'Tens' Killed In Nigeria Christmas Eve Gas Plant Explosion -- Presidency

BY ANAMESERE IGBOEROTEONWU, REUTERS


Tens of people were killed in an explosion at a gas plant in southern Nigeria, the presidency said on Friday, with one journalist putting the death toll at 100.

The blast occurred on Thursday when a truck was discharging butane gas at the facility in Nnewi town in Anambra state as a crowd of customers refilled gas bottles on Christmas Eve, residents said.

President Muhammadu Buhari's office said "tens of people" who had been looking forward to their Christmas celebrations had been killed, without giving a precise toll.

One local journalist at the scene, David Onwuchekwa, said: "I saw around 100 charred corpses."

Most of the dead were customers at the plant or people who lived nearby, he added.

Carl Ofuonye, another local journalist, said the blast had been sparked when the truck exploded while discharging gas.

"So many people were in the building, workers at the plant, people who came to buy gas," he said. "A woman and a child in a nearby building died."

Many others were being treated for burns at nearby hospitals.

"I saw flames but I didn't know (what was going on) and started running and then I heard an explosion," the wife of the manager of a nearby construction site told local TV station Television Continental. "Even while running the fire...burnt me all over."

(Reporting by Anamesere Igboeroteonwu, Sharon Atseyinku, Camillus Eboh, Felix Onuah and Ulf Laessing; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Pravin Char and Hugh Lawson)

NIGERIA: Senate Constitutes 38-Member Constitution Review Committee

BY GEORGE OJI

NATIONAL MIRROR, DECEMBER 23, 2015

The senate has begun a fresh process of amending the 1999 constitution with the inauguration of a 38-member review committee.

The committee comprises a senator from each of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, with the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu as chairman.

The review committee was named yesterday by Senate President, Bukola Saraki, shortly before the upper legislative chamber went into a joint session with the House of Representatives to receive President Muhammadu Buhari, who was at the National Assembly to lay the 2016 Appropriation Bill.

Ekweremadu also chaired the constitution amendment review committee of the seventh senate.

The product of the seventh amendment was not assented to by then President Goodluck Jonathan because of some objections, which were not reconciled properly before he left office on May 29.

Saraki, in a brief remark after announcing the new committee, said their work had been made easy because all they needed to do was to use the last review, which is still outstanding as a guide for the current exercise.

He warned the committee against embarking on any fresh tours in the course of the review since the last document was a product of wide consultations among Nigerians.

He said: “With the composition of the committee, the Senate had set the stage for the activities leading to the delivery to our people. The work already carried out by the Seventh Senate had made the jobs of the new committee easy.”

NIGERIA: Senate And The Opposition Against Anti-Social Media Bill

BY EBERE NDUKWU

NATIONAL MIRROR, DECEMBER 23, 2015

Following the continuous criticism of anti-social media bill sponsored by Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’allah which sets out heavy sanctions for people who “falsely” criticise public officials or institutions, EBERE NDUKWU looks at the implication of the bill on Nigeria’s democracy.

(ABUJA, NIGERIA) -- There is no denial that the rising and prolifera­tion of social media in the country has positively helped in reshaping political ambiance of Nige­ria in terms of educating and mobilising Nigerians.

It is a podium for political analysis, debates, political campaign and political mobilisation as seen in the last general elections in the country where political office holders, politicians, including president and governors owned and managed social media account such as Face­book, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Blog sites among others to inform the public.

During the last election, political leaders and po­litical candidates shared their political agenda and mobilised people towards its propagation using the social media platform. The country’s ruling party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, benefited in no small measure using social media platform in selling its pro­grammes and activities which led to its defeat of the incumbent president in the elections that took place in the first quarter of this year

Unarguably, the advent of social media in the world of information has added a very unique dimension to the participation of more people in those affairs that particularly has direct effects on their day-to-day lives and survival. Social media has already occupied those spaces that were hitherto un-occupied by the orthodox media.

The social media play great role world over in edu­cating the people in a democratic set up, it also has its challenges. This is because while it plays some positive roles in enthroning democracy, its excesses also bring negative consequence on the populace.

