Well Done, Nigeria

The world is full of uncertainties as we all know. Several countries have been bedeviled with chaos and conflicts at certain times and in all these cases the civilian population bears the brunt of those in power and those fighting to kick them out. Women and children are the most vulnerable when in times of conflict. The African continent is no exception to these upheavals as in several African countries there is chaos and confusion before, during and after general elections.

The Ivory Coast went through such an experience when the incumbent President, Laurent Gbagbo refused to accept the outcome of their general elections and accused the opposition led by Alhassane Outarra of rigging the elections. This further degenerated into a conflict with both sides committing atrocities. Gbagbo had to be forced out and he is now at the International Criminal Court in the Hague facing trial for war crimes.

Whenever there is going to be an election in any African country, the whole world especially the International Community watch with skepticism as to what will happen before, during and after the elections. Some investors tend to relocate their valuable investments from that country after assessing the situation to see whether there will be chaos and confusion after the results have been announced. It is also very rare in Africa for an opposition party to win an election as the ruling party abuses the power of incumbency to the fullest to win the elections. But Nigeria proved the whole world wrong as the opposition party, the APC defeated the ruling party, the PDP for the first time since independence in the 2015 general elections in Nigeria.

It came as no surprise as it happened in Ghana during the 2000 general elections when the opposition NPP defeated the ruling NDC and there was a peaceful transfer of power. Nigeria also picked up from there as the defeated incumbent president, Goodluck Jonathan called the newly elected president, Muhammadu Buhari to concede defeat and congratulate him. This single act put the doom sayers to shame as most of the international media were just ready to report anything negative as a result of the outcome of the elections.

Nigerians have really shown maturity and the chairman of the INEC, Professor Attahiru Jega must be highly commended for remaining calm and cool in going about his work. I will like to take this opportunity to wish the new Nigerian  President elect, His Excellency General Muhammadu Buhari all the best in ruling Nigeria.  The world will be shifting their attention to Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast and Togo, where elections will be held later this year. Lets pray and hope for peaceful, free and fair elections in these countries. I pray and hope all Nigerians will join hands with his government and chart a new course for the country. God bless Nigeria, God bless Africa. Well done, Nigeria, from Ghana, we say "ayeekoo".

Whatever Happens In Ukraine...

Once again the world is seriously on tenterhooks as to what is happening in the Ukraine, Crimea to be precise. One side is talking about the illegality of what the other has done and the other side is also saying that they have the right to protect their interests if they feel threatened. First of all, how was the former Ukrainian President, Victor Yanukovych kicked out of office? Who engineered the whole crisis and currently who are the ones benefiting from the mess created?

 I presume the beneficiaries would be licking their lips by now as they have gotten what they wanted. But the former president agreed to most f the demands of the protesters and it suddenly took a dramatic twist as he had to flee for his life.  The Ukrainian  crisis seems to be a test case for the balance of  global power as some world powers such as the USA and her European Allies behave with impunity any time they feel their interests are threatened. They lied to the whole world about WMDs in Iraq , invasion of Afghanistan, Libya, the use of drones in Pakistan and other places where innocent civilians were killed. The UN just sat down and allowed all these atrocities to be committed without any condemnation. 

Whatever happens in the Crimean region of Ukraine would have far reaching consequences on the global economy and the world is not ready for another war that would distort the peace that is being enjoyed currently despite the pockets of conflicts going on in some parts of the world. Russian President, Vladimir Putin would not sit down for the West to have their way in Crimea. He would do everything to secure Russia's military bases in the Crimea. These bases must not fall into the hands of rogue elements who took part in the ouster of  Victor Yanukovych.

I have a hunch there is a well cooked out plan to isolate Russia and make her look vulnerable in the eyes of the western allies. This plan would definitely lead to serious repercussions on the whole world. The price of crude oil and other important commodities would shoot up and those of us in the developing countries will feel the full brunt. War must be avoided as much as possible and diplomacy must be employed to solve this crisis. As at the time of writing this post the Crimean Parliament had voted overwhelmingly to join Russia and had set a date for a referendum for the people to decide on the issue. I hope and pray the whole world will respect the outcome of the referendum because whatever happens in the Ukraine affects the whole world. The hypocrisy must end now as some of the powers take some bad decisions which their allies deem to be good and sees nothing wrong with them but when similar decisions are taken by Russia then, sanctions and other punitive measures must be applied.