-styled agent of change bidding to be the nation's first black president. She won with a last-minute show of emotion and pointed criticism of Obama, the harshest attacks coming from her husband, Bill. By Ron Fournier

Mike Huckabee rode a wave of support from evangelical Christians to win the opening round among Republicans in the 2008 campaign for the White House.

Obama, 46 and a first-term senator from Illinois, scored his victory on a message of change in Washington. Nearly complete returns showed him gaining 37 percent support from Iowans. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina appeared headed for second place, relegating Clinton, the former first lady, to a close third. USAfricaonline.com with additional reports from the AP and wire reports.

President Mwai Kibaki, sworn in Sunday after a vote opponents said was rigged, said political parties should meet immediately and publicly call for calm. The violence has killed at least 270 people in what had been east Africa's most stable and prosperous democracy. The opposition candidate, Raila Odinga, said he would refuse to meet. "If he announces that he was not elected, then I will talk to him," Odinga told The Associated Press. He accused the government of stoking the violence, and said Kibaki's administration "is guilty, directly, of genocide."By Elizabeth Kennedy in Nairobi

Mosisili, current chairperson of SADC, said the process to achieve the free trade area would be "a give and take affair." Several heads of government and state, including President Thabo Mbeki and Zimbabwe's President Robert Mugabe, are attending the conference on regional integration. They will review recommendations by a ministerial task team &emdash; comprising trade and industry and finance ministers in the region &emdash; about the best way to achieve the free trade area. Sapa

Zuma ousted President Thabo Mbeki as party leader after their intense rivalry divided the party, which has ruled South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994.

Before the election, Mandela who decided not to endorse one candidate or to attend the conference, said divisions within the party race were saddening. He said it was inevitable the results of the elections would be interpreted by some "as an overwhelming victory for one camp or faction over another".

Mandela's spokeswoman on Friday dismissed rumours that former president's health has taken a turn for the worse. Zelda la Grange said her office had been flooded with inquiries. "Rumours have again surfaced about Mr Mandela's well-being. Mr Mandela is in the former Transkei (his hometown in the Eastern Cape Province) where he is enjoying the festive season with his family," SAPA quoted her as saying. "He is due back in Johannesburg only towards the end of January." (Reuters)

The negative forces operating from eastern Congo include the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), the People's Redemption Army (PRA) and the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA). Nyamwisi also called upon Uganda to withdraw its forces from Congolese territory. He accused UPDF of having troops in the eastern town of Mahagi.

He also alleged that Congolese militia were recruiting fighters in refugee camps in Uganda. He further stated that Kinshasa was in favour of joint oil exploration on Lake Albert. Earlier, foreign minister Sam Kutesa, who leads the Ugandan delegation, said he hoped the summit would address the conflict between the two countries. "The presence of negative forces in the DRC is a matter of serious concern to Uganda", he stressed in his opening address. By Felix Osike and Alfred Wasike, New Vision in Kampala.

In and around the delta's de facto capital, Port Harcourt, a recent spike in violence has raised concerns about the long-term viability of doing business in the region, where foreign oil and gas operations and regularly targeted. "The situation in Port Harcourt will remain unstable in the short term until Nigerian authorities can regain some level of control," read a recent report by the Stratfor consulting group. By Carmen Gentile, UPI Energy Correspondent.

Branson and Gabriel, who founded an international human rights organization and championed the anti-apartheid cause, attended part of a week of festivities for Mandela's birthday. A children's party that has become an annual fixture wraps things up July 24. Before that, events will feature Bill Clinton and soccer legend Pele, who will play in a special star-studded match to honor Mandela.

Why Bush should focus on

"We bring good tidings to our nation and youth and tell them that the list of martyrdom-seekers has become long and is growing every day," he said. "This is a crusader war on Islam and a battle of destiny between the infidels and believers so do not miss out ... come to a paradise that is as wide as earth and the skies." The Algerian-based group has claimed responsibility for triple suicide bombings in Algiers on April 11 that killed 33 people. In Morocco, six Islamists blew themselves up in a month in Casablanca this year, killing another person. (Reuters)

2007 Nigeria campaign has made a Nehemiah of me.... By Prof. Pat Utomi,

The struggle will be aimed largely at keeping the man-in-the-street, middle class professional people, and the youth ever committed to the quest in advance of the Common Good for change. The pain of seeing so many middle class people come out to vote on April 14 and witnessing their retreat on April 21 after it became clear their votes were not allowed to count increases the essence of the struggle. It is time to say thank you and to roll up our sleeves, like Nehemiah, to rebuild the falling walls of Nigeria. Full text here.

Somalia's Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi says most of the fighting is over in the capital and it is is safe for residents to return. But residents do not seem too reassured. The latest reports say gunfire and mortar explosions are continuing to echo through the streets. USAfricaonline.com/ABC/BBC

The main opposition parties said they would not accept the election and called for President Olusegun Obasanjo to be impeached.

Why Bush should focus on

Overall, USAfricaonline.com and CLASSmagazine reporters inside Nigeria are reporting that the elections are progressing with thousands if not more disenfranchised due to INEC's logistical problems, the actual acts of partisan political violence and threats of violence. The killing in a mosque of a radical Islamic cleric has left some tension around the voting and politics. Click here for USAfrica's special news feature report. Nigeria's 2007 elections: progress with familiar problems....

He breaks his silence on the latest technical disqualifications and court cases of Nigeria's VP Atiku and INEC's roles, Peter Obi and Chris Ngige's disqualifications for Anambra governorship, Iwu's relationship with Anambra's PDP Governorship aspirant, Andy Uba. Prof. Plus, Prof. Iwu also speaks on how he would like to be remembered after the 2007 elections and the controversies which typically follow his job as elections chief in Nigeria, a country of almost 110 million people....
The first text and photo excerpts of this exclusive interview appear here at USAfricaonline.com. Only in USAfrica and CLASSmagazine. Book your copies, now 713-270-5500 or class@classmagazine.tv.

The Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front's central committee "endorsed President Mugabe as its candidate for the next election,'' spokesman Nathan Shamuyarira said by phone from Harare. There was strong support from the party's women and youth factions, he added.

A campaign spearheaded by Mugabe, who has ruled the nation since 1980, to seize land owned by white farmers plunged the nation into a recession that is now in its eighth year and has led to widespread shortages of fuel, food and foreign exchange. About a quarter of the population has fled and 80 percent of the workforce is unemployed.

``This is a tragedy,'' opposition Movement for Democratic Change Secretary General Tendai Biti said in a telephone interview. ``If he wins through with his plans, he will be in power until he is 90. The country simply cannot continue in its rapid decline for that long.'' (He is seen in this USAfricaonline.com file photo with South Africa president Thabo Mbeki).

Allowing Mugabe another chance to run for office is ``sad'' and ``outrageous,'' Agence France-Presse quoted U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack as saying. He criticized other African nations for not taking stronger action against Mugabe's crackdown against opposition, it added. By USAfricaonline.com; Brian Latham and Vernon Wessels/Bloomberg in Johannesburg. See additional reporting on Zimbabwe below.

The idea is to tap into the growing reach of cellphone technology, which has leapfrogged older communication systems in many African countries. Fixed-line telephone and Internet connections are rare on the continent, making pen and paper still the principal way of recording the spread of disease.

The meeting focused mainly on the enhancement of the CEN-SAD undertakings as well as co-ordination of member countries' stance ahead of the AU Summit, due to convene from 29 to 30 January in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The Sirte forum is being attended by several heads of state, including Francois Boziz of the Central African Republic, Chad's Idris Deby, Guinea Bissau's Joao Bernardo Vieira, Assias Afeworki of Eritrea, Senegal's Abdoulaye Wade, Amadou Toumani Tour of Mali, Ivorian president Laurent Gbagbo, Burkinabe leader Blaise Compaor, Somalia's Abdallah Youssef and Togo's Faure Gnassingbe.