Possibly it is on the need to balance the roles of so­cial media in a democratic set up that made the Deputy Senate Leader, Senator Bala Ibn Na’allah, a member of the ruling APC from Kebbi State, to not long ago spon­sored a bill which sets out heavy sanctions for people who “falsely” criticise public officials or institutions.

The Bill titled “Draft Bill to Prohibit Frivolous Pe­tition and Other Matters Connected Therewith” seeks to forbid social media operators from slandering mem­bers of the public including the lawmakers themselves.

Put differently, the Bill seeks to gag the press and in­timidate the users of the social media.

The Bill not only prescribes two year jail term for of­fenders, it comes with the option of N2 million fine, or both sanctions could be applied.

. The bill says, “Notwithstanding anything contained in any law, it shall be unlawful to submit any petition, statement intended to report the conduct of any person for the purpose of an investigation, inquiry and or in­quest without a duly sworn affidavit in the High Court of a state or the Federal High Court confirming the con­tent to be true and correct and in accordance with the Oaths Act.

“Any petition and or complains not accompanied by a sworn affidavit shall be incompetent and shall not be used by any government institution, agency or bodies established by any law for the time being enforced in Nigeria.

“Any person who unlawfully uses, publishes or causes to be published, any petition, complaint not sup­ported by a duly sworn affidavit, shall be deemed to have committed an offence and upon conviction, shall be liable to an imprisonment for six months without an option of fine.”

It continues: “Any person who acts, uses, or causes to be used any petition or complaints not accompanied by duly sworn affidavit shall be deemed to have commit­ted an offence and upon conviction, shall be liable to an imprisonment for a term of two years or a fine of N200, 000.00 or both.”

The bill also states that, “Where any person in order to circumvent this law makes any allegation and or publish any statement, petition in any paper, radio, or any medium of whatever description, with malicious intent to discredit or set the public against any person or group of persons, institutions of government, he shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction, shall be liable to an imprisonment term of two years or a fine of N4, 000,000.00.”

For the social media, the bill says, “Where any per­son through text message, tweets, WhatsApp or through any social media, posts any abusive statement knowing same to be false with intent to set the public against any person and group of persons, an institution of gov­ernment or such other bodies established by law shall be guilty of an offence and upon conviction, shall be liable to an imprisonment for two years or a fine of N2, 000,000.00 or both fine and imprisonment.”

Unlike many other bills, the bill received an unusual­ly rapid attention at the senate, with two readings made within two weeks of its introduction, forcing many Ni­gerians to slam the lawmakers.

Since the bill was sponsored, it has continued to re­ceive criticisms of all sorts, while some Nigerians have seen it as not only a significant clampdown on freedom of speech, but a deliberate targeting of critics of fed­eral lawmakers and the National Assembly, others have called it a threat to democracy in the country

In its reaction, Partnership for Media and Democ­racy in Nigeria, PAMED, a coalition of NGOs, called on the Senate to drop the Social Media Bill 2015 in order not to stand against the will of the people.

In a statement jointly signed by members of PA­MED, the Institute of Media and Society, IMESO, Me­dia Rights Agenda, MRA, and the International Press Centre, IPC, PAMED said the call became imperative because “the bill is a threat to democracy in Nigeria.’’

The group in the statement signed by Dr Akin Ak­ingbulu, executive director, IMESO, Mr Edetaen Ojo, executive director, MRA, and Mr. Lanre Arogundade, director, IPC, citing examples from sections 3 and 4 of the bill said that the bill seeks to gag both the press and the general public from expressing views and opinions.

“If the bill becomes law, it would infringe on hu­man rights to freedom of expression as globally recog­nised,’’ the group said.

Saying that the bill completely negated important international conventions to which Nigeria was a sig­natory and which all affirmed the right of citizens to hold opinion, freely express themselves and freely dis­seminate information, they group described the bill as a subjugation of the constitution which the Senate swore to uphold.

It stated that senators were representatives of the people and should be held accountable by the people they served by answering questions and responding to their criticisms.

“PAMED has come to the conclusion that the bill constitutes a threat to democracy because it seeks to repress the social media, the conventional media, the civil society and the citizenry as a whole.

