United States Africa Command

Public Affairs Office

15 April 2010

USAFRICOM - related news stories

TOP NEWS RELATED TO U.S. AFRICA COMMAND AND AFRICA

President Obama and Africa: The irony of neglect (Southeast Missourian)

Africa is critically important to the United States, including in the struggle against
radical Islamist terror. Regrettably, the Obama administration appears not to
understand the strategic importance of the continent.

Carter to VOA: Sudan Vote Key for Peace (Voice of America)

Sudan's first multiparty vote in 24 years has been marred by opposition boycotts and
allegations of vote rigging. But former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says that elections in
Sudan, though flawed, are an important step in the peace process between north and
south Sudan.

Botswana trains, commissions 65 military cadets (Defence Web)

The Botswana Defence Force's (BDF) Force Training Establishment commissioned 65
cadets upon completion of the officer accession program last week, at Sir Seretse Khama
Barracks in Gaborone, Botswana.

US, South Africa sign strategic dialogue deal (AFP)

WASHINGTON – The United States and South Africa on Wednesday signed a deal to
boost diplomatic exchanges, a new sign of the importance the US administration
accords Pretoria's role in the region.

U.S. Reaffirms Readiness to Help Returnees (Angola Press)

LUANDA, Angola — The US ambassador to Angola, Dan Mozena, Tuesday in Luanda
reaffirmed his country's total readiness to assist the Angolan government in
reintegrating citizens returning from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), based in the northern Uige province.

Five pirate suspects to face charges in U.S. (CNN)

WASHINGTON - Five suspected Somali pirates accused of attacking a U.S. Navy ship
could be sent to the United States to face criminal proceedings, according to U.S.
military officials.
Acting President Gets Attention (IPS)
WASHINGTON — Among the almost four dozen heads of state who have gathered
here for this week's Nuclear Security Summit, Nigeria's acting president, Goodluck
Jonathan, has been receiving a disproportionate share of high-level attention.

The Nigeria-US Bi-national Commission (Punch)

Nigeria set off on a new trajectory in bilateral cooperation on April 7 with the initiation
of a Bi-national Commission with the United States of America. At a ceremony in the
Treaty Room of the Department of State in Washington, Secretary to the Government of
the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, and US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, sealed
an agreement committing both countries to closely cooperate for the promotion of good
governance, transparency and integrity, among other objectives.

UN News Service Africa Briefs

Full Articles on UN Website
Conflict-related rape the focus of UN official’s visit to DR Congo
Angola receives UN aid to help foster investment
UN programme addresses underlying causes of hunger in Uganda
African nations meet to boost disaster risk reduction at UN-backed forum
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UPCOMING EVENTS OF INTEREST:

WHEN/WHERE: Wednesday, April 21; 12:30 p.m.; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies: In Defense of Competition:
The Cost of Coalition in Africa
WHO: Nic Cheeseman, lecturer in African studies at the University of Oxford
Info: http://www.sais-jhu.edu/calendar/index.htm

WHEN/WHERE: Tuesday through Thursday, April 27-29; Washington, D.C.

WHAT: Corporate Council on Africa: U.S.-Africa Infrastructure Conference
WHO: Top U.S. and African government officials, seasoned business executives, sector experts
and financiers convene at the U.S. Africa Infrastructure Conference.
Info: http://www.africacncl.org/(xtahp03q0g1wdb55d42z1w55)/Default.aspx
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL ARTICLE TEXT

President Obama and Africa: The irony of neglect (Southeast Missourian)

Six months after he took office, President Obama made a triumphant visit to Africa,
stopping in Ghana on his way home from summits in Europe. His state visit, speeches
and interviews with African media raised hopes that he would devote significant
attention to its one billion people and 60-plus nations and territories.
Africa is critically important to the United States, including in the struggle against
radical Islamist terror. For all of the justifiable attention paid to al-Qaida in Afghanistan
and Iraq -- the central fronts in the war on terrorism -- the continent of Africa has long
been a nexus for recruitment, attacks and fundraising by Osama bin Laden's infamous
terrorist network. From Kenya, to the Sudan, to Algeria, al-Qaida has deep
entanglements, which threaten not only U.S. interests, but even more the stability of
nations that have partnered with the United States.