CEN-SAD comprises 23 African countries and was set up Feb 4, 1998 in Tripoli, Libya at the end of a meeting between Col. Kadhafi and the presidents of Mali, Niger, Sudan and Chad. It seeks to set up an overall economic union based on a strategy that complements the national development plans of member countries focusing on investment in the agricultural, industrial, energy, social and cultural sectors. It also aims at lifting impediments to the unification of member countries, promoting foreign trade through an investment policy in member states, improving road, air and sea transport and communication through the implementation of joint projects.

Member states are Benin, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea- Bissau, Liberia, Libya, Mali, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Chad, Togo and Tunisia. - BuaNews"

On this day/week of the post-humous celebration of birthday, I believe that the existing global alliance of all humankind, representing the full tapestry of our ethnic/racial origins as Indians, Caucasians, Blacks, Jews, Asians, and a multitude of other backgrounds should, markedly, advance Dr. King's vision and efforts should do more by utilizing technological tools, networking personal discipline, boosting religious and communal re-orientation to fight all forms of discrimination and intolerance into the 21st century.  Why? We must all remember the fact that although King and his colleagues fought and died to achieve the cause of racial harmony and peaceful resolution of conflicts, there are more sophisticated forms of discrimination which besmirch our collective dignity as God's children.
Chido Nwangwu is Founder and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com, first African-owned, U.S-based professional newspaper to be published on the internet.

Reactions to the fatal crash are pouring into Sokoto and Abuja, especially the fact that some of Sokoto's leading politicians were on board the flight.

According to ADC's Web site, Flight 53 was scheduled to take off from the Nigerian capital Abuja at 10:35 a.m. and land in Sokoto an hour later. "There were not less than 100 passengers in the airplane that crashed in Nigeria Sunday," Harold Demuren, Director-General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority, said. USAfricaonline.com with additional reports from DPA and CNN.

Figures from the Chamber of Mines show that sales of platinum group metals were worth around R38 billion (US$ 5.4 billion) last year, slightly ahead of coal's R36 billion contribution - both comfortably ahead of gold's sales worth around R27 billion. PGMs &endash; which include platinum, rhodium and palladium - overtook gold for the first time in 2001, and have held that lead for most of the time since then due to ongoing increases in PGM production and high metal prices. South Africa produces around 70% of the world's new platinum and rhodium mine supply and about 40% of global palladium.

The OTC condemned in April 2006, Irukwu's embrace of Obasanjo's 3rd term stating "For the avoidance of doubt, Ohanaeze Ndigbo reaffirms that the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria must come from either the South-East or the South-South for equity, justice and fairness. The Ohanaeze  transition committee is authorised by the general assembly to set up a tactical committee to deal with all the issues arising from the destabilisation of the political parties and platforms as a result of this third term campaign." Also, log on to our blog/e-List, IgboEvents, for debate and views on Ohaneze

He said the new war should be fought with equal determination and zeal. In his speech, Mwanawasa paid special tribute to the freedom fighters and the founding fathers who fought selflessly for the emancipation of Africa. He said it was significant to recall and appreciate the great commitment and sacrifices of the freedom fighters to the struggles for the independence of the African countries including Zambia. "The occasion affords us the opportunity to evoke the vision of our founding fathers and mothers which gave birth to the ideals of Pan-Africanism," said Mwanawasa.

There have been no normal relations with Libya since 1980. The State Department for several years listed Libya among nations the US government considered as official sponsors of terrorism.

Libya was held responsible for the bombing of Pan Am flight 103 in 1988, which claimed 270 lives, most of them American. But Libya has made a decisive move away from terrorism in recent years, officials said. Removing Libya from the list of countries the United States considers to be state sponsors of terrorism means a 45-day public comment period will begin on Monday, after which Libya would be removed from the list. The establishment of normal relations may have come sooner were it not for allegations that Gadhafi's regime was behind an attempt on the life of Saudi's Arabia's King Adbullah when he was crown prince several years ago.

Nollywood superstar

In the prefacing the presentation of the award citation, Chido Nwangwu (Founder & Publisher of USAfrica, USAfricaonline.com, The Black Business Journal, CLASS magazine and AchebeBooks.com) told the dignitaries that "I strongly recommended Zack for this special award of being the first USAfrica International Actor of the Year because it reflects Zack's profound artistic and dramatic versatility, Zack's boundless commitment to professionalism, and for being, in very sense, our true ambassador of excellence. He's our own Eddie Murphy and Will Smith, and more. Zack is bilingual in French and English. He is internationalist in outlook. Zack, we're all very proud of you, and we'll push your creative work across the entire networks of USAfrica and other platforms here in the U.S, and beyond."

Immediately, a standing ovation was given Zack by the professionals, creme d'le creme of the African, African-Americans and other Americans at the annual banquet from different sections of the U.S., Nigeria and parts of Africa.

In accepting the international honor, Zack said "I'm humbled by this major recognition. I'm very appreciative of being honored by USAfrica and all of you here in Houston. I thank you for this special recognition, for your support and your kind gestures." FULL report here

"Lord Jesus, our affluence is making us less human, our entertainment has become a drug, a source of alienation, and our society's incessant, tedious message is an invitation to die of selfishness."

During the Good Friday April 14, 2006 message, he delivers one of the strongest meditations and warns against the attack on the family. "Today we seem to be witnessing a kind of anti-Genesis, a counter-plan, a diabolical pride aimed at eliminating the family."

The Pope will also confront the question of evil in the world in a meditation that asks: "Where is Jesus in the agony of our own time, in the division of our world into belts of prosperity and belts of poverty . . . in one room they are concerned about obesity, in the other, they are begging for charity?" Click here for full report by Ruth Gledhill, Religion correspondent of The Times of London.

Nigeria's "bid" to join the Security Council could not have provided the world with a better opportunity to deal with the crux of contemporary Africa's malaise: the non-accountability of African leaderships who employ genocide and the pillage of the economy as a twin-track instrument of power. No country in Africa is more appropriate for the world to enforce this accountability than where the disease emerged in the first place on the continent &endash; Nigeria, the quintessentially failed and genocide-state. Special to USAfricaonline.com, USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston; IgboEvents blog and CLASS magazine

In a statement issued in Dakar, Mr. Ould Abdallah expressed hope "that the exemplary behaviour of the people of Benin during the Sunday polls will accompany the process until its ultimate ending, with the peaceful and constitutional handing over of power on 6 April 2006." He also hailed the current leadership, saying President Mathieu Kerekou's expertise "will surely continue to be valuable to the African continent, beyond his well accomplished mission as Head of State."

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, (Nigeria's Senate Chief Whip from Akwa Ibom State, in picture) on why "in good conscience" he cannot support the  retired general Olusegun  Obasanjo's controversial and thus far unconstitutional quest to seek a third term of office as Nigeria's president (ruling since 1999). It is titled 'Why I am against third term amendment provision' Among other points, he argues that "To permit the power of incumbency to be used to extend term limits, by constitutional amendment, is to undermine the very purpose of the term limit. Why have a term limit when it can be extended any time it is considered inconvenient for an incumbent... One of the fundamental principles of lawmaking is that laws should not be made for the benefit of a particular individual. Even if we pass the amendment and the President decides to contest, which decision, we understand, he is yet to make, all we would have achieved is a maximum of four more years for Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. But at what price? His successor will be able to rule Nigeria for twelve unbroken years..." Full text here

Waving signs and shouting that Internal Security Minister John Michuki "must go," the demonstrators walked peacefully through the Kenyan capital as police stood guard from a distance. Some of the demonstrators carried a placard reading in Kiswali 'Yes, the government is a snake'. About 3,000 opposition supporters and human rights activists marched Tuesday in downtown Nairobi to protest last week's raids on Kenya's oldest newspaper and its sister television station.

Michuki had ordered last Thursday's raids, during which heavily armed and masked police smashed The Standard Group's printing press and disrupted Kenya Television Network's broadcast for 13 hours.

