Month: February 2019

African Politics, Politics

Senegal’s President Macky Sall wins second term

Senegalese President Macky Sall easily won a second term without the need for a runoff, election officials announced Thursday in the West African country.

The four opposition candidates said they would not pursue a legal challenge, ending days of uncertainty in this democracy long known for its peaceful transfers of power. Earlier in the week the opposition had denied unofficial reports that Sall won an outright majority, and they told their supporters to prepare for a second round.

The joint statement released Thursday afternoon by the opposition said that while they firmly rejected the outcome, “we will not be taking any recourse at the constitutional council.”

The incumbent leader received 58.3 percent of the vote, according to Judge Demba Kandji, president of the commission tasked with releasing the election results. Provisional results show that top opposition candidate Idrissa Seck took 20.5 percent of the vote while Ousmane Sonko had 15.7 percent.

Continue reading “Senegal’s President Macky Sall wins second term” →

Uncategorized

Africa’s richest man makes a $17 billion bid for immortality

By Tom Metcalf and Devon Pendleton

The best way to appreciate the scale of Aliko Dangote’s empire is to hitch a ride on one of his private jets. A half-hour after his Bombardier Challenger 605 takes off from Lagos Airport, it descends into a seemingly desolate area of Kogi State in central Nigeria, dusty fields and clusters of trees stretching to the horizon. Suddenly a tangle of exhaust stacks, silos, and kilns pierces the sky to the left of the aircraft as Dangote Cement Plc’s Obajana plant comes into view. It’s already the biggest in Africa, churning out enough sacks of cement to fill 1,000 trucks a day. A fifth production line now under construction will make it one of the world’s largest.

The cement plant and its two sister factories in Nigeria have long been the bedrock of Dangote’s fortune, Africa’s biggest. But Dangote’s future—and, as he likes to say, that of the entire continent’s economy—lies to the south on the Nigerian coast. About 40 miles east of Lagos, on more than 6,700 acres of former swampland bound by a lagoon and the Atlantic Ocean, contractors are putting the finishing touches on a fertilizer plant valued at $5 billion. Next to it, construction of a vast oil refinery—a $12 billion project—is under way.

If all goes according to plan, the complex will immortalize the 61-year-old Nigerian businessman as Africa’s most prominent industrialist, vaulting Dangote Industries’ annual revenue from $4 billion to about $30 billion, roughly 8 percent of Nigeria’s gross domestic product. Oil industry experts such as London-based CITAC have questioned the project’s timeline, citing logistical and financial challenges. But Dangote insists the refinery, which will be Africa’s largest, is on track.

“By 2020 I will finally dispatch oil,” he says during a January interview at his Lagos home. Continue reading “Africa’s richest man makes a $17 billion bid for immortality” →

African Politics, Opinion

America needs to vote more like Senegal

By Serena Piervincenzi,

There are so many things that I miss about Senegal. I miss waking up every morning to the sounds of goats, I miss being called by my Senegalese name, Ayisha,  I miss my adopted family, but more than anything, and perhaps most surprisingly, I miss the political attitude of Senegal as a country.

Senegal is a small country in West Africa, neighboring Mali and Gambia. They gained their independence from France, peacefully, on April 4, 1960. Since then, Senegal has remained one of the most successful, West- African countries. They function as a democracy, not unlike ours and, like us, some of their most important accomplishments have been spearheaded by their youth.

Prior to Senegal’s February 2012 presidential election, Abdoulaye Wade announced his plan to run for a constitutionally questionable third term. This did not sit well with many Senegalese people who believed that instating a third term for Wade would bring them closer to the kind of authoritarian rule that the current Senegalese constitution prohibits. Wade’s candidacy led to protests, organized and attended primarily by youth.

Several of these protests led to deadly encounters between protesters and police.

