Nigeria Takes A Bold Step

Nigeria being Africa's most populous country took the unprecedented and much awaited step by passing an anti-gay law on 13th January, 2014. This law criminalizes homosexual and lesbian activities in Nigeria. We all know that most of the Western nations frown on this measure. Nigerian law makers mooted that idea some years back, but they were met with so much condemnation by most of the Western nations. The country was even threatened with a withdrawal of aid and other forms of assistance if her leaders went ahead to pass the law.

As the law has been passed now, the Western nations are just bidding their time to come out with a measured and well calculated response. Are they going to withdraw the aid and grants as they threatened to do? It is high time most countries on the African continent stop relying on the West for much of their aid and grants and other forms of handouts. This would enable them to take bold decisions and call the bluff of these western nations who intend to impose their cultures on as. We as Africans must develop our resources by adding value to them. We should encourage trade partnerships amongst the various countries on the continent. Why do we find it very difficult to trade amongst ourselves but are ready and willing to kowtow to the trade agreements imposed on us by the western nations? 

I admire the Nigerians for the bold step they have taken and from what i have heard and seen, majority of Nigerians support the anti-gay law passed by their government. Lets do our best and follow Nigeria's example. God bless Africa. 

Fare Thee Well, Madiba

Africa and the world was hit with the sad news of the passing of one of the world's most revered and illustrious sons. he whole world was filled with so much grief and sorrow as the news started to spread. Many people thought this was one of the usual hoaxes that the media used to peddle so as to increase their customer base.

But this time the news was true and within some few minutes of Nelson Mandela's passing, the tributes started pouring in. The social media sites such as facebook, twitter, google plus, linkedin etc etc have been awash with tributes from all corners of the earth. These tributes were coming from world leaders, politicians and the ordinary men and women on the streets from Accra to Cape Town and from Moscow to Tehran, etc etc. 

Nelson Mandela indeed lived a life of forgiveness, reconciliation and in fact he had forgiveness in his blood. He had to endure torture and humiliation from his captors who did all things possible in their powers to break him down, but Madiba never broke down and also never gave up.

Nelson Mandela was incarcerated on Robben Island for 18 of his 27 years in prison. During this time, he contracted tuberculosis and, as a black political prisoner, received the lowest level of treatment from prison workers. However, while incarcerated, Mandela was able to earn a Bachelor of Law degree through a University of London correspondence program.

A 1981 memoir by South African intelligence agent Gordon Winter described a plot by the South African government to arrange for Mandela's escape so as to shoot him during the recapture; the plot was foiled by British intelligence. Mandela continued to be such a potent symbol of black resistance that a coordinated international campaign for his release was launched, and this international groundswell of support exemplified the power and esteem that Mandela had in the global political community.

In 1982, Mandela and other ANC leaders were moved to Pollsmoor Prison, allegedly to enable contact between them and the South African government. In 1985, President P. W. Botha offered Mandela's release in exchange for renouncing armed struggle; the prisoner flatly rejected the offer. With increasing local and international pressure for his release, the government participated in several talks with Mandela over the ensuing years, but no deal was made. It wasn't until Botha suffered a stroke and was replaced by Frederik Willem de Klerk that Mandela's release was finally announced—on February 11, 1990. De Klerk also unbanned the ANC, removed restrictions on political groups and suspended executions.

This is the man we are all celebrating and not mourning for Madiba has lived a well fulfilled life. Will our African leaders be ready and willing to live by the ideals of this great man? Posterity will judge us all if we dont honor this great man by emulating his examples and walking in his footsteps. Madiba fare thee well and may our ancestors  give you a rousing welcome as you join them, and may God Almighty grant you a resting place in His bosom. The lion of Africa sleeps tonight, God bless Africa.

The Journey Of Death

My heart is heavy with grief and sadness as i write this post. Why should our brothers and sisters die such needless deaths in the Mediterranean sea in their quest to seek greener pastures outside the continent? Over the past two weeks the media has been awash with horrifying images of bodies of African migrants who got drowned while trying to journey in boats to the Italian island of Lampedusa. It was reported that about 300 of the purported 500 migrants on board the crude boats died as a result of  the boat capsizing due to the bad weather on the high seas. More of these unfortunate deaths are still being reported as the days go by. What about those who died on the Sahara Desert? Most of these deaths go unreported and no proper burial is given to them. Mother Africa weeps for her children who embark on this "Journey of Death" to Europe. I sometimes ask myself why our brothers and sisters embark on this dangerous and perilous journey to Europe? One would say that they embark on these journeys to Europe to make sure they make some money and see to it that their families back home on the continent have a better life. But to me, i would say that this shows that we have a serious leadership crisis and failure in Africa as our leaders would rather amass wealth and stash huge sums of money in foreign bank accounts. Rather than see to the well being of their citizens, our leaders always have their personal and selfish interests always as their first priority. The citizens are just asking for good roads, better education systems, good drinking water, employment avenues and many more. If all these are done by our leaders, no African would think of embarking on this "Journey of Death" to Europe to live a better life as they are being made to believe. We should stop blaming the white man for every thing that goes wrong in Africa and put pressure on our leaders in Africa to do the right thing. The days of colonialism are fast gone and we as Africans can do better than the blame game we always stick to. Just to quote the words of Mr. Franklin Cudjoe of Imani Ghana, "Italy should not allow the Eritrean Government to convey the dead bodies of Eritreans back to the Dictatorial hell hole called Eritrea. That would be triple jeopardy. Please let the unfortunate brave political slaves die as martyrs and their souls rest for ever in Italy." May their souls rest in peace.