Last week's raids were the first time since Kenya's 1963 independence that the government shut down major media operations. Recently, the country's media have been reporting on corruption scandals swirling around President Mwai Kibaki, who has been seen as increasingly politically isolated. Meanwhile, Kenya Airways has announced it plans to buy six Dreamliner planes from the U.S aerospace giant Boeing to replace its current 767 models.Two of the six will be delivered in 2010.

frican Office of the UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), opened Tuesday, bringing together officials of regional organisations, the civil society and academics from Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan and Tunisia. Participants, who are assessing progress achieved by these countries in the implementation of the African Vision on Water by 2025, are expected adopt a sub-regional plan of action on the sector.

INTERNATIONAL SECURITY:

"Land reform and land restitution are critical to the transformation of our society. Accordingly, the state will play a more central role in the land reform programme ensuring that the restitution programme is accelerated," he said. He said regulations for foreign land purchases would be done "in line with international norms and practices."

Almost 12 years after the end of apartheid rule most of South Africa's arable land remains in the hands of the white minority, while fears have grown that a surge in foreign interest in South African property is pushing prices out of reach for many locals. Foreign land ownership could also prove an obstacle to redistribution as wealthy non-residents sometimes buy large tracts that might have been used for the reform programme. Full report here

"I think it's really important worldwide," Mrs. Bush said about Sirleaf's inauguration, which falls on the day Americans honor civil rights icon, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "I think it's particularly important on the continent of Africa, because traditionally women have been excluded in many African cultures not all of them, but in many." Full report by Deb Reichmann in Monrovia/AP here.

BURIED IN ABEOKUTA; OBASANJO APOLOGISES TO HIS IN-LAWS, READY TO "PAY ANY FINE" FOR NOT SENDING HER BODY BACK TO HER PLACE OF ORIGIN IN IRUEKPEN, EDO STATE.... Nigeria buried the body of President Olusegun Obasanjo's wife on Friday, with the grieving leader asking compatriots to unite in their sorrow behind a program of development and progress for Africa's most populous nation. Stella Obasanjo, 59, died Sunday after undergoing surgery in Spain, only hours after a Bellview Airlines Boeing 737-200 crashed in Nigeria, killing all 117 people on board.

Standing near her grave in his hometown of Abeokuta, Obasanjo asked the 130 million people of his fractious nation to unite for the betterment of their country. "Let us utilise this period of adversity and the unity of sorrow, let it translate to unity of purpose, unity of determination for the development, the growth, the progress of our country," said Obasanjo in a nationally televised address. "May Stella's gentle soul rest in peace." On the issue of burial location, retired General Obasanjo said to his in-laws "Please forgive me. I did not mean to disobey your customs and traditions. I am ready to pay any fine....." The recent events in Nigeria continue to draw condolence messages from different parts of the world and consternation from Nigerians.

Vavi's comments come at a time when relations between the ANC and its leftist allies, COSATU and the South African Communist Party, are strained over a number of issues including Mbeki's sacking of his former deputy Jacob Zuma, a darling of the left who has been charged with corruption. Vavi also criticised Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for stressing the role of nutrition and traditional medicine for AIDS-sufferers instead of pushing to make anti-retroviral drugs more accessible to them. "There is nothing wrong with encouraging our people to eat and live healthily, but it is very wrong when there is silence about the need to ensure people have access to cheap anti-retrovirals," he was quoted as saying. Officials at Mbeki's presidency and COSATU were unavailable for immediate comment on Monday.

A State Department official confirmed the Aug. 3 search of the Potomac, Md., home of Nigerian Vice President Atiku Abubakar and his wife, Jennifer. The agency referred all quest

ions about the raid to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.

A source familiar with the investigation said subpoenas show agents were looking for records showing whether Jefferson, D-New Orleans, paid, offered to pay or authorized payments to officials in the government of Nigeria or Ghana.

The subpoenas, described to The Times-Picayune, seek documents related to Jefferson's dealings with Abubakar and the vice president of Ghana, Alhaji Aliu Mahama. Jefferson returned from a five-day visit to Ghana in mid-July, about three weeks before the FBI raided his homes. CLICK here for Full report by The Times Picayune newspaper of New Orleans.

KHARTOUM: A former rebel commander was sworn in as Sudan's new first vice president on Thursday, pledging to uphold his late predecessor's commitment to a peaceful and unified Sudan. Southern leader Salva Kiir Mayardit took the oath of office with his hand on a red copy of the



constitution in a large tent on the grounds of the presidential palace. Kiir, who was named leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement after John Garang's July 30 death in a helicopter crash, also was named president of the government of southern Sudan. "`I swear allegiance to the republic of Sudan,'' Kiir said. ``I pledge to promote its unity ... and to preserve the integrity and dignity of the people of Sudan.'' Kiir reaffirmed his commitment to achieving peace nationwide, including the troubled east and the western province of Darfur.

Kiir and Garang were among the founders of the rebel movement that, from 1983 until a peace treaty in January, fought against the Khartoum government for autonomy for the south's largely Christian and animist people. After the oath, Kiir, President Omar al-Bashir and Vice President Ali Osman Mohammed Taha raised their linked hands. As a performer sang an upbeat song with the words, ``I am African, I am Sudanese,'' some in the audience of hundreds that included foreign ambassadors stood up and danced, their walking sticks raised up high. By Tanalee Smith/AP

Nelson Mandela's 87th birthday and festivities kicked off at one minute past midnight on Monday morning July 18, 2005, with a fireworks extravaganza on Robbenma Island and the lighting of a torch in Mandela's former prison cell. The torch-lighting was the first step in the Six Day 46664 Torch Run Relay, in which the torch is to be carried on a route winding through the nine provinces as an inclusive celebration of Mandela's birthday.

The relay is to use the network of the South African Rugby's 14 unions around the country and runners are to carry the torch for distances ranging from 200 metres to a kilometre. "We hope to collect more than a million messages by July 23, and we ask people to monitor the vehicle's progress," said John Samuel, head of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. Parties, lectures, a rugby match and the launch of a comic series were some of the festivities celebrating Madiba's 87th birthday.

"This is our moment to stand up for what's right,'' U2 lead singer Bono told the audience in London. ``We can't fix every problem, but those we can, we must,'' he said, mentioning malaria, AIDS and deaths caused by dirty water. U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, host of the G-8 summit, is making African poverty reduction a focus of the meeting. Performers at ``Live 8'' -- including Paul McCartney, Cold Play, Madonna and REM -- want to raise popular awareness of the continent's economic deprivation.

The concerts will reach a potential global audience of 5.5 billion people through television, Internet and other media, organizer Bob Geldof said. They occur 20 years after the Live Aid concerts that Geldof also arranged to combat African poverty. Africa is the only continent to have become poorer in the last 25 years, according to the United Nations. More than 300 million Africans live on less than $1 a day, and less than half of children on the continent complete primary school. In the last 50 years, there have been 186 coups and 26 wars in Africa, with more than 7 million people killed, the UN says.

Meanwhile, hardliners from six opposition parties rallied around 20,000 people, demanding a "total return to constitutional legality." Gnassingbe's opposers demanded former parliament speaker Fambare Natchaba Ouattara to become the interim president.

Jean-Pierre Fabre, leader of the main opposition Union of Forces for Change (UFC), declared: "What we want is a whole and not stray bits and pieces." Fabre said that the election of Bonfoh is "useless, because it is a continued coup."

The 64-year-old Maathai, the first black African woman to win a Nobel Prize in any category since the awards were first handed out in 1901, gained recent acclaim for a campaign planting 30 million trees to stave off deforestation. "Many of the wars in Africa are fought over natural resources," Maathai told The Associated Press. "Ensuring they are not destroyed is a way of ensuring there is no conflict." Maathai, Kenya's deputy environment minister and a former presidential candidate, has worked for nearly half her life to protect the environment and human rights. During the 1980s and 1990s, she also campaigned against government oppression and founded Kenya's Green Party in 1987. She was repeatedly arrested and beaten for protesting former President Daniel arap Moi's non-progressive environmental policies and human rights record. AP. Click here for details

Obasanjo said inter-alia in his broadcast that "we have never made shy of our undiluted comments to eliminating corruption from our national life because it compromises national development, contaminates collective morality and values distorts national planning, corrodes integrity and discipline, and destroys the foundation of creativity, innovation, and democratic structure and development." The sentiments are superb, but facts are stubborn things, and the facts of Obasanjo's rule in the past six years, do not vindicate him and his lofty sentiments.