“In the light of all the pressing development chal­lenges confronting the country, which should be the priorities of the senators and all other persons exer­cising any form of political power or authority, the PA­MED is of the view that the bill itself is frivolous and unwarranted.

“The bill, through its frivolous content and malicious intent, seeks to achieve nothing other than undermin­ing freedom of expression, press freedom, public par­ticipation in governance and democracy.

“PAMED, therefore, affirms that the bill violates all the norms of democratic practise, freedom of expres­sion, press freedom, transparency and accountability as well as open governance.’’

In its reaction, Socio-Economic Rights and Account­ability Project, SERAP, filed a petition to the United Na­tions against the bill.

In a recent statement, SERAP executive director, Ad­etokunbo Mumuni, said: “SERAP can confirm that the Office of the UN Special Rapporteur is now considering our petition. We have received communication from Marcelo Daher at the Office of the Special Rapporteur to this effect. The Special Rapporteur has also request­ed a copy of the bill, which SERAP has promptly sent to Marcelo Daher.

“SERAP appreciates the prompt attention to this matter by the Office of the Special Rapporteur. We urge the UN to pursue this matter to a satisfactory conclu­sion by ensuring that the Nigerian Senate is not al­lowed to strangulate media freedom and social media in the country.

According to SERAP, “the only option for the Sen­ate now is to withdraw this obnoxious bill without fur­ther delay and end this international embarrassment. SERAP will be prepared to withdraw the petition at the UN if the Senate can follow this honourable path.”

However in defence of the senate on the bill , Sena­tor Dino Melaye, (APC-Kogi State) raised a point of order, at the floor of the House lashing out on, Sahara Reporters while claiming that untrue stories had been published against him, warning that the Senate should not overlook the bill believed by many as anti social me­dia.

Melaye said: “While I celebrate the social media as one of the actors, this Senate should not be black­mailed. The Senate is a sacred hallowed chamber. The bill moved by Ibn Na’allah has been misconstrued by the same people. This Senate should not be quiet about it.”

Other lawmakers also took turn to speak about al­leged false publications in the media. The senate leader, Ali Ndume (APC-Borno State), said the publication of false stories was becoming rampant in the country, say­ing that the Senate as a lawmaking body should hold people responsible for their actions.

“It is not only Sahara Reporters; there are other on­line platforms that wake up and post all sorts of things. At a point, one of the online platforms accused me of buying 400 Golf cars for Boko Haram”, he said.

Biodun Olujimi (PDP-Ekiti State), who also ex­pressed frustration, said she had to exit all the social media “because of these problems”.

Ruling on the matter, the Senate President, Bukola Saraki said, “We all support freedom of speech but as a Senate we should not be blackmailed. You can’t write false stories just because it is social media.”

The matter was referred to the committees on ICT, judiciary and ethics and privileges committee.

In its move to calm the mounting opposition on the bill, the leadership of the Senate recently through a statement by its spokesperson, Senator Aliyu Sabi as­sured Nigerians that they will be able to make input and determine the fate of the controversial Act to Prohibit Frivolous Petitions and Other Related Matters bill.

The Senate said that members of the public, includ­ing those for or against the Anti-Frivolity bill or parts of the bill will have the opportunity to shape its final outcome as there is an elaborate process which the bill must undergo before it becomes a law, nothing that some of the comments on the bill emanated from misconception and misunderstanding of the objective which is meant to protect all individuals and institu­tions, including journalists and social media users.

Senator Sabi: “The senate is committed to freedom of speech and a fully inclusive and participatory democ­racy”. The process of passing a bill is comprehensive and provide for inputs to be taken from all and sundry. The first stage is merely to read the short title of the bill. The second stage is purely to debate the general principles. The next stage is committal of the bill to ap­propriate committee or committees for further detailed legislative action where the details, intendment and clause by clause implications of the bill is dissected by the committee. This stage also involve public hearing in which members of the public, civil society, nongov­ernmental organisations and all interested parties for or against the bill have the opportunity to shape and influence its content.