After losing the election to the opposition candidate Macky Sall, Wade quickly accepted defeat, and Senegal had yet another peaceful transfer of power. Continue reading “America needs to vote more like Senegal” →

Uncategorized

Somali native gives up American life for military service in his birth nation

It surfaced during his childhood in a typical American suburb setting replete with friends, video games and extracurricular sports.

It lingered in high school with a growing comprehension of his good fortune and a burgeoning understanding of world affairs.

It persisted as he entrenched himself in study at the University of Southern Maine and further gained a sense of what would give life purpose in his adult years.

African-born Mohamed Yusuf Mohamed had nurtured constant suppositions about his fate had his family not immigrated to this country from war-torn Somalia in 1990.

Continue reading “Somali native gives up American life for military service in his birth nation” →

Uncategorized

Comedian Kevin Hart Reaches Out To Young Nigerian Artist Who Drew Him

American comedian and actor, Kevin Hart has reached out to a young Nigerian artist who posted a drawing of him on Twitter.

The power of social media yeah?

The Kaduna-based artist, Eli Waduba Yusuf had posted the drawing two days ago, February 25, 2019, and asked users to retweet till it gets to Hart and it did.

Yusuf wrote that he is a hyperrealism pencil artist and will like to become like Arinze Egbengwu who is best known for creating hyperrealistic pencil drawings.

He wrote, on Twitter:

“My name is Eli Waduba Yusuf Am a Nigerian, based in Kaduna. Am a hyperrealism PENCIL Artist, I hope to become like . Please Retweet, let see it, thank you.”

Hart replied saying he has seen and will like to support him by paying him to do a pencil of three of his celebrity friends.

“I see it and I want to purchase it…I also want to support you and your amazing talent by giving you a fee to do a pencil drawing of 3 of my celebrity friends that I can gift it to. DM your info and let’s get to work!”

Read from source

African Politics

Sudanese American Physicians Association Call for Swift Action Against Sudan Regime

Sudanese American Physicians Association (SAPA) are calling for swift action against Sudan regime. They made this call on February 25, 2019 in a statement released to the media.

The association said for the ninth week in a row, Sudanese citizens have taken to the streets to peacefully protest the brutality and corruption of the dictatorial regime of Omer al-Bashir and seek freedom and justice under a new and democratically elected Sudanese government. al-Bashir has met these protests with unrestrained violence, including using live ammunition against defenseless and peaceful gatherings, breaking into homes and hospitals to assault and kill pro-democracy activists, and arresting political opponents on a massive scale.

Despite increasing international outcry, al-Bashir and the head of his security apparatus continue to threaten more bloodshed as protests continue to demand justice and an end to more than 30 years of tyrannical exploitation of the Sudanese people. Per Human Rights Watch 1, the death toll of innocent demonstrators has reached at least 51, a figure that does not include thousands more who have been assaulted or unjustly detained by the security forces.

Continue reading “Sudanese American Physicians Association Call for Swift Action Against Sudan Regime” →

African Politics, Politics

Buhari wins Nigerian Elections

Nigerian President Mohammadu Buhari has won the presidential elections that held on 23rd February, 2019.

Following the announcement of all the results from 36 states including the federal capital territory, by the Independent National Electoral Commission in Abuja, Buhari polled 15,191,847 vote.

The candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar polled 11,262,978 votes to come second.

Buhari won in 19 states while Atiku won in 17 states including FCT.

Get more details.

Education, Scholarships

Scholarship: Fulbright calls for applications from Nigerians in US

Applications have been called for the Fulbright Student Program available for Nigerian students. Two categories of grants are offered in the ARSP: research grants and program and curriculum development grants.

Funded by the U.S. Government, the Fulbright Programme aims at achieving mutual understanding through the academic and cultural exchange.

Fulbright scholarships will be awarded to applicants who demonstrate academic excellence, leadership qualities, and a commitment to improving cross-cultural relations through international exchange.

The program is open to several individual countries but the country announced in the report is for Nigerian students in the USA.