For example how elastic is his conception of corruption? Does that include the forgery of the Electoral Act? Is it corrupt not to implement budgets as he has consistently refused to do since he came to power? Is it an act of corruption to spend monies without appropriation? Is it corruption to emasculate other arms of government, stifle the separation of powers and cast an authoritarian pall on the democratic process in the country? It will be interesting to find out from Obasanjo if his definition of corruption includes acts of impunity, such as taking away Delta Steel Company won 'fair and square' in open competitive bid by a Nigerian company. Then giving away the company by Presidential fiat to an Indian company? Obasanjo should also let us know if his definition of corruption takes in the messy SOLGAS deal at Ajaokuta or the PENTASCOPE scam at NITEL. Obasanjo was also 'disheartened' that 'the number three man in the government hierarchy in the country is involved in this sordid matter'.

Haba, Obasanjo, please spare us some of this emotional blackmail! Who put Wabara there in the first place? A charlatan that did not win an election in the first place or didn't you write a congratulatory letter to Elder Dan Imoh, whose mandate was traded away in order that Wabara; colourless , tasteless, philistine and quisling, can be made the President of our nations highest legislative body? An act of vengeance by Obasanjo, to underscore how imperial his presidency has evolved in the years since 1999, but especially after the charade of the 2003 election. The imposition of Wabara as Nigeria's number three citizen is a reflection of the flaw in the president's own persona; that inability of absolute power to condone dissent, and of an old African chief, groomed in the rural tyranny of a peasant society who made good as a military dictator. This ex-dictator is suffused with a messianic strain, was imprisoned and humiliated, discovered religion a-new in adversity and walked almost directly from prison to power, as the consensus choice to lead Nigeria, by a military constituency directly responsible largely for the ruination of our country. This sequence of events steeped president Obasanjo in his subjective idealism, philosophically, as being the indispensable source of all wisdom of statecraft. This is the background that will make him impose a character like Adolphus Wabara on Nigeria."

As the facilitator of inter-religious dialogue, Arinze has seen and interacted with differing religionists who, to varying degrees, embody zealotry and reason, lucidity of thought and rock-ribbed dogmatisms. By being a major voice for Roman Catholicism in Africa, he has enriched the goals of the Vatican to win more souls to that unique section of the Christian community.

In deftly respecting and showing sensitivity to the cultural contexts for religious evangelization and work in different regions of the world, Arinze (a Nigerian, like me, from the south eastern Igbo ethnic group as is the literary giant Prof. Chinua Achebe) seems a fitting bridge for a common, shared theology of humankind. Our brother, The Cardinal, is neither extreme in words nor brash in personal conduct, he also stands as a role model who should be emulated by many, especially in the community of his natural origin, the Nigerian community. Among other qualities, he shows scholarship and a rare balance of reason and theology. May your pastroral lineage endure. By Chido Nwangwu, Founder and Publisher, USAfricaonline.com and recipient of Journalism Excellence award (1999).

CLICK on Arinze's picture or here for full report of this essay first written online on April 7,1999, updated on April 25, 2002 and April 1, 2005

08-08-08: USAfrica celebrates 50 Years of Achebe's THINGS FALL APART'' during the the 15th Anniversary of USAfrica's pioneering multimedia leadership of the bi-continental interests of Africans and Americans. Event date is Friday August 8 n Saturday 9, 2008 in Houston, Texas.

Taking the battle to Clinton and Sen. John McCain, the Republican front-runner who also won Wisconsin, Obama said with his pitch rising and booming through the massive arena: "I opposed this war in 2002. I will bring this war to an end in 2009. It is time to bring our troops home." The Clintons are ratcheting up their negative, sharp "contrasts" campaign which have, thus far, not yeilded votes or better value for the agenda to govern if elected. Rather those tactics and some ill-advised comments especially by former President Bill Clinton in South Carolina have combined to minimize, as polls and reactions and voters show, the Clinton legacy -- especially among African-Americans where Obama is averaging 86% of votes in the primaries.

The debates are expected to get more aggressive as Hillary Clinton says it's all about her "experience" versus what she insists are nothing but Obama's "speeches." As one among the 20,000 who heard some of the substance behind the speeches, more surprises will unfold in Ohio and Texas where the Clintons are positioned as front-runners. Remarkably, I saw several 4 year-olds with their parents, enthusiastic college students and young professionals, hundreds of seniors over 60 years old chanting and throwing their fists into the air in a revivalist fervor and finality of resolve "Yes, We Can", and affirming their shared hopes that the young, impressive candidate Obama will make a difference in their lives, should he become President of the United States. But he cautioned them that "The change we seek is still months and miles away." So true, because a day is a long time in political contention and struggles. By Chido Nwangwu, USAfricaonline.com at the Feb 19, 2008 rally in Houston CLICK here.

Halfway around the world, Mr. Bush cannot escape the race to succeed him. "It seemed like there was a lot of excitement for me -- wait a minute, maybe you missed it!" he said, only half in jest, on Sunday, after Mr. Kikwete was asked about Mr. Obama during their joint news conference here. By Sheryl Gay Stolberg, NY Times, Feb 18, 2008

On this day/week of the post-humous celebration of birthday, I believe that the existing global alliance of all humankind, representing the full tapestry of our ethnic/racial origins as Indians, Caucasians, Blacks, Jews, Asians, and a multitude of other backgrounds should, markedly, advance Dr. King's vision and efforts should do more by utilizing technological tools, networking personal discipline, boosting religious and communal re-orientation to fight all forms of discrimination and intolerance into the 21st century.  Why?

USAfrica is honoring Achebe as the main event of the 15th Anniversary of its pioneering multimedia leadership of the bi-continental interests of Africans and Americans. The acclaimed 2007 'BEST OF AFRICA' International Awards annual dinner in honor of African professionals will hold at the Marriot Hotel Westchase.

The events require pre-event registration, USAfrica15@Gmail.com deadline June 8, 2008. Registration is required, and will include getting a copy of Prof. Chinua Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart' - for all those who register before June 8, 2008. The events are being organized by USAfrica and USAfricaonline.com, CLASS magazine, PhotoWorks.TV, Black Business Journal, BBJonline.com and Achebebooks.com. E-mail: USAfrica15@Gmail.com Office: 713-270-5500. wireless: 832-45-CHIDO (24436)

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British-based oil explorer Tullow Oil PLC announced over the summer that it had had success with a well off the coast of Ghana. It gave no details at the time, saying only that it had discovered "a significant light oil accumulation" and was appraising it.

Tullow operates the Deepwater Tano license that covers the new stake, holding a 50 percent stake. Its partners are Kosmos Energy and a subsidiary of Anadarko Petroleum Corp., Sabre Oil & Gas and the Ghana National Petroleum Corp. Tullow also holds a 23 percent stake in the West Cape Three Points license, off Ghana. Kufuor gave no other details. Energy Minister Kofi Adda also declined to comment on the announcement, but told The Associated Press the find was part of the ongoing explorations involving Tullow in western Ghana.

Winter is responsible for the entire US Navy, as well as the formulation and implementation of naval policies. His visit is related to that of Admiral Henry Ulrich, Commander of the US Naval Forces in Europe, who was in Ghana recently, official sources said. The Ghanaian defence minister expressed appreciation to the US government for the arrival of spare parts to support repair works on the US-acquired Ghanaian navy ships.

The Nigerian government has already submitted the necessary guarantees to FIFA, assuring that it can host a successful event."With South Africa hosting the FIFA Confederations Cup in the same year, it promises to be a busy one for the African continent, but also an extremely exciting one," the world football governing body said on its website.

Both Nigeria and Egypt have hosted FIFA junior events in the past. In 1997 Egypt hosted the U-17 World Cup, with Brazil, inspired by a young Ronaldinho emerging as the winners. Nigeria hosted the U-20 event two years later. This time Spain took the laurels, with many of the stars of the 2006 FIFA World Cup Germany on display, including Esteban Cambiasso, Rafael Marquez, Xavi and the irrepressible Ronaldinho.