Regrettably, the Obama administration appears not to understand the strategic

importance of the continent. Other than a short paragraph on Sudan, there is no
mention of Africa on the "Foreign Policy" issues section of the White House's website,
and there has been little follow-up on the president's much-ballyhooed visit of July
2009.

China, Saudi Arabia and Iran are positioning themselves to increase their investment
and political engagement in Africa, even as President Obama focuses his foreign policy
energy on scolding and alienating U.S. allies, such as Israel, Canada and the United
Kingdom. Other than tentative steps by Secretary of State Clinton to increase
cooperation with Nigeria, and promises to help with security for the 2010 World Cup in
South Africa, there have been few new initiatives by the Obama administration.

Under the presidency of George W. Bush, the United States devoted unprecedented
resources to Africa, including financial support to nations transitioning to democracy, a
multibillion-dollar program to combat HIV/AIDS, debt forgiveness for nations making
free-market reforms and the creation of AFRICOM (African Command) in 2008 as the
umbrella for all U.S. military operations on the continent.

One dramatic success was the conversion of Libya into an ally in the war on terror and
one of the few nations to abandon the pursuit of active nuclear, biological and chemical
weapons. In 2002, the United States established a military base in Djibouti, which
remains a strategic enclave of critical importance. The U.S. also partnered with
intergovernmental organizations, such as the Economic Community of West African
States, to improve military and peacekeeping capabilities of key states such as Nigeria
and Ghana.

Ironically, given the African roots of our current president, the Obama administration
has paid less attention and devoted fewer resources to Africa than did President Bush,
risking many recent military, political, health and economic gains. While many Africans
are proud that the son of a Kenyan father now lives in the White House, tangible
benefits in security, living standards and freedom were far greater under the
Republican from Texas who preceded him. We risk losing tremendous ground in
Africa, as al-Qaida and its regional allies are poised to rush in where they perceive a
lack of interest and involvement by the United States.
While 9/11 is often seen as the beginning of the U.S.-led global war on terrorism,
several previous engagements in Africa gave a clear sign of what was to come. Somalia
has long been a safe haven for terrorists and remains so today.

In 1998, the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were both hit by suicide bombers,
who drove large truck bombs into the two facilities. Twelve Americans, 11 Tanzanians
and 201 Kenyans died in these attacks. Bill Clinton's administration followed up these
bombings by adding Osama bin Laden to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted List, and also
launched cruise missile strikes on al-Qaida bases in Sudan and Afghanistan, but neither
action was a determined campaign against the terrorist group. If anything, these moves
strengthened Osama bin Laden, whose credibility rose because he could portray himself
as having survived the best efforts of the world's superpower to have him killed or
captured, even though he had left Sudan in 1996. The Clinton era missed other
opportunities to capture al-Qaida leaders, tragic lost years that could have prevented
much that followed.

In North Africa, al-Qaida in the Islamic Magreb (AQIM) has been active since 2002,
attacking the Algerian and other governments, as well as Western targets. While their
operational abilities appear to be less than comparable affiliates in Iraq, Pakistan and
Afghanistan, AQIM has a geographically broader range of movement, including into
southern Europe. Loosely tied to Osama bin Laden's network, AQIM has been pursued
by Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia, has suffered dramatic losses of its personnel and
resources, but continues operate, and recently has begun to forge dangerous ties with
sympathetic Muslim communities in France, Spain and Italy.

