Missing Edo Commissioner Found Dead
An emotional Governor Oserhiemen Osunbor who visited the hotel to personally see the remains of one of his most visible political associates expressed shock, sadness and pain at the loss. MORE>>>
Robbers Bisiege Two Lagos Banks, Kill Two Persons
About 40 armed robbers on Monday besieged branches of the Union Bank and the United Bank for Africa in Badagry. Our correspondent learnt that the robbers, armed with sophisticated guns, stormed the banks at about 10am, and witnesses said they saw women among the gang. MORE>>>
Pipeline Fire Threatens Crude Supply To Port Harcourt
THE Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) may soon stop supply of crude oil to the Port Harcourt Refinery following two major fire outbreaks at K-Dere in Gokana Local Council of Rivers State. MORE>>>
Power Contract Scandal: How Contractors Collected N19bn, Abandoned Jobs
THE House of Representatives probe panel on the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP) on Monday was shocked when they discovered that the contractors who handled the NIPP in Akwa Ibom State collected N19 billion and abandoned various jobs. MORE>>>
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Mugabe's Grip On Zimbabwe Still Tight
Despite economic chaos, the authoritarian president looks likely to be reelected. A challenger from his party has gained some traction.
By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 25, 2008
HARARE, ZIMBABWE -- It takes 55 million Zimbabwean dollars to buy a single American one. Schools have no teachers. Hospitals have become mortuaries. And inflation has topped 100,000%.
As President Robert Mugabe, 84, seeks a sixth term in elections Saturday, Zimbabwe's financial catastrophe takes the words "It's the economy, stupid," to a new level.
Yet even with a crisis so intractable it would finish off any leader in a genuine democracy, Mugabe is expected to maintain his grip on power.
His tools are the same ones that have worked before: gerrymandered electorates; an electoral roll full of ghost voters; tight control of state television and radio; preelection gifts of tractors, plows and cattle to the rural chiefs who will get in the ruling party vote; pay raises for public servants and the military. And, above all, fear.
The major streets of this capital city are lined with posters bearing an old photograph of Mugabe, fist raised, and the slogan "Behind the Fist." To most, it conveys little beyond the fear associated with his rule, from Operation Gukurahundi in the early 1980s, when as many as 20,000 political enemies were slaughtered, to Operation Murambatsvina in 2005, when at least 700,000 people were driven from urban opposition strongholds into the countryside. Many have not recovered.
A party divided
But even when elections are not real elections, they raise hopes. And one thing has changed this time around: A charismatic presidential challenger from within the ruling ZANU-PF has divided the party and thrown Mugabe's campaign off balance. Former Finance Minister Simba Makoni, whose first name means "power" or "strength" in Zimbabwe's Shona language, announced his bid last month and was promptly ejected from the party.
Mugabe, whose grip on power has never weakened since independence from Britain in 1980, needs 51% of the vote to avoid a runoff against Makoni and the other main challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai, who was savagely beaten by police last year and whose opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, has split into two main squabbling factions.
There are signs Mugabe is rattled by the challengers. In the weeks before the election, he signed a law forcing foreign- and white-owned companies to sell black Zimbabweans a 51% interest, a move that will send investors fleeing and further undermine the economy, but enable him to dole out plum favors to loyalists.
The Information Ministry warned that white foreign journalists would be barred from covering the election. And in case anyone was in doubt about the regime's determination to cling to power, the police and army chiefs announced that they would never work under the opposition.
At rallies, Mugabe rails bitterly against people such as Makoni, calling them enemies and traitors. Yet Makoni, 58, has much in common with Mugabe. He comes from a similar traditional rural African background, rose through education (both got degrees in Britain) and was politicized in the liberation struggle and in ZANU-PF. Even now, Makoni does not directly attack either Mugabe or the party.
But there is a heady exhilaration about his campaign. Part of it is the sheer novelty of hearing a ZANU-PF stalwart proclaiming what everyone thinks but most are afraid to say: "We got corrupted by power. We started serving ourselves. . . . We've destroyed our own country," he said at his launch rally in Harare early this month.
'Power to the People'
Makoni's slogan, "Simba Kuvanhu," or "Power to the People," is a famous old refrain from the liberation struggle, a Mugabe favorite that the president has not quite gotten out of the habit of using at campaign rallies.
Even some opposition figures see a reform ZANU-PF candidate as the best and only hope of change. Arthur Mutambara, leader of one faction in the opposition MDC, recently declared that no one in the opposition could beat Mugabe.
"Makoni is the only person who can defeat Mugabe. Not Tsvangirai, not Mutambara," he said at a recent rally, campaigning for Makoni instead of running for president himself.
But Makoni waited until late in the game to enter the race, convinced that popular discontent with Mugabe was so deep that it needed only one credible candidate to sweep away both the president and the disappointing opposition.
He claims to have many heavyweight ruling-party backers, but few ZANU-PF bigwigs have defected to his camp, making it difficult for him to muster enough ruling-party support to sweep Mugabe aside.
Makoni, boyish-looking and articulate, is from a large and powerful clan and has dozens of cousins and hundreds of close relatives. In his childhood village, nearly every shop and business was owned by a Makoni.
He faced the first real test of his support on a recent balmy Sunday at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare, the sports fields where big political rallies are held.
The crowd of a few thousand consisted mainly of educated men, including bureaucrats and professionals.
Many of those in attendance were former opposition supporters, disillusioned over Tsvangirai's letting his party split and failure to capitalize on popular anger after previous elections.
"People are impatient. They now want Makoni to be president," said university lecturer Simba Matsika, 36.