Get more details from source

Continue reading “Scholarship: Fulbright calls for applications from Nigerians in US” →

Culture

University of Maryland highlights diversity of African diaspora at Black Culture Expo

By Joy Saha

University of Maryland students hailing from as close as Baltimore and Washington D.C., and as far as Nigeria and Ghana, gathered in Stamp on Friday to acknowledge the contributions of various cultures of the black diaspora from Africa.

To celebrate Black History Month, the African Students’ Progressive Action Committee hosted the Black Cultural Expo to appreciate “the many different people that have connections to the African continent,” said the committee’s president Clydelle Agyei, a junior public health science major

“Our organization mainly focuses on African communities, but this time we wanted to broaden the spectrum,” said ASPAC co-vice president Karsten Dankyi, a junior neurobiology and physiology major.

“We wanted to do Africans, African Americans, Afro-Latinos. Just something that everyone could come and share and learn something in the process.The first half of the Expo featured five students showcasing their photography, painting, a cosmetic line and a clothing brand.

Isha Kamara, a junior theater major, displayed Iced Out Cosmetics, her personal cosmetic line that featured brightly colored lipsticks, collections of false eyelashes and a variety of bold facial glitters. For Kamara, her business is more than just makeup. It’s also meant to empower and represent both the black community and the queer community. Continue reading “University of Maryland highlights diversity of African diaspora at Black Culture Expo” →

Uncategorized

Lt. Jesse Iwuji, Nigerian-American Navy Officer and NASCAR driver to Make Las Vegas Speedway Debut

Las Vegas is known for their Air Force military presence – but this time there will be a new “wave” coming in town. U.S. Naval Academy graduate and U.S. Navy officer LT Jesse Iwuji will be making his first ever Las Vegas Motor Speedway start in the NASCAR Gander Outdoor Truck Series Race.

Iwuji will be the only current military member racing in NASCAR this weekend and will doing so with Reaume Bros Racing.

In all things Iwuji does, there are two constant elements: his love of country and his fighting spirit. He went from a D1A college football player to a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and is now claimed to be the only current driver in national level NASCAR who has ever been in the military.

Continue reading “Lt. Jesse Iwuji, Nigerian-American Navy Officer and NASCAR driver to Make Las Vegas Speedway Debut” →

Health

US organisation to embark on humanitarian clitoral restorative surgical mission in Kenya

The U.S. based humanitarian organization, Clitoraid, is launching its 2nd clitoral restorative surgical mission in Nairobi, Kenya, March 4 – 14, 2019 to help the victims of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) regain their dignity and sexual pleasure, thanks to a technique developed by a French urologist.

“According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 25% of the Kenyan female population has endured the horrific tradition of genital cutting though the practice is now illegal in Kenya,” explained Nadine Gary, Clitoraid Director of Operations.

The WHO estimates that 125 million women worldwide have had their genitals forcibly mutilated as babies or when they were toddlers or possibly as teenagers. This practice grossly violates the UNICEF Convention on the Right of the Child.

Clitoraid volunteer head-surgeon, Dr. Marci Bowers of San Francisco, USA, will co-lead the clitoral restorative medical procedure in partnership with Kenyan Dr. Adan Abdullahi affiliated with the Kenyan NGO, Garana.

“They will be assisted by local Kenyan doctors as well as MDs from the US, Canada and Australia,” said Gary.

Continue reading “US organisation to embark on humanitarian clitoral restorative surgical mission in Kenya” →

Uncategorized

African-American business delegation visits Ghanaian Osu community

A 16-MEMBER Black American business delegation arrived last Wednesday to a rousing traditional welcome by the Osu Traditional Stool.

The delegation was received by the Osu Alata Mantse, Nii Kwabena Bonne V, on behalf of the Osu Traditional Council.

Welcoming the delegation, Nii Bonne V said he believed that the business executives were coming back to their homeland 400 years after their ancestors had gone into captivity abroad.

