|
POLITICAL
NOTES: What
I saw as one of the 20,000 at the Obama 'Yes, We Can'
movement live in Houston.
By Chido Nwangwu. "Houston, I think we've
achieved liftoff here..." Before an enthusiastic 20,000 plus
audience (inside and around) the Toyota Center in Houston on
Tuesday Feb 19, 2008, Senator Barack Obama told Houstonians
that his break-away win over Hillary Clinton in the
Wisconsin primaries  reflected
further momentum. In affirmation and appreciation, many
chanted Obama's mantra of change, "Yes, we can!" When the
impact and dynamics of the Obama movement is explained in
textual formats or even on television, it brings only a part
of the totality of its socio-political breadth and
purpose-driven, evangelistic frenzy. Significantly, more
than we have ever seen him before, he laid out more
detailed, policy specific offerings to woo voters.
Especially, he spoke about changing what he considers the
prevailing "disease care" to real "healthcare" while
challenging the youths of America to service. The Houston
event is especially valuable too, for the fact that there
was not teleprompter; minor recourse to his written notes
and a direct policy points on such issues covering energy,
education, AIDS, jobs in America, NAFTA, AIDS, use of
America's armed forces, veterans care, war on terrorism,
Iraq and others .
Taking the battle to Clinton and Sen. John McCain, the
Republican front-runner who also won Wisconsin, Obama said
with his pitch rising and booming through the massive arena:
"I opposed this war in 2002. I will bring this war to an end
in 2009. It is time to bring our troops home." The Clintons
are ratcheting up their negative, sharp "contrasts" campaign
which have, thus far, not yeilded votes or better value for
the agenda to govern if elected. Rather those tactics and
some ill-advised comments especially by former President
Bill Clinton in South Carolina have combined to minimize, as
polls and reactions and voters show, the Clinton legacy --
especially among African-Americans where Obama is averaging
86% of votes in the primaries.
The debates are expected to get more aggressive as
Hillary Clinton says it's all about her "experience" versus
what she insists are nothing but Obama's "speeches." As one
among the 20,000 who heard some of the substance behind the
speeches, more surprises will unfold in Ohio and Texas where
the Clintons are positioned as front-runners. Remarkably, I
saw several 4 year-olds with their parents, enthusiastic
college students and young professionals, hundreds of
seniors over 60 years old chanting and throwing their fists
into the air in a revivalist fervor and finality of resolve
"Yes, We Can", and affirming their shared hopes that the
young, impressive candidate Obama will make a difference in
their lives, should he become President of the United
States. But he cautioned them that "The change we seek is
still months and miles away." So true, because a day is a
long time in political contention and
struggles. By Chido Nwangwu, USAfricaonline.com at the Feb
19, 2008 rally in Houston CLICK here.
ARTS:
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie author of the
critically-acclaimed novel 'Half of a Yellow Sun' speaks to
USAfrica and CLASSmagazine on her work,
life....
 One
of the world's most creative writers of this generation,
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie author of the critically-acclaimed
novel 'Half of a Yellow Sun' has been interviewed
exclusively by CLASSmagazine and USAfricaonline.com
Publisher Chido Nwangwu at the Harvard University.
The award-winning novelist shares her
thoughts on writing, inspiration, hopes, her 'permission'
from the father of the modern African novel Chinua
Achebe and the increasing
presence and achievements of young African writers. The
interview will also run in the 15th Anniversary August 2008
special edition of the USAfrica-powered CLASSmagazine.
The 'Who
Is Obama?' slanderous, malicious screed; a brief
response
 INSIGHT:
Why America should halt
the
genocide in the Sudan. By Chido
Nwangwu, Founder and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com.