“The outcome from this committee stage is what will be finalised and then represented to the chamber for clause by clause consideration and approval or disap­proval by the Senate. Thereafter, if the bill is approved, then the clean version of the bill is forwarded to the House of Representatives for concurrence or other­wise”.

According to him, the anti-frivolity bill will go through the whole hog and there is no intention to make the process of passing this bill any different. “Accordingly, the Senate wants to re-assure the public about this. So, all those who are either for or against this bill or its part and any other one have ample op­portunities to reshape it”, Sabi stated.

Different groups including Diaspora Nigeria Na­tionals Network, DNNN, with membership all over the world and its headquarters in New York, have called on Senate President Bukola Saraki to slam the brakes on the so-called bill, or risk members of the Upper House finding they are unable to travel in any direction what­soever.

While many Nigerians want total freedom for social media users, many also would like to see an improved social media which will be able enhance better public mobilisation, sensitisation and true democracy in Ni­geria through citizen sensitisation programmes.

With opinion against the bill daily gaining the ground only time has an answer to what will become of the bill.

African Risk Capacity: Insurance For African Development

BY DANIEL RUNDE

FORBES, DECEMBER 22, 2015

Farmers in Niger dig half-moon ditches to capture rainwater after a drought. (Oxfam International, Flickr)

In even the wealthiest African countries, private insurance is uncommon. However, insurance could mitigate the agricultural challenges Africa faces every year. Drought and flooding are particularly common natural disasters, and from 1994 to 2013 Africa suffered more droughts than any other continent–a total of 131–75% of which occurred in East Africa. Since 2000, each year saw an average of 341 weather-related disasters. Each disaster sets African development back as farmers and business-people are forced to sell their livestock and tools to buy food in times of crisis.

Enter African Risk Capacity (ARC). Created as a Specialized Agency of the African Union, its financial affiliate is a mutual insurance company, ARC Ltd, owned by African states–originally Kenya, Mauritania, Niger, and Senegal, but expanded in 2015 to also include Malawi, Mali and Gambia. The participating states pay premiums into the insurance pool, and when disaster strikes, measured objectively using weather data, ARC Ltd quickly makes a payout to provide resources to those affected. In the next four years, ARC hopes to attract a total of 20 to 30 member states, increasing ARC’s pool far beyond its current $180 million. ARC’s pool system is a promising example of African countries financing their own development and providing their own assistance.

In its first year, ARC insured four countries with total coverage of $130 million, and ended up paying out $26.3 million after a drought in West Africa. That’s all part of the plan–because ARC covers so many African countries in different parts of the continent, which means one insured country may be affected by a drought, while the others could remain unaffected. Membership in this risk pool plan requires that countries hold aCertificate of Good Standing with ARC, which requires signing off on an approved contingency plan, which then forms the basis for use of payouts when they occur. Payout funds in West Africa in early 2015 provided support for 1.3 million people and over 600,000 livestock.

This “pool” insurance model is an improvement from the “pass-the-hat” donor pledge conference model employed among wealthy countries after a natural disaster. Collecting donations or international aid pledges takes many months–too slow in the event of a natural disaster–and prevents accountability when crises are mishandled. ARC’s pool ensures that money is available before a crisis takes hold and that resources can be mobilized quickly to target those most in need. Research shows that for every dollar spent on ARC’s model of early intervention and risk pooling, four and a half dollars are saved that would otherwise be spent on disaster relief and repair.

ARC uses a ‘parametric’ system that immediately triggers payouts when measurable environmental factors–excessive or insufficient rainfall, for example–are projected to have an impact–number of food insecure people or buildings damaged, for example–above a pre-defined threshold. ARC operates under the principle that weather cycles are relatively predictable–so the risk can be assessed and priced–and makes use of satellite technology to track storms, droughts, and cyclones. Early warning and risk modelling systems, like their new Africa RiskView software, can both monitor slow-onset disasters as they develop, quickly estimate impacts, and assess payout amounts after a disaster strikes.

The benefit of African-owned insurance is clear: rather than waiting for developed countries such as the United State or Japan to sponsor relief and reconstruction after natural disasters, African states sponsoring their own recovery efforts ensures that aid is targeted, efficient, and fast. The ultimate goal of companies like ARC is to end reliance on foreign assistance and to encourage reliable, sustainable growth within Africa.

