New African back issues from January 2008:
Letters
Jan 01, 2008; ... 'Raila will blow Kibaki away' I write to express my dismay at Wanjohi Kabukurus article, "Kenya - the race is truly on" (NA, Nov). Like many of President Mwai Kibaki's Kikuyu tribesmen, Kabukurus' assertions are long on emotions and very short on substance. Let's take it from the ...
Niger Delta: THE TRUE STORY
Jan 01, 2008; ... Nigeria's position as the eighth largest producer of crude oil and possessor of the world's fifth largest reserves of natural gas is almost entirely dependent on resources existing in the Niger Delta where the mere whisper of unrest sends world oil prices spiralling upwards. The Delta is where ...
Oil concession for free?
Jan 01, 2008; ... We reproduce here, two contract agreements signed between Shell-BP and indigenous landowners in the Niger Delta in 1957 that gave the Anglo-Dutch oil giants licence to begin operations in their land. For clarity and legibility, we have retyped the original documents. First ...
Lisbon Summit Africa stands united
Jan 01, 2008; ... George Shire, a Zimbabwean academic and political analyst, was in Lisbon for the EU-Africa Summit, and sent us this report. The second EU-Africa summit (8-9 December) ended with a declaration that African and European leaders were determined to give the new strategic partnership the ...
His masters' voice
Jan 01, 2008; ... "John Sentamu is a world-class showman who is divinely inspired ... [He] is an accomplished media performer who never wastes a sound-bite or photo-opportunity. It would be wrong to say that he acts or speaks first and thinks later - he is too clever for that. But he is a man of instinct. Those ...
CFA The grip France won't let go
Jan 01, 2008; ... The economic hold that France still has on its former African colonies is summed up in the currency it created for them in 1945 called the CFA franc. CFA stands for Communauté Financière de l'Afrique. And the tale of this currency is extraordinarily mind-numbing! Here, Regina Jere Malanda kicks ...
We have a history!
Jan 01, 2008; ... The vigour, boldness, and frequency of racist assaults on global African humanity are increasing at an alarming rate. This month, Carina Ray takes a look back at the long history of African humanity under siege and examines how little the language of racism has changed over the last 300 ...
President Wade 'We want our money'
Jan 01, 2008; ... "The African people's money stacked [in France] must be returned to Africa in order to benefit the economies of the BCEAO member states. One cannot have billions and billions placed on foreign stock markets and at the same time say that one is poor, and then go and beg for money. That makes no ...
US Navy: 'We are already in the Gulf of Guinea'
Jan 01, 2008; ... Before Africom gets American boots on African soil, the US Navy is already establishing close relations with African navies via an initiative called the "Africa Partnership Station", aimed at promoting maritime safety and security in Africa, particularly (surprise, surprise?) in the oil-rich ...
Do Africans fear Western medicine?
Jan 01, 2008; ... Thomas Land on the outbreak of polio in northern Nigeria and how past medical experiments in Africa have made some Africans distrustful of Western medicine. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), the northern Nigerian state of Kano is facing a major polio outbreak. It is ...
How France lives off Francophone Africa via the CFA franc
Jan 01, 2008; ... Professor Mamadou Koulibaly, Speaker of the Ivorian National Assembly and Professor of Economics, sheds light on the economic devastation caused to the African member states of the CFA (Communauté Financière d'Afrique - [French Community of Africa]) zone through their continued link to the ...
Namibia: A time to split
Jan 01, 2008; ... The end of one era usually marks the beginning of another. In Namibia, five decades of the Sam Nujoma era in SWAPO have come to an end - officially at least. And in comes a new era in which some heavyweight SWAPO stalwarts have resigned from the ruling party and have formed a new party - the ...
A native stranger in Freetown
Jan 01, 2008; ... Fred Kamara, a consulting social scientist, is a Sierra Leonean living in London. After a recent one-month visit to his motherland, he writes about his impressions of the country and what the new government can do to make it better. It seems President Ernest Bai Koroma's All People's ...
'It is great to be an African'
Jan 01, 2008; ... Zambia's Ambassador to Washington, Dr Inonge Mbikusita Lewanika, is one of the six candidates for the chair of the African Union Commission. She is a distinguished politician, civic activist and diplomat who has led peace missions in Burundi, Rwanda and the Horn of Africa as part of her ...
Ethiopia: Life is hard for pastoralists
Jan 01, 2008; ... Pastoralists want the choice to continue their lifestyle, yet in a changing world, and with the impact of climate change, they also need development. "We're trying to adapt, but we cannot do this overnight," explains Idris Ali Igma, an Afar pastoralist. He wants the government to adopt a ...
Slavery: The case for reparations
Jan 01, 2008; ... Many arguments have been made against reparations for slavery, but Kwesi Quartey. Ghana's deputy high commissioner to the UK and a historian in his own right, does not agree. In this two-part article, he makes the vital legal point that even British parliamentarians (including the ...
So James Watson is 16% black himself?
Jan 01, 2008; ... Surprise surprise, Dr James Watson, the DNA "expert" who recently claimed that Africans were less intelligent than whites, has been found to be 16% black himself! - the embarrassment that awaits all racists. In October 2007, to the annoyance of its African readers, the British daily The ...
In my motherland
Jan 01, 2008; ... Kwaku, a Ghanaian domiciled in the UK, has just been home and back, after a two-year absence. Did he like what he saw? These are his reflections on his native country. Each time I return to Ghana, I am struck by things that many of my compatriots take in their stride. I have just ...
Ghana is ready for the Nations Cup
Jan 01, 2008; ... The biennial African Cup of Nations tournament kicks off in Ghana on 20 January, and for 21 days thereafter 16 countries will vie for honours in Africa's premier soccer fiesta. Dr Kofi Amoah, chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), says the hosts are ready for the one million or so ...
Why America wants military HQ in Africa
Jan 01, 2008; ... One main reason, reports Daniel Volman, director of the African Security Research Project in Washington DC, is that key members of the Bush administration and influential think-tanks have become more and more alarmed by the growing efforts of China to expand its access to energy supplies and ...
What rich black folks do, poor black folks copy
Jan 01, 2008; ... Did you know that "fat" black people are paying between $20,000 and $30,000 to cut out parts of their bodies in order to stay "healthy"? That made my stomach churn and my blood boil. It's not often that I read a piece that is extraordinary enough to make me feel compelled to let you know ...
Biya's 25 years in power
Jan 01, 2008; ... Cameroonians are divided as President Paul Biya marks 25 years in office. Tansa Musa reports from Yaounde. Waving flags and chanting "Long Live Paul Biya", supporters of Cameroon's president marked the 25th anniversary of his rule in November but many citizens lamented generalised ...
Malawi: The warm heart of Africa
Jan 01, 2008; ... Malawi is not just the lake that runs down the eastern side of the country. As Kate Elsheby found out on a recent safari, Malawi is more enchanting than many people expect. You could even sail to Mozambique as a bonus. Ripping up the water hyacinth, grabbing at tree branches like ...
How the Nations Cup will impact on English premiership
Jan 01, 2008; ... The English Premiership, and national championships in much of Europe, may well be decided in Africa. It matters to them little or nothing which team wins the African Cup of Nations but which players will be there - because if they are playing for their countries in Ghana, they cannot be ...
Ghana 2008 The best ever?
Jan 01, 2008; ... For over half a century, the African Cup of Nations has been the continent's flagship football tournament. Today the tournament has assumed a growing global profile - it is no longer an African event but a global showcase. Peter Law previews the shape of things to come in Ghana, from 20 January ...