Certain facts and the continuing, bigoted impudence of
Islamic Sudan offer clarity to why the U.S should
aggressively halt the genocide and gory events in Africa's
largest country. The Sudan has almost 918,000 square miles
in size and a war-weary population of 30million. Even as I
call for a red line to be drawn against the rag-tag army of
Arab-taliban-fascists in Africa and the assorted troops of
religio-criminal rapists who have since four decades set
upon the southern Christian, indigenous African Sudanese, I
agree with Gen. Powell that "America will be a friend to all
Africans who seek peace; but we cannot make peace among
Africans." He is right. Africans must respect and love each
other. Continued
here....
 DEMOCRACY
WATCH: What Bush Should Tell
Obasanjo.... By
Chido Nwangwu (Founder and Publisher of
USAfricaonline.com)
FLASHPOINT!
In
15 years: Nigeria could collapse, destabilize
entire West Africa - U.S. intelligence analysts claim;
Obasanjo calls them "prophets of doom...."
VIEWPOINT: Obasanjo,
Go! Just go! Prof. Wole Soyinka
Why
Bush should focus on dangers
facing Nigeria's return
to democracy
and Obasanjo's slipperyslide. By
Chido NwangwuUSAfricaonline
LITERATURE
Why
Chinua
Achebe,
the Eagle on the Iroko,
is Africa's writer of the century.
Achebe, scholar, social conscience, cultural
historian and globally-acclaimed writer, has been a
significant and binding  source
for an engaging understanding of African pre-colonial,
colonial and post-colonial history and realities. I believe
that such insight has made him a favorite of
African-Americans, and other scholars and regular folks in
search of a better, realistic understanding of Africa, at
least, from Achebe's utilization of his rich and dynamic
Igbo ancestry, in south eastern Nigeria. I share the same
ancestry, and he's one of my
mentors.
By Chido
Nwangwu. Click
here for
commentary
 Chinua
Achebe returns "home" from U.S., to love and
adulation of community.
Exclusive
USAfricaonline.com tribute: Since 1958, Achebe's "Things
Fall Apart" set
a standard of artistic excellence, and more.
We met in person at the first conference on Commonwealth
Literature, organized by Professor An Jeffares at Leeds
University in 1964. We met again in Lagos, later, the same
year. We met again at the Canadian Association of
Commonwealth Literature conference in Toronto in 1973. By
Douglas Killam
Chinua
Achebe: A Literary
Diaspora Toasts One of Its Own. By Somini
Sengupta
POLICY
A trial of two cities and
struggle for justice.
By Jack E. White, an essay by Time magazine columnist for
USAfricaonline.com
COMMUNITY
INTEREST
Johnnie Cochran
will soon learn that defending Abacha's
loot is not as simple as the O.J Simpson
case.
By Chido Nwangwu
A
Lott
of Racism?
Implications
of Obasanjo's
late wake up to the challenges of Sharia
in Nigeria. By Ken
Okorie
Osama
bin-Laden's goons
threaten Nigeria and Africa's stability. By Chido Nwangwu
What has
Africa to do with September
11 terror?
By Chido Nwangwu
Reflections on September
11.
By Jonathan Elendu
And
the Rocks Cried
Out (For Safiyatu).
By Effenus Henderson
DEMOCRACY'S
WARRIOR Out
of Africa.
…The
cock that crows in the morning belongs to one household but
his voice is the property of the neighborhood. -- Chinua
Achebe, Anthills of the Savannah. An editor carries on
his crusade against public corruption and press
censorship
in his native Nigeria and other African countries. By
John Suval.
Pope John Paul, Abacha and Nigeria's
Christians
DIPLOMACY
Walter
Carrington:
An African-American diplomat puts principles above self for
Nigeria.  USAfricaonline.com
Founder Chido Nwangwu with the U.S. former Ambassador
Carrington (right) at the U.S. embassy in Lagos during a
courtesy visit.
HISTORICAL
INSIGHT
Biafra-Nigeria
war
and history
get fresh, critical look from a
survivor.
By Alverna
Johnson and Vivian Okeke.
'Biafra: History
Without Mercy' - a preliminary note.