In 2010, South Africa will host the biggest soccer event of them all, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, set to take place at ten stadia in nine cities across the country.

Dube's memorial service is underway at the Bassline in Newtown, Johannesburg. Cosatu General-Secretary Zwelinzima Vavi -- speaking at the memorial service -- lambasted South African radio stations for their failure to support local artists. Thousands have come to pay tribute to Lucky Dube. The 43-year-old Dube's funeral takes place at the Farmers Hall in Newcastle this Sunday. Family members have requested that the funeral be a private affair. For some of Dube's videos

The award-winning novelist shares her thoughts on writing, inspiration, hopes, her 'permission' from the father of the modern African novel Chinua Achebe and the increasing presence and achievements of young African writers.

The interview will also run in the February 2008 special edition of the USAfrica-powered CLASSmagazine.

First and Special to USAfricaonline.com, USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston CLASS magazine and The Black Business Journal

October 15, 2004: The author of the epic, literary masterpiece, 'Things Fall Apart' (written in 1958), social conscience of millions, cultural custodian and elevator, chronicler and essayist, goodwill ambassador and man of progressive rock-ribbed principles, the most translated writer of Black heritage in the world, the Eagle on the Iroko, Professor Chinua Achebe, has taken the extraordinary step of "declining to accept the high honor awarded me in the 2004 Honors List" by Nigeria's president, retired General Olusegun Obasanjo. According to the letter obtained by USAfricaonline.com, USAfrica The Newspaper and CLASS magazine (the first media networks to obtain and publish its content), Achebe pointed to the issues of Nigeria's leaders failing to unite the country's diverse peoples and the what he identified as "the silence, if not connivance, of the Presidency" in the destabilization of parts of Nigeria and state governments by political and business renegades.
Click here for special report by Chido Nwangwu

Savvy son of Kenyan father and American mother, makes history after winning and being sworn as as 5th African-American senator in U.S. history. His ongoing and promising 2007 quest for the presidency of the U.S has further boosted his clout and position in the history of African-Americans and Africans all over the world. The Democrat said he's proud that he was able to win a race that focused on issues that are important to Illinois voters and that was run without negative ads. Obama crushed Republican Alan Keyes to become only the fifth Black U.S. senator in this country's history. Obama's star as a political heavyweight was on full display when he served as keynote speaker at the Democratic National 2004 convention. The son of an African student immigrant from Kenya and a white woman from Kansas, he was raised in Hawaii and Indonesia, became the first Black president/editor of the prestigious Harvard Law Review and ended up teaching constitutional law at the University of Chicago.

The race was the nation's first Senate contest between two Black candidates (the other being the flippant Republican Alan Keyes). Obama will replace Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald, R-Ill., who declined to run for a second term. Obama, a 43-year-old liberal state senator from Chicago, catapulted to political prominence with a stirring keynote address at the Democratic National Convention. The speech, like his entire campaign, urged people to put aside their differences to help improve America. He offered his own life as an example of what can be achieved by bridging differences. Obama, a Democrat, took the stage at a Chicago hotel and thanked his family and supporters for all they've done to get him elected.
Report by USAfricaonline.com and NBC 5 Chicago. A special commentary on Obama's election appears in CLASS magazine November 2004 Vol. 2.5

Political tension has been rising in Zambia over the process of adopting a new constitution with Mwanawasa accused of bulldozing the exercise without consulting major players. The draft constitution calls for reducing the powers of the president, which Mwanawasa has refused to accept. (AFP).

Judges for the prize were American author and Princeton University professor Elaine Showalter; South African writer and 1991 Nobel Prize for Literature winner Nadine Gordimer; and Irish author Colm Tóibin. In her comment on the prize, Gordimer said, "Chinua Achebe's early work made him the father of modern African literature as an integral part of world literature." Tóibin said, "Chinua Achebe has been one of my heroes since I read his book Things Fall Apart." The Man Booker International Prize can be won by a living author of any nationality, as long as his or her work is available in English. It is given for a body of work rather than one book and is different from the Man Booker Prize. It was first awarded in 2005 to the Albanian writer Ismail Kadaré. NY Newsday/June 13, 2007

It is our view that these transactions are shady and faulty on several fronts. One, they were not conducted by the BPE and apparently did not follow due process by not conforming to competitive open bidding. Secondly, these assets were grossly undervalued. Thirdly, all the stakeholders (employees, creditors and minority shareholders) were not consulted before the transactions were consummated. We wish to highlight a roll call of these transactions as follows:

-- The Port Harcourt Refinery was sold to Blue Star Oil at the cost of $561 million. Blue Star is a subsidiary of Dangote Group of Companies, an organization owned by one of the biggest financiers of the ruling party the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The Chairman of Zenon Oil, Mr. Femi Otedola (son of a past governor of Lagos State), is another big financier of the ruling PDP.

-- The Onigbolo Cement Company was grabbed by the Dangote Group at a ridiculous sum of $1.78 billion.....Click here for full report intervention, it's a long-term project," says Karim Dahou, an advisor to the Paris-based Africa Partnership Forum.

Ms. GERTHA WILLIAMS got the USAfrica Community Health Leadership award; Mrs. CAROLINE OKPARA got the USAfrica Community Business Leadership award while Madam MONICA AZUBIKE bagged the USAfrica Mother of the Year honor for 2007. The awards were primarily presented by Senator Eze Ajoku, Dr. & Mrs. Vincent Nwabeke, USAfrica's Founder Chido Nwangwu, Nze & Dr, Mrs. Chinyere Agi, Edith Okere-Ejiogu, event master of ceremonies was Dr. Chris Ulasi; outstanding DJ for the evening was OJ Jammin' Juice. Event co-sponsor was Moneygram.

CLASS magazine, USAfrica and USAfricaonline.com (characterized by The New York Times as the largest and most influential African-owned, U.S-based multimedia networks). USAfrica was founded in May 2002, in Houston, Texas by television broadcaster and multimedia media executive Chido Nwangwu. Contact e-mail: Class@Classmagazine.tv . USAfrica mailing address: . 8303 SW Freeway, Suite 100, Houston, Texas 77074. Phone: 713-270-5500. Cell direct: 832-45-CHIDO (24436)

"President Obasanjo has had the opportunity to rule Nigeria for three years (1976-79) as an unelected military dictator and later for two terms of eight years as a retired general/civilian (1999-2007). People don't exactly remember what Obasanjo did in his first civilian incarnation. His second coming, however, was a different matter. He unfolded a gigantic scheme for staying in power beyond his tenure. He set up agencies with long titles like the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent National Electoral Commission. It soon became clear, however, that these devices were not intended to curb the crimes they enumerated but to go after people who disagree with the President, especially on his desire to extend his tenure."

"Perhaps the strangest of these events took place in my own state, Anambra, where a governor was kidnapped by a criminal gang who claimed that they had 'fixed' the election and earned the right to receive the state budgetary allocation.

"Whatever the merit of this bizarre story the governor refused to turn over the allocation to these thieves and began to spend it on building roads and bridges which nobody had done in decades. He began to pay pension to retired civil servants who had not been paid in years. Anambra State was transformed overnight. No where else in Nigeria had such a change happened. Governor Ngige became the people's governor."Also, see AchebeBooks.com

"I have told this story again although we all know it. I am retelling it because as it goes with Anambra, so will it go with Nigeria. As Nigeria gets ready for the election of Governors, Anambra State is in a quandary. President Obasanjo's hatchet man for elections is determined that only one candidate will be allowed to run in the state and has gone ahead to disqualify everybody else so that the President's favourite man will be alone in the field. If this plan goes through, it would amount to nothing less than the disenfranchisement of the people of Anambra State."

"I must congratulate the Judiciary on the tough battle many of its members are waging for the soul of Nigeria. The Senate came ever so close to snatching Nigeria out of the fire, and then... That was a historic moment lost. What a pity."

But he INEC chairman has stated in an interview with USAfrica and CLASSmagazine that the elections will be free and fair. The excerpts of this exclusive interview appear here at USAfricaonline.com. Only in a few days through this April 2007, the Obasanjo government's position will be tested by the turn out and assessments by voters and observers.