The delegation is in the country at the invitation of the Ghana International Chamber of Commerce and Yoks Investments Ltd, a local private company.

Led by a business strategist and the President of the National Black MBA Association, Mr Jesse Tyson, the delegation is in the country to reconnect with their roots as part of the Year of Return.

The visit is also to afford the delegation the opportunity to explore possibilities and opportunities to connect with local businesses and also enter into partnerships with local businesses.

Read more from source

African Politics, Politics

Nigerian President Buhari takes early lead in elections

Nigerian President, Mohammadu Buhari, has taken an early lead in the presidential election which held on 23rd February.

The country’s electoral body started announcing the election results in Abuja today.

Out of 10 states announced so far, the president won seven. His closest rival, Atiku Abubakar of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, has won in three states. There are 26 more states to be announced

The European Union observer group has commended the election even though there were pockets of violence in some parts of Nigeria when elections held on Saturday.

The chair of the opposition, PDP Secondus has, however, raised queries about the credibility of electoral process.

Announcement of the results of the remaining 26 states is ongoing.

African Politics, Politics

Senegalese vote in Presidential elections

Senegalese voters headed to the polls Sunday for an election President Macky Sall is expected to win after strong economic growth in his first term, although rights groups criticize him for squeezing out rivals.

Senegal’s small fish-exporting economy expanded more than 6 percent last year, one of the highest rates in Africa, driven by an ambitious reform and development plan that included the construction of a new railway.

The 57-year-old told thousands gathered for his final rally in Dakar on Friday that he would deliver universal health care and better access to education in a second term.

Results due next month.

About 6.5 million people are registered to vote at polling stations that opened at 8 a.m. (0800 GMT) and close at 6 p.m. Official results are due Friday with a run-off for the top two March 24 if no one secures a majority.

Continue reading “Senegalese vote in Presidential elections” →

Awards

Egyptian-American Rami Malek wins Best Actor Oscar

Egyptians and Africans all over the world are celebrating over Rami Malek’s rapid rise to stardom and recognition at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles.

Rami Malek has won the Oscar for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Bohemian Rhapsody for his portrayal of late Queen frontman Freddie Mercury in the musical.

Malek is just the second actor of Arab descent nominated for an Oscar, after “Lawrence of Arabia” star Omar Sharif. Malek is the first to win.

He took a moment to thank the band Queen and acknowledged the extraordinary story of Mercury’s life.

In his acceptance speech he said:

“I am the son of immigrants from Egypt, a first-generation American. And part of my story is being written right now. And I could not be more grateful to each and every one of you, and everyone who believed in me for this moment. It’s something I will treasure for the rest of my life”

“

Sports

Ghanaian-American CJ Sapong joins MLS club Chicago Fire

The Chicago based club have announced the signing of the deadly goal poacher ahead of the new Major League Soccer season.

American-born of Ghanaian descent Charles ‘CJ’ Nana Kwabena Sapong has completed his move to MLS side Chicago Fire in the ongoing transfer window.

The 30-year-old has joined the Fire club for the 2019 season around a transfer fee of $200,000 with an option of renewal.He featured for Philadelphia Union last season where he netted four goals with three assists in 33 appearances.

“We also believe that he will increase our scoring capabilities. We’re looking forward to working with him this season.”

He was born to Ghanaian parents in USA.

 

African Politics, Politics

Party faithfuls in US congratulate Mahama over election as flag bearer of Ghana’s NDC

Ghanaians in the National Democratic Congress executives in the USA have congratulated John Mahama successful election as the flag bearer of the party.

The executives assured John Mahama a hundred percent support to ensure that wins power come 2020.

This comes after John Mahama polled 213,487 votes representing 95.23 percent of the total valid votes cast with the other six contenders managing with about 4 percent.