By Chido Nwangwu
ODUMEGWU EMEKA OJUKWU:"It
was simply a choice between Biafra and enslavement! And,
here's why we chose Biafra"
Biafra:
From Boys to Men. By Dr. M.O. Ene
African
Union: Old
wine in new skin?
Sharia, Sex and
hypocrisy of Gendered
Justice.
By Chika Unigwe,
columnist for
USAfricaonline.com
And the Rocks
Cried
Out (For Safiyatu).
By Effenus Henderson
NEWS
INVESTIGATION:
The
Marc
Rich Oil Deals in Nigeria
Should Africa debates begin and end
at
The
New York Times and
The
Washington Post?
No
AFRICA
AND THE U.S. ELECTIONS Beyond
U.S. electoral shenanigans, rewards and dynamics of a
democratic republic hold
lessons
for
African politics.
Osama
bin-Laden's goons threaten Nigeria and Africa's
stability
What
has Africa
to do with September 11
terror?
Africans
reported
dead
in terrorist
attack at
WTC
September
11
terror and
the ghost of things to come....
Arafat's
duplicity, terrorism at the heart of
Israeli-Palestinian crises. By Barry
Rubin
Will
religious conflicts be the time-bomb
for Nigeria's latest transition to civilian
rule?
Johnnie Cochran
will soon learn that defending Abacha's
loot is not as simple as his O.J Simpson's
case.
By Chido Nwangwu
Should Africa debates begin
and end at
The
New York Times and
The
Washington Post?
No
Nelson
Mandela, Tribute to the
world's political superstar and Lion of
Africa
Winnie Madikizela-Mandela's
burden
mounts with murder charges, trials
Conflicting
emotions, feeling of disappointment, timing of revelation
that Rev. Jackson fathered a child with former aide lead to
charges of "right-wing
orchestration."
Nigeria's
Presidential Election: Is it just for the Highest
Bidder?
Nigeria at 40: punish financial thuggery,
build
domestic infrastructure
Is Obasanjo really up to
Nigeria's challenge and crises?
By USAfricaonline.com
contributing editor Ken Okorie. Commentary
appears from NigeriaCentral.com
Africa suffers the
scourge of the virus.
This life and pain of  Kgomotso
Mahlangu, a five-month-old AIDS patient (left) in a hospital
in the Kalafong township near Pretoria, South Africa, on
October 26, 1999, brings a certain, frightening reality to
the sweeping and devastating destruction of human beings who
form the core of any definition of a country's future, its
national security, actual and potential economic development
and internal markets.
22 million Africans HIV-infected, ill
with AIDS
while African leaders
ignore disaster-in-waiting
Wong is wrong on
Blacks in Houston city jobs
Why is 4-year old Onyedika
carrying a placard against killings
in Nigeria?
How Nigeria's Islamic
Sharia crises
will affect the U.S.
USAfrica
INTERVIEW "Why
African
Catholics are
concerned about crises,
sex abuse issues in our
church" - a frank
chat with ICCO's Mike Umeorah
Johnnie Cochran
will soon learn that defending Abacha's
loot is not as simple as his O.J Simpson's
case.
By Chido Nwangwu
The Economics of Elections
in Nigeria
HUMAN
RIGHTS AND DEMOCRACY How far, how deep will
Nigeria's human rights commission go?
Rtd. Gen. Babangida trip as
emissary for Nigeria's Obasanjo to Sudan raises curiosity,
questions about what next in power
play?
COUNTERPOINT
'Why is
Bill Maher spreading racist nonsense about
HIV/AIDS
and Africa
on ABC?
Hate
groups' spin
by Lamar Alexander
benefits anti-Blacks, anti-Semites, and racists
Annan,
power and burden of the U.N
The
Civilianizing of African soldiers
into
Presidents
At
39,
Nigerians
still face dishonest
stereotypes such as Buckley's, and other self-inflicted
wounds.
JFK
Jr.: Death of a Good
Son
'Why is Bill
Maher spreading racist nonsense about HIV/AIDS
and Africa
on ABC?
