Some policies and democratic practices adopted from the west are to blame for the political instability in Togo, Cameroon and other countries.

This, according to former President JJ Rawlings, has been a contributing factor to Africa’s under-development.

He says the kind the democratic election that Africans have adopted from the foreign world is not providing the kind of freedom the continent should enjoy.

He, is therefore, advocating for a shift in order to reverse the trend.

In a post on Facebook, Mr. Rawlings expressed worry over the inhumane treatment and lack of development the people of Africa continue to endure from white leaders, saying that it is time for all to rally behind Africans who toil for the gains of the continent.

“The time has come for the West to stop avoiding African patriots. Let’s not be intimidated by or feel threatened by the conviction of African patriots. We are sick and tired of the perceived intellectuals who are doing the bidding of others and themselves but their own kind.”

He believes foreign nations are doing Africa more harm than good, and wondered if these leaders of the developed world care about the minorities in society other than their parochial interest.

“More insulting to the sensibilities of the African is the knowledge that some of them are protégés of failed heads who’ve become kingmakers and shamelessly parading Presidential abodes and offices pulling deals on behalf of corporate interests inimical to the continent, he noted.

Mr. Rawlings even talks about how the renowned Saudi Arabian Journalist Jamal Khashoggi, was cruelly murdered with other advanced countries and influential bodies looking unconcerned instead of ensuring that justice is served.

Find below, the full post of the Former President

“Is the world going to continue looking away while the Togo and Cameroon situation deteriorates in pain, blood and terror?

If the world can become so insensitive and immune to the fate of Palestinians; black lives in Africa cannot expect anything less inhuman.

If a close friend and ally of personalities in the US government like President Trump and his team can brazenly and thoughtlessly butcher such a known personality in their Saudi consulate in a country that stands up to the Israeli government’s intransigence and impunity, such atrocity creates an opening and provides the license for other dictators to do just a little less savagery to a lot more lesser people from other ethnic groups in our parts of the world.

It only takes one government to get away with it and others seeking the opportunity to disempower an already subjugated people will take advantage of it and terrorize theirs too.

Won’t countries like Germany, the Vatican, France and the USA with a lot of influence on these countries intervene even if they won’t publicly condemn? How else will civilized nations demonstrate to the world that they’re serious about the Khashoggi killing?

It’s also about time the UN Secretary General’s office stopped accepting insensitive cold-blooded hypocrites whose favorite occupation is rapping and stooping their way into their political ambitions while keeping away from the blood and pain of their own kith and kin.

The monetized Western democratic elections in our world don’t always give us the best. The best however in intellect and wisdom grounded in humility, integrity and compassion can always be found in abundance on our continent and simply have to be selected.

The time has come for the West to stop avoiding African patriots. Let’s not be intimidated by or feel threatened by the conviction of African patriots. We are sick and tired of the perceived intellectuals who are doing the bidding of others and themselves but their own kind.

More insulting to the sensibilities of the African is the knowledge that some of them are protégés of failed heads who’ve become kingmakers and shamelessly parading Presidential abodes and offices pulling deals on behalf of corporate interests inimical to the continent.”

Source: Modern Ghana

People living in Africa have over the years lamented their continent’s over-dependence on other regions.

Even though the continent is blessed with natural resources such as minerals, vegetation, among others, the citizens of some countries live well below the poverty line.

According to reports, approximately 27.4% of the population in Africa was classified as severely food insecure in 2016, which is almost four times as high as any other region.

Meanwhile, politics has become a very lucrative career. Politicians are not only powerful, but their salaries are also very heavy.

In our present dispensation, African politicians earn a lot of money while citizens live poorly.

This is a reflection on the salaries some African leaders earn monthly.

1.    Paul Biya

Paul Biya is the President of Cameroon. His monthly salary is $50,833.33. He is the highest paid African president.