"People will support anyone and any program that opposes the incumbent party and president. People need change at any cost."
Makoni impressed the sports-facility crowd; the problem was the modest turnout. Even the riot police were halfhearted: One small police van made a desultory sweep and retreated to wait by the gate.
'Getting a crowd'
"If you are going to launch an attack against Mugabe, you really have to find a way of getting a crowd by hook or by crook," said Lovemore Madukhu, director of the National Constitutional Assembly, a nongovernmental organization lobbying for reform.
"You don't go to the Zimbabwe Grounds and get a crowd of three to four thousand. It was a crowd smaller than Mugabe addressed and smaller than Tsvangirai addressed. I think that blunder will eat into perceptions of his capacity to divide Mugabe's support."
Makoni's daily meet-the-people walks in towns across Zimbabwe connect him with hundreds of voters, but not the thousands he needs. Tsvangirai may be discredited, but he still has a broader reach, with a strong urban support base that Makoni lacks.
Building a profile and swinging the electoral tide in a few short weeks is a tall order for Makoni, especially with no access to television and radio.
Many analysts believe Makoni will poll third after Mugabe and Tsvangirai. A recent opinion poll put Mugabe's support well behind Tsvangirai's, but the electoral boundaries have been redrawn to give rural voters (among whom Mugabe's support is highest) a much greater weight than residents of pro-opposition urban areas.
As finance minister from 2000 to 2002, Makoni stood up to Mugabe and called for the devaluation of the ailing Zimbabwean dollar as the economy went into free fall after the president's seizures of white-owned farmland. He was removed as finance minister but stayed in the powerful politburo, and some opposition supporters see Makoni as just an ambitious member of the party that has destroyed the country.
"I was part of the system. I was in the leadership of this country for quite a long time and in public office for quite a long time. But collective responsibility does not mean that everyone agrees with every decision all of the time," Makoni said in an interview in Harare after returning late from a day's campaigning. "I strove for change from within. Throughout the time I was in the leadership, I kept trying to show my colleagues that there were better ways than we were doing."
If Makoni fails, he and his supporters could be isolated and made examples of by the ruling elite, a move that might discourage others in the ruling party from defying Mugabe.
But Makoni argues that his presidential bid is having the opposite effect, saying, "Many Zimbabweans are feeling emboldened and encouraged that you can actually speak your mind and Armageddon will not befall you."
By Robyn Dixon, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
March 25, 2008
HARARE, ZIMBABWE -- It takes 55 million Zimbabwean dollars to buy a single American one. Schools have no teachers. Hospitals have become mortuaries. And inflation has topped 100,000%.
As President Robert Mugabe, 84, seeks a sixth term in elections Saturday, Zimbabwe's financial catastrophe takes the words "It's the economy, stupid," to a new level.
Yet even with a crisis so intractable it would finish off any leader in a genuine democracy, Mugabe is expected to maintain his grip on power.
His tools are the same ones that have worked before: gerrymandered electorates; an electoral roll full of ghost voters; tight control of state television and radio; preelection gifts of tractors, plows and cattle to the rural chiefs who will get in the ruling party vote; pay raises for public servants and the military. And, above all, fear.
The major streets of this capital city are lined with posters bearing an old photograph of Mugabe, fist raised, and the slogan "Behind the Fist." To most, it conveys little beyond the fear associated with his rule, from Operation Gukurahundi in the early 1980s, when as many as 20,000 political enemies were slaughtered, to Operation Murambatsvina in 2005, when at least 700,000 people were driven from urban opposition strongholds into the countryside. Many have not recovered.
A party divided
But even when elections are not real elections, they raise hopes. And one thing has changed this time around: A charismatic presidential challenger from within the ruling ZANU-PF has divided the party and thrown Mugabe's campaign off balance. Former Finance Minister Simba Makoni, whose first name means "power" or "strength" in Zimbabwe's Shona language, announced his bid last month and was promptly ejected from the party.
Mugabe, whose grip on power has never weakened since independence from Britain in 1980, needs 51% of the vote to avoid a runoff against Makoni and the other main challenger, Morgan Tsvangirai, who was savagely beaten by police last year and whose opposition party, the Movement for Democratic Change, or MDC, has split into two main squabbling factions.
There are signs Mugabe is rattled by the challengers. In the weeks before the election, he signed a law forcing foreign- and white-owned companies to sell black Zimbabweans a 51% interest, a move that will send investors fleeing and further undermine the economy, but enable him to dole out plum favors to loyalists.
The Information Ministry warned that white foreign journalists would be barred from covering the election. And in case anyone was in doubt about the regime's determination to cling to power, the police and army chiefs announced that they would never work under the opposition.
At rallies, Mugabe rails bitterly against people such as Makoni, calling them enemies and traitors. Yet Makoni, 58, has much in common with Mugabe. He comes from a similar traditional rural African background, rose through education (both got degrees in Britain) and was politicized in the liberation struggle and in ZANU-PF. Even now, Makoni does not directly attack either Mugabe or the party.
But there is a heady exhilaration about his campaign. Part of it is the sheer novelty of hearing a ZANU-PF stalwart proclaiming what everyone thinks but most are afraid to say: "We got corrupted by power. We started serving ourselves. . . . We've destroyed our own country," he said at his launch rally in Harare early this month.
'Power to the People'
Makoni's slogan, "Simba Kuvanhu," or "Power to the People," is a famous old refrain from the liberation struggle, a Mugabe favorite that the president has not quite gotten out of the habit of using at campaign rallies.
Even some opposition figures see a reform ZANU-PF candidate as the best and only hope of change. Arthur Mutambara, leader of one faction in the opposition MDC, recently declared that no one in the opposition could beat Mugabe.