National Summit
on Africa, Congresswoman Jackson-Lee hold policy forum in
Houston
'100 Black Men are solutions-oriented' says Thomas Dortch,
Jr., Richard Johnson and Nick Clayton II as they share
perspectives with USAfrica's founder on the national
organization.
Community Service Awards bring African-American, American
policy
and business leaders together with African
community at Texas Southern University
110 minutes
with Hakeem Olajuwon
Cheryl
Mills' first class defense of Clinton and her detractors'
game
Nigeria,
Cry My Beloved Country
BULLET
Versus BALLOT The bloody stain
of military coup, on Friday December 24, 1999, sullied the
once unique history of democratic rule in the beautiful and
historically democratic, French-speaking west African
country of Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) by General Robert
Guei (inset). USAfricaonline
report
and
commentary.
COMMUNITY
INTEREST Why the
revisionist forces of racist oppression in South Africa
should not
be allowed to
intimidate Ron and Charlayne Gault.
|
Index of other Viewpoints
USAfricaonline contributors and columnists on the
issues
|
Will the rash of Ethnic
Violence
disrupt
Nigeria's effort at Democracy?
USAfrica
FORUM
IN THE HOUSE OF MANDELA:
A SILLY CRY FOR REPARATIONS
By Prof. Chimalum Nwankwo
Nigerian
stabbed
to death
in his bathroom in Houston.
EndGame in
Kinshasa: U.S must boot Mobutu for own interest, future of
Zaire
and
Africa
PetroGasWorks
Shell picks Leslie
Mays
as VP Global Diversity
Why Powell's
mission to the Middle
East failed. By Jonathan Elendu
TRANSITION
General Tunde
Idiagbon:
A nationalist, an iron-surgeon departs
Abiola's sudden death and the ghost of things
to come
Gen. Shehu
Musa
Yar'Adua's prison death, Nigeria and The Ghost of Things to
come .....
|
Achebe's
'Things Fall Apart': time for Nobel prize for Literature has
come - says Prof. Lindfors at USAfrica Best of Africa 080808
events in Houston; challenges Nobel committee to
do what's right and deserving....
Achebe honored with USAfrica 1st Lifetime
Achievement award at celebration of 50 years of 'Things Fall
Apart'
Houston, Texas. August 13, 2008: As the world awaits
the release of Prof. Chinua Achebe's latest work, a 179-page
collection of seventeen
autobiographical essays called Reflections of a
British Protected Child, an intriguing, familiar issue: the
award of the next Nobel Prize for Literature, turned a key
issue at the USAfrica Harvest of Achebe international
symposium in Houston, Texas.
Bernth Lindfors, the distinguished Professor Emeritus of
English and African Literatures at the University of Texas
at Austin and keynote speaker at the USAfrica 080808
celebrations of the 50th anniversary of Chinua Achebe's
literary classic, 'Things Fall Apart' addressed the
contentious issue by calling the attention of the Nobel
Prize for Literature committee to what millions of people
and readers continue to take exception to: its denial of the
worthy honor of its highest literature prize to Achebe, one
of the most gifted, celebrated and creative writers in the
world.
Prof. Lindfors, leading teacher of Achebe's 'Things fall
Apart' novel for 33 years, told the USAfrica
conferees/scholars that this might be the time the Nobel
Committee makes it up and does the right thing to the
venerable Achebe. "I think his time will come. It will be a
belated recognition. I remember, I was in Nairobi (Kenya)
when the announcement of Wole Soyinka's Nobel Prize occurred
and my colleagues at the University of Nairobi were
[surprised]. They thought Achebe should have been
the first one...."
Various discussions by other scholars and participants at
the USAfrica Best of Africa 080808 reflected on Chinua
Achebe's body of ground-breaking works, comparative outlook
on culture, identity, religion, education, colonialism,
post-colonialism, the issue of Achebe not being honored with
the prestigious Nobel Prize for Literature, with many
arguing and hoping it will happen soon.