In a press statement, the executives said

“The NDC party has demonstrated civility and maturity in the face of all planned attempts to subvert and throw this election into disarray by the saboteurs who do not want anything good for the NDC.  The NDC USA stands prepared to work, campaign as hard as we can in aiding the NDC win victory in 2020.The future of our country looks brighter in the hands of H.E John Dramani Mahama, who has consistently demonstrated the knowledge and experience required to lead Ghana to prosperity”.

Below is the full statement:
Continue reading “Party faithfuls in US congratulate Mahama over election as flag bearer of Ghana’s NDC” →

African Politics, Politics

Nigeria votes for a new president after delay

Nigerians voted for a new president on Saturday after a week-long postponement that has raised political tempers, sparked conspiracy claims and stoked fears of violence. Delays in the delivery of some materials and deployment of staff force to the nearly 120,000 polling stations forced an extension to voting past a 2:00 pm (1300 GMT) cut-off.

Results are expected from early next week, with the winner gaining control of Africa’s most populous nation and leading oil producer for four years. President Muhammadu Buhari was one of the first to vote, and emerged from the polling booth in his home town of Daura, in the northwest state of Katsina, to say he was confident of victory.

“So far, so good,” he told reporters. “I will congratulate myself. I’m going to be the winner.” His main challenger, Atiku Abubakar, 72, voted in Yola, in the northeastern state of Adamawa Shortly before polls opened, one soldier was killed and 20 others injured as Boko Haramfighters tried to infiltrate the northeastern city of Maiduguri.

Continue reading “Nigeria votes for a new president after delay” →

Ancestry

ANCESTRY.COM releases new data for African diaspora to unearth their lineage

By Samara Lynn

Genealogical website Ancestry.com, has released 94 new and updated communities so that African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans can learn more about their roots.

Communities are part of the AncestryDNA test, which lets people from the African diaspora explore their heritage and how their ancestors migrated.

One of the new communities focuses on Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina African Americans. As per Ancestry:

“Members with this community may have ancestors that were enslaved and working on rice plantations in South Carolina and Georgia. When cotton fields came to the area in the late 1700s, many enslaved African Americans were brought to work those fields. Following the Civil War, the Great Depression, and World War II, many South Carolinians followed rail lines up North to New York and Philadelphia. This group was one of many communities that were part of the Great Migration–which was the movement of millions of African Americans during the 1900s from the South to cities in the North and West.”

Another new AncestryDNA community centers on Louisiana Creoles and African Americans. Interestingly, Ancestry’s research finds that by 1940 more than 18% of African Americans in the Bay Area were from Louisiana.

Continue reading “ANCESTRY.COM releases new data for African diaspora to unearth their lineage” →

Education, Opinion

UC Berkeley needs to support African language programs

By Martha Saavedra and Leonardo Arriola

Every semester, UC Berkeley offers many new courses. The Amharic language course offered this spring is especially noteworthy. Except for a brief pilot program in 2006, this is the first semester students are able to take a course in Amharic, one of the languages of Ethiopia, which is spoken by nearly 26 million people worldwide. The course, which only opened for enrollment the week before the spring semester, was nearly full by the end of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, just before classes started.

Clearly, there was a pent-up demand for this language. Student motivations include plans for research, study, travel and work, as well as deepening cultural and familial connections. Amharic stands out as a new course at UC Berkeley with many motivated students.

Students studying African languages at UC Berkeley — currently, Arabic, Amharic, Chichewa and Swahili — are poised to participate in one of the most significant global developments unfolding in the 21st century: the increasing importance of Africa demographically, economically, socially and culturally.

Africa currently constitutes about 17 percent of the world’s population. It is the youngest continent in the world, and the youth population is only increasing. Significantly, this means that the world’s working age population will be largely African. Economically, overall growth rates on the continent are relatively high, with the International Monetary Fund reporting 3.76 percent real GDP growth. Ethiopia’s rate is an extraordinary 8.49 percent.

Continue reading “UC Berkeley needs to support African language programs” →

Ancestry

I’m a prince’: An American pastor shocked to find he has African royal ties

It was about 4am when his phone buzzed with a message from far away. He read it once, twice, three times before he woke his wife to tell her the news.