"Makoni is the only person who can defeat Mugabe. Not Tsvangirai, not Mutambara," he said at a recent rally, campaigning for Makoni instead of running for president himself.
But Makoni waited until late in the game to enter the race, convinced that popular discontent with Mugabe was so deep that it needed only one credible candidate to sweep away both the president and the disappointing opposition.
He claims to have many heavyweight ruling-party backers, but few ZANU-PF bigwigs have defected to his camp, making it difficult for him to muster enough ruling-party support to sweep Mugabe aside.
Makoni, boyish-looking and articulate, is from a large and powerful clan and has dozens of cousins and hundreds of close relatives. In his childhood village, nearly every shop and business was owned by a Makoni.
He faced the first real test of his support on a recent balmy Sunday at the Zimbabwe Grounds in Harare, the sports fields where big political rallies are held.
The crowd of a few thousand consisted mainly of educated men, including bureaucrats and professionals.
Many of those in attendance were former opposition supporters, disillusioned over Tsvangirai's letting his party split and failure to capitalize on popular anger after previous elections.
"People are impatient. They now want Makoni to be president," said university lecturer Simba Matsika, 36.
"People will support anyone and any program that opposes the incumbent party and president. People need change at any cost."
Makoni impressed the sports-facility crowd; the problem was the modest turnout. Even the riot police were halfhearted: One small police van made a desultory sweep and retreated to wait by the gate.
'Getting a crowd'
"If you are going to launch an attack against Mugabe, you really have to find a way of getting a crowd by hook or by crook," said Lovemore Madukhu, director of the National Constitutional Assembly, a nongovernmental organization lobbying for reform.
"You don't go to the Zimbabwe Grounds and get a crowd of three to four thousand. It was a crowd smaller than Mugabe addressed and smaller than Tsvangirai addressed. I think that blunder will eat into perceptions of his capacity to divide Mugabe's support."
Makoni's daily meet-the-people walks in towns across Zimbabwe connect him with hundreds of voters, but not the thousands he needs. Tsvangirai may be discredited, but he still has a broader reach, with a strong urban support base that Makoni lacks.
Building a profile and swinging the electoral tide in a few short weeks is a tall order for Makoni, especially with no access to television and radio.
Many analysts believe Makoni will poll third after Mugabe and Tsvangirai. A recent opinion poll put Mugabe's support well behind Tsvangirai's, but the electoral boundaries have been redrawn to give rural voters (among whom Mugabe's support is highest) a much greater weight than residents of pro-opposition urban areas.
As finance minister from 2000 to 2002, Makoni stood up to Mugabe and called for the devaluation of the ailing Zimbabwean dollar as the economy went into free fall after the president's seizures of white-owned farmland. He was removed as finance minister but stayed in the powerful politburo, and some opposition supporters see Makoni as just an ambitious member of the party that has destroyed the country.
"I was part of the system. I was in the leadership of this country for quite a long time and in public office for quite a long time. But collective responsibility does not mean that everyone agrees with every decision all of the time," Makoni said in an interview in Harare after returning late from a day's campaigning. "I strove for change from within. Throughout the time I was in the leadership, I kept trying to show my colleagues that there were better ways than we were doing."
If Makoni fails, he and his supporters could be isolated and made examples of by the ruling elite, a move that might discourage others in the ruling party from defying Mugabe.
But Makoni argues that his presidential bid is having the opposite effect, saying, "Many Zimbabweans are feeling emboldened and encouraged that you can actually speak your mind and Armageddon will not befall you."
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Campaign '08: Obama Intensifies Attacks On Clinton,s McCain's Plan For Iraq
"Sen. Clinton, Sen. McCain and President Bush have all distorted and derided this position, suggesting that I would invade or bomb Pakistan. This is politics, pure and simple," Obama said. "The same three individuals who now criticize me for supporting a targeted strike on the terrorists who carried out the 9/11 attacks, are the same three individuals that supported an invasion of Iraq -- a country that had nothing to do with 9/11," he said. [MORE>>>]
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Chike Obi, Renowned Mathematician, Dies at 87
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
News in Brief, PM Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Apparently, everything seems to be major news these days. Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York is said to have resigned in disgrace over a scandal that perhaps shouldn't have been a big deal if he had taken a different approach in his desire for prostitutes. The talk now is he may be facing criminal charges for his actions. From series of news-related updates about the scandal, the Emperors Club VIP has been shut down pending further investigations.
In politics, former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro is stepping down for her infalamatory remarks about Barack Obama, noting Obama couldn't have gone that far if he wasn't black. In her letter first reported by CNN, Gerraro said, "Dear Hillary, I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what's at stake in this campaign. The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you. I won't let that happen. Thank you for everything you've done and continue to do to make this a better world for my children and grandchildren. You have my deep admiration and respect, Gerry."
Gunmen striked at the oil hub of Port Harcourt in Nigeria's Garden City, hijacking a vessel, taking hostages to unkown destination. According to Associated Press report monitored in Lagos, the gunmen were "demanding ransom for the hostages."
In politics, former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro is stepping down for her infalamatory remarks about Barack Obama, noting Obama couldn't have gone that far if he wasn't black. In her letter first reported by CNN, Gerraro said, "Dear Hillary, I am stepping down from your finance committee so I can speak for myself and you can continue to speak for yourself about what's at stake in this campaign. The Obama campaign is attacking me to hurt you. I won't let that happen. Thank you for everything you've done and continue to do to make this a better world for my children and grandchildren. You have my deep admiration and respect, Gerry."