Prof. Lindfors, founder of the journal of African
literary studies, Research in African Literatures, said he
felt the ongoing global celebrations and expositions of the
50th anniversary of Achebe's 'Things Fall Apart' show, in
part, the universal creative reach and acceptance of the
novel. Lindfors who got his Ph.D. from the University of
California, Los Angeles in 1969, outlined the worldwide
celebration of 'Things Fall Apart' from Australia, Africa,
Asia and Europe through North and South America by several
organizations including the Modern Language Association. He
commended USAfrica for championing and hosting the
international exposition on Achebe's works the weekend of
080808. USAfrica has been assessed by The New York Times and
other key American organizations as the most influential
African-owned, U.S-based multimedia networks.
The USAfrica Harvest of Achebe host/convener Chido
Nwangwu declared open the event by noting that "we honor
Achebe because he reflects uncommon decency and iron-clad
commitment to values which uplift all cultures and heritage
while confronting racist scholarship and ill-informed
stereotypes. Achebe portrays the Igbo nation and by
extension many parts of Africa as communities where hard
work can transport you from the pits of poverty to the
pinnacle of prosperity as Okonkwo's farming prowess showed,
amidst all the existential contradictions and tragic twists
of life, especially Okonkwo's life." Chido who serves as
Founder and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com, first
African-owned U.S-based professional newspaper published on
the internet, stated that "in many ways, Achebe is timeless;
he's ancient and modern. He carries forth his message to the
world in ways which artfully find meaning and resonance
across cultures, demographics, gender and all manner of
platforms" Full report
here
INSIGHT:
Why America should halt
the
genocide in the Sudan. By Chido Nwangwu,
Founder and Publisher of USAfricaonline.com.
INSIGHT:
Destruction
of property and human massacres are always traumatic
events in a community, saddening and enraging, but the
organizers of the beauty contest, as well as the
participants, must understand that they are totally free of
guilt. The guilty are the storm troopers of intolerance, the
manipulators of feeble-minded but murderous hordes of
fanaticism. By Prof. Wole Soyinka
 INSIGHT
Why Martin
Luther King's
legacy
and vision are relevant into 21st century. By Chido
Nwangwu
NEWS: OBASANJO'S
FAILED 3RD TERM POWER-PLAY IS GOOD NEWS TO
NIGERIANS, ABROAD AND HOME....
USAfricaonline.com and its correspondents in
Nigeria and across the major cities of the U.S are reporting
an increasing tally of anti-3rd term phone calls and e-mails
from our readers. By a margin of almost 7-2,
USAfricaonline.com data show that an overwhelming majority
of the politically active citizenry are happy that Nigeria's
Senate halted retired
Gen. Olusegun Obasanjo's stealthy, unpopular,
behind-the-scenes-wink and nod power plays to secure
an
"unrequested" 3rd term as president of Nigeria (a total of
12 consecutive years).
Many Nigerians still feel disappointed that a man
(Obasanjo) who had gained so much from Nigeria would cling
so tightly to power, even against the popular will of the
people, moreso with age, energy and fresh ideas for a new
era not on his side.
Also, USAfricaonline.com review of Nigeria's recent history
show that President Obasanjo seems to be moving rapidly into
the zone of ill-repute of his former military colleagues
who, like him, refused to leave office when it was time to
go. Gen. yakubu Gowon in 1975; Gen. Ibrahim Babangida in
1993; Gen. Sani Abacha in1995, 1996, 1997, 1998.
More baffling many Nigerians we interviewed recall are
the lessons of the excesses of the late Gen. Abach who
jailed Obasanjo while the former schemed to remain in
power.
For the special report by USAfrica multimedia networks'
Publisher Chido Nwangwu, click on 3rd
term.
USAfricaonline.com
INSIGHT:
How Obasanjo's
self-succession
charade
at his Ota Farm has
turned Nigeria to an
'Animal
Farm.'