“I’m a prince,” he whispered as she blinked herself awake. “A prince.”

Jay Speights, an interfaith pastor from Maryland, US, could hardly believe the words as he formed them in his mouth. Him? A prince? He grew up in New Jersey. He lives in an apartment. He does not even own a car.

Speights, 66, had spent much of his life wondering about his forebears, probing public records until the trail went cold. Like many black Americans who are descendants of slaves, Speights could find little written evidence of his family’s history. In April, he turned to a DNA test from Ancestry in the hope that something, somewhere might turn up.

He was identified as the distant cousin of a man named Houanlokonon Deka – a descendant of a royal line in Benin, a small nation that once housed West Africa’s biggest slave port. At the urging of a friend, he ran his DNA data through another database that looks for matches between African Americans and Africans who have taken such tests.
Continue reading “I’m a prince’: An American pastor shocked to find he has African royal ties” →

Uncategorized

Ten African companies to feature at New York’s COTERIE

By Kennedy kanethe

Ten women-owned businesses from Nigeria, Ghana and Kenya will next week attend COTERIE, one of the United States’ top fashion trade shows, with support from the International Trade Centre’s SheTrades initiative.

Taking place at the Javits Center, New York City, on 25 – 27 February, COTERIE provides an opportunity for the brands to showcase their collections and connect with international buyers.

All ten companies are part of SheTrades in the Commonwealth Programme, funded by the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID).

In 2018, SheTrades sponsored a delegation of 9 brands from Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria to attend the fall edition of COTERIE, which led to meetings with 100 buyers and secured US $495,000 USD in trade leads.

One of the participating companies was Afrodesiac, a Ghanaian company that has seen tremendous success following its attendance at COTERIE.

Continue reading “Ten African companies to feature at New York’s COTERIE” →

Uncategorized

US places Visa Restrictions on multiple Congolese officials

The United States of America has placed travel ban on some top government officials of the Democratic Republic of Congo over alleged electoral fraud.

The restrictions was announced in a statement released in Washington DC

According to the statement, those sanctioned by the US Government include President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s National Independent Electoral Commission,  Mr Corneille Nangaa; Vice President of CENI, Mr Norbert Basengezi Katintima; Advisor to the President of CENI, Mr Marcellin Mukolo Basengezi; President of the DRC’s National Assembly, Mr Aubin Minaku Ndjalandjoko; and President of DRC’s Constitutional Court, Mr Benoit Lwamba Bindu.

The statement read, “The United States stands with the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo following that country’s historic transfer of power.

Continue reading “US places Visa Restrictions on multiple Congolese officials” →

Uncategorized

Nigeria’s first supermodel, Yemi Fawaz, dies at 64 in New York

Nigeria’s first supermodel, Yemi Fawaz is dead at the age of 64.

Fawaz who pioneered professional modelling in Nigeria and became Nigeria’s first supermodel died, February 20th at New York’s Lenox Hill Hospital.

Fawaz’s daughter, Magadelene Oluwatosin, broke the news on Facebook.

Ms Fawaz became a model in the late 70s. She also established a modeling school and did a lot for the fashion industry in Nigeria. She left Nigeria in 1997 and did not return until 2016.

Fawaz was born in Nigeria to a Lebanese father and a Nigerian mother.

For over 30 years, she had a successful career as a fashion and photographic model, beauty promoter/consultant, fashion designer, trade show organizer, chef and a restaurateur.

She opened the first modeling school and professional modeling agency in Nigeria and in West Africa.

She was diagnosed with enlarged heart, also known as congestive heart failure in 1999.

Fawaz is survived by her 33-year-old daughter.