In the late 1980s, an Ethiopian dissident, in a speech at the National Press Club, which
was also broadcast on C-SPAN, declared: "We are more than just hungry bellies!" His
case is even stronger today, as the continent of Africa has taken on a strategic
importance greater for the United States than at any time in history. It would be a
supreme irony if America's first African-American president let slip the dramatic gains
the United States and its African partners have achieved.
--------------------
Carter to VOA: Sudan Vote Key for Peace (Voice of America)

Sudan's first multiparty vote in 24 years has been marred by opposition boycotts and
allegations of vote rigging. But former U.S. President Jimmy Carter says that elections in
Sudan, though flawed, are an important step in the peace process between north and
south Sudan.

In an interview within Juba's fortified U.S. residential compound, the former U.S.
president - whose organization The Carter Center is monitoring the elections -
acknowledged that there were obviously some problems in the lead-up to the polls, but
would not say that the credibility of the elections has already been "destroyed."

"I wouldn't say, in advance, that the integrity of the election has been destroyed, but I'm
not going to make any comment about that until after the election process, the vote
tabulation is complete," he said.

Only two of Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir's main opposition parties are
fully contesting the vote. The rest have announced boycotts, citing electoral
manipulation on the part of Bashir's National Congress Party, which they say has
already demolished any chance of the ongoing vote being free and fair.

The think-tank International Crisis Group has also denounced the credibility of the
elections, saying in a briefing that the NCP has "manipulated the 2008 census, drafted
the election laws in its favor, gerrymandered electoral districts, co-opted traditional
leaders and bought tribal loyalties."

In a March report, The Carter Center also said that the NCP was illegally using state
resources to campaign and that the state was continuing to restrict freedom of speech
and assembly.

Speaking to reporters on Monday in Juba, Mr. Carter said that the boycotts were a
setback, "but not a bad one," saying that all the candidates remain on the ballots for the
voters to choose.

In the interview, he expounded.

"If the parties withdraw at the last minute, I don't say that that undermines the
credibility of the election. That was a choice for them to make. I regret those choices.
And we've met with almost all the top leaders and I've made my views plain that I
thought they should have stayed in and contested and let us decide later whether the
election had integrity," said Mr. Carter.

He also talked about the western region of Darfur, where a number of the internally
displaced never registered to vote and where critics of these elections say free and fair
elections are not possible.

"It's regrettable what's happening in Darfur. And, it was known that Darfur would be a
troubled area before the election was planned. And, so nothing serious has happened
since the election process has began that has changed the situation in Darfur," he said.

These elections in Sudan are part of a 2005 U.S.-brokered peace agreement between
Khartoum and the south's Sudan People's Liberation Movement rebels, who were
granted semi-autonomous control of South Sudan. The peace deal also grants the South
a referendum, early next year, to decide whether to secede and form its own country.

The SPLM rebels' tenacious founder, John Garang, tried to build the south-based
rebellion into a national movement and many believe he would have contested against
President Bashir for the national seat. But he died in a 2005 helicopter crash, and his
successor, Salva Kiir, appears focused solely on the independence referendum. Kiir
decided to run to retain his spot as leader of South Sudan, foregoing the national
presidency race.

Angry northern opposition parties, led by the Umma party, are openly accusing the
West, and the United States, in particular, of supporting flawed elections in a bid to
pave the way for the promised independence vote in the South.

Mr. Carter say that such criticism is unwarranted, warning that a failure to hold these
elections would result in a breakdown of north-south peace.

"I don't understand what the Umma party would advocate we do. If we ignore the
election, then that would mean that the entire Comprehensive Peace Agreement would
have to be abandoned. It's an integral part of it," said Mr. Carter.

The former American president predicts that, if the peace agreement falls apart and the
southern referendum does not take place, there will be "another outbreak of war." Two
million people are thought to have died in the two-decade conflict, mostly southerners.
--------------------
Botswana trains, commissions 65 military cadets (Defence Web)

The Botswana Defence Force's (BDF) Force Training Establishment commissioned 65

cadets upon completion of the officer accession program last week, at Sir Seretse Khama
Barracks in Gaborone, Botswana.

