Daily Archives: January 27, 2012

Nigeria

Soyinka: don’t reduce anti-fuel subsidy removal protests to ethnicity

The Nation

By Emmanuel Oladesu, Deputy Political Editor

Nobel Laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka yesterday berated some elements from the Southeast and Southsouth for giving the anti-fuel subsidy removal protests an ethnic colouration.  that such perception was dishonourable, dishonest and unfair to the patriots who protested against maladministration on the streets.  The acclaimed writer decried the recurrent bomb explosions that have killed many Nigerians in the North, saying the Boko Haram sect harbours an intent to fuel ethnicity at the detriment of Nigerians.  The retired university don described the presidential system as a disaster, noting that it has shown Nigerian legislature as the personification of corruption. Continue reading Soyinka: don’t reduce anti-fuel subsidy removal protests to ethnicity →

Congo

Congo’s bishops: Elections ‘stained,’ council must acknowledge errors

KINSHASA, Congo (CNS) — Months after Congo’s general elections, the nation’s bishops continue to speak out about the legitimacy of the results. “We believe that the electoral process is stained by serious irregularities which raise questions about the published results,” the bishops’ conference said in mid-January. “We call on the organizers to have the courage and honesty to draw the necessary conclusions.” The bishops called on members of the National Electoral Council to “have the courage to question their own practices, or if not, step down.” Continue reading Congo’s bishops: Elections ‘stained,’ council must acknowledge errors →

Kenya

Four Years On IDPs Remain in Camps

By Peter Kahare

RIFT VALLEY, Kenya, Jan 24, 2012 (IPS) – Six-year-old Victor Muruga points to a hole in the bush that he calls his “bedroom”. “I sleep there, under that tree and my mother sleeps under that blanket,” says Muruga.  Muruga is in a jovial mood as he prepares lunch for the family. The bubbly boy, his three-year old brother Ian Kimani and their mother had to initially spend five days in the bush after being transported here to Mumoi farm, enduring the scathing sun and biting cold as they waited for the government and Kenya Red Cross Society to provide them with tents. Continue reading Four Years On IDPs Remain in Camps →

Nigeria

How the fuel row caught fire

Africa Confidential

An unwieldy and spontaneous opposition has won its first battle against the government; now it needs a strategy

Nobody in government, least of all President Goodluck_Jonathan ]Goodluck Jonathan, seemed prepared for the torrent of opposition excited by the decision to end fuel subsidies. This doubled the retail price of petrol on New Year’s Day. The inflationary effect of the new fuel prices on goods and services was devastating for poor people and lost the government any goodwill it had picked up since April’s elections. Many know that the main beneficiaries of the subsidy are a cabal of crooked oil traders, so they ask why the government can’t pursue them and keep the fuel cheap for the public. Continue reading How the fuel row caught fire →