By Prof. Mobolaji
Aluko
Is
Obasanjo ordained by God to rule
Nigeria?
And, other fallacies.
By Prof. Sola Adeyeye
Obasanjo was not sworn in merely to "mean
well" for Nigeria. By Obi Nwakanma
Obasanjo's
'prayers' and the
Abacha path of staying in power. By Nkem Ekeopara
Creative writing, publishing and the future of
Nigerian
Literature.
By Prof. Chukwuemeka Ike
APPRECIATION
A young
father writes his One
year old son:
"If only my
heart had a voice...."
Nigeria,
a terrible beauty. By
Chido Nwangwu
Why Nigeria and Africa's
leaders are leading us to nowhere. By
Professor Herbert Ekwe-Ekwe,
contributing editor of USAfricaonline.com,
author of the highly-acclaimed African Literature in
Defence of History: An Essay on Chinua Achebe and a
visiting fellow at the London School of
Economics.
|
Seriously,
is your web site a Turkey, too? Get
Solutions
|
Anambra's rigged 2003 elections: Chris
Uba's confession at WIC 2004 in Newark, USA.
In a matter-of-fact manner, PDP's chieftain in Anambra
Chris Uba stood up and astonished all that were present in
Newark when he said, "We, the PDP, did not win the election
(of 2003). I have gone to church to confess. The election
had no document. I called the result before 12 midnight. I
gave INEC the money and asked them to call the result." The
revelation caused an uproar as well as some applause in the
hall. "The person we took his thing is here," Uba said,
pointing at Peter Obi (the APGA candidate) who was sitting
among the audience, in the back row.
USAfrica
The Newspaper voted the "Best Community
Newspaper"
in the 4th largest city in the U.S., Houston. It is in
the Best of Houston special as chosen by the editors and
readers of the Houston
Press,
reflecting their poll and annual rankings.
DEMOCRACY
WATCH: Obasanjo
raped Nigeria's constitution
by suspending Plateau Assembly and Governor. Prof. By
Prof. Ben Nwabueze, leading constitutional scholar in
the Commonwealth for almost 45 years, former Nigerian
federal minister and SAN.
OIL
in NIGERIA: Liquid
Gold or Petro-Dollars Curse?
Investigating
Marc
Rich and his deals with
Nigeria's Oil
Through an elaborate network of carrots and
sticks and a willing army of Nigeria's soldiers and some
civilians, controversial global dealer and billionaire Marc
Rich, literally and practically, made deals and steals; yes,
laughed his way to the banks from crude oil contracts,
unpaid millions in oil royalties and false declarations of
quantities of crude lifted and exported from Nigeria for
almost 25 years. Worse, he lifted
Nigeria's oil and shipped same to then embargoed apartheid
regime in South Africa. Read Chido Nwangwu's
NEWS
INVESTIGATION REPORT
MEDIAWATCH
Should Africa debates begin
and end at The
New York Times and
The
Washington Post?
Nelson
Mandela, Tribute to the
world's political superstar and Lion of
Africa
TRIBUTE
Nnamdi Azikiwe:
Statesman, Intellectual and Titan of African
politics
 CONTINENTAL
AGENDA
Bush's position on
Africa
is "ill-advised."
The position
stated by Republican presidential aspirant and Governor of
Texas, George Bush where  he
said that "Africa will not be an area of priority" in his
presidency has been questioned by
USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido
Nwangwu. He added that Bush's "pre-election position was
neither validated by the economic exchanges nor
geo-strategic interests of our two continents."
These views were stated
during an interview CNN's anchor Bernard Shaw and senior
analyst Jeff Greenfield had with Mr. Nwangwu on Saturday
November 18, 2000 during a special edition of 'Inside
Politics 2000.' Nwangwu,
adviser to the Mayor of Houston (the 4th largest city in the
U.S., and immigrant home to thousands of Africans) argued
further that "the issues of the heritage interests of 35
million African-Americans in Africa, the volume and value of
oil business between between the U.S and Nigeria and the
horrendous AIDS crisis in Africa do not lend any basis for
Governor Bush's ill-advised
position which
removes Africa from fair consideration" were he to be
elected president. By Al Johnson
ARTS
The Life
and Irreverent times of Afrobeat
superstar,
FELA
PANAFRICANIST
Tanzania's founding
president Julius Nyerere
ELECTIONS
Gigolos on the
Campaign
Trail. By Prof.