In order to continue and expand its services, ARC is looking to donor countries for assistance in the short to medium term. ARC is seeking financial support for country interaction, client management, and software development–all steps toward general innovation to ensure that they remain on the cutting edge of available technology. The next step involves development financing to support premium payments for existing and new African countries as they embed insurance premiums in their budgets and further build capacity to manage response to natural disasters.

Records Show Hitler Enjoyed Special Treatment In Prison

BY FRANK JORDANS, AP

 Hitler was registered under number 48. The entry reads Adolf Hitler, 35 years, artist and writer, born in Braunau, Austrian, arrived Nov. 12, 1923. The medical record of the initial entry translates healthy, strong, right…(AP)

BERLIN --(ASSOCIATED PRESS) -- Adolf Hitler enjoyed special treatment, including plentiful supplies of beer, during his time at Landsberg prison in Germany following a coup attempt ten years before he successfully came to power, according to newly published historical documents.

Historians have long been fascinated by the Nazi leader's time in Landsberg, where he and several followers were incarcerated after the unsuccessful Beer Hall Putsch of 1923, when Hitler tried to seize power in Bavaria. It was there that Hitler wrote much of the first volume of his book "Mein Kampf" and received a stream of visitors — 330 to be precise, according to Peter Fleischmann, a German historian.

Fleischmann, who heads the Bavarian state archives in Nuremberg, said a review of newly published prison records reveals that Hitler and fellow members of the Nazi Party were treated much more favorably than socialists or communists who were also incarcerated for staging a coup several years earlier.

"Formally it was the same kind of sentence, but in practice it was completely different," Fleischmann said in a telephone interview Tuesday. "The leftists ... were mistreated while the rightists had their path greased for them."

Fleischmann said Hitler and his fellow Nazis "were granted prison treatment that was far beyond the norms of the time" by officials and prison guards who sympathized with their extreme nationalist ideology.

Even though Hitler described himself as a "complete anti-alcoholic (teetotaler)" he purchased 62 half-liter bottles of beer in July 1924 — and similar amounts the following months.

Fleischmann's 552-page book also appears to confirm a British WWII-era joke about Hitler. A doctor who examined Hitler on his arrival in Landsberg recorded that the Nazi leader was "healthy, strong" but suffered from an undescended right testicle, also known as unilateral cryptorchidism. The congenital condition can increase the chances of infertility.

Hitler was released from Landsberg on Dec. 20, 1924, due to supposed good conduct.

Clinton Vows To Find Alzheimer's Cure By 2025

BY SARAH FERRIS, THE HILL

Hillary Clinton is laying out an aggressive plan to find a cure for Alzheimer’s disease within a decade, which she says will be achieved by a dramatically boosting spending by four times the current levels.

The Democratic presidential front-runner vows to spend $2 billion per year “to prevent, effectively treat and make a cure possible by 2025.” She will announce her plan at a campaign stop in Iowa later on Tuesday.

The annual $2 billion in spending will be part of a “historic, decade-long investment” that would bring up spending levels from the $586 million spent by the National Institutes of Health this year.

The government spending bill signed by Obama on Friday would add $350 million per year for Alzheimer’s research – a level that researchers still maintain is vastly inadequate.

Her campaign said the plan was shaped by conversations with physicians and scientists who have long pushed for Congress to boost the funding on its own.

Several of those advocates took part in a press conference Tuesday to praise her plan, including Robert Egge, executive director of the Alzheimer's Impact Movement.

“This is the first time a presidential candidate has released a bold and substantive plan [on Alzheimer’s disease],” said Egge, who previously led the Alzheimer’s Study Group co-chaired by former Speaker Newt Gingrich.

In the conference call on Tuesday, another top Alzheimer’s advocate underscored that the plan would reduce strain on the nation’s dwindling Medicare and Medicaid budgets.

“This is a tsunami, epidemic that could single-handedly crush Medicare and Medicaid,” warned Dr. Rudolph Tanzi, director of the Genetics and Aging Research unit at Massachusetts General Hospital.

“It’s an unmet medical need of the greatest type,” he said.