Globe View: Remembering 9/11

Globe View: Remembering 9/11: It all started as a normal day for me on September 11, 2001 which was a Tuesday. I had gone to talk to my dad about an important issue con...

Remembering 9/11

It all started as a normal day for me on September 11, 2001 which was a Tuesday. I had gone to talk to my dad about an important issue concerning my tertiary education. I was in Koforidua in the Eastern Region of Ghana. I came back to my Aunty's place which was in the same area as my parents residence. i decided to take a nap. Deep into my sleep i heard the house phone ringing, i picked it up and it was my Aunty's husband who was telling me to switch on the television for something tragic had happened in the US and it was being shown live by most of the major news networks all over the world. I did just that and i realized that the US was under attack by some cowards. I became glued to the television set as i watched the events unfold on CNN via our national television station, GTV.  I could not move out of the room as i did not want to miss any second of what was happening in the US. The Twin Towers of the World Trade Center were burning as two commercial domestic airplanes had crashed into them. The Pentagon had also been attacked as a plane also crashed into a part of it killing some of the staff. Another plane was also brought down as it was trying to make its way to another target.  By the close of the day, the whole world was waiting for any news on the perpetrators of such an atrocity. In all about 3000 people both on the four commercial planes and on the ground in the Twin Towers and scores of Fire Service and Security agents were killed. This tragic incident in my opinion could be said to be second to what happened at Pearl Habour on December 7, 1941 which also killed about 3000 soldiers when the Japanese launched a kamikazi attack on the American Naval fleet in the South Pacific. May the souls of all the victims of these cowardly acts rest in perfect peace as we remember the September 11 attacks on the US. Though so many conspiracy theories abound about who actually orchestrated this dastardly act, i hope those mistakes that made the perpetrators take advantage would not be committed again. God bless us all.

The Road To Damascus

Once again, the US and Britain are deceiving the world into believing the Syrian government used chemical weapons on its people. We all know what happened in Iraq where no WMDs were found but the country was invaded. This is a tinderbox which will set the Middle East ablaze. The world is watching. Who helped Saddam Hussein to gas the Kurds and also who gave chemical weapons to Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s?The war rhetoric by top government officials in the UK and US on Syria has gotten to a high level. Its just a matter of time for the military intervention by these two powers to happen just like what happened in Iraq. The world is waiting and watching when the strikes will start. What will Assad gain from gassing his own people? We all know of the consequences of the US and Britain helping the Syrian rebels to overthrow Assad. Iraq should be a reference point. No evidence of WMDs were found in Iraq yet she was invaded. What's in for the US and Britain if they launch strikes on Assad's regime? It seems Bashir Assad was targeted to be overthrown the moment he refused to help in disbanding the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.  I also have a hunch that  Saddam Hussein's WMDs are alleged to be hidden in Syria so the so called "Coalition Forces" are on the "Road to Damascus" to make sure they find it. But i also don't support Assad nor the Syrian rebels in the entrenched positions they have taken as dialogue would have been the best solution to the Syrian Civil War. Assad will surely go very soon either into exile or by an air strike from the "Coalition Forces" which will eventually terminate his stay on this earth. I also foresee the "Road to Damascus" to be a very tortuous and dangerous one. Russia has a military base in Syria and do you think they will just sit down and watch the US and UK have a field day? We all know that this evidence the UN investigators are looking for was cooked up by the US and their collaborators just to give Bashir Al Assad a bad name and hang him. Any major intervention in Syria would surely affect the whole of the Middle East. The war hawks in both the US and UK are surely planning every detail of their military strikes in Syria. Why would the US Department of Defence authorize the sale of cluster bombs worth $641 million to Saudi Arabia? The last time i checked cluster bombs have been banned by the UN and we know where these bombs are heading to as Saudi Arabia is being used as a proxy in the Syrian Civil War. The rebels would use these bombs and later present them as evidence against the Syrian government. The UN is still in its "toothless dog" mode as they always do not conduct thorough investigations before coming out with a decision. What happened to the first UN investigation that found out that the Syrian rebels have used chemical weapons some months back? As usual, that report has been swept under the carpet as if it never happened.  We now live in a world where rebels are now seen as legitimate governments because the ruling group in a country refused to kowtow to the whims and caprices of a world super power. I guess by now, the Iranians are watching this unfolding threat of military intervention closely. The "Road to Damascus" will surely not be a walk through the park. The oldest capital city in the world, Damascus with its historical sites now lie in ruins. Lets find a political solution to the Syrian Civil War and stop escalating the conflict. God help us all.

Let There Be Peace In Ghana

Once again Ghanaians have shown to the whole world that it is better to resort to the rule of law to resolve disputes rather than through violent means. This was as a result of the Election Petition Case before the Supreme Court of the country. This has shown how democracy is gradually gaining grounds in the country and i hope other African countries are learning some lessons from what just happened in Ghana. Currently the Justices of the Supreme Court are yet to come out with their ruling on the Election Petition. As they take their time to come out with a ruling that will not jeopadize the nation's fledgling democratic dispensation, Ghanaians have been asked to accept the ruling of the Justices of the Supreme Court. The National Peace Council and the two political parties involved in the dispute have all taken it upon themselves to educate their followers not to resort to violence when the final ruling comes out.  The security agencies have also been put on alert to curb any form of violence that will arise as a result of the final ruling. I believe and hope that Ghanaians as peaceful as they are will accept the final ruling on the Election Petition and not plunge the nation into chaos and destruction. Lets all not forget that Ghana is bigger than any political party and any individual's interest.  Lets all do our best to ensure that the peace that we have enjoyed in this country is sustained and strengthened. We have only one Ghana and there is no place like home. God bless Ghana my homeland and make her great and strong.