Walt Brasch
Can Africa live a future
without war? An
Open Letter to
Mandela. By Fubara
David-West
Sex,
Women and (Hu)Woman
Rights. By Chika Unigwe
 Abati's
Revisionisms
and Distortions of history. By Obi Nwakanma, USAfrica
The Newspaper contributing editor and award-winning poet
Reuben Abati's
fallacies
on Nigeria's
history and secession. By Bayo
Arowolaju
How Abati, Adelaja and others fuel the
campaign
of hatred against Ndigbo. By Jonas Okwara
"Obasanjo, secession and the secessionists":
A response to Reuben Abati's
Igbophobia. By Josh Arinze,
USAfricaonline.com contributing editor.
Abati and other anti-Igbo
bigots in Nigeria. By Chuks
Iloegbunam, USAfricaonline.com contributing editor and
author of Ironsi
DEMOCRACY DEBATE
CNN
International debate on Nigeria's democracy was livecast on
February 19, 2002. It involved Nigeria's Information
Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, Prof. Salih Booker and
USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu. Transcripts
are available on the CNN International site.
WILL
ARINZE BE THE
FIRST
POPE of RECENT
AFRICAN
ORIGIN?
To our Brother Cardinal
Arinze: May your pastoral lineage endure!
The
Democratic
Party
stood for nothing in 2002
election cycle.
By Jonathan Elendu
HEALTHWATCH
EVA
champions efforts
to combat
AIDS
among Nigerian youth. By Jessica
Rubin
Pros and cons of the circumcision
debate. By Ngozi
Ezeji, RN
TRIBUTE
Prof.
Chimere
Ikoku: Remembering
the legacy of a pan-Africanist,
scientist and
gentleman. By Prof. Chudi Uwazurike
Can Africa live a future
without war? An
Open Letter to
Mandela. By Fubara
David-West, USAfricaonline.com contributing editor
COUNTERPOINT
Tiger Woods is no Nelson
Mandela!
By Chido Nwangwu
SPORTS: Tiger
Woods makes more history with another golf Masters
win.
He shot 12-under-par 276
and a final round 71 at Georgia's Augusta National Golf Club
event and collected $1,008,000, on Sunday April 14, 2002.
With it, the world's golf phenom added another green jacket
to his array of championships and titles, placing him, in
this instance, in the same respected Masters' league as
Nicklaus (winner 1965 and 1966) and Nick Faldo (1989 and
1990). The three are the only men to win back-to-back
Masters. At 26, Woods has since become the youngest golfer
to win his seventh professional major championship. He was
joined by his parents and his 22 year-old Swedish model
girlfriend, Elin Nordegren.
Impeachment process shows
Nigerian democracy "is alive... being
tested." Nigeria's president retired Gen.
Olusegun Obasanjo
has said that the impeachment process shows that
"democracy is alive, is being tested, and being tried....
What they (the legislators) have tried to do in the
democratic way, which is not easy, would probably have been
done by taking arms or by -- with bullets. So, but with
democracy, of course, some people feel that this is the way
this should be, and then I have an opportunity to defend
myself. There is discussion. There is dialogue. There is a
decision. There is fairness." He made
these
comments when he
appeared on Tuesday September 17, 2002 on CNN International
to discuss the issues of impeachment facing him, the
allegations of corruption, abuse of the constitution and
deployment of soldiers ina civilian environment which led to
the "massacre of civilians" in Odi (Bayelsa) and Zaki Biam
(Benue). On the charges by
international human rights organizations and Nigerian media
that his government has been involved in actions which have
led to the deaths of thousands of Nigerians, the retired
General gave a surprising answer. He
was asked that "as many as 10,000 people, it's being
reported, have been killed in Nigeria (in) communal
rivalries, and the number is believed to be increasing. And
people are saying that although President Obasanjo has done
a lot of good for Nigeria, you're accused of not -- accused
of failing to halt that spiraling violence."