2.    Cyril Ramaphosa

Cyril Ramaphosa is the fifth president South Africa. He became president following the resignation of Jacob Zuma. Previously an anti-apartheid activist, trade union leader, and businessman, Ramaphosa served as the Deputy President of South Africa from 2014 to 2018. He earns $21,174.67.00 every month.

3.    Abdelaziz Bouteflika

Abdelaziz Bouteflika is the fifth president of Algeria and has been in office since 1999. He is the third-highest paid president in Africa. His monthly salary is $14,000.

4.    Uruhu Kenyatta

Uhuru Kenyatta is the current president of Kenya. He came into office in April 2013. He is the fourth highest paid president in Africa even though he ordered that some percentage of his salary should be cut off in 2014. He earns $13,860 monthly.

5.    Emmerson  Mnangagwa

Emmerson Mnangagwa is the third and current president of Zimbabwe. He assumed office in November 2017 after Robert Mugabe was ousted. He is ranked the fifth highest paid African president. He earns $12, 272.08 monthly.

Source:Pulse.com

At least seven local government officials were killed in a helicopter crash in Sudan’s eastern al-Qadarif state on Sunday, state news agency SUNA reported.

The state’s governor and three security officials were among the dead. A number of people were also injured in the incident, SUNA said. The officials had been carrying out a security tour of the province.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash. State TV earlier reported that a plane, not a helicopter, had crashed. Al-Qadarif state is known for its farmland and agricultural projects.

The governor of Gadaref state in Sudan, Mirghani Saleh, and a number of his companions died today morning after a helicopter crash

REUTERS

TWELVE Cameroonian mercenaries were arrested by the police at the weekend while on their way to fight in the internecine communal conflict between the people of Usumutong and Ediba in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State.  The mercenaries were arrested on Tuesday at the Ediba/Ugep junction while allegedly traversing to the conflict zone with arms and dangerous weapons.

A source in the area said “they were caught on the way to Ediba to fight Usumutong people.” “They were armed with charms and other dangerous weapons of wars. They came in a red Sienna bus still parked at the Police Area Command Ugep. These people were hired by Ediba to terrorize Usumutong community,” he alleged.

The Clan Head of Usumutong, Oval Solomon Osim Edward who spoke to Saturday Vanguard on phone alleged that the twelve Cameroonian mercenaries were hired by Ediba people to eliminate his community. “They were arrested at a check point. They said they were asked to come and destroy plantation, they described us (Usumutong community) as plantation, these people are evil, they wrapped charms around their bodies”, he stated. But the Village Head of Ediba Uvara Imong Anani debunked the allegations, describing it as rubbish. “It is rubbish, since the beginning of this trouble, I have not been on my seat, Ediba people have not hired anybody, these are Cameroon boys, I don’t know them.”

www.vanguardngr.com

In a renewed call to arms   in N’djamena, capital of the Republic of Chad, yesterday, President Muhammadu Buhari held a one-day consultation with Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, LCBC. The meeting was called to address the recent upsurge in terrorist activities in the region, and the Nigerian President rallied his colleagues from Chad, Niger Republic, and Republic of Cameroon to a fresh onslaught against insurgents, particularly the Boko Haram group. Boko Haram attack Borno, set imam, family members, others ablaze “Times as these call for quick interventions and measures.  As you are aware and have witnessed in recent times, there are new developments of security concern in our sub-region. ‘’The region in the recent past has witnessed increasing attacks, particularly on military formations by elements of the Boko Haram terrorists as well as the renewed kidnapping of people. These activities are aimed at weakening our collective resolve to eradicate them from the region. “We must not cave in.

The group’s renewed strategy of increasingly mining the general area as well as its recent deployment of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for surveillance activities have proved to be critical factors in the resurgence of attacks in the region,’’ President Buhari said. Commending what he called the “untiring efforts” of the leadership of the LCBC, and officers and men of the Multi-National Joint Task Force, MNJTF, President Buhari noted that the efforts of those who strive to bring peace and stability to the region would never be forgotten. He said:  “We are committed to ensuring that the ideals of restoring peace, stability and viability of the Lake Chad Region to its glorious state, for which some of you have paid the ultimate price is attained.’’