In comparison, while Liberia's Madam President Sirleaf represents the manifestation of the triumph of popular constitutional methods and emerging institutional democratic values in Africa, retired General Obasanjo's imperious, know-it-all, emerging project for a sit-tight  presidency in Nigeria remind us all of the 1970s old Africa where constitution-tweaking soldiers (his colleagues) and power drunks  funnily believed their country's sun rose and shone at their hideous and idiosyncratic say-so. We won't go back there; no; not now that we  have the great Nelson Mandela as our icon, historical benchmark and reference point. Obasanjo makes it difficult for Obasanjo to be a statesman; no doubt, he's a regional leader.

As a specialist on US. and Africa public policy and cultural issues, here are things I'll suggest President Bush tell President Obasanjo, in a short, sweet but realistic summary: Full commentary here

TIAD has also announced that its team is already in Nigeria as part of the international observers for the April 2007 elections. In their report published by USAfricaonline.com and CLASSmagazine they note among other things that: "The INEC voter registration effort was initially hindered by Direct Data Capture machines from foreign vendors, which failed to perform in the field as expected. The resilient INEC used laptops with web cameras and fingerprinting capacity to continue the voter registration. This exercise as completed, should improve the credibility of the election results." TIAD concludes that from "our observations on the ground and in meetings with election officials at various locations revealed a vigorous and innovative voter registration effort." Click here for full report

Special to USAfrica, USAfricaonline.com, CLASS magazine

Former South African president Nelson Mandela hailed talk show host Oprah Winfrey as a benefactor to the disadvantaged as she opened a girls' school near Johannesburg on Tuesday, January 2, 2007.

The Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls in Henley-on-Klip, South Africa, was built with a $40-million US donation by Winfrey. Winfrey took a hand in every stage of the school's development, from design of the campus to selection of the 152 students. "I wanted to give this opportunity to girls who had a light so bright that not even poverty could dim that light," Winfrey said.

The opening was attended by singers Tina Turner, Mary J. Blige and Mariah Carey, actors Sidney Poitier, Chris Rock, and Chris Tucker, director Spike Lee and former president Nelson Mandela. Winfrey promised Mandela six years ago that she would create the school. In pix, U.S. talk show host Oprah Winfrey and students at her Leadership Academy for Girls cut the ribbon to open the school (Denis Farell/Associated Press).

"This is a lady that has, despite her own disadvantaged background, become one of the benefactors of the disadvantaged throughout the world," Mandela said.

Winfrey said she hoped she could "change the face of a nation" by offering a quality education to girls who are raised in poverty. Winfrey made a promise to build the school six years ago to Nelson Mandela, former president of South Africa, shown here in 2003. In remarks at the gala opening, she referred frequently to her own disadvantaged background. "I was a poor girl who grew up with my grandmother, like so many of these girls, with no water and electricity," said the host of the influential Oprah Winfrey Show. She said she planned a second school for boys and girls in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal.

Special to USAfrica, USAfricaonline.com, CLASS magazine and IgboEvents, My first essay for 2007 on our flagship website, USAfricaonline.com, is, deservedly, going in honor of a woman of substance, an amazon, a pioneer and pillar of our community. Chief Mrs. Oyibo Odinamadu, born January 2, 1928, has been an examplary mother to many, a role model for even more and a tireless fighter for human rights and education as a critical tool of empowerment of women and families. 

She is the first woman to be chosen as vice presidential candidate in Nigeria's history (1978-1979) of a major political party in Nigeria, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN).

As a chronicler of history and recent African immigrant experience here in America, proudly and happily, I bear testimony to the fact that the grand dame Oyibo Odinamadu remains one of Africa's foremost daughters, a progressive member of humankind, a committed mother and grandmother, author, thinker and strategist, a human being of uncommon courage and a distinguished professional and community builder.

We are blessed as a community to have someone like her. She is also the founder of the Oyibo Odinamadu Foundation, dedicated to the issues of the denial of fundamental human rights of women and children, especially to the girl-child and widows. Full tribute , click here

The foundation established 6 years by international soccer star Kanu Nwankwo helps children with defective hearts live longer by offering them free heart surgeries abroad. MoneyGram's Country Director in Nigeria, Joke Giwa, presented the donation to KHF Coordinator, Onyebuchi Abia. Giwa commended KHF for its mission to help so many needy Nigerian families with children with heart problems.

The foundation has provided open-heart surgeries for 254 children, and 2,000 are still on the waiting list. Abia called on other companies to emulate the kind gesture of MoneyGram by donating to KHF so many more children with defective hearts could be given a chance to live longer and more productive lives. Click here for more reports

The support is nothing even close to the type of concern that we have shown to the victims of the recent Tsunami in South Eastern Asia. We have sent two former presidents as a show of support and concern along with the promise of billions of dollars of aid. By Rufus G.W Sanders, Ph.D, contributing editor of USAfricaonline.com and a Suffragan Bishop in the Pentecostal Assemblies of the world, is the founder and the pastor of the Emmanuel Temple church in Sandusky, Ohio.

The presidential hand in this (Oyo State) affair is blatant. Obasanjo has openly endorsed violence as a means of governance, embraced and empowered individuals whose avowed declarations, confessions and acts are cynically contrary to the democratic mandate that alone upholds the legitimacy and dignity of his office.

Let me repeat this: the contempt of President Obasanjo for the demands for a democratic self-realisation by the electorate is no longer in doubt, and can be proved, chapter and verse - from Anambra to Oyo.... We are confronted by a mind that has gone awry, a mind that is subject to no order except that of the crudest, most despotic notions of dominance in a primitive society. Nigeria is not a primitive or private fiefdom. It is governed by law.

The respectful 'Baba' accolade has turned to be yet another Baabuism, mimics the culture of the 'dons,' literally actualised by Obasanjo as that of a Mafia godfather whose hand you either bow and kiss, or receive the kiss of death." Full text here

Okereke-Onyuike told the House Committee on Capital Markets that the president had subscribed to the shares of the company when it was established. Even though she did not specify the amount of shares held by the president, her revelation confirmed media reports that the president owns between 200million to 600million shares in Transcorp.....

The organization established that not only is there fierce competition for major contracts in the region, but the need for multiple approvals and permits that leaves the process open to abuse. The TI report adds that between US$3 trillion and US$4 trillion are spent on construction procurement annually and TI estimates that about 10% of the total is wasted through bribery and corruption. By Jumah Ssenyonga & Henry M. Lule, The New Times (Kigali)

The logo for the 2010 World Cup shows a silhouette of a soccer player kicking a ball with a background the colors of South Africa's flag. Mr. Mbeki said the drawing of the soccer player was inspired by rock paintings in his country.

Their findings appear in the latest issue of the journal Science. "We're 25 years into this pandemic," Dr. Hahn said. "We don't have a cure. We don't have a vaccine. But we know where it came from. At least we can make a check mark on one of those." But finding the source was dirty work since the researchers had to track the chimps and then collect 1,300 samples of their feces for genetic analysis. The study has been going on for a decade. It took them seven years to create a genetic tool that could help in the analysis.

Kinshasa is in the Democratic Republic of Congo, formerly Zaire and faces Brazzaville in Congo, across the Congo River. Uganda's first AIDS cases were identified in 1982 with a prevalence rate hitting 9% in 1988. Currently, there are 1.4m people estimated to be infected with HIV. Of these, 170,000 are in urgent need of anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs).

Dr. Sam Okware, a commissioner in the ministry of health, said the chimp story was not new. "That is an old story. Since the identification of HIV, that story has been around," Okware said. Studies have traced HIV to a man who gave a blood sample in 1959 in Kinshasa, then called Leopoldville. Later analysis found the virus that leads to AIDS. In people, HIV leads to AIDS but chimps get a version called simian immune deficiency virus (SIV) that causes them no harm. Humans are the only animals naturally susceptible to HIV. FULL report here.

Many Nigerians still feel disappointed that a man (Obasanjo) who had gained so much from Nigeria would cling so tightly to power, even against the popular will of the people, moreso with age, energy and fresh ideas for a new era not on his side.