Gunmen striked at the oil hub of Port Harcourt in Nigeria's Garden City, hijacking a vessel, taking hostages to unkown destination. According to Associated Press report monitored in Lagos, the gunmen were "demanding ransom for the hostages."
Thursday, March 06, 2008
News Desk Thursday, March 6, 2008
8 Africans named on billionaire list
FORBES magazine has released its annual list of the world's richest people, with eight Africans on the 1,125 member list for the first time. Egypt's Naguib Sawaris with a net worth of $12.7 billion and Nassef Sawaris ($11 billion) top the list of the wealthiest Africans in the world. Onsi Sawaris ($9.1b) and Samih Sawaris ($2.9b) are the other two Egyptians on the list. MORE>>>
AFRICA INSIGHT: After Mau Mau, Kenya’s December polls second lesson for Africa
Television pictures and graphic radio reports of burning and looting of property across Kenya, have combined with local experiences of election-related violence across Nigeria during the 2007 national elections and current primaries of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to cast grave doubts about the wisdom of conducting elections. MORE>>>
ICPC to try suspects in N3.32b UBE funds scam
SUSPECTS in the N3.32 billion Universal Basic Education (UBE) fund mismanagement are to face the law, it was learnt yesterday. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) may prosecute them. Of the funds, about N2.3billion has been recovered from about 20 state governments. MORE>>>
FG lists treason offences against MEND leader
The Federal Government on Wednesday accused the detained leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, Mr. Henry Okah, of committing treason. It said that Okah and his co-detainee, Mr. Edward Atata, were involved in terrorism and disappearance of weapons in the Nigerian Army central depot in Kaduna. MORE>>>
Two Army generals, four others face court martial
The Nigerian Army Headquarters on Tuesday inaugurated a five-member court martial to try two Generals and four other senior army officers, who were accused of misappropriation of funds. MORE>>>
FORBES magazine has released its annual list of the world's richest people, with eight Africans on the 1,125 member list for the first time. Egypt's Naguib Sawaris with a net worth of $12.7 billion and Nassef Sawaris ($11 billion) top the list of the wealthiest Africans in the world. Onsi Sawaris ($9.1b) and Samih Sawaris ($2.9b) are the other two Egyptians on the list. MORE>>>
AFRICA INSIGHT: After Mau Mau, Kenya’s December polls second lesson for Africa
Television pictures and graphic radio reports of burning and looting of property across Kenya, have combined with local experiences of election-related violence across Nigeria during the 2007 national elections and current primaries of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party to cast grave doubts about the wisdom of conducting elections. MORE>>>
ICPC to try suspects in N3.32b UBE funds scam
SUSPECTS in the N3.32 billion Universal Basic Education (UBE) fund mismanagement are to face the law, it was learnt yesterday. The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) may prosecute them. Of the funds, about N2.3billion has been recovered from about 20 state governments. MORE>>>
FG lists treason offences against MEND leader
The Federal Government on Wednesday accused the detained leader of the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger Delta, Mr. Henry Okah, of committing treason. It said that Okah and his co-detainee, Mr. Edward Atata, were involved in terrorism and disappearance of weapons in the Nigerian Army central depot in Kaduna. MORE>>>
Two Army generals, four others face court martial
The Nigerian Army Headquarters on Tuesday inaugurated a five-member court martial to try two Generals and four other senior army officers, who were accused of misappropriation of funds. MORE>>>
Tuesday, March 04, 2008
A Barack Obama Campaign Diary
“Yo, What u think about da Obama guy, man!?” I’m getting pissed with the crazy ass white folks, they ain't mean well, brotha!
“Hey, that hardball politics ain’t gonna fly, man!” “You feel me?”
“I feel you, dawg!”
“Obama ain’t black. He ain’t got no clue what been happening in the hood, man.”
“I hear you my brother. I ain’t voting for nobody. Nothing’s gonna change, man! You feel me?
“I feel you dawg!”
Another voice would pop up and say, “Hey, man, you listening to the damn liars? They ain’t nothing but liars, man. They ain’t got nothing for you, and you better quit dreaming, man! You feel me, though?”
“I feel you dawg!!”
“Ammo take it like it is man. I’m a hustler hommie and I don’t give a damn about what u guys say. Ammo hustle man to keep food on the table. Ammo do anything to survive, man. I’m a soldier, man. I got five little kids, hommie. Ammo hustle and buy dem bad ass rims, hommie. Dem lying politicians ain’t gonna buy toys and clothes for my kids, man. ‘Am a hustler hommie and ammo keep it straight. Ammo keep it straight, man! You feel me?”
“You da man!! You da man!! You da man, and I feel you dawg!!!”
“Hey, you guys ain’t real, man. Obama is the man and he is giving us hope that one day we shall overcome our predicaments. You see what I’m saying? And that’s for real man. Obama ain’t no educated fool. He got game and he is for real, my brother!”
“I hear you dawg, Obama is the man; he's the man!”
“Come on, man, you guys just don’t get it. Ammo tell you why. Obama ain’t black and he ain’t white either and you guys better quit playing the race card. He ain’t got nothing against anybody. Brother just wants the damn crooked politicians to get out of the way so America can be a better place for us all. Obama is the man and he got my vote. You feel me, man?”
“I feel you dawg, but hey, he ain't gonna watch your back!”
“You guys been tripping. What’s all the fuss about da Obama ain’t black or white? Ammo tell you guys something. I need money. I need a job. I need to hang out in the hood and do my thang. I need to cruise in my Chevy Impala low-rider with dem tight chicks on Crenshaw and no damn cop chasing me cuz I’m black. I wanna be free, man. You feel me?”