He also highlighted that the plan would benefit women – who are almost two-thirds more likely to have the disease – and both African Americans and Hispanics who are about two times as likely to have the disease. 

Can Boko Haram Survive Without Territory?

BY ANDREW WALKER, NEWSWEEK

A girl walks past a destroyed mosque in the town of Mararaba, after the Nigerian military recaptured it from Boko Haram, in Adamawa state May 10. The Nigerian military is trying to retake all territory held by Boko Haram before the end of 2015, but the militant group continues to carry out deadly attacks. AKINTUNDE AKINLEYE/REUTERS

Earlier in 2015, while I was researching a book on the history of the Nigerian militant Islamist sect known as Boko Haram, an anthropologist told me something that has stayed with me. What he said has informed the way I read the news coming out of the continuing battle between the sect and the Nigerian state.

Gerhard Müller-Kosack has spent years studying a group of people who live in Nigeria’s mountainous northeastern border region with Cameroon. He told me that for the people who live there, the modern, independent, post-colonial state has “never been more than a rumor.” This phrase has become a persistent earworm, nagging at me as I’ve watched developments unfold over the last few weeks.

On the surface, things appear to have been going well for the Nigerian military, at least compared to twelve months ago. At the beginning of 2015, large areas of northeastern Nigeria were under the insurgents’ control. Throughout 2014, the military appeared powerless to stop Boko Haram as the group transmogrified from hidden guerrilla fighters into a roving army of bandits. The militants swept out of the bush in large convoys to descend on towns, stripping them of what they needed, be it fuel, food, cash or women who they took captive.

Boko Haram even routed the military forces of Africa’s most populous nation from the garrison town of Gwoza, on the plains below the Mandara Mountains. Video clips of the attack shot by the insurgents and posted on the Internet show Nigerian soldiers running away into the hills. You see them drop to the ground as the jeering young men pick them off. The footage also shows young Boko Haram fighters looting the armory, their eyes flashing with joy as they hold aloft boxes of ammunition and weapons.

Boko Haram leader Abubakar Shekau gloated over the insurgents’ victory. It had been granted them because of Allah’s blessing, he said. He declared an Islamic state had been created in Nigeria. The army’s defeat represented a low point for the country, recently named as Africa’s largest economy. Exactly how negligible the military’s capacity to fight a domestic insurgency had been painfully revealed. For years, government and senior officers have been using the army as a way of extracting patronage from the state. Officers were not so much soldiers as investors in an institution focussed on the proceeds of corruption. This stripped the army of its effectiveness. Poorly motivated recruits were badly equipped and badly led. It took the military seven months to retake Gwoza. But in the time since, they have chased the militants out of large parts of the territory Shekau once declared as an Islamic state in Nigeria.

This roll-back of Boko Haram is at least partly because of a change in political leadership.

At the swearing-in ceremony of Nigeria’s newly elected president Muhammadu Buhari in August, the retired general and former military head of state vowed to “eliminate” Boko Haram by Christmas. He has shaken up the upper ranks of the military in an attempt to get better leadership where it is needed. Capitalizing on momentum that had begun before Buhari’s election, with the help of mercenaries from South Africa, the military has been able to push Boko Haram out of the plains—territory that, by the normal rules of guerrilla insurgency, they should not have been able to hold anyway.

But as people who have been watching this group for a while know, Boko Haram has been on the back foot before. In the past, the group has proven it can adapt. In 2009, the Nigerian militant group was on the run. Its leader at the time, Mohammed Yusuf, had been killed in Maiduguri and its members scattered. Some of the group, whose nickname means “Western education is forbidden” in the local Hausa language, found refuge in the Mandara Mountains, a thickly forested mountain range near the border with Cameroon.

Among the cave warrens and hidden ravines the fighters found a perfect place to escape the aftermath of the government crackdown. It was in places like this that they grew in strength and were able to plot a tightly orchestrated campaign of terror. As they emerged from their hiding places between 2010 and 2013, they continually changed tactics, staying ahead of the military and the police.