Also, USAfricaonline.com review of Nigeria's recent history show that President Obasanjo seems to be moving rapidly into the zone of ill-repute of his former military colleagues who, like him, refused to leave office when it was time to go. Gen. yakubu Gowon in 1975; Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in 1993; Gen. Sani Abacha in1995, 1996, 1997, 1998. More baffling many Nigerians we interviewed recall is the lessons of the excesses of the late Gen. Abach who jailed Obasanjo while the former schemed to remain in power. For the special report by USAfrica multimedia networks' Publisher Chido Nwangwu, click on 3rd term.

Obasanjo, who was on a visit to France as the lawmakers took the decision, has never stated he wants to run again when his second, four-year term comes to an end in 2007. But he has hinted he would like to complete economic and political reforms he has initiated. However, many Nigerians believe he is behind a powerful campaign by his supporters to prolong his rule. Six months must now elapse before the bill can be re-presented to the Senate, if Obsanjo's third term supporters wish to.
Obasanjo's current 2nd tenure (8 years in office) will end on May 29, 2007.

Meningitis can kill a child in six hours and millions of people in Africa are at risk. On March 30, 2007, GlaxoSmithKline started the registration process for a vaccine to protect them. Globorix cost more than 200 million pounds ($485.3 million) to develop, but will only be sold and used in Africa. Some critics say Globorix should be available more widely. Others point out there are 12 big pharmaceutical firms worldwide, but only four have centres specialising in diseases like TB, malaria and HIV.

Idriss Deby also said he would expel all 200,000 Sudanese refugees now living in Chad by June 30 if the United Nations and the African Union did not help stop what he said were Sudan's attempts to destabilise his government. A spokesman for the Sudanese embassy in N'djamena said that they had not received any official communication on the decision and had only heard of it through the media. Deby has repeatedly portrayed the rebels attempting to overthrow him as mercenaries employed by Sudan, something Sudanese officials have denied.

The Sudanese are accused of unleashing Arab tribal militias to murder and rape civilians and lay waste to villages in Darfur. More than 200,000 refugees have fled to Chad and the conflict has left about 180,000 dead over the last three years. (04/14/2006)

On Wednesday April 7, 2004, Rwandan President Paul Kagame pinned the country's darkness during the 1994 genocide on the international community and the United Nations in the 10th anniversary of the tragedy. He pinned the cause of the genocide on Western countries, namely Belgium, Britain and the United States that withdrew their forces when they were badly needed. "Injustice of powerful nations should be stopped. Rwanda shouldbe a good example to learn a lesson," the president said.
Also, the retired General Romeo Dallaire of Canada, former commander of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Rwanda (UNMIR), has said that the 1994 genocide in Rwanda could have been stopped if the international community had shown their political will. In an interview with Xinhua in Kigali, where commemoration events are being organized for the 10th anniversary of the genocide, Dallaire expressed his disappointment with the world leaders over their inaction during those horrible days. Dallaire, who led the UN peacekeeping force in Rwanda from October 1993 to August 1994, was invited to the International Conference on Genocide and the April 7 public ceremony, also known as National Reflection, at the Kigali National Stadium.

On her second trip to Africa, Mrs. Bush is joining Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to attend the inauguration of President-elect Ellen Johnson Sirleaf who has called on women to help govern other African nations.

"I think it's really important worldwide," Mrs. Bush said about Sirleaf's inauguration, which falls on the day Americans honor civil rights icon, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. "I think it's particularly important on the continent of Africa, because traditionally women have been excluded in many African cultures not all of them, but in many." Full report by Deb Reichmann in Monrovia/AP here.

Final results gave the ex-guerrilla leader 59 percent of votes, compared with 37 percent for his former doctor and main rival, Kizza Besigye of the Forum for Democratic Change (FDC). Details here

MUSIC and LIFE: Ali Farka Toure, Africa's most famous performer of Mali Blues and two-time Grammy Award winner Ali Toure, died Tuesday March 7, 2006, in his native Mali after a long illness.

Toure, one of the original progenitors of a genre known as Mail Blues, played a traditional Malian stringed instrument called the gurke. He was best-known overseas for his 1995 collaboration with American guitarist Ry Cooder on "Talking Timbuktu," which netted him his first of two Grammys. He won another Grammy this year in the traditional world music album category for his "In the Heart of the Moon" album, performed with fellow Malian Toumani Diabate. Toure was born in 1939 in the northern Sahara Desert trading post of Timbuktu. Like many Africans of his generation, the exact date of his birth was not recorded. By Almahady Cissse/AP

3 Ways to reduce your Taxe$ in 2006. by William Perez

1) Bill Clinton, Bill Gates for  2006 Pan Africa show

2) Cross River Gov. Donald Duke's Eco-tourism projects and cable cars. 

Exclusive  interview with Gov. Duke at the Government House in Calabar by USAfrica and CLASS magazine Publisher Chido Nwangwu, Obinwa Nnaji and Agbo Agara

3) President Obasanjo endorses, commissions Tinapa's multibillion-naira project

4) Senate President Nnamani hosted in Houston by Nkanu community, friends

5) The Authoritative Link

6) Maryland-based Oge and Osita Irono: Serenade in Florida

7) Nelly and Henry Ehigie: California's Wedding of the year 2005 in San Jose

8) Dr. Chika & Lolo Ada Okoro's 25th Wedding Anniversary rocks Los Angeles

9) Sir Kelly & Lady Mary Azuike's 25th Wedding Anniversary bash at Obudu

10) Dr. Kingsley & Mrs. Emilia Asumugha's majestic 25th Wedding Anniversary

11) Dr. Alphonsus and Lolo Okwy Okpara's 20 years of marital bliss....

12) Otu Umunne Atlanta boosts African heritage

13) Okwesilieze USA holds end of year banquet, gives away car...

14) Ezeakonobi Akubue's family hosts child dedication event in Lagos 

15) Profile: Rev Sam Okenwa

16) Ify Onochie/Class Atlanta: Caring for your skin during the Cold season

17) Jennifer Eze turns 18

USA Asset Group; Victory Mortgage and Financial; Theresa Omeludike (Attorney); Odunze Anassi (Attorneys); Newark Museum; Dover Hotel Lagos; Julies Fashion Atlanta; ENC Touch of Class , etc

. When a once-in-a-century natural disaster swept away the lives of more than 100,000 poor Asians last December, the developed world opened its hearts and its checkbooks. Yet when it comes to Africa, where hundreds of thousands of poor men, women and children die needlessly each year from preventable diseases, or unnatural disasters like civil wars, much of the developed world seems to have a heart of stone.

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"The United States is willing, under the duty-free, quota-free commitments we will make, to provide duty-free access to cotton from these West African countries," he said. "You heard it first here. That's the commitment that we're willing to make." Talks have been deadlocked largely over the issue of subsidies and other support that rich countries give their farmers. Developing nations in Africa and Latin America complain these supports make it hard for their farmers to compete. However, one diplomat from Benin said Thursday that the problem with cotton trade was not duties but rather U.S. farm subsidies, which make West African cotton uncompetitive. By Luis Ramirez/VOA

Azikiwe and Achebe.

Zik of Africa: Statesman, Intellectual and Titan of African politics. November 16, 2005 in what could have been his 101st birthday,  may I make this toast to our father, the great and unmatched one. Here, to:

The Zik of Africa, master of crafty political game-plans, member of a thousand learned associations, eminent alumnus of Howard, Michigan State, Pennsylvania, and Lincoln Universities, founder of University of Nigeria, Nsukka (my alma mater), father of generations, inimitable wordsmith of euphonious diction and oratorical elegance, poet and politician, statesman and living legend, I thank for illuminating my mind, our collective mind.