“I feel you dawg, but Obama ain't coming to Crenshaw, you know that!”
“Ok, let’s be real guys. Ammo go out there and vote for Obama. I don’t care what you guys say cuz I know Obama is for real man. I know and you know Obama gonna change America. And If I vote and you vote we know he’s gonna win and that’s all we need my brother. You feel me, man?”
“I feel you dawg!”
“Okay, guys, why don’t we agree on one thing. The Clintons and the Bushes been running this country for a while and ain’t nothing happening but lying to the people, man. They been fighting and throwing bombs here and there making America look bad, man. They been throwing bombs all over, man. They been killing my brothers in Africa, man. They been taking all our treasures, man. These white folks are bad, man. Let’s give the black man a chance and you see what’s gonna happen. You feel me?”
“I feel you dawg, but brothas are worst than white folks!”
“Look man, I don’t know what you guys been talking about. Ammo stick to the dude about dem tight gals and low-rider on Crenshaw, man! Dem cops been chasing us around cuz we been driving while black. You see what I’m saying? For real man, they been all over us cuz a brother been making some little change, hustling, man, hanging out in the hood with dem hoes. I got to hustle to help my baby mama put food on the table, man! I don’t care about no damn politician. He ain’t gonna put food on the table, man!! You feel me?”
“I feel you dawg!!!”
That’s the story of the regular guy on the street who is getting by on a daily basis doing the best out of a very bad situation which is typical with the “hood rats” in the projects and South Central Los Angeles. Some of them with records beyond imagination and they wonder how change is about to come, all of a sudden, with a black president who was raised under humble circumstances and had no clue what’s been going on in the projects with majority of these kids not knowing who “their daddy is.” They wonder how a polarized system can change all that.
It is a case of sad reality when one thinks about it. The 18th Street Gang. The 48th Street Crips. The East Los Angeles Gang stretching from Boyle Heights to Alhambra, the Gangs of South Central Los Angeles, Watts, Compton, Long Beach, Lynwood, Hawthorne and the Crenshaw District are areas of political interest now that “change” has become the keyword in this fascinating campaign. What kids in these gang infested neighborhoods are calling for is a profound leadership that would give them a sense of purpose, to rise above the limitations imposed on them for a better future. And the Obama campaign team should put this into perspective and make it a priority with regards to “change” and “yes we can.”
Though Obama is talking about change, and perhaps, it’s about to happen, that is, if he gets the mandate in a polarized American culture. I’m not sure if he has taken that into perspective throughout his campaign that seemingly would change America for good and California in particular, dating back to the Gold Rush when aggressive slave power was the subject matter and when a financial oligarchic class took laws into their own hands.
The fears expressed by these young kids in the ghetto, and programmed projects as in welfare state would definitely not change anything considering the fact that these underprivileged kids have been programmed through all sorts of government regulated social programs to have limited abilities to unshackle themselves from the bondage that is coupled with a government which has persistently maintained the status quo, with limitations imposed in the hoods, and associated with widespread crime waves that has no end in sight.
Don’t get me wrong. I love Obama and I want him to be the next president of the United States with no color lines but for the fact American is desperately in need of change and the time should be now in order to get rid of a very deceptive and corrupt administration typical of Ulysses Grant, Warren G. Harding administrations, respectively. The George W. Bush administration has destroyed America, in its entirety, and nobody is really sure how long a new democratic administration, be it Clinton or Obama, would administer in putting America back on track in terms of its economy and its relationship with the Western World and other relative global leaders.
And we hope if Obama wins, a new age of prosperity and the “era of good feelings” would resurface which is why Obama should be given the chance on the ground he was raised a common man knowing in detail what it means surviving the odds. He had gone through Occidental College in Los Angeles, Columbia University in New York and Harvard University in Cambridge, all in quest for a “common purpose” Americans like him needed. Are the “hood rats” listening? I hope so!! Are they? I hope so, I hope so!! I definitely hope so!!!
Just at the end of 43rd Place and Degnan Boulevard that stretches down from series of black businesses at Leimert Park in Black Township, if you are a tourist or just poking around, you will notice one thing typical as the political campaigns heats up with Barack Obama posters here and there hyping up the idea that a black president is around the corner. And it has been atmospheric like introducing the next president of the United States, Senator Barack Obama. The name is all over the place and one can tell a second generation immigrant has shown that it is possible, and of course, “Yes we can.”
So when I bumped into black fellas from all walks of life at this historic place known for its thriving businesses relating to African cultural heritage – Papa’s West, African Treasures, Kumasi Gift Shop, World Stage Performance Gallery, African Heritage & Antique Collection, Hisam’s African & Urban Wear, Eso Won Book Store, Zambezi, Ackee Bamboo Restaurant, Lucy Florence Cultural Center, 5th Street Dick’s Coffeehouse, Leimert Park Eye Wear, etc. – I had the ultimate feel that Obama has arrived and it’s about time for the white folks to show some respect after hundreds of years of slavery, the separate but equal Jim Crow ballast and the Civil Rights Movement from around which blacks went through hell in America.
Of course, Obama is the “man of the hour,” never mind the “hood rats,” though their point remains very relevant because it is perceived to be the “same old song,” over and over again, which is typical of political campaigns. But Obama has changed a whole lot and we are beginning to see a difference since the history of political campaigns in an America that survived slave labor, segregation, Civil War, free speech, annexation and international conflicts.