It seemed there would be a rash of attacks on a particular kind of target. Then, after a time, a different kind of attack, executed in various places across northeast Nigeria within a short space of time. Boko Haram shifted between bombings and coordinated gun attacks. It frequently changed its targets, attacking churches, mosques, media institutions, cellphone towers and schools. In 2013, it branched out into kidnapping.

The Mandara Mountains is just one of many ungoverned spaces from which Boko Haram has drawn strength. The border region with Niger and the islands in Lake Chad are two other areas where Boko Haram exploits the lack of any form of state power. The militants dart across the border to escape fighting and control cross-border smuggling routes to generate funds.

Nigeria and its neighbors—Cameroon, Chad and Niger—are supposed to be cooperating in a multinational task force. But none of these nations seem eager to work effectively with each other. Trust is thin on the ground.

Following the military’s gains this year, Boko Haram insurgents have simply reverted to being hidden guerrillas. In the past few weeks, teenage female suicide bombers have struck in several places. In one 48-hour period they hit two cities, 350 miles apart. The first attack was on the city of Yola, where at least 30 people were killed. The second targeted a market in Kano, killing 11. Both cities are outside the territory that Boko Haram held.

Boko Haram may control less territory than it did 12 months ago, but thanks to the insubstantial reach of the Nigerian state across that territory, the insurgents’ capacity to kill is undiminished.

Andrew Walker is a journalist who has been writing about Nigeria for ten years. His book “Eat the Heart of the Infidel”: The Harrowing of Nigeria and the Rise of Boko Haram, a cultural and political history of the sect, is out in February 2016, published by C. Hurst & Co. He tweets @_AWalker.

EU Gets One Million Migrants In 2015, Smugglers Seen Making $1 Billion

By Tom Miles,

Reuters, Tuesday, December 22, 2015

More than 1 million refugees and migrants came to the European Union this year, while almost 3,700 died or went missing in perilous journeys which reaped huge profit for smugglers, the International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday.

"This is three to four times as many migrants and refugees coming north as we had in 2014, and the deaths have already far surpassed the deaths last year," IOM chief William Lacy Swing told Reuters.

Almost all those arriving came across the Mediterranean or the Aegean Seas, and half were Syrians fleeing the war. Another 20 percent were Afghans, and 7 percent were Iraqis, IOM and the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said in a joint statement.

People smuggling operations probably accounted for the majority of journeys and likely earned at least $1 billion, Swing said, taking "anywhere from $2,000 to maybe $6,000 depending on how many members of the family and depending on which smuggling ring it is".

IOM estimates people smugglers in Europe have made $10 billion or more since 2000, maybe much more. "They are certainly getting very well paid for their services," Swing said.

Clinging To Power: African Leaders Who Won't Stand Down Despite Law

BY MARC JOURDIER
AFP

AFRICAN LEADERS. Both Denis Sassou Nguesso (L) and Paul Kagame (R) ordered referendums which will allow them to run again in 2016 and 2017 respectively. Photos from AFP

KINSHASA, DEM. REP. Of CONGO (AFP) - Even the fate of Blaise Compaore, who was ousted after a bloody uprising in 2014 after 27 years as president of Burkina Faso, has not been enough to deter other African leaders from clinging to power long after their constitutions demanded they go.

In 2015, two African presidents amended their constitutions to allow them to seek another term — or more.

Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has now led Congo-Brazzaville for more than 31 years, and Paul Kagame, Rwanda's head of state since 1994, both ordered referendums which will allow them to run again in 2016 and 2017 respectively.

In neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo, Joseph Kabila is due to stand down in 2016 after 15 years at the helm, but fears are mounting he too could stay on as the country endures a period of uncertainty.

The president has shown no sign of preparing to leave office and is now calling for a "national dialogue" to allow for a peaceful vote. Opponents view the demands as a trap, which could allow his supporters to put off polls for two to four years until they can organize "credible" elections.

Meanwhile, to the east of the DR Congo, Burundi has been in crisis since April, when president Pierre Nkurunziza sought a third term in a move that even some in his own camp judged unconstitutional.

The situation deteriorated when Nkurunziza was re-elected in July, on a ballot that was boycotted by the opposition. The country has since spiralled into violence and there are fears in the international community this could break out into genocide.