Even after 101 years, your lineage and works endure. On this your 101st birth date, I rise, again, to propose a toast that  in another 101 years to come,  that the son of my  now 46 months old son Chido Nwangwu II,  (born Feb 12, 2001) by His grace, Chido Nwangwu III,  will also rise to toast to honor you, Zik of Africa, for the plenitude of roles and assorted inspirations you brought to all of us. They will rise to toast to Zik of Africa, as the man who saw tomorrow. Nna anyi  Owelle, nwa Eze Chima, ndeewo!!!
By Chido Nwangwu

But he added that he felt it was important not to "lose sight of the need for our mother tongue." "I hope I have shown it is possible to show respect to English and Igbo together. Chinua Achebe added that "The situation may well develop in the future, in which the different languages of Africa will begin to reassert themselves," he added. "I have made provision for that myself, by writing certain kinds of material in Igbo. For instance, I will insist my poetry is translated back into Igbo while I'm still around."

. Rosa Parks, the black seamstress whose refusal to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus to a white man sparked a revolution in American race relations, died on Monday October 24, 2005. The U.S. civil rights pioneer was 92.

The cause of death was not immediately known. Sen. Edward Kennedy, a Massachusetts Democrat, said in a statement: "The nation lost a courageous woman and a true American hero. A half century ago, Rosa Parks stood up not only for herself, but for generations upon generations of Americans." "We are saddened by the passing of Rosa Parks. We rejoice in her legacy, which will never die. In many ways, history is marked as before, and after, Rosa Parks," said civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. "She sat down in order that we all might stand up, and the walls of segregation came down." Reuters

Race and the Hurricane: Howard Dean, Kanye West and Laura Bush disagree on Bush's treatment of Blacks, poor in Katrina's aftermath. U.S. Democratic party leader tells Baptists that U.S. must face the racial "ugly truth" about deaths in Gulf region. Race was a factor in the rising death toll from Hurricane Katrina, Howard Dean told members of the National Baptist Convention of America on Wednesday at the group's annual meeting. Dean, Democratic Party chairman, made the comments to the Baptists' Political and Social Justice Commission. The Baptist Convention has an estimated 3.5 million members representing 3,000 churches and is one of the largest black religious groups in the country. "We must . . . come to terms with the ugly truth that skin color, age and economics played a deadly role in who survived and who did not," Dean said. Dean said Americans have a moral responsibility to not ignore the devastating effects of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina when it struck the Gulf Coast. The former presidential candidate said the government will be judged on how it treats the old, the young and the poor. "People are poor in different parts of the country. They are not refugees. They are Americans," he said. Dean said that instead of considering proposed estate tax breaks, the Senate should channel the $760 billion savings into disaster relief funds. "Shall we give that to the wealthiest people in the country, or should we rebuild New Orleans?" Dean said. Kanye, America's young hip-hop icon, said during a tv telethon that Bush does not care about Blacks. Bush's wife, Laura, said in a radio interview that Dean and Kanye's views of her husband are "disgusting."

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PERSPECTIVE:

More than two million people have been forced from their homes. Human rights groups, the US Congress and the US government say that genocide is taking place. However, a UN team sent to Sudan to investigate concluded that war crimes had been committed, but there had been no intent to commit genocide by the Sudanese government. The UN secretary general was heavily criticised at the time of the Rwandan genocide for failing to take heed of warnings from his staff on the ground.

In the case of Darfur, Mr Annan has made a point of continuing to demand international action and his comments in an interview for the BBC's Panorama programme are the strongest yet, says the BBC's Fergal Keane. Asked by our correspondent whether the judgment on Darfur would be as damning as in the case of Rwanda, Mr Annan replied: "Quite likely". Darfur has become the first case referred by the UN Security Council to the International Criminal Court.

"While Nigeria's leaders are locked in a bad marriage that all dislike but dare not leave, there are possibilities that could disrupt the precarious equilibrium in Abuja," said the report, which was given to the press by Nigerian lawmakers....Click for report on In 15 years: Nigeria could collapse....

An earlier anti-terror exercise with a budget of just $6 million focused on troop training in four west African nations. The new campaign will target nine north and west African nations and seek to bolster regional cooperation Analysts were waiting to see if the program would be fully funded &emdash; but said the intended budgetary increase shows the United States is taking West Africa more seriously.

The 39-year-old is due to be sworn in today and will succeed his father, Gnassingbe Eyadema, who died in February after ruling Togo for almost four decades. Security was tightened in Lome ahead of the results, with extra troops patrolling the streets and manning junctions. Market traders and shopkeepers closed earlier than usual and there was less traffic on the roads, as people worried about a repeat of the urban warfare that erupted within minutes of Gnassingbe's provisional victory being announced exactly a week ago.

With scores dead and hundreds injured during last week's pitched battles between opposition activists and security forces, thousands of Togolese people continued to flock to the safety of neighbouring countries, scared that another wave of riots and military crackdowns might follow Gnassingbe's confirmation.

. When a once-in-a-century natural disaster swept away the lives of more than 100,000 poor Asians last December, the developed world opened its hearts and its checkbooks. Yet when it comes to Africa, where hundreds of thousands of poor men, women and children die needlessly each year from preventable diseases, or unnatural disasters like civil wars, much of the developed world seems to have a heart of stone.

Not every African state is failing. Most are not. But the continent's most troubled regions - including Somalia and Sudan in the east, Congo in the center, Zimbabwe in the south and Ivory Coast, Liberia and Sierra Leone in the west - challenge not only our common humanity, but global security as well. The lethal combination of corrupt or destructive leaders, porous and unmonitored borders and rootless or hopeless young men has made some of these regions incubators of international terrorism and contagious diseases like AIDS. Others are sanctuaries for swindlers and drug traffickers whose victims can be found throughout the world. In many of these places, poverty and unemployment and the desperation they spawn leave young men vulnerable to the lure of terrorist organizations, which, beyond offering two meals a day, also provide a target to vent their anger at rich societies, which they are led to believe view them with condescension and treat them with contempt. Training camps for Islamic extremists are now thought to be sprouting like anthills on the savanna.... One hundred years ago, before we had the medical know-how to eradicate these illnesses, this might have been acceptable. But we are the first generation able to afford to end poverty and the diseases it spawns. It's past time we step up to the plate. We are all responsible for choosing to view the tsunami victims in Southeast Asia as more deserving of our help than the malaria victims in Africa. Jeffrey Sachs, the economist who heads the United Nations' Millennium Development Project to end global poverty, rightly takes issue with the press in his book "The End of Poverty": "Every morning," Mr. Sachs writes, "our newspapers could report, 'More than 20,000 people perished yesterday of extreme poverty.' "

So, on this page, we'd like to make a first step. Yesterday, more than 20,000 people perished of extreme poverty. Click here for full text

Special to USAfrica The Newspaper, Houston
USAfricaonline.com and CLASS magazine

According to doctor's finding, one of my kidneys was outrightly not functioning, while the other one has stone impediment. It was also found out that my PVC or blood level was usually very low fluctuating between 15 and 16 %. Based on this disturbing revelation, a medical suggestion was made that I go for an urological operation, preferably overseas, where the blood building hormone around the kidney would be restored through operation. In the interim , I was placed under erotroprotein injection, an injection capable of creating the blood building hormone.

But that too is not the end of this sad story: how about the complications? I was also diagnosed to be hypertensive and diabetic as well. The crucial question became , which one led to the other? The crises point came when I began to swell: Oedema they call it in medical terms. This time around , my very little frame had become so bloated that I could even feel the heaviness and expansion on my head. A more disturbing one became an oedemal growth in my scrotum, which its disturbing pain and discomfort affected my walking....

My doctors estimate that a sum of 5 million naira is needed to fly him overseas, where an operation will be performed on him at the Brigham and Women Hospital, Boston Massachusetts.

This is a whopping sum of money and too much for a poor journalist to provide. Please don't let me die; and from here I draw you all to my song of sorrow: 
Don't let me die;
a cockerel at mid life....

USAfricaonline.com, the first African-owned, U.S.-based professional newspaper to be published on the internet, contains excerpts from USAfrica The Newspaper and other content written exclusively for this web site. USAfrica The Newspaper, published since May 11, 1994 on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of every month, is the highest-circulation newspaper serving the rapidly growing, vibrant community and business demographic mix of immigrant Africans, African-Americans and other Americans.