I have not digged into Obama and all that campaign slogans with Senator Hillary Clinton and Senator John McCain until browsing Shelby Steel’s new book “A Bound Man: Why We Are Excited About Obama and Why He Can’t Win,” which is about an emerging black president, even with the debates and tabloid sensationalism as I have thought I should make a sketch and caricature that comes along with cocky politicians of our day, checking my mailbox during the course of my usual runs, was March 2008 edition of Ebony Magazine and guess what, Obama was on the cover with bold prints, “IN OUR LIFETIME: ARE WE REALLY WITNESSING THE ELECTION OF THE NATION’S FIRST BLACK PRESIDENT?”
I read every bit of the story starting with “How Team Obama & Black America Are Making History,” a detailed campaign run covered by Sylvester Monroe, Kevin Chappell & Brian Monroe exclusively for Ebony Magazine. The tale – without tell-flaws -- was electric, Shakespearean, and amazing with an interesting opening act. 30-year-old Karen Richardson who studied law at Howard University had in 2005 interned at Senator Obama’s office in Washington D.C. She got hooked with “Obama fever” and abandoned every other project in her ensuing career committing herself to some great stuff when called upon to take the position of political director in Iowa State. That leadership role gave Obama Iowa without qualms. And so the story goes.
Richardson doesn’t have many words to explain her excitement when picked to run the show in Iowa. Well traveled and dedicated to change she said:
“When they asked me to stay on, I was sort of on a different course. But I looked at Barack and the way he interacted with his staff. I knew he was brilliant, and I looked at his character. There are a lot of smart people, but being on the Senate staff with him, you knew there was something special happening. All that combined to keep me there. It just felt right.”
What is more touching to me in the Obama for President Campaign is the drama at the barber shops. I did have to poke around and do some crazy stuff notably with the interest I have picked in this energetic and brilliant man who has survived all battle wounds growing up not knowing much about his father. Barber shops to me are like the comedy clubs where if you can’t control your emotions you will leave with cracked ribs.
My first point of call was a newly opened barber shop called Total Body Retreat Barber Shop on La Brea and Florence just around the corner from Inglewood’s bubbling Civic Center where everybody is talking about politics, the coming of age in the 21st Century and precisely “change” that would perhaps turn things around based on a new generation of voters. Obama’s sign graced every lawn in this barber shop and loquacious clients and youngish barbers had begun to engage in the kind of politics never seen before in a generation that is beginning to get the awareness of why “my vote should count in effecting change.” A new generation has popped up and like the saying goes, “politics make strange bedfellows.” The coinage should be rather “new age politics make good buddies” feeling how these kids are sticking together for change.
There was not much ado about the other barber shop – Magic Artistic Barber and Beauty Salon – down the street just by the Inglewood Car Wash on La Brea and Hardy. It was kind of mellow, lacking enthusiasm with old school flavored politics. Though politics was discussed but it had a nagging and who cares kind of flavor typical of the old guards the youngish entrepreneurs are clamoring for its change.
But the TV talk shows and radio commentators on both sides of the political spectrum – the left and the right, or perhaps the progressives and the neo-cons – doesn’t really matter in what has been going on at these barber shops as these young generations deals with reality, on a day-to-day basis, with all hopes being dashed by an outrageous administration. They have seen the downsizing, the ridiculous hike in gas prices, the increasingly crime waves in the neighborhoods, the slowing business activities as a result of the so-called “Bush Doctrine” which only benefits the rich, widening the gap between the haves and have-nots, and the whole concept that America is falling apart with every situation “not getting any better.” They have seen the “American Dream” slip away by hopelessness.
About a decade ago, not too many black folks were interested in voting to decide who the next president of the United States would be on the basis an election would not “change anything,” that the same old politicians and their sugar-coated mouth would continuously be the story, and that once these politicians are elected into office, the story changes and nothing gets done. But now, this new generation of “progressives,” from about a decade ago which seems to be diminishing the strength of the Baby Boomers are doing something different. They now belong to the political elite class. They have been raised humble from the past baby booming years, and they are beginning to realize American destiny should be in their own hands, thus the desperate need for a change of the guards. They want out of the old school kind of politics. And they mean it. And that is one of the reasons why they are now totally engaged in making sure change comes about with a new kind of leadership.
So, when one delves into the Obama campaign camp, it has increasingly become obvious that a new generation of political pragmatists have emerged sounding off on the continuous cliché of “change.” Nonetheless, the black vote is very relevant and just like Professor Ronald Walters of University of Maryland observed, “The Black vote is extremely important. The problem is that it is more powerful when it coalesces. It is weaker when it is divided. The name of the game is power not representation.”
Of course, “power” is the keyword and if Blacks should come out and vote en-masse for “change,” a derailed “Bush Doctrine” will be history in American politics just for the economical damage it has caused the American people.
For the last few months, anybody reading the newspapers and journals or watching talk or political TV shows could only conclude that the way of American politics has changed and Obamanian quest for change is spreading across America. It has been very interesting! It has been interesting, indeed!! And we hope it gets more interesting as the conventions draws nearer.
And with Obama defeating Clinton in the Vermont primaries some hours ago as I wrap up this piece, Ohio, Texas and Rhode Island is now up for grabs to probably determine the party's presidential nominee. Whatever happens and who ever gets the ticket, we hope they will practice what they have preached all along, that is, in the event any of the democratic nominee wins the presidency.
For Obama, "yes, we can!"
"So, yo, go out there and vote, dawg!!!"