"The limit of two presidential terms in African constitutions goes back to the late 1990s," said Thierry Vircoulon, associate researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (IFRI).

"It was a lesson drawn from (the results of) autocratic regimes and presidency for life," he told AFP.

BIAFRA: Former NBA President Proffer Solutions

A former president of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA), Chief Olisa Agbakoba (SAN) has proffered solutions on how to resolve the ongoing Biafra agitations in some parts of Nigeria.

By Jerrywright Ukwu

Naij, December 20, 2015

Agbakoba, 62, in an interview with Daily Sun, said  Nigeria needs to see a new federal system. He recommended that President Muhammadu Buhari should propose a bill for an act or set up a small technical committee on national order.

According to him: ”The first and urgent task of this committee will be to work on a Bill for an Act of the Union of Peoples and Nationalities of Nigeria. The bill must resolve the Nigerian fault lines and contradictions. We may consider adopt­ing a new name the‘Union of Nigeria’.”

Asked to clarify if he is asking the government to grant amnesty to Biafra agitators, Agbakoba said: ”If that is what needs to be done, yes, because in putting down insurrection you consider certain realities. Oil price at that time has dropped by almost 50 percent and therefore you have to rec­ognize that the insurgents have a lot of power and they knew it.”

He continued: ”In negotiation, you’ve got to look at the balance of pow­er. Boko Haram has a lot of power. If Boko Haram transforms into an interna­tional movement, we’ll have a new crisis that we can’t deal with. We haven’t got­ten to that point.

”So, it makes sense to consider wheth­er settlement helps the process. I don’t know if that would help, but if I were to take that decision and I know that financial settlement can help the pro­cess I would do that and that’s what Yar’Adua did and it worked perfectly.”

Abgakoba warned that if Nigeria go through the type of witnessed in Biafra today, the country will cease to exist.  He added that if it would take some bil­lions of naira, that the elite are stealing anyway, to resolve the problem,then the government should go ahead and do it.

Meanwhile Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, has called on religious leaders in Nigeria to appeal to those agitating for a republic of Biafra to let peace reign in the region.

He made the statement on Wednesday, December 9 in Abuja stressing the important role of the Nigerian clergy in this respect.

Canadians Rally At Nigeria's Shiite Killings

TASNIM NEWS AGENCY

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 20, 2015

TORONTO (Tasnim) – Hundreds of Canadian citizens staged a rally in Toronto to condemn violent crackdown against Shiite Muslims in Nigeria and the arrest of prominent Nigerian cleric Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky.

Participants in the rally, held in downtown Toronto on Saturday, included representatives from human rights organizations, mosques, and civil society groups.

Holding signs demanding the release of Sheikh Zakzaky, protesters condemned the brutal massacre of a large number of Shiite Muslims by the Nigerian army in Zaria.

Demonstrators also demanded that “the Nigerian army immediately and unconditionally release the injured leader of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky and all of his family members and followers that they have arrested.”

They also insisted that “an Independent Commission of Inquiry must be set up by the Nigerian government to investigate and try the army chief Tukur Buratai and those officers and soldiers involved in this horrific crime against humanity for ordering the current massacre and the massacre that was perpetrated at the Quds rally in August 2014.”

Protesters then demanded to see Sheikh Zakzaky in public to confirm that he is still alive, to determine the extent of his injuries, and to be given the opportunity to hear his side of the story.

According to reports, at least 100 Muslims were killed last week when the Nigerian army raided the Islamic Movement headquarters and arrested its leader in the northern city of Zaria. Meantime, some media reports said that the death toll is much higher.

On December 13, the army raided several buildings connected to the Islamic Movement and the home of Zakzaky. They arrested him and killed key members of the group, including Zakzaky’s second-in-command and spokesman.

Aliy, Zakzaky’s son, was among dozens who lost their life in the raid.

Three of Mr. Zakzaky’s sons had been killed in a similar attack by the Nigerian Army in July 2014.

The Nigerian Army alleges that members of the Islamic Movement were involved in an attack on the convoy of the Chief of Nigeria’s Army Staff, Tukur Buratai. The movement has vehemently denied the allegations.