Fifty-five graduates, 24 of whom were women, were commissioned into the BDF while
10 others are Lesotho and Umbutfo Swazi Defence Forces officers.

"Botswana's support to fellow Southern African Development Community member

states like Swaziland and Lesotho is very helpful to the professionalization of its smaller
neighbors," said Lieutenant Colonel Chris Wyatt, Office of Security Cooperation
Botswana.

Although this is the second intake of women in the BDF, this class was the first Force
Training Establishment (FTE) group to include women from the beginning of the
course. The BDF first accepted female applicants into the force in 2008, however, due to
inadequate resources, the women initially trained with the Tanzania Peoples Defence
Force.

Shortly after the cadets' arrival for training, Colonel Martha McSally, US Africa
Command (AFRICOM), Captain Patricia Jackson, US Naval Attaché to South Africa,
and Wyatt visited the cadets to share advice and impress upon them the importance of
their officer accession experience as future officers.

"The class came a long way from when they first began their cadet training in
November 2008," said Wyatt. "Based on their progress and commissioning, the new
officers took the message to heart."
--------------------
US, South Africa sign strategic dialogue deal (AFP)

WASHINGTON – The United States and South Africa on Wednesday signed a deal to
boost diplomatic exchanges, a new sign of the importance the US administration
accords Pretoria's role in the region.

The "strategic dialogue" set up by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and her South
African counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane seeks to strengthen cooperation between
the two nations on a wide range of issues.

Among the areas the two sides will work on are health, education, food security, public
security, commerce, investments, energy and nuclear non-proliferation, the State
Department said.

"South Africa's leadership is critical to the prosperity and security of the South African
people and to Africa and the world," Clinton said in signing the agreement.

South Africa, a member of the Group of 20 and the most influential nation in its region,
is considered by Washington one of three key players in Africa, along with oil
producers Nigeria and Angola.

The United States has already signed a similar agreement with Nigeria and is expected
to seal a deal with Angola as well.

The first annual bilateral forum between the United States and South Africa will be held
in Pretoria on 12-13 May, US diplomatic sources said.
--------------------
U.S. Reaffirms Readiness to Help Returnees (Angola Press)

LUANDA, Angola — The US ambassador to Angola, Dan Mozena, Tuesday in Luanda

reaffirmed his country's total readiness to assist the Angolan government in
reintegrating citizens returning from the neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo
(DRC), based in the northern Uige province.

The US diplomat expressed this during the ceremony of handing over goods,
equipment and seeds, estimated at USD 50,000, to assist Angolan returnees.

He stressed that the intention is to assist those in need to rebuild their lives and the
economic development of Angola.

So far, the assistance has already benefited some 800 families, of which 600 in district of
Bembe and 200 in Ambuila, both in the northern Uíge province.

The beneficiaries are estimated at approximately 4,000 people.

--------------------
Five pirate suspects to face charges in U.S. (CNN)

WASHINGTON - Five suspected Somali pirates accused of attacking a U.S. Navy ship
could be sent to the United States to face criminal proceedings, according to U.S.
military officials.

This is only the second time U.S. authorities have brought pirate suspects from Somalia
to the United States to possibly face trial.

The five are being held aboard the USS Nicholas -- the guided-missile frigate they are
accused of attacking -- off the Horn of Africa and will be transferred to Department of
Justice authority in the coming days, officials said.

Although the United States worked with Kenya to create a system to try pirate suspects
in that country, the Kenyan government told Washington that its court system is
overburdened and cannot accept more cases.

The suspects are expected to be moved to the U.S. base in Djibouti and then flown to
Norfolk, Virginia, according to the officials.

The Department of Justice has enough evidence on the five to prosecute them,
according to military officials. The expectation is they will be tried in federal court.

They will be moved to Norfolk because the Nicholas is based in the southern Virginia
port city, and Norfolk jurisdiction follows the ship wherever it goes, according to the
officials.

A Justice Department spokesman declined comment.