Uncategorized

Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe: Ghana-born power executive views heritage from both sides of the Atlantic

By Anna B. Mitchell | Greenveille News

With an easygoing smile, Duke Energy executive Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe navigates effortlessly between the worlds of his parents and his children. Ghartey-Tagoe, whose first name is pronounced “kojo,” grew up in Ghana on the west coast of Africa, the son of a renowned national television journalist. His home nation won independence from the British on March 6, 1957, just six years before his own birth. For his three daughters, Independence Day is the Fourth of July.

Continue reading “Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe: Ghana-born power executive views heritage from both sides of the Atlantic” →
Uncategorized

Ghana-born power executive views heritage from both sides of the Atlantic

By Anna B. Mitchell

With an easygoing smile, Duke Energy executive Kodwo Ghartey-Tagoe navigates effortlessly between the worlds of his parents and his children.

Ghartey-Tagoe, whose first name is pronounced “kojo,” grew up in Ghana on the west coast of Africa, the son of a renowned national television journalist.

His home nation won independence from the British on March 6, 1957, just six years before his own birth. For his three daughters, Independence Day is the Fourth of July.

One of his few regrets: Having traveled only once as a family with his wife, Phyllis, and all his girls to visit their parents and extended family in Africa. He met Phyllis in Washington D.C., but they are from the same part of Ghana.

“People who don’t know each other tend to fear each other,” he says. “And once you get to know them, you tend to find out there is nothing to fear and they are very much like you. They have families like you, they love their kids like you do.”

The 55-year-old power executive has risen quickly in corporate America since graduating from Duke University law school in 1988. He practiced privately in Washington, D.C., and Virginia for 14 years, mastering federal and state utility law and representing water companies, power companies, gas companies and phone companies before joining Duke Energy in 2002.

Continue reading “Ghana-born power executive views heritage from both sides of the Atlantic” →

Diplomacy, Policy

A New Africa Strategy: Expanding Economic and Security Ties on the Basis of Mutual Respect

The Trump Administration’s new Africa Strategy is based on three tenets.

The first is advancing U.S. trade and commercial ties with nations across the region to the benefit of both the United States and Africa.

The second is countering the threat from radical Islamic terrorism and violent conflict. ISIS, al-Qaeda, and their affiliates all operate and recruit on the African continent, plotting attacks against American citizens and targets.

Third, the U.S. will ensure that U.S. taxpayer dollars for aid are used efficiently and effectively. The United States will no longer provide indiscriminate assistance across the entire continent without focus or prioritization.

This was revealed by in a new report by Heritage Foundation after a session with John R. Bolton, the U.S. National Security Advisor at a session at the Heritage Foundation in Washington DC.

Read more about the session and the report

Sports

Before basketball in Woodbury, Oturus were playing ping pong in Nigeria

By Andy Greder | St. Paul Pioneer Press

Word is starting to spread across the Big Ten basketball scene this winter about Daniel Oturu. He’s making people notice, on and off the court. The Gophers basketball team’s 6-foot-10 freshman center from Woodbury, Minn., and Cretin-Derham Hall made the short trip to the U as one of the nation’s top recruits in the 2018 class. And through 25 games, he has established himself as one of the most promising young players in the conference.

Continue reading “Before basketball in Woodbury, Oturus were playing ping pong in Nigeria” →
Politics

Nigerian Diaspora Seeks Credible, Peaceful Elections

The Nigerians In Diaspora Organisation says it is looking forward to a credible and peaceful conduct of the rescheduled presidential elections in Nigeria.

Some members of the organisation, led by the Chairman, NIDO Americas Board of Trustees, Obed Monago, said this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria in Abuja on Wednesday.

They called on all stakeholders, especially the political actors, to put the nation’s interest above their personal ambitions and work towards strengthening the nation’s democracy.

Monago said about 45 NIDO members from various locations around the world were currently in the country as accredited international observers and voters in the elections.

He decried the blame game that followed the postponement of the elections, saying that focus should be on how to address the challenges that led to it before the new dates.

Continue reading “Nigerian Diaspora Seeks Credible, Peaceful Elections” →