News Desk Tuesday, March 4, 2008
Foreign Worker Kidnapped in Nigeria, Ending Months of Relative Quiet
A foreign worker has been taken hostage by gunmen in Nigeria's troubled oil-region. This is the first kidnapping of a foreign national for almost five months and it has raised fears that a period of relative calm in the Niger Delta could be coming to an end. For VOA, Sarah Simpson has more from Lagos. MORE>>>
Obasanjo's power at stake in Nigeria party polls
ABUJA, March 4 (Reuters) - Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo faces a battle to keep his grip on the highly influential ruling party on Saturday when it chooses new leaders, party members say. MORE>>>
Four international airports up for lease
THE Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja; Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano and the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) are to be concessioned soon. MORE>>>
UN: Rights Council Should Tackle Somalia Crisis
The armed conflict in Somalia that began in late 2006 when Ethiopia ousted the Islamic Courts Union from Mogadishu has resulted in numerous violations of international humanitarian law by all sides. Ethiopian armed forces, troops of the Transitional Federal Government, and the insurgents have all been responsible for deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians in the capital, Mogadishu. MORE>>>
Zuma says racism still widespread in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG, March 4 (Reuters) - Ruling ANC party leader Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday that racism was still a major problem in South Africa, after a video in which white university students degraded black campus cleaners sparked outrage. MORE>>>
A foreign worker has been taken hostage by gunmen in Nigeria's troubled oil-region. This is the first kidnapping of a foreign national for almost five months and it has raised fears that a period of relative calm in the Niger Delta could be coming to an end. For VOA, Sarah Simpson has more from Lagos. MORE>>>
Obasanjo's power at stake in Nigeria party polls
ABUJA, March 4 (Reuters) - Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo faces a battle to keep his grip on the highly influential ruling party on Saturday when it chooses new leaders, party members say. MORE>>>
Four international airports up for lease
THE Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos; Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja; Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA), Kano and the Port Harcourt International Airport (PHIA) are to be concessioned soon. MORE>>>
UN: Rights Council Should Tackle Somalia Crisis
The armed conflict in Somalia that began in late 2006 when Ethiopia ousted the Islamic Courts Union from Mogadishu has resulted in numerous violations of international humanitarian law by all sides. Ethiopian armed forces, troops of the Transitional Federal Government, and the insurgents have all been responsible for deliberate and indiscriminate attacks against civilians in the capital, Mogadishu. MORE>>>
Zuma says racism still widespread in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG, March 4 (Reuters) - Ruling ANC party leader Jacob Zuma said on Tuesday that racism was still a major problem in South Africa, after a video in which white university students degraded black campus cleaners sparked outrage. MORE>>>
Monday, March 03, 2008
News Desk Monday, March 3, 2008
Govt raises fuel import, recalls bad products
NEW measures have been introduced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to check the scarcity of aviation fuel (JET-A1). Instead of leaving the importation of the product to marketers, the corporation has taken over the exercise. MORE>>>
Presidential poll: Tribunal erred, Buhari tells S’Court
The Presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Muhammadu Buhari has filed his appeal before the Supreme Court against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal which had dismissed his petition and upheld the election of President Umaru Yar’Adua and vice President Goodluck Jonathan. MORE>>>
We're leaving Nigeria with positive feelings —APRM
THE efforts of the Nigerian judiciary at sanitising the electoral process by the judgements passed so far by the electoral tribunals in the country, has once again come under review and commendation, but this time from a foreigner. MORE>>>
NEW measures have been introduced by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to check the scarcity of aviation fuel (JET-A1). Instead of leaving the importation of the product to marketers, the corporation has taken over the exercise. MORE>>>
Presidential poll: Tribunal erred, Buhari tells S’Court
The Presidential candidate of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) Muhammadu Buhari has filed his appeal before the Supreme Court against the judgment of the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal which had dismissed his petition and upheld the election of President Umaru Yar’Adua and vice President Goodluck Jonathan. MORE>>>
We're leaving Nigeria with positive feelings —APRM
THE efforts of the Nigerian judiciary at sanitising the electoral process by the judgements passed so far by the electoral tribunals in the country, has once again come under review and commendation, but this time from a foreigner. MORE>>>
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Campaign Desk Thursday, Feb 28, 2008
Economy is on candidates' agenda
The economy took front and center on the campaign trail today as Democrat Barack Obama blamed both President Bush and Republican John McCain for a "failure of leadership" and McCain lashed Democratic trade policies for imperiling the economy. MORE>>>
Race a wild-card factor
COLUMBUS, OHIO -- When John McCain apologized to Barack Obama this week for the comments of his warm-up act at a rally, it was not the first time -- and probably won't be the last -- that the most competitive black presidential candidate in U.S. history has heard the words, "I'm sorry." MORE>>>
Clinton Hauls in $35 Mill; Obama Camp Says They'll Do Better
Sen. Hillary Clinton said Thursday she was incredibly gratified to learn her campaign hauled in a record 35 million dollars in the month of February, despite losing 11 contests during that time. MORE>>>
For The Record: Barack Obama
In the CNN debate Jan. 21, he said: "On issue after issue that is important to the American people, I haven't simply followed, I have led." From votes for abortion rights to lessening penalties for marijuana use to raising doubts about capital punishment, Obama is a traditional liberal, CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports. MORE>>>
Democrats Bring in $80 Million, With Obama in Lead
Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton both had a record-breaking month of fundraising in February, bringing in more than $80 million combined, but with Mr. Obama again raising significantly more than his opponent. MORE>>>
The Muddy Road Ahead, and What the Candidates Can Do About It
John McCain has a tiger by the tail. Twice in as many days, McCain's Republican allies have launched unseemly attacks on Barack Obama. Twice, McCain has tried to distance himself from them. Does anyone doubt they will continue? Can McCain really do anything to stop them? MORE>>>
Shrill-ary
Is Clinton’s problem as basic as her voice?