The five, believed to all be from Somalia, have been held on the USS Nicholas after the
ship was fired upon April 1.

The Navy ship reported taking fire from a possible pirate skiff west of the Seychelles, a
group of islands off the east coast of Africa, according to a U.S. Navy statement.

The Nicholas quickly returned fire and began pursuing the skiff, which was eventually
disabled. A boarding team from the Nicholas captured and detained three people, the
statement said.

Two more suspects were captured on a confiscated "mother ship," the statement said.

The Navy is holding 21 pirate suspects on three ships off the coast of Africa, including
the five who will be sent back to the United States, according to Navy officials.

Ten are expected to be turned over to Oman because they had attacked an Omani-
flagged ship. The United States assisted in that ship's rescue, according to Pentagon
officials.

The remaining six suspects could also be sent back to the United states if the federal
government finds enough evidence to prosecute them, the officials said.

The last time a pirate suspect was brought to the United States was April 2009, after a
dramatic and deadly end to the hijacking of the U.S.-flagged cargo ship Maersk
Alabama.

Two of the three pirates holding the captain of the Alabama on a small lifeboat were
killed by Navy SEAL snipers.

The third suspect, Abduhl Wal-i-Musi, was taken into custody and turned over to the
Department of Justice. He is now in New York awaiting trial.
--------------------
Acting President Gets Attention (IPS)

WASHINGTON — Among the almost four dozen heads of state who have gathered
here for this week's Nuclear Security Summit, Nigeria's acting president, Goodluck
Jonathan, has been receiving a disproportionate share of high-level attention.

With a one-on-one with President Barack Obama Sunday and a Monday morning
standing-room-only conference at the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations (CFR),
Jonathan, who took over from long-ailing President Umaru Yar'Adua in February and
has less than a year to serve out his term, is nonetheless considered a key figure by
Washington's influentials.
As Africa's most populous nation, West Africa's biggest economy by far, and the fifth
most-important supplier of foreign oil consumed in the United States, Nigeria's stability
has long been considered a priority by U.S. policy-makers.

In Jonathan, they see an opportunity not only to reverse the dangerous sense of drift
that resulted from Yar'Adua's nearly three-month absence from the country for medical
treatment in Saudi Arabia, but also to advance long-stalled reforms on a variety of
fronts.

Those include setting the stage for credible elections currently scheduled for January,
waging a more aggressive campaign against the pervasive corruption that has long
afflicted Nigeria, laying the foundation for reforms in the country's ailing power sector,
and, perhaps most urgently, shoring up an eight-month ceasefire with militants in part
by jump-starting economic development in the oil-rich but poverty-stricken Niger
Delta.

Both in his meeting with Obama, which he described as "warm and friendly", and at his
CFR presentation, the fedora-hatted Jonathan said he did not see his job as simply that
of a caretaker until the January elections.

Indeed, his decision last month to replace Yar'Adua's cabinet with his own appointees
was widely viewed by Nigeria specialists here as both surprisingly bold and potentially
very promising in terms of pursuing a reform agenda. The decision was also popular;
his approval ratings shot up to some 80 percent, according to public-opinion polls.

"...(W)e are committed to ensuring that the remaining period of the administration is
not a transitional period but one which we hope will one day be viewed as a watershed,
a transformational time in our young democracy," he told the audience of several
hundred at the Council.

"For now, our domestic focus must be on electoral reform, delivering peace dividends
to the Niger Delta and the rest of the country, and standing strong on our resolve
against corruption," he said.

Jonathan's visit, his first trip outside Nigeria since becoming acting president, came just
days after Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who visited Nigeria last August, and
Foreign Secretary Yayale Ahmed inaugurated a U.S.-Nigeria Binational Commission, a
forum designed to "strengthen and deepen the partnership" between the two nations.

The commission is to focus on four "key areas," Clinton said at the signing Apr. 6: good
governance and transparency; regional cooperation and development, notably in the
Niger Delta; promoting reform and investment in the energy sector in ways that could
help the poorest sectors in the population; and food security and agricultural
development.