President Buhari in a statement by his spokesperson , Femi Adesina, stated further:  “We must not relent and allow the enemies of the region to succeed in their quest to destabilize the area. We must reinvigorate our collective will and commitment towards eradicating terrorism from our region. “We must remain focused and true to ensuring sustainable development. To this end, I have requested that bilateral and multilateral platforms of engagements by member countries affected by the conflict be revamped to ensure collective actions towards stamping out the remnants of the terrorists from the region. “There is no gainsaying that also fueling the crisis are the twin menaces of poverty and the continued shrinkage of the Lake Chad, which have rendered the people of the region vulnerable to terrorist activities. ‘’Attention is drawn to the Lake and its resources, which have always been the source of livelihood for the millions of people that live within and around the basin.” He charged the Presidents and Heads of Governments in attendance to make concerted efforts to ensure the actualization of efforts to recharge the Lake, through Inter-Basin Water Transfer, from the Congo Basin. Buhari stressed that if meticulously pursued, the project “has the capacity to unlock the economic potentials and provide solutions to the myriad of interrelated challenges confronting the region.”

As chairman of the Summit of Heads of State and Governments of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, Mr Buhari assured of his commitment to providing the required leadership and direction for the actualization of peace and security in the area. He reiterated an earlier promise he made to troops fighting terrorism: “We are committed to ensuring you have the requisite and enabling equipment to optimally function. Your welfare is, and would continue to remain our priority. Together, we shall restore the Lake Chad Region to its glorious days.” In attendance at the consultation, apart from President Buhari, were President Idris Deby Itno of Chad, President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger Republic, and Prime Minister of Cameroon, Philemon Yang, who represented President Paul Biya. In a joint communique, the Heads of State and Governments, resolved to change modus operandi, collaborate more, and renew assault on all forms of terrorism and criminal acts, till wholesome peace was restored to the region.

www.vanguardngr.com

The leaders of Africa’s newest nation, the Federal Republic of Ambazonia extradited from Nigeria earlier in 2018 will face trial next month on terrorism charges, according to one of their lawyers. The ten members of the Southern Cameroons Interim Government including President Sisiku Ayuk Tabe were reportedly charged by judges in the Yaounde Military Tribunal in French Cameroun.

“Ten charges have been brought against them, including terrorism, advocating terrorism, secession, civil war and revolution,” lawyer Christopher Ndong told Reuters after the charges were read out at the Yaounde’s military tribunal on Tuesday. The trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 6, Ndong added.

For more than two years, Southern Cameroonians have engaged the government in a tough battle that has resulted in the killing of some 4,000 Cameroonians, including over 1,300 soldiers.

Following a demonstration by teachers and lawyers in 2016, the two English-speaking regions have become ungovernable. The government’s military actions have caused some 200,000 Southern Cameroonians to flee to Nigeria while millions are hiding in the bushes to avoid the government’s indiscriminate killings.

Many children are today seeking refuge in those bushes and many babies have been delivered in the process. The numbers of teenage mothers have increased and this spells another serious problem in the future. The government has not taken any efforts to convince the people for them to return to their homes.

On the contrary, soldiers have been torching many homes and killing any young Southern Cameroonians found in the territory in the hope that they could eliminate any threat Southern Cameroonians pose to the government.

Schools have been closed now for two years in the region and many of the students have simply been co-opted into the armed groups that have emerged. As the government turns down any appeals for inclusive dialogue, so too does the situation deteriorate. Even after solutions to the conflict would have been sought, security issues will linger for a long time. Many young men, who have lost hope in life, will continue to use their weapons as a means of eking out a living.

By Sama Ernest and Kingsley Betek