Obasanjo: Let me say this to you, when you put the question
of 10,000 -- 10,000 people dying in Nigeria, of course, for
a population of over 120 million people...."
But USAfricaonline.com Founder and
recipient of the Journalism Excellence award (1997),
Chido
Nwangwu, who appeared on the same program as as a CNN
International analyst (Africa) pointed out that "when
(President Obasanjo) answered that in a country of 100
million that 10,000 people are said to have died, as if that
was a small number, that in itself reflects a disconnect
with the concerns of Nigerians. The second one is that when
the risk is civil disagreement, the police are required to
intervene in the country. And the deployment of the armed
forces of Nigeria requires at least some consultation,
however modest, with the parliament." Nwangwu,
former member of the editorial board of Nigeria's Daily
Times continued that "the third
factor that is equally important to underscore is that the
armed forces of Nigeria moved in for a punitive action
rather than just containing a civil
disagreement." He noted in USAfricaonline.com
backgrounder "it was revealing and interesting interesting
discussing Nigeria's issues with its leader - under the
current circumstances of an increasingly out-of-schedule
elections and the gathering storm of an impeachment process
by a majority of the members of the National Assembly,
predominantly by Obasanjo's party members." See
rush
transcript of the CNN
International news program.
Obasanjo
facing corruption and ineptitude impeachment
charges, again since the parliament, a few weeks ago, passed
a motion carrying a majority of the members of Obasanjo's
party, the PDP.
RELIGION
AND ETHNIC CONFLICT: Sharia-related
killings and carnage in Kaduna reenact deadly prologue to
Nigeria-Biafra war
of 1967. By
Chido Nwangwu
It's wrong
to stereotype Nigerians as Drug
Dealers. By
Chido Nwangwu
Nigeria as a Nation of Vulcanizers
Why Colin Powell
brings gravitas, credibility and star power to Bush
presidency.
PUBLIC
POLICY
Private initiative,
free
market forces, and more
democratization
are keys to prosperity in Africa.
The
Civilianizing of African soldiers
into Presidents
Maduekwe,
Nwachukwu clash
over Obasanjo at World Igbo 2002 convention in
Houston. USAfrica Special
report
DEMOCRACY
DEBATE
CNN
International debate on Nigeria's democracy livecast on
February 19, 2002. It involved Nigeria's Information
Minister Prof. Jerry Gana, Prof. Salih Booker and
USAfricaonline.com Publisher Chido Nwangwu. Transcripts
are available on
the CNN International site.
Steve Jobs and Apple represent the
future of digital
living. By Chido Nwangwu
The coup in Cote
d'Ivoire and its implications for democracy
in Africa. By Chido Nwangwu
(Related
commentary) Coup
in Cote d'Ivoire has been in the waiting.
By Tom Kamara
|
l
candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), has said on
September
22, 2008 that his fellow Nigerians should see the resignation of
South Africa's President Thabo Mbeki (effective September 25, 2008)
as an example of a leader bowing to the wishes of a majority of his
constituents. "An important point for us Nigerians to note is that
resigning from public office is not the end of the world but show of
respect for the supremacy of a democratic system" He stated that
Mbeki's response is "sending strong signals to all people in
undemocratic settings; and this is what matters most in a democracy.
Once, as a leader, Thabo Mbeki is seen as being out of line by the
people who rose with one voice through the ANC machinery, civil
society, and other opposition platforms; it is significant that he
responded appropriately to the peoples' wishes. In so doing, Mbeki
makes a fact of the point that he is a true democrat because people
very often mistake bowing out of public service as a defeat or
failure."