It was perhaps the most memorable line of perhaps the most memorable moment of Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president. The night she won New Hampshire, in an upset that seemed as much a surprise to her as to everyone else, the candidate strode out before a sea of supporters in the cavernous gym of Manchester’s Southern New Hampshire University. MORE>>>
President Bloomberg: RIP
Will Mayor Mike’s op-ed finally end this nonsense?
“I am not — and will not be — a candidate for president.” Can we finally, finally, without any second thoughts, take Michael Bloomberg at his word? The man has been trying to get the press to understand for a long time that he is not running for president, but journalists and editors (based mostly here in New York, I might add) have refused to take the hint. MORE>>>
The economy took front and center on the campaign trail today as Democrat Barack Obama blamed both President Bush and Republican John McCain for a "failure of leadership" and McCain lashed Democratic trade policies for imperiling the economy. MORE>>>
Race a wild-card factor
COLUMBUS, OHIO -- When John McCain apologized to Barack Obama this week for the comments of his warm-up act at a rally, it was not the first time -- and probably won't be the last -- that the most competitive black presidential candidate in U.S. history has heard the words, "I'm sorry." MORE>>>
Clinton Hauls in $35 Mill; Obama Camp Says They'll Do Better
Sen. Hillary Clinton said Thursday she was incredibly gratified to learn her campaign hauled in a record 35 million dollars in the month of February, despite losing 11 contests during that time. MORE>>>
For The Record: Barack Obama
In the CNN debate Jan. 21, he said: "On issue after issue that is important to the American people, I haven't simply followed, I have led." From votes for abortion rights to lessening penalties for marijuana use to raising doubts about capital punishment, Obama is a traditional liberal, CBS News correspondent Dean Reynolds reports. MORE>>>
Democrats Bring in $80 Million, With Obama in Lead
Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton both had a record-breaking month of fundraising in February, bringing in more than $80 million combined, but with Mr. Obama again raising significantly more than his opponent. MORE>>>
The Muddy Road Ahead, and What the Candidates Can Do About It
John McCain has a tiger by the tail. Twice in as many days, McCain's Republican allies have launched unseemly attacks on Barack Obama. Twice, McCain has tried to distance himself from them. Does anyone doubt they will continue? Can McCain really do anything to stop them? MORE>>>
Shrill-ary
Is Clinton’s problem as basic as her voice?
It was perhaps the most memorable line of perhaps the most memorable moment of Hillary Clinton’s campaign for president. The night she won New Hampshire, in an upset that seemed as much a surprise to her as to everyone else, the candidate strode out before a sea of supporters in the cavernous gym of Manchester’s Southern New Hampshire University. MORE>>>
President Bloomberg: RIP
Will Mayor Mike’s op-ed finally end this nonsense?
“I am not — and will not be — a candidate for president.” Can we finally, finally, without any second thoughts, take Michael Bloomberg at his word? The man has been trying to get the press to understand for a long time that he is not running for president, but journalists and editors (based mostly here in New York, I might add) have refused to take the hint. MORE>>>
News Desk Thursday, Feb 28, 2008
3 feared dead as PDP, AC supporters clash
Supporters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and those of the Action Congress (AC) yesterday clashed in Yola with about three persons feared dead.
Five other supporters of the AC were reported dead in a road crash while travelling from Madasali to Yola to solidarise with the party’s governorship candidate, Alhaji Ibrahim Bapetal. MORE>>>
Kenya rivals agree to share power, deal faces legal challenge
KENYAN President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have signed an agreement to end the country's post-election crisis. At a ceremony in Nairobi, the two men put their signatures to a power-sharing deal brokered by UN ex-head Kofi Annan. MORE>>>
Controversy trails PDP state congresses
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had a taste of what may happen at the party’s National Convention scheduled for next weekend when controversy, complaints and condemnation trailed Thursday’s state congresses nationwide.
In some states, parrelel executive councils emerged. MORE>>>
FG proposes law to prosecute sitting govs
THE Federal Government on Thursday said it had sent a bill to the National Assembly seeking constitutional powers to commence prosecution of corrupt governors while still in office. MORE>>>
Fake results: Jail INEC officials for life - Nnamani
Former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, has advocated the amendment of the 2006 electoral law to ensure life jail or a minimum of 20 years imprisonment for electoral officials who declare phantom results after elections. MORE>>>
Supporters of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and those of the Action Congress (AC) yesterday clashed in Yola with about three persons feared dead.
Five other supporters of the AC were reported dead in a road crash while travelling from Madasali to Yola to solidarise with the party’s governorship candidate, Alhaji Ibrahim Bapetal. MORE>>>
Kenya rivals agree to share power, deal faces legal challenge
KENYAN President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have signed an agreement to end the country's post-election crisis. At a ceremony in Nairobi, the two men put their signatures to a power-sharing deal brokered by UN ex-head Kofi Annan. MORE>>>
Controversy trails PDP state congresses
Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had a taste of what may happen at the party’s National Convention scheduled for next weekend when controversy, complaints and condemnation trailed Thursday’s state congresses nationwide.
In some states, parrelel executive councils emerged. MORE>>>
FG proposes law to prosecute sitting govs
THE Federal Government on Thursday said it had sent a bill to the National Assembly seeking constitutional powers to commence prosecution of corrupt governors while still in office. MORE>>>
Fake results: Jail INEC officials for life - Nnamani
Former Senate President, Ken Nnamani, has advocated the amendment of the 2006 electoral law to ensure life jail or a minimum of 20 years imprisonment for electoral officials who declare phantom results after elections. MORE>>>
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