Of the four, good governance, particularly in ensuring the integrity of next year's
elections, and consolidating the fragile ceasefire in the Niger Delta will be "first out of
the box", according to David Goldwyn, coordinator for international energy affairs at
the State Department.

Washington has publicly urged Jonathan not reappoint the current head of Nigeria's
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Maurice Iwu, when his term ends
in June.

Although Jonathan noted in his remarks to the Council that the perception that the
Commission as presently constituted cannot conduct clean elections was "more
psychological than real", he added that "before the 2011 elections, there will be a lot of
changes in INEC (and) not just the chairman".

U.S. officials, including Goldwyn, have been particularly concerned about the situation
in the Niger Delta, the source of Nigeria's oil for the more than half a century. The
petroleum pumped from the Delta currently constitutes as much as 40 percent of
Nigeria's gross domestic product (GDP) and about 75 percent of the government's
income.

The endemic poverty and corruption of the region, whose physical environment has
also been devastated by oil leaks and gas flaring, have created widespread discontent
among the minority groups who live there.

That discontent, which is compounded by the lack of jobs or economic opportunity in

the region, has spurred sometimes violent protests that in recent years have taken the
form of attacks - mostly by militants associated with the Movement for the
Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) - on pipelines and other oil facilities, as well
as the abduction of employees of foreign oil companies, such as Royal Dutch Shell,
Chevron, and Total, that have long been active there.

An early ceasefire agreement worked out in 2005 between the government of former
President Olusegun Obasanjo and MEND broke down after just over a year. The result
has been reductions in oil production - and the loss of billions of dollars in lost revenue
to the government, as well as growing concern in Washington, which is highly
dependent on foreign oil imports - in each of the years that followed.

Last year, Yar'Adua proposed a programme for militants that would offer them three-
staged amnesty that included promises of cash, training and eventually jobs for
militants who turned in their arms.
While the programme got off to a strong start in October, it bogged down after the
president left for Saudi Arabia. By February, MEND announced it was ending the
ceasefire and last month MEND claimed responsibility for two bombings in Warri.

Still, most analysts believe the amnesty remains salvageable, but that the government
has to act quickly to get it back on track.

"Re-integration needs to be expedited," Dimieari Von Kemedi, a key official in Bayelsa

State who has worked on conflict mediation in the Delta since 1997, said Tuesday at a
presentation at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) here. He added
that the next 18 months - longer than Jonathan will remain in office - will be critical in
determining the amnesty's success or failure.

Jonathan, who grew up in the Delta and is a member of the same Ijaw ethnic group that
dominates MEND, has endorsed the programme and stressed that follow-through by
his government is a top priority.

"We have restructured the (programme's) management," he said Monday, "and we're
trying to start...training (former militants) this month."

But, he added, "it takes a lot of time to train them, even for them to be in position to
make a living... So it's not something you can say you can even complete in a four-year
administration. But I can assure you that we've set up a solid base, and I have a clear
focus on the programme, with timelines, (so) you'll see that we are progressing."
--------------------
The Nigeria-US Bi-national Commission (Punch)

Nigeria set off on a new trajectory in bilateral cooperation on April 7 with the initiation
of a Bi-national Commission with the United States of America. At a ceremony in the
Treaty Room of the Department of State in Washington, Secretary to the Government of
the Federation, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, and US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, sealed
an agreement committing both countries to closely cooperate for the promotion of good
governance, transparency and integrity, among other objectives.

The US according to Clinton, believes that the Commission will ―support the
aspirations of the Nigerian people for a peaceful, prosperous, stable democratic
culture,‖ and that ―sustainable economic development that is equitably spread among
the people‖ is possible only when there is a ―responsible government that rejects
corruption, enforces the rule of law, and delivers results.‖

In line with the terms of the agreement, four working groups are to be constituted by
both countries to address four specific areas of ―common concern and shared
responsibility.‖ These are: Good Governance, Transparency and Integrity; Energy and
Investment; Food Security and Agriculture; and Niger Delta and Regional Security
Cooperation. Significantly, the 2011 general election in Nigeria is accorded deserved
paramountcy, as the working group charged with scrutiny and guidance of preparation
– the Good Governance, Transparency, and Integrity Group – is scheduled for launch in
the very near future, before the others.

The US Secretary of State spoke of the Commission as a partnership that ―will help us
move together on issues of common concern and shared responsibility,‖ but a cursory
glance at the tasks of the respective working groups shows that Nigeria, with its well-
documented economic and political woes, is the focus of attention. America is ranked as
the world’s leading exemplar of democratic culture, good governance, sustainable
economic development and a lot else. That country is simply reaching out to energise
Nigeria’s political leadership for meaningful performance and service delivery.

Nigeria will be receiving guidance and appreciable material assistance from the US to
institute a credible electoral system and transparency in financial management and in
operations of the oil and gas sector. Such external support will, no doubt, be beneficial
to a richly endowed but grossly under-performing state like Nigeria. The flipside,
however, is that the support would be at a great cost, at least, in the reckoning of
citizens who view national sovereignty as sacrosanct.

Implications for sovereignty need to be carefully examined because Regional Security

Cooperation, as spelt out in the agreement, could take us back to the subject of
America’s proposed African Command and that country’s quest for substantial military
presence in the Gulf of Guinea. The Federal Government, under President Umaru
Yar’Adua, did reject the US plans to have AFRICOM headquartered in Nigeria. The
White House reportedly insisted it would reopen the issue at a future date – meaning,
perhaps, now – even after it had decided to establish a base or more in Liberia.

The Bi-national Commission might just provide a legitimate basis for the US to impose
its will on Nigeria, establishing and operating AFRICOM on our soil and aborting our
resolve to remain non-aligned in international politics.

The Bi-lateral Commission must however be given every support to work. In the
vicious grip of a parasitic political class, utterly contemptuous of those values,
traditions and institutions critical to good governance, economic well-being and
political stability, Nigeria is in desperate need of external assistance. And America is in
a good position to instil some sanity in Nigeria’s public domain because, depraved as
Nigeria’s ruling elite are, they are mindful of how the world power seeks to relate with
those in public office. That country and its traditional allies could track and expose their
loot and block them from migrating abroad to enjoy same.
Let the Bi-national Commission stand as a demonstration of sincere commitment to the
promotion of democratic values, good governance and sustainable economic
development around the world. For the moral authority that America under President
Barack Obama seeks to command as it confronts political and economic challenges of
the time, let it prove through the Nigerian situation that it could advance such
cherished ideals outside its shores without consideration for undue advantages at the
expense of other nations.
--------------------
UN News Service Africa Briefs
Full Articles on UN Website

Conflict-related rape the focus of UN official’s visit to DR Congo

14 April – Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s Special Representative on Sexual Violence
in Conflict Margot Wallström is on her first tour since her appointment, conducting a
week-long visit to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) where both rebels and
the national army have been accused of mass rape.

Angola receives UN aid to help foster investment

14 April – The United Nations, which sent four separate missions to Angola during its
devastating decades-long civil war in efforts to help end the conflict, is seeking to
strengthen the capacities of the now peaceful southern African country in the field of
investment.

UN programme addresses underlying causes of hunger in Uganda

14 April – The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is launching a new
livelihood programme designed to address the underlying causes of food shortages in
Karamoja, the poorest and most marginalised region in Uganda which has not had a
successful harvest in five years and where more than 80 per cent of the population lives
in poverty.

African nations meet to boost disaster risk reduction at UN-backed forum

14 April – Delegates from 42 countries in Africa, which along with Asia is the most
vulnerable continent to disasters, kicked off a United Nations-backed meeting in
Nairobi today to discuss ways to make their